Alma Electronics: I’ll Dream of You Essay

Introduction Mr. Andy Mallari’s goal is to develop his small electronic shop into that kind of business of Mr. Estrelito Chan, which has already grown into a well-established appliance assembly plant in Manila. He, Mr. Mallari, however has three sons who belong to the top ten in their respective classes and he thinks that his children have great potential of helping him realize his dream of establishing his own assembly plant. Mr. Mallari should take into account every single detail in his plans from the biggest up to the smallest ones for if there is any case of missteps in his endeavor, it can ruin all of his plans. Analysis His business started as a mere electronic supply and repair center in Burgos Ave., Cabanatuan City and he has employees consisting of technicians who came from different towns of Nueva Ecija. His business has grown up until he managed to build a new bigger shop at Del Pilar St. Considering this fact, we can safely say that his working force in terms of manpower is effective since he was able to bring his business into having different sub-branches in the various big towns of Nueva Ecija such as San Jose City, Gapan City and Guimba. This all say that he has established a firm business, but he has  decided to take a step further in his endeavors by setting his goal of establishing a larger scale enterprises. In view of this, different challenges will sure emerge like he already has to set a new outline for his business’ working force and he will be needing more experienced employees with deeper knowledge about electronics industry. He has his three sons as potential pillars for the realization of his dreams. That’s why the most critical part of his plan is the choice of course he will recommend his sons to take, and whether or not his sons will take into account the course he will endorse. Recommendations and Conclusions According to Engr. Helito R. Singson JR., if he were Mr. Andy Mallari he would choose Electronics and Communications Engineering to be the course for his first son, since electronic industry is what his business is all about. He added that it is wise that his son who, if ever, will be an electronic engineer be positioned as a supervisor. The second son is to take business administration; he will be in charge of the management aspects within the business. And the third one is to take finance, and he will be in charge of the financial aspects of the business. Source: Engr. Helito R. Singson Jr. helitorsingsonjr@gmail.com

