Three ways to make an impact with numbers

Three ways to make an impact with numbers How to make an impact with numbers Numbers can play a crucial role in many of your documents at work. But beware of the trap of thinking that data can speak for itself. You need to do that part. Figures can back up your claims with evidence and help draw attention to your most important facts, trends and comparisons. If what youre writing about is quite dry, theres usually a statistic that will grab your readers attention. Unfortunately, numbers can also have the opposite effect. If they’re poorly explained, they’ll slow your reader to a crawl as they try to work out exactly what youre saying. You risk losing the reader altogether in a sea of context-free figures – and statistics that arent related to their concerns will be no sooner read than forgotten. But there are ways that you can make the most of your figures – and your research – that were going to explore here. Remember these three things and youll be sure to give your numbers real impact. 1. Frame your statistics to show their significance A well-written statistic can capture your reader’s attention by itself. Heres a widely quoted example that dates back to 2007: One in every  £7 spent in retail (in the UK) is spent in Tesco. Its an arresting statistic. But what made it so popular? Lets start with some alternative ways of saying the same thing. Simply talking about the raw numbers of Tescos sales figures wouldnt have had nearly the same effect: Tescos retail sales totalled  £35.6 billion. This won’t mean anything to the average person – you could change the number to  £350.6 billion or  £3.56 billion and many people would accept it as true. (And, more than that, not really know how much they should care.) In other words, without any context, 35.6 billion is just a very large number. Putting the number in context is what starts to give it meaning: Tesco accounted for  £35.6 billion of the  £303.6 billion spent in retail sales in the UK. This gives you a sense of Tesco being a major player in the market. We understand this better now because we have a frame of reference – the overall size of the retail market. But, the numbers are still not framed in a way that most people will directly relate to. After all, most of us dont deal with the retail market – its an abstraction. On top of that, extremely large numbers are hard to understand intuitively. The majority of us do, however, spend money on products and fuel. Saying One in every  £7 spent in retail is spent in Tesco turns this statistic into the very familiar context of the coins and notes in our wallets. At the same time, the problem of talking about big, difficult-to-grasp numbers disappears. Finding your winning examples So how do you do the same thing? As ever, the most important person to consider is your reader. So profile them. By asking what your reader knows and wants, you can more easily set numbers into the appropriate context. For example, lets take these basic statistics: According to data from the Land Registry, house prices in East Sussex rose by over  £18,000 between February 2015 and February 2016. This means that the average home in East Sussex now sells for over  £214,000. The same statistics have different implications depending on whom youre writing for. If you were writing for someone interested in buying a house, you might compare this to the national average house prices. Whereas, if you were writing a report on the cost of living, you could compare this to the median wage in East Sussex. 2. Watch out for unfamiliar units of measurement It’s easy to think of numbers as somehow fundamentally different from words. Of course, in your work documents, they’re alike in one key respect: they both have to make sense to your readers. Whatever specialist area you work in and write about, you always need to be aware of what technical language and jargon might need explaining along the way – and numbers are a magnet for specialist terms. Each domain has its own measures that are widely understood within the field, but widely unintelligible to anyone outside it – from economists measuring Terms of Trade to consultants looking at Net Promoter Score feedback. You can reduce the chances of confusing your readers by thinking about them before you start writing. Do they work in the same field? Do they share your terminology? Are they likely to understand the significance of the measurements? Again, profiling your reader is vital. Youll probably find that, with a little thought, you already have a pretty good idea of what your readers will and wont understand. And if youre still uncertain, try giving a draft of your document to your reader – or to someone you think is similar to them in terms of background knowledge. See if they can understand your technical terms and measurements. If they have trouble, youll either need to explain your terms more clearly or think of a way of rewriting what youre saying in a way that doesnt involve them. 3. Work smart with tables and charts There are three main ways of presenting numbers in your documents: text, tables and charts. These options can complement each other, rather than being strict alternatives. However, in most situations, you will only need either a chart or a table – both is usually overkill. So which should you use? If you need to report lots of precise figures for reference, its better to put them in a table. This saves you from having to write long, hard-to-follow sentences containing all of your values. (Remember too that if most of your readers wont need access to your data, you can always put tables in an appendix rather than in your main document.) Charts and graphs are usually better for showing detailed relationships, relative proportions and trends – but remember that your readers wont be able to read off precise figures. Whichever you use, just including charts, graphs and tables isnt enough. Its very important to interpret them in your text. So always remember to draw out the main implications that are relevant to your reader. For tables, draw out typical values if you want to show a general relationship, or exceptional values if you want to draw attention to a particular figure. For example: Every year, fewer people are using Internet Explorer. Table 1 shows how Internet Explorers usage share has plummeted from 66 per cent in 2009, to just 16 per cent in 2016. For graphs and charts, describe the size and kind of overall trend that youre showing. For example, a graph might show a trough in sales over Christmas or a fluctuating number of support tickets. (For more ways to describe trends, click here.) When youve interpreted graphs and tables well, your reader should be able to understand what they show – and the significance of it – just by reading the text. Putting your interpretation of the graphs or charts data into the body of your text also means you can bring your readers attention to the figures at the relevant point in your argument. Your reader can then test your conclusions by looking at the data for themselves. Keeping your numbers working Although you might think of words and numbers as different languages, in business writing success lies in seeing what the two have in common. Theyre both there to help you achieve the aims and objectives you have for your document – and, ultimately, to meet the needs of your reader. As with all writing, the key to getting your message across is keeping the needs and knowledge of your reader in mind as you write. Do that, and you can be confident that you’ll be making your numbers and research count. Image credit: Jason Salmon / Shutterstock

