...Alcoa Case Study Alcoa, as a company, has a strong commitment to safety. The CEO has publicly announced that safety was his top priority, and this could be evidenced in accident rates that were well below industry standards. The Mission Valley Plant was no exception. However, there had been some recent concerning events, and there is always room for improvement in the identification, analysis, recommendation, and implementations of a safety-centric environment. #1 There are seven key elements in Mission Valley’s approach to safety that have evolved since Paul O’Neill became the CEO of Alcoa in June 1987. * Safety is a top priority Immediately upon his arrival, Mr. O’Neill announced that his top priority for the company would be safety. It has been shown that Health, Safety, and Environment (HS&E) is more accepted and more easily enforced when driven from the top of an organization down. * Line managers’ involvement in safety The Mission Valley Works site covers 120 acres and employs 3,850 people, but there are only five employees whose job function is exclusively HS&E. Therefore, it is crucial that line managers spend a significant amount of their time concentrating on HS&E related issues. * Investigating the root causes of injuries Mission Valley’s approach to an incident investigation included assembling a diverse team of operators and supervisors, the development of a list of root causes, implementation of corrective actions...
Words: 2941 - Pages: 12
...Chapter 1: Understanding Sociology Multiple Choice 1. Which of the following was the main concern of Kelsey Timmerman in his book Where Am I Wearing? A. why people wear different styles in different locales B. differences in fashion across cultures C. the people who make our clothing D. pirating in the fashion industry Answer: C Type: I 2. The scientific study of social behavior and human groups is known as A. psychology. B. political science. C. anthropology. D. sociology. Answer: D Type: D 3. Sociology A. is the scientific study of social behavior and human groups. B. focuses primarily on how social relationships influence people’s behavior. C. focuses on how societies develop and change. D. all of these Answer: D Type: D 4. The awareness that allows people to comprehend the link between their immediate, personal social settings and the remote, impersonal social world is called A. the sociological imagination. B. anthropology. C. a theory. D. verstehen. Answer: A Type: D 5. ____________ is most closely associated with the concept of the sociological imagination. A. Émile Durkheim B. Max Weber C. Karl Marx D. C. Wright Mills Answer: D Type: S 6. A key element in the sociological imagination is the ability to view one’s own society ...
Words: 4557 - Pages: 19
...International Journal of Banking and Finance Volume 9 | Issue 1 Article 3 6-5-2012 Modelling and forecasting volatility in the gold market Stefan Trück Macquarie University, stefan.trueck@mq.edu.au Kevin Liang Macquarie University Follow this and additional works at: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ijbf Recommended Citation Trück, Stefan and Liang, Kevin (2012) "Modelling and forecasting volatility in the gold market," International Journal of Banking and Finance: Vol. 9: Iss. 1, Article 3. Available at: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/ijbf/vol9/iss1/3 This Journal Article is brought to you by the Faculty of Business at ePublications@bond. It has been accepted for inclusion in International Journal of Banking and Finance by an authorized administrator of ePublications@bond. For more information, please contact Bond University's Repository Coordinator. Trück and Liang: Forecasting volatility in the gold market International Journal of Banking and Finance, Volume 9 (Number 1), 2012: pages 48-80 MODELLING AND FORECASTING VOLATILITY IN THE GOLD MARKET Stefan Trück and Kevin Liang Macquarie University, Australia _____________________________________________ Abstract We investigate the volatility dynamics of gold markets. While there are a number of recent studies examining volatility and Value-at-Risk (VaR) measures in financial and commodity markets, none of them focuses on the gold market. We use a large number of statistical models to model...
Words: 12182 - Pages: 49
...------------------------------------------------- Lessons learnt from unintended consequences of innovations in technology ------------------------------------------------- Individual Assignment: MT5014 Systems Approach to Technology and Innovation Ravi Raman – A0008484A Abstract There have been many great innovations over the course of human history and they had many unintended consequences to the human society and to the technology in general. The study of unintended consequence has been quite limited in the current day. This paper is a study of unintended consequences of the key technological innovation from 18th century to early 20th century. This paper details the technological innovation from holistic thinking perspective and critically analysis the unintended consequences of the innovations. * Table of Contents 1. Introduction 4 1.1 What is an unintended consequence? (Karl-Erik Sveiby Pernilla Gripenberg, 2009) 4 1.2 Kinds of unintended consequences (Andrews, 2005) 5 2 Nuclear Energy 7 2.1 Concept Map 7 2.1.1 Nuclear Fission Reaction 7 2.1.2 Nuclear Energy development history 7 2.2 Problem 8 2.3 Holistic Thinking Perspective 8 2.4 Technology Innovation 10 2.5 Managing Innovation & Moving to Market 11 2.6 Complexity Management 12 2.7 Quantitative 12 3 Internal Combustion Engine - Automobile industry till early 20th Century 14 3.1 Concept Map 14 3.1.1 History of Internal Combustible Engine 14 3.2 Problem 15 3...
