Review

Here you have another twenty something ungrateful Hollywood raised female woman-child, in another typically ungrateful for celebrity-family with parents who are so self absorbed and ungrateful towards themselves, that you wonder how they can have time left to be ungrateful towards the children under their roof/in their lives. But oh, they find time. So what keeps you watching? The 15 minute ‘clinique' beauty of the twenty something self described â€Å"socialite†? The little â€Å"naughty-bits† they sneak in of T&A just under the radar of standards and practices?The self-absorption of the parents? The back-talk and snotty attitudes the children are allowed to give to these parents? The unruliness of a blended family? Or just the idea of taking a peek into the life of â€Å"folks with celebrity† and then taking a look at your own life and realizing that mom and dad †¦. maybe aren't SO bad. The beauty of freedom is that there will always be something for everyone. And in that freedom, you can take a look and decide if it's good or bad. For me, this show is bad, meaningless.This is not to say that all TV must be 20 hours of â€Å"Leave it to Beaver† or the â€Å"Brady Bunch†. That's unrealistic. We've got to be exposed to real family dysfunction to see that that the world isn't always sugary sweet and pristine perfect. Not parents, not kids, not even our pets. But programs like this are getting to be a standard. There isn't anything warm or exciting about viewing the life of a young woman who's already hit her peak – mentally, educationally, sexually – and is heading downward fast.Or her mother who IS allowing it – even if it is only due to her own self-absorption. And a father who couldn't care less because he ISN'T her father particularly, just another man in a long line of men that the mother has luckily hooked her claws into. And the household siblings – the siblings to whom you have a b et going that they will either run out of the home screaming for real love, acceptance, stability, boundaries – or end up just like their older sibling on a YouTube edited soft porn segment or even worse – a real one. Is this entertainment? Depends on you.It is a train wreck that you may stop to see for a minute or two – but there are so many OTHER train wrecks to see in â€Å"reality TV† these days from music television to classic television channels, why stick with this one? Even if its only for a minute? Well†¦ maybe to hug mom and dad and thank them that you're not ever going to end up as dull, lifeless, and boring as this family no matter how much money, TV cameras or publicity there is in the world. This shows that fame, money — the appearance of it or the chasing of it — isn't all it's cracked up to be, but obviously will crack those who have it.Here you have another twenty something ungrateful Hollywood raised female woman-child , in another typically ungrateful for celebrity-family with parents who are so self absorbed and ungrateful towards themselves, that you wonder how they can have time left to be ungrateful towards the children under their roof/in their lives. But oh, they find time. So what keeps you watching? The 15 minute ‘clinique' beauty of the twenty something self described â€Å"socialite†? The little â€Å"naughty-bits† they sneak in of T&A just under the radar of standards and practices?The self-absorption of the parents? The back-talk and snotty attitudes the children are allowed to give to these parents? The unruliness of a blended family? Or just the idea of taking a peek into the life of â€Å"folks with celebrity† and then taking a look at your own life and realizing that mom and dad †¦. maybe aren't SO bad. The beauty of freedom is that there will always be something for everyone. And in that freedom, you can take a look and decide if it's good or bad. For me, this show is bad, meaningless.This is not to say that all TV must be 20 hours of â€Å"Leave it to Beaver† or the â€Å"Brady Bunch†. That's unrealistic. We've got to be exposed to real family dysfunction to see that that the world isn't always sugary sweet and pristine perfect. Not parents, not kids, not even our pets. But programs like this are getting to be a standard. There isn't anything warm or exciting about viewing the life of a young woman who's already hit her peak – mentally, educationally, sexually – and is heading downward fast.Or her mother who IS allowing it – even if it is only due to her own self-absorption. And a father who couldn't care less because he ISN'T her father particularly, just another man in a long line of men that the mother has luckily hooked her claws into. And the household siblings – the siblings to whom you have a bet going that they will either run out of the home screaming for real love, acceptan ce, stability, boundaries – or end up just like their older sibling on a YouTube edited soft porn segment or even worse – a real one. Is this entertainment? Depends on you.It is a train wreck that you may stop to see for a minute or two – but there are so many OTHER train wrecks to see in â€Å"reality TV† these days from music television to classic television channels, why stick with this one? Even if its only for a minute? Well†¦ maybe to hug mom and dad and thank them that you're not ever going to end up as dull, lifeless, and boring as this family no matter how much money, TV cameras or publicity there is in the world. This shows that fame, money — the appearance of it or the chasing of it — isn't all it's cracked up to be, but obviously will crack those who have it.

EOQ, Economic Order Quantity

An Economic Order Quantity is the optimal number of order that minimizes total variable costs required to order and hold inventory, that is to say, that EOQ helps us to determine the appropriate amount and frequency when ordering and holding inventory. EOQ is used as part of a continuous review inventory system, in which the level of inventory is monitored at all times, and a fixed quantity is ordered each time the inventory level reaches a specific reorder point, as it shown in the left-hand graphic, where R is the minimum inventory. Moreover, EOQ is essentially an accounting formula that determines the point at which the combination of order costs and inventory carrying costs are the least. The result is the most cost effective quantity to order. Also, EOQ is generally recommended in operations where demand is relatively steady, items with demand variability such as seasonality can still use the model by going to shorter time periods for the EOQ calculation. This Model have som assumptions that are important to take into account: 1. Demand is known and is deterministic, ie. constant. 2. The lead time, ie. he time between the placement of the order and the receipt of the order is known and constant. 3. The receipt of inventory is instantaneous. In other words the inventory from an order arrives in one batch at one point in time. 4. Quantity discounts are not possible, in other words it does not make any difference how much we order, the price of the product will still be the same. (for the Basic EOQ-Model) 5. Tha t the only costs pertinent to the inventory model are the cost of placing an order and the cost of holding or storing inventory over time. The basic Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) formula is: WhereA = Demand for the year Cp = Cost to place a single order Ch = Cost to hold one unit inventory for a year Then, the before formula try to Minimize the Total cost per period, that consist in: Total cost per period = inventory holding costs per period + order costs per period Where: Order Cost = The Number of Orders Placed in the period x Order Costs Carrying Cost = Average Inventory Level x the Carrying Costs of 1 unit of Stock for one period Then as a Result of this minimizing we get the Total Relevant Cost (TRC) which is TRC = Yearly Holding Cost + Yearly Ordering Cost = So we can see that the Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) is derived from this formula as the graphic shows. Economic Order Quantities can also have many variations on its basic model. The most useful ones are: * Quantity discount logic can be programmed to work in conjunction with the EOQ formula to determine optimum order quantities. Most systems will require this additional programming. * Additional logic can be programmed to determine max quantities for items subject to spoilage or to prevent obsolescence on items reaching the end of their product life cycle. When used in manufacturing to determine lot sizes where production runs are very long (weeks or months) and finished product is being released to stock and consumed/sold throughout the production run you may need to take into account the ratio of production to consumption to more accurately represent the average inventory level. * Your safety stock calculation may take into account the order cycle time that is driven by the EOQ. If so, you may need to tie the cost of the change in safety stock levels into the formula.