The Sustainabile Production Of Palm Oil Environmental Sciences Essay

This undertaking is centered on how the sustainability construction can be used to aline the environmental friendly patterns of palm oil production. It gathers together the fiscal and economic, environmental and societal dimensions of the concern. The methodological analysis consists of a straightforward analysis of the sustainability construct that includes three indispensable facets. The foremost one is the high income program of humanising the fiscal, economic and societal benefits and diminishing the environmental effects of the activities of oil thenar agribusiness over both the short- and long-terms. Second, in beef uping relationships and partnerships by familiarising and working with the employees, investors and stakeholders to talk about their demands and those of the industry in increasing the production of high quality merchandises from palm oil and its merchandises. The 3rd one is by meaning the dependability and committedness in continuing the high ethical motives of the industry in its daily procedures by bring forthing zero waste by full usage of its byproducts thereby diminishing pollution. It is our belief that industries are making the right thing by doing sustainability a portion of its twenty-four hours to twenty-four hours activity and it is besides our strong belief that the policies identified in the sustainability model are for the healthier growing of the industry in the twenty-first century.Work-packagesAt the clip this undertaking proposal was made, the word packaging is associated with the aim of this undertaking. They include To truly understand the value usage of the thenar oil To happen out other economic values of the oil thenar To place the by -products of oil thenar after treating and ways to better on the waste that is been generated. To truly understand the utility of a thenar tree. It is truly of import to understand that every portion of a thenar tree is significantly utile The procedures involved in the production of a thenar tree. To foreground ways in which palm oil production could be made more feasible in the production concatenation. To measure the possible part of clean ( er ) engineering to increase the environmental public presentation of the rough palm oil industry To analyze application barriers for cleaner production in rough palm oil industry To bring forth constructs for traveling the palm oil industry towards sustainabilityExpected ResultsIt is expected that this undertaking will demo assorted procedures involved in the production of palm oil. It will besides foreground countries that require betterment in footings of electricity coevals which could be used at the factory, watercourse production which is used in the sterilisation procedure utilizing the waste that is been generated from the factory. This undertaking will travel a long manner in doing us to understand the assorted merchandises which could be produced from the waste generated from the factory like the empty fruit brunch which could be in the production of soap and detergents, other merchandises which could be made from nonedible palm oil like Candles, Printing inks, Biodiesel, acids to lubricate fibres in the fabric industry, Cosmetics.Technical hazard anticipatedThis undertaking will non be expecting any proficient hazard. This is because the undertaking would be based on the research and audience from relevant thenar oil factory.Resources needSome of import resources will be needed for this undertaking. These resources will include: Internet information Information from oil factory Library informationBeneficiaries of the workThis undertaking will learn me some of import utilizations of palm oil and besides others uses that could be obtained from the waste that is been generated from the factory. I will besides larn some environmental issues that will be associated with the production of palm oil. This undertaking will be good to industries that produce palm oil for the efficient and feasible ways of palm oil production.IntroductionHistorical development of the universe thenar oilThe beginning of palm oil started in the rain wood of West Africa, where it was used as a footing of oil and vitamins. Its ingestion has been for more than 5,000 old ages. ( Chavalparit, 2006 ) Presently the oil thenar tree can be seen in many tropical states in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The most critical countries of oil thenar agribusiness is in South East Asia. States like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand produce about 80 % of the universe ‘s palm oil ( Gopal, 2001 ) . Oil thenar seeds were introduced to Indonesia and Malaysia in 1848 and 1875 severally and the first industrial oil thenar plantation was introduced in Malaysia in 1917. ( Chavalparit, 2006 ) The autumn in monetary value gum elastic in the late 1920s exhilarated the agribusiness of oil thenar in Malaysia at that clip ; Nig eria and Zaire were the prima thenar oil manufacturers in the universe. From 1960-1995, the palm oil industry in Malaysia displayed a really fast development and of all time since it has been the universe ‘s prima exporter of thenar oil since 1966 replacing Nigeria, which had been the major maker and exporter since the debut of palm oil into the universe market. ( Chavalparit, 2006 ) More late, sustainability has received inordinate consideration with battles to integrate it into the palm oil concern scheme. In the sustainability model, the environmental, economic and societal characteristics are studied for their influences in both the short-run and long-terms. The three pronged policy of high income, value add-on and nothing waste are examined as portion of the journey towards corporate sustainability. Making so has one time once more revealed the benefits of the harvest in supplying oil to the universe. Oil thenar ( Elaeis guineensis ) was originated in the tropical rain forest part of West Africa and is one of the taking commercial oil harvests in that part. ( FAO ) The agribusiness of oil thenar serves as a agency of income for several people and truly the agrarian civilization of 1000000s of people in West Africa. The mention to oil thenar as a harvest of several values underlines its pecuniary importance. It consist of critical constituents which includes ; the fronds, the foliages, the bole and the roots which are used for legion intents which ranges from palm oil, thenar meat oil, thenar vino, broom, and palm meats cake. Review on the sustainable agribusiness is critical due to the planetary involvement on how palm oil plantations have evolved and a set of principles/ guidelines are necessary for the production of palm oil. Many indispensable advantages are antecedently within the oil thenar system of works physiology of high productiveness and effectual C assimilation. Oil th enar is ascribed with its great oil output per unit country. It yields two types of oils from the same fruit. They are palm meats oil from the seed or kernel inside the hard-shell mesocarp and palm oil from the flesh or meso carp. ( Y. Basiron, 2007 ) The thenar meat besides produces a left over merchandise which is known as thenar meat repast, which could be used to feed animate beings. These oils are taken out by cautious split-up at different phases of the milling procedure. The production of Palm meat is about 10 % of the sum of palm oil produced. Both oils have dissimilar utilizations and market mercantile establishments. The oil from the flesh or mesocarp ( palm oil ) is used mostly for nutrient, while the oil from the meat goes largely into the oleochemical industry for the production of soaps, detergents and toilet articles merchandises. Numerous biomass merchandises produced from the oil thenar are non used up efficaciously. Production workss or handle oil Millss often prod uce big sums of fibre-type merchandises which are in the signifier of empty fruit Bunches and fruit mesocarp fibers, which are besides used back in the plantation for mulching and other agricultural intents. Fruits fiber and the meat shell are used to bring forth electricity and steam for the factory by firing them inside the boiler. The easiness to entree energy at the factory helps to cut down the cost of palm oil production in relation to the energy required to pull out the meat and the oil. The oil been produced from the thenar histories for approximately 10 % of the entire dry biomass while the other 90 % shows a important beginning of fibre cellulosic stuff which awaits commercial use. It could be anticipated that upcoming biofuel will be centered on the alteration of cellulosic fiber or biomass into liquid fuel. This makes the oil thenar truly attractive as a approaching beginning of renewable energy from the biomass which, if decently harnessed sagely, will heighten the sust ainable production of palm oil. In the bio-based economic system, the handiness of biomass as feedstock for energy and merchandises will reasonably depend on the remains obtained from the agro-food concatenation. In this survey, the thought of increasing the sustainability of the thenar oil value concatenation will be expounded with the purpose to reap a verifiable sustainable biomass. It is made known that a common usage of both the valued comestible oil and biomass remains will ensue in a more sustainable value concatenation. In other words, it should be environmentally sound, economically feasible and socially acceptable. Palm oil production produces big measures of biomass byproduct which is five times the oil production and they are non utilised efficaciously to add value to the production concatenation. The present thenar oil production agreement is largely seen as unsustainable because of negative effects on biodiversity such as harm of virgin woods and nursery gas emanations related with bing waste dumping methods. The ingestion of byproducts for energy and green chemicals provides positions for be aftering a â€Å" certified † sustainable nutrient oil production concatenation that will accommodate good in the development of a bio-based economic system. The chief subjects for treatment of sustainable palm oil production so far, has focused on the jobs of plague and H2O direction, rain forest loss, biodiversity, dirt birthrate and reproduction and the emanation of nursery gasses. Exploiting the gettable energy that could be obtained from the biomass byproducts has been known and in most instances remains from oil production are used to present the energy necessary to run the works operation. This survey will concentrate at chances to work the bountifully gettable biomass wastes ( fiber, imperativeness bar, thenar foreparts, empty fruit Bunches, shells, etc. ) as renewable resources for fresh merchandises and energy that develop the sustainability of the palm oil production.ApproachFirst the possible usage of palm oil byproducts as a sustainable biomass beginning would be assessed by researching the gross handiness of byproducts, so factors to be considered in finding the possible net biomass handiness. The ensuing stairss will be tak en: The entire production of end-products and byproducts will be enumerated by giving a gross biomass production image. Then the bing concrete and jutting utilizations of the byproducts will be made available, in add-on, a belief treatment on the operation rate and efficiency of the usage, possible restraints will be reported to do byproducts available for energy and other usage. A short treatment will be given on the possibility of increasing the sustainability of the palm oil production by optimum byproduct use for energy and other intentsMerchandises and byproducts in the palm oil production concatenationBelow is the list of merchandises and by merchandises in the palm oil production concatenation at the field and at the factory. Palm meats cake PKC Crude palm oil CPO Kernel oil KO Oil thenar fronds OPF Empty fruit clump EFB Palm oil factory effluent POME Rootss Trucks Fiber Shell Some of these merchandises and by merchandises contains some foods which include N, K, P, Mg, Ca and besides H2O. Form this, it is seen that the sum of biomass is really big both in the field and at the factory. For illustration in Malaysia and Indonesia, which accounts about 50 % and 1/3 of universe thenar oil production severally, figures shows that the sum of biomass at the factory is estimated at 30 to 50 million dozenss and 70 to 80 dozenss at the field. These figures are conservative dry weight estimations.Practical and proposed utilizations of palm oil byproductsBelow are the list of practical and some proposed utilizations of palm oil by- merchandise Merchandises composing current/ possible usage Remark OPF Crude fiber, protein Mulch, mush, fiber, provender Distributed over plantation Root Mulch Excessively much available at one time, deracinating disturbs the dirt Short pantss Mulch, fibre board Excessively much available at one time, frequently at distant site of plantation EFB Cellulose, hemicelluloses, lignin Mulch, fuel, clump ash, fibre board, mush, paper EFB less good suited as fuel than fiber or shell and does roll up frequently Fiber Lignin Fuel for factory, fibre board Shell Fuel for factory, activated C briquette, atom board Silicate signifiers scale when burned Pome Suspended solids Methane production, fertiliser, provender, soap Methane emanation, river pollution are a job when non managed decently. PKC Oil, petroleum fiber, protein Feed, fertiliser Feed possible non to the full used. From the tabular array above, it shows that at present, most byproducts are used or disposed of within the system for agricultural intent like mulching or fertiliser and for energy production at the factory. Soon merely a part of the entire byproducts are utilised as fuel feedstock in works operations. Particularly, the EFB is barely used and this creates debatable consequence for its disposal since unfastened field/pile combustion is frequently no longer allowed. Effluent from the Palm oil factory is besides hardly used and this creates a job at the oil production Millss. This shows clearly that biomass use is non enhanced and that there is a demand for other utilizations. It is hard to acquire computed informations on the present usage of byproducts and peculiarly on the efficiency of such usage. In the undermentioned paragraphs I would wish discourse the issue of current use rate and efficiency of such utilizations.Use rate:Malaysia has rather a high use for field byproducts ( 80 to 95 % ) as mulch and for shells and fiber as fuel for the Millss ( 90 % ) . For POME and EFB the use rates are much lower ( 35 to 65 % ) ( Gurmit, 1999 ) Apparently the stuff is non easy used for energy production and benefits of returning the stuff to the field as mulch / fertiliser are considered excessively low to countervail the cost. Consequently literature indicates that these merchandises frequently form environmental jobs bring forthing methane and polluting waterways. A big figure of enterprises are afoot to happen ways of extenuating this job. In Yeoh ( 2004 ) it is estimated that in Malaysia methane emanation from unfastened of POME pools sum to 225.000 dozenss ( 1999 ) , which is tantamount to 5,17 million dozenss of CO2, or 3.6 % of the estimated entire emanations in Malaysia. Empty fruit Bunches are less attractive as a boiler fuel and are hence by and large non used for energy. For other states utilization rates should be lower than in Malaysia which has the most advanced thenar oil production system.Efficiency of use:Again, it is difficult to happen quantified informations here. It was discovered that the palm oil industry is one of those uncommon industries where really small effort is made to salvage energy. ( Husain et al, 2003 ) . The energy balance in a typical thenar oil factory is far from premier and there is significant possibility for betterment. Soon most Millss maps on low force per unit area boilers bring forthing steam for operating. In Malaysia, high force per unit area boiler systems are used to bring forth electricity and steam for operation at the factory and supply to the grid. It was predicted that signifier 1999 the annual thenar oil factory remains will ensue to 18 million dozenss of biomass big plenty to bring forthing 3197 GWh and 31.5 million dozenss of POME with a coevals potency of for 1587 GWh. Hashim ( 2005 ) This postulation was low compared to Yeoh ( 2004 ) who predicted that 2250 GWh electricity can be produced from POME through biogas. ( for 1999 informations ) . Based on the figures from Hashim ( 2005 ) the complete electricity bring forthing capacity from factory remains was given as 5000 GWh. Field remains amounted to twice the measure of biomass at factory. This excluded the roots. From the figures given above it shows that in Malaysia, the electricity supply potency is about15000 GWh. Malaysia histories for 50 % of the universe thenar oil production nationally, 30000 GWh of electricity can be produced from Palm oil remains. Menon ( hypertext transfer protocol: //www.ptm.org.my/biogen ) associated the additions from utilizing EFB as mulch in Fieldss ( alimentary value subtraction logistics costs ) and the net income when used for electricity production. It was discovered that the returns for electricity production was 3.5 times higher. Indeed, there are a figure of creativenesss which are present in Malaysia for the production of electricity from the by-product of thenar oil which are delivered to the grid. It must be observed that electricity coevals through combustion green goodss ash which encloses largely P and K and other foods which could still be reused in the plantation. The above illustration was based on electricity production to the grid. But still, several Millss are excessively unaccessible to bring forth electricity to the grid and other by-product mercantile establishments should besides be considered such as wood coal, pyrolysis oil, HTU oil, paper mush, fibre board, etc. In under developed or developing states, Millss will be excessively little to justify investings in the transition system and small informations and factory remains for efficiency and reuse of field could be found. Obviously recycling of POME and EFB is really limited.Discussion and decisionsIn the Palm Oil value concatenation there is an overall excess of byproducts and the use rate of these byproducts is low, as is particularly the instance for wastewater and empty fruit Bunches. For other mill by- merchandises the efficiency of the application can clearly be increased. For field residues, the chief use now is disposal as mulch and fertilizer. The efficiency and effectivit y of this application could non be determined here. Still this will depend on local conditions and it should be possible to give indicants of what recycling or valorisation system will be optimum here. By-products are considered at best as a nuisance which may take to environmental jobs. As the bio based economic system develops and markets for C impersonal merchandises grow those byproducts should be seen as resource. The first effects are going clear with bringing of sustainable thenar oil waste electricity to the grid in Malaysia. The primary benefit of external demand for byproducts is the resolution of jobs refering fouling byproducts and increasing the profitableness of the production by: aˆ? balanced recycling foods and C at the field, aˆ? increasing the efficiency of boiler fuel use at the factory aˆ? supplies of excess energy to local electricity cyberspace fresh economic activity and coevals of local employment by transition of biomass residues in value added merchandises. The increased food recycling will increase dirt birthrate and increase sustainability of palm oil production. Systems that minimise the remotion of foods and C from the system should be preferred. Still non all C and foods have to be re-cycled. What the optimum is between bio mass use and recycling varies harmonizing to dirt and clime. In the instance that external demand for byproducts of palm oil production materialises, larger sums of byproducts will go available. The palm oil industry will hold to weigh the ain demand for fuel and the demand for recycling of foods and dirt C against the cost of fertilizer and the net incomes of biomass transition. It is of import to cognize what are the optimal conditions here in order to plan sustainable systems that besides produce big measures of biomass for energy and merchandises. A really unsmooth conjecture is that 25 to 50 % of the byproducts may be available for energy export ( matching approximately to 30-60 million dozenss dry weight biomass ) . It would be a good development if the byproducts from Palm oil production were considered as a possible resource for CO2 impersonal energy and merchandises alternatively of a waste. A much more elaborate survey into the net mass balance and possible biomass production from the palm oil concatenation and the possibilities of happening added value for these merchandises in a biobased economic system is indispensable for developing economically, socially and environmentally sustainable palm oil systems. The acknowledgment that using byproducts for added value is good to the sustainability of palm oil production is indispensable for attesting the sustainability of the palm oil biomass energy and merchandises. Multi-stakeholder engagement is required for turn toing the sustainability of the nutrient oil supply concatenation. This would besides include foreigner ( non-food ) industries involved in energy and fiber merchandises selling. More information is needed to find how much biomass is needed at the factory for works operations and how efficient this usage is, how much foods can be removed from the system without impacting sustainability ( alimentary and C recycling ) , rating of the competitory potency of supplies to the market of energy, merchandises and C arrested development. More quantified information is needed on states outside Malaysia that have similar thenar oil waste disposal jobs and potencies to use these merchandises as a resource.

