Operations Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Operations Management - Assignment Example Therefore, the project implementation tends to incorporate an effective set of attributes and enable the council to achieve its ultimate desired objectives. It has been found that with the implementation of the planned project, the community safety would increase by manifold and would enable the council to reduce the rate of crime in the Bedford community. Project management can be considered as one of the major management paradigms, which enables the business organisations to effectively and efficiently achieve their business goals within the constantly changing phase of the business environment. An effective project management approach facilitates the organisations to execute various business competencies to effectively handle uncertainties, risks along with pressure of its competitors within the existing market (Laureate Online Education, 2010). Moreover, project management can be differentiated with the various standards of the business operations with respect to focusing on uniqueness, timescales, financial projection, resources, risks and uncertainties along with the major activities regarding skills, tools and processes of project management (Westland, 2003). The methodology to be followed to gain required information is the evaluation of information available from secondary sources. With due consideration of preparing project implementation plan, this report will highly focus on developing the major aspects and processes of project management which will be highly beneficial for Bedford Borough Council. The discussion of this paper will cover the major elements and their activities in order to successfully implement of the new and developed project management. With respect to the observation from last three years, it has been ascertained that Bedford Borough Council has aimed at minimising the amount of general

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay Essay Example for Free

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay Essay Ralph Waldo Emerson’s theory of individualism is a stance that emphasizes the importance of self-reliance for personal success. One of the main tenets of the theory claims that a genius is someone who perseveres with one’s plans regardless of others’ opinions and that nothing is sacred other than the integrity of one’s own mind. This essay will further discuss this tenet to support Emerson’s Individualism. People should live their lives without being burdened by the opinions of others. Emerson, in reference to babes, writes â€Å"their mind being whole, their eye is as yet unconquered nfancy conforms to nobody; all conform to it. † All of the greatest inventions came about from someone who did not conform to society. Society ends up conforming to those who follow their own dreams, as adults conform to the ways a child acts. In todays society, success is often measured by a person’s wealth, status and fame. However, no one should judge what success and failure is aside from the person it concerns. Very often society looks down on those who do not conform to its rigid structure. If a person does what everyone else is doing, who will innovate? Unsurprisingly, all those considered successful were those who broke out of the mold and followed their own vision. A genius is someone who perseveres with his or her plans regardless of the negativity around them. Thomas Edison’s teacher said that he was too stupid to learn anything. Although the number of attempts varies, there is a consensus that the lowest number of times Edison failed to create the light bulb was around 1,000. When asked how he felt about failing so much, Edison answered, â€Å"I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps. † Emerson writes â€Å"God will not have his work made manifest by cowards. † Whether or not a person is religious, the meaning holds true. No coward has ever been able to achieve anything great because cowards tend to give up easily. Another one of Edison’s famous quotes states, â€Å"genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration. † This claim supports Emerson’s Individualism because it takes a genius to perspire and work through the numerous obstacles that stand between him or her and success. Everything can be broken and worked around other than what a person truly believes. Emersons theory argues that if a person were to betray his or her own belief, it could be damaging beyond repair. Emerson states, â€Å" if I’m the devil then I shall be the devil,† suggesting only a person’s mind can truly decide what is moral and what is immoral. Emerson also writes, â€Å"to believe your own thought, to believe what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men,-that is genius. This is how revolutions happen, when a large group of people decides that the laws are no longer right. No law, no life, is greater than a person’s own beliefs because Emerson states, â€Å"nothing is sacred other than the integrity of your own mind. † A successful person is often, if not always, fully dedicated to what they believe in because a person will never give up on something they believe to be truly right. Emerson’s theory of Individualism doesn’t encourage selfishness because that would be a moral judgment. The theory does not make any statements of morality. It claims that a person should rely only on himself or herself to make decisions and to define what they believe to be right and wrong. Outside forces should not be relied on or even considered when trying to achieve personal goals. If a person believes that failures are actually successes because they bring them one step closer to the final goal, failure does not exist. Success and happiness will come to a person as long as he or she relies on his or her own judgment, perseveres regardless of the negativity of external influences, and stays true to their minds without breaking their integrity.

Analysis of Barbara Kruger

Analysis of Barbara Kruger For this short essay writing I get an example of single contemporary artist Barbara Kruger. Barbara Kruger is an American conceptual artist. A lot of her effort consists of black and white photographs overlaid with declarative captions-in white-on-red Futura Bold Oblique. The phrases in her works frequently consist of use of pronouns such as you, your, I, we, and they. I begin my essay with the retort how Barbara Kruger be considered illustrative of Baudrillards or Barthes theories. Postmodernism was born out of a response in opposition to the policy of Modernism. Most particularly, Postmodern artists discarded the Modernist obsession with the aesthetic and began by questioning the recognized qualities tied to this aesthetic. As the Postmodern movement progressed, this critique intensified and moved beyond simply formal concerns; artists also began criticizing many underlying notions of Modernism, together with ideas about creativity and authority. Simultaneously, French philosophers Roland Barthes and Jean Baudrillard introduced theories concerning the rising artistic practices of appropriation and simulation. Barthes, in his elaboration on the theory of appropriation, described principles and practices that a lot of artists were employing in their critiques on Modernism. The work of American artist Barbara Kruger gives the most powerful embodimen t of Barthes theories of appropriation. Roland Barthes, in his 1967 essay The Death of the Author, stripped mutually authority and authorship from artists and writers, declaring, A text is not a line of words releasing a single theological meaning (the message of the Author-God), but a multi-dimensional space in which a variety of writings, none of them new, blend and collide. This theory not only described the postmodern artistic practices of the time, but it undermined Modernisms lofty goals and claims of creating original artwork. According to Barthes, no author or artist creates something new and unique. Instead, every formed thing is a recycled regurgitation of that which preceded it. As Postmodernism continued to develop, many artists not only acknowledged Barthess denouncement of originality but also embraced it as a means through which to further critique the works and tenets of Modernism. These artists favored the readymade object as more powerful than the supposedly new crafted objects shaped by Modernist artists. By openly acknowledging the process of appropriation that occurs within the manufacture of all art, these artists leveraged the power of pre-existing imagery and signs to produce new works with multiple layers and multiple meanings. Barbara Kruger began her career as a graphic designer and commercial artist for publications and magazines such as Mademoiselle. Her work as a postmodern artist began to garner attention in the early 1980s; about fifteen years later than Barthes published The Death of the Author. Krugers experience in the profitable design world greatly influenced her work both officially and philosophically. She embraced both the imagery and language of advertising, combining black and white photographs with ambiguous but accusatory statements in collage-like presentations. But she concurrently rejected the philosophies of commercial advertising and the majority, by raising questions concerning gender equality, consumerism, and stereotypes. Regarding the state of culture, In Untitled (Your Comfort is My Silence), 1981, Kruger combined a black and white image of a mans head with his index finger over his mouth and two lines of text reading, Your comfort is my silence. The initial two words cover the mans eyes, further eliminating his exact identity and reducing him to a generic symbol of masculine dominance and control. The text is presented in a combination of black text over white rectangles and white text in red rectangles in a cut-and-paste manner. By employing collage to join pre-existing imagery with authoritative statements, Kruger practices the appropriation that Barthes described. Krugers work also assigns an interpretive role to both the viewer and culture at large, as posited by Barthes. By keeping her statements to some extent cryptic or ambiguous, Kruger forces viewers to build meaning from their own earlier experiences, thereby actively participating in the procedure of appropriation. In addition I am going to cover the answers of is it simplistic for an artist to rely heavily on theory, Does good art go beyond theory and Are these original works? While Kruger and other artists who deliberately practice appropriation are most likely aware of Barthess philosophies and statements, it is hard to say how much their work and practice is shaped by such theory. Oftentimes theory seems somewhat reflexive to contemporary practices; critics notice existing artistic trends and then posit theories and extend technical language to describe such practices. As such, one could disagree that artistic practice influences theory just as much as theory influences the practice that follows. Certainly theory plays some role in virtually every piece or work of art, even if the producer or artist is unaware of it. Sometimes, the identical theory can even direct artists in two completely different or opposing directions. Modern theory, for example, called for aesthetic experience and form al purity, and many artists worked to attain the ideal representation of these criteria. Postmodern practice should not be viewed as alike attempt to perfectly render the theories of Postmodernism; rather, it is more perfectly a reaction against the tenets of Modern theory. From my point of view it seems then that theory and practice share a somewhat cyclical relationship. Artists produce new work, and then critics develop theories and language to describe it. Other artists take these newly-formed theories as information for what constitutes art at the time and turn out their art accordingly. After a period of extremely following the most recently canonized theories, other artists consciously operate outside of the dominant theory or refuse it altogether and produce another new type of work. This appears to be a recurring trend in the relationship among art theory and art practice. The work of artists such as Barbara Kruger, poses many essential questions and reiterates those raised by Roland Barthes. Although such artists intentionally employ the process of appropriation in producing their artwork, their works are no less original than that of other artists. Even Modernist painters, who so adamantly strove for originality and uniqueness, operated within the framework and visual language of the preceding millennia of art and history. As Barthes says, The writer [or artist] can only imitate a gesture that is always anterior, not at all original. Possibly this means that, concurrently, not anything is original and everything is original.

