The Ways Of The Bookstore Essay Research free essay sample

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A Visit to Zoo Free Essays

A Visit to the Zoo Last Sunday it was shady. I, alongside my companions visited the zoo. As we arrived at the fundamental door of the zoo, we saw an immense group. We will compose a custom paper test on A Visit to Zoo or on the other hand any comparable point just for you Request Now Some were purchasing, entrance tickets, some were tattling and visiting while others were unwinding under the obscure trees. We entered the zoological nurseries and ca me over an excellent lake, where some water-flying creatures, similar to ducks, were swimming. Seeing the white ducks on the smooth surface of water is an enchanting sight. As we moved further, we went to the walled in area where winged creatures were kept. They ran from sparrows, hawks and parrots to pigeons of different hues. The fowls were trilling. It was charming music. We delighted in it without a doubt. In the following nook were kept lions and panthers, tigers and tigresses, whose thunders were stunning. As we moved toward the net, a lion surged towards us and we were unnerved. Their furious looks were startling. In the wake of seeing this, we ran over a nursery having stags, exceptionally shrewd and lovely. In one of the corners, monkeys were hopping. Their stunts and tricks were exceptionally satisfying. A few people tossed peanuts to them and they promptly bounced down the trees to eat them. Numerous kids were making faces at them. Our next end was at an aquarium wherein we were generally intrigued. An enormous number of fishes were kept there. There were fish of numerous species and hues. To see them squirming in water was actually a magnificent display. There were numerous other sea-going creatures. Just by the side of this walled in area we went over polar bears, which looked miserable and abandoned. The dark bear’s nook pulled in a mammoth social affair. The bear was playing numerous stunts which excited the onlookers. A few people offered him eatables which he swallowed without a moment's delay. The zoological parks are tremendous to the point that it is extremely hard to portray all the confines and fenced in areas completely. In the wake of taking a total round of the zoo, we loose for quite a while in a cool and excellent nursery close by. The scent of the blossoms was immensely inebriating. At that point we had tidbits and beverages, which revived us definitely. It was evening and the sun was setting. We came out of the zoo like numerous different guests. We boarded the transport while throwing our last and waiting gander at the zoo, which is encircled on one side by the old however magnificent mass of the old stronghold, which, most likely, added to the magnificence and greatness of the zoo. Instructions to refer to A Visit to Zoo, Essay models

Lets All Work Together

Let’s All Work Together I joined GEL because I want to be able to implement my ideas in the world. And people are half that equation. Last Friday, I led my wonderful new ELL (Engineering Leadership Lab) team in a Diverse Connections simulation lab where we faced this exact challenge. My ELL team has a course 22, course 1, course 16, two course 2 students + me (6-1). We’re all from different living groups, activities, walks of life. Our “Tiger Team” of multi-disciplinary engineers was tasked with trying to get three different Engineering divisions Electrical, Mechanical (Design), and Manufacturing across different three time zones to work together. Context: The international automotive company, Gelota, we worked for was facing reports of failures of the AC unit for the car leading to a few occurrences of smoke and sparking. This could lead to a major recall. Our task was not to find the cause of failures and redesign the part, but rather outline how the different teams will cooperate in order to achieve that goal. Why is this so difficult? We’ve all been in the position of trying to do a group project, but realized that getting different personalities to work together was often harder than actually doing the research and presentation. Finding how people can fit and work together was crucial to this companys success in avoiding a major recall. We had 70 minutes to come up with a plan for the next 6 months. At the end of 70 minutes, I had to give a presentation. Our success criteria? Whether all three representatives were satisfied that they will be able to work together with each other and with us. The Personalities: The lab kicked off with 7 minutes to read over the scenario. And then right of the bat, we faced our first contender: the uptight midwestern Electrical lead who had not a minute to waste. He had a million other projects and wanted us to be as hands-off as possible. What did we exactly need from him? Just tell him what to do and then he would do it. The Design team was the complete opposite. The Electrical lead had warned us that these Hawaiian pokies didn’t know what they were doing Operating out of a design studio in Honolulu, they valued a creative, laid back environment. Immediately the Design Lead greeted us with a “Hey What’s Up” and laid back in his chair with his feet on the table. With Google docs as their preferable means of communication and meetings to be a rarity in the office, we could tell that this team would NOT mesh well with the old-school electrical folks. Lastly, the Manufacturing lead comes to us immediately asking if they need to stop producing the product. I look at my team, and we have no idea. These labs force you to make decisions in the face of uncertainty. And this is often the case of how major industry decisions are made. She shares her experiences with her dedicated team that recently joined Gelota. He main concerns are knowing more about the design electrical specs to better create test conditions for the product before it goes out the door. We are relieved that she won’t be as hard as the other two to work with. Each sub team had their own priorities, own work ethic, own form of communication, own work hours, the list goes on. Getting all three to work together wasn’t going to be a cakewalk. Our Task: We had a bunch of things to figure out: What time/where/how often would meetings take place? List of roles/responsibilities for each member Schedule of major milestones Guidelines/norms for communicating And then the hardest of all: how do we address the concerns each subteam lead brought up? And all this has to happen in parallel with talking to the representatives. These labs are fast-paced with a million things thrown at you at once. Leading an ELL is like juggling ten books while a red timer is blaring in your face while you’re trying to land a crashing plane when everyone is depending on you. You are constantly thinking on the spot, communicating with team members and representatives, functioning at a 100% every minute all while looking at ease. It’s so exhilarating. And exhausting when it’s over. So why do we do it? No matter where you work or what you do you will have to work with other people. Whether it’s leading a non-profit to do a project in a community across the world or being the systems integrator on the next iPhone. A common perception of MIT students is honestly a bunch of engineers who aren’t socially savvy. We are here to prove them wrong. Every time I mention I’m a Electrical Engineering/Theatre Arts major, I get a funny look. But the world NEEDS us. It needs people who can analyze technical problems, translate them into tasks, and persuade people to get the job done. And practice makes perfect. The Final Product: This is a picture of our final plan that I had to pitch to the entire lab. And there’s not always time for rehearsal. I started off with thanking the representatives and inspiring us all to work together. Then I focused on making sure the ideas flowed from big picture to small details and tried to address individual concerns raised. After the lab, I felt SO proud of our ELL team. This time last semester, my team failed to deliver on both of the labs I led that day. But slowly, I am seeing myself grow and gain the confidence to take on challenges. To find out more about the GEL program, you can visit gelp.mit.edu/admissions   The application deadline for the upcoming year closed yesterday March 15th, 2015! Best of luck to all the GEL applicants!

