Stress management - guided imagery Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Stress management - guided imagery - Assignment Example One very effective way is hardiness. This means becoming stronger both physically and emotionally. Techniques of improving hardiness include doing more physical exercises reducing usage of drugs such as alcohol and nicotine, creating a support system by developing close relations with other people, doing activities that you enjoy among many more. Another effective method is development of a positive attitude towards situation. Healthy eating habits alongside with good nutrition increases not only the physical stamina but also the emotional and perhaps mental stamina (Hoffman et al., 46). Relaxing of both the mind and the body improves even the concentration and can be achieved by gaining enough sleep. Proper time management is another stress management skill that helps one to accomplish things that may otherwise cause stress. Proper cash managent is another strategy that reduces stress for college students. Exploring spirituality is also another common effective way of managing stres s since one finds personal meaning to his life. As a student, I adopted a stress management behavior that has worked out perfectly well. It is a strategy that has an acronym â€Å"HOLDUP†. This stands for Hardiness, Outlook, and Listening to my Body, Decreasing stress as much as I can, unburdening myself and Problem solving. I decided to change my outlook of challenges and took them positively. I developed a sense of humor in my problems and found out that they were not as bad as they seemed. More so, I learnt that making mistakes was inevitable as long as it was accompanied by a lesson in it. There was an added solution to taking responsibility over my own feelings, and this made me control all my stressors. By understanding my outlook, I was able to know my strengths that brought me a lot of confidence and my weaknesses too which were the major channels stress came through. Listening to my body always worked out very well for me. I was

Innovation and Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Innovation and Sustainability - Essay Example Therefore, this paper will explore two consumption and two production habits of humans that are related to the material resources. In addition, it will give recommendations on sustainable ways of producing and consuming these resources for the purpose of the present and future generation. Population growth continuously affects consumption of materials and environmental resources. With exponential growth, population density increases in a region. The number of population per 1000 population highly determines the amount of consumption of goods that come from the environment. Agricultural production of goods has to be increased with any increase in birth rates in a population. Going by the current trend, every household and in some cases every individual who can attain a driving license has a car especially in the US, which means more fuel consumption, hence, more exploitation of crude oil (Segger, 2011). Technology has contributed a lot to consumption of most goods. It is with technology that humans are able to consume coal out of a coal mine. Fuels that produce green house gases come as a result of the power of machines in exploitation and cutting down of trees which are a great source of carbon sink. All this is done just to satisfy human needs of consumption. For example, trees are cut down for building purposes and for fuel, while exploitation of fuels like petrol and diesel from crude oil is mainly for the current increase of vehicles on the road (Segger, 2011). Advancement of industrial revolution has immensely encouraged high production rate of consumer goods. With advanced technology, more agricultural goods can be produced due to the presence of technologies that can be used like those used to manufacture chemical fertilizers for the unfertile soils. Thus, more agricultural goods are being produced currently, despite the health impacts that some of the production methods like GMO have on human health (Segger,

Emersons Experience A Close Reading Essay -- essays papers

Emersons Experience A Close Reading In Experience, Ralph Waldo Emerson writes about the human condition shared by all in his uniquely â€Å"Emersonian† perspective. Perhaps one of his most effective works is Experience, an essay on a subject of which Emerson had much â€Å"experience† and personal grief. To fully appreciate Emerson, the reader must closely analyze his writing, with both its obvious meaning, and the experience with which he’s writing. One particular paragraph is especially eloquent, and warrants closer analysis: â€Å"People grieve and bemoan themselves, but it is not half so bad with them as they say. There are moods in which we court suffering, in the hope that here, at least, we shall find reality, sharp peaks and edges of truth†. Emerson’s training as a clergyman shines through here, as he counsels the grief-stricken that things are not as bad as they seem. People who are aggrieved often hope to find some truth at the end of their suffering to make it seem somehow worthwhile. â€Å"But it turns out to be scene-painting and counterfeit. The only thing grief has taught me, is to know how shallow it is. That, like all the rest, plays about the surface, and never introduces me into the reality, for contact with which, we would even pay the costly price of sons and lovers†. Emerson’s preliminary sentences were only meant to scratch the surface -- now he is probing the heart of t he matter. He is stating that there is no deep meaning revealed when we lose someone we love. It is more of a defense mechanism or a means of self-assurance than anything else, because losing the people closest to us defies any tangible meaning. In the next passage, â€Å"Was it Boscovich who found out that bodies never come in contact? Well, s... ...cosmic connection for man, animals, plants. Emerson seems to suggest that grief is merely an escape into self-pity, a way of denying death or what it represents. For Emerson, life was nothing without faith in nature. In nature, nothing can live unless something dies. It is all part of the eternal cycle of life. Experience taught Ralph Waldo Emerson that wallowing in grief provides neither comfort nor closure. It does not answer any questions and does not change anything. However, faith in nature can offer solace during life’s darkest moments. It is a human ‘experience’ which he, fortunately, shared with us all. Bibliography: WORK CITED O’Keefe, Richard R. â€Å"‘Experience’: Emerson on Death.† ATQ (The American Transcendental Quarterly), v9 n2, p. 119 (11). (June 1995).