Mockingbirds Life Styles

A child in 1930's Alabama had a life much different than the life of a child growing up in today's modern society. As opposed to today's standards, education was less civilized. Their home life was not as privileged or as entertaining, and their place in society was much more trivial, and planned out. The lifestyles of a 1930's Alabama youth were much different than today's modern child. In Harper Lee's Novel To Kill A Mockingbird, three youths struggle to grow up in post depression Maycomb, Alabama. Their school is, by today's standards, much less evolved. Not only were special needs not embraced, they were ignored. Whereas today's society has no problems adapting education so that everybody could learn. There were less career options for children as well. We live in a time where the idea is â€Å"You can be whatever you set your mind to.† However, the slogan 70 years ago was more like â€Å"You will be what we want you to be, and when we want you to be it, but only if you're white.† Luckily, education criteria have changed since then, as well as home life and society. Home life in the novel is very foreign to us. First of all, we don't have a cook or servant unless we are very wealthy. The Finch's had Calpurnia to fix their meals. There was more of a family closeness attitude back then too, whereas today families are often split up, and kids can become less and less attached to their families. Independence is a common denominator in both time periods. Rites of passage again, were another similarity in both time periods. Children had a very limited role in society back in post-depression Alabama. They hadn't much of a say in what they were going to be, nor their activities, opinions, or much else in life. When Jem and Scout passed by Mrs. DuBose's house, they were to be proper and polite when she was rude to them, where in today's society, there is a possibility that the youth could be rude, and suffer no consequences. Hence, life for a youth in 1930's had a different lifestyle than young people today. Education was not as systematic, home and family life was dramatically foreign, and they had a trivial place in society. Times have changed since then, and they will in the coming years.

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

Statehood - Essay Example According to the paper the criterion listed above that the states must have the capacity to enter into relations with other States, appears to imply that the State must be recognized by other States before it can exist as a political entity. But this is belied in Article 3 of the Montevideo Convention, which clearly states that â€Å"the political existence of the State is independent of recognition by the other States. According to Crawford, statehood and recognition must be separated as two distinct categories, for example, Israel was not recognized by many of its neighboring Arab States, but it has existed as a State nevertheless. According to Cassese, it is effectiveness that is at the core of all legal relations and the Community of States has not thus far defined binding legitimate criteria for new States; on this basis recognition is not the relevant criterion which will determine statehood. However, with the end of the Second World War and the development of the UN Charter,8 international law has been redefined. According to Article 4.1 of the UN Charter, membership in the United Nations is open to â€Å"all other peace loving states† thereby implying that only a State will be recognized by the collective world body, i.e, the United Nations. Moreover, this article specifies certain conditions for membership; they must be (a) peace loving (b) accept the obligations of the present Charter and (c) must be willing to carry out these obligations.

Peter Alexander Promotional Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Peter Alexander Promotional Plan - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that target audience is subdivided into three categories. Differing products are to be designed for each target market. The markets include teenagers, young adults, couples, and kids. Members of all of these audiences shall be satisfied via product differentiation. The marketing mix of the Peter Alexander shall be representative of its overall strategy. Products shall be designed in ways that are differentiable and aimed towards the specific target market. Placement shall be done strategically and strong third-party ties with distributors shall be ensured to ascertain the timely distribution of products to customers all across the country. Promotion shall be done through ATL and BTL. The cost-effective medium of internet shall be the key communication strategy as it can attract customers immediately online and does not add much to the costs. The firm shall use creativity by using the image of Peter Alexander as the brand persona and exploitin g the internet for this purpose. Peter Alexander is an exclusive brand of nightwear that has operations centralized in Australia. Peter Alexander, the man himself, personifies the brand and serves as a symbol for the company. The company has a high brand equity with its followers due to the exclusivity showcased by Peter Alexander. The brand idea came into being when Peter bought a pair of Pajamas in Hong Kong. He was startled by the way in which he was attracted towards them and wanted to identify ways to make these products appeal to other people around him. Today Peter Alexander is one of the top sleepwear brands in Australia and from an online business, it has expanded into stores and continues to operate online.