How a companies distinctiveness affects capital structure - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 24 Words: 7050 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Cause and effect essay Did you like this example? Capital structure the term has vast meaning in Finance and Accounting. As we know all firms need operating capital to support their sales. To acquire that operating capital, funds must be raised, usually as a combination of equity and debt. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "How a companies distinctiveness affects capital structure" essay for you Create order The firms mixture of debt and equity is called its capital structure. Although actual levels of debt and equity may vary somewhat over time, most firms try to keep their financing mix close to a target capital structure. The capital structure decision includes a firms choice of a target capital structure, the average maturity of its debt, and the specific sources of financing it chooses at any particular time. As with operating decisions, managers should make capital structure decisions designed to maximize the firms value. As researchers moved on examining deeper the notion of capital structure, several theories emerged, all of which conclude on the existence of an optimal capital structure based on balancing the benefits and costs of debt financing. The main benefit of debt financing is the fact that interest payments are deducted in calculating taxable Income, allowing a tax shield for the firms. This tax shield allows firms to pay lower taxes than they should, when using debt capital instead of using only their own capital. The costs of debt can be viewed mainly from two different aspects. First, there is an increased probability that a firm may not be able to successfully deal with its Debt obligations (i.e. interest payments); thus, there is an increased probability of bankruptcy. Second, there are agency costs of the lenders monitoring and controlling the firms actions. There are additional costs concerning the notion of capital structure of the firm that arise from the fact that managers possess more information about the Firms future prospects than do investors. The effect of taxation on capital structure has been thoroughly investigated as a determinant of capital structure. Except for the tax aspects there are also some other approaches that attempt to explain the determination of the capital structure. These approaches examine the debt level determination from the perspective of asymmetric information and agency costs, as already mentioned above. (Jensen Meckling 1976) identify the existence of the agency problem which arises due to the conflicts either between managers and shareholders (agency costs of equity) or between shareholders and debt holders. After the concise but brief background discussion of capital structure we will have a look on companys background which is included in our research. Pakistan State Oil Ltd: PSO was established in the mid-1970s when the Government of Pakistan merged three Oil Marketing Companies: 1.Esso Eastern, 2.Pakistan National Oil (PNO) and 3.Dawood Petroleum as part of its Nationalization Plan. Pakistan State Oil Company Limited is that countrys foremost oil marketing and supplying company. Formerly a state-run agency, Pakistan State Oil occupying just about 70% of Pakistans total refined petroleum products market, and more than 80% of the total furnace oil market, the major petroleum market in the country. Pakistan State Oil also supplying 60% of the countrys diesel oil market. in spite of a countrywide working network of more than 3,750 PSO-branded filling stations, several of which incorporate ease stores, PSOs share of the customer gas and lubricants markets has dropped to presently 40%, due to Shell Pakistans forceful spreading out of its own retail network. Shell remains PSOs largest challenger in the nation state, with an oil and gas market of more than 25%. The Shell Pakistan Ltd: The Shell trade name has been enjoying a 100-year history in this division of the globe, if we just look back to 1899 while Asiatic Petroleum, the faraway eastern advertising arm of two companies: Shell transportation Company and Royal Dutch Petroleum Company started importing kerosene oil from Azerbaijan to the subcontinent. Even in the present day, the legacy of the long-ago is observable in a storage tank moving the date 1898. The familiar history of Royal Dutch Shell plc, in subcontinent dating back to 190, it was the time when joint venture was took place between The Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and The Shell Transport Trading Company for supply of petroleum products to Asia. on the way to improve their distribution capabilities in 1982, the business concern of the Burma Oil Company Limited and the Royal Dutch Shell plc were amalgamated and in the result Burma Shell Oil Storage Distribution Company of India was came into existence. After the freedom of Pakistan in 1947, the name was altered to the Burma Shell Oil supplying Company of Pakistan. When 51% of the shareholding power was transferred to Pakistani investors, the name was changed to Pakistan Burma Shell (PBS) Limited; this was the period of 1970. Attock Petroleum Ltd: Attock Petroleum is one of the fastest rising oil marketing companies in Pakistan, with successfully established its system of petrol pumps in Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Attock Petroleum is currently strengthening its being there in most important metropolitan areas such as upper Punjab, Karachi, and Lahore. Attock Petroleum is also operating a quality assurance unit for enhanced controls and improved customer service at sites, for on-site testing of petroleum products. At present Attock Petroleum has 149 outlets in Pakistan. Sui Southern Gas Company: The Sui Southern Gas Company (Formerly Sui Gas Transmission Company Limited) was incorporated in 1954. The present shape of the company was incorporated on March 30, 1989, with the mergers of three new companies, that is to say Karachi Gas Company Limited, Sui Gas Transmission Company Limited and Indus Gas Company Limited. SSGC is Pakistans top integrated gas company. The company is occupied the business of transmission and supply of natural gas in southern division of Pakistan. SSGC transmission system extends from Sui (Baluchistan) to Karachi (Sindh). Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Ltd: The SNGPL is the leading natural gas company in North and Central Pakistan in the course of a widespread network in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines was integrated as a private limited Company in 1963 and transformed into a public limited company in January 1964, and also listed on all the three Stock Exchanges of Pakistan. The Company has more 42 years of extensive working experience in operation and maintenance of high-pressure gas transmission and gas circulation systems. It has also extended its activities to carry out the designing, planning and construction of pipelines, both for other organizations and itself. According to the OGDCL Report of oil and gas industry, Pakistan has normally daily natural gas production of 73 net million cubic feet and oil production is about 3,800 net barrels. In spite of such a huge potential, Petroleum department of Pakistan has reported high trade deficit due to key difference between export and import value. Imported oil products of Pakistan have reached $6.5 billion in 2009 and government plan at formulating policies to reduce import reliance and promote self-reliance by triggering exploitation. Pakistans emerging economic market requires a great intension of Policy makers, Leaders, and specially the educational institution and student researcher. Previously in Pakistan research have been done only in few fields of capital structure like: Listed non-financial firms Capital Structure by Attaullah Shah Safiullah Khan. Cement Industrys Capital Structure by Syed Tahir Hijazi Yasir Bin Tariq. Stock Exchange listed Firms Capital Structure by Waliullah Mohammed Nishat. Capital structure refers to the mix of debt and equity used by a firm in financing its assets. The capital structure choice is one of the important decisions made by financial management. In our thesis we have analyzed the oil and gas marketing companies on the basis of capital structure. The reason behind this analysis was that only few of the researches were taken on this topic. In Pakistan like many developing countries the corporate financial structure choices heavily depend on the existence of functioning markets and legal system in which investors can diversify risk. Before 1990s the financial sector mainly accommodated the financial needs of the corporate sector. As a result economic efficiency remained low and growth suffered from poor mobilization of resources. The financial market in Pakistan is quite vulnerable to shocks and has several imperfections because of weak institutional framework and macro-economic Instability. Another most important factor that affects the local and foreign investors is the poor law and order situation and lack of trust in the government of Pakistan. Our paper shed light on the determinants of the capital structure of the major Pakistani oil and gas firms listed on the Karachi stock exchange. When we had to start our thesis we focused on many areas on which the research was not done, after lot of thinking and research and by taking our supervisor in confidence we came on a conclusion to do our research work on the determinants of the capital structure. We then took oil and gas marketing companies of Pakistan for analysis. For our research we have seen the impact of independent variables on dependent variable leverage. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Purpose of this study is to identify firms characteristics that may have influence on leverage. There are several characteristics that must play role while deciding upon capital structure of leverage. For instance; Market conditions, risk, size of firm, time frame in business, earning volatility and many others. Finally the purpose is to check which factors are important for money lenders, financial institution and bond holders. PROBLEM STATEMENT: In Pakistan formally research has been not very serious issue to consider, but now most of universities and especially HEC is funding to many research projects in education. These research papers are not only contributing fruitfully towards student understanding but also toward corporate sector of country. Previously in Pakistan research has been done only very few areas, oil and gas marketing companies still remains unexplored. So we have found a room to get into with the hope this research would be helpful for students as well as corporate sector. A hypothetical situation has been narrated here to solve the problem. These problems companys manger may face time to time. Oil and Gas Market companies have been a very famous company in their business. They aimed to expand their business in various cities of Pakistan. But they have been facing a shortage of capital structure. Now company interested to change their mix of capital structure. We being a student of Air University hired to come up with the solution of this problem. Whether they go for equity finance or debt finance? Which factors would effects companies leveraging process? How company can get optimal capital structure?. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK INDEPENDENT VARIABLES Profitability (PF) Tangibility (TN) Size (SZ) Current ratio (CR) Debt to Equity ratio (DE) DEPENDENT VARIABLE Leverage (LG) Complete detail of theoratical framework has give at the end of chapter Two. HYPOTHESIS DEVELOPMENT Current ratio: Ho: There is a negative relationship between Current ratio and Leverage. H1: Higher the current ratio, higher the availability of external funds/Leverage. Size: Ho: There is a negative relationship between size and leverage. H1: size and leverage has positive relationship. Profitability: Ho: Firms with higher profitability will have higher leverage. H1: there is negative significant relationship between profitability and leverage. Tangibility: Ho: There is a negative relationship between tangibility and leverage. H1: There is positive significant relationship between tangibility and leverage. Debt to Equity Ratio: Ho: There is a positive relation between debt-equity ratio and leverage H1: There is a negative relation between debt-equity ratio and leverage. ACRONYMS: LG = Leverage of firms PF = Profitability of firms TN = Tangibility of firms SZ = Firm size CR = Current ratio of company DE = Debt to Equity ratio of company CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW: The capital structure of an every firm is very significant since it linked with the capability of the firm to meet up the needs of its stakeholders. (Modigliani Miller, 1958) were the first ones to point out the topic of capital structure and he argued that capital structure is immaterial in shaping the firms value and its future performance. (Modigliani Miller, 1963, pp.443- 453) showed that their model is only valid if there is no more concept of tax system. And tax relaxation on interest of debt payments will grounds a rise in firms value if equity is traded for debt. Capital structure is pretty much important decision for firms, so that they can get the most out of returns to their various stakeholders. In addition to a suitable capital structure is also very important to firm as it will help in dealing with the competitive surroundings within which the firm operates. (Modigliani Miller 1958) said that an optimal capital structure exists if the risks of going bankruptcy are of fset by the tax savings advantage of debt. If this optimal capital structure is recognized, a firm would be able to take full advantage of returns to its stakeholders further these returns would be pretty much greater than returns obtained from a firm whose capital is mixture of only equity (all equity firm). Modigliani and Miller (MM theory): Contemporary capital structure theory began in 1958, when professors Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller (hereafter MM) published what has been called the most influential finance article ever written.9 MMs study was based on some strong assumption, including the following: No brokerage costs. Zero or no taxes. There is no bankruptcy cost. Investors and corporations can borrow at the same rate. Free information flow to investors same as companys managers about the future investments opportunities. EBIT has not been affected by the use of debt. So if above assumptions hold true, MM theory proved that the firms value have not been affected by change of capital structure. hence the following situation must exist: VL = Vu = SL + D Here VL is the value is the value of a levered firm, which is equal to VU, the value of an identical but unlevered firm. SL is the value of the levered firms stock, and D is the value of its debt. MM theory