Personal Ethics Statement Essay

My personal ethical viewpoint has become clearer after coming down to the final days of class. I have learned a lot in this past nine weeks. I haven’t developed any blind spots in being ethical in certain situations, but some people do have blind spots and they do not even realize it. My ethical lens reflects on my core values which are extremely respectful in every way, I always take the time to ask myself questions to evaluate if it is unethical or not. I would have to say my strengths are always considering everyone else’s feelings and their outlook on what they believe in when coming down to proper ethics. I always take the time to think, if I say a certain thing will this affect someone else in a negative way, I am always respectful even if it is hard to do. My weakness is that sometimes I let my feelings get in the way if someone makes an unethical comment, these tend to always offend me. I feel as if I can explain proper ethics to this said person and show them how using proper ethics has a great deal of benefits. I also trust reasonable systems to solve most problems instead of trying to do it myself. My values include my family, friends, my job, and using proper ethics when it comes to important situations. My behaviors are always carefully thought out with the up most respect when coming into view with using proper ethics. How might you use your personal ethics to determine a course of action? The way I would use my personal ethics to determine a course of action is first, I would try to weigh out the positive and negatives of any situation. Mainly on what is the right thing to do, could I live with the guilt in making a decision that is unethical? I always think what if it was me, is this decision going to affect someone else’s feelings? Will this be something that affects someone else’s outlook on my ethics? I always use my ethics to determine the right decision, not the one that has a negative outcome.

