Sponsorship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Sponsorship - Essay Example The sponsor keenly looks at the opportunity to develop their organization commercially through brand awareness that is done through advertising. Sponsorship can take different approaches; they include, firstly there is the branding the kits used by the players with the sponsor’s brand. Secondly, there are banners that are found on the ground as well as in the arenas which bears more information about the sponsor. Thirdly, through the media affiliated to the sport such as the website, the company is able to advertise their products. Fourthly, the players/sportspeople/coaches can be used to endorse the product of the sponsor. For the team, they can be provide with free kits, transport, facilities as well as provision of funds and other services (BBC, 2014). Sponsorship comes with a variety of pros and cons. Sponsorship is healthy for both the sponsor and the individual/club being sponsored; some players would not be able to raise the costs of participating in their respective sporting activities if they lacked support. On the other hand, the sponsor uses the sponsorship agreement as an opportunity to benefit themselves commercially especially through advertisements. Public awareness of a given product is easily achieved through the advertisements in sports stadiums, players’ uniforms, club’s website among others (BBC, 2014). Sponsorship is founded on the grounds that, in exchange of the resources or services given to the club or individual the sponsor will have either of the following benefits. Firstly, the image of the sponsor should be improved courtesy of the sponsorship. The company gets a good image since it is perceived to exhibit the corporate social responsibility. Secondly, the company gains a competitive advantage over is competitors due to its public reputation. Thirdly, the consumer attitude can be changed through the perception

The Five Minds of a Manager Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Five Minds of a Manager - Article Example One of the main focuses of the discussion in the article is based on the five managerial mindsets. Everything an effective manager does is sandwiched between action on the ground and reflection on the abstract. These two mindsets must be combined to in order for reflective thinking to meet practical doing. The five modules of the mindset program discussed in the article are: managing-self, managing organizations, managing context, managing relationships, and managing change. The first managerial mindset is managing self or the reflective mindset. These days managers need to desperately stop and think and to step back and reflect on their experiences. This type of mentality and thinking process can help managers gather ideas. Most people go through their lives undergoing a series of happenings which pass through their systems undigested. Happenings become experiences when they are digested and reflected upon. Synthesizing these ideas can lead to creative business solutions. Managers m ust reflect upon the actions of the company to ensure they are acting in a correct and socially responsible manner. Managers must look at this from the perspective of other stakeholder groups such as customers. Reflective managers are able to see behind in order to look ahead. Managers must pay attention to detail and to history. The problems made by the company in the past should not be repeated. The second mindset is managing organizations or the analytical mindset. Analysis breaks down complex phenomena into components or parts. Good analysis provides a language for organizing and it provides measure for performance. The key for analyzing effectively is to get beyond the conventional approaches in order to appreciate how analysis works and what effect it has on the organization. The use of analysis can enhance the problem solving abilities of the company. The third mindset is managing context or the worldly mindset. Managers have to look beyond their cubicles and appreciate the w orld around them in order to better serve the needs of the customers.

Cranes Incidences Essay Example for Free

Cranes Incidences Essay Industrial safety is an important component in determining success in industrial operations. It is important that industry players develop their systems in a manner that is appreciative of safety to be in line with legal requirements for industrial operations and also ensure high levels of motivation among their employees. Motivation within any workforce is important in ensuring that operational goals are driven at and is considered a factor that can define organizational propensity to failure. Reputation of an industry entity is placed at risk if it employs approaches to operations that are risky to its workers and even customers. It is thus apparent that industrial entities have a lot to lose should they choose to operate in a manner that does not show appreciation for the role played by safety within their industries in ensuring ethical, legal and successful operations. Despite this knowledge being firmly ingrained within industries, cases of crane accidents have continued to maim and even kill industrial workers. A review of recent cases to determine the causes of the accident and make recommendation on avenues that can be used in addressing this challenge is therefore aimed at ensuring improvement in working conditions for crane workers. Review of Industrial Crane Accidents A shocking revelation in review of existing rules and crane accidents that have occurred in the recent past is that OSHA has not updated its rules for workers who operate cranes for the last 38 years (CraneAccidents. com, 2008). The labor department estimates of the fatalities shows that there are at least 82 cases of crane accidents per year (CraneAccidents. com, 2008). According to the labor department, a majority of the accidents are caused by operator errors and prevailing weather conditions especially wind (CraneAccidents. com, 2008). The differences between the figures reported by the government department OSHA and international unions of operating engineers creates an unclear picture of the extent of the problem. In one of the incidents, a rental crane failed while offloading which led to the death of two workers. The rental crane which is operated by Ocean energy let go of the load