also suggests that if assumption holds true, it does not matter how a firm finances its operations, so capital structure decisions would be irrelevant. MM also provided us with evidences about what has been necessary for capital structure to be relevant and hereafter to affect a firms value. MMs work marked the beginning of modern capital structure investigation, and later research has been focused on relaxing the MM theory assumptions for the development of a more accurate concept of capital structure. Trade-off theory: The pioneering work of (Modigliani and Miller 1958) is the catalyst for all the aforesaid capital structure theories. Amongst which trade-off theory says if tax and bankruptcy cost do exist, there remains an optimal capital structure which the firms predetermine and try to move towards it in due course of time. This optimal capital structure involves a trade off amongst the major three variables namely corporate and personal taxes, bankruptcy cost and agency conflicts. Increasing debt in the capital structure reduces the tax liability of the firm because of the tax shield on interest. Hence, it increases the after tax cash flow to the firm. As the tax shield offers higher post tax return, it is positively related to leverage. Again, when the debt increases significantly there is a risk for firms to get defaulted on their payment. This perceived default risk increases the cost of debt in the form of bankruptcy cost. The optimal Capital structure endeavors to trade off the benefits of tax shield in the form of after tax cash inflow and the cost of bankruptcy at higher debt equity ratio. Agency cost theory: This theory envisages that the agency cost i.e. the cost due to conflict of interest between principal and agent is a major determinant of capital structure. (Jensen Meckling 1976) were the first one to develop the research in this area, building on the earlier work of (Fama Miller 1972). Jensen Meckling identified two types of conflict, firstly conflict between shareholders and managers, secondly between shareholders and debt holders. Argument between shareholders and managers arises for the reason that managers are not the claimants of the profit but receive managerial remuneration. So they want to raise their pay off by increasing perquisites such as private jets, plush offices etc, that add to the cost of the company and lower profit. Increasing debt commits the firm to pay out cash. So it reduces the amount of free cash flows offered to the managers and the opportunities of such profligacy and empire building (Jensen 1986). Moreover increase in the share of debt in the capital structure by holding the absolute investment of managers constant, increases managers share of equity, if any, and mitigate the loss arising out of the conflict between the mangers and shareholders. Conflict between the debt holders and shareholders arises because of the difference in the risk appetite and the expected return. Debt holders are concerned about the current profit as it will ensure their return whereas equity shareholders might be willing to forgo the current profit for long-term capital appreciation. As a result equity shareholders could invest even in risky projects with long gestation periods, which damage the interest of debt holders. Managers of firms have been acting as agents of the owners. They were hired by owner to work for him and have been given benefits by owners. However managers are mainly interested in accomplishing their own targets which may differ from the maximization of the firm value which is the maximization of the owners benefit. They will act in their own interests seeking perquisites, higher salaries, job security and different cases have been reported that they directly exploit firms cash flows. It is obvious that the interests of the manager not only differ but in many cases they even oppose to those of the owners. Consequently, an interest conflict has been raised between the shareholders and the managers. However, the managers have attained the authority to manage the firm. Thus, the owners may only try to discourage these value transfers through controlling monitoring, such as administration by independent directors; these monitoring and control actions presuppose costs, the so-called agency costs. Perfect control is however extremely costly and thus, shareholders pursue to be dependent on solutions that has not been much expensive but kept on eye over managers operations. A reliable tool can be the use of debt capital which even adds value to the firm. Leverage has been one of the tools that will force managers to make and pay out cash, simply because interest payments are compulsory. Interest payments will reduce the amount of remaining cash flows the so-called free cash flows after the investment decisions of managers. Thus, debt can be viewed as a smart device to minimize the cost of agency. In this situation, the optimal capital structure will be resulting by the equilibrium be tween the benefit of debt against costs of debt; so firm preferred that amount of debt which will minimize its overall agency cost. Pecking-order theory: (Myers Majluf 1984) in their pioneering work on pecking-order theory show that if the investors are not well informed about the information which the insiders have, the equity of that firm may be severely mispriced. In their paper they also show that if any firm wants to fund its new project by new equity then the equity can be so undervalued that the new investors will be better off by getting more value than the projects NPV. So the organization will go for such a source which is not underpriced by the market like internal funds or riskless debt. So, in case of information asymmetry companies should follow an order of financing. (Myers 1984) refers to this order as the pecking order. As per the pecking order the firm first goes for internal funds and then for low risk debt and finally equity. As we have three major capital structure theories in the literature, it becomes an interesting task to test which theory characterizes the behavior of Indian firms in their determining the ca pital structure during the bullish phase of capital market. There are many empirical studies (Bradley, Jarrell, Kim 1984), (Titman Wessels 1988), (Rajan Zingales 1995), (Wald 1999) and (Booth et al. 2001) which have been done to test the applicability of the above mentioned capital structure theories in the developed and developing countries. Market Timing Theory: Market timing, a comparatively old initiative (Myers, 1984), is having a new surge of fame in the academic literature. In study by (Graham Harvey 2001), managers carry on to offer support for the plan. Consistent with the behavior of market timing, firms inclined to issue equity subsequent a stock price run-up. Furthermore, researches that analyze long-run stock profits following business financing events find proof reliable with market timing. (Lucas McDonald 1990) investigate a dynamic adverse selection model that mix essentials of the pecking order with the market timing theory, which can give details of pre-issue run-ups but not post issue Under performance. (Baker Wurgler 2002) said that capital structure is best perceived as the cumulative effect of precedent attempts to time the market. The basic suggestion is that managers look at existing circumstances in both debt market and equity markets. If they found a need of financing, they use whichever market presently looks more favorable. If neither market looks positive, they may go for defer issuances. On the other hand, if present conditions look strangely favorable, funds possibly will be raised still if the firm has no need for any funds at this time. While this idea seems reasonable, it has not anything to say about most of the factors conventionally considered in studies of corporate financing. However, it does propose that stock returns and debt market circumstances will play a significant role in capital structure decisions. The first paper on capital structure was written by (Miller Modigliani in 1958) Showing that subject to some restrictive situation, the impact of leveraging on the worth of firm is immaterial; the conceptually provided that the worth of firm is not dependent upon the capital structure decision given that certain conditions are met. Because of the unrealistic assumptions in MM irrelevance theory, research on capital structure gave birth to other theories. According to the traditional (or static) trade-of theory (TOT), firms select optimal capital structure by comparing the tax benefits of the debt, the costs of bankruptcy and the costs of agency of debt and equity, that is to say the corrective role of debt and the fact that debt effects from informational cost than outside equity. (Modigliani Miller 1963), (Stiglitz 1972), (Jensen Meckling 1976), (Myers 1977) and (Titman 1984). The Trade Off theory says that a firms adjustment toward an optimal leverage is influenced by three factors namely taxes, costs of financial distress and agency costs. (Baxter 1967) argued that the extensive use of debt increases the chances of bankruptcy because of which creditors demand extra risk premium. He said that firms should not use debt beyond the point where the cost of debt becomes larger than the tax advantage. In the so-called Pecking Order Theory (POT) (Donaldson, 1961), (Myers Majluf 1984), (Myers 1984) because of asymmetries of information between insiders and outsiders, the company will prefer to be financed first by internal resources, then by debt and finally by stockholders equity. The debt ratio depends then on the degree of information asymmetry, on the capacity of self-financing and on the various constraints which the company meets in the access to the various sources of financing. So, in the pecking order world, observed leverage reflects the past profitabi lity and investment opportunities of the companies. The dynamic trade-off theory (DTOT) tries a compromise between TOT and POT (Fischer et al 1989) and (Leland 1994). Although, due to information asymmetries, market imperfections and transaction costs, many companies allow their leverage ratios to drift away from their targets for a time, when the distance becomes large enough managers take steps to move their companies back toward the targets. While the POT explains short-run deviation from the target, the traditional TOT holds in the long run. Following this approach, leverage must converge toward a target leverage ratio. That would not bee the case following POT because managers make no effort to turn around changes in leverage. Two additional theories also reject the idea of timely meeting toward a target leverage ratio. According to the theories of market timing and inertia, the capital structure is the result at a given time of an historical process. Supporters of the market timing approach (Jalilvand Harris 1984), (Korajczyk et al., 1991) and (Lucas McDonald 1990) also (Jung et al., 1996), (Loughran et al., 1994) and (Baker Wurgler 2002) argue that companies will sell overpriced equity shares. Companys share prices will fluctuate around their factual value, and managers inclined to issue shares when the market-to-book ratio is high. A small debt ratio must thus follow a long period of high market-to-book ratio. According to the managerial inertia approach (Welch 2004) companies do not adjust their debt ratio to the fluctuations of the market value of their equity. High market-to-book ratio must thus be accompanied by small debt. (Graham and Harvey 2001) find that chief financial officers in the USA express concern about earnings volatility in capital structure choices. According to (Mohammad M Omran John Pointon 2009) study, one of our issues of interest is whether debt is negatively associated with earnings volatility, in which case firms react to the risk, and manage it by reducing debt. On the other hand, if debt is found to be positively associated with earnings volatility, then they do not appear to manage the risk. (Ayesha Mazhar Mohamed Nisar 1997) have been discussed the determining factor of capital structure of Pakistani firms. They selected a sample from Pakistani companies registered on Islamabad Stock Exchange. The sample is divided into two sub-samples of private and government owned companies to make comparison between both sectors. The sample comprised 91 Pakistani companies out of which 80 companies are private and 11 are government owned covering the period of 1999-2006. They have taken debt to equity as a proxy of leverage of a firm, and tangibility of assets, profitability, size, growth, tax provision and return on assets as independent variables. They use correlation to determine the degree of association between different variables. Spearmen correlation is used for all independent variables association with dependent variables. Regression is also used to measure the relationship between dependent and independent variables. (Attaullah shah and saifullah khan 2007) they used two variants of penal data i.e. constant coefficient model and fixed effect model to calculate the determinants of capital structure of Karachi Stock Exchange listed non-financial firms from1994 to2002. Pooled regression investigation was applied with the hypothesis that there were no industry or time effects. Though, by means of fixed effect dummy variable regression, the coefficients for an amount of industries were significant displaying there were significant industry effects later we accepted the late model for our investigation. He had measured effect of seven explanatory variables is measured on leverage ratio which is designed by dividing the total debt by total assets. (Safdar Ali Butt ArshadHasan 2009) had explores the association between capital structure and corporate governance of stock exchange listed companies in an equity market. The study considered the period of 2002 to 2005 for which 58 randomly selected non-financial listed companies from Karachi Stock Exchange has been investigated by using multivariate regression line analysis with fixed effect model method. Managerial ownership has negative relationship with debt to equity ratio indicating that concentration of ownership induces the managers to lower the gearing levels. Institutional ownership has positive relationship with capital structure which is consistent with corporate governance philosophy but this relation is statistically insignificant. Traditional determinants of capital structure like size and profitability have significantly effect on corporate financing decisions. Profitability is negatively related with debt to equity ratio and it is consistent with pecking order hypot hesis. Similarly, size has positive relationship which shows that large firms can arrange debt financing due to long term Relationship and better collateral offering. (NengjiuJu, Robert Parrino, Allen M. Poteshman, and Michael S. Weisbach 2005) these paper inspect optimal capital structure choice by means of a dynamic capital structure model that is standardized