Manage Budgets And Financial Plans Essay

This project, I chose Woolworths Limited Annual Report 2012 to answer the following questions: To whom is this report disseminated and how is this done? â€Å"The financial report provides people who are interested in a company – such as shareholders, lenders, analysts and employees – with information about the financial performance and financial position of the company†( A guide to understanding annual reports 2012). It is one means by which directors of the company advise shareholders on how the business has performed during the year. The financial report also provides information to shareholders on how the directors have discharged their responsibilities. In other words, Current shareholders and potential investors remain the primary audiences for annual reports. Employees (who today are also likely to be shareholders), customers, suppliers, community leaders, and the community-at-large are also targeted audiences. Employees The annual report serves many purposes with employees. It provides management with an opportunity to praise employee innovation, quality, teamwork, and commitment, all of which are critical components in overall business success. In addition, an annual report can also be used as a vehicle to relate those company successes—a new contract, a new product, cost-saving initiatives, new applications of products, expansions into new geographies—that have an impact on its work force. Seeing a successful project or initiative profiled in the annual report gives reinforcement to the employees responsible for the success. The annual report can help increase employee understanding of the different parts of the company. Many manufacturing locations are in remote areas, and an employee’s understanding of the company often does not go beyond the facility where he or she works. An annual report can be a source for learning about each of a company’s product lines, its operating locations, and who is leading the various operations. The annual report can show employees how they fit into the â€Å"big picture.† Employees also are often shareholders. So, like other shareholders, these employees can use the annual report to help gauge their investment in the company. In this case, the annual report can serve as a reminder to employees of the impact that the work they do has on the value of the company’s stock value. Customers Customers want to work with quality suppliers of goods and services, and an annual report can help a company promote its image with customers by highlighting its corporate mission and core values. Describing company initiatives designed to improve manufacturing processes, reduce costs, create quality, or enhance service can also illustrate a company’s customer orientation. Finally, the annual report can also show the company’s financial strength. Customers are reducing their number of suppliers, and one evaluation criterion is financial strength. They want committed and capable suppliers that are going to be around for the long term. Suppliers A company’s abilities to meet its customers’ requirements will be seriously compromised if it is saddled with inept or undependable suppliers. Successful companies today quickly weed out such companies. By highlighting internal measurements of quality, innovation, and commitment, annual reports can send an implicit message to suppliers about the company’s expectations of outside vendors. Sometimes an annual report will even offer a profile of a supplier that the company has found exemplary. Such a profile serves two purposes. First, it rewards the supplier for its work and serves to further cement the business relationship. Second, it provides the company’s other suppliers with a better understanding of the level of service desired (and the rewards that can be reaped from such service). The Community Companies invariably pay a great deal of attention to their reputation in the community or communities in which they operate, for their reputations as corporate citizens can have a decisive impact on bottom-line financial performance. A company would much rather be known for its sponsorship of a benefit charity event than for poisoning a local river, whatever its other attributes. Annual reports, then, can be invaluable tools in burnishing a company’s public image. Many annual reports discuss community initiatives undertaken by the company, including community renovation projects, charitable contributions, volunteer efforts, and programs to help protect the environment. The objective is to present the company as a proactive  member of the community. This sort of publicity also can be valuable when a company is making plans to move into a new community. Companies seek warm welcomes in new communities (including tax breaks and other incentives). Communities will woo a company perceived as a â€Å"good† corporate citizen more zealously than one that is not. The good corporate citizen also will receive less resistance from local interest groups. The company’s annual report will be one document that all affected parties will pore over in evaluating the business. The way that the company publish it annual report, most listed companies publish their financial statements and reports on their website and notify shareholders of its action including Woolworths Limited. Alternatively, a company may elect to send shareholders a hard copy or a concise report. A shareholder has the right to receive a hard copy, but must specifically request the printed version. Copies are lodged with ASIC and the ASX and are available for inspection online. Why do these people need the information contained in the annual report? Those people need the information contained in the annual report because the financial accounts provide a wealth of information that is useful to various users of financial information, as summarised below: User Interest in / Use of Accounting Information Investors Investors are concerned about risk and return in relation to their investments. They require information to decide whether they should continue to invest in a business. They also need to be able to assess whether a business will be able to pay dividends, and to measure the performance of the business’ management overall Lenders Banks and other financial institutions who lend money to a business require information that helps them determined whether loans and interest will be paid when due Creditors  Suppliers and trade creditors require information that helps them understand and assess the short-term liquidity of a business. Is the business able to pay short-term debt when it falls due? Customers & Debtors Customers and trade debtors require information about the ability of the business to survive and prosper. As customers of the company’s products, they have a long-term interest in the company’s range of products and services. They may even be dependent on the business for certain products or services Employees Employees (and organisations that represent them – e.g. trade unions) require information about the stability and continuing profitability of the business. They are crucially interested in information about employment prospects and the maintenance of pension funding and retirement benefits. They are also likely to interested in the pay and benefits obtained by senior management! Government There