Analysis of Section 2-204 of the Uniform Contract Code Assignment

Analysis of Section 2-204 of the Uniform Contract Code - Assignment Example The offer has to be accepted and this acceptance has to be communicated to the other party. The acceptance has to be with respect to a particular consideration. Such consideration has to be in respect to the contract which is formed. The consideration is the purpose behind which every contract is formed. After the acceptance and the communication of the same, the contract starts to exist. Purpose and Function of Uniform Commercial Code: â€Å"The Uniform Commercial Code (UCC), a comprehensive code addressing most aspects of commercial law, is generally viewed as one of the most important developments in American law.† â€Å"This body of law, created by a private author, aimed to create a uniform scheme applicable to the sale of goods and commercial transactions. The UCC applies to the sales of goods and commercial transactions. The sales of goods involve the buying and selling of tangible items, such as boxes of a product. Commercial transactions include primarily banking tra nsactions and are considered debt instruments.† Understanding from the above notions with respect to the Uniform Commercial Code, we can ascertain that the Uniform Commercial Code governs and manages all the contracts formed within the different territories of the United States of America. The Uniform Commercial Code basically creates a uniform scheme and system for all the contracts which are formed in the United States of America. The Uniform Commercial Code, therefore, is a procedural and a substantive law which overlooks the affairs of all the contractual obligations taken forwards in the realm of the contract law in the United States of America. Contract of Sale: In order to understand the contract of sale, here is an example which shall help explain the infer functioning and the working of the contract for sale. Don, who is a shopkeeper, has an Apple showroom. He is running the Apple showroom in Oklahoma and manages all the Apple products.  Ã‚  