to reflect genuine firm features. They also examine the relation between firm value and capital structure. They estimate indicate that the impact on firm value of moderate deviations from optimal capital structure is small. This paper suggests that the trade-off model performs reasonably well in predicting capital structures for firms with typical levels of debt. This paper also shows that the major forces affecting a firms financing decisions are corporate taxes and bankruptcy costs. (Mohammad H. Mohammad, 1995) .they examined the determinants of firms capital structure in Malaysia covering the period between 1986 to 1990. There are significant inter-industry differences in capital structure among Malaysian companies. Highly-leveraged firms are more likely to earn higher profits than less-leveraged firms. Similarly the relation between firms profit and equity ratio is also positive and is reflected in terms of the importance of efficient capital markets. (Laurence Booth, VaroujAivazian, AsliDemirguc-Kunt and Vojislav Maksimovic 1999) has analyzed capital structure of firms in ten developing countries and provides indication that these choices are affected by the same variables as in advanced countries. But, there are constantly repeated differences across countries, when corporations choose to use of debt financing; they are altering some predictable future cash flows away from equity pretenders in exchange for cash up front. The issues that drive this decision remain mysterious regardless of a vast theoretical literature and years of experimental tests. The quantity of proof is large, and so it is frequently all too relaxed to provide some pragmatic support for nearly any idea. It is satisfactory for a given paper but more challenging for the general expansion of our thoughtful of capital structure choice. As an outcome, in current decades the literature has not had a concrete experimental basis to differentiate the strengths and we aknesses of important theories. Numerous theories of capital structure have been proposed which theory shall we take seriously? Of course, opinions differ. Remarkably, nearly all corporate finance textbooks inclined to the trade-off theory because deadweight taxation and bankruptcy has been considered key operators. (Myers 1984) projected the pecking order theory in which there is a financing order of retained earnings, debt, and in the last equity. In recent times, the idea that firms are engage in market timing has gain popularity. In conclusion, agency theory lurks in the background of a lot theoretical conversation. Agency concerns are frequently collected into the trade-off structure largely interpreted. Advocates of these types of models are frequently point to experimental proof to support their preferred theory. (Harris Raviv 1991) and (Titman Wessels 1988). Both these two standard papers point up a serious empirical difficulty. They have been augmented over basic facts. According to (Harris Raviv 1991), the accessible studies normally agree that leverage increases with tangible fixed assets, growth opportunities, non debt tax shields, firms size and shrinkages with promotion expenses, instability, RD expenditures, expected bankruptcy, profitability and exceptionality of the product. On the other hand, (Titman Wessels 1988) found that their outcome do not provide sustain for an effect on debt ratios due to non debt tax shields, indemnity value, future growth and volatility. (Myers 1977). managers emphasis on book value of leverage because debt has been well supported by assets than by growth opportunities. Book leverage has given preference due to fluctuation of financial market. And managers believe that market leverage facts are not reliable in making the corporate financial policy. According to (Graham Harvey 2001), various number of managers point out that they do not remix their capital structure in reaction to equity market engagements. This is because of adjustment costs avert firms from rebalancing each time. Supporters of market leverage claim that the book value of equity is mainly a plug number used to set of scales to both sides of the balance sheet instead of administratively relevant number (see, Welch 2004). (Welch 2004) additionally point out that the book value of equity can be negative also while assets cannot be. The book value represents the old data that what has happened in the past. So book value measurements have been backward looking. It measures what has been taken place in past. Market value changes with the time so it is assumed to be forward looking. So there is no point these two methods of measurements must match (Barclay, Morellec and Smith 2006). Examining the agency costs of debt from the debt holders point of view we have to analyze the moneylender and borrower relationship. When a money lender offers funds to a firm, the interest rate charged has been based on the lenders valuation of the firms risk. This arrangement creates incentives for the firm to increase its risk without increasing current borrowing costs. An agency cost of debt has been arising when there is a risk of default. If company debt is free of default risk, then debt holders have not been concerned with the value and risk of firm. After obtaining a loan at certain, locked rate from a bank or through the sale of bonds, the firm can increase its risk. Managers may be tempted to take actions that transfer value from the firms creditors to its shareholders. For example, managers borrowed more and pay cash to shareholders or may invest in risky projects. To avoid this situation lenders impose certain monitoring and controlling techniques on borrowers. Debt holders typically protect themselves by including provisions that prohibit the management of the firm to significantly alter its business or financial risk. These limitations normally refer to the asset acquisition, dividends payments, executive salaries and level of networking capital. These protective covenants allow the lender to monitor and control the firms risk. Alternatively, if no protective covenants are accepted by the firm, creditors may demand high returns in form of high interest rates. However all these actions enclose some direct or indirect costs that the firm is subject to; these are the agency costs of debt, from the debt holders point of view. In exchange for incurring agency costs by agreeing to cope with the restrictions placed by the lenders, the firm and its owne rs benefit by obtaining funds at a lower cost. The optimal capital structure has been shaped at this specific level when the paybacks of the loan that shareholder has been received, equilibrium with the interest of debt enforced by the debt holders. (Myers Majluf 1984) assumed that managers make decisions with the goal to maximize the wealth of existing shareholders. Therefore, they avoid issuing undervalued stock unless the value of transferred share from old to new shareholders is additional as compared to off-setted net present value of the growth chance. This suggested that the new shares only be issued at a lesser price as compared the imposed price estimation of firm value by real market analysis. Therefore, the public offering of new equity issuance has been unswervingly inferred as a negative signal, in the logic that existing stockholders possess overestimated shares. This negative signal results in the stock price decline. Indeed, several studies have confirmed that the announcement of a stock issue have resulted in a decline of the stock price. That is why several firms tend to follow the pecking order financing pattern. The pecking order theory suggested that firms firstly will go for retained earnings, if there is no point of asymmetry information then they will prefer debt and lastly they will move to issuance of new equity for any further requirements of equity. Consequently, highly profitable firms likely to use less debt as compared to those firms that have not been very money-spinning. Numerous scholars have been confirmed the effects of profitability on firms leverage. (Kester 1986) and (Friend Lang 1988) concluded that there is a significantly negative relation between profitability and leverage ratio. (Rajan Zingales 1995) and (Wald 1999) also found a significantly negative relationship among profitability and leverage ratios for the USA, UK and Japan. At this point we should mention that the notion of information asymmetry implies that firms should maintain some reserve borrowing capacity which will allow them to take advantage of good investment opportunities by issuing debt capital if necessary. The notion of asymmetric information is also used to combine the growth opportunities of a firm with its capital structure. Growth causes variations in the value of a firm. Larger variations in the value of the firm are often interpreted as greater risk. That is why a firm that has considerable growth opportunities will be considered as a risky firm and will face difficulties in raising debt capital with favorable terms. Thus, it will employ less debt in its capital structure. On the other hand, the cash flows of a firm which value is most likely to remain stable in the future are pred ictable and its capital requirements can be financed with debt more easily than these of a firm with growth potential. (Myers 1977) argues that firms with growth potential will tend to have lower leverage. The bottom line, there has been no worldwide theory of the debt or equity choice. There are numerous useful provisional theories that have been used to approach the determinant of capital structure, each one with different view. In our thesis work we analyzed few specific factors that played a role in determining the capital structure of Oil and Gas marketing companies of Pakistan. THEORATICAL FRAME WORK INDEPENDENT VARIABLES Profitability (PF) Tangibility (TN) Size (SZ) Current ratio (CR) Debt to Equity ratio (DE) Dependent Variable Leverage (LG) We have taken six variables out of which leverage is taken as a dependent variable. We take the total Debt (Total Liability) to total asset ratio as proxy for Leverage (dependent variable). For potential determinants of leverage, we study five independent variables namely Tangibility, Size, Profitability, Debt to Equity ratio and Current ratio. EXPLANATION OF VARIABLES: In cross-sectional study of the capital structure determinants, (Rajan Zingales1995) has been examined the factors which may explain the used of leverage. namely, market-to-book ratio i.e. growth, size, profitability, and tangibility. But our study of capital structure follows the framework of (Nikolaos Eriotis Zoe Ventoura 2007) they used tangibility of assets, Firm size, Profitability. But in our study we have also used two more variable that measure more reasonably leverage of firm i.e. Debt to Equity ratio and Current Ratio. For detail measure of variables and formulas used please consult appendix Table II DEPENDENT VARIABLE Measure of Leverage (LG) In the literature the term Leverage can be interpreted in different ways. The specific choice of the term leverage depends on the objective of the research. We take leverage as the ratio of total liability to net total assets. Net total assets are the total assets excluding all the fictitious assets and revaluation reserves and debit balance of profit and loss account. One question that has been raised is whether we should take the book value or the market value of debt. (Thies Klock 1992) and (Fama French 2000) support the consideration of book value of leverage. As the market value of debt is dependent on so many exogenous factors, which are outside the control of an organization, book value better reflects the true value of the firms leverage. So, we take book value of debt (total liability proxy) as well as of net total asset. The Leverage denotes to the proportion of assets funded by debt. Earlier investigations have been used diverse measures of leverage. (Frank Goyal 2003b) mentioned that the dissimilarity between debt ratios grounded on market value. And other grounded on book values is that the previous inclined to absorb firms future condition. However the later mirrors the past state. (Fama French 2002) identified few irregularities arising due to the used of two unlike ratios. Conferring to them Pecking Order and Static Tradeoff theories applied to the book value of debt, but not sure about the market value of debt. One more consideration of explaining the reasonable calculation of leverage is by taking total or long term debt numerator and total assets in denominator. However theories of capital structure study only long term debt to denote leverage, but we have been used the long term and short term debt (total debt) because in Pakistan firms are of average size or small size, so they some time have short debt for leveraging their projects. Due to this getting access to capital markets have been difficult in terms of technical formalities and cost of debt (shah Hijazi 2005). In Pakistan short term debt has been one of the favorite leveraging technique, because commercial banks are primary lenders so they dont preferred long term debt. Since 1994 firms has been discouraging to rely upon market based debt, but after the 1994 government changed the corporate rules and regulations to allow companies to get debt from the market in form of TFC (term finance certificate). (Booth et.al. 1995) had also mentioned this point that developing countries including Pakistan prefer short term financing than long term financing. INDEPENDENT VARIABLES Tangibility of Assets (TG) (Titman Wessels 1988), (Rajan Zingales 1995) and (Fama French 2000) support the importance of the tangibility (ratio of fixed to total assets) for leverage. The value of collateral of fixed assets for the gearing level of the firm is manifested by the tangibility of that firm. However, the direction of influencing the level of leverage is not clear by any of these studies. (Galai Masulis 1976), (Jensen Meckling 1976) and (Myers 1977) in their papers present the argument that stockholders of levered firms are prone to overinvest that gives rise to the classical conflict between shareholders and bondholders. But if the debt is secured against the fixed assets, the firm is restricted to use the borrowed funds for the same project for which it has borrowed. By this fact, creditors get an improved guarantee of repayment, and thus the chances of recovery are higher. Since this does not happen without collateralization of the fixed assets, the proportion of debt increases with the avai lability of more fixed assets in the balance sheet of the firm. Hence, the trade-off theory predicts a positive relationship between the tangibility and leverage in any firm. In contrast, the agency cost model predicts a negative relationship of tangibility with leverage in any firm (Grossman Hart 1982). We calculate tangibility by finding out the ratio of the total fixed assets (gross fixed assets excluding intangible assets) and 30 days average market capitalization of the firm.