Summary of 3 articles for two students Assignment

Summary of 3 articles for two students - Assignment Example One of the tests in the memory championship involves memorizing the order of playing cards in a shuffled deck. For many years, none of the competitors had the capacity to memorize the correct order. The competition brings together both very young and older contestants, but majorly below 40 years. Men represent a higher percentage of the participants compare to women. Psychologists have sought to scan the brain functions of the participants during the competition. From the scanned images, it became evident that the right posterior hippocampus played a significant role in memory. Many of the participants have developed a technique of associating the cards with people or objects that they know. The world memory championship represents some of the opportunities that psychologists utilize in their efforts to understand the brain parts that are significant in memory. Moreover, psychologists study the tactics of different participants to ensure that they understand how memory functions (Foer,

Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Business Environment - Essay Example Although the organization is well capitalized and enjoys a global presence, its reputation has constantly been at stake following several fines related to environmental pollution and inadequate maintenance of equipment and facilities. The company has also been accused of ranking poorly in terms of upholding human rights according to some quarters. In view of the company’s business environment, it may well be concluded that the company has a bright future although it needs to make certain adjustments to continue achieving astronomical growth. The research and findings of this report are based on information drawn from a range of reputable secondary sources including the company’s website. BP Oil Limited, formerly known as British Petroleum Incorporates, is a private limited company whose country of origin is the United Kingdom (British Petroleum, n.d). Incorporation on 20th December, 1947, the company has been in existence for close to 63 years and has achieved significant growth economically and in terms of global presence. With its headquarters located in St James’s, London, BP Oil Ltd ranks among the largest privately owned energy corporations globally. In fact, the company is among the six â€Å"supermajors† as it deals in natural gas, oil exploration, and marketing of petroleum products. The multinational organization is currently listed on the London Stock Exchange and features among the 100 most highly capitalized companies in the United Kingdom (FTSE 100) (British Petroleum, n.d). Its capitalization was approximated at 119,039 million Euros as of October, 2009. As a result of the merger between BP Plc and Amaco in 1998, the company has continued to sell Amoco brands in the United States to-date. This is primarily due to the fact that Amoco gasoline brands have been rated by consumers as among the best in the market for close to 16

Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Term Paper Example Corporate social responsibility on the other hand can be defined as the responsibility that a Corporation has, beyond economic and legal obligations, to act ethically and to contribute in a positive way to the good of the society (Trevino &Nelson). Corporate social responsibility requires that every business organisation contribute to the good of the society in which it operates. This paper looks at whether or not the common practice of corporations making campaign contributions in hope of political and legislative favours is in line with these three values of business organisations. In America, Politicians, especially presidential candidates are sponsored by big corporations in exchange for favourable legislations if the sponsored candidates win in the elections. The funding of the political campaigns by corporations is a controversial issue; some people are of the idea that the funding of the political campaigns by politicians is in line with the law, the ethics, and the social responsibility of business organisations, while other people are of the idea that the funding of the political campaigns by corporations is against the law, the ethics, and the social responsibility guiding business organisations. This topic is quite significant because the sponsoring of political campaigns has big influence in the American politics, i.e. without the corporations sp onsoring politicians in America, many politicians in America, especially the presidential candidates would not be able to fund their campaigns. Before we explore the controversy of the funding of political campaigns by politicians, it is important to have background information regarding this topic. On the law and the funding of the political campaigns by the corporations, it is argued that since the law recognizes business corporations as persons, the business corporations have rights to influence the political process by

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Research Paper

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning - Research Paper Example Although the disorder is present in both sexes, it is most common in males. ADHD is a disorder where the child has problems with being highly impulsive, exhibiting over-activity or inattentiveness, or some combination of these three aspects (PubMed Health). ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children and the most well studied (Myayes, Bagwell and Erkulwater 1). Children with ADHD tend to have a much higher level of activity than normal children and often act impulsively. The principle of ADHD is heavily debated, as all children show some degree of this behavior, especially in early age (Myayes, Bagwell and Erkulwater 15-16). ADHD is a complex disorder and the exact symptoms that children show can differ significantly from one another (Lougy and Rosenthal 22). This case study considers Alice, a ten-year-old girl who has ADHD and experiences considerable learning difficulties and problems establishing friendships as the result of this disorder. Literature Review Diagnosis of ADHD ADHD has a range of symptoms, which are generally grouped into three categories. These are impulsive behavior, hyperactivity, and lack of attention. There are nine diagnostic symptoms for inattentiveness, five for hyperactivity and three for impulsivity. ADHD is a difficult disorder to diagnose, as many of the behaviors can be associated with other conditions as well as normal behaviors that occur as part of childhood. The complexity of the symptoms means that there are many children who are incorrectly diagnosed with ADHD, and others who have ADHD but have not been diagnosed. One of the difficulties in diagnosing ADHD is that the symptoms are only evident at some points in time, most commonly during school hours. A child with ADHD generally does not show the symptoms during a physician’s visit, and so other people must be the source of this information (Myayes, Bagwell and Erkulwater 5). In fact, children are often first diagnosed with ADHD when they enter school because many of the behaviors associated with ADHD do not appear to be abnormal without the increased demands on attention, sitting still and following a direction that is present in the school environment (Lougy and Rosenthal 22). In addition, ADHD often co-occurs with other disorders, and some of the behavioral symptoms that are part of ADHD also occur as part of other disorders (Myayes, Bagwell and Erkulwater 20).To assist in diagnosis; the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends the following guidelines. That child has at least six symptoms from either impulsivity and hyperactivity, or six from the attention category, some of which began prior to seven years of age.

Standard costing and the relationship it may have with other Essay

Standard costing and the relationship it may have with other management accounting development - Essay Example Standard costs are pre-determined or forecast estimates of cost to manufacture a single unit, or a number of units of a product, during a specific immediate future period. They are usually the planned costs of the products under current and anticipated conditions, but sometimes they are the costs under normal or ideal conditions of efficiency, based on an assumed given output, and having regard to current conditions. They are revised to conform to super-normal or sub-normal conditions, but ore practically to allow for persisting alterations in the prices of material and labour. Therefore, a standard cost can be defined as â€Å"A pre-determined cost calculated with respect to a prescribed set of working conditions, correlating technical specifications and scientific measurements of materials and labour to the price and wage rates expected to apply during the period to which the standard cost is expected to relate, with an addition of an appropriate share of budgeted overhead. Its main objective is to provide bases of control through variance accounting for the valuation of stocks and work-in-progress and in exceptional cases for fixing selling prices.† The use of standards facilitates many business functions. Standards are very useful in the monitoring and controlling of business activities in general. The need for standard costs arises as a result of the benefits it provides for a business, such as Cost control does not merely refer to minimization of costs. Cost control means identifying costs with their benefits and ensuring that the costs are justified, given the benefits that are derived. Standard costs provide a very useful framework for cost control. The great value of standards in cost control is that they provide the ability to compare actual costs with desired costs on a timely basis. Timely reporting of difference i.e. monthly, weekly, daily or for each work shift etc, between actual and standard costs allows managers to take

