Memo regarding the current salary of the CEO

Memo regarding the current salary of the CEO The main issue presented within the memo involves the current salary of the present CEO (James) and whether it is in line with standard salaries for CEOs within companies of the same size and within the same market as PDQ.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Memo regarding the current salary of the CEO specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The author of the memo contends that based on the performance of the company, the current average salary rate for CEOs within the industry which is $300,000 and the supposed fact that workers at the company dislike James that replacing the current CEO is a matter of great urgency given that his lackluster performance and high salary are detrimental towards the growth and performance of the company. Reasons given The CEO’s salary is too high During his tenure the company has experience significant drops in performance Workers at the company supposedly do not like him He is rich, thus he would not feel the need to work hard He has a low level of performance In order to make the company better a new CEO would be needed Ambiguous Phrases There are several ambiguous phrases that piqued my interest within the memo. The first emphasized the current wealth of the CEO as detrimental towards his performance. The second emphasized on the need to replace him despite the lack of sufficient evidence and third involved an argument involving incentivized performance and compensation which was highly ambiguous given that various studies state otherwise. Descriptive Assumptions The memo explains that it is usually the case that the average salary for a CEO within a company of PDQs size is $300,000 and that due to the financial crisis most companies have actually frozen or cut back on CEO salaries due to lower profits. While this particular aspect of the memo is valid, the memo takes a strange turn stating that James must be fired on the basis of his supposedly lackluster perfo rmance (which the memo does not present sufficient evidence on), the fact that he is wealthy and would supposedly not work for the best interests of the company (similarly has no basis), the fact that the workers at the company supposedly dislike him (has not been confirmed with verifiable facts from the union) and on the fact that he has a high salary which is not commensurate with industry standards (considering the fact that it was based on a contract it should not be an issue). Fallacies in Reasoning While the memo was quite extensive in its use of a variety of statistics in order to properly frame its arguments, it made several assumptions that lacked sufficient evidence to actually prove to be accurate. First off, towards the end of the memo the author makes the following assumption regarding salaries and compensation: everyone in the Human Resources field knows that â€Å"pay for performance† is the most effective compensation method. The creation of this particular st atement is versed in such a way so as to connote a certain degree of factual appropriateness to what was stated. This means that it was created to make people assume that pay for performance is the most effective method by stating that it was a well known practice within the field of human resources.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In reality studies such as those by Goh Gupta (2010) have shown that pay for performance is actually one of the least effective methods of compensation (Goh Gupta, 2010). This finding has been backed up by several other studies and shows that the author of the memo was presenting an assumption as a fact. Examining the Evidence The author of the memo connects the failing performance of the company with the supposedly lackluster performance of the CEO. This particular argument in light of the circumstance is rather strange given the fact that the drop in company performance coincides with the 2008 financial crisis which resulted in considerable performance drops for nearly all corporations within the U.S. The memo fails to show any solid proof of corporate mismanagement by the CEO and merely presents an assumption based on data which has been proven to be outside of the control of the CEO. Not only that, it was stated early on that the increase in the CEOs salary was based on a pre-negotiated contract which should void any arguments regarding subsequent salary increases. While there was sufficient evidence to justify the lowering of the CEOs salary given the financial crisis, there is insufficient evidence to justify firing him. Based on an evaluation of the presented evidence, it can be seen that it is severely lacking in terms of actually showing that the current CEO of the company should be fired and is indicative of a lack of sufficient foresight and research into the performance of the CEO and largely consists of pure speculation and assumptions. Rival Causes The memo in certain sections elaborates on the need to replace the CEO with someone that is more hardworking and willing to do what is necessary. This creates the idea that the present CEO is not hardworking and is in fact lazy. This is rather ambiguous given the fact that the author of the memo fails to show any solid evidence regarding this particular fact and is evidence of a certain dislike by the author for the CEO given that he continually emphasizes firing James. Deceptive Statistics The statistics are definitely deceptive since the CEO had pre-negotiated salary increases that were not dependent on company performance. Not only that, the drop in company performance was not due to mismanagement but was a direct result of the financial crisis. The CEO should actually be commended for ensuring that the companys performance loss was kept to a minimum. Information that has been omitted The most obvious information that has been om itted is whether or not the CEO has been doing a good job despite the adverse circumstances that the company finds itself in as a result of the financial crisis.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Memo regarding the current salary of the CEO specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More There is no information whatsoever indicating factors relevant to what initiatives he has successfully employed, what cost savings measures were carried out during his tenure, how has he helped to reduce the losses of the company and how has he responded to the adverse market situation. All of this information is relevant given the arguments being presented by the author but it is in fact missing which creates a certain degree of ambiguity regarding the fairness of the way in which the CEO is being portrayed. Reasonable Conclusion that can be Derived Based on the way in which the memo was created which emphasized on the supposedly lackluster perform ance of the CEO without sufficient evidence and the way in which the arguments were formulated to emphasize several negative qualities about the CEO and the need to fire him despite the fact that this was not the original intent of memo shows that the Senior HR manager has negative feelings about James and is actively attempting to have him removed despite the insufficient evidence proving the CEO’s inadequacy. Reference List Goh, L., Gupta, A. (2010). Executive Compensation, Compensation Consultants, and Shopping for Opinion: Evidence from the United Kingdom. Journal Of  Accounting, Auditing Finance, 25(4), 607-643.