Applying Plain Packaging On Cigarette Cases Essay

With the looming possibility of implementing plain packaging on cigarette cases, the lobbyist involved uses certain facts to shed light on the seemingly hidden implications of the plain packaging policy. The main concern of the lobbyist and the advantage point lies within how uninformed the general populous is. The lobbyist essentially claims that the plain packaging policy has no proof of being an effective method of diminishing the number of smokers. Though the lobbyist asserts that it is invalid, this research essay will introduce compelling evidence and experimental data that suggests that the notion behind the plain packaging policy is actually an efficient method for minimizing the popularity of smoking. This paper will also look at opposing points of views that argue otherwise and the issue with their allegations. Before analyzing academic sources that convey the effectiveness of plain packaging, it is crucial to understand what plain packaging is and how it works. Harry Clarke and David Pentice’s article describes plain packaging as the removal of all aesthetic features from tobacco packages. Strictly speaking, a set of explicit specifications determines what a package must have to be considered plain packaged. Some of these specifications include changing brightly colored cigarette packs to packages that contain â€Å"standardized drab dark-brown [colors,] with trade names in a standard font† (Clarke and Pentice). Furthermore, instead of allowing graphic content thatShow MoreRelatedPricing for Convenience Goods12585 Words   |  51 Pages In a primitive society, the exchange value may be determined by trading a good for some other commodity. A horse may be worth ten coins; twelve apples may be worth two loaves of bread. More advanced societies use money for exchange. But in either case, the price of a good or service is its exchange value. Pricing strategy deals with the multitude of factors that influence the setting of a pric e. 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To what extent did Thatcher achieve her aims in foreign policy Free Essays