Words: 11622 - Pages: 47
...In sociology, the iron cage is a term coined by Max Weber for the increased rationalization inherent in social life, particularly in Western capitalist societies. The "iron cage" thus traps individuals in systems based purely on teleological efficiency, rational calculation and control. Weber also described the bureaucratization of social order as "the polar night of icy darkness".[1] The original German term is stahlhartes Gehäuse; this was translated into "iron cage", an expression made familiar to English language speakers by Talcott Parsons in his 1930 translation of Weber's The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.[2] This translation has recently been questioned by certain sociologists and interpreted instead as the "shell as hard as steel".[2][3] Weber wrote: “ | In Baxter’s view the care for external goods should only lie on the shoulders of the 'saint like a light cloak, which can be thrown aside at any moment.' But fate decreed that the cloak should become an iron cage."[4] | ” | Weber became concerned with social actions and the subjective meaning that humans attach to their actions and interaction within specific social contexts. He also believed in idealism, which is the belief that we only know things because of the meanings that we apply to them. This led to his interest in power and authority in terms of bureaucracy and rationalization. Rationalization and bureaucracy[edit] Weber states, “the course of development involves… the bringing in of calculation...
Words: 10546 - Pages: 43
...of techniques and processes that can be used to analyse data to improve business performance through fact-based decision making. Business Analytics is the subset of Business intelligence, which creates capabilities for companies to compete in the market effectively. Business Analytics is likely to become one of the main functional areas in most companies. Analytics companies develop the ability to support their decisions through analytic reasoning using a variety of statistical and mathematical techniques. thomas devonport in his book titled, “competing on analytics: the new science of winning”, claims that a significant proportion of high-performance companies have high analytical skills among their personnel. On the other hand, a recent study has also revealed that more than 59% of the organizations do not have information required for decision-making. in a recent article1 based on a survey of nearly 3000 executives, Mit sloan Management Review reported that there is striking...
Words: 4378 - Pages: 18
...Valuation of Metals and Mining Companies Author: Svetlana Baurens E-Mail: baurens@basinvest.ch Date: 7.11.2010 In collaboration with the University of Zürich, Swiss Banking Institute and Prof. Dr. T. Hens Contents 1. Introduction ...............................................................................................................7 1.1. Motivation .......................................................................................................7 1.2. Structure ..........................................................................................................7 1.3. Definition of terms .........................................................................................8 2. Valuation models in mining and metals industry ................................................12 2.1. Special features of metals and mining companies ........................................12 2.2. Classification of valuation models ................................................................15 2.3. Resource & Reserve .....................................................................................17 3. Valuation of Explorations properties ...................................................................20 3.1. Appraised Value Method (Cost Approach) ...................................................23 3.2. Comparable Transactions (Market Approach) ..............................................24 4. Cycle importance in valuation of metals and mining companies...
Words: 26676 - Pages: 107
...Introduction To Sociology II notes by Mutangi G T Sociology is the study of human social life. Because human social life is so expansive, sociology has many sub-sections of study, ranging from the analysis of conversations to the development of theories to try to understand how the entire world works. This chapter will introduce you to sociology and explain why it is important, how it can change your perspective of the world around you, and give a brief history of the discipline. History Sociology is a relatively new academic discipline. It emerged in the early 19th century in response to the challenges of modernity. Increasing mobility and technological advances resulted in the increasing exposure of people to cultures and societies different from their own. The impact of this exposure was varied, but for some people included the breakdown of traditional norms and customs and warranted a revised understanding of how the world works. Sociologists responded to these changes by trying to understand what holds social groups together and also explore possible solutions to the breakdown of social solidarity. Early Sociological Studies Early sociological studies considered the field to be similar to the natural sciences like physics or biology. As a result, many researchers argued that the methodology used in the natural sciences were perfectly suited for use in the social sciences, including Sociology. The effect of employing the scientific method and stressing empiricism was the...