Evolution of Ideas and Practices From Ancient Times :: essays research papers

Evolution of Ideas and Practices From Ancient Times   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Plato’s symposium is a array of speeches on what love meant in the society. Although the term â€Å"homosexuality† was not present in ancient times, it was something that was well practiced. Men and women still shared intercourse, but it was not thought of as wrong, or out of the norm, for there to be male and male interaction, and sometimes female and female interaction. Love, the kind shared between two males, came from physical attraction, emotional attraction and mental attraction. Love, the kind shared between a man and a woman came from emotional and mental attraction, and a need to procreate. After the times of Plato female homosexuality was completely forbidden, although male homosexuality was deemed acceptable. Marriage was often just for procreation, but there was also love involved. Homosexuality in modern times is often thought of as wrong. It is thought of as completely inappropriate for two men or for two women to be together in a sexua l way. It is interesting to see how the idea and practice of homosexuality and the practice of love and marriage has evolved through the times.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There was much male and male interaction in the times of Plato. Older men often took younger men â€Å"under their wings.† An older man would teach younger men about the world of love, politics, business etc. in return for sexual favors. In the beginning of â€Å"Symposium† Agathon requests that Socrates be seated next to him so that â€Å"I may touch you,† he said â€Å"and have the benefit of that wise thought which came into your mind in the portico...† Agathon believed that he were to touch Socrates and be with Socrates he could learn Socrates’ many wisdoms. It would not have been uncommon for the other men in the room to witness a sexual interaction between males, for they themselves surely participated in it. Although it is later learned that Socrates is not a enthusiast of sexual pleasures, he looks better upon stimulation of the brain.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Who is really to say which kind of love is the true kind of love? Aristophenes tells a story of a different people, and â€Å"Androgynous† people. In the beginning a human was one being with four arms, four hands, four legs, and four feet. This being even had two faces, on either side of the one head it shared. The being was egotistical and upset Zeus, and so Zeus cut it in half and made two of one in an attempt to humble this being.

Ethical Leadership and How to Create a Positive Work Environment Essay

Leadership nowadays has encountered various problems. One of the most common one and which is contaminating the main business environment is that individuals at work are not engaging as they should. We have to ask ourselves, why is this happening and how can we prevent it? Dr. Charmine Hartel commented in the seminar that almost 20% of all the active workers in every organization do not work in favor of it. Instead they engage against the organization in various ways. This is a really big issue, because this means that there is something happening inside the organization and its leadership that is making these counter-productive acts. Recent researches that have been made show us that there are 3 different things that usually happens in the organization that get the workers to engage in a bad way their work as they should. * Work Environment * Negative Work Environment * Stress When the brain is under stress chemicals are released that weakens functions of the brain that gives us a higher level of structure (this is called the prefrontal cortex). When stressed, we are likely to engage inappropriate actions and lack the ability to regulate our emotions. With this in mind, we are encountering serious problems for the organization, because if these workers don’t have the use of their brain area they are not going to be able to engage the work they can and should do. Ethical Leadership The fruits of ethical leadership are Positive Work Environments, also known as PWE’s. PWEÂ ´s exists when the workers see their places as positive, respectful, inclusive and psychologically safe, and when leaders and coworkers are trustworthy and there exist an open diversity characterized in just policies and decision making. The entire above are needed to complete and get a PWE. PWE provides the set of emotional experiences necessary for human flourishing. We know that on average the positive emotional experiences outweigh the negative emotional ones. So, with this in mind, when you see your environment is safeyou have the ability to start being more creative and start being yourself. We should always keep in mind that an emotion is a response of the person when they have a particular event. They can have Destructive or constructive consequences. Organizations are responsible for the work environment they create. This is called the organization culture. When people and how the people interpreted the environment around their workplace. This is about how the organization context shapes the meaning and actions of its members. People management have the need to build resilience, diversity openness and be able to create a support to people trough change. There always exists the need to belong and to be valued for our uniqueness. Servant Leadership Many leadership approaches think about other things and focus their attention on what the followers need and develop things around them. Its an approach around the about the energy and direct it to the best place. With that in mind looking at the person as a whole being, not just as one more worker. One of the key things is that they can understand the core value of the workers and respect them as they deserve. There exist the emotion focus coping and problem focused coping they both have constructive and destructive emotions and impulses. The Giving Voice of Values (GVV) is designed to help individuals learn to recognize, clarify, speak and act on themselves when those conflicts arise. The focus is on how a manager raises this issues in an effective way.

The Black Hawk War - Deception and Demise essays

The Black Hawk War - Deception and Demise essays The systematic slaughter of the Native Americans from the time of Columbus to the time of Roosevelt has often been compared to the holocaust of Jews in nazi Germany. Millions of Native Americans were brutally tortured and murdered by an invasion of foreign forces so as to steal their land and recourses (Churchill,126). Those who were not exterminated were forcefully removed from their land (either at gunpoint, the point of a bayonet or by forged treaties) and driven off to federal prison camps called reservations (source). In the early nineteenth century, whites started moving into what is now the state of Illinois. This movement precipitated numerous clashes with the Indians, including Black Hawks war. The defeat of Black Hawk removed a large obstacle to white settlement in the Old Northwest. In 1803, an exploratory push by Lt. Zebulon Pike, an American explorer, into the upper Mississippi valley signified the end of an era for the Sauks and their allies, the Foxes. The Indians debated whether to accommodate or resist the advance of the whites frontier. One group, headed by Keokuk, a Sauk, argued for accommodation, but Black Hawk, another Sauk leader, fiercely opposed such a policy. Black Hawks convictions were confirmed in 1804, when white settlers convinced the Sauk and Fox Indians to sign a treaty decreeing that they move west of the Mississippi. The treaty had no real claim to validity and was hardly understood by the Native Americans. Some refused, however, and soon after the War of 1812, Black Hawk denounced the treaty and proclaimed the Indians determination to retain their land. The next decade witnessed a steady decline in the fortunes of the Sauks and the Foxes. White population pressures forced the Indians to adhere to the treaty of 1804 and abandon their old territory. By the end of the 1820s, all had been forcibly removed and the lands sold by the state at public auction. Despite th...

Mixed American Essay examples

Mixed American Essay examples Mixed American Essay examples Mixed-American â€Å"There is a drill that nearly all Asians in America have experienced more times than they can count. Total strangers will interrupt with the absurdly existential question â€Å"What are you?† Or the equally common inquiry â€Å"Where are you from?†...†(1) Living in Southern California as a â€Å"Hispanic American†, I have definitely received those same exact questions countless times. Although I know they are of good intention, I usually like to throw out the answer they weren't looking for and watch them get frustrated with my not so serious answer. I'm sure Mission Hills, California doesn't seem as â€Å"exotic† as Sinaloa, Mexico might sound (which is where my father is from), but I would still much rather be here than over there. Even though we are only a few hours away from Tijuana, Mexico; I still haven't even been to any part of Mexico. However, my eventual answer is that my heritage, or â€Å"ethnicity† is Mexican-American. Helen Zia needed someone to question the origin of her name, actually guessing if it was Pakistani, to help her awaken her own personal American revolution. Up until then, Zia was, â€Å"someone living in the shadows of American society...†(1). Later on, while discussing civil rights with her friend Rose, Rose badgered her saying, â€Å"Helen, you've got to decide if you're black or white.†(1). Problem was, she still wasn't really sure what she saw herself as, since the term â€Å"Asian American† hasn't been coined yet. The problem with racially identifying yourself, is that it is a complicated mixture of information that you absorb sub-consciously, â€Å"Everybody learns some combination, some version, of the rules of racial classification, and of their own racial identity, often without obvious teaching or conscious inculcation. Race becomes "common sense"- a way of comprehending, explaining and acting in the world.†.(5) The main problem is, when you ask an Asian-American to racially define themselves, they may have trouble defining themselves, similar to Helen Zia, not being sure exactly what she is. Zia felt that other â€Å"Americans† viewed her as the enemy, so she would be discriminated even though she wasn't the person we were fighting at the time, let alone the correct â€Å"race†. Victor Wong went through similar situations, referring to his face as, â€Å"the face of the enemy.†(3). While we may have only been at war with one country from Asia at a time, whether it be with China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, etc., The average American who wasn't out to war with a gun, was at war with all Asians in their own communities using their hard head as their weapon instead, and boy was it effective. This mindset that people have against Asian groups, turns them into â€Å"perpetual foreigners†(4), who no matter how long they live in the United States, they will always be labeled as foreigners from another country. It is not fair that we treat the ancestors of those who came here in the 1800's, working hard in the mines, and plantations, helping build the nation to what it is today, with disrespect. Even if it is not a direct ancestor, we should not be prejudiced towards any Asian group, because we all did our part in developing this nation, so we all deserve a piece of the proverbial American pie. Choosing your race seems like something that is not up to you, it seems like something that other people make up to help define you so they can single you out and put you into some group. However, â€Å"The effort must be made to understand race as an unstable and "decentered" complex of social meanings constantly being transformed by political struggle.†(5). Victor Wong said he had to â€Å"make my own manual to live in this country.† because being Asian-American was not simple. Race is not set in stone, since it is a mixture of many forces that come together to define the race, it constantly change from time