are many government agencies and departments that are interested in accounting information. For example, the IR&CE needs information on business profitability in order to levy and collect Corporation Tax. Various regulatory agencies (e.g. the Competition Commission and the Environment Agency) need information to support decisions about takeovers and grants, for example. Analysts Investment analysts are an important user group – specifically for companies quoted on a stock exchange. They require very detailed financial and other information in order to analyses the competitive performance of a business and its sector. Much of this is provided by the detailed accounting disclosures that are required by the London Stock Exchange. However, additional accounting information is usually provided to analysts via formal company briefings and interviews. General public Interest groups, formed by various groups of individuals who have a specific interest in the activities and performance of businesses, will also require accounting information. Table: User of account (Riley 2012) What financial information does the report offer-describe the contents of the report and explain Under the Companies Act is required to prepare a set of accounts that give a true and fair view of its profit or loss for the year  and of its state of affairs at the year end. Woolworths Annual accounts include: Performance Summary Growth Plans Chairman’s Report Managing Director’s Report The Results in Brief Food, Liquor and Petrol General Merchandise Hotels Home Improvement Consumer Electronics Discontinued Operations Overheads, Expenses and Balance Sheet Capital Management and Outlook Board of Directors Directors’ Statutory Report Remuneration Report Auditor’s Independence Declaration Corporate Governance Statement Financial Report to Shareholders Shareholder Information For Woolworths Limited, It is a parent company due to it also owns other companies subsidiaries. Therefore, there are consolidated accounts in its annual report. There are many contents contained in Woolworths Limited Annual Report because Woolworths is the big company and also owns other companies subsidiaries which lead to many transactions occurred in the company. Therefore, I will explain some contents to give some idea. Managing Director’s Report: The directors’ report of a listed company is required to contain information that shareholders of the company would reasonably require to make an informed assessment of: †¢ the operations of the company reported on †¢ the financial position of that company †¢ the business strategies of that company and its prospects for future financial years (unless their inclusion would be unreasonably prejudicial) The report by the directors will identify the names of the directors and officers of the company, and is required to contain information about options including share options, executive options, indemnity and insurance. The directors’ report includes a remuneration report that must include a discussion of the board’s policy on remuneration and its relationship to company performance. The remuneration report includes information about the cost to the company of providing its directors and key management personnel with short-term employee benefits, post-employment benefits, other long-term employee benefits, termination benefits and share-based payment arrangements. For the managing director’s report of Woolworths reveal that Woolworths pleased to report that we are making significant progress against their goals. Also, for this financial year Woolworths pleased to report a solid increase in net profit after tax from continuing operations of 3.6% and by the end of FY12 Woolworths was Australia’s leading online retailer. These statement shows that they were achieve their goals and success during financial year 2012. Directors’ declaration The Directors declare that: (a) in the Directors’ opinion, there are reasonable grounds to believe that the Company will be able to pay its debts as and when they become due and payable; (b) in the Directors opinion, the attached financial statements are in compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards, as stated in Note 1 to the Financial Statements; (c) in the Directors’ opinion, the attached Financial Statements and notes thereto are in accordance with the Corporations Act 2001, including compliance with accounting standards and giving a true and fair view of the financial position and performance of the consolidated entity; and (d) the Directors have been given the declarations required by s.295A of the Corporations Act 2001. Examine the financial summaries for information about the fiscal condition of the company. Did the company show a profit? Yes, Woolworths show a profit  and for financial results net profit after tax from continuing operations increased 3.6 per cent to $2.18 billion on total Group sales from continuing operations of $55.1 billion, up 4.8 per cent. These results were affected by provisioning for the disposal of the Consumer Electronic business, which has been impacted in recent years by significant price deflation, around the world. On a one off basis, this reduced our after‑tax profits by 14.5% and earnings per share by 14.9%, compared to the previous year. What sorts of recommendations are made and what suggestions are made regarding business activities for the up-coming year? Business activities for the up-coming year: Leadership in food and liquor Act on Woolworths portfolio to maximize shareholder value Maintain track record of building new growth Woolworths expect further earnings growth in FY13, with net profit after tax from continuing operations expected to grow in the range of 3% ‑6% (on a normalised 52 week basis), subject to the uncertainties detailed above (note: FY13 will be a 53 week year). Section 2 Explain the following statement. â€Å"Ratio analysis can help in measuring business performance and setting objectives/goals†. Ratio Analysis is a form of Financial Statement Analysis that is used to obtain a quick indication of a firm’s financial performance in several key areas. The ratios are categorized as Short-term Solvency Ratios, Debt Management Ratios, Asset Management Ratios, Profitability Ratios, and Market Value Ratios. Also, ratio Analysis as a tool possesses several important features. The data, which are provided by financial statements, are readily available. The computation of ratios facilitates the comparison of firms which differ in size. Ratios can be used to compare a firm’s financial performance with industry averages. In addition, ratios can be used in a form of trend analysis to identify areas where performance has improved or deteriorated over time. However, ratios are not just a device used by accountants, but a useful tool that identifies strengths and weaknesses of a business and leads to questions about performance that  should result in action. Moreover, â€Å"ratios can be used to set performance goals. For instance, a business seeking to improve its cash flow position may do so by setting targets to reduce average debtors and inventory turnover† (Manage budgets and financial plans 2010). Understanding the relationship between these items and their impact on cash flow, gives greater control over the business and the ability to clearly communicate performance objectives.