Human Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Human Rights - Essay Example The FGM is shown to be common due to deep faith and tradition. It is carried out in the name of promoting chastity, religious responsibility, and makes one ready for marriage (Guerin 1). In the country, the procedure is usually carried out on girls between the age of nine and thirteen years (Guerin 1). However, it is said to be done on girls as young as six years of age. In my opinion, the article demonstrates the worst form of human rights violation that continues to take place uncontrolled in some parts of the world. This is because it is done to minors who are not aware of the consequences. The minors are denied the rights of physical integrity. Moreover, the girls lack right to access good standard of health. This is because uneducated people with no knowledge on a good standard of health do FGM. Such girls are also denied right to life as the procedure sometimes leads to death. Therefore, there should be education on effects of procedure and implementation of laws that outlaws the

1967 Six Day War Essay Example for Free

1967 Six Day War Essay Assess the consequences of the 1967 (Six Day) War for Arab–Israeli relations On the 23rd May 1967, the Israelis declared war on the Arabs due to the blocking of the straits to Israeli shipping. The 1967 Six Day War had a major impact on Arab-Israeli relations. This is due to Israel gaining control over the occupied territories, large increases of Jewish settlement in the occupied territories, the increase of Israeli military in the Middle East. The Israeli occupation of Arab territories had a large impact on Arab-Israeli relations. Through the dominancy of the Israeli army during the Six Day War, they were able to capture the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip from Egypt, East Jerusalem, the West Bank from Jordon and the Golan Heights from Syria. In addition, Israel controlled the Sharm el-Sheik and the Gulf of Aqaba. This was significant as Israel stopped Jordanian ships from entering the Red Sea and closed the Gulf of Aqaba to Arab shipping increasing the tensions between Israel and its neighbouring Arab States. In November 1967, UN Resolution 242 called for ‘the withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from the territories occupied in the recent conflict’ and the right of all countries ‘to live in peace with secure and recognised boundaries’. Even though, UN Resolution 242 favoured both parties, the Arabs did not regain their territories as Israel debated the resolution did not specify the withdrawal from all territories and they claimed that the Occupied Territories were vital to its security. However, Israel did emphasis the second measure of the resolution claiming their right to exist, but the Arabs ignored it implying that Israel would first have to withdraw from the occupied territories. By both Arabs and Israelis not accepting UN resolution 242 and the continual Israeli control over the occupied territories, the tension between Arab-Israeli relations had increased. Also, the large increases of Jewish settlement into the Occupied Territories had a major impact on Arab-Israeli relations. Between 1975 -1977, Israel had made 75 settlements in the West Bank as they offered people cheap housing and necessities such as employment and appliances. The Gaza Strip contained approximately 300,000 Arabs and the Israelis had settled 3000 Jews in the area creating tension between Arabs and Israelis as evident through the ‘Intifada’ from 1987 to 1993 which killed thousands of people. By Israel creating large settlements in the Occupied Territories, it would be an obvious obstacle to any future peace negotiations over withdrawal from the Occupied Territories. The large group of Jewish immigrants also produced conflict in the Occupied Territories creating hardship for the Israeli Army as they continually had to stop violent raids. The Arabs argue that Jewish settlements should not occur in the Occupied Territories as it was Arab land; however the Jews argue that this land religiously belonged to them as through the biblical names of the West Bank, â€Å"Judea† and â€Å"Samaria†. By Israel increasing Jewish settlements in the Occupied Territories, the Arab-Israeli relations had deteriorated as it was now difficult to organise a Jewish withdrawal. Furthermore, the increase in the Israeli reputation and the decrease in military strength of the Arabs heavily impacted Arab-Israeli relations. On the 5th June 1967, the Israelis launched a pre-emptive strike on the Arabs as 180 Israeli warplanes attacked the airfields of Egypt, Syria and Jordon destroying 400 military planes ultimately deciding the fate of the Six Day War. There is a general agreement amongst historians â€Å"that although Israel struck first, this pre-emptive strike was defensive in nature†. As a consequence of the war, 12,000 Arabs had died with only 338 Israeli casualties. Historian Avner Cohen writes, â€Å"In the end Israel launched a pre-emptive aerial attack in which most of the Egyptian air force was destroyed, virtually deciding the Six Day War. Through Israel’s dominance they were regarded as the ‘strongest military power in the Middle East’. Also, the Arabs had become severely weakened as a result of the Six Day War, as they had lost a high amount of casualties and the relations between Syria, Jordon and Egypt declined as evident through Syria not accepting UN Resolution 242 while Egypt and Jordon did. Through Israel’s superiority, their relations with Egypt had improved as highlighted through Egypt recognising Israel as a state in 1979. Nevertheless, Israel’s dominancy also stresses its improvement in its relations with Jordan signing a peace treaty in 1994, and Iran signing a peace treaty in 1979. Even though, certain relations improved the Arabs would turn to terrorism and the Israeli army would be seen as the aggressor. By Israel dominating the Six Day War and establishing itself as the ‘strongest military power in the Middle East, its relations with other Arab countries had dramatically improved. In conclusion, the 1967 Six Day War had a major impact on Arab-Israeli relations. Due to Israel gaining control over the occupied territories and increasing its settlement, the Arab-Israeli relations had declined as the Arabs were livid that Israel would not withdraw from the Occupied Territories and further complicate the situation by increasing Jewish settlement. Also, the Israeli’s had become maddened as most Arab countries continued not to recognise Israel as a state. However, as the reputation of the Israelis became high and the military strength of the Arabs declined, Arab-Israeli relations improved as evident through the peace treaties of Jordan, Egypt and Iran.