Impact of Corporate Governance on Firm Performance

Impact of Corporate Governance on Firm Performance—an Empirical investigation from the Insurance Industry of Pakistan Hafiz Muhammad Raheel Arif* [email  protected] com 00923216190575 *COMSATS Institute of Information Technology and Science Lahore, Pakistan Abstract The study is devoted to check the impact of corporate governance (CG) on the firm performance (FP) of the insurance industry of Pakistan. Four measures have been used in the paper to check the firm performance being affected by the corporate governance. These measures are Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and Market to Book ratio and Price Earnings ratio.Data of 24 insurance companies is taken from websites of the companies and Karachi Stock Exchange website for the years 2007-2011 making up 107 observations excluding the missing observations. Pooled Ordinary Least Square (POLS) regression technique is used to regress the data. Findings of this study conclude that Institutional Shareholding ratio, B oard Size and Independent Directors’ ratio affect firm performance in the positive way whereas, CEO duality, Firm size, and Leverage have negative impact on firm performance overall when firm performance measured through four different measures.In future, the study may be extended to more corporate governance variables and increased sample size so that more generalized results may be achieved. Key words: Corporate Governance, Firm Performance, Insurance Industry, Pakistan. Introduction C orporate governance has now gained very much importance in the corporate world. Almost in all the countries around the globe corporate governance has become mandatory and is regulated by the concerning bodies. Like in Pakistan, this is mandatory for the corporations to comply with the best practices according to the Code of Corporate Governance [*].Various studies have attempted to probe into the relationship of corporate governance with the firm performance in the corporate world across vari ous countries. The study strives to investigate the impact of corporate governance on firm performance in the Insurance industry of Pakistan. The study basically extends the findings of Naser Najjar (2012), in his study; Naser * Code of corporate governance is included in the Regulation No. 37 for the listing regulations of Karachi Stock Exchange to ensure the best practices of corporate governance in Pakistan.Najjar (2012) investigated the relationship of corporate governance with firm performance by empirically examining this relationship of CG and firm performance in the insurance industry of the Behrain. In his study Naser Najjar (2012) used only Return on Equity as a measure of the financial performance. This study employs more financial performance measuring variables like Return on Assets, Market to Book ratios, and Price Earnings ratios by controlling firm size and the leverage ratio.Naser Najjar (2012) found a positive association between firm size and the performance of th e insurance companies suggesting that as the size increases the assets are more with the firms in the form of insurance policies and firms efficiently manage things to an ultimate gain. In their study Ming-Cheng Wu, Hsin-Chiang Lin, I-Cheng Lin, and Chun-Feng Lai found the positive relationship of firm size with the performance when measured by Return on Assets.Board size showed a negative relation in the past studies as in the study of Ming-Cheng Wu, Hsin-Chiang Lin, I-Cheng Lin, and Chun-Feng Lai; they found that board size is negatively associated with the firm performance due to the reason of board’s composition of inside as well as outside directors, and inside directors would have relatively high level of information regarding company’s internal affairs than outside directors and inside directors would work in their own interest and may confiscate the rights of shareholders and as the number of inside directors increases it makes the performance down.While anothe r study, Bacon (1973) gave a different opinion that larger board size positively affects the performance justifying in a way that larger board usually comes with a diversified background and qualifications which generates different viewpoints and hence increases quality of managerial decisions. One another very important way to control corporate bodies by reducing agency issues is to separate the CEO from Chairman (William et al. 2003).If these two characters are performed by a single individual, is known as CEO Duality. This situation if exists, reduces firm performance as there would be no one to â€Å"watch the watchers† (Zubaidah 2009). Independency of directors yet another variable to reduce confiscation of shareholders’ rights as independent directors would work in the best interest of the shareholders. The more the independent directors in the board, higher will be the performance of the firm (Zubaidah 2009).Upcoming sections are composed as; Next section review s the literature regarding the variables of corporate governance and performance measure. Then there comes the methodology section followed by the findings and results with conclusion at the end. Review of Literature Enormous studies empirically investigated the relationship between corporate governance and firm performance regarding various types of industries and across the world. Insurance industry is one of the financial sectors of any economy and it continuously gaining importance in Pakistan.Likewise, the issues of governing corporate bodies are raised during practices, the reason the study intends to check impact of corporate governance on the firm performance in the insurance industry of Pakistan. A number of studies used ROE and ROA as a measure of performance while checking for the impact of corporate governance on these variables. Naser Najjar (2012) found that there does not exist any significant association between CEO Duality as a measure of corporate governance and Re turn on Equity (ROE) as a performance measure.Masood Fooladi Chaghadari (2011) found negative relation between CEO Duality and firm performance which tells about the fact that if a single person acts as CEO and Chairman of the board it will reduce the performance of a firm. The study of Sanjai Bhagat & Brian Bolton (2007) also suggests the same results; the separation of CEO and Chairman of the board is positively and significantly associated to the firm performance. Anthony Kyereboah-Coleman (International Conference on Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets) in his study found that CEO duality has negatively relationship with the firm performance.Sanjai Bhagat & Brian Bolton (2007) found very interestingly the negative relationship of board independence with operating performance and made it relevant that with respect to the board independence which received corporate governance listing requirement from NYSE and NASDAQ. Masood Fooladi Chaghadari (2011) found negative relation of leverage with ROA and positive relation of the same variable with ROE. Anthony Kyereboah-Coleman (International Conference on Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets) also found negative relation of leverage with Return on Assets. Methodology I. Sample DataThe study initially undertook data of randomly selected 27 insurance companies of Pakistan from 2007-2011 making up 135 observations out of which 3 companies showed incomplete information due to which they were excluded from the study and 13 observations were missing in the data. The study then includes 107 observations. Data is collected from Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) and websites of insurance companies. Current study has used Pooled Ordinary Least Square (POLS) regression method to regress the data collected to fulfill the objective of measuring impact of corporate governance on firm performance. II.Models In order to measure the firm performance the current study uses 4 different measures viz. Return on Assets (ROA), Retur n on Equity (ROE), Market to Book ratio (MB ratio), and Price Earnings ratio (PE ratio) and variables Board Size (BS), Institutional Shareholding ratio (ISH ratio), CEO duality (CEOD) and Board Independence as corporate governance variables while Leverage ratio (LEV) and Firm Size (FS) are controlled and included in the models as follow:- Perf(ROA) jit = ? 0 + BS jit? 1 + ISH jit? 2 + CEODjit? 3 + IDjit? 4 + LEVjit? 5 + FSjit? 6 + ? Perf(ROE) jit = ? 0 + BSjit? 1 + ISHjit? 2 + CEODjit? + IDjit? 4 + LEVjit? 5 + FSjit? 6 + ? Perf(MB) jit = ? 0 + BSjit? 1 + ISHjit? 2 + CEODjit? 3 + IDjit? 4 + LEVjit? 5 + FSjit? 6 + ? Perf(PE)jit = ? 0 + BSjit? 1 + ISHjit? 2 + CEODjit? 3 + IDjit? 4 + LEVjit? 5 + FSjit? 6 + ? Where: Perfjit= Firm Performance measured by ROA, ROE, MB, and PE ratios form firm j, ith observation at time t. ?0= the intercept. BS = Board Size ISH = Institutional Shareholding CEOD = CEO Duality ID= Independent Directors LEV = Leverage Ratio FS = Firm Size ? = Stochastic distur bance term, and all the betas are coefficients of change rate in the variables against one unit increase.III. Variables Definition Table 1 AcronymVariable NameProxies Dependent Variables ROAReturn on AssetsProfit Before Tax/Total Assets ROEReturn on EquityEarnings Available to Stockholder/Total Equity MBMarket to Book ratioMarket price Per Share/Book value Per Share PEPrice Earnings ratioMarket price Per Share/Earning Per Share Independent Variables BSBoard SizeNumber of Directors in the Board of Directors ISHInstitutional ShareholdingPercentage shares held by Institutional Investors CEODCEO DualityDummy variable, equals to 1 if CEO and Chairman is the same person or 0 otherwise.IDIndependent DirectorsThe ratio of No. of Independent Directors/Total Number of Directors in the Board of Directors LEVLeverage ratioTotal Debt/Total Assets FSFirm SizeNatural Log of Total Assets Results Table 2 discusses the descriptive statistics of all the variables including dependent variables Return o n Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), Market to Book ratio (MB), and Price Earnings ratio (PE). The mean value of PE 5. 134 is less as compared to the other dependent variables which denote the lower earnings gained by insurance companies as compared to the mean value of ROE which is 12. 91 which is almost double and depicts the picture that insurance companies earn more on equity. BS mean value 10. 654 shows that on average nearly 11 numbers of directors is part of the board having a standard deviation of 1. 108. On the average 40. 489% of all the issued share of an insurance company are held by institutional investors with a standard deviation of 6. 333%. The ratio of CEOD in the insurance industry of Pakistan is 0. 477 which expresses that on the average there are 47. 7% companies where CEO and Chairman is the same individual.The mean value of ID, 0. 425 tells about the average ratio of board independence in an insurance company in Pakistan. Leverage value of 0. 581 shows that on average an insurance company employs 58. 1% debt in the capital structure ratio. Table 2 Descriptive Statistics MeanMinimumMaximumStd. Deviation ROA9. 631-25. 63852. 78320. 035 ROE12. 791-53. 85989. 36936. 980 MB5. 1343. 427. 781. 456 PE10. 3428. 716. 62. 059 BS10. 6549121. 108 FS16. 72916. 17917. 2130. 288 ISH40. 48931. 23053. 9306. 333 CEOD0. 477010. 502 ID0. 4250. 2220. 6670. 091 LEV0. 5810. 3990. 6930. 073Table 3 models summary tells about the R-Square(s), Adjusted R-Square(s) and the Durbin-Watson values which tell about the fact that is there any auto-correlation problem? The calculated values for the models individually tell that there is not auto-correlation problem as all the values are in the range 1. 5-2. 5. Adjusted R-Square of model 4(PE) is largest 0. 897 which tells that all the covariates explain the model by 89. 7%, while the Adjusted R-Squared value of model 3 is smallest 0. 722 which explains about 72. 2% of the model. Table 3 Models Summary ModelRR SquareAdjus ted R SquareStd.Error of the EstimateDurbin-Watson 1 (ROA)0. 9370. 8770. 8707. 22601. 913 2 (ROE)0. 8620. 7430. 72819. 3001. 982 3 (MB)0. 8590. 7380. 7220. 7681. 907 4 (PE)0. 9500. 9020. 8970. 6622. 257 Table 4 tells about the individual significance of the four models used in the study. The F-value of model ROA is 119. 139 and p-value is 0. 000 which tells that the model is significant, while the F-value for model ROE is 48. 189 and p-value is 0. 000 which is significant. F-value of model MB is 48. 863 and p-value is 0. 000 which is again significant and the model PE is also significant as the p-value for that model is 0. 00. All the models are significant at 5% level of significance. Table 4 ANOVA Model Sum of SquaresdfMean SquareFSig. 1 (ROA)Regression37325. 50766220. 918119. 1390. 000 Residual5221. 53310052. 215 Total42547. 040106 2 (ROE)Regression107706. 536617951. 08948. 1890. 000 Residual37250. 738100372. 507 Total144957. 274106 3 (MB)Regression165. 773627. 62946. 8630. 000 R esidual58. 9571000. 590 Total224. 730106 4 (PE)Regression405. 554667. 592154. 0760. 000 Residual43. 8701000. 439 Total449. 424106 Table 5 narrates the Pearson correlation coefficients for the model 1 where the dependent variable is ROA.Institutional Shareholding has the largest coefficient 0. 845 which means that it has a strong positive relationship with Return on Assets. Firm size also has significantly positive relation with the return on assets. Board size unexpectedly showed a very weak relationship with the return on assets, the coefficient is 0. 048. CEO duality is another case which has a weak positive relationship with ROA, the coefficient of CEOD and ROA is 0. 