Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Accounting for Strategy and Management Control Essay

Accounting for Strategy and Management Control - Essay Example 888). In this paper, though, the context of â€Å"winner’s curse† is in the nature of cost underestimation leading to bids below actual costs in auctions for business contracts, such as construction projects. Winner’s curse refers to the loss incurred in winning a project in an auction, on a bid below actual cost. The chosen article is a well-written piece and has been published in at least one peer-reviewed academic journal. As with every study, however, there are aspects in which it may be improved upon, as well as those in which it excels. These points shall be discussed here, section by section. The introduction provides an overview of the organization of the paper, which is helpful to the reader. But the introduction is written like an abstract that immediately jumps to the conclusion, and does not elaborate on the contextual basis of the study. The reader has to peruse this section repeatedly to get an idea of the perspective of the research, something which the authors could have addressed by developing a comprehensive background to the problem that describes real world situations that the study finds application in. By allowing the reader to familiarize himself with the topic from the basis of past experiences or commonly encountered situations, the introduction would have provided the reader a better comprehension of the full implications of the study. The introduction also makes use of many terms which, while not entirely specialized or complicated, admits of specialized operational meanings as they are used in the study. For instance, the very use of â€Å"winner’s curse† is in the sense of sellers of goods and services in the auction and award of projects, not in the more general and commonplace sense as described in the Encyclopaedia of Operations Research & Management Science (see opening paragraph). While the

Saturday, February 8, 2020

The US and Arab-Israeli Diplomacy - 2 exam questions (4 pages each) Essay

The US and Arab-Israeli Diplomacy - 2 exam questions (4 pages each) - Essay Example Ambassadors to the various Middle Eastern countries. The Special Envoy will travel from country to country in the Middle East to achieve the American Agenda in the region. The United States’ position on the Israeli-Arab relations has always been important. The U.S. has backed Israel since Israel became a state. Support for Israel allows the U.S. an ally in the Middle East that has a similar democracy. Saudi Arabia is an U.S. ally, but since Saudi Arabia is a monarch Israel is a more favorable choice. Still the U.S. must not anger the majority of Arab nations in the Middle East, especially since the heavy U.S. military presence in Iraq and Afghanistan. The balance between doing what is right morally by promoting a democratic society and securing a good relationship with oil producing countries is the delicate balance an American Special Envoy must master. In order to achieve the balance of American interests, the Special Envoy has to negotiate with both the Israelis and Arabs. The United States Envoy to Israel must have special qualifications. Without the right qualification an envoy could harm not only Israeli-Arab relations, but harm U.S.-Israel-Arab relations at best and at worst plunge the whole region into a war. Qualifications all U.S. Envoys need are: Any Special Envoy appointed to Israel must address the Palestinian issue. Since Israel withdrew from Gaza, the Palestinians have elected Hamas to be Gaza’s leaders. Since Hamas has been recognized as the United States as a terrorist group, all talks are through the Palestinian National Authority. If Hamas would make concessions, the United States would consider opening talks through the Special Envoy. The recommended plan since 2001’s Mitchell Report for both Israel and Palestinians have been threefold: 2. Rebuilding of confidence in the Palestinian Authority (now the Palestinian National Authority). This