that smashed two workers to immediate death (MMS, 2009). Though the accident is still under investigation, preliminary results show that that crane was poorly maintained and the cause are mainly due to mechanical failure (MMS, 2009). Another accident that also involved a rental crane occurred during offloading (MMS, 2009). The accident which led to the death of one worker while leaving two workers with serious injuries was mainly due to poor disassembly of a rental crane (MMS, 2009). The crane incidences which are filled with inhumanity and pain are categorized as either minor or major cases (MMS, 2009. The definition of minor and major is dependent on the number of casualties though their potential for damage and loss of human life is immeasurable. In an incident that happened in Kentucky, a man who was standing next to a HTC-835 crane was dismembered and died one hour later in a hospital when the counterweight came around and struck him in the back (CraneAccidents. com, 2009). The unconscious body as found pinned between a counterweight and a bed of a truck (CraneAccidents. com, 2009). One of the factors that have been cited as having played a role in the incident is the fact that there was no warning tape around the crane (CraneAccidents. com, 2009). Discussion of Causes In the first case poor maintenance of the crane that led to failure is to blame for the incident. Though the potential that cranes have in causing incidents is known, rental companies and even organization can still choose to use cranes that have not been properly serviced. Ignorance is not the case rather irresponsibility by management and worker that leads to use of cranes that could pose danger to human life and even damage property is to blame. Irresponsibility of workers who were casualties in the incident is further brought out if their being under an offloading crane is considered. While working in an environment where crane activity is high one must have heard of incidences where cranes led to loss of lives. Taking heed of danger and appreciation of the potential that cranes have in causing damage would have pushed them into being within what can be referred to as a safe distance. Poor management of the disassembly exercise has been cited as the cause of the second incident. This lives room for a multitude of possibilities which include lack of proper training, poor supervision, lack of preparation and poor or lack of measures that can be used in ensuring that assembly and disassembly processes are carried out in the best way possible (CraneAccidents. com, 2009). Another important factor that should be noted in the second case is the involvement of a rental cranes and issues relating to management and mechanical failure. The third case is different from the others in that the victim and operators were unaware of the risks they were in. Labeling of potential risk has for a long term been used in industries to ensure that people aware of risks they are in. Cranes cause motion or objects that can smash human flesh to oblivion. Lack of a labels or a warning tapes around the cranes or any other moving object in an industrial setting is reflective of lack of appreciation of the potential that cranes have in causing damage to human life and property and lack of strong assessment measures for instance by OSHA to ensure that industrial entities operates within the developed safety framework. Analysis The causes of the accident can be looked at from at least five different dimensions. Irresponsibility, poor assessment systems, poor policy making, lack of appreciation of the potential that cranes have in damaging properties and lives and lastly lack of an effective systems that can develop social awareness on problem thus its address. Irresponsible actions for instance being under a moving crane and using cranes that have not been labeled as potential risks have led to loss of lives. Poor assessment systems are reflected in using cranes that have badly been maintained and making errors in disassembly. While technology and legal implications are changing rapidly to keep in touch with the needs of the society, the last development in OSHA with regards to crane operatives is nearly four decades ago. The relevance of the current policies to modern practice may be missing thus the lack of awareness on legal avenues that can be used in redress. Selecting rental cranes that are in bad shape and using cranes without labeling them all point to lack of appreciation of the potential that cranes have in damaging property and destroying lives. Poor policy making may also contribute to using cranes that are not in good shape and lack of counter measures to ensure cranes used are in good working condition. The expertise, skills and experience of crane operators are important in ensuring effective management of the operations; this must be ensured by all organizations to ensure human error is minimized. Legal measures and guideline like OSHA are also lacking in that the organization could use approaches that are lacking in safety and even lack labeling despite its potential risk yet remain operational. This is further brought out by the difficulties that victims face in seeking illegal interventions (CraneAccidents. com, 2009). Summary OSHA is not enough in reducing prevalence of the crane accidents. Though effective legal intervention measures can reduce and even force industrial entities to put in place effective safety measures, development of an appreciation of safety is vital to ensuring that measures are put in place. The current OSHA policies have to be reviewed to ensure they are up to date with the legal and technological factors that affect crane operations. Developing awareness on rights of crane users and highlighting the accidents will also play an important role in ensuring that industrial entities are wary of incidences. By developing awareness and helping victims seek legal redress, OSHA will ensure that organizations are aware of the negative image that can be developed by crane incidences. Responsibility is a personal issue that must be spread to all in industries. Safety training for workers would ensure that they seek their right to work in safe environments and develop awareness on risks presented by the environment they are in. It is only after appreciation of risk has been developed that effective programs can be developed.