The impact of financial leverage on return and risk

The impact of financial leverage on return and risk In this paper the author explained that each has an inherent risk in its operation which is generally related to the economic conditions in which the firm is operated. Business risk and the economic is not related to the firm financial structure but it is the function of economic conditions. Financial risk is another risk which is resulted from the financial decisions with the debt and preferred stock. Stock -holders have already bearing a risk which comes from the firms operations whereas financial risk is an additional risk which cause change in earnings due to leverage induction. The decision of the firm to undertake an investment affects its economic risk whereas the decision to finance the investment with the debt creates the financial risk. The level of interest rate affects all the firms as each individual is differing from the other firms in characteristics, from which firm decide to issue equity or debt. According to Levi and Sarnat (1994) the business or economic risk is re lated to the industry to which the firm is belonging and cause by the change in economic conditions. On the other word, business risk shows the firms assets riskiness if the firm don not use the debt. The business risk can be measure through standard deviation of return on assets (ROA). The business risk not only fluctuates from industry to industry but also various among in the firms belonging to the same industry. The firms business risk is depending on various numbers of factors. According to Brigham and Gapenski in 1994, there are some important factors influences the business risk. These includes demand variability, sales price volatility, input cost variability, ability to adjust output prices for in input cost, ability to develop new products in a timely, cost effective manner and the extent to which costs are fixed(operating leverages). Making investment with the debt and preferred stock may increase the potential return against the common stockholders. Stable income of the firm shows the brighter future of the firm by increasing in the debt. Its means that there is less probability that the firms net operating income is less than the interest which the firm has to pay against the borrowing. The traditional theories on the weighted averages cost of capital shows that if a firm introduces financial leverages into its capital structure, initially it will decrease the borrowing cost of capital, it is because of deduction of interest on the debts against the higher non-tax cost of capital for the new equity. The long term financial policy of the firm may be affected because of location of earning distribution, stability of sales and earnings, risk of bankruptcy, dividend policy, control and the agency cost. The operating leverage level affects the level of the financial leverage. The firms financial leverage increases the rate of return on the common stock equity. As the greater proportion of debt, has increased the risk of the stockholder. In the good eco nomic conditions, the financial leverage impact will be positive. The higher the degree of leverage reflects the greater firms business risk. The firms have taken loan to raise cash for operations. In this paper, the authors have analyzed that there are two types of leverages which the profitability and valuing to the firm. The measurement of leverage is total liabilities to equity. Some liabilities are arises from bank loans and bonds whereas some results from the transactions with the suppliers, customers and employees who are engaging in operations. Firms are less perfect than the capital markets because their operations are involved in buy and sell in input and output markets. Their research was related whether a dollar of operating liability is priced differently from a dollar of financial liability on the balance sheet. It means that the price to book ratio depend on the configuration of book value. The expected rate of return on the book value determined this ratio. Financial statements analysis provides the information that help to differentiate the shareholders profitability, arising from the borrowing activities. Leverages equations explained about whether the type of liability is favourable or unfavourable. The results in this article also revealed that financial statement analysis is not only differentiate the operations from financing activities but also tell about the future profitability among the firms. The following equation is splinting the effects of financing liabilities and operating liabilities on shareholders equity. Return on common equity (ROCE) = Comprehensive Net Income Common Equity Where Common equity = operating assets + financial assets operating liabilities financial liabilities Or Common equity = net operating assets net financing debt the above mean that investment in the inventory will be reduced in case of making too much investments in inventories.Net financing means that a firm cannot buy the bond with the excess cash from the operations. The income statement can also provide information that comes from financial and operating activities. Comprehensive net income =operating income net financing expense Operating income is earned in operations and net  ¬Ã‚ nancial expense is incurred in the  ¬Ã‚ nancing of operations. The authors also analyzed that if the  ¬Ã‚ nancial assets are more than financial liabilities, Financial leverage is negative. It means that the financial leverage levers the return on common equity over return on assets. Financial statements provides three types of leverages equations which are based on fixed accounting relations and the firms must hold the leverages at a given point in time. Financial liabilities are contraction obligations for the repayment of loans with some financial charges. High profitable firms might be take more leverage because of unfavourable risk is lower. Operating leverage is also provided the changes in the future profitability. (Stomper Zulehner, Why Leverage Distorts Investment ,2004) Many theories of capital structure explain the firms financing choices because of trade off between costs and benefits of leverages. The studies of Jensen and Mecking in 1976 and Myers in 1977 have analyzed the conflicts of interests between the firms owners and their creditors. These types of conflicts change the investment decision as the leverages changes their objectives functions. Management chooses such investment policy which maximizes equity value rather than maximizes the firm value. The strategic effects of leverages was explained by Titman (1984), Fudenberg and Tirole (1986), Brander and Lewis (1986) and Maksi-movic (1986).their papers clarified that why the leverages affects the firms strategy. The directions of the effects depend upon on the nature of firms interaction in oligopolistic situation. The models of Brander and Lewis (1986), Showalter (1995) demonstrate that leverage can make a firm more or less aggressive competitor. Leverages effects the firms investment dec isions in two way, first leverages increase the profitability with which a firm fail to pay its debt, as a result discouraging the investments in case if future profits are discounted at high rate. Second reason is levered firms investment policy depend upon the debt maturity structures so the firms shift their profit of those period in which the earnings are too high to cover the debt charges. If firm remain solvent, the leverage changes the s the firms marginal rate of substitution between current and future profits. To attract investments firms cut their prices at the cost of decreasing their current profits. They had also pointed out anther effect which was that in non defaulted states, the leverages change the marginal rate of substitution between current and future profits which used by the firms in making investment decisions for the purpose of maximize equity value. For this purpose those firms are considerable which cuts the prices of their output to attract additional cust omers and invest in market share. The authors used Limited Liability Effect model to reveal the fact that DLL-effect changes the firms investments. This model effects the firms investments in market share to over and under investment. They concluded, leverages affects firm pricing strategies in that case their future profits are depend on their market share. Levered firms make fewer investments in market shares because they discounted the future profits at high rate. The objectives functions are not change because of their nature of investment decisions. (Aly Tuan, Association between Accounting and Market-Based Risk Measures ,2005) In this article the authors examined the systematic risk and stock prices with help of cost structure of the firm. Systematic risk arises because of the firm fixed claims but having variable revenues. The fixed claims are associated with the debt financing. Shareholder systematic risk is depending upon the ratio of fixed cost to the total cost and leverage or gearing ratio give this relationship. There are two major components, financial leverage and operating leverage. Financial leverage is based on the level of interest paid irrespective to the profitability. Operating leverage is degree of rate of change in profit before interest and dividend with respect to change in the level of sales. The operating and financial leverage both have considered in empirical studies. Earlier studies have proved that accounting beta role was considerable in developing a positive relationship between operating leverage and the systematic risk. The knowledge based labour, research cost or other capita l incentive costs and scale based production may also create fixed cost which enhances the shareholder risk. This means that operating and financial leverages are independent to each other which give total leverage. But this view was criticises in 1983 by Huffman by using an option of pricing approach, she took the assumption fixed investment depend upon the level of previous debt risk. Mandleker and Rhee in 1984, found that operating and financial leverage had impact on beta and there was a significant relationship between these two variables. In 1989, Huffman discovered a negative relationship between the operating leverage and systematic risk which was opposite to the findings of Mandelker and Rhee.Ilord in 1996 had also reported a positive correlation between DOL ,DFL ,systematic risk and unsystematic risk ,however ,financial was related to the total and unsystematic risk but not to the systematic risk. According to the studies of Armstrong in 2002 raises the notion that because of change in corporate behaviour the flexible firms and labour markets have also impact on basic cost behaviour. The financial managers have to face more operating risk so they should adopt financial plan to get appropriate level of stock risk. In 2003, Rosett found that there was weak relationship between operating leverage and market risk but labour cost variable was an important variable. From the authors studies they had concluded that there was a strong relationship between operating leverage and financial leverage but the financial leverage was not more important than the operating leverage as the operating fixed cost have the greater impact on the market risk. Theoretically and empirically, the function of operating leverage has important for risk management and asset allocation within the firm and also for pricing of risk of financial markets. (Baum, Stephan, Talavera,Macroeconomic Uncertainty and Firm Leverage,2005) In this article the author analyzed the factor which influences the leverage level. The purpose of borrowing is make capital investment are existing payment of debt. Some time some firm make changes in the amount of debt they issue just before the official announcement. In 1958, Modigliani and Miller derived from their theoretical results that financial and real variables are irrelevant for a firms capital structure under perfect capital market. Most of the studies show a positive relationship between liquid asset holdings and the firms investment decisions. And some other studies show firms specific characteristics define the firm leverage such as s cash holdings, total assets, and the investment to capital ratio. They formulate a model which predicted that an increase in the macroeconomics uncertainty cause a decrease in leverage. According to them, the companies will issue less debt in times of greater macroeconomic uncertainty. Firms make their debt on the bases of future profits and investments. They have constructed four types of alternative macroeconomic uncertainty which are the conditional variances of index of leading indicators index of industrial production, the rate of consumer price inflation and return on the SP 500 stock market index. From their results it is suggested that macroeconomic uncertainty has impact on the non- financial companies capital structure and affect their investments. In most of the countries the monetary policy has a tendency to be constant in the direction of change in monetary instruments with reversals. (Faulkender Petersen, Does the Source of Capital Affect Capital Structure?, 2005) In this article the authors said that the trade off theory, the firms determine their leverage ratio by manipulative the tax advantages, costs of financial distress, mispricing, and incentive effects of debt against equity. Firms which have greater tax advantages over the debt, they have lower financial distress. When the firms determine that the total benefit from the debt is positive then they form their capital structure by issuing more additional debt and decrease the equity. There is an assumption that leverage is the function of firms demand for the debt. By considering the tax benefit of the debt, Graham argued in 2000 that the firms loose opportunity to enhance the wealth by increasing the leverage and reducing the tax payments on the assumption that other debt cost are correctly measure. Debt ratios also depend upon the firms characteristics. The differences in the leverage may be because of the product of the firm with different characteristics. The firms always try to secu re their funding for those projects having positive net present value NPV. But if the lenders are unable to evaluate the quality of investment easily then it will be difficult for the firm to raise the desire and sufficient amount of capital for all the good projects. The financial intermediaries mostly the banks also may have an advantage over arms length lenders (bond markets) after giving the capital to the firms. The firms which are riskier, smaller and less known mostly borrow the capital from the banks whereas well known larger firms mostly borrow from the arms length capital markets. In the imperfect market the cost of capital is not only depend on the risk of their project but also on the resources which are needed to confirm the viability of their projects. The cost of the debt is paid by the borrower in the form of interest. They observed that the level of the debt is the function of supply and demand of the firm for debt. These both are depend upon the price of debt capit al and the supply and demand factors. Qdemand =ÃŽÂ ±0Price + ÃŽÂ ±1Xdemand factors + E demand Qsupply = ß 0Price +ß1Xsupply factors+E supply They are using the data of 1986-2000 and exclude the firms having assets or sales less than $1million. They had measures debt to the asset ratio; the debt includes both long and short term debt. From their results, the firms which borrow from the financial intermediaries have lower leverage becuse of cost monitoring the imperfect financial contracts. Certain parts of the capital markets also affects the firms borrowing. The vfirms can moves from the private debt markets to the public debt market because banking capital markets have more dramatical impact than the public