When Margaret Thatcher first came to power in 1979 she had little interest in foreign policy but focussing mainly on economic and domestic policy. However, it was an area where she left a huge impact on. One of Thatcher’s aims was to increase the defence for Britain as she believed the USSR was a massive threat militarily. We will write a custom essay sample on To what extent did Thatcher achieve her aims in foreign policy? or any similar topic only for you Order Now This meant improving relations with the USA. Her views on Communism helped with this as her and Ronald Reagan both shared the same ideas. She also believed NATO was vital to British and European defence and so to strengthen this relationship was important. She supported NATO’s decision to deploy US nuclear cruise and Pershing missiles in Western Europe and permitted the US to station more than 160 cruise missiles at RAF Greenham Common, even though she knew it would trigger mass protests by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Relations improved with the US when Thatcher permitted US F-111s to use Royal Air Force bases for the bombing of Libya in retaliation for their apparent bombing of a Berlin nightclub; this decision wasn’t very popular with the British citizens. Another one of Margaret Thatcher’s aims was to reassert Britain’s position as a major power. Many people will say she achieved this because of the Falklands War. In April 1982, Argentina ordered the invasion of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia which were under British control at the time. She successfully retook the islands back by setting up a War Cabinet and dispatching a naval task force against them which in June they surrendered. Even though 255 British soldiers died and the attack on an Argentinian cruiser which sunk and killed everyone on board, people were far more distracted by the victory which took place. This helped her win the 1983 elections. However, she was strongly criticised as to why she didn’t pay attention to the Falklands’ defence that led to the war, in which she could have stopped happening. This in turn would have saved the lives of the British soldiers and the people on the Argentinian cruiser. Some people may disagree that Thatcher achieved the aim to raise Britain’s status entirely because of the Grenada incident. On October 1983, the USA attacked Grenada; a member of the Commonwealth, without consulting Britain to take-over a Marxist organisation. This was an embarrassment for Thatcher because it showed her weakness to defend countries which were once members of the Commonwealth who felt they still needed to be defended. Thatcher also wanted to see the defeat of Communism, which some people argue was achieved and that her role played an important part. She was able to build a working relationship with Mikhail Gorbachev who came to power in the Soviet Union in 1985. This placed Britain in a good position to be the peace-maker between the US and the Soviet Union. They ended up meeting a couple of times which led to the agreement to scrap all intermediate-range missiles from Europe, the elimination of tactical and battlefield nuclear weapons and conventional forces. After that many countries in Eastern Europe experienced their own revolution which led to domestic changes and an end to the Soviet domination over them. This was a victory for Britain and all the other NATO countries. Although this aim was achieved, Thatcher feared that because many changes were happening across Eastern Europe, Germany would start to reunify and become strong again which would affect the European balance of power and Thatcher didn’t like this. After discussing the aims of Margaret Thatcher in Foreign Policy, I believe on the whole she achieved them. She managed to reassert Britain’s position as a superpower because of the Falklands war. It was a massive turning point for Thatcher and a defining moment in her premiership which helped her stay in power by winning the 1983 election. Even though many people died during the Falkland’s War, she was considered a highly talented and committed war leader by many people. She also helped defeat Communism by building a relationship with the Soviet leader and making discussions between the US and the Soviet Union easier. This led to nuclear disarmament which helped with Britain’s fear of Russia attacking them. How to cite To what extent did Thatcher achieve her aims in foreign policy?, Papers

Self Reflection Paper free essay sample

From a personal ethics and values growth and development perspective, please discuss the most important new insight you had about yourself this semester about as a result of this class and why it is significant to you. We will write a custom essay sample on Self Reflection Paper or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 2) A hallmark of this course is the wide variety of viewpoints and opinions expressed by your peers. Please discuss the most important thing that your classmate(s) taught you in this course and why it is significant to you (note: this should be different from #1 above). Please discuss the most interesting or fascinating idea that you learned from the textbook and why you found it to be the most interesting or fascinating. 4) While this course focuses heavily on the development of ethics and values, it also serves to help us reinforce our already established ethics and values. Please discuss what was reinforced in your own ethics and values as a result of this class and why it is significant to you. 5) First and foremost, ethics and values are lived. Please discuss how you plan to incorporate into your professional and/or personal life what you learned, or what you had reinforced, in this class. Try to be as specific as possible in your discussion. 6) I am always looking to improve this class. Please spend 3? 4 page discussing, with reasons why, what the professor should change about this class in future semesters and what the professor should not change about this class in future semesters. Grading Criteria 1) Reflective and insightful answering of all questions. 2) Clear and direct writing, free from grammar and spelling mistakes. 3) Relative balance in answering all the questions.

ADAM, EVE, AND THE SERPENT BY ELAINE PAGELS free essay sample

Politics works within a certain ideological framework. A political structure is based upon a particular ideology. Such a case can be considered more or less parallel with that of religion, wherein individuals are encouraged, if not coerced, to subscribe to a certain religious belief. Christianity is a religious doctrine that has long been subject to both physical and ideological dispute. In Adam, Eve, and the Serpent by Elaine Pagels, the developments in Christian theology was explored in its first five centuries. Through the literatures historical account of the evolution of Christianity, several issues on ecclesiastical politics came up along with corresponding political theories (Pagels). The ideological influence somehow embodies the umbrella theme of Adam, Eve, and the Serpent in the sense that the issues on religion within the book all boils down to a goal of eventual subscription to Christianity. Predictably, the matter of original sin is at the top of the list, being the turning point of the gist in the first book of the Bible. We will write a custom essay sample on ADAM, EVE, AND THE SERPENT BY ELAINE PAGELS or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Not unlike any ideology, the theory of â€Å"original sin† as presented by Augustine, a belief that influenced past generations and is still present today,   proved to be enforcing to the political and psychological thinking of Christians and non-Christians alike, therefore creating a need for establishing both a Christian state and state-supported church (Pagels). This thus becomes a preliminary issue that indirectly subsumes the others under its wing. Here, Louis Althussers theory on the ideological state apparatus or ISA is rather applicable. According to Althusser, the ideological state apparatus is a method of domination which, unlike the repressive state apparatus, does not employ force but instead works based on a particular ideology. In Adam, Eve, and the Serpent, the ideology is Christianity, wherein pagans and Jews alike are induced to become advocates of the religious belief. Nevertheless, as political power or pure power for that matter only exists when one party dominates another, the ideological state apparatus similarly functions with a repressive state apparatus, one which uses force, although not simultaneously. This can be explained by the persecution of Christians. The persecution, as a repressive state apparatus, was one of the reasons that many Christians accepted the institutionalized structure and in effect, supervision of each group was easily done as well as instructing and disciplining its members. By the second century, there was an attempt of turning Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount into an ethical imperative that separated Christians from paganistic influence (and sometimes opposed it) and strengthened further the political structure of the institutionalized church. In the aforementioned statements, another political framework surfaces, being that the Christian institution is bound to face inevitable opposition. In such disposition of the church can be applied the conflict theory, a sort of political strategy that breeds internal solidarity through conflict with outside elements. This theory may also be applied in an absolute or general sense, as in the concept of good and evil, wherein the good builds solidarity by fighting the forces of evil from the outside. The theory might also be found applicable on the differences in religious belief between the Christians and the Romans, where Roman gods, which pagan skeptics derided as â€Å"naà ¯ve and foolish illusions,† were regarded as â€Å"real and dangerous adversaries† for Christ’s followers. The theories of dominance thus surface once more with this impending threat, as they form the strategy of attracting more Christian advocates and consequently opposing the pagan side. Other issues in the book such as sexuality and marriage also fall under this umbrella theme, for adherents as well as non-adherents are encouraged and influenced to subscribe to the Christian beliefs regarding such matters, despite conflicting traditions that seem to be loopholes in both sides strategies. For instance, as stated in Pagel’s book, Jews, Romans and pagans criticize each other’s ideologies and practices about sexuality and marriage which they found ridiculous or peculiar. Jewish customs, such as circumcision and polygamous marriage, had long been criticized by Romans and Babylonians, just as Jews condemn pagan sexual habits. These differences and clashes among various religious ideologies were already prevalent even before Jesus’ day and still exist in the present age. Christianity also works this way however based from Jesus’ moral enforced by its highly institutionalized political structure. To date, there are over 2 million Christians around the world and many are still subscribing to its ideologies. Some if not all ecclesiastical ideologies strive to best one another in the field of religion, in the same way that oppositions exist between different political ideologies, as was written and proven by history and exhibited in the modern generation, especially now that more and more religious ideologies, some of them more or less similar to one another, continue to emerge. Thus, not unlike in the political arena, the methods of domination exist. Work Cited: Pagels, Elaine. Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. 1988. April 10, 2007.