Which of the following documents (Lee's Resolution, Voting Rights Act Essay

Which of the following documents (Lee's Resolution, Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Declaration of Independence) enforce Civil Rights and which enforce Civil Liberties - Essay Example Hence, the Lee’s resolution can be termed as an enforcer of Civil Liberties, because its objective was to provide the American Colonies independence from British Empire. African Americans in the South were not allowed to vote prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. This act was a result of continuous public protests and dialogue from the Black community, who demanded political and civil equality in America. This is why it can be said that this act enforced civil rights because it â€Å"expanded voting rights for non-English speaking Americans† (Hines, "Forty-Seven Years After the Voter Rights Act, Blacks are Still Disenfranchised"). President Lyndon B. Johnson presented the Voting Rights Bill in March 1965, which was turned into a law on 6th August 1965. This was an official statement adopted by the Continental Congress on 4th July, 1776, in response to the Lee’s Resolution. With this document of independence, 13 American colonies were formally granted independence from the allegiance of British Empire and the tyrant government of King George III. It remains one of the most memorable and cherished moments in America’s political history, and 4th July is now celebrated as the Independence Day in USA. Its draft was composed by Thomas Jefferson. Therefore, this document could be referred to as an enforcer of civil liberties since it provided liberation to the American colonies fighting for independence from the British regime. Hines, Debbie. "Forty-Seven Years After the Voter Rights Act, Blacks are Still Disenfranchised." Legal Speaks. Vanstudios. 5 Aug. 2012. Web. 22 Sep. 2012.

My Skills and Talents Essay Example for Free

My Skills and Talents Essay Listening to advice from others will play an important part as it helps to get an outside point of view. It could save me from making decisions which may not be in the best interest of my business, as well as allowing me to use the advice I have been given to improve on any problems I may have or ways to bring more customers. If I were to stick to my own ideas all the time then and follow them through I could end up with a big loss if something goes wrong. Being persuasive is important in a business as it would allow me to convince people so buy/sell certain things. I may feel I am paying too much for my stock in that case I can try and convince my supplier to give me a better deal possibly allowing me to buy more. Being persuasive my also help if there is any completion and I can try and find out what their business plan is and then find a way to attract more customers then them. One way to go about this is to be friendly and to just really try and get the information you are looking for or convince people to give me what I am looking for. I need to be pretty ill before I take time off. No This can be positive or negative, if I am not feeling very well I can not work as hard as I normally would or I could cause further problems for my self if the illness does not go away. On the other hand taking time off work every time I feel a bit sick will end up causing a larger work load for my return and a loss of sales for that day. I must make sure to only take time off work when it is 100% necessary so as to avoid increasing my work load for the day in which I return back to work. I will be looking at all of my skills and talents which I could use to affect my business. This will allow me to see the problems and advantages each of them will cause to my future business, after this I will then look at situations in which they can be used to aid me with my business and for solutions for the problems that they may cause. This skill can aid me with my business as you learn to get along with others and how to work as a team, as playing doubles requires very good communication in this particular sport. This can aid me in my business as I know how to work with others and communicate with them, it will allow me to hopefully get alone with my employees and communicate with them, it also allows for a company team for example which would help build a bond between me and my employees. On the other side it could have negative affects on me and my business because I may spend too much time focused on playing or arrange to go play a game when I should be concentrating on work that I have to do, as a result it may lead to work being done late or not up to a certain standard. It may also cause me to be tired when going into work if I went to play a game late in the night so during that day I wont be as focused as normal and it will cause my work to suffer. To avoid these problems I should always make sure that my work is done before I decide to make time recreational activates and to make sure I get to sleep at a certain time everyday so as to avoid being tired during work. Good knowledge of Microsoft Office programs. This an important skill as it is needed to run a business, knowing how to use programs such and word, excel, PowerPoint are needed to make presentations send letters and crate accounts. I can also teach my employees how to use these programs so I can delegate work onto them if I feel I have too much work to do. The negative side to this is that if I teach another of my employees these skills and them leave them with work that needs to be done they may run into difficulties thus resulting in work not being done properly or being done late, it also takes a lot of time to teach someone full use of these programs time of which I may not have enough of. To make sure I do not come across these problems I should make sure I only give my employees work which I know they can get done in time and properly, and I should also make sure I have time to teach them how to do new things with these programs as sometimes it may just be faster if I just do it myself and delegate something know they can do upon them as this will give them a sense of responsibility and possibly motivate them to learn other skills on their own. I like to keep up to date with new technology. This is an advantage as knowing the new technology out there is important for the business to survive, as most of them time it allows the business to achieve greater economies of scale and become more efficient. They also may be able to carry out certain tasks which in turn will allow me to save money by replacing employees whose jobs these new machines take over. The down side there is the risk of these now technologies do not work out as expected or there are problems with them which cannot be solved easily thus resulting in a large loss for my business. To make sure these problems occur I can look into new machinery to make sure no problems can occur that could lead to problems for me and my business. I enjoy talking and meeting with new people. These very important as I will have to handle customers, it will also help me communicating with my employees old and new as this is needed to get work done and can help with getting new idea for my business which could allow me to improve. The downside is some people may find I come across to strong and this may push them away or not want to speak at all. To avoid this I must make sure that I know when someone is willing to be willing to speak and when they rather be left to themselves and not be bothered by others.