The Power of Pythons String Templates

The Power of Pythons String Templates Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming language. It is easy to learn because its syntax emphasizes readability, which reduces the expense of program maintenance. Many programmers love working with Python because- without the compilation step- testing and debugging go quickly.​ Python Web Templating Templating, especially web templating, represents data in forms usually intended to be readable by  a viewer. The simplest form of a templating engine substitutes values into the template to produce the output.   Aside from the string constants and the deprecated string functions, which moved to string methods, Pythons string module also includes string templates. The template itself is a class that receives a string as its argument. The object instantiated from that class is called a template string object. Template strings were first introduced in Python 2.4. Where string formatting operators used the percentage sign for substitutions, the template object uses dollar signs. $$ is an escape sequence; it is replaced with a single $.$identifier names a substitution placeholder matching a mapping key of identifier. By default, identifier must spell a Python identifier. The first non-identifier character after the $ character terminates this placeholder specification.${identifier} is equivalent to $identifier. It is required when valid identifier characters follow the placeholder but are not part of the placeholder, such as ${noun}ification. Outside of these uses of the dollar sign, any appearance of $ causes a ValueError to be raised. The methods available through template strings are as follows: Class string. Template(template): The constructor takes a single argument, which is the template string.Substitute(mapping, **keywords): Method that substitutes the string values (mapping) for the template string values. Mapping is a dictionary-like object, and its values may be accessed as a dictionary. If the keywords argument is used, it represents placeholders. Where both mapping and keywords are used, the latter takes precedence. If a placeholder is missing from mapping or keywords, a KeyError is thrown.Safe_substitute(mapping, **keywords): Functions similarly to substitute(). However, if a placeholder is missing from mapping or keywords, the original placeholder is used by default, thus avoiding the KeyError. Also, any occurrence of $ returns a dollar sign. Template objects also have one publicly available attribute: Template is the object passed to the constructors template argument. While read-only access is not enforced, it is best not to change this attribute in your program. The sample shell session below serves to illustrate template string objects. from string import Template s Template($when, $who $action $what.) s.substitute(whenIn the summer, whoJohn, actiondrinks, whaticed tea) In the summer, John drinks iced tea. s.substitute(whenAt night, whoJean, actioneats, whatpopcorn) At night, Jean eats popcorn. s.template $when, $who $action $what. d dict(whenin the summer) Template($who $action $what $when).safe_substitute(d) $who $action $what in the summer

1.Its not just about the fuel - The challenges of sustainability Essay

1.Its not just about the fuel - The challenges of sustainability facing the car industry - Essay Example Governments are offering incentives in order to propagate sustainability goals. However, there has been a shift towards outsourcing manufacturing to developing economies from developed ones. This implies that competition is rife in the automobile industry. Additionally, this model stretches the supply chain across geographies, thus increasing greenhouse gas emissions in production. Sustainability goals may be perceived negatively by auto investors, who may think of them as additional expenditures. Engineering skills are dwindling in the developed world with several innovation decisions being made in outsourcing nations; regrettably, most are not committed to sustainability. Tax regimes and complex human resource systems may be a force to reckon with in the sustainability agenda. Small and medium enterprises are also involved in the supply chain, especially those which provide small automotive parts. Some of them find it difficult to access finance for their work. Incentives for research and development especially with regard to collaboration with other parties may be difficult. Certain governments have led the way in supporting automobile manufacturers and consumers in making sustainable car choices. Consumers are also learning about their role in enhancing intelligent mobility, as environmental concerns do not just end at manufacturing. Several manufacturers are now prioritising environmental issues in production. A number of them want to improve their internal combustion engines. This ensures that waste recovery takes place in production. Additionally, they facilitate the integration of electric machines and combustion engines, thus minimising utility. Environmental issues have also led to innovation in enhancing the energy storage of automobiles and the material production of those items. Lightweight manufacture of products is becoming a key manufacturing goal. However, the