markets. (Amjed, The impact of financial structure onprofitability: Study of Pakistans TextileSector,2007) In this article the author main point that the capital structure affects the cost of capital of a firm and as a result of this the performance of the firm also affected. The firm must use an optimal combination of debt and equity to enhance the wealth of shareholders which s the main objective of the firm. In this paper the author analyzed the relationship between the capital structure and profitability of the Pakistan textile industry. According to the studies of d Bradley, Larrel and kim (1984) and Almazan and Molina (2005), the firms related to the same industry develop the similar capital structure. Eli Schwartz (1959) reported that optimal capital structure fluctuates in different industries because of the reason that the typical asset structure and profit stability which help in determining the inherent risk are differ for different types of production and the borrowing power of the firms are also differ. According to the Modigliani and Miller (1958) studied reflected that in t he perfect market conditions the market value of any firm and the cost of capital are independent in its capital structure. According to the pecking order theorists Myers (1984), Myers and Majluf (1984), and Shyam-Sunder and Myers (1999), first the firms should have internally generate the sources of financing then from the debt and finally from external equity which is obtained by issuing the stocks. The preferences are recognized by the cost gap between the internal and external sources of funds because of asymmetric information and organization problems. There is a negative relationship between the leverage and profitability of the firm in case if the firm hold the profitability. Booth, Aivaizian, Kunt and Maksimovik,(2001) revealed that if the firm is more profitable if its debt ratio is lower. If the firm can borrow more debt at low rate, the risk associated with the debt is lower as the chances of paying back the funds are increased. Fama and French used in 1998 concluding by using US sample that the relationship between capital structure and the firm profitability is unreliable. Jensen (1986) studied that profitable firms indicates their wealth of the firm by increasing the leverages which result in a positive relation between leverage and profitability. Joshua Arbor (2005) reported that there is a significantly positive relationship between short term debt and profitability and negative association between long term debt and profitability. This indicates that by too much long term debt it will decrease the profits of the firm. He had taken a data of 100 companies from KSE for the period of 1999-2004. The variables used for analyzing are leverage ratio and the profitability. From his results, he explained that the short term debts show positive relationship with the profitability as they are less expensive. While the long term debts has show negativity which means that they are much expensive due to direct and indirect cost. (Shah Khan, Determinants of Capital Structure: Evidence from Pakistani Panel Data,2007) Capital structure is the combination of debt and the equity which is used by a company in to meet its financing needs. It is the one of the most important decisions which a management should be taken carefully. The capital structure decision includes dividend policy, project financing, issue of long term securities, financing of mergers and buyouts. The objective of the financial manager is to keep the cost of capital lower and increases the value of the firm. Optimal capital structure is the point where the cost of capital is minimum. Most of the work related to the capital structure has been done in the developed countries and a few contribution related to it is by the developing countries. In 1995, Rajan and Zingales have studied the G-7 countries while in 2001 Booth el al extended this working by studying the emerging markets. The conclusions from their studies revealed that there are some features in the capital structure of the firms in different countries are common. But still it is necessary to identify the determinants of capital structure in particle industry or institution. Pakistan is a developing country which has three stock exchanges. Karachi Stock Exchange is the largest one on which more than 700 companies are listed. In Pakistan, the area of capital structure is relatively unexplored like other developing countries. The concept given by Modigliani and Miller has proved that the value of the firm is not depending upon the capital structure decisions under certain conditions. Because of unrealistic assumption in MM, it gave birth to the other theories for research on capital structure. According to trade off theory, optimal leverage adjustment is affected by three factors which are taxes, cost of distress and agency cost. Baxter argued in 1967 that too much use of debt enhances the chance of bankruptcy because the creditors demand extra risk premium. According to him, the firm should not use more debt than the tax advantage. Kraus and Litzenberg er (1973) argued that if a firms debt liabilities are greater than its profits then the firms market value is a function of its debt obligations. DeAngelo and Masulis (1980) studied further on Millers differential tax model; they had including other non-debt shields such as depreciation charges and investment tax credits. According to their conclusions that each individual firm has an internal optimal capital structure that increases the wealth of the firm. Their studied have based on the data taken from State Bank of Pakistan publications Balance Sheet Analysis of Joint Stock Companies Listed on The Karachi Stock Exchange Volume-II 1993-1999 and Volume-II 1997-2002. This publication is useful in proving the information related to the key account of the financial statements of listed companies. They have taken the debt to total assets ratio as understudy for leverage (dependent variable) and tangibility, size, growth, profitability, earning volatility, and non-debt tax shields are t aken independent variables. Their results show that descriptive statistics is the highest leverage ratio for textile industry but the average profitability of textile industry is negative. The year to year understatement of profit by family controlled firms in the textile industry reflect that they have refuse to pay the government taxes and the shareholder dividend.th negative figure of profit show that on all the average year it decreases the figure of equity and increases the percentage of debt in the entire financing. (Akintoye, Sensitivity of Performance to Capital Structure, 2008) In this article the author Ishola Rufus Akintoye (2008) analyzed that the financial leverage measures the financial risk which indicates the companys percentage change in EPS comes from percentage change in companys EBIT. Financial leverage increases the EPS when the economic are favourable and depresses the EPS when the goings is not favourable for the firm. It was discovered that the firms financial leverage can increase the shareholders return and as well their risk. The surplus/deficit will increase/decrease the return on owners equity. Fix operating cost is consider in operating leverage. Fixed operating cost such as administrative overhead expenses, contraction employees salaries and mortgage or lease payment that tend to raise business risk. The ongoing short term financial needs may generate a need for long term financing which includes an evaluation of the appropriate mix and the use of debt and equity that form capital structure. By combining the financial leverage and oper ating leverage we can see the effect of total leverages on EPS with respect to the change in turnover/sales as a result of improving capital structure strategies. The optimal capital structure with equity can minimize the firms cost of capital and maximize its returns. The different capitals structure and business risks effects are reflected in a firms income statement. The firm must consider varies factors while formulating the capital structure policy. The firm business risk, tax position and financial flexibility must be taking into the account. These factors are important in determining the target capital structure. The target capital structure may be used as a guide in determining an ideal capital structure which helps to minimize the cost and increases the shareholders wealth. The desire equity-debt mix has effects both the returns and the risk of a firm. The methodology used by the author is the degree of leverages. He took the EBIT, EPS and DPS as the performance indicators to the sales as to measure the capital structure of selected companies. The operating leverages and financial leverages together produce wide fluctuations in EPS for the given change in turnover. A small change in sales level will cause a dramatic effect in EPS in case if a firm employs a high level of operating and financial leverages. Degree of Operating Leverage: DOL = % Change in EBIT % Change in Turnover DOL =% Ά EBIT/EBIT % Ά Turnover/ Turnover The following equation is also used for calculating Degree of Operating Leverage DOL = Q(S V) Q (S V) F Q is the unit of output, S is the selling price, V is the variable cost, and F is the total fixed costs. Degree of Financial Leverage: DFL =% Change in EPS % Change in EBIT DFL =% Ά EPS/EPS % Ά EBIT/ EBIT (Sheikh Wang, Financing Behavior of Textile Firms in Pakistan, June 2010) In this article the authors explored those factors that influence the capital structure of Pakistan textile industry. Capital structure represents the combination of various debt and equity securities hold by a firm. it is very important to choose right set of capital structure as the wrong and quick decision of the management may lead to the financial distress and the firm may bear the cost. It has been recognized that the firm specific characteristics make the combination of debt and equity. These characteristics are profitability, size of the firm, asset structure, growth opportunities and the liquidity position of the firm etc. The financial instruments which are issued by the firm do not affect the productivity and its value. This is the assumption of Modigliani and Millers which do not hold in the real world. The firm should use much debt because of tax deductible interest payment and in this case the levered firm value becomes more than the unlevered firm by the equal amount o f present value of tax savings that are arise from the use of debt. In Pakistan the commercial bank are hesitant in providing long term loans due to risk factor. The author explained the capital structure with the help of different theories. (Trade off theory, Pecking theory, Free cash flow theory).they were selected a sample of 75 companies from the Karachi Stock Exchange for data analysis purpose. They had chosen debt ratio (as measure of leverage) as dependent variable while profitability, size, tangibility, growth opportunities and liquidity are taken as independent variables. According to their results, the average debt ratio among the Pakistani companies was 64.95%. This indicates that the firms are more levered than those firms in UK, Canada and USA. These firms are less levered than those in France, Japan, Italy and Germany. Their results suggest that the leverage is negatively correlated with the profitability determinant and positively correlated with the firm size. Negati ve relationship between the leverage and tangibility determinants shows that the companies with safer and secure tangible assets tend to borrow more from the banks than the companies having risky intangible assets. The highly liquid and profitable firms are preferred to finance new investments from internally available funds. According to the trade off theory the larger firms in Pakistan should operate at high debt level due to diversification risk factor while the smaller firms operate at low leverage as they liquidated when they facing financial crisis. Mostly the firms in Pakistan are dependent on the bank debts because undeveloped and small bond market. Majority of privatize commercial bank in Pakistan have prefer to extent the short term loans as compare to long terms loans. In short the firms in Pakistan are heavily relying on short terms loans. According to Myers, there is no theory to make better combination of debt -equity and no reason to expect that it add value to the fi rm. (Wasmullah, Toor, Abbas, Can High Leverage Control the Opportunistic Behavior of Managers: Case Analysis of Textile Sector of Pakistan ,2010) This article analyzed the impact of leverage on managerial earnings practices in textile industry of Pakistan. The investors/shareholders have been concerned with the earnings/profit. They had discussed the relationship between earning management and firm leverage among leverage increasing firms and control/highly levered firms. Theoretically they had proven the both the positive and negative association between them. Positive as if a firm highly levered so the manager are engage in increasing the income accruals to meet the investors and lenders expectations. According to Jensens (1986) control hypothesis, leverage increases control the opportunistic behaviour of the managers as if highly leverage firms can use the free cash flows in services of loans and managers are left with low free cash flows. In this case managers do not invest the amount in decreasing value projects and not depend upon profit management to hide their poor performance. This represents the negative association between leverage and earning management. IN 1985 Healy used total accrual as alternative of earning management but in 1986 DeAngelo argued that it the better measurement of earnings management is change in total accrual. But after five Jones argued with the statement of DeAngelo that non discretionary components of earnings did not remain the same. she had provided a model which explained that economic conditions changes non discretionary components of accruals. Two variables such as change in sales and the level of property can controlled the economic conditions. They had taken the data of 6 years from 2001-2006 of textile industry of Pakistan. According to Jensen (1986),Maloney et al(1993) and Stulz(1990), leverage increases the limit the opportunistic behaviour of managers as require debt payments decrease the amount of cash available to managers for investing in non-value projects. They had obtained the data from the Balance Sheet analysis of Joint stock Companies which are list ed on KSE, then classified the firms into increasing leverage firms and control firms. They had taken accruals as dependent variable and debt to equity ratio as explanatory variable. According to their results, the relationship has been significantly different in leverage increasing firms and control firms. According to control hypothesis, most of the portion from the low cash flow is expense out in the form of interest in case of highly leverages and as a result the opportunistic behaviour of the manager has been controlled, because they have not enough cash to invest in non value projects and less chances to hide their poor performance. This result leads to make carefully investment in the new projects. It is very difficult to measure the opportunistic behaviour of the firm. The author results supported the control hypothesis. In 2003 DeAngelo argued that total change in receivables are not the discretionary accruals because some portion of accruals is based on previous periods ac cruals, and some portion of inventory is also depend upon change in sales. (Mseddi Abid, The Impact of Operating and Financial Leverages and Intrinsic Business Risk on Firm Value,2010) The purpose of this article is to examine the fundamental risk determinants of firm value. The goal of the firm has to increase/maximise the firm value and firms constitute their