Essay --

Colin Stremlau Arntz English 9th 3rd period December 17, 2013 Abortion – Why It’s Wrong â€Å"The greatest destroyer of peace is abortion because if a mother can kill her own child, what is left for me to kill you and you to kill me? There is nothing in between.† -Mother Teresa Have you ever realized how precious life is? Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you were never born? Some babies don't get to experience life because of abortion. Abortion isn't an ethical way for abandoning a baby nor is it fair to our community, its killing innocent people. Several babies have died from abortion and more will continue to do so because people support the pro-choice movement. Pro-choice isn't ethical because it's against religion, morality, and can be emotionally damaging. Abortion doesn't benefit the baby or the woman. Some people believe that life starts after birth, but it doesn't. All unborn babies are people; we must realize this and stop murdering defenseless babies. Abortion is a selfish act and it occurs very often. There are other solutions and it's ver...

Multinational enterprises and their CSR initiatives in Nigerian oil sector

Abstract Nigeria is a country which is endowed with considerable energy reserves. The oil and gas reserves found are some of the largest in the entire world. Multinational companies have been involved in the exploration and transportation of crude oil and gas in the country. The Niger delta region is the main area where the country’s rich energy reserves are found. The conduct of multinational enterprises in the region has been criticized because of allegations that corruption, bribery, environmental mismanagement, environmental contamination, and human rights abuses are being perpetrated towards indigenous communities. As a consequence, multinational enterprises have engaged in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in order to create a better image while serving the needs of local communities. Introduction Nigeria is one of the leading producers of oil and gas in the world. It has oil reserves that are estimated to be around 35 billion barrels while it has 5 trillion cubic meters of gas reserves (Amaeshi et al, 2006: p. 67). Nigeria is a country that has more than 250 ethnic groups with over 500 languages being spoken in the country. Despite its huge energy reserves, the country remains poor with over two thirds of the people living in abject poverty. A total of six multinational organizations are operating in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. These companies are the Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron, Exxon-Mobil, Agip, Total, and Texaco. The Niger Delta region is the main area where the oil exploration and production is being carried out by foreign enterprises (Beauchamp, 2003: p. 92). These foreign enterprises have been criticized for failing to take adequate measures that can alleviate the poverty and suffering of indigenous communities. There have been accusations of corruption, mismanage ment, environmental degradation, oil spills, contaminated water, and other problems in the region. As a consequence, there have been attempts by multinational enterprises to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the region. However, the existing literature does not comment upon the different CSR practices of MNCs in Nigeria with respect to the local stakeholders and communities. This study will seek to investigate and assess the efficacy of the ethical practices by the multinational enterprises as they related to the empowerment and betterment of indigenous communities. Research Question The following research questions will be answered in this dissertation: What are the CSR strategies of multinational enterprises in Nigeria What are the practical implications of CSR as it relates to improving the standards of living for local communities Is CSR a genuine attempt to empower communities or is it a marketing strategy by multinationals Research Objectives To study the similarities and differences of the CSR initiatives implemented by multinational enterprises in Nigeria To determine the efficacy of CSR initiatives with respect to community empowerment and development To study whether multinational enterprises in the Nigerian oil sector are genuinely concerned about empowering communities or such initiatives are simply