Dave the Potter - Enslaved African-American Ceramic Artist

Dave the Potter - Enslaved African-American Ceramic Artist David Drake [1800-1874] was an influential African-American ceramic artist, born into slavery under the pottery-making families of Edgefield, South Carolina. Also known as Dave the Potter, Dave Pottery, Dave the Slave or Dave of the Hive, he is known to have had several different owners during his lifetime, including Harvey Drake, Reuben Drake, Jasper Gibbs, and Lewis Miles. All of these men were in some way related to the ceramic entrepreneurs and slave holders, brothers Reverend John Landrum and Dr. Abner Landrum. In 1815, the Landrums established the Edgefield pottery-making district in west-central South Carolina, and by the mid-19th century, the district had grown to include 12 very large, innovative and influential ceramic stoneware factories. There, the Landrums and their families blended English, European, African, Native American and Chinese ceramic styles, forms and techniques to make durable, non-toxic alternatives to lead-based stonewares. It was in this environment that Dave became an important potter, or turner, eventually working in several of these factories. What We Know About Dave Not much is known about Dave; much of what we do know, scholars derived from census records and news stories. Born in 1800, Dave probably began working in the potteries in his late teens, learning his trade from the European-American potters. The earliest pottery vessels which bear attributes of Daves later pots date to the 1820s and were made in the Pottersville workshop. He apparently worked for Abner Landrums newspaper The Edgefield Hive (sometimes listed as The Columbia Hive), where some scholars believe he learned to read and write. Others believe it is more likely he learned from his owner Reuben Drake. Daves literacy had to have occurred before 1837, when it became illegal in South Carolina to teach slaves to read and write. Dave was owned for a time by Lewis Miles, Abners son-in-law, and he produced at least 100 pots for Miles between July 1834 and January 1864. Dave may well have produced many more, but only about 100 signed pots have survived from that period. He lived through the Civil War, and after the Emancipation, continued to work for the pottery, as David Drake, his new surname taken from one of his past masters. While that doesnt seem like very much information, Dave was one of 76 known enslaved African or African Americans who worked in the Edgefield District. We know far more about Dave the Potter than we do for the others who worked in the ceramic workshops of the Landrums, because he signed and dated some of his ceramics, sometimes incising poetry, proverbs and dedications into the clay surfaces. Writing and Pottery Potters typically use makers marks to identify the potter, the pottery, the prospective owner, or manufacturing details: Dave added quatrains from the bible or his own eccentric poetry. One of the earliest of the poems attributed to Dave is from 1836, a large jar made for the Pottersville foundry, on which he wrote horses, mules and hogs / all our cows is in the bogs / there they shall ever stay / till the buzzards take them away. Burrison (2012) has interpreted this poem to refer to Daves owners selling of several of his co-workers to Louisiana. Chaney (2011) has connected decorative and symbolic markings on slave-produced forms of colonoware to some marks made by Dave. Whether Daves poetry was intended as subversive, humorous or insightful is open to question: probably all three. See Koverman 2005 for a compiled list of all Daves known poems. Style and Form Dave specialized in large storage jars with horizontal slab handles, used for large-scale plantation food preservation, and his pots are among the largest made during the period. In Edgefield, only Dave and Thomas Chandler made pots with such a large capacity. Some hold up to 40 gallons: and they were in high demand. Daves pots, like those of most of the Edgefield potters, were alkaline stonewares, but Daves had a rich streaky brown and green glaze, idiosyncratic to the potter. His inscriptions are the only ones known from American potters at the time, at Edgefield or away from it. Interpretations A considerable amount of scholarship on Daves inscriptions has been amassed over the past couple of decades. Chaney (2011) discusses the politically mute but commercially hypervisible status of Daves writings, and focuses his attention on the poetic inscriptions, the somewhat subversive elements in Daves writing. DeGrofts 1988 article describes the protest contexts of Daves inscriptions; and Burrison (2012) discusses the topics of Daves poetry, as part of a broader discussion of the Edgefield potteries. Perhaps the most focused research into Daves ceramics is by Koverman (2005, 2007, 2009), who, as part of her extensive work on Edgefield pottery works has cataloged and photographed well over 100 vessels marked by Dave or attributed to him. Kovermans nuanced discussion includes Daves artistic influences and training. Sources Burrison JA. 2012. South Carolinas Edgefield district: An early international crossroads of clay. American Studies Journal 56. Chaney MA. 2011. The Concatenate Poetics of Slavery and the Articulate Material of Dave the Potter. African American Review 44(4):607-618. De Groft A. 1998. Eloquent Vessels/Poetics of Power: The Heroic Stoneware of Dave the Potter. Winterthur Portfolio 33(4):249-260. Koverman JB. 2005. The Ceramic Works of David Drake, aka, Dave the Potter or Dave the Slave of Edgefield, South Carolina. American Ceramic Circle Journal 13:83. Koverman JB. 2007. Communities of Heritage: Southern contributions. In: Potter C, editor. Craft in America: Celebrating Two Centuries of Artists and Objects: Random House. p 120-140. Koverman JB. 2009. Clay Connections: A Thousand-Mile Journey from South Carolina to Texas. American Material Culture and the Texas Experience: The David B Warren Symposium. Houston: Museum of Fine Arts. p 118-145.

Software restriction policies Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Software restriction policies - Research Paper Example Hence, software restriction strategies are one of the most important management qualities in Windows-Server-2003 and Windows-XP (Microsoft). This paper presents an overview of software restriction policies. Basically, this paper will discuss its possible functions, advantages and applications. Software restriction policies are one of the most important characteristics of active directory group policy. In this scenario, system administrators are able to define these policies on a temporary basis, depending on specified principles and users cannot avoid it. In fact, software restriction policies offer a capability to fight productively with a wide variety of security threats and issues such as Trojans and viruses, ActiveX controls (permit or prohibit definite ones), installation of software (that for instance is not the ones we require executing on client systems) and application of malicious Email attachments (Florian’s Blog; Microsoft). In addition, software restriction policies work on the basis of a rule-set that we use to describe the policy, read from the first one to the last, the significant rules that assess the running application in an excellent way and gets applied. Additionally, we can configure SRP using the following node: CompConf\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Software Restriction Policies by right-clicking the node and selecting ‘New Software Restriction Policies’ (Florian’s Blog; Microsoft). I have presented below the image of software restriction policies that describes the overall rules and regulations used to develop and apply these policies: Moreover, we can apply strict policies according to the situation for instance, deny all the software applications except the one that I white-list by means of my policy or a lesser strict policy that allows us to run a software application on

Misevaluation Affects the Failure of Merger and Acquisition Activities Dissertation

Misevaluation Affects the Failure of Merger and Acquisition Activities - Dissertation Example The literature review chapter highlighted the ideas, views and opinions of different academicians and researchers along with discussing them at length. The literature review illustrated that mergers and acquisitions are often driven by misevaluation that leads to the failure in the long term as the market corrects the misevaluation. Moreover, mergers and acquisitions are driven by managerial optimism that leads to the failure in the long term. A detailed approach has been presented in the chapter that also covers other elements affecting the result of mergers and acquisitions in the business environment. The research methodology chapter is based on secondary research method and case study approach that covers information on the merger of Time Warner and AOL. The study highlighted the reasons of failure along with stating the role of the management and other factors. Overall, the center of discussion was restricted to the impact of misevaluation in mergers and acquisitions. The finding and analysis chapter is based on the findings of the case study along with relating them to the literature review in a logical manner. The last chapter concludes the entire research by stating its strengths, limitations, results and outcomes in a descriptive and analytical manner. Every journey starts with a single idea and enthusiasm that makes the journey an experience. The research journey stated with an idea that took desired shape with the help, support and cooperation of many people. The researcher would like to thank his professor and supervisor†¦. for guiding him in the right direction through motivation and profound knowledge. His ideas often motivated the researcher making him achieve the proposed aim and objectives of the research. His continuous guidance and feedback helped in understanding the intricacies of the research topic along with gaining a new perspective through a thorough understanding of the subject matter. The researcher would also like to thank the University for offering all kind of support in terms of access to library and free access to professors that made the research an easy task. The role

Everybody loves Raymond Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Everybody loves Raymond - Essay Example Ray’s parents Marie and Frank, are also part of this equation as they regularly disturb the couples in midst of this dilemma to cause havoc and chaos. In one episode, Ray asked Debra of he could allocate his funds in a go-kart track in which she said no. He goes and invests his money anyways without her approval. He eventually tells her, which makes her angry. As a result, he was forced to sleep downstairs in the sofa. These are problems that undoubtedly are prevalent in most American societies. The family dynamic in Everybody loves Raymond tries to imitate the typical American life during the 1900’s. Ray is the sole provider for his family as he is the â€Å"bread winner.† Consequently, his wife, follows the â€Å"cult of domesticity† as she cooks, cleans and takes care of the kids. This model illustrates the core American family values that existed within that time frame. The typical day in Ray’s family consists of him doing something extremely si lly. One of the most intriguing and a mishap stereotypes is the fact that something silly always happen. Ray will do something silly, which does not often occur in an American family system. Another major flaw is the fact that they live this almost perfect ideal life in which no big crisis occurs. Evidently, that does not hold true. In an American family, the husband or wife may cheat. ... The cultural values portrayed in this show are biased towards a traditional system. It does not depict the reality of the current American values in which both the husband and wife work. I would describe this family as a family that is always jolly and far from traditional. A more realistic approach is presented in 7th heaven show. The depiction of the family problems from my perspective, are very one-dimensional. Consequently, in 7th heaven, shows a more realistic view of a modern American family in which the son runs away or gets his girlfriend pregnant. Everybody loves Raymond is more conservat ive in that aspect that it only shows the ideal stereotypes of family that everyone possesses. Another key flaw in this television show is the fact that Ray is completely uninterested in his kids. While Deb and Ray are the focal point in the show, the kids are present to supplement the comedy that is prevalent in show. Ray tends to ignore his children for the majority of time and occasionally will glare at them to prove a certain point. Ray also wants to dominate his personality as a dad to prove â€Å"masculinity† so he can embed fear and make himself look better. Clearly, most couples that have kids are inclined to pay attention to their kids in a conventional model. From a modern perspective, I disagree with the family unit that is presented. The audience that is in Everybody loves Raymond was aimed for more baby boomers and not for the modern audience. In the modern world, the family unit is more complicated and vast. The dynamic family values that were presented and have drastically evolved. To certain extent, I think the family model is consistent compared to other TV channels.