034. The empirical evidence shows that there is negative relation between firm size, institutional shareholding, leverage and board size either the relations among these variables are not strong.Leverage also have negative but near to zero relation to the firm size. Board independence (ID) is also negatively associat ed to the institutional shareholding. Table 5 Pearson Correlation ROABSFSISHCEODIDLEV ROA1 BS0. 0481 FS0. 556-0. 0451 ISH0. 845-0. 2130. 3911 CEOD0. 0340. 2140. 0360. 0921 ID0. 2360. 0750. 707-0. 097-0. 0301 LEV0. 441-0. 010-0. 0010. 425-0. 321-0. 1531 Table 6 discusses the regression coefficients when the dependent variable is ROA. The results show that all the coefficients are significant except the firm size and CEO duality.Firm size has negative relation with the return on assets which is consistent with the literature. CEOD has negative impact on the firm performance when it is measured by ROA; the results are not significant but support the literature. While, Board Size (BS), Institutional Shareholding (ISH), Independent Directors (ID), and Leverage has positive impact on firm performance. There is no multi-collinearity problem with the variables as suggested by the VIF values. Table 6 Coefficients ModelVariablesUnstandardized Coefficients Standardized CoefficientstSig.Colline arity Statistics BetaStd. ErrorBeta ToleranceVIF 1(Constant)-179. 18670. 247 -2. 5510. 012** BS4. 1100. 6870. 2275. 9850. 000*0. 8501. 176 FS-0. 8464. 625-0. 012-0. 1830. 8550. 2783. 595 ISH2. 8300. 1730. 89516. 4020. 000*0. 4132. 424 CEOD-2. 2511. 620-0. 056-1. 3900. 168***0. 7461. 341 ID71. 95713. 3210. 3275. 4020. 000*0. 3342. 993 LEV26. 02312. 1630. 0952. 1400. 035**0. 6201. 613 Dependent Variable: ROA. *, **, *** show 1%, 5% and 10% significance level respectively. Table 7 discusses the Pearson correlation coefficients now taking Return on Equity as dependent variable.Again consistent with the previous model, Institutional Shareholding has the largest coefficient which shows a strong relation of ISH with ROE. COED has the smallest coefficient but has positive association with the ROE. BS has negative relation with Firm size, ISH and Leverage which in line with the literature. Independent directors’ ratio is negatively associated to the ISH but has a weaker relationship. ID has also inverse relation with leverage and also has weak relation. Table 7 Pearson Correlations ROEBSFSISHCEODIDLEV ROE1 BS0. 0531 FS0. 485-0. 0451 ISH0. 739-0. 2130. 3911 CEOD0. 0190. 2140. 0360. 0921ID0. 2890. 0750. 707-0. 097-0. 0301 LEV0. 371-0. 010-0. 0010. 425-0. 321-0. 1531 The results of some of the variables are now different form the results of the previous model where dependent variable was ROA. In the table 8, the dependent variable is Return on Equity (ROE), the reason why leverage has become insignificant. Board size, Firm size, Institutional Shareholding, and Independent directors’ ratio are the statistically significant variables. While COED and Leverage are insignificant but both have positive impact on firm performance. The Institutional Shareholding has largest beta coefficient of 0. 20 which means every 1% increase in Institutional Shareholding will increase firm performance by 0. 920. CEOD has negative impact on firm performance which is consistent wi th the findings of Masood Fooladi Chaghadari (2011). VIF values depict the absence of multi-collinearity problem in the variables. Table 8 Coefficients Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized CoefficientstSig. Collinearity Statistics BetaStd. ErrorBeta ToleranceVIF 2(Constant)138. 509187. 627 0. 7380. 462 BS7. 1561. 8340. 2143. 9020. 000*0. 8501. 176 FS-31. 18112. 354-0. 243-2. 5240. 013**0. 2783. 595 ISH5. 3790. 4610. 92111. 6720. 00*0. 4132. 424 CEOD-5. 4804. 326-0. 074-1. 2670. 208***0. 7461. 341 ID218. 28535. 5810. 5386. 1350. 000*0. 3342. 993 LEV20. 27232. 4860. 0400. 6240. 5340. 6201. 613 Dependent Variable: ROE. *, **, *** show 1%, 5% and 10% significance level respectively. Consistent with previous models, Institutional shareholding ratio has largest coefficient which strong relationship with firm performance. Board size, CEO duality and independent directors’ ratio found to have negative but weak relation with firm performance in this model. Independent direct ors’ ratio has negative association with Institutional shareholding.Independent directors’ ratio is negatively associated to the leverage ratio also. Firm size has strong positive relation with independent directors’ ratio; the correlation coefficient between these two variables is 0. 770. Table 9 Correlations MBBSFSISHCEODIDLEV MB1 BS-0. 0411 FS0. 005-0. 0451 ISH0. 624-0. 2130. 3911 CEOD-0. 2240. 2140. 0360. 0921 ID-0. 0310. 0750. 770-0. 097-0. 0301 LEV0. 375-0. 010-0. 0010. 425-0. 321-0. 1531 In Table 10 dependent variable is Market to Book ratio. In this model Firm Size (FS), COE Duality and Leverage have negative but significant impact on firm performance.Variables Board Size, Institutional Shareholding and Independent Directors’ ratio have positive and significant impact on firm performance. Negative coefficient of FS -0. 927 means every unit increase in firm size will lead to -0. 927 times decrease in firm performance. The results are consistent wit h the previous literature. VIF statistics show that there is no multi-collinearity problem. Table 10 Coefficients Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized CoefficientstSig. Collinearity Statistics BetaStd. ErrorBeta ToleranceVIF 3(Constant)67. 2377. 464 9. 0080. 000* BS0. 2590. 0730. 1973. 5540. 001*0. 501. 176 FS-4. 6920. 491-0. 927-9. 5470. 000*0. 2783. 595 ISH0. 2740. 0181. 19014. 9240. 000*0. 4132. 424 CEOD-1. 0680. 172-0. 368-6. 2070. 000*0. 7461. 341 ID11. 0621. 4160. 6927. 8140. 000*0. 3342. 993 LEV-2. 8151. 292-0. 142-2. 1790. 032**0. 6201. 613 Dependent Variable: MB. *, **, *** show 1%, 5% and 10% significance level respectively. In table 11, dependent variable is Price Earnings ratio and it shows the Pearson Correlation coefficients. Inconsistent with the previous models, Institutional Shareholding has negative and strong relationship with Price Earnings (a measure of firm performance).In this model Leverage also has strong negative relationship with firm performance . Firm Size, ISH, and LEV are negatively associated with Board Size. But only the leverage has negative relation with Firm size, CEO duality and Independent Directors’ ratio. Independent Directors’ ratio has strongly positive relationship of 0. 707 with Firm size. Table 11 Pearson Correlations PEBSFSISHCEODIDLEV PE1 BS0. 0531 FS0. 406-0. 0451 ISH-0. 582-0. 2130. 3911 CEOD-0. 1050. 2140. 0360. 0921. 0 ID0. 6680. 0750. 707-0. 097-0. 0301 LEV-0. 575-0. 010-0. 0010. 425-0. 321-0. 1531In table 12 all the independent variables are significant except for Board Size, the only variable which is insignificant but is negatively associated to the firm performance. This is also consistent with previous literature. Values of VIF tell about the absence of multi-collinearity in the variables. Table 12 Coefficients ModelUnstandardized CoefficientsStandardized CoefficientstSig. Collinearity Statistics BetaStd. ErrorBeta ToleranceVIF 4(Constant)-38. 3486. 439 -5. 9560. 000* BS-0. 0720. 0 63-0. 039-1. 1460. 2550. 8501. 176 FS3. 6760. 4240. 5148. 6700. 000*0. 2783. 595 ISH-0. 2000. 016-0. 615-12. 6330. 00*0. 4132. 424 CEOD-0. 6570. 148-0. 160-4. 4250. 000*0. 7461. 341 ID4. 3461. 2210. 1923. 5590. 001**0. 3342. 993 LEV-9. 4391. 115-0. 336-8. 4670. 000*0. 6201. 613 Dependent Variable: PE. *, **, *** show 1%, 5% and 10% significance level respectively. Conclusion Corporate governance plays a pivotal role in the performance of Insurance Companies. There are different statutory bodies in different countries which control and ensure the best practices in the corporations like in Pakistan Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan is responsible for monitoring and controlling such practices in the corporations.This study finds that Board Size (BS), Institutional Shareholding (ISH) and Independent Directors’ ratio have positive and significant impact on corporate governance. The reasons are if Board size is large, the board has members having diverse background, mo re viewpoints, and competitive and experienced individuals which lead towards right decision making and towards better performance as compared to the industry norms. Institutional investors have more interest in the investment and management skills which adds to the performance of the firm.The more the Independent Directors in the board, the more the transparency and integrity which ultimately leads towards enhanced performance. CEO duality have negative impact on the firm performance due to reason that inefficiencies and mismanagement in the operations is not watched by any independent person which make the performance of the company worse. The study also finds that Firm Size and Leverage also have negative impact on firm performance. As the size of the firm increases due to the reason of diseconomies of scale it puts worse impact on the financial performance of the firm.For the future research, scholars may increase the sample size to get more generalized results and there should be included more corporate governance variables like family ownership, concentration, directors’ remuneration and many others. References Najjar, Naser (2012). â€Å"The Impact of Corporate Governance on the Insurance Firm’s Performance in Bahrain†. International Journal of Learning & Development ISSN 2164-4063 2012, Vol. 2, No. 2 Zubaidah Z. A. , Kamaruzaman J. and Nurmala M. K. (2009). Board structure and corporate performance in Malaysia.International Journal of Economic and Finance 1(1): 150-164. Williams S. M. and Ho C. A. (2003). International Comparative Analysis of the Association between Board Structure and the efficiency of Value Added by a Firm from its Physical Capital and Intellectual Capital Resources. The International Journal of Accounting 38(4):465-491. Ming-Cheng Wu, Hsin-Chiang Lin, I-Cheng Lin, Chun-Feng Lai. â€Å"The Effects of Corporate Governance on Firm Performance†. Chaghadari, Masood Fooladi (2011). â€Å"Corporate Governance a nd FirmPerformance† 2011 International Conference on Sociality and Economics Development IPEDR vol. 10 (2011)  © (2011) IACSIT Press, Singapore Bhagat, Sanjai and Bolton, Brian (2007). â€Å"Corporate Governance And Firm Performance†. Kajola, Sunday O (2008). â€Å"Corporate Governance and Firm Performance: The Case of Nigerian Listed Firms†. European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Science ISSN 1450-2275 Issue 14 (2008) D. N. Ranasinghe (2010). â€Å"Composition and Configuration of the Board and Firm Performance in Financial Services Industry in Sri Lanka†. DSM Business Review v Vol. , No. 2 (December, 2010) Anthony Kyereboah-Coleman (2007). â€Å"CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND FIRM PERFORMANCE IN AFRICA: A DYNAMIC PANEL DATA ANALYSIS†. International Conference on Corporate Governance in Emerging Markets. 15th -17th November, 2007, Sabanci University, Istanbul, Turkey Shaheen, Rozina and Nishat, Dr. Mohammed. â€Å"Corporate Governan ce and Firm Performance- An Exploratory Analysis†. Nittayagasetwat, Aekkachai and Nittayagasetwat, Wiyada (2009) â€Å"Empirical Analysis of Corporate Governance: The Impact on Firm Performance: The Case of Thailand†. Patibandla, Murali (2001). Equity Pattern, Corporate Governance and Performance: A Study of India’s Corporate Sector†. J. Bacon (1973). â€Å"Corporate directorship practice, member and committees of the board†. New York: The conference board. Sanjai Bhagat, Brian Bolton (2008). â€Å"Corporate governance and firm performance†. Journal of Corporate Finance 14 (2008) 257–273 Alon Brav, Wei Jiang, Frank Partnoy, Randall Thomas (2006). â€Å"Hedge Fund Activism, Corporate Governance, and Firm Performance†. Malik, Hifza (2011). â€Å"DETERMINANTS OF INSURANCE COMPANIES PROFITABILITY: AN ANALYSIS OF INSURANCE SECTOR OF PAKISTAN†.Volume 1, Issue 3, November 201 Naveed Ahmed, Zulfqar Ahmed, Ahmad Usman (2011). †Å"Determinants of Performance: A Case of Life Insurance Sector of Pakistan†. International Research Journal of Finance and Economics ISSN 1450-2887 Issue 61 (2011). Al-Shami, Hamdan Ahmad (2008). â€Å"Determinants of Insurance companies’ profitability in UAE†. Narjess Boubakri, Jean-Claude Cosset, and Omrane Guedhami (2001). â€Å"Liberalization, Corporate Governance, and the Performance of Newly Privatized Firm†. William Davidson Institute Working Paper 419 Stuart Kells and Mark Rogers (1997). Executive remuneration, board structure, corporate strategy and firm performance: A taste of the literature†. ISSN 1328-4991, ISBN 0 7325 0955 6 Kader Sahin, Cigdem Sahin Basfirinci2 and Aygun Ozsalih (2011). â€Å"The impact of board composition on corporate financial and social responsibility performance: Evidence from public-listed companies in Turkey†. African Journal of Business Management Vol. 5 (7), pp. 2959-2978, 4 April, 2011 Farshid Navissi a nd Vic Naiker (2006). â€Å"Institutional ownership and corporate value†. Managerial Finance Vol. 32 No. 3, 2006 pp. 247-256 John E. Core, Robert W.Holthausen*, David F. Larcker (1999). â€Å"Corporate governance, chief executive officer compensation, and firm performance†. Journal of Financial Economics 51 (1999) 371? 406 Dong-Sung Cho* and Jootae Kim (2007). â€Å"Outside Directors, Ownership Structure and Firm Profitability in Korea†. Volume 15 Number 2 March 2007 Victoria Wise, Muhammad Mahboob Ali (2009). â€Å"Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility in Bangladesh with special reference to Commercial Banks†. Working Paper No. AIUB-BUS-ECON-2009-0 Gujrati, Damodar N. & Porter, Dawn C. â€Å"Basic Econometrics†. 5th Edition McGraw-Hill