marketing tools to improver the image of multinational enterprises Literature Review Corporate social responsibility is a term used to denote the actions and policies implemented by business organizations that are in accordance with ethical and legal principles. The goal of organizations is to implement self-regulation and align it with the overall business model. The goal is to ensure that organizations can integrate ethics into their business model (Carroll, 2006: p. 76). A series of high profile business scandals in the past decades has meant that governments are now seeking to regulate the business environment through legislation that promotes transparency and accountability. Additionally, the customer segments are highly conscious about the business activities of enterprises because the latter must be able to demonstrate ethical behaviors in accordance with their actions. Alternatively, organizations are seeking to reduce the costs of complying with legislation by implementing CSR initiatives so that they can achieve efficiency and effectiveness. A number of theoretical approaches towards CSR have been developed in order to help organizations take responsibility for their actions while encouraging positive impact upon the environment, consumers, employees, and other key stakeholders. Corporate philanthropy is a CSR theoretical model which calls for providing monetary donations and aid to different communities. Such donations can come in specific areas like social welfare, environment, housing, health, and others (Carroll, 2006: p. 71). The limitations of such a model are that it does not address the root causes of poverty and other problems in local communities. Another theory is that CSR should be combined with the overall business strategy. This theory seeks to help local communities by recruiting locals and training them so that they can upgrade their skills. Enterprises create support for local industries through mutually beneficial relationships. Another theory focuses on creating shared value because it believes that social welfare is directly linked with business success. It recommends organizations to focus on sustainable development as well as a skilled workforce so that efficiency can be attained (Carroll, 2006: p. 79). There is still a gap in the existing literature as to whether CSR can really bring positive benefits to local communities and other key stakeholders. The Nigerian oil sector has been dominated by multinationals which have been accused of environmental degradation, corruption, human rights violations, and other abuses. As a consequence, they have sought to improve this by focusing on corporate social responsibility initiatives. Some studies argue that CSR is a process which involves organizations taking responsibility for their actions and ensuring that they can create a positive impact through their activities on th e environment (Blunt & Richard, 2006: p. 169). Other studies have disputed this as they argue that organizations operate on the principle of profit maximization. Research Methodology Qualitative research has been selected for this dissertation because it helps to investigate the reasons behind any particular phenomenon. This is suitable for this dissertation because the aim is to study corporate social responsibility and its efficacy in Nigeria. Quantitative research has not been selected because there is no need for statistics and figures in this dissertation. The data will be collected from primary and secondary sources. Primary data will be collected through a survey that will be sent to top managers of multinational companies working in the Nigerian energy sector. The secondary data will be collected through studies that focus on CSR and its efficacy. References Amaeshi, K, Adi, B, Ogbechie, C & Amao, O. (2006) †Corporate Social Responsibility in Nigeria: Western Mimicry or Indigenous Influences?†. No. 39-2006, ICCSR Research Paper Series – ISSN 1479 – 5124, The University of Nottingham. Beauchamp, T. (2003) â€Å"Case studies in Business, Society and Ethics†. 5th ed†. Pearson, Prentice Hall. Blunt, P, Jones, M & Richard , D. (2006) â€Å"Managing organizations in Africa†. Walter de Gruyter, pp.169-171. Carroll, A. (2006) â€Å"The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility: Toward the Moral Management of Organizational Stakeholders†. Business Horizons, July-August 1991.

