About Tjx Assignment

1. List and describe the security controls in place within TJX Companies. Ans: When security upgrades are made available, it’s because they’re necessary, not because software developers have thought up some great new software gimmick. Hackers are able to bypass the old systems too easily, so better security is needed to keep the hackers out. TJX ignored the need for better e-security, and even neglected to install one particular upgrade they had purchased. 2. What management, organization, and technology factors contributed to these weaknesses? Ans: Management: While one may not think of it as a weakness, the management’s reluctance to report the stolen laptop and the contents of the hard drive contributed to the difficulty in finding the laptop before the data was compromised. Organizations: VA operations should have limited the data accessible to the employees to only the data needed in order to effectively do this job. Lack of promoting the sensitivity of the data led to a careless attitude regarding the protection of the data. Technological: At a minimum the data should have been encrypted and password protected. As a practical measure, the laptop should have been protected at the BIOS level if that sensitivity of data was contained. 3. What was the business impact of TJX’s data loss on TJX, consumers, and banks? Ans: TJX faces consumer and bank class action lawsuits over the exposure of as many as 100m customer records as the result of a security breach that lasted for two distinct six-month periods between 2003 and December 2006. Hackers broke into a system that stored data on credit card, debit card, cheque, and return details in an attack blamed on a poorly secured wireless network in one of its stores. Subsequent credit card frauds have been traced to data swiped as a result of these breaches, and a number of arrests have been made. 4. How effectively did TJX deal with these problems? Ans: Not well enough. The $40. 9 million fund for the banks won’t nearly cover he banks’ losses, and I see too little info in the report about what exactly TJX is doing to prevent this from happening again. I see money being thrown at the problem, but management doesn’t seem to have a clear picture of a real solution. 5. Who should be held liable for the losses caused by the use of fraudulent credit cards in this case? TJX? The banks issuing the credit cards? The consumers? Justify you answer. Ans: Obviously TJX is responsible – their negligent behavior that made them vulnerable to the attacks. The banks and consumers can’t be held responsible – especially the consumers! If consumers were held responsible for attacks like this, we’d do away with credit cards, keep our money under our mattresses, and go back to making our own clothes and food and entertaining ourselves by telling each other stories as people did centuries ago! Then where would the banks and credit card companies be? That’s probably extreme, but so is expecting a shopper to pay for a huge corporation’s negligence and a hacker’s crime.

Case Study Analysis Cost Of Capital At Ameritrade Finance Essay

Case Study Analysis Cost Of Capital At Ameritrade Finance Essay Capital Asset Pricing Model is a model that describes the relationship between risk and expected return  and  that is used in the pricing of risky securities. Description: Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) The general idea behind CAPM is that investors need to be compensated in two ways: time value of money  and risk. The time value of money is represented by the risk-free(rf) rate  in the formula and compensates the investors for placing money in any investment over a period of time. The other half of the formula represents risk and calculates the amount of compensation the investor needs for taking on  additional risk. This is calculated by taking a risk measure (beta)  that compares the returns of the asset to the market over a period of time and to the market premium (Rm-rf). The CAPM says that the expected return of a security or a portfolio equals the rate on a risk-free security plus a risk premium. If this expected return does not meet or beat the required retur n, then the investment should not be undertaken. The security market line plots the results of the CAPM for all different risks (betas). Using the CAPM model  and the following assumptions, we can compute the expected return of a stock in this CAPM example: â€Å"if the risk-free rate is  3%, the beta (risk measure) of the stock is 2 and the expected market return over the period is 10%, the stock is expected to return 17% (3%+2(10%-3%))†. CAPM has a lot of important consequences. For one thing it turns finding the efficient frontier into a doable task, because you only have to calculate the co-variances of every pair of classes, instead of every pair of everything. Another consequence is that CAPM implies that investing in individual stocks is pointless, because you can duplicate the reward and risk characteristics of any security just by using the right mix of cash with the appropriate asset class. This is why followers of MPT avoid stocks, and instead build portfolios out of low cost index funds. â€Å"Cap-M† looks at risk and rates of return and compares them to the overall stock market. If you use CAPM you have to assume that most investors want to avoid risk, (risk averse), and those who do take risks, expect to be rewarded. It also assumes that investors are â€Å"price takers† who can’t influence the price of assets or markets. With CAPM you assume that there are no transactional costs or taxation and assets and securities are divisible into small little packets. CAPM assumes that investors are not limited in their borrowing and lending under the risk free rate of interest. How to Calculate the Cost of Equity CAPM The cost of equity is the amount of compensation an investor requires to invest in an equity investment. The cost of equity is estimable is several ways, including the capital asset pricing model (CAPM). The formula for calculating the cost of equity using CAPM is the risk-free rate plus beta times the market r isk premium. Beta compares the risk of the asset to the market, so it is a risk that, even with diversification, will not go away. As an example, a company has a beta of 0.9, the risk-free rate is 1 percent and the expected return on the equity investment is 4 percent.