Topic of the week cultural diversity Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Topic of the week cultural diversity - Coursework Example Today, the same scenario exists, only the immigrants of today come somewhat illegally and bring their drug trade, crime, and uneducated ways of life with them. There is current legislation to help reform this situation. Social Forces Influencing Immigration Policies Prior to World War I, there was a huge wave of immigrants arriving from predominantly European countries. This was good, in a way, because it provided the necessary laborers for the factories and various infrastructure projects America had under construction. They were primarily young people; able bodied, with a burning desire to have a bite of the American dream. They weren’t particularly educated, just eager to take their places and create a new life for themselves and their future families. With the development of steamship travel there was a possibility for greater numbers of immigrants to arrive at one time. This brought immigrants primarily to the eastern seacoasts. Urban areas quickly filled up with immigran ts and put undue pressure on currently existing systems; health care, education, and infrastructure.

Investigating Cold Cases Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Investigating Cold Cases - Term Paper Example There are a lot of problems which arise while trying to resume a cold case. One is the non availability of bandwidth to continue the investigation on the case. The other problem is the lack of funds to support the investigation. Also, the people following up on a cold case might get transferred or retired, and the successor might not be able to solve the case, either because of loss of interest or lack of experience in solving such cases (Karen M. Hess). Cold cases may prove to be very dangerous at times, where the criminal, if not arrested because of lack of evidence, might keep committing the same crime again and again. This could have results as bad as loss of several lives. It is advisable to have a cold case squad at all times in the organization. This is because the regular police staff might not be able to follow up on the cold cases because of the increasing crime rates. Such squads should have the right proportion of people who can manage and ones who can investigate. In such squads, the essential requirement is to have an anchor at all points of time. An anchor is a person who has the information and context of the case being investigated. So, having one such person in the squad at all points of time ensures that the team is not low on context even when the old people leave the squad and new people join. A cold case squad is either part time of full time depending on the need. Mostly, a lieutenant is hired to manage the squad (John Douglas). He is the interface of the squad to the outer world ( i.e. the community, press, police department, and the law enforcement agencies). The next person as part of the squad is the supervisor. A supervisor is responsible for managing the daily operations of the squad. Other members of the squads are detectives. The detectives can range from the ones who are a part of the squad full time to the ones who deliver only a part of their time to the case. The detectives are responsible for analyzing

Quantitative Methods database assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Quantitative Methods database - Assignment Example Data regarding the hotels were collected from 144 hotels found in these 3 cities and namely 45 hotels from Edinburgh, 54 hotels from London and 45 hotels from Manchester. The information collected were star rating status, review scores, existing price of property, provision of swimming pool, Wi-Fi and whether it is charged. The analysis was based on: The statistical analysis done were the t tests and the ANOVAs to find out whether the p value is les than 0.05 which will mean there is a significant difference between the observations(price) based on locality or other variables and if p value is greater than 0.05 such observed difference will not be considered significant(Warne,2012). Further regression analysis was done to find out how the variables are related to pricing and how they influence price (Wessa, 2014). The sign convention of the coefficients in the equation will indicate whether the particular variable positively or negatively correlates with pricing strategy. Fig 1: The above table and figure reflects the number of hotels in different localities. London has more 4 star and 5 star hotels compared to Edinburgh and Manchester. While 0 star, 1 star and 2 star and 3 star hotels are more in Edinburgh and Manchester compared to London. Fig 8: The above figure reflects the comparison of average price of different star rated hotels in all 3 cities. It reflects London hotels has highest value for the rooms in 2 star, 3 star, 4 star or 5 tar properties compared to similar properties in Manchester or Edinburgh. Two star hotels are significantly priced more in Manchester than Edinburgh (p0.05). In the equation Pri means room price, Sta means star ratings, Rsc means review scores, WiC means wifi charged, FiC means fitness centre, Loc means locality, Dummy variables was assigned to WiC ( if

Effects of e-Business on Project Mgt, Supply Chain Mgt, Retailing, Term Paper

Effects of e-Business on Project Mgt, Supply Chain Mgt, Retailing, Entertainment & Manufacturing - Term Paper Example On the other hand, technological advancement led by this globalisation strives to offer a sustainable competition advantage to gain upper hand position in the market. In this regard, e-commerce and e-business are the most significant technological boon for the entire business world. e-Business and e-commerce are linked together as Parazoglou commented that e-commerce is a form of e-business. E-commerce generally deals with buying and selling products through internet; whereas, e-business is â€Å"more generic term† and it encompasses entire business transactions like B2B, B2C, and B2G etc (Parazoglou, p.2). This paper will attempt to present effects of e-business on multiple areas of business including project management, supply chain, retailing, entertainment and manufacturing. The discussions mainly focus on pros and cons of e-business on the stated areas. 2. Effects of e-Business on Project management Project management is a set of activities aiming to achieve specific proj ect objective by proper â€Å"planning, scheduling and controlling† (Lewis, p.7). ... on technology (ICT) is an integral part e-business, through a number application multiple projects are conducted for achieving better accuracy within timeframe. The entire process of project management can be executed through a web based platform. 2.1. Advantages A web based project management backed by e-business are better in many ways that the traditional desktop of manual based systems. Dikbas and Scherer have identified a number of benefits of e-business for project management and these are listed below. It leads to improve the communication system in process of project management. It reduces the RFI (request for information) by enhancing the accessibility of necessary and relevant information. It is also helpful in shortening project’s overall life-cycle period. It enhances the ownership concept through high quality accountability and transparency. It helps to maintain records by proper documentation (Dikbas and Scherer, p.439). 2.2. Disadvantages Along with major advant ages, implantation of e-business also leads to developed certain challenges and drawbacks. It must be realised that use of technology have its certain weaknesses and hence, the web based project management backed by e-business also suffers from the same. Some of these weaknesses are stated below. The dependency of web connections like internet, intranet etc increased heavily and non-availability of such infrastructure are greater threat to success of a project. There are possibilities that due to issues in web- browsers, recurring payments increased. There are greater risks to loss of data due to failure of application due to technical errors. It also requires higher capital investment which becomes major weakness for small organisations. 3. Effects of e-Business on Supply chain management Govil