What Was Ujamaa and How Did It Affect Tanzania

Ujamaa, the Swahili word for extended family, was a social and economic policy developed and implemented in Tanzania by president Julius Kambarage Nyerere (1922–1999) between 1964 and 1985. Based on the idea of collective farming and the villagization of the countryside, ujamaa also called for the nationalization of banks and industry and an increased level of self-reliance at both an individual and national level. Nyereres Plan Nyerere argued that urbanization, which had been brought about by European colonialism and was economically driven by wage labor, had disrupted the traditional pre-colonial rural African society. He believed that it was possible for his government to recreate precolonial traditions in Tanzania and, in turn, re-establish a traditional level of mutual respect and return the people to settled, moral ways of life. The main way to do that, he said, was to move people out of the urban cities like the capital Dar es Salaam and into newly created villages dotting the rural countryside. The idea for collective rural agriculture seemed like a sound idea—Nyereres government could afford to provide equipment, facilities, and material to a rural population if they were brought together in nucleated settlements, each of around 250 families. Establishing new groups of rural populations also made the distribution of fertilizer and seed easier, and it would be possible to provide a good level of education to the population as well. Villagization was seen as a way to overcome the problems of tribalization—a plague which beset other newly independent African countries that drove people to separate into tribes based on ancient identities. Nyerere set out his policy in the Arusha Declaration of Feb. 5, 1967. The process started slowly and was voluntary at first, but by the end of the 1960s, there were only 800 or so collective settlements. In the 1970s, Nyereres reign became more oppressive, as he began to force people to leave the cities and move to the collective villages. By the end of the 1970s, there were over 2,500 of these villages: but things werent going well in them. Weaknesses Ujamaa was intended to recreate nuclear families and engage the small communities in an economy of affection by tapping into the traditional African attitudes, while at the same time introducing essential services and modern technological innovations for the rural population that was now the majority. But traditional ideals of how families operated no longer matched the reality of the Tanzanians. The traditional devoted female domestic guardian of the family rooted in the village was contrary to the actual lifestyles of women—and maybe the ideal never had worked. Instead, women moved in and out of working and raising children throughout their lives, embracing diversification and flexibility to provide personal security. At the same time, although young men complied with the official orders and moved to the rural communities, they rejected the traditional models and distanced themselves from the older generation of male leaders within their family. According to a 2014 survey of people living in Dar es Salaam, villagization did not provide enough economic incentive to people who had been used to wage labor. They found themselves needing to involve themselves ever more deeply in the urban/wage economy. Ironically, Ujamaa villagers resisted engaging in communal life and withdrew from subsistence and commercial agriculture, while urban residents chose to live in the cities and practice urban agriculture. Failure of Ujamaa Nyereres socialist outlook required Tanzanias leaders to reject capitalism and all its trimmings, showing restraint over salaries and other perks. But as the policy was rejected by a significant fraction of the population, the main foundation of ujamaa, villagization, failed. Productivity was supposed to be increased through collectivization; instead, it fell to less than 50% of what had been achieved on independent farms. Toward the end of Nyereres rule, Tanzania had become one of Africas poorest countries, dependent on international aid. Ujamaa was brought to an end in 1985 when Nyerere stepped down from the presidency in favor of Ali Hassan Mwinyi. Pros of Ujamaa Created a high literacy rateHalved infant mortality through access to medical facilities and educationUnited Tanzanians across ethnic linesLeft Tanzania untouched by the tribal and political tensions that affected the rest of Africa Cons of Ujamaa Transportation networks declined drastically through neglectIndustry and banking were crippledLeft the country dependent on international aid Sources Fouà ©rà ©, Marie-Aude. Julius Nyerere, Ujamaa, and Political Morality in Contemporary Tanzania. African Studies Review 57.1 (2014): 1–24. Print.Lal, Priya. Militants, Mothers, and the National Family: Ujamaa, Gender, and Rural Development in Postcolonial Tanzania. The Journal of African History 51.1 (2010): 1–20. Print. 500 500 500Owens, Geoffrey Ross. From Collective Villages to Private Ownership: Ujamaa, . Journal of Anthropological Research 70.2 (2014): 207–31. Print.Tamaa, and the Postsocialist Transformation of Peri-Urban Dar Es Salaam, 1970–1990Sheikheldin, Gussai H. Ujamaa: Planning and Managing Development Schemes in Africa, Tanzania as a Case Study. Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies 8.1 (2014): 78–96. Print.