Words: 12675 - Pages: 51
... Chair, LEAD International, UK Merton C. Flemings, Vice-Chair, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA Evan I. Schwartz, Rapporteur, Author and Independent Journalist, USA Shereen El Feki, The Economist, UK David Grimshaw, Intermediate Technology Development Group, UK Pamela Hartigan, Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, Switzerland Ashok Khosla, Development Alternatives, India Ehsan Masood, LEAD International, UK Penelope Mawson, LEAD International, UK Nick Moon, ApproTEC, Kenya Adil Najam, Fletcher School, Tufts University, USA Julia Novy-Hildesley, Lemelson Foundation, USA Anna Richell, Design Council, UK Ammon Salter, Imperial College London, UK Eugenio de Motta Singer, ERM, Brazil Rory Stear, Freeplay Energy Corp., UK Zhang Lubiao, Institute of Agricultural Economics, China 2 Foreword This draft document comprises Recommendations and a Summary of the discussion from a workshop held at the secretariat of LEAD International in London in November 2003, as part of a larger study on invention and inventiveness. The study will culminate in an “Invention Assembly” in Washington D.C. in April 2004. The study is supported by the Lemelson-MIT Program and by the National Science Foundation. The Assembly will be hosted by the National Academy of Engineering. 3 Contents Key findings and recommendations Introduction The role of invention and innovation Case studies: Africa Case studies: India Case studies: China Case studies: Latin America The rise of social...
Words: 15066 - Pages: 61
...Decision Making IT has been said that administration is the critical organizational process, making possible production, procurement, and the rest; that leadership is the heart of administration; and that decision making is the key to leadership. Inherent in these statements are some remarkably accurate characterizations of current administrative theory. One thing they seem to imply is a coherence and a unity in administrative theory which do not seem to exist. When one attempts to assay the literature dealing with a concrete administrative process such as decision making, he discovers this. Divergent approaches to the study of decision making show that there are conflicting conceptions of its nature and function. And these probably are symptoms of a more fundamental conflict in contemporary administrative theory. Administration and leadership as foci for study have traditionally been the concern of historians, occasional novelists, and students of management, public and private. A generation ago these people had articulated a consistent, rather comprehensive conception of leadership, and especially administration. The Papers of Gulick and Urwick, for example, were regarded by many of us as a major conceptual achievement setting forth a twentieth-century theory of organization. Even as these ideas were gaining acceptance, however, the concepts that would replace them were emerging. After World War I, even before the 'The authors wish to express their appreciation to Professor...
Words: 9240 - Pages: 37
...University, Inquire-UK and Inquire-Europe Joint Spring Conference, Institute for Advanced Studies (Vienna), Stockholm Institute for Financial Research (SIFR), Tel Aviv University, University of Manitoba, University of Toronto, Washington University at St. Louis, and especially an anonymous referee, for useful comments. All errors are ours. Investing in Mutual Funds when Returns are Predictable Abstract This paper analyzes the performance of portfolio strategies that invest in noload, open-end U.S. domestic equity mutual funds, incorporating predictability in (i) manager skills, (ii) fund risk-loadings, and (iii) benchmark returns. Predictability in manager skills is found to be the dominant source of investment profitability – long-only strategies that incorporate such predictability considerably outperform prior-documented “hot-hands” and “smart-money” strategies, and generate positive and significant performance with respect to the Fama-French and momentum benchmarks. Specifically, these strategies outperform their benchmarks by 2-4% per year through their ability to time industries over the business cycle. Moreover, they choose individual funds that outperform their industry benchmarks to achieve an additional 3-6% per year. Overall, our findings indicate that industries are important in locating outperforming mutual funds, and that active management adds much more value than documented by prior studies. Introduction About $4 trillion is...
Words: 25395 - Pages: 102
...Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness Author(s): Mark Granovetter Source: American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 91, No. 3 (Nov., 1985), pp. 481-510 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2780199 . Accessed: 18/10/2013 11:39 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to American Journal of Sociology. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 158.143.192.135 on Fri, 18 Oct 2013 11:39:24 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions Economic Action and Social Structure: The Problem of Embeddedness' Mark Granovetter State University of New York at Stony Brook How behavior and institutions are affected by social relations is one of the classic questions of social theory. This paper concerns the extent to which economic action is embedded in structures of social relations, in modern industrial society. Although the usual neoclassical...