Aesthetics essay Essay Example

Aesthetics essay Essay Example Aesthetics essay Essay Aesthetics essay Essay Today, in the 21st century media controls peoples perspective on what they think is beautiful. Many people live each day feeling insecure about anything that doesnt appear on the celebrities on the front cover of magazines. Walking the streets with low self-esteem is an everyday problem that many people suffer from. What can they do to rebuild their confidence, and live their life to the fullest without hiding behind their flaws? They can visit an aesthetician. An aesthetician performs treatments and procedures to help minimize skin flaws, helps people to obtain a higher self-esteem, and is truly passionate about skincare and helping people achieve better physical health, as well as emotional health. An aesthetician works with skin, and they specialize in skincare. They set up appointments and consultations to talk to their clients about their skincare needs in a hospital or medical practice facility (Santiago). They will examine the patient’s skin, and perform a number of facial treatments, procedures, and recommend several products; they do not prescribe medications or topicals as a dermatologist would. They provide skincare, pre and post to any operation or surgery given. They manage the harmful effects of any skin disease or outbreak from rashes to breakouts. They help with a patient’s appearance by minimizing any skin flaws such as acne, surgical scars, wrinkles, or sun damage. Aestheticians can be trained in giving chemical peels, facial scrubs, laser treatments, Botox injections, cosmetic fillers, and many more types of cosmetic facial work. They are often confused with a cosmetologist due to the fact that an aesthetician will occasionally work in a spa-like environment (Santiago). Aestheticians differ from cosmetologists in many ways, although, they are both concerned about the looks and appearance of the face and body. Aestheticians work with the healthcare side of the spectrum rather than the strictly appearance end. To be an aesthetician, certain qualities are required to keep the client happy, safe, and satisfied. In order to do this job, the quality of being able to show compassion and empathy is needed (Dunn). Most of the time, patients come into an aesthetician’s office with lower than average self-esteem. An aesthetician needs to be understanding, and considerate of this. Another quality necessary for this occupation, as well as many others in the medical field, is the ability to communicate and be personable (Dunn). Being a people-person and having communication with the clients is arguably the most important of them all. If an aesthetician is not able to communicate with his or her patient, their problem will not be solved, and their skin could become worse than it was before (Dunn). The client will leave their office unhappy and it could drastically damage their physical health as well as their mental health. When dealing with their patient’s skin, as well as chemicals, having a steady arm is must-have skill to keep their patient, and their self safe. (Dunn) A medical aesthetician’s main goal should be keeping their clients safe and satisfied at all times. A number of high school courses are highly recommended to get students wanting to become an aesthetician on the right track. To be an aesthetician, recommended high school courses would be chemistry, health, and business management (Powell). Chemistry is needed due to the fact that their daily routine will consist of working with chemicals. A background in chemistry allows the professional to know how a patient’s skin will react with that chemical. Health would be a recommended course to take to understand more about the human body. Also as an aesthetician, business management would be a highly suggested class. Many aestheticians are hired by a small business, or they start one and knowing the business essentials would be beneficial. After completing high school a number of training courses are recommended to be the best aesthetician they can be. It is recommended that â€Å"those preparing to become a medical aesthetician take classes in microdermabrasion, skin resurfacing methods, treatment for skin conditions and proper nutrition for healthy skin (Dunn). †To become an aesthetician, you must complete a training program ran by the State Board of Cosmetology. This job requires a licensure by the state (Santiago). Any aesthetician would need to receive this license from their state, and renew it annually. Those wanting to become an aesthetician should prove to be professional, knowledgable, motivated, confident, and empathetic in order to have success with the variety of patients that enter their office. A trait that is much needed to become an aesthetician is having a well-kept and professional appearance at all times in the office (Gambino 8). People are coming into an aesthetician’s office to improve their appearance. If the experts appearance isn’t satisfactory to them, then in the head of a client, they will lose credibility and they will expect a job not as well done as someone who looks clean and respectable; they would most likely look to another professional. An aesthetician needs to display themselves in the proper demeanor, and use their manners when dealing with a client (Gambino 8). They should make their client feel welcome, and create a happy and cheerful environment. At all times, they must be attentive to all of their client’s needs without hesitation. They need to take pride, as well as feel passionate about what they do and let it. To be a successful aesthetician, motivation to gain a stronger knowledge of what they are doing is key. A firm grasp on all of the current and up-to-date techniques is important to a client’s health and to ensure a job well done on their part (Gambino 8). He or she needs to ensure that they are doing the best job that they can do for their client. Taking initiative and reading skin care books and magazines, attending meetings, seminars and tradeshows, and taking part in professional skin-care organizations increases their credibility and personal knowledge on skincare (Gambino 8). Another must have skill an aesthetician should have while working in the lab, is talent. They must have a natural interest in the aesthetic skincare field. It is not only mandatory to have the talents required, but it is necessary to have completed the correct guidance (Gambino 8). They must have enough training, experience, knowledge, and talent to be confident in their judgment and their abilities (Gambino 8). An aesthetician should not be second guessing or questioning themselves while working on the skin of a client. They need to be sure of what they are doing and confident that it is best for the person in which they are working on. To gain that kind of confidence, hours of training and experience is mandatory. Another trait that helps build up the confidence of the client is being empathetic. Empathy is a trait needed to truly want to help clients feel better about themselves, their health, and their appearance (Gambino 8). An aesthetician should be passionate about the work that they do, its not enough to be in it for the money; it needs to be about their passion of wanting to help people feel better and gain confidence in themselves. Many traits are needed to become an aesthetician, but if a person truly is passionate about this career in particular, they will have no problem acquiring and building upon them. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists that the median annual salary for aestheticians as $28,920 annually, which equates to about $13. 90 per hour. † This being the case, it is probably not an adequate amount for a person with future goals of buying a home and supporting a family. In order to take this job, a person should not be in it for the income that they are bringing in, but for the pride that is earned through helping others. Like any other job, there are a few positive aspects as well as drawbacks to being an aesthetician. If you love helping people feel good about themselves, it can be extremely rewarding. If people are passionate about skincare, it will satisfy their needs. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the job growth is coming in strong, so there is a good chance of getting a job in the field of aesthetics, and it is still growing (Santiago). The only drawback to being aesthetician is that it is not one of the highest paying medical careers (Santiago). Although the income is not as large as some would like, aesthetics is steadily becoming a more popular job, but positions look as if they will be available no matter what (Santiago). Aestheticians are here to build the self esteem of the people in their community. They can perform a number of procedures, treatments and recommend multiple products to their clients to help rid them of their flaws. Many traits and qualities are needed to obtain an aesthetics career, but with a strong passion for skincare, they should already be possessed by the aesthetician in the making. A drawback to this occupation is that there is not a huge income, but it is buried by the perks of being able to help people feel good about themselves and becoming able to come home with a sense of pride for what they do each day. It is steadily becoming a more popular career and many positions are going to be opening up within the next decade. Personal Evaluation This job seems like it would be a good fit for me. I am very interested in skincare and I am passionate about building people up to make them feel their best. I feel like it would be a very rewarding experience, and I would come home with a sense of pride every night. I think that I would love having this job, but the annual salary wouldnt be satisfactory to my later goals in life such as moving to the east coast, buying a home, and starting a family. My occupational values that relate to this job are that I love making people feel good about themselves at all costs. I know how to have a well-kept and professional attitude and appearance. I know that I would be determined to learn everything that I can about skincare by attending meetings, seminars, and reading up on all of the latest, up-to-date techniques to work to the best of my ability. I have the initiative that it takes to be an aesthetician. I am interested in skincare and the human body. I have empathy, manner, a steady arm, and I can build my knowledge to its fullest potential. Being an aesthetician would be a profession that I would be highly interested in.

Strategic Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Strategic Human Resource Management - Essay Example Even though the workers are apportioned into different departments, they will be overseen by the human resource department only, apart from the management team. Therefore, human resource department will make their presence in every aspect of worker’s life in an organization. This paper will look at the human resource department of a fictional company, Galactic Enterprise Furniture by specifically analyzing its Strategic Human Resource Management, its advantages, and the disadvantages. In addition, the paper will discuss a set of recommendations, which will be drafted to fill any gap, between what is actually happening and what is felt to be desirable. SHRM short for Strategic human resource management is the concept of managing workers in an organization through human resource management (HRM as well as HRD), with the main emphasis of attaining strategic goals of the organization. So, SHRM can be defined as â€Å"the linking of HRM with strategic goals and objectives in order to improve business performance and develop organizational cultures that foster innovation and flexibility† (Truss & Gratton, 1994). Human Resource management always forms an integral part of the organization and when it becomes a strategic partner in the formulation of the company’s strategies, the concept of Strategic Human Resource Management is initiated. That is, if a company follows SHRM, the activities of the Human Resource Department such as recruiting, training and rewarding personnel will mainly border on achieving the strategic goals of the organization. In short, the HRD should function effectively to produce the best workers, who co uld produce the best results for the organization. So, this concept of SHRM could produce optimum results for the organization like Galactic Enterprises Group particularly Galactic Office Furniture (GOF) and the employees working in it.