The Important of a business plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Important of a business plan - Essay Example For such a person the importance of a business plan can be limited though not essentially irrelevant. A business plan generally consists of cover page along with a table of contents and an abstract. It further has a description or an introduction, an analysis of the corporate environment along with a detailed study of the industry such as banking, finance, toys or even a home based business like the online service provision or domestic manufacturing. Next it will have a competitor analysis which would give a description of the nature and the extent of the competitive environment. It will also have a marketing plan, a financial plan, operational and management strategy, a policy approach and finally alternative possibilities of change (Berry, 2008). A potential entrepreneur will have to consider a number of possibilities and probabilities before he launches the operations connected with the business. Therefore he has to consider a number of things to be initiated before the actual business activity starts. A business plan is primarily important due to the following reasons. In the first place a potential businessman or an entrepreneur ought to have a well defined approach to understanding the kind of business that he or she is going to do. For example a potential businessman has to gather as much information as possible on the business environment and the nature of the industry before he himself set up the business. This will be helpful to him by way of creating a certainty about what he is going to do. The inability to clearly define the nature of the business and understand the connected implications often leads to business failure. Secondly a business plan enables a potential businessman to identify and isolate the type of relationships that he will have to develop once the business is launched. For example a sole proprietor operating from home would still have to deal with a bank or a number of banks, a supplier or a number of suppliers, a

Nature of Thought Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Nature of Thought - Essay Example This different level of ability further leads towards intelligence and creativity. Responding to the objects in nature and events happening is a phenomenon that is necessary to continue the survival. Every human being is granted with five basic senses to feel and respond accordingly to all the situations that happen in the environment. Anything, which is felt by a human being, is sent to the human mind by the five senses. There are two kinds of senses which are generally taken in the discussion. External senses are five basic senses (vision: eyes, hearing: ears, smell: nose, touch: skin, taste: tongue) whereas internal sense is based upon intuition and is not considered in objective approach rather it is a subjective one about which we cannot give a concrete view (McCosh, 1882). To precede the above discussion towards subjective perspective, let’s get an idea about memory. Memory is derived from a Latin word â€Å"Memoria† with literary meaning of retaining something in mind. It is about storing the events in mid which had been experienced in past with an individual. Woodworth describes the memory as it helps remembering the past learning (Mangal, 2007). Memory of a human being is consisted of three parts i.e., sensory storage, short term memory and long term memory. As far as the discussion of memory continues, it is specified that memory is somewhat as a collection of past. It only helps to retain the archives of the past. It merely does not help to explore or dig it out for future usage. Although memory can be shared but the way it is shared uses medium to recall the memories that have been saved in human being. The concept of conscious and subconscious is also depicted over here. We can say that memory is a set of records but it cannot recall the past experiences. It is medium which digs the memories out and makes us remember at different times. To come up towards the extract of the further

Ebola disease Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ebola disease - Research Paper Example It is no secret that the most recent West African outbreaks of Ebola that managed to reach the borders of United States in more than one locale (Bausch, & Schwarz, 2014). This is no small problem and people need to be aware of the truth about Ebola and how best to prevent and infection in the first place. In the end, understanding what Ebola is and where it comes from, as well as, how it manifests and how to address break-outs of such a threatening disease is essential. Ebola Virus Disease was originally discovered in Africa, specifically the Sudan and Democratic Republic of Congo, in 1976. Over the course of the last 35 years fears of outbreaks have remained a major concern for agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The name Ebola was assigned the virus for the Ebola River, near the first initial outbreak. However, other subcategories of the Ebola virus have been indentified in places like, Zaire, Reston, and the Tai Forest (Nall, 2014). At least 4 of the most deadly strains are specifically found in Africa. Ebola is a from a family of diseases called Filoviridae and can manifest a number of symptoms that can be mistaken for less lethal or contagious diseases, like a common influenza (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). The Ebola virus invades the body and will remain unnoticed during the incubation period, which can be between 2 and 21 days. Ebola manifests as a s evere, hemorrhagic fever, fatigue, muscle aches and pains, damages liver and kidneys, and impedes normal function, and severe vomiting. However, it is the bleeding that is often, both, internal and external, and can be seen exuding from the gums or in their stool samples that is unique to the virus (World Health Organization, 2014). Again, because many of the symptoms of Ebola its presence it is often mistaken for a less virulent, more common, virus. That said Ebola may go misdiagnosed until the outbreak

Comparing The Kite Runner and Angelas Ashes Essay Example for Free

Comparing The Kite Runner and Angelas Ashes Essay Depression cause a down fall on a person’s emotion. This is easy to understand in the novels Angela’s Ashes and The Kite Runner. In these two stories a person will encounter with the feelings of abandonment and death. In the kite runner Amir was depressed that he and baba had to leave Kabul. He was wondering if he was going to forget his homeland along the line. He mentioned, â€Å"I only knew the memory lived in me a perfectly encapsulated morsel of a good past a brush stroke of color on the gray, barren canvas that our life had become † The Russians invaded Afghanistan so baba and Amir had to leave to find safety. It was very hard for them to leave their homeland and go to Africa. They had to leave all their belongings and life behind n start fresh in a different country. In Angela’s Ashes Angela’s family McCourt’s they saw they were living in poor conditions .Angela’s mother sent money so they al could board a ship to Ireland and start new and leave America behind. They left Brooklyn behind for nothing because when they got to Ireland the living conditions stayed the same. Malachy spends all of his money at the bars and he always shows u to work drunk. Now there are no more jobs in Ireland so he has to abandon his family and go to England to get a job there. Amir from The Kite Runner went back to Afghanistan to visit Rahim Khan because he was very sick. While he was telling him about his family he asked about Hassan so Rahim had to tell him the he got murdered by Taliban. Amir had lots of things going threw his head. He regrets not being in touch with him band for not sticking up h imp years ago. Baba became sick with cancer and he dint want any treatment, he wisent scared to die he knew he lived his life with many accomplishments. Amir father also died now he had no one to get help from when he need guidance. There were many deaths in Angela’s Ashes. When Margret was born Malachy was able to bring food home. It was his only daughter and he was very happy, but when she died everything turned to the worst. Later Oliver one of the twins died. They dialed with many deaths in their family but every time it was harder, Oliver’s death caused depression in the family. The Kite Runner and Angela’s ashes have related themes, the theme of depression stands out, threw the loss of their loved ones, and abandoning their home land these two novels show different events that took in different parts of the world that made people depressed.

Earning a college Degree Worth it Essay Example for Free

Earning a college Degree Worth it Essay Colleges across the United of America are filled with students willing to obtain college degrees. Students usually work hard to earn their college degrees beside the high cost of tuition; they are committed to their education and make extreme sacrifices. But is earning college degrees worth the effort? For many, earning college degrees are opportunities for a life changing situations, employment security, and a great sense of self accomplishment. College degrees are the shortest path to life changing situations for individuals who earn them. For example, individuals with college degrees are more likely to find jobs in accordance with their fields of studies. In addition, their jobs are often less physical and more cerebral. In the workplace, they are usually treated with fairness, and their wages increase steadily. Finally, people with college degrees can enjoy the privilege of job flexibility. To illustrate, those who majors in computer or business might work in the comfort of their homes as software developer, business analyst which jobs allow them flexible scheduling with great wages to combine with family plans. For example, they have more time for cruising, enjoying family getaway weekends, and even biking in rural town. In addition to, experiencing life changing situations, individuals with college degrees have greater chances of employment security. To illustrate, during recession they are less likely to be laid off for several reasons. First of all, they are great assets to companies that will do mostly whatever is necessary to keep them. Next, when individuals with college degrees are searching for employment, they usually do not have to wait long to be recruited by companies mostly because they are skillful and talented. Finally, individuals with college degrees in the workplace are less likely to be fired because they are contractual. They are generally hired on a salary basis with full advantages such as, health insurance and 41k. Most people with college degrees enjoy relative peace and security related to their employment. Finally, people who go to college or university to obtain college degrees of any kind ,experience great sense of self –accomplishment that will reflect on themselves. First, they are proud of themselves for what they have accomplished or overcome to be where they are. Secondly, people with college degrees are treated with respect on their job and that respect follow them even in their homes. Their social status might change totally in a way that they couldn’t imagine four to five years before. When management want to give promotion, people with college degrees are the first ones to enjoy those promotions mostly because they are well prepared. Individuals with college degrees have opportunities to invest in real state, buy fancy cars, and even invest in stock market. Individuals with college degrees can see a brighter future for themselves and families. It is obvious that college degrees bring pride, self-esteem, appreciation, and feelings of well-being for individuals who earn them. To conclude, along with many others, life changing situations, employment security, and a great sense of self-accomplishment are the direct consequences of earning a college education. Naturally, some might argue that college degrees do not worth all the sacrifices. It is widely known that education is a mean to empower individuals to become active participants in the transformation of their society. Every one of us has a role to play to better our life and society. People need to be prepared and get themselves a good education which is the key for a successful life. Indeed, college degrees do worth the effort, sacrifices, and the cost.