Different type of market in oil & gas industry Essay

Different type of market in oil & gas industry - Essay Example The oil price dynamics in the global market are more likely to influence by a number of key factors ranging from balance amongst supply and demand; geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions; to the transitions in exchange rates of the dominant economies across the world. In this regard, changing conditions of the global financial markets has also been witnessed to have major influence on the oil and gas industry (Levy & Kolk, 2002). Although the continuous technological breakthrough has made the international producers and suppliers to effectively deal with the issues, but the oil and gas industry underpins major concerns for the nations in order to eliminate the prevailing challenges. This is owing to the fact that the industry is centrally driven by the wave of changing supply and demand along with the unabated financial challenges of the global nations (Sadorsky, 2001). The study emphasises on the key challenges and increasing numbers of threats from the different market challenges. In this context, the study aims to conduct a critical evaluation of the current oil and gas industry of China to determine whether the industry is monopolised by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which is one of the leading and dominant oil and gas corporations in the nation. In this essay, the discussion mainly focuses on developing relevant arguments or positions in relation to the literatures used in the previously developed articles. In order to claim appropriateness as well as validity of the research works, this essay tends to include a real example by elucidating the dominant performance of CNPC in the current oil and gas industry of China. In order to explore the market trends of the current oil and gas industry in China, the discussion critically addresses the present trend in microeconomic factors including the fashion of demand and supply in China. In addition to determine the current performance of CNPC, the discussion also incorporates a clear

MGT 671 LEADER PROJECT INTERVIEW PAPER Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

MGT 671 LEADER PROJECT INTERVIEW PAPER - Essay Example Finally, during the early part of the first quarter of year 2000, the company was able to gain business eligibility by completing all the necessary documentations necessary for its operations. Shortly thereafter, the first flight of JetBlue Airways took to the skies. The company then proceeded to add more routes as it expands its business operations. Before the year 2000 ended, the company reached a major milestone by reaching a million customers serviced while at the same time earning $ 100 million revenue for the year. All these have been achieved prior to the company’s first anniversary and shortly afterwards the company has flown about 2 million customers (JetBlue Corporate History 2011). The company further expanded its operations as the delivery of its Airbus units continues giving the company about 20 units of operational crafts. The company’s massive fleet continues to grow when in 2003 the company was able to receive its 50th Airbus. As such, a new hangar compl ex was needed and acquired at JFK International. The company grew rapidly and operations expanded extensively necessitating the additional order of 65 more airbuses and 100 more Embraer 190 aircrafts. In flight entertainment was improved further the following year and by the early half of 2004 the company already has on its laurels the honor of flying 25 million passengers. In just five years, the company was able to secure its 71st airbus and was subsequently awarded the prestigious Diamond Certificate of Excellence Award from the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA). Also, JetBlue was able to receive its Embraer 190 aircraft, the first airline to have such a unit. Furthermore, the company was able to acquire a bigger hangar and is also able to secure a partnership with American Express to integrate credit card payments with their operations. The company further improved its in house entertainment and was even able to pioneer in-flight email and even instant messaging services. In 2008, J etBlue even became the official airline of the Red Sox and the following year even became the official airline partner of the New York Jets. All the while, the company is introducing innovations of the jet liner service and is also expanding its routes. With all these achievements and despite breaching the top 50 in just half a decade, JetBlue was not yet a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) . After a decade, JetBlue established its office in the bustling city of New York and was officially included into the folds of the IATA. Brief Biography of Robin Hayes – EVP, Chief Commercial Officer Mr. Robin Hayes joined JetBlue last May 2008. He was appointed to the commercial side as the Chief Commercial Officer handling the airline’s marketing strategy including sales and revenues as well as the network of the airline. His appointment gave him an Executive Vice President position, a title he also had before he left his previous company (JetBlue Airwa ys, Press Release May 2008). Prior to joining the JetBlue, Mr. Robin Hayes was with British Airways also as an EVP. JetBlue is banking on the experience Mr. Hayes had when he was with British Airways to help their company surge forward faster. No less than JetBlue’s CEO, Mr. Dave Barger, highlighted the vast capabilities of Mr. Hayes emphasizing on the years that he had in the industry as well as the knowledge that he amassed from his

Q8Na Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Q8Na - Essay Example Workers participation and empowerment is apparent whereby they are more involved in decision making process, can set own goals and solve problems through action learning (Dunton, 2008). Communication is open to all in the organization hence more commitment to planned programs and a basis for learning organization culture (Salem, 2008). Functional teams are emerging unlike in the past where individual work was encouraged. The top management sets the vision, mission and objectives and the whole organizational is involved in ensuring they are met. Training and development of employees is also evident. Organizations are transforming into learning organizations. A culture of learning through mistakes is also encouraged as opposed to punishing employees for making mistakes hence hindering learning. Total quality management techniques are also emerging and use of internal and external consultants to help the management through change process. Appreciative inquiry method of management is bei ng embraced in organizations to support positive culture (Faure, 2006). The economy is becoming more globalized, workforce more dynamic and educated and environmental responsibility is on the rise. In future organizational development therefore will be more technologically enabled. Organizations will be involved in more networking and e-commerce and have greater productivity. For example, the organization will be able to serve more customers and employees can work from anywhere through use of technology. There will be more innovations and learning and client base will be diverse due to development in information and technology. Organizational development practitioners will require more competence to deal with diverse clients and cross-cultural teams. Transformational leadership will be required to deal with the emerging issues. Change is inevitable in

Different type of market in oil & gas industry Essay

Different type of market in oil & gas industry - Essay Example The oil price dynamics in the global market are more likely to influence by a number of key factors ranging from balance amongst supply and demand; geopolitical and macroeconomic conditions; to the transitions in exchange rates of the dominant economies across the world. In this regard, changing conditions of the global financial markets has also been witnessed to have major influence on the oil and gas industry (Levy & Kolk, 2002). Although the continuous technological breakthrough has made the international producers and suppliers to effectively deal with the issues, but the oil and gas industry underpins major concerns for the nations in order to eliminate the prevailing challenges. This is owing to the fact that the industry is centrally driven by the wave of changing supply and demand along with the unabated financial challenges of the global nations (Sadorsky, 2001). The study emphasises on the key challenges and increasing numbers of threats from the different market challenges. In this context, the study aims to conduct a critical evaluation of the current oil and gas industry of China to determine whether the industry is monopolised by China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which is one of the leading and dominant oil and gas corporations in the nation. In this essay, the discussion mainly focuses on developing relevant arguments or positions in relation to the literatures used in the previously developed articles. In order to claim appropriateness as well as validity of the research works, this essay tends to include a real example by elucidating the dominant performance of CNPC in the current oil and gas industry of China. In order to explore the market trends of the current oil and gas industry in China, the discussion critically addresses the present trend in microeconomic factors including the fashion of demand and supply in China. In addition to determine the current performance of CNPC, the discussion also incorporates a clear

Q8Na Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Q8Na - Essay Example Workers participation and empowerment is apparent whereby they are more involved in decision making process, can set own goals and solve problems through action learning (Dunton, 2008). Communication is open to all in the organization hence more commitment to planned programs and a basis for learning organization culture (Salem, 2008). Functional teams are emerging unlike in the past where individual work was encouraged. The top management sets the vision, mission and objectives and the whole organizational is involved in ensuring they are met. Training and development of employees is also evident. Organizations are transforming into learning organizations. A culture of learning through mistakes is also encouraged as opposed to punishing employees for making mistakes hence hindering learning. Total quality management techniques are also emerging and use of internal and external consultants to help the management through change process. Appreciative inquiry method of management is bei ng embraced in organizations to support positive culture (Faure, 2006). The economy is becoming more globalized, workforce more dynamic and educated and environmental responsibility is on the rise. In future organizational development therefore will be more technologically enabled. Organizations will be involved in more networking and e-commerce and have greater productivity. For example, the organization will be able to serve more customers and employees can work from anywhere through use of technology. There will be more innovations and learning and client base will be diverse due to development in information and technology. Organizational development practitioners will require more competence to deal with diverse clients and cross-cultural teams. Transformational leadership will be required to deal with the emerging issues. Change is inevitable in