Canada's Prosperity at Risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Canada's Prosperity at Risk - Essay Example The country at the focal point of the study happens to be Canada. Canada is one of the most developed and richest countries in the world. The country is blessed rich natural resources and has a diverse and highly educated population. However, the country is going through a phase of change and facing certain challenges on various fronts which could reduce the prosperity of the nation. (Cowan, 2005). Based on in depth research it has been decided that the country faces prosperity challenges in the domain of infrastructure, innovation, demographics, natural resource, government regulation and politics. From an infrastructural point of view it is to be said that the cities of Canada are at the cross roads. The government of Canada does not have any strong agenda on the infrastructural commitments. From the perspective of innovation the prosperity of the country is threatened on three fronts such as the global competition, demographics and productivity. There is very little doubt over the fact that China has a population which is highly educated and skilled. But from a demographic perspective off late the country has been facing a problem of aging population. As mentioned before, Canada has been blessed with rich and large amount of natural resources. Such resources are used for the production of energy which also happens to be a major contributor to the overall GDP of the country. But the growing demand of power has been creating a misbalance in the ecosystem. Also another major problem faced by the country has been the fact the present government regulations are believed to be quite complex and lack robustness. On the political fore front there lie various political complexities especially in the domain of taxations. The present looks to critically analyze all the cause and effects of the challenges mentioned above and looks to propose probable recommendations to over the challenges (Henry, 2008). Cause and effect From the perspective of innovation one of the majo r challenges faced by the country is the transformation face of the global economy. The global economy is still looking to recover from the after effects of the 2008 recession. Also the economy is going through a transformation phase due to the rise of the emerging economies like china, India, Brazil, etc. This most certainly creates opportunities for the exporters and investors of the country. But the continuous expansion of information and technologies would lead to a high value knowledge network. As a result each and every Canadian enterprise is faced with new levels of intense competition. Just like some of the other developed countries one of the major problems faced by the country is of aging population. The increasing number of proportion of senior citizens would add to the demand of the demand of services in the public domain, especially health care. Also aging the population would mean that there would less number of working and taxpaying Canadians. However, the biggest cha llenge would come in the form of its effect on the labour market; which would be discussed later (Burgemeister, 2003). Also the innovation of the nation would depend upon the growth of the productivity. However, the recent performance of Canada leaves a lot of scope for improvement. Over the last decade or so the productivity grew by just 0.7 percent. This is far below as compared to other developed countries like USA if the rate of growth in productivity in the near future then the potential economic growth of the