Howard Gardners Theory Of Human Intelligence Education Essay

Howard Gardners Theory Of Human Intelligence Education Essay This assignment will critically discuss the topic of integrated learning in the early primary curriculum with reference to the use of the outdoor learning environment. It will be based on my personal research that stemmed from the curriculum. Firstly, this assignment will discuss the outdoor learning day, which incorporated learning outdoors with a topic themed activity. Secondly, the assignment will discuss integrated learning and outdoor learning in relation to the foundation subject Design and Technology. Howard Gardners theory of human intelligence, suggests there are at least seven ways that people have of perceiving and understanding the world. Gardner labels each of these ways a distinct intelligence in other words, a set of skills allowing individuals to find and resolve genuine problems they face. Within the Curriculum, traditional schooling heavily favours the verbal-linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligences. Gardner suggests that a more balanced curriculum that incorporates the arts, self-awareness, communication, and physical education (Gardner, 1999) is needed. Brief outline to the project. The project theme which was chosen was that of habitats and materials with reference to The Three Little Pigs, as this was a popular story that we all knew well and thought we could do a great deal to facilitate childrens learning across the age ranges of the school. We collaborated as a group and decided the story could be changed and saw it possible to have a good link to the outdoor environment leading to using the natural environment to build habitats. We adapted the story to relate directly to the natural environment by The Three Little Pigs building their homes from twigs, leaves and mud as we thought this would be more beneficial and support questioning and investigation. Within the discussion we chose a shaded area in the school grounds to set the scene for our performance and we believed this would then help with the wow factor of the introduction to the activity. The most successful aspect of the session was, once we had gained confidence and had run through the activities with the children, this allowed us to reflect on what was working and the timing of the session. This enabled our group to adapt our idea and allowed us to engage the children more successfully. The children showed positive reactions when building homes for animals from outdoor resources (sticks, mud, leaves etc), however the session at the beginning was not as successful as we were not sure on timing, in which the initial group finished the set task earlier than expected. We then had adapted our intentions to create new extension activities for the children to do and we decided to carry out a hunt for other items to go in the homes we had made. From this experience we had to dis cuss ideas for other activities we could develop if this timing issue reoccurred. I was surprised how engaged the children were when we were performing the story of The Three Little Pigs. Some of the ideas children came up with when building the homes were unexpected such as making sure the home was waterproof and the creative thinking they used to do this, for example; we need to build underground or in a sheltered spot and they also suggested, making sure that the roof was covered in leaves to keep the animals warm, dry and camouflaged. From the Outdoor Learning Day we collaboratively discussed where we could take the theme of materials and habitats. After a long discussion we decided to draw on our personal talents within the foundation subjects and use them to develop lesson plans and resources. I decided to opt for Design and Technology, as I find this subject interesting and feel that it has a wide scope for learning. The National Curriculum proclaims that, During Key Stage One  pupils learn how to think imaginatively and talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making. They build on their early childhood experiences of investigating objects around them. They explore how familiar things work and talk about, draw and model their ideas. They learn how to design and make safely and could start to use ICT as part of their designing and making. (National Curriculum 1999) The main content area of the project. Integrated Learning is discussed and used with alternative phraseology such as Topic Based Work, Cross Curriculum and Creative Curriculum. In research, Integrated Learning studies are stated as Opportunities to enrich and enhance childrens learning and make connections across the curriculum (Rose 2009).Ofsteds grade descriptor of an outstanding curriculum states: The schools curriculum provides memorable experiences and rich opportunities for high-quality learning and wider personal development and wellbeing. The school may be at the forefront of successful, innovative curriculum design in some areas. A curriculum with overall breadth and balance provides pupils with their full entitlement and is customised to meet the changing needs of individuals and groups. (Rose 2009). The National Curriculum for Design Technology suggests that it provides opportunities to promote pupils spiritual, moral, social and cultural development. (National Curriculum 1999) There are highly tailored progra mmes for a wide range of pupils with different needs. Cross-curricular provision, including literacy, numeracy and ICT, is mainly outstanding and there is nothing less than good. As a result, all groups of pupils benefit from a highly coherent and relevant curriculum which promotes outstanding outcomes. (Rose 2009) The Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency (2010) explains The new curriculum is based on what is already happening in many schools to bring learning to life, and the structure reflects what other successful countries are doing with their national curricula. (Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency 2010). A quality curriculum should be broad and balanced a statement which was highlighted in the Education Reform Act 1988. Curriculum differs in each country, for example in New Zeland Te  Whariki  was developed by May and Carr to become the first national early childhood curriculum in New Zealand. This curriculum adopts a specifically socio-cultural perspective on learning that recognises the different social contexts in which children in New Zealand live and the social and interactive nature of learning. Carr and May (2000), discussed that the aim was the development of more complex and useful understanding, knowledge and skill attached to cultural and purposeful contexts. As discussed in Woods (2005) book Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum, the  Reggio approach,  from Italy, has developed a distinct pedagogy that places the emphasis on using multiple forms of expression and cross curricular links in learning to help children communicate their understanding and thinking, maintain their interest and explore to give value to activities. Practitioners see themselves as guides who are learning with the children and adopt a listening role that seeks to encourage thinking, negotiation and the exploration of difference, particularly in collaborative group work. Documenting the process of exploration as children work through a project is a key pedagogical activity which offers children a record of their process and progress through the project, and gives educators a detailed insight into childrens activities and learning. (Stephen, C. 2006).Reggio has developed the idea that children will develop their capacity to think, build and test theor ies through exploration and making links with prior knowledge and subjects. The Reggio approach believes that content knowledge is secondary to learning about how to learn, although specific contexts and bodies of knowledge may be the focus of the childrens investigations. Cross-curricular work offers a creative way to incorporate all strands of learning, developing the knowledge, skills and understanding of students while motivating them to learn through stimulating, wide-ranging and interconnected topics.(Wood 2005). It is particularly important to emphasise links between subjects to help children make sense of what they are learning. Cross curricular links are crucial to learning as learning depends on being able to make connections between prior knowledge and experiences and new information. Such connections help us make sense of our world and develop our capacity to learn. The human brain increases capacity by making connections with prior experiences which can be related to, therefore it is a crucial part of education to include experiences which the children can make their own connections. Within the curriculum the process of design may have wider applications in a future curriculum which will embrace features such as creativity on a more intens ive scale. Outdoor learning offers many opportunities for learners to deepen and contextualise their understanding within curriculum areas, and for linking learning across the curriculum in different contexts and at all levels. (Parkinson 2010) Research into this comes from the Primary Review which is a wide-ranging and independent enquiry into the condition and future of primary education in England. The review began in October 2006 and continued for two years, an interim report published in December 2007 on childrens learning emphasises the importance of thinking skills: Children think and reason largely in the same ways as adults, but they lack experience, and are still developing the ability to think about their own thinking and learning (meta-cognition). They need diverse experiences in the classroom to help them develop these skills. Learning in classrooms can be enhanced by developing meta-cognitive strategies. (Primary Review 2007) This development in the early years of children is important because of the large amount of brain growth that occurs in the first six years of life. It is vital that thinking skills are nurtured and developed in the early years to support more comprehensive learning when children are olde r. Teaching thinking skills to older children is a valid technique, however helping young children to develop these skills as they play is even more effective. From this it was also found that Cross Curricular Learning is a vital way to support childrens learning and will aid in progressing development in the classroom. Piagets theory is based on the idea that the developing child builds cognitive structures-in other words, mental maps, schemes, or networked concepts for understanding and responding to physical experiences within his or her environment. This can be reinforced by learning through Design and Technology in school which enables pupils to; appreciate the made world, the environments in which they live and work, the products they know about and use and the many communication systems that exist. (National Curriculum 1999) Making links between subjects also helps pupils to learn more effectively as it offers opportunities to apply skills and knowledge in meaningful and purposeful contexts. For example experiencing and describing processes in geography and science offer children relevant experiences and enhanced understanding. Strong links such as these can enhance learning in all subject areas as they help learners see the relevance, within a wider context, of the skills and knowledge they are acquiring in specific subjects. Since the cross-curricular nature of Design Technology needs to involve teachers working in collaboratively to ensure children have progression in their learning and development . This means creating and organising a structure for the management of Design Technology work and, for the effective organisation particularly in the planning and implementation stages which are crucial to its success. In relation to this concept, Palmer and Doyle discussed Education is not just learning kn owledge and skills, but the development of childrens learning capacity. Education is the development of thinking clearly and creatively, implementing their own plans and communicating their ideas to others in a variety of ways. (Sue Palmer and Galina Doyle, 2004) In support of this, making cross curricular links can help learners recognise how they are learning, such as was discovered in constructivist learning theory Constructivist Learning Theory promotes learner-centered study under the guidance of teachers.It has an important role in training students with the innovative capability and subject consciousness, while improving their qualities in human culture as well as in the ideological and ethical standards( TIAN Ye 2010). There are certain aspects of learning such as problem solving, reasoning, creative thinking that are used across the whole curriculum. During cross curricular work teachers can help learners recognise these underpinning skills and how they are used in differ ent contexts. The Design Technology National Curriculum demonstrates that, Opportunities for teaching and learning all these skills across the key stages can be identified when planning. Pupils can be encouraged to reflect on what and on how they learn, and how these skills can be applied to different subjects, different problems and real-life situations. (National Curriculum 1999) Recognition is an important step towards using such skills in a strategic, flexible and intentional way. Learning is enhanced by learners being aware of how thinking and learning occurs, which gives them increased control over their learning, however coherence must be taken into account to ensure lessons are taught with a meaningful outcome. Social constructivism is a variety of cognitive constructivism that stresses the nature of a broad range of learning. Vygotsky was a cognitive theorist, but rejected the assumption made by other cognitivists such as Piaget and Perry that it was possible to separate learning from its social context. He argued that all cognitive functions originate in, and must therefore be explained as products of, social interactions and that learning was not simply the incorporation and accommodation of new knowledge by learners; it was the process by which learners were integrated into a knowledge community. According to Vygotsky: Every function in the childs cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level and, later on, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological). This applies equally to voluntary attention, to logical memory, and to the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals. (Vygotsky 1978 p. 57) Vygotsky accepted Piagets claim that learners respond not to external stimuli but to their interpretation of those stimuli. However, he argued that cognitivists such as Piaget had overlooked the essentially social nature of language. As a result, he claimed they had failed to understand that learning is a collaborative process. Vygotsky distinguished between two developmental levels (Vygotsky 1978 p. 85) The level of potential development, the zone of proximal development is the level of development that the learner is capable of reaching under the guidance of teachers or in collaboration with peers. The learner is capable of solving problems and understanding material at this level that they are not capable of solving or understanding at their level of actual development. The level of potential development is the level at which learning takes place. It comprises cognitive structures that are still in the process of maturing, but which can only mature under the guidance of or in coll aboration with others. Similarly in Literacy from the National Curriculum it is stated that children should; talk about matters of immediate interest. They listen to others and usually respond appropriately. They convey simple meanings to a range of listeners, speaking audibly, and begin to extend their ideas or accounts by providing some detail. (National Curriculum 1999) This valuable approach to learning can give pupils the option to choose their own questions, this gives ownership of control over work and increases commitment to it. The National Curriculum only gives teachers a small amount of flexibility in the way they plan to teach literacy as the structure of literacy hour itself is tightly defined. (Hayes 2004) Using an integrated approach to teaching and learning allows the teaching to be incorporated into a fun and different pedagogy and therefore allows the learning to become less structured, rigid and formal. Teaching Design Technology can be seen to require a cross-curricular and team approac h and ultimately a whole school approach. It has added implications for resourcing, for timetable changes and for different teaching and learning styles and strategies. (Sebba 2007) An activity using the collaborative learning theory, may include going on a treasure hunt and generally being outdoors and undertaking something different and new, which increases enjoyment and variety, thus having potential to enhance teacher-pupil relationships. Child centred teaching approaches, based on interpretations of Piagets work, were adopted with commitment by teachers in the late 1960s and 70s. Great imagination and care were put into providing varied and stimulating classroom environments from which children could derive challenging experiences.