Data Warehouse Case Study Essay Example for Free

Data Warehouse Case Study Essay History of the CDR When the project began in 1995–96, the CDR, initially referred to as the â€Å"clinical research database,† was intended to support and enhance clinical research at the University of Virginia by providing clinicians, students, and researchers with direct, rapid access to retrospective clinical and administrative patient data. Re? ecting this intent, the system was funded by the School of Medicine and housed in the Academic Computing Health Sciences group, which is distinct from the medical center’s IT group. With considerable assistance and cooperation from data owners and stewards, legacy data from several different sources were loaded into a single relational database and periodically updated. Authorized users accessed the CDR through a standard Web browser and viewed or downloaded data to their personal computers for further analysis. Initially, emphasis was placed on getting the CDR running as quickly as possible and with a minimum of resources; consequently, extensive transformation of data to an enterprise data model was not performed. The CDR project team consists of 2. 5–3. 0 FTEs (full-time equivalents)— one developer, one developer-database administrator, and portions of analyst, clinician, and administrative FTEs. To date, the costs of developing and operating the CDR have been approximately $200,000 per year, underwritten by the School of Medicine. Over the course of the project, there have been signi? cant enhancements to the user interface, incorporation of additional data sources, and the development of an integrated data model. There has also been increasing interest in using the CDR to serve a broader audience than researchers and to support management and administrative functions—â€Å"to meet the challenge of providing a way for anyone with a need to know—at every level of the organization—access to accurate and timely data necessary to support effective decision making, clinical research, and process improvement. In the area of education, the CDR has become a core teaching resource for the Department of Health Evaluation Science’s master’s program and for the School of Nursing. Students use the CDR to understand and master informatics issues such as data capture, vocabularies, and coding, as well as to perform Case Study: A Data Warehouse for an Academic Medical Center 167 exploratory analyses of healthcare questions. Starting in Spring 2001, the CDR will also be introduced into the university’s undergraduate medical curriculum. System Description Following is a brief overview of the CDR application as it exists at the University of Virginia. System Architecture. The CDR is a relational data warehouse that resides on a Dell PowerEdge 1300 (Dual Intel 400MHz processors, 512MB RAM) running the Linux operating system and Sybase 11. 9. 1 relational database management system. For storage, the system uses a Dell Powervault 201S 236GB RAID Disk Array. As of October 2000, the database contained 23GB of information about 5. 4 million patient visits (16GB visit data, 7GB laboratory results). Data loading into Sybase is achieved using custom Practical Extraction and Report Language (Perl) programs. CDR Contents. The CDR currently draws data from four independent systems (see Table 1). In addition, a number of derived values (for example, number of days to next inpatient visit, number of times a diagnostic code is used in various settings) are computed to provide summary information for selected data elements. Data from each of these source systems are integrated into the CDR’s data model. In addition to the current contents listed in Table 1, users and the CDR project team have identi? ed additional data elements that might be incorporated Table 1. Contents of the CDR Type of Data Inpatient, outpatient visits Source of Data Shared Medical Systems Description Patient registration and demographic data, diagnoses, procedures, unit and census information, billing transactions, including medications, costs, charges, reimbursement, insurance information Physician billing transactions from inpatient and outpatient visits, diagnoses, and procedures Laboratory test results Available Dates Jul 1993–Jun 2000 Professional billing Laboratory results Cardiac surgery IDX billing system HL-7 messages from SunQuest Lab System Cardiac surgery outcomes data (de? ned by Society of Thoracic Surgeons Oct 1992–Jun 2000 Jan 1996–Jun 2000 Clinical details for thoracic surgery cases Jul 1993–Jun 2000 168 Einbinder, Scully, Pates, Schubart, Reynolds into the CDR, including microbiology results, discharge summaries (and other narrative data), outpatient prescribing information, order entry details, and tumor registry information. As of October 2000, we have just ? nished incorporating death registry data from the Virginia Department of Health into the CDR. These data will provide our users with direct access to more comprehensive mortality outcomes data than are contained in local information systems, which generally are restricted to an in-hospital death indicator. User Interface. The user interface runs in a standard Web browser and consists of a data dictionary, a collection of common gateway interface (CGI) programs implemented using the â€Å"C† programming language, and JavaScriptenabled HTML pages. Structured query language (SQL) statements are generated automatically in response to point-and-click actions by the user, enabling submission of ad hoc queries without prior knowledge of SQL. The SQL queries are sent to the CGI programs that query the database and return results in dynamically created HTML pages. The entire process is controlled by the contents of the data dictionary, which is used to format SQL results, set up HTML links for data drill-down, and provide on-line help. Data may be downloaded immediately into Microsoft Excel or another analysis tool on the user’s workstation. Query Formulation. Most CDR users use the Guided Query function to retrieve data. This process involves three steps: 1. De? ne a population of interest by setting conditions, for example, date ranges, diagnostic codes, physician identi? ers, service locations, and lab test codes or values. 2. Submit the query, specifying how much data the CDR should return (all matching data or a speci? ed number of rows). 3. After the CDR returns the population of interest, use the Report Menu to explore various attributes of the population on a case-by-case or group level. Custom reports can also be de? ned, and the results of any report can be downloaded into Microsoft Excel, Access, or other analysis tool. Generally, the query process requires several iterations to modify the population conditions or report options. In addition, â€Å"browsing† the data may help the user generate ideas for additional queries. We believe that it is helpful for end users to go through this query process themselves—to directly engage the data. However, many users, especially those with a pressing need for data for a meeting, report, or grant, prefer to use CDR team members as intermediaries or analysts. To date, we have attempted to meet this preference, but as query volume increases, our ability to provide data in a timely manner may fall off. Security. A steering committee of clinicians guided the initial development of the CDR and established policies for its utilization and access. Only authorized users may log onto the CDR. To protect con? dentiality, all patient and physician identifying information has been partitioned into a â€Å"secure† Case Study: A Data Warehouse for an Academic Medical Center 169 database. Translation from or to disguised identi? ers to or from actual identi? ers is possible but requires a written request and appropriate approval (for example, from a supervisor or the human investigations committee). All data transmitted from the database server to the user’s browser are encrypted using the secure Netscape Web server, and all accesses to the database are logged. In addition, CDR access is restricted to personal computers that are part of the â€Å"Virginia. edu† domain or that are authenticated by the university’s proxy server. Evaluation Understanding user needs is the basis for improving the CDR to enable users to retrieve the data independently and to increase usage of the CDR at our institution. Thus, assessing the value of the CDR—how well we meet our users’ needs and how we might increase our user base—has been an important activity that has helped guide planning for changes and enhancements and for allocation of our limited resources. Efforts to evaluate the CDR have included several approaches: †¢ Monitoring user population and usage patterns †¢ Administering a CDR user survey †¢ Tracking queries submitted to the CDR and performing follow-up telephone interviews Usage Statistics. Voluntary usage of an IS resource is an important measure of its value and of user satisfaction. 5 However, usage of a data warehouse is likely to be quite different than for other types of information resources, such as clinical information systems. A clinical system is likely to be used many times per day; a data warehouse may be used sporadically. Thus, although we monitor system usage as a measure of the CDR’s value, we believe that frequency of usage cannot be viewed in isolation in assessing the success of a data warehouse. Since the CDR went â€Å"live,† more than 300 individuals have requested and obtained logon IDs. As of September 30, 2000, 213 individuals had logged on and submitted at least one query. This number does not include usage by CDR project team members and does not re? ect analyses performed by team members for end users. Figure 1 shows the cumulative number of active users (those who submitted a query) and demonstrates a linear growth pattern.