Nursing Leadership and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nursing Leadership and Management - Essay Example Based on the premise that the reviewer understands how standards should be applied and that the nurse under review seeks to meet these and agrees to the process, then quality monitoring can occur. The process is designed to evaluate nursing services, quality of patient care, knowledge, skills and behaviors of nurses, against set standards. An example of this in practice could be something as simple as how a nurse relates to a patient on first meeting them. An open, friendly attitude, using appropriate language to inform or gather information, signposting and explaining what and why, allowing patient input and participation, all show that the nurse understands and uses the concept of therapeutic relationships. Peer review here would identify communication skills, history taking and record keeping, medical knowledge and care delivery and the assessment and feedback would then help the nurse to recognize strengths and areas for improvement. It would give ownership and responsibility for development, understanding of their own and colleagues' accountability and contribute to improvement in quality overall. Nurses would also complete self evaluation. Before using any method of peer review, all concerned should be consulted and involved in developing tools and processes. Nurses and reviewers need to have input in what, why, who and how peer reviews would be applied.Lower (2007) suggested that involvement and "Publicizing the standard for a designated period of time to allow for assimilation by the staff before it is utilized also may be helpful." All staff would then know what appraisal standards were and be prepared for reviews. They should also have some input into the choice of reviewer, who Lower suggests should be chosen six months ahead of the review, so they have time to get to know and observe the nurse consistently. This would make the process more relaxed and less threatening, as familiarity with the reviewer would be helpful. Though nurses might want to choose their reviewers, Lower suggests that one be picked by the nurse, the other by the manager to allow for objective assessment, yet giving control to the person to be reviewed. Further, the selection process that seemed to be fairest and to give dignity and control to staff, would be that of electing peer reviewers on an annual basis. This is an example of how nurses are given choice in selecting those of their peers whose judgement and competence they respect. In this way, less positive feedback would be more likely to be accepted and acted upon, without loss o f face or being demoralized. So design must cover what, who, when and how peer review is to be carried out, with staff input and agreement, thus ensuring nobody is threatened by loss of dignity in the process. What Kinds of Questions Do We Need To Ask in Order to Monitor Quality of Nursing Care Questions should be open, as in how, what, why, in order to elicit specific information, with no questions prompting yes/no answers. Lower (2007) states that in order to gather specific information, the following must always be included: List the three traits or behaviors you admire most about him/her Identify three major contributions to the group/unit/team List three areas you think need more work Identify a growth opportunity you think he/she would be

Banking on a Beard Award Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Banking on a Beard Award - Assignment Example She will not gain from the business because the business will start making profits at the second year. Therefore, she will lose $135,000 plus the 25 percent bonus if she quits. If she considers the chances of getting promoted after the second year, then she will be losing 202,500 after getting the 50 percent pay raise. Then during the second year, she will have started getting profits from his business. Assuming that the net profit if her business is a modest success is 20 percent in the second year, then she will make a total of $40,000 during the second year. Therefore, the opportunity cost of leaving her current job will have lessened by the second year. In the third year, her profits will increase to 25 percent which means that she will get a profit of $50,000 in the third yea assuming that her business is a modest success. If she is not promoted in the three years, Jennifer will still be making earning $135,000 every year. there is also a probability that she will be terminated in the first year if she does not get the promotion which is not certain because she is competing with three other colleagues. Recommendations I would advise Jennifer to quit her current job and pursue her dream of becoming a restaurateur. This is because she has a 40 percent probability of succeeding in business compared to retaining her position. Jennifer has a 30 percent likelihood of losing her job because after the first year she will be promoted, retained in her current position or fired. Considering these options, it is better to pursue the business option. Suppose her business is a huge success and makes 20 percent profit in the first year 40 percent in the second year and 70 percent in the third year, then Jennifer will make $40,000, $80000 and $140,000 respectively for the three years. This indicates that she will have started to make an equivalent of what she is earning every year in her job. This justifies the decision to quit her job because it is not even certain wheth er she will still be holding the position by the third year. rather than wait until she is terminated in order to pursue her passion, Jennifer should do it right away because then she is not under any pressure and she has already saved for the initiative. She has an advantage in that she is a chef and has adequate experience in the trade, which raises the probability of succeeding in the business. Her move is well calculated considering that she has a target market in mind, which will include small- and medium-sized business customers in addition to their families. Her employer is also supportive and will be willing to finance her if her business plan is viable. Conclusion Jennifer should quit her position and pursue her passion to become a restaurateur because according to the decision tree and the assumptions in profits, she will be making an equivalent of her annual wages in profits in her venture. She should also be motivated to quit her position because she is not guaranteed of the job as she has a 33 percent probability of getting a termination. Decision trees are significant tools of drawing a conclusion because they assist in clarifying the issues concerned and solve the predicament. In this case, the decision tree has assisted in calculation of the profits that Jennifer is likely to make while analyzing her future in her job in order to make a decision. Jennifer should thus forfeit her position and venture into business because she has a 40 percent probabili