The strengths and limitations of duration analysis

The strengths and limitations of duration analysis As stated by the US Federal Reserve, interest rate risk impacts on a various range of stakeholders, and hence financial actors are interested in quantifying its impact. The most important practical tool to manage interest rate risk and to satisfy this main function for banks is duration analysis. In general duration Analysis is an econometric tool and in terms of Financial Economics it is defined as the mean length of time that passes until the present value is returned by a stream of fixed payments according to Macaulay (1938). Hence, Duration is a measure of the sensitivity of asset ´s prices to interest movements. My following essay defines duration according to Macaulay and presents special terms from the practice. Moreover, it considers immunization, hedging and Duration Gap Analysis as practical applications. The next part will discuss strengths and weaknesses of duration analysis. It concludes with todays importance of Duration analysis. There are two main reasons to study Duration according to Kopprasch (2006). Firstly, firms and especially financial intermediaries have tied up huge amounts of capital in fixed income instruments. These include bonds partly with optional characteristics or recent financial innovations like swaps, interest rate options or floaters. Hence, proper hedging of these instruments becomes important. Secondly, the key figure duration provides an intuitive approach to educate potential customers. This leads to a better understanding of financial instruments in general and how they behave when interest rates change. Bodie, Kane, Marcus (2006) Empirical studies and Figure 16.1 show six bond-pricing relationships: Firstly, theres an inverse relation between bond price and yield to maturity. Secondly, an increase in a bonds yield to maturity results in a smaller price change than a decrease of equal magnitude. Thirdly, long-term bonds are more sensitive than short-term bonds. Fourthly, interest rate risk, which is measured by the sensitivity of bond prices to changes in yields, is less than proportional to bond maturity. Fifthly, there is an inverse relationship between interest rate risk and bonds coupon rate, because a bond with a higher coupon rate pays a greater percentage of its present value prior to maturity. Sixthly, the yield to maturity at which the bond is currently sold is inversely related to the sensitivity of the bonds price to a change in its yield. This five observations were described Mankiel and are known as Malkiel bond-pricing relationships. The sixth property was demonstrated by Homer and Liebowitz (1972). Ingersoll, Skelton, Weil, (1978) stated that the key figure Duratio n can be interpreted as an attempt to quantify this qualitative observations through a single and numerical measure. The duration concepts has its origins in the work of Macaulay(1938), Samuelson (1945), Hicks (1939) and Redington (1952). Macaulay(1938) defined duration as the mean length of time that pass until the present value is returned by a stream of fixed payments. The proof that duration is an elasticity was provided by Hicks in 1939. This means that the price elasticity of a bond in response to an infinitesimal change in its yield to maturity is proportional to duration. But Fisher (2006) casts doubt on Hickss derivation. Nevertheless, his proof is generally acknowledged. Redington (1952) derived the duration independently and used it for portfolio immunization. The standard definition according to Macaulay is: subject to The weight is calculated by . In the special case of a zero bond, the duration equals the maturity, because no payments occur before maturity. Kopprasch (2006) mentions several different practical methods which are based on Macauleys duration and are used in practice. Effective duration is determined by the price movement to an incremental movement while holding the option adjusted spread constant. Option adjusted Spread (OAS) is a flat spread which is added to the yield curve in a pricing model and considers options like prepayments opportunities for mortgage backed securities. Hence, OAS is model dependent and incorporates volatility like variable interest rates or prepayment rates. Portfolio duration quantifies the Duration of a portfolio of different assets. It is based on the additivity of single durations. Additivity means that the duration of a portfolio is the weighted-average of the durations of the individual securities. The weights are the current market value of each security. The term Modified duration is calculated by the formula: Furthermore, the term partial durations or key rate durations is a vector of durations, where each duration is only valid for a limited maturity range. Spread duration recognizes that a change in the spread can affect the bond. This key figure was designed especially to value floaters which trade near par by definition. It often turns out that the