Study of Business Companies in Colombo Stock Exchange

Study of Business Companies in Colombo Stock Exchange Capital structure is most significant discipline of companys operations. The Study attempts to identify the impact of Capital Structure on Companies Performance. The analyze has been made Financial year from 2005 to 2009 (05 years) financial year of Business companies in Sri Lanka. The results shown the relationship between the capital structure and financial performance is negative association at -0.114.. F and t values are 0.366, -0.605 respectively. It is reflect the insignificant level of the Business Companies in Sri Lanka. Hence Business companies mostly depend on the debt capital. So that, they have to pay interest expenses much. 1. Introduction To understand how companies finance their operations, it is necessary to examine the determinants of their financing or capital structure decisions. Company financing decisions involve a wide range of policy issues. At the private, they have implications for capital market development, interest rate and security price determination, and regulation. At the private, such decisions affect capital structure, corporate governance and company development (Green, Murinde Suppakitjarak, 2002). Knowledge about capital structures has mostly been derived from data from developed economies that have many institutional similarities (Booth 2001). It is important to note that different countries have different institutional arrangements, mainly with respect to their tax and bankruptcy codes, the existing market for corporate control, and the roles banks and securities markets play. Capital structure refers to a mixture of a variety of long term sources of funds and equity shares including reserves and surpluses of an enterprise. The historical attempt to building theory of capital structure began with the presentation by Modigliani miller (MM)(1958). They revealed the situations under what conditions that the Capital structure (CS) is relevant or irrelevant to the financial performance of the listed companies. most of the decision making process related to the CS are deciding factors when determining the CS, a number of issues e.g. cost, various taxes and rate, interest rate have been proposed to explain the variation in Financial Leverage across firms (Van Horne,1993; Hampton,1998; Titman Wessels,1998).these issues suggested that the depending on attributes that caused the cost of various sources of capital the firms select CS and benefits related to debt and equity financing The relationship between capital structure and financial performance is one that received considerable attention in the finance literature. How important is the concentration of control for the company performance or the type of investors exerting that control are questions that authors have tried to answer for long time prior studies show that capital structure has relating with corporate governance, which is the key issues of state owned enterprise. To study the effects of capital structure or financial performance, will help us to know the potential problems in performance and capital structure. 2. Literature Review Modigliani and Miller(M M)(1958) wrote a paper on the irrelevance of capital structure that inspired researchers to debate on this subject. This debate is still continuing. However, with the passage of time, new dimensions have been added to the question of relevance or irrelevance of capital structure. MM declared that in a world of frictionless capital markets, there would be no optimal financial structure (Schwartz Aronson, 1979). This theory later became known as the Theory of Irrelevance. In M Ms over-simplified world, no capital structure mix is better than another. M Ms Proposition-II attempted to answer the question of why there was an increased rate of return when the debt ratio was increased. It stated that the increased expected rate of return generated by debt financing is exactly offset by the risk incurred, regardless of the financing mix chosen. Brander and Lewis (1986) and Maksimovic (1988) provide the theoretical framework that links capital structure and market structure. Contrary to the profit maximization objective postulated in industrial organization literature, these theories are similar to the corporate finance theory in that they assume that the firms objective is to maximize the wealth of shareholders. Furthermore, market structure is shown to affect capital structure by influencing the competitive behavior and strategies of firms. Firms in an oligopolistic market will follow the strategy of maximizing their output in favorable economic conditions to optimize profitability (Brander Lewis 1986). The theory also holds in unfavorable economic conditions; firms would take a cut in production and reduce their profitability. Shareholders, though, while enjoying increased wealth in good periods, tend to ignore a decline in profitability in bad times. This is due to the fact that unfavorable consequences are passed in to lenders because of shareholders limited liability status. Therefore, the oligopolistic firms, in contrast to firms in competitive markets, would employ higher levels of debt to produce more when opportunities to earn higher profits arise. The implied prediction of the output maximization hypothesis is that capital structure and market structure have a positive relationship. In corporate finance, the agency costs theory supports the use of high debt, and it is consistent with the prediction of the outp ut maximization hypothesis. Jensen and Meckling (1976) argue that the shareholders-lenders conflict has the effect of shifting risk from shareholders and of appropriating wealth in their favor as they take on risky investment projects (asset substitution). Hence, shareholders, and managers as their agents, are prompted to take on more borrowing to finance risky projects. Lenders receive interest and principal if projects succeed, and shareholders appropriate the residual income; however, it is the lender who incurs the loss if the project fails. It is difficult and costly for debt holders to be able to assess and monitor Huson, and Nazrul Hisyam. (2008) examined that the relationship between ownership structure and company performance has been issue of interest among academics, investors and policy makers because of key issue in understanding the effectiveness of alternative governance system in which government ownership serve as a control mechanism. Therefore, this study examines the impact of alternative ownership/control structure of corporate governance on firm performance among government linked companied (GLCs) and Non-GLC in Malaysia. It is believed that government ownership serve as a monitoring device that lead to better company performance after controlling company specific characteristics. We used Tobins Q as market performance measure while ROA is to determine accounting performance measure. This study is based on a sample of 210 firms over a period from 1995 to 2005. We use panel based regression approach to determine the impact of ownership mechanism on firms performance. Findings appe ar to suggest that there is a significant impact of government ownership on company performance after controlling for company specific characteristics such as company size, non-duality, leverage and growth. The finding is off significant for investors and policy marker which will serve as a guiding for better investment decision. Mohammed Omran (2001) evaluates the financial and operating performance of newly privatized Egyptian state-owned enterprises and determines whether such performance differs across firms according to their new ownership structure. The Egyptian privatization program provides unique post-privatization data on different ownership structures. Since most studies do not distinguish between the types of ownership, this paper provides new insight into the impact that post-privatization ownership structure has on firm performance. The study covers 69 firms, which were privatized between 1994 and 1998. For these newly privatized firms, these study documents significant increases in profitability, operating efficiency, capital expenditures, and dividends. Conversely, significant decreases in employment, leverage, and risk are found, although output shows an insignificant decrease following privatization. The results also show that Egyptian state-owned enterprises, which were sold to anchor-inves tors and employee shareholder associations, seem to outperform other types of privatization, such as minority and majority initial public offerings. B.Nimalathasan and Brabete (2010) pointed out that Dept equity ratio is positively and strongly associated to all profitability ratios in Listed Manufacturing Companies. 3. Conceptual Frame Work Based on the Litteratures, the following conceptual model is constructed. It shows that hypotgesized the relationship between capital structure and Performance of listed Business companies in Sri Lanka Debt Equity CS GP NP FP ROE ROI 4. Objectives The main objective is to find out the impact of Capital Structure on Financial Performance of the Business companies in Srilanka. To achieve the above objective the following sub objective are considered To identify the relationship between capital structure and performance To determinants of a capital structure 5.0 Hypotheses The following hypothesis is formulated for the study H1:- The capital structure has significant impact on financial performance. H2:-Capital structure is significantly correlated with financial performance 6.0 Methodology To produce the above mentioned research objective, the data for this study was gathered from the financial statements as published by Business Companies. In addition, another source of data was through reference to the review of different articles, papers, and relevant previous studies. For this purpose, collecting data of Business firms is used which are listed on Colombo Stock Exchange.. All firms are taken for the study representing the period of 2005-2009, and the average values of each item was considered for the purpose of ratio computation and analysis. 6.1 Mode of Analysis 1.Capital structure Role of debt and equity Debt ÃÆ'—100 equity Debt ÃÆ'—100 Total funds Total funds 2.Financial Performance Gross profit Gross profit ÃÆ'—100 Net Sales Net Sales Net profit Net profit Net profit ÃÆ'—100 Sales ROA PAIT ÃÆ'—100 Assets ROI/ROCE Investment PBIT ÃÆ'—100 Equity 7. Results and Discussions 7.1 Correlation Analysis Correlation is concern describing the strength of relationship between two variables. In this study the correlation co-efficient analysis is under taken to find out the relationship between capital structure and financial performance. It can be said that the what relationship exist among variables Capital structure correlated with R value R2 value Gross profit 0.360 0.1296 Net profit 0.110 0.0121 ROI -0.104 0.0108 ROA -0.196 0.0384 Performance -0.114 0.0129 7.1.1 Capital structure and Gross profit Table I Variables Capital structure Gross profit Capital structure 1 0.360 Gross profit 0.360 1 It shows the relationship between gross profit and capital structure variables. There is a weak positive relationship between two variables. The correlation is 0.360. significant level is 0.01. the co-efficient of determination is 0.1296. that is only 12.96% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the gross profit. So, There is a weak positive relationship between capital structure and gross profit 7.1.2 Capital structure and Net profit Table II Variables Capital structure Net profit Capital structure 1 -0.110 Net profit -0.110 1 It illustrates the relationship between net profit and capital structure variables. There is a weak negative relationship between two variables. The correlation is -0.110. Significant level is 0.01. The co-efficient of determination is 0.0121. That is only 1.21% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the net profit. 7.1.3 Capital structure and ROI Table III Variables Capital structure ROI Capital structure 1 -0.104 ROI -0.104 1 It indicates the relationship between ROI and capital structure variables. There is a weak negative relationship between two variables. The correlation is -0.104. Significant level is 0.01. The co-efficient of determination is0.0108. that is only 1.08% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the ROI. 7.1.4 Capital structure and ROA Table IV Variables Capital structure ROA Capital structure 1 -0.196 ROA -0.196 1 It shows the relationship between ROA and capital structure variables. There is a weak negative relationship between two variables. The correlation is -0.196 significant level is 0.01. the co-efficient of determination is 0.0384. that is only 3.84% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the ROA. 7.1.5 Capital structure and Financial performance Table V Variables Capital structure Financial performance Capital structure 1 -0.114 Financial performance -0.114 1 It illustrates the relationship between performance and capital structure variables. There is a weak negative relationship between two variables. The correlation is -0.114. Significant level is 0.01. The co-efficient of determination is 0.0129. that is only 1.29% of variance in the capital structure is accounted by the performance. 7.2 Regression Analysis Regression analysis is used to test the impact of financial performance on capital structure of the listed companies traded in Colombo stock exchange 7.2.1 Capital structure and Gross profit Table VI Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.360a 0.129 0.098 0.32306 The above table shows the weak positive correlation between the capital structure and gross profit. Table VII Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 0.187 0.047 0.073 0.023 0.360 2.556 2.039 0.016 0.051 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and gross profit. multiple r2 is 0.1296. only 1.29% of variance of gross profit is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 98.21% of variance with gross profit is attributed to other factors. 7.2.2 Capital structure and Net profit Table VIII Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.110a 0.012 -0.023 0.36514 The above table shows the weak negative correlation between the capital structure and net profit. Table IX Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 0.124 -0.015 0.083 0.026 -0.110 1.498 -0.584 0.145 0.564 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and net profit. Multiple r2 is 0.012. Only 1.2% of variance of net profit is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 98.8 % of variance with net profit is attributed to other factors 7.2.3Capital structure and ROI Table X Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.104a 0.011 -0.025 115.19484 The above table shows the weak positive correlation between the capital structure and ROI. Table XI Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 31.283 -4.563 26.050 8.250 -0.104 1.201 -0.553 0.240 0.585 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and ROI. Multiple r2 is 0.011. Only 1.1% of variance of ROI is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 98.9% of variance with ROI is attributed to other factors 7.2.4 Capital structure and ROA Table XII Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.196a 0.039 0.004 0.10866 The above table shows the weak positive correlation between the capital structure and ROA. Table XIII Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 0.099 -0.008 0.025 0.008 -0.196 4.020 -1.060 0.000 0.298 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and ROA. multiple r2 is 0.039. only 3.9% of variance of ROA is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 96.1% of variance with ROA is attributed to other factors 7.2.5 Capital structure and Financial performance Table XIV Model R R Square Adjusted R Square Std.Error of the Estimate 1 0.114a 0.013 -0.022 0.98395 The above table shows the weak positive correlation between the capital structure and performance. Table XV ANOVA b .354 1 .354 .366 .550 a 27.109 28 .968 27.463 29 Regression Residual Total Model 1 Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. Predictors: (Constant), Capital_structure a. Dependent Variable: Performance b. Table XVI Model Un standardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t sig B Std.Error Beta 1(constant) Capital structure 0.704 -0.043 0.223 0.070 -0.114 3.162 -0.605 0.004 0.550 The above table indicates the coefficient of correlation between the capital structure and performance. multiple r2 is 0.013. only 1.3% of variance of performance is accurate by the capital structure. But, remaining 98.7% of variance with performance is attributed to other factors. 8. Concluding Remarks Correlation analysis explains, there is a weak positive relationship between gross profit and capital structure (0.360).at the same time, there is a negative relationship between net profit and capital structure (-0.110).it reflects the high financial cost among the firms. ROI and ROA also has negative relationship with capital structure at -0.104, -0.196 respectively. It is focused on the overall point of view of the relationship between the capital structure and financial performance. There is a negative association at -0.114. Co-efficient of determination is 0.013. F and t values are 0.366, -0.605 respectively. It is reflect the insignificant level of the Business Companies in Sri Lanka. Business companies mostly depend on the debt capital. Therefore, they have to pay interest expenses much. 8.1 Testing of Hypotheses Statistical Techniques Results Correlation -0.114 Co à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å"efficient of determination -0.0129 Based on the empirical results of this study, H1this hypothesis come false .Because in this study the empirical results shows that there is a insignificant negative relationship H2: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“There is a positive relationship between the capital structure and firms financial performanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. At the first step of testing the hypothesis(H1), hypothesis (H1) was considered and tested for its validity. It has the following result between the capital structure and firms financial performance measured by performance measures such as ROA , ROI ,Net profit margin and etc. Based on the above evidence gathered, the H2 was rejected. Because research result is negative relationship between the capital structure and firms financial performance. H0: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“there is a negative relationship between the capital structure and firms financial performanceà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. After the rejection of H1, the Null hypothesis (H0) was tested for its validity. H0 was accepted based on the above evidence gathered. it has been provided that there is a negative relationship between the capital structure and firms financial performance(-0.114). 9.0 Suggestions and Recommendations The following suggestions are recommended to increase the Companys financial performance based on capital structure. Performance standards should be established and communicated to the investors. This will help investors to achieve the standard and take better investment decisions. Identifying weaknesses of investment may be best one to improve the firms financial performance, because it indicates the area which decision should be taken. Motivating the investors to help to achieve the high level of firms financial performance.. Political changes are very important factor in the share market. It is also determine the firm performance. Therefore, political should possible to increase the financial performance of the listed companies. Inflation and exchange rate also affect the listed companys performance. So, government should consider the economic growth to control the inflation.