( Pollard 2008) This relates also to the Researching Effective Pedagogy in the Early Years (REPEY 2002) One of the key findings of this report concerns the development of thinking skills: it has been found that good outcomes for children were found to be linked to adult-child interactions that included sustained shared thinking and open-ended questioning to extend childrens thinking. Including adult modelling is often combined wit h sustained periods of shared thinking. Developing childrens own ideas and investigation activities often provided the best opportunities for adults to extend childrens thinking. In support of this in the research for The Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Project (EPPE project) sustained shared thinking is identified as one of the key features of high-quality provision, and is described as: Where two or more individuals work together in an intellectual way to solve a problem, clarify a concept, evaluate an activity or extend a narrative. Both parties must contribute to the thinking and it must develop and extend their understanding. (EPPE project 2003) The research found that the most effective settings encourage sustained shared thinking, which was most likely to occur when children were interacting one on one with an adult or with a single peer partner. Excellence and Enjoyment which can be developed through varying ways of learning, is a key factor within cross curricular and outdoor learning. Within these factors is the enquiry cycle however, it is vital that the enquiry is structured. This means that children at all levels of development can work in mixed groups to achieve their full potential. The Excellence and Enjoyment Document from the Department of Children Schools and Families (DSCF) claims that education is a critical stage in childrens development it shapes them for life. As well as giving them the essential tools for learning, primary education is about children experiencing the joy discovery, solving problems, being creative in writing, art, music, developing their self-confidence as learners and maturing socially and emotionally.(DCSF 2003) Outdoor experiences reinforce learning in the classroom by providing an environment to test out ideas and hypotheses and allowing pupils to extend their understanding of the real world. The social, economic, physical, cultural and mental environment in which we live seems to have a powerful effect on how we develop intellectually and physically (Barnes 2007) Education is more than the acquisition of knowledge it is improving young peoples understanding, skills, values and personal development which in turn can significantly enhance learning and achievement. Learning outdoors provides a framework for learning that uses surroundings and communities outside the classroom. This enables the pupils to develop communication skills and self confidence and allows them to construct their own learning and live successfully in the world that surrounds them. The Outward Bound Document (2012) hypothesised that outdoor experiences improve academic achievement as pupils are free to learn openly and outdoor learning can introduce children to a widening range of environments. The fact of the environment so clearly affects the brain development of other mammals might lead us to examine closely the relationship between the environments our children work in and their mental, physical and spiritual development(Barnes 2007). Overall learning outdoors provides challenges and the opportunity to take acceptable levels of risk. Giving young people responsibility for achieving these outcomes helps them to learn from their successes and failures. (Outdoors Manifesto 2006) The National Advisory Committee on Creative and Cultural Education (NACCCE) report inferred that creativity in education and learning should include, imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes that are both original and of value (Craft, A.; Cremin, T.; Burnard, P. and Chappell, K. 2007). The report includes that creativity should be more incorporated in the national curriculum, however creativity is not just related to the creative arts, music, art and dance it is about different ways of thinking. Creativity is about exploring different ways of doing things, such as asking what if..? questions and then looking for the answers. Being creative helps us to adapt and respond to a rapidly changing world. We dont know the challenges that the children we work with will grow up to face, but we do know that for them to meet these challenges they will need to be creative and imaginative. (Department for Education 2005) Children gain knowledge and develop with different learning styles, visual, auditory and kinesthetic, the outdoors environment reinforces this. Barnes argued that there are other important factors influencing creative development the teachers personal qualities the ethos of the school and the particular pedagogical style all impact on the learning of the child. (Barnes 2007). Creativity is about allowing individuals to follow their interests so that they become lost in a task or an idea. In relation to our group project the children could be encouraged to ask questions, collect materials to use within the class room and from this incorporating the findings into a scrapbook. Within the class room investigation this has a strong link with Design Technology and could include collages, paintings, designing, drama and other ways of developing their creative skills. The Excellence and Enjoyment Document supports this theory as Teachers found that when they actively planned for and responde d to pupils creative ideas and actions, pupils became more curious to discover things for themselves, were open to new ideas and keen to explore those ideas with the teacher and others. Promoting creativity is a powerful way of engaging pupils with their learning. (Department for Schools Children and Families 2003) Ofsted released documents in both 2004 and 2011 which concluded that many educational establishments recognised the importance of outdoors learning. Experience of the outdoors and wilderness has the potential to confer a multitude of benefits on young peoples physical development, emotional and mental health and well being and societal development. (OFSTED 2004 pg17) It is commonly known that children enjoy being outside and exploring new experiences, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the outdoor environment can be more than a place to burn off steam, with more educators and architects and designers embracing the ideas that outdoor play space provides chances for the highest level of development and learning. When used best, it can be a place for investigation, exploration and social interaction. (Child Care and Resource Unit, 2008). The Early Years Foundation Stage (2012) (EYFS) has also stated that young children need adults around them to value and enjoy the outdoors themselves in order to feel safe and secure, and this means there is a need for higher staff to child ratio allowing all children to receive the same support. In support of this it has been stated by Dillon et al (2006) that the fear and concern about  health  and  safety is a main issue about using outdoor provisions freely and meeting school curriculum requirements and the time used meeting these targets. Dillion also stated that the amount of time used for outdoor learning were affected by the shortages of time, resources and support and the wider changes within and beyond the education sector, affecting teachers and pupils experiences of outdoor learning. Moyles discusses the issues of how teachers view outdoor learning; the article researched into outdoor learning and it was suggested that Integrating indoor and outdoor teaching and learning experiences is less well developed. Outdoor experiences are somewhat problematic for some settings which have only very restricted or no outdoor facilities. The most effective practitioners are able to develop creative ways of ensuring field trips to local parks and playgrounds (Moyles et al 2002 pg140) Ideally both environments should the available simultaneously to the children through a seamless transition space and the children should be able to choose between indoor and outdoor spaces in free flow provision, which in turn allows children to make their own decisions building self development skills. This practise can also be used in relation to the curriculum and particularly Design Technology, as the variety of materials that can be collected and use differ greatly when looking at indoor and outdoor resources. The use of interactive communication technology can support all subjects, however with Design Technology and the outdoors it can be part of the planned approach to outdoor learning and can add value to the outcomes for children and young people. Experiences  recorded digitally, for example, can be  taken back into the classroom and used to reinforce and further expand on the experience itself. The EYFS states Outdoor learning complements indoor learning and is equally important. Play and learning that flow seamlessly between indoors and outdoors enable children to make the most of the resources and materials available to them and develop their ideas without unnecessary interruption. (EYFS Effective Practice: Outdoor Learning 2007) The outdoor environment usually offers more freedom and space to move, allowing development of gross motor skills. This is vital for young children to develop their coordination, build muscle mass and experiment with moving their bo dies. Research has shown that encouraging children to play outside may be a key way of increasing their levels of physical activity (Burdette, et. al., 2005). Gross motor skills can be developed better in the outdoors where there is space for children to move around as discussed by Parsons in his article, Young Children and Nature: Outdoor Play and Development, Experiences Fostering Environmental Consciousness, And the Implications on Playground Design (2011). Conclusion Overall from the literature I have read and discussed in relation to the outdoors, integrated learning and Design Technology, it can be seen that both cross curricular and outdoor learning have positive and negative aspects in childrens education, including safety precautions and child development. The outdoors can be seen to offer a perfect companion to provision indoors, used in addition to the outdoor environment as it enhances and extends what we are able to give children inside on the contrary it can be argued many settings do not get the opportunities to use the outdoors space appropriately (OFSTED 2004). Conversely I believe that even without adequate outdoor provision children can be taken outside the setting on walks and trips supported by EYFS (2012) Providers must provide access to an outdoor play area or, if that is not possible, ensure that outdoor activities are planned and taken on a daily basis.(DFES 2012) In summary children require a range of teaching techniques to ensure that they develop correct ways of thinking through problems and generally prepare them for the rest of their educational life. As can be seen the use of cross-curricular teaching and outdoor learning is a very useful way of promoting learning. By incorporating a topic which motivates and inspires the children (habitats and materials) into the childrens learning it allows them to make mental cognitive links and allows the children to develop problem solving, and also to develop the ability to make links between curricular subjects such as history, science, art, design and technology, literacy and geography. Promoting creativity in learning provides a new dimension to the curriculum by exciting the children about a subject, which then goes on to develop strong links with the child and the possibilities of learning. Overall the links between cross-curricular activities, linked with local area studies and finally incorp orating creative learning, all go to aid in improving the development of key techniques which a child needs for later life. In thinking about outdoor provision, the central idea that we must hold in our minds is that the outdoors is different to indoors, these differences are what make it special and important. As a professional I need to be clear about how the outdoors differs from the indoors, why children benefit from being outside and how the outdoors affects the ways in which young children learn. This thinking then gives us the key for what to provide and how to plan for the outdoor provision. The special nature of the outdoors fits the ways young children want to be, behave, learn and develop in so many ways. From creating both research and the resource file as a group, I have developed an in-depth understanding of teamwork and the importance of working collaboratively drawing on my own skills and those of others. I have a firm understanding that I need a breadth of subject knowledge to make coherent links between subjects. In reflection from the Outdoor Learning Day and the resource file I have recognised as a practitioner the importance of getting to know the strengths of the team I would be working with and therefore being able to discuss and support each other. As I learnt from the Outdoor Learning Day an issue that was challenging was that of having a whole school doing a similar activity with a wide age range and ability levels. In conclusion to this assignment I believe that integrated learning in the early primary curriculum both indoor and outdoor environments should complement each other. As a teacher I should make valid links between topics and use a wide variety of teaching techniques to enable children to meet all childrens needs helping them to develop and make progress at their own individual level. References Barnes, J. (2007) Cross-Curricular Learning 3-14. SBN-13:  978-0857020680  | Edition:  Second Edition Burdette, H., L., Witaker, R., C., (2005) Resurrecting free play in young children: looking beyond fitness and fatness to attention, affiliation and affect, American Medical Association, www.archpediatrics.com Cambridge Primary Review (2007) Children in primary schools: research on development, learning, diversity and educational needs Carr M. May H. (2000). Te Whariki: Curriculum voices. In H. Penn (Ed.) Early Childhood Services: theory, policy and practice. Buckingham: Open University Press. Craft, A.; Cremin, T.; Burnard, P. and Chappell, K. (2007). Developing creative learning through possibility thinking with children aged 3-7. In: Craft,