Operations Management for the Construction of Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Term Paper

Operations Management for the Construction of Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital - Term Paper Example It has been found that this inefficiency can be attributable to the architects and contracting engineers who are responsible for the development of the construction plan including the type and quantity of materials to be used, the number of construction workers to be employed, and the duration of the project. Nevertheless, in many construction projects where quality has always been deliberately overlooked such that contractors make use of cheaper materials in order to earn more than to erect a high-quality facility, there is dire need to revamp the entire operations management in that the cause of this kind of unscrupulous approach may be detrimental to those who will use the facility at the end of the day. This paper will look at the case of the construction of the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital and the kind of operations management needed to complete it economically while ensuring productivity and efficiency. In particular, this paper will talk about an important tool in operations management: Economics and Diseconomies of Scale†, which aims to contribute to solving problems involved in the construction phase of the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital. ... Spreading the fixed costs, reducing construction cost, cutting cost of purchased materials, etc In the case of the construction of the Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, economies of scale can be a great tool in order to spread the fixed costs (Dixit and Baldick 8). When purchasing materials for the construction, the contractors can take advantage of buying construction materials in bulk or in large quantities such that the fixed cost per one kind of construction material will be distributed to the number of it that has to be purchased; the higher the quantity, the lower the cost for each material would be because for suppliers, the initial set up capital would just be the same regardless of the quantity of the material they have to produce; what these suppliers will have is a marginal extra cost. This is one of many reasons for company mergers or takeovers. Implementing this concept in the construction of Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Hospital, it would be just as certain that the construction cost will be reduced. Obviously, as contractors obtain a good deal in construction materials by taking more quantity at a significantly lower cost would bend the â€Å"extra† budget more on perhaps improvisation of the facility or for the operating cost of the hospital once it becomes operational. Also, when variable cost is cut down, it automatically reduces the entire construction cost considering that the costs of the purchased materials are also cut back. Diseconomies of Scale Purchasing in large quantities does not always entail efficiency. There are cases wherein economies of scale no longer work for a construction operation such that instead of a sustained decrease in fixed cost with

Tesco is one of the leading supermarkets

Tesco is one of the leading supermarkets Introduction Tesco is one of the UKs leading supermarkets, supplying customers nation wide with groceries and a vast array of different services. In the past Tesco started as simply a supermarket, these days they offer their customers insurance, mobile phones, and even electrical goods. Tesco even offer their customers a reward system where customers get a 1% return on their purchases, this 1% comes back to the customer in the form of a voucher which can be used in a variety of different ways. Tesco, like a lot of UK supermarkets, is a very big organisation comprising of a variety of systems, these systems assist the company in operating at levels ranging from the operational level to executive. It is the structure of these systems which allow the business to run effectively, to ensure that the correct decisions are made and reports are compiled for effective management. This paper will discuss the characteristics of two of the core management information systems that Tesco use and the ways in which they might apply them to their business. Transaction Processing Systems Transaction Processing Systems (or TPS for short) are vital systems in any business, these systems are responsible for serving the operational level of an organisation. Examples of some TPS systems would include: Recording payments received for goods and services. Placing orders for products or services. Withdrawing money at a cash machine. TPSs are in contact with the customers all of the time and if one were to fail then it would be immediately apparent, if Tescos till systems were to fail then the customer would be aware of this immediately. This outlines the great importance of these systems, while they may seem to be repetitive, they must ultimately be reliable. This means that although 100% reliability cannot be guaranteed, the TPS must therefore be able to detect and correct errors. (Wikipedia, 2009. Transaction Processing System.) However, not all transactions are processed immediately; there are two different types of transaction systems. Real time processing systems process the transactions immediately, this method keeps information up-to-date and information within the reports will be consistently accurate. Batch processing systems store the information in batches and are processed at slower rates, this method of processing means that reports do not always have up-to-date information. Businesses requiring up-to-date reports will opt for a real time processing system. (Bocji, P 2003 p238) Tesco will benefit from these Transaction Processing Systems in various ways. These systems will hold and collect information about customer purchases, especially those who have a customer loyalty card; it will assist in being able to target other products at these customers to help increase sales. Automatic links with suppliers will be improved as stock can be re-ordered as soon as it has been sold, greatly reducing the physical effort of stock ordering and minimising the errors involved with manual ordering. Greater effectiveness of customer service as prices can be modified with ease, a greater choice of products can be attained and lower prices to the customer. Tesco uses TPSs in their EPOS systems (Electronic Point of Sale) these systems scan barcodes and communicate with the in-house system. This in-house system will record all the data of transactions and stock which needs to be re-ordered, probably in a batch system which can then be transferred to the mainframe at the end of the day. This information will then be accessible to higher management for generating reports and will provide the distribution centre with orders for the following day. This information will also provide ordering information for 3rd party suppliers. Decision Support Systems Decision Support Systems (or DSS) are the management information systems aimed at supporting the managerial level. These systems provide information, usually in the form of ad hoc reports to assist with decision making. The models bases that power DSSs vary from standard analysis to complex mathematical relationships between variables in the data. DSSs are normally accessed from a computer, giving the manager the ability to issue the DSS software commands and request specific data. The output from the DSS software is usually in an easy to understand text and visual format (such as graphs and charts). DSSs are a combination of special models that help with information analysis, forecasting and planning. Company performance data is also part of this integration. DSS are usually not a corporate system and tend to be more departmentally targeted, usually acting as a marketing assistance. Normally DSSs are used as a specialist system such as an expert systems or data warehousing, however they are aimed to be very easy to use and should â€Å"integrate across all levels in recognition of the overlap between operational, tactical and strategic decisions†. (Bocij, P 2003 p253) Expert systems replicate the knowledge and decision making skills that a professional in a certain field would have. These systems are vital tools in decision support; a good example would be making a credit decision on whether or not to give someone a personal loan. Data warehousing is a type of business intelligence software that analyses transaction information to enhance a companys competitiveness. The data warehouse itself is a massive database which contains a companys sale information. Data mining is used in association with data warehousing and is an automated way to find patterns in data. Data clustering can also be utilised in order to find relationships between groups or portions of the data. (Wikipedia, 2009. Data Mining) DSSs can be used to create problems, managers can analyse the data when certain variables are changed, or looking at different scenarios. Some types of the occurrences include: Data Mining, as already discussed. Goal Seeking Analysis, changing variables one at a time until a desired goal is achieved, doing this enables the manager to see what goals need to be set in specific areas of the business to attain desired result. What If Analysis, like goal seeking analysis but involves changing a number of variables at once or changing a relationship within the variables, while keeping an eye on the changes in the other variables. Optimization analysis, to find an optimum value for the variables given certain conditionals. Taking Tesco as an example you can assume that via Transaction Processing Systems, various data is collected in the stores. This information is stored in the company main frame system and can be accessed by departmental managers for them to generate reports via expert systems or data mining/warehousing. This enables the managers to get information such as how many customers enjoy eating chicken in comparison to those who prefer beef; this can then be coupled with information such as what other products the consumer purchases along with these items. The managers at Tesco could then find information about item affinity, a process that would highlight the likelihood of a number of items being purchased together. This information is of great importance when considering what special offers to put on, it could aid in finding other suitable products to put close to these special offers. (Information Management, 2006) The success of item affinity is evident by the story of the beer and diapers, it was found that men were buying diapers along with beer on Friday nights. This is an unusual occurrence that you wouldnt normally predict; however, it was thanks to data mining and item affinity that this was uncovered. (The Register, 2006) References Bocji, P (2003). Business Information Systems: Technology, Development and Management for the e-business 2nd Ed. Gosport: Ashford Colour Press Ltd. Information Management, (2006) Demystifying Market Basket Analysis. Information-management.com [online] updated October 2006, accessed 6th December 2009. The Register, (2006) The parable of the beer and diapers. Theregister.co.uk [online] updated 15th August 2006, accessed 8th December 2009. Wikipedia, (2009) Data Mining. Wikipedia.org [online] accessed 8th December 2009. Wikipedia, (2009) Transaction Processing System. Wikipedia.org [online] accessed 8th December 2009.