Bordetella pertussis :: Essays Papers

Bordetella pertussis "Whooping Cough" Encounter and Colonization Bordetella pertussis is a highly communicable agent and is transmitted person-to-person via airborne droplets or direct contact with discharges from the respiratory mucous membranes of an infected person. This small, gram-negative coccobacillus is non-motile, aerobic and fastidious. B. pertussis colonizes the respiratory tract including the mouth, nose, throat and beginning of the lungs of young children worldwide. The bacteria bind to ciliated cells in the respiratory mucosa by producing adhesions. Filamentous hemagglutinin on the cell surface and pertussis toxin (Ptx) both help the bacteria in binding. Filamentous hemagglutinin binds to the galactose residues on the glycolipid of the ciliated cells. Ptx, in its cell-bound form, binds to the glycolipid lactosylceramide, which is also found on the ciliated cells. Ptx binds to the surface of phagocytes as well, causing phagocytosis of the bacteria. This mechanism may lead to enhanced survival as an intracellular parasite. Adding to it s many purposes, Ptx deregulates the host cell adenylate cyclase activity. The A subunit of this AB toxin, affects the G protein responsible for inhibiting adenylate cyclase. This leads to an increase in cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) creating detrimental metabolic changes in the host cells. Additional Toxins Also contributing to the virulence of the bacteria are the exotoxins including invasive adenylate cyclase, tracheal cytotoxin, and lethal toxin. Invasive adenylate cyclase reduces local phagocytic activity as well as acting as a hemolysin. Tracheal toxin affects the ciliated respiratory epithelium by inhibiting the ciliary beating. This kills the cells and causes them to be eliminated from the mucosa. Tracheal toxin also stimulates the release of IL-1, which causes fever. Lastly, lethal toxin causes inflammation and local necrosis at infection sites. Because B. pertussis is a gram-negative bacteria, it possesses the endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). However, its LPS is different from that of the other gram-negative bacteria, in that it is heterogeneous with an alternative form of the Lipid A, called Lipid X. Although not fully understood at the time, it seems that Lipid X has a greater capacity for virulence. Pathogenesis After an incubation period of five to ten days, or as long as 21 days, numerous symptoms can be observed. The symptoms come in two stages. The first stage consists of common cold symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, low-grade fever, and a mild cough. It is during this time that the disease is most contagious, and it lasts from one to two weeks.

Local and National Provision for Swimming :: Papers

Local and National Provision for Swimming The sport I have chosen to analyse the Local and National provision for is swimming. I have competed in many "in-club" races and swam against several other clubs, this was through a continuous interest in swimming and sport as a whole. Every popular sport has to be provided for at different levels, from an absolute beginner, to international excellence. At each level, there are different coaching and training procedures, as well as the consideration of the disabled to cater for. This operation is run by the Amateur Swimming Association (A.S.A.), where rules are made official and provision is provided, which coaches and swimmers have to abide by. The A.S.A has a swimmer development program called Swim21. I quote from the website, "Swim21 provides a long overdue nationally recognised club development programme which provides clear pathways which swimmers can progress along. I'm sure the programme will go along way to helping us produce the champions of the future." The quote basically tells us that the A.S.A is very keen to produce talented swimmers into the future and do everything it can to achieve this. Swim21 also applies to disabled swimmers. At grass roots level the most important contributor to the access a young performer has to sport is usually from the school, and this is no different in swimming. As well as this many young children have available to them the opportunity of learning to swim at their local swimming facility. Henceforth, in general, once young swimmers have learned the basics, with a particular enjoyment for the sport, they have the choice to move onto competitive swimming by signing up to a club registered with the A.S.A within their area. The next stage to improving is to enter into a training program, suited for age and experience. Normally within a swimming club, there are teaching groups depending on the experience and skills they have, so that they can therefore train to become better, or train to perfect the skills the need to

Symbolism in Guy de Maupassant’s “The Necklace”

Hayley Hughes Professor Fowler English 1102 9 February 2013 Short Story Essay Guy de Maupassant’s short story â€Å"The Necklace† uses a diamond necklace to symbolize two different things. The first thing the necklace represents is that deceiving others will lead to one’s downfall. The necklace also symbolizes how the effects of greed can change a person. In the story, the reader sees the main character’s personal growth from beginning to end due to losing a diamond necklace.Mathilde Loisel’s life is turned upside down because she was materialistic, but by the end of the story Mathilde is wiser and more admirable. Mathilde changed in ways that could not have been possible had she not lost the necklace. The story opens with the beautiful Mathilde Loisel fantasizing about luxuries she and her husband cannot afford. When her husband comes home with an invitation to an exclusive party, she is upset because she does not have anything fancy to wear. Even after her husband gives her some money for a dress, she then complains about not having jewelry.Since she does not own any expensive jewlery, Mathilde goes to her friend Madame Forestier and borrows a diamond necklace. She absolutely loves the necklace and when she and her husband attend the party, everyone notices her and the necklace. After they return from the party, Mathilde is sees she has lost the necklace. However, instead of telling Madame Forestier that the necklace had been lost, Mathilde buys a replacement necklace worth 40,000 francs and gives that to her friend hoping she would not see the difference.She and her husband then spend the next ten years working to pay for the cost of the necklace only to find out that the original necklace had been a fake. Even though her hardship could have been avoided completely, Mathilde became a better person from of losing the necklace. The necklace is the main symbol in â€Å"The Necklace. † What is a symbol? According to Lite rature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, â€Å"a symbol is a substitute for the elements being signified,† (Roberts and Zweig, 382). The necklace could be considered a cultural symbol.A cultural symbol is universally recognized (Roberts and Zweig, 383). Out of all the jewelry Mathilde could have chosen, she chose the diamond necklace. Maupassant most likely chose a diamond necklace because people would recognize the gravity of the situation in the story; most people could understand the value of a diamond necklace as opposed to some of the other jewelry mentioned in the story, which makes the diamond necklace a cultural symbol. The necklace could also be considered a contextual symbol.Unlike a cultural symbol, a contextual symbol gets its meaning from the story (Roberts and Zweig, 383-384). In this story, the necklace represents the fact that appearances are not always what they seem and that the bitter truth of reality can lead to one’s downfall. Mathilde wants to wear a diamond necklace in order for people to think she is wealthier than she is. When she borrows it from Madame Forestier, who is wealthier than Mathilde, she has no reason to believe that the necklace is a fake.Because Mathilde thinks the diamonds as being real, she thinks that others will believe she is wealthy too. In deceiving others of her wealth, she essentially deceives herself. For example, when it is time for them to leave the party her husband gives her the shawl she brought; she does not want anyone to see her wearing the shawl because it reminded her that she was not wealthy and she did not want anyone to find out. She wants to live out this fantasy as long as she possibly can and runs outside with the shawl hoping no one will notice.When she loses the necklace, she is brought back to reality and must deal with the consequences. Instead of accepting her reality that she was not wealthy and being greedy, she set herself up for disaster. The necklace symbolizes gree d and how it can affect a person. In the beginning of the story, Mathilde is greedy. She pities herself for not being born into a wealthy family, claiming it was an â€Å"error of destiny,† (Maupassant, 200). She and her husband are most likely middle-class, but she is still unhappy with their financial status. Her husband, Mr. Loisel, is the exact opposite.He takes pleasure in the little things, even praising his wife’s beef stew while she daydreamed about the finest cuisines (Maupassant, 200). All he wants to do is please his wife, but Mathilde is never satisfied. It is because of her greed that she ends up borrowing the necklace in the first place. After losing the necklace and giving the replacement to her friend, not only had the Loisels’ lifestyle changed, but Mathilde also started to change. She had to do cleaning jobs to earn money, dressed in cheap clothes, and argued with food vendors about the price of their goods in order to save every penny.After th e ten years of hard labor, the story describes Mathilde as â€Å"the strong, hard, and rude woman of poor households,† (Maupassant, 204). Even though she still reminisced about the party, unlike before where she pitied herself for not being wealthy, now she contemplates what her life would be like had she not been so greedy in borrowing the necklace. She questions how something as small as a necklace could have such a big impact on her life saying â€Å"How little a thing it takes to destroy you or to save you,† (Maupassant, 204).The necklace both destroyed her and saved her. Even though she had to deal with ten long years of working to pay back the money, losing the necklace symbolizes Mathilde losing her greediness and gaining the knowledge that money does not lead to happiness. Works Cited Page De Maupassant, Guy. â€Å"The Necklace. † Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Roberts, Edgar V. , and Robert Zweig. 10th ed. Illinois: Pearson, 2012. 2 00-205. Print. Roberts, Edgar V. , and Robert Zweig. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. 10th ed. Illinois: Pearson, 2012. Print.