Words: 14338 - Pages: 58
...A WALK TO REMEMBER Screenplay by Karen Janszen Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks No portion of this script may be performed, reproduced, or used by any means, or quoted or published in any medium without the prior written consent of Warner Bros. July 27, 2000 WARNER BROS. © 2000 4000 Warner Boulevard WARNER BROS. Burbank, California 91522 All Rights ReservedBLACK A young man's V.O.: ADULT LANDON (V.O.) I was born in Beaufort, North Carolina. A place where the air always smells of pine and salt and sea. The voice is gentle. Slightly Southern in inflection. A young doctor's soothing manner. FADE IN: EXT. COASTAL NORTH CAROLINA (DECEMBER) (PRESENT) A vast view of the coastline in winter -- beaches, rivers, sea marshes, inlets -- ebbing and flowing. ADULT LANDON (V.O.) For many, days and nights are spent fishing Pamlico Sound or crabbing the Neuse River. The CAMERA FINDS a small coastal town, edged by a harbor on which fishermen toil. EXT. BEAUFORT, NORTH CAROLINA - MORNING (DECEMBER) The CAMERA, MOVING inland, CROSSES OVER modest houses decked with plastic rooftop Santas... ADULT LANDON (V.O.) While the ocean may be the focus of daily labor, churches have always tried to be the focus of life. And MOVES UPHILL TO... EXT. MAIN STREET Where fake snow is sprayed on store windows. The CAMERA CONTINUES TO the far side of Main Street -- with its stately homes with big lawns, flower beds, and tasteful Christmas garlands...
Words: 19396 - Pages: 78
...THE B L A C K SWAN The HIGHLY I mpact IM of the PROBABLE Nassim Nicholas Taleb U.S.A. $26.95 Canada $34.95 is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpre dictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was. The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9 / 1 1 . For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from the rise of religions to events in our own personal lives. A BLACK SWAN Why do we not acknowledge the phenomenon of black swans until after they occur? Part of the answer, according to Taleb, is that humans are hardwired to learn specifics when they should be focused on generalities. We concentrate on things we already know and time and time again fail to take into consideration what we don't know. We are, therefore, unable to truly estimate oppor tunities, too vulnerable to the impulse to simplify, narrate, and categorize, and not open enough to rewarding those who can imagine the "impossible." For years, Taleb has studied how we fool our selves into thinking we know more than we actually do. We restrict our thinking to the irrelevant and inconsequential, while large events continue to surprise us and shape our world. Now, in this reve latory book, Taleb explains everything we know about what we don't know. He offers...
Words: 158140 - Pages: 633
...The WACC Fallacy: The Real Effects of Using a Unique Discount Rate 1 Philipp Kr¨ ger u Geneva Finance Research Institute - Universit´ de Gen`ve e e Augustin Landier Toulouse School of Economics David Thesmar HEC Paris and CEPR First Version: February 2011 This Version: September 2011 We greatly appreciate comments and suggestions by Malcolm Baker, Andor Gy¨rgy, Owen Lamont, o Masahiro Watanabe, Jeff Wurgler and seminar participants at the NBER Behavioral Finance Spring Meeting, the University of Mannheim, the 2011 European Financial Management Association meetings, the 2011 European Finance Association meetings, the CEPR European Summer Symposium on Financial Markets and HEC Lausanne. Boris Vall´e provided excellent research assistance. Thesmar e thanks the HEC Foundation for financial support. Corresponding Author: Philipp Kr¨ger. Email: u philipp.krueger@unige.ch, Telephone: +41 (0)22 379 85 69. Augustin Landier, augustin.landier@tsefr.eu, Telephone: +33 (0)5 61 12 86 88. David Thesmar, thesmar@hec.fr, Telephone: +33 (0)1 39 67 94 12. 1 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1764024 The WACC Fallacy: The Real Effects of Using a Unique Discount Rate Abstract We document investment distortions induced by the use of a single discount rate within firms. According to textbook capital budgeting, firms should value any project using a discount rate determined by the risk characteristics of the project. If they use a unique company-wide discount...
Words: 18677 - Pages: 75