market doesnt seem to trade the instruments with the predicted duration. Hence, empirical duration was developed to deal with these times. It is calculated by regressing price movements of the asset versus some market benchmark. The next paragraph considers two applications of duration in risk management: Hedging and immunization for a portfolio and Duration Gap Analysis. The change in an asset price due to change in interest rates can be calculated by: Fooladi (2000) describes that the realized rate of return encompass interest accumulated from reinvestment of coupon income and the capital gain or loss at the end of the planning period when the portfolio is sold. The two components impact the realized rate of return in opposite directions. Hence, in one point the two opposite effects of coupon reinvestment and capital gain or loss offset one another. When the portfolio duration equals the length of the planning period, the portfolio is immunized and the realized return will not fall below the promised rate of return. The second described application is Duration Gap Analysis which is an extension to the immunization approach, because it includes liabilities. A main function of banks is to provide maturity transformation. Hence, banks usually have short-term liabilities and long-term assets. As a consequence of this duration mismatch and shown by the third following equation, changes in interest rates have a direct effect on the banks equity value. The gap between the durations of the assets and liabilities ( is a measure of the interest rate risk of banks equity. Fooladi (2000) describes that banks may take modest bets by setting a duration gap or set the duration gap close to zero. The second equation shows how banks can adjust their duration gap by shifting weights on assets or liabilities. Bierwag and Fooladi (2006) specify that banks use off-balance-sheet securities like interest rate futures, options and swaps to reduce adjustment time and to save costs. Despite the shown strengths, there are weaknesses in duration analysis. As one can see in Figure 16.3, Duration is only valid for small changes, because the relationship between duration and price changes is derived by a first-order Taylor series approximation. Furthermore, Mishkin/Eakins (2006) criticise that interest rate changes have to affect all rates of maturities by exactly the same amount. Generally speaking, the slope of the yield shouldnt be affected at all and the yield curve is assumed to be flat. However, the shape of the yield curve fluctuates over the business cycle and consequently this expected slope change has to be considered. The mentioned partial duration and spread duration try to handle this shortcoming. Further problems involve uncertainty over the proportion of assets and liabilities. Estimates have to consider for example prepayment of loans, customer shifts out of deposits and uncertain cash payments due to default risk according to Fooladi and Roberts (2004). As Bierwag and Kaufman (1988) showed, default alters bonds cash flows and their timing. Additionally, one has to predict the stochastic process governing interest rate movements to value options. This can create a stochastic process risk which can be quantified by approaches to to measure interest rate volatility risk. Ho (2007) states that practitioners tie duration and vega measures which specify the sensitivities to the shift in the swap curve and the volatility surface, respectively. In his approach volatility risk is measured by the value sensitivity of an option to the change in the implied volatility function at the key rate points on the curve. Ingersoll, Skelton, and Weil (1978) argue that the assumed stochastic process to develop duration models is inconsistent with equilibrium conditions. Occurring large shocks to interest rates, riskless arbitrage became possible, but on the practical side the riskless-arbitrage argument seemed hypothetical. To overcome these weaknesses, Mishkin and Eakins (2006) mentions more sophisticated approaches such as scenario analysis and value-at-risk analysis and convexity which is a second-order Taylor series approximation and can be used as a correction measure. Paroush and Prisman (1997) strengthen this assumption and show that convexity (second-order) can be more important than the duration (first order). To put it in a nutshell, with increasing complexity of securities, myriad extensions have been added to the former duration analysis founded by Macaulay to handle the occurring risks. Furthermore, different duration measures face different assumptions about slope and shape of the yield curve or the stochastic process driving interest rates. One has to take in mind how accurate these assumptions are, because as seen in the recent financial crisis failures affect the entire economy, according to my starting statement. However, duration analysis is an adaptable framework and used carefully, a tool to get a first impression of interest-rate risk. Words: 1465