Quality management of executive holloware

Quality management of executive holloware 1 Why is quality important to Executive Holloware? Quality is important to Executive Holloware because they are one of the UKs leading suppliers of top-quality holloware. They describe themselves as selling to a top end market. As a result their products are priced high. Executive Holloware say their most important product was a handmade silver-plated Georgian tea set priced at over  £400. It is implied that this is the most expensive product and thats why they thought it was the most important. This could be a misguided opinion. It could have been the companys trademark, the item which made the brand; in this case you could have called it the most important because without it, there was no brand. The entire product range was hand-made and it looks like this was a big part of Executive Hollowares brand image. Holloware is a term that refers to table service items such as sugar bowls, coffee pots, teapots and other metal items that go on a table. Holloware is traditionally constructed to last a long time. It is typically made with thicker walls and more layers of silver-plate than other silverware. [1] 2 What do you understand by the term quality? The ISO9000 system describes Quality as: The degree to which a set of inherent characteristics fulfils requirements[3] The American society for Quality describes Quality as: A subjective term for which each person has his or her own definition[4] In reality the definition of quality depends on your viewpoint. A customer may look at quality in terms of design, how the product performs, or whether it lasts as expected. A producer may look at quality in terms of conformance to requirements and the cost of quality i.e. scrap and profits. A government may see quality in terms of safety or environment. In industry, quality is often measured using values e.g. number of features, reliability, aesthetics etc. The majority of definitions seem to agree