John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham

The idea of utilitarianism has been advocated by John Stuart Mill and Jeremy Bentham. Both thinkers base their theories of morality upon the Greatest Happiness Principle, or the principle of Utility. This principle is one that views actions as right and moral to the extent that they promote pleasure and exclude pain. It sees rightness and wrongness as existing on a continuum, upon which neither is necessarily exclusive of the other.Therefore, society’s maximization of utility consists in the achievement of the highest possible concentration of pleasure while minimizing the amount of pain deriving from any action or law. Jeremy Bentham described the total pleasure to be derived from an action as something that could be computed through tallying its intensity, duration, and the speed with which the pleasure occurs after the act is performed. This computation would also include the likelihood of the pleasure to avoid harm or pain.Bentham also advocated a principle of utility that presents a balance between self interest (or enlightened self interest) and altruism. In contrast to this, John Stuart Mill’s theory of utilitarianism introduced methods that would make altruism more likely to produce the greatest good than Bentham’s self-interested utilitarianism. As demonstrated earlier, Mill’s own version of utilitarianism is very similar to that of Jeremy Bentham. Yet, it does offer some very significant differences. One of the problems that utilitarianism faces is based on one of its minor premises.While it might be possible to agree that actions should be performed based on their ability to secure the greatest happiness for the largest number of people, uncertainty often arises when one attempts to locate the action that actually contains this merit. This is where Mill’s principle of utility deviates from Bentham’s. While Bentham, as stated above, advocated the idea of the quantification of happiness, Mill’s theory op erates under the explicit assumption that quantification of pleasures is not always possible.According to Mill, the differences between some pleasures are differences in kind and not of degree. Therefore, in several cases, qualitative (as opposed to quantitative) judgments have to be made between and among different pleasures. In such cases, Mill argues that only a person familiar with both types of pleasures would be qualified to pass judgment and declare one of higher value than another. This deviation from Bentham’s basic theory of utilitarianism allows Mill further leeway to introduce a major difference between the base pleasures of the body and the higher intellectual pleasures of the mind.These intellectual pleasures are ones that will allow for an altruistic type of utilitarianism. This type of utilitarianism has the ability to sacrifice the pleasure of the primary individual, when it has been determined that the sacrifice will lead to pleasure for a larger group of pe rsons. In slight contrast to this, Bentham’s utilitarianism espouses the theory of enlightened self interest, which places the primary individual on the same level as all other individuals.While Bentham’s theory is not a completely self-interested theory, the theory of utility proposed by Mill gives the individual more freedom and opportunity to make choices that are of benefit to others rather than himself. Primarily, Mill distinguishes between the types of behaviors that would promote such actions and actually gives more weight to the type of intellectual pleasure that may be derived from them. Therefore, the total happiness gained from self-sacrifice according to Bentham would amount to the aggregation of the bodily pleasures given to others by the primary person’s sacrifice.According to Mill, however, the pleasure gained from that scenario would be even greater than computed by Bentham, as it would also consist of the greater intellectual pleasure gained by the person who acts sacrificially. It can therefore be concluded that Mill’s version of utilitarianism presents altruism as a method of accruing more happiness than that presented by Bentham’s version—which advocates enlightened self interest. Reference Author’s Last Name. First Initial. (Year of publication). Morality and the human predicament. City of Publication: Publisher.

Literature Review Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Literature Review - Assignment Example After Chandra’s mother (Lillian) is bedridden, the difficult job of caring for her falls on her shoulders. She does this challenging work and the mother eventually dies in dignity. In traditional South African culture, caring for the sick fell on the wider members of the community and not just immediate relatives (Clark, 2008). This film portrays the breakdown of traditional African values in townships and their consequences for immediate relatives especially in trying moments. The film also dwells on the issue of belief in witchcraft. Traditionally, some African cultures always attributed any sickness or medical condition to black magic (Clark, 2008). Lillian is sent to a witchdoctor in the hope that the connotations she will get from the traditional doctor will heal her. Visiting the traditional doctor is a cheaper alternative to the expensive conventional treatment that is not affordable. Overall, the film shows how poverty leads to desperate

Japan waste pollution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Japan waste pollution - Research Paper Example Japan has been focused on economic development and has primarily given importance to its re-establishment in the global scenario. When we consider the economic and industrial grown, Japan has taken large strides after the World War II in an effort to become a sustainable nation, indulging in industrialization and modernization of all facilities. However, waste pollution became an issue that required to be addressed with the lapse of time. As far as agriculture is concerned, the night soil which used to be disposed into rivers were not much of a problem earlier, but became a threat after the introduction of chemical fertilizers and such. Eventually, the effects of pollution became evident and the people of Japan, who had moved to the cities, began to see the effects of pollution. The development in waste pollution treatment, including the sewerage facilities has always been slow until recent years. Now people have realized the importance of waste pollution treatment. In the past, Japan has suffered considerable loss as a result of waste pollution, including copper poisoning and cadmium poisoning through water sources, Sulphur di-oxide and Nitrogen di-oxide pollution through air. Another important form of poisoning that affected the people was arsenic poisoning which was caused by the arsenic dust from the mines, causing breathing illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis. With the increase in the number of waste pollution issues, the government decided to make some drastic changes, making strict efforts to curb pollution.

Australia in the Asia Pacific Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Australia in the Asia Pacific - Essay Example This, along with democratic institutions, cultural diversity and a record of constructive international engagement, underpins Australian participation in world affairs. Key components of Australia's security strategy include a strong national defense capability; the alliance relationship with the United States; bilateral defense and security relationships with Asia Pacific countries; and multilateral security links, especially through the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum. Australia is closely engaged in international counter-terrorism efforts both regionally and around the world." According to the World Bank, the East Asia Pacific region consists of more than 20 countries and the region is home to more than 2 billion of the earth's people. The countries included in this region are; Cambodia, China, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Korea, the People's Democratic Republic of Lao (Lao PDR), Malaysia, Marshall Islands, FS Micronesia, Mongolia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Vietnam. (http://www.worldbank.org) One of the main reasons why Australia needs to focus on the South Asian Pacific region is that it is a lucrative potential market for our country. "Close engagement with Asia is an imperative for Australia, and bilateral political, security and people-to-people links between Australia and many Asian countries are strong and sophisticated. Extensive two-way trade and investment and the development of comprehensive bilateral free trade agreements characterize economic relations with a number of countries in Asia. Japan and China are Australia's largest and third-largest export destinations respectively." (http://www.dfat.gov.au/aib/australia_foreign_trade_policy.html) As with all the rest of the world; Australia likes to maintain close-knit relations with Pacific Asia. The following map helps to determine the layout of the South Asian region on the world map.Source: http://www.lexisnexis.com Source: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTEASTASIAPACIFIC/Images/eap-map.jpg In the 2006 opening address to the Energy Security in Asia Pacific Policy Forum, Australian Treasurer, the Honorable Peter Costello MP stated the following statistics, "Australia has 8 per cent of the world's total reserves of coal. It has been the world's largest exporter of coal since 1986. In 2004, Australia accounted for 55 per cent of total world exports of metallurgical coal and 20 per cent of total world exports of thermal coal. It has 2 per cent of the world's natural gas reserves. Since 1989, it has emerged as one of the world's largest exporters of Liquid Natural Gas (LNG). Australian firms have become known as noteworthy long-term suppliers of LNG to China. Australia's Northwest Shelf endeavor has been chosen by China to be the sole provider of LNG. The agreement will worth between $A20 and $A25 billion in export revenue for Australia. This is Australia's largest solitary export deal. Australia has 40 per cent of the world's proven reserves of uranium and is the world's second largest uranium