Critically evaluate the significance of leadership as it relates to Assignment

Critically evaluate the significance of leadership as it relates to driving the culture of an organisation. To support your anal - Assignment Example Leadership is usually associated with motivation; the incentive theory suggests that the employee will increase their efficiency if they are offered incentives (Handy, 2007). However, certain theorists believed that employees are often driven by economic needs which are also known as rational assumptions (Handy, 2007). Management is a logical process which requires the emotional intelligence of the manager to handle the human resources of the organization. Leadership and Management are interrelated but cannot be used interchangeably and there are three dimensions of leadership which is needed for effective management which are planning, negotiation and rewarding. Managers are concerned with the achievement of targets; however leaders are concerned with fresh approaches of how to manage the employees of the organization through inspiration and motivation. Theories related to satisfaction of the worker are very limited; a satisfied worker may not work harder but he/ she tends to stay l onger in the existing organization (Handy, 2007). As per author Kotter, management is about dealing with the complexity of the problems whereas leadership is about coping with change and bringing order and consistency in the organization (Sadler, 2003). The difference between management and leadership was first defined by theorist James McGregnor in the year 1978 (Sadler, 2003). The theory laid emphasis on the difference between transactional and transformational leadership. Transactional leadership occurs when the manager takes the initiative in offering some form of satisfaction in return for something valued (Sadler, 2003). Managers who exhibit the transactional leadership skills are usually associated with ability to attain results and solve problems through proper planning, organizing, directing and controlling and work methodically within the structure and the boundary of the organization. Organizational culture and transformational leadership are interrelated and also has a s ignificant impact on the organizational effectiveness. Transformational leadership qualities lead to excellent performance of the employees which are beyond the expectations of the organization. As per authors Denison and Mishra, there are usually four cultural traits that are related positively with the organizational performance which are involvement, consistency, participation and normative integration (Xenikou and Simosi, 2006). Managers following transformational leadership skill promote an environment that helps in achievement of high goals. Transformational leadership is mainly concerned with the intellectual simulation, accomplishment, and individual consideration. In addition it was also proved that there are certain organizations which have certain group norms that help in promoting self actualization, participation in decision making, moral and social support, cooperation etc. The organizational culture theory as proposed by Cook and Rousseau suggests that culture is comp osed of the shared values of a social group acquired through socialization process and can be acquired through socialization process and exposure to variety of culture bearing elements (Xenikou and Simosi, 2006). These culture bearing element constitute of social interaction, employee behaviour and their performance.

DISCUSS THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE ROLE OF THE 'CITY' Essay

DISCUSS THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE ROLE OF THE 'CITY' ECONOMIES OF HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE IN RELATION TO THE REST OF THE ECONOMIES OF SOUTH EAST ASIA - Essay Example The Asian countries of India, China Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia are notable examples NICs and their dramatic successes in economic growth have often been referred to as the East Asian Miracle. Other Asian countries like China and India have also achieved successes in economic growth. The ‘economic miracle’ of these East Asian countries is however not exclusive to Asia as countries in the Americas like Chile, Brazil and Mexico have also achieved appreciably high growth rates in their economies and could thus be referred to as NICs as well. It must be said though the growth rates vary amongst all the NICs and as such some growths may be relatively higher compared to others in other NICs. Countries like China, India Singapore and Hong Kong however standout of the rest due to the rapid nature of their growth within a space of about 30 years. Also, the use of NICs is a matter of definition and as such a country like South Africa that was large ly secluded from the international economy due to its apartheid policies may now be categorised as an NIC by some, while others may classify it as a developed country. This essay will first conduct a generalised or panoramic view of the features that underlie the development experiences of NICs before undertaking a closer look at the experiences of selected NICs. It must be said that though the development experiences may be very varied, some common cardinal features can be seen in the experiences of all NICs. Most NICs were able to achieve high growth rates by instituting market reforms that favoured exports. (Hamilton 1987) There was also a strong emphasis on value added manufacturing that changed their economies from predominantly agrarian economies into industrial and manufacturing based economies. Increased capital investments from foreign and domestic sources played a key role in the development experiences of NICs and so