black people :: essays research papers

Some black people think everyone is messy! Others can't stand us. Yes I prefer to be called African American than black! Only once in a lifetime will a new invention come about to touch every aspect of our lives. Such devices changed the way we manage, work, and live. A machine that has done all this and more now exists in nearly every business in the United States. This incredible invention is the computer. Computers are one of the most important inventions ever. If computers had not been invented, technology would not be developed to its current state. Since the computer invention, society has changed severely. Computer technology is so helpful, that it is even used to create newer, better computer equipment. Almost everything today is linked in some way, to a computer. Until this decade, computer technology was non-existent in public school systems. Computers are valuable to schools for many reasons. They are good for studying and research, if the sites are indeed factual. Computers supply a way to type papers, they can be used for business classes, and it can provide children with something they may enjoy using. If students are interested in what they are doing, they will do it better. Computer programs are also very helpful to business classes. Accounting classes and computer related fields of study must have computers to be current with today's business. Accounting today is all computerized. It is necessary to familiarize students to the functions of various programs if they are going to go into one of those fields. Computers have also made communications easier than ever. Today, e-mail is beginning to replace the ordinary post office and telephone as a way to keep in touch. E-mail provides the best of both worlds; it is instant and free. Before e-mail, one would have to send a letter that would take days to arrive, or they would have to use the telephone, which would cost money if the calls were

3M Essay -- essays research papers

12 Basic Immutable Tenets   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As we all know Warren Buffett may be the most successful investor in the world. Some people try to dismiss Buffetts’ prowess of picking successful securities on the basis of a certain degree of luck or inside information that the regular small investor could never hope to have. However what many people do not understand is that, according to Robert G. Hagstrom, Buffett does not invest in stocks but in companies and their underlying businesses. and instead of luck Buffett uses his twelve immutable tenets. These twelve tenets are broken into four sections of the companies: 1) Business, 2) Management 3) Financial and 4) Market. By analyzing 3Ms’ annual report, its financial statements, and by examining all aspects of the company and its’ industry we can come to a conclusion of whether or not 3M would make an attractive investment to Buffett.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first group of Buffetts’ tenets is the Business tenets. The business tenets are broken into three areas of concentration. The first business tenet is the business must be simple and understandable. 3M has thousands of different products, a few of which are simple (and thus interesting to Buffett) such as Post-It Notes, Scotch Tape, adhesives, and cleaning agents. But some of 3Ms’ other products are not as simple such as flexible circuits, and electronic and liquid crystal displays. These highly technical products would be out of Buffetts’ â€Å"circle of confidence†, products that Buffett does not know very much about and therefore Buffett would not be able to interpret and react to developments with as much confidence. The second business tenet is that the business must have a consistent operating history. Companies with a consistent operating history are firms that are in a stable industry, have spent years producing the same prod uct, and that are not currently involved in changing directions. 3M could easily be categorized as having a consistent operating history as shown by its strong core products (Post-It notes, Scotch tape, Scotch guard etc†¦) which have dominated their market for years. Also 3Ms’ consistency can be measured by its’ longevity in the fact that 3M was established over 100 years ago in 1902. The last of the business tenets is favorable long term prospects. Favorable long term prospects ca... ...he last group of tenets, the market tenets, helps the investor decide if the price of the shares is acceptable. The first market tenet is deciding the value of the business. To value a business Buffett estimates a companies total future cash earnings and discounts the owners’ earnings by a risk free rate (30 year T-bond). 3M had total owner earnings of $2,690,000,000 in 2003. If we assume that owners’ earnings will grow by 12% per year for the next ten years (which is what analysts predict as the industry as a whole is expected to grow 11% per year) we can calculate that 3Ms’ intrinsic value in 2003 would be $35,085,216,000. Even if 3M grows at 5% per year the company would still be worth $25,780,818,000. The final market tenet, buying at attractive prices, is buying at a sensible price that will give your investment a â€Å"margin of safety†, and also buying at prices that are below their indicated value. 3Ms’ value is calculated at $63,480,000 ,000. This value is almost double our calculated intrinsic value, which would indicate to us that the stock price is too high and that 3M would not represent a good investment until the price falls to a level that would give a margin of safety.

Essay on Voltaires Candide - Voltaires Opposition to Optimism

Voltaire’s Opposition to Optimism in Candide Philosophy is a means by which humans search for a general understanding of the world and its concepts. Through experience, thought, and observation, one can arrive at a conclusion that forms the basis of his ideas. However, if one simply thinks and does not act, this conclusion does not make any significant difference on his life. This is a major point that Voltaire tries to make in Candide. He is trying to change society by demonstrating the absurdity of optimism. Voltaire attacks optimism by pointing out the evils of the world, criticizing actual people and events of the time, and criticizing Pangloss' philosophy. In Candide, Voltaire often criticizes war, denial, and religious views. He opposed violence and this is evident in many situations in Candide. For example, he used the war of the Bulgarians and the Abarians to point out the pointlessness of war. He believed that optimism was unnecessary and unjustified. If this were the best of all possible worlds, war would not have a purpose. Voltaire believed that God created the world and simply left it alone. Therefore, evil is inevitable because human nature leads people to perform evil actions. Voltaire strongly condemns "optimistic theories, for him they deny reality." (Juan Zerolo) Voltaire does not believe that by saying something, it will come true. Therefore, denying the existence of evil is not logical and does not amount to any greater good. Voltaire also denounced other's religious beliefs and intolerance. He criticized the belief that the world is in its best state because a higher being created it from the best of all pos sible worlds. He did not appeal to the corruption of the church, whi... ...g impractical goals on people who have demonstrated that they will never obtain them. This will only end in unhappiness and disappointment. These people have shown that there is a slim chance that their behavior will drastically change to reflect the goals imposed on them. Works Cited and Consulted: Bottiglia, William. "Candide's Garden." Voltaire: A Collection of Critical Essays. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968. Frautschi, R.L. Barron's Simplified Approach to Voltaire: Candide. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1968. Jonas, Eric, from: http://www.ericjonas.com/ Accessed via the Internet 2/25/03 Kahn, Ludwig W. Voltaire. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1980. Voltaire. Candide. New York: Viking Publishers, 1998. Zerolo,Juan. Voltaire's Candide and the Critics. California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, Inc., 1996.

Recruitment & Selcetion M1 Essay

In this task I am going to create an information sheet which will compare the purposes of the different documents used within the recruitment and selection process. Person specification: The purpose of the person specification is to provide details about the type of person required such as attributes, personality for example qualifications. The person specification often includes Knowledge and Skills Experience, Personal, attributes, Interests and qualifications. Job description: The purpose of the job description is to provide information to potential employees about what the job involves such as the purpose, responsibilities and duties. Job advertisement: The purpose of a job advertisement is to find one or more individuals to fill a specific job opening. Companies usually target specific types of individuals when placing job advertisements, as they want to find the most-qualified applicants. Person specification vs. Job description: A difference between the person specification and a job description is the job description is created to inform the applicant about the job itself, for example it contains information on the responsibilities and duties of the job. Whereas the person specification is more of a skill list that an employer creates to ensure they only get people who are applying who have the correct skills, attributes and qualifications. A similarity between the person specification and a job description is the purpose, they are both created by the employer for the same reason, they are both used to short list employees, and also used within the interview process to help determine whether they are suitable for the job. Person specification vs. Job advertisement: A difference between a job advert and the person specification is the job advert is created to advertise a job and to attract suitable people to apply for the vacancy whereas a person specification is the criteria that must be met in order for an applicant to be considered. A similarity of a job advert and a person specification is both give an overview of the skills that the  applicant must have. The difference is the job advert only gives a brief list of skills that are wanted. However the person specification goes into a lot more details by splitting the skills and qualifications into two different categories , the two different categories are desirable and essential skills. Job description vs. Job advertisement: I compared the job description and a job advertisement, I found one key difference between them. The key difference is the purpose, the job advert is created by the employer and is used to attract people to apply for the job whereas the job description is used to inform candidates about the job and responsibilities, the job description is also used to help short list candidates by using it to cross reference with their CV. I also found one key similarity between the job advert and job description is both give a brief overview of the job, including the main responsibilities and duties, the only difference is the job description goes into a lot more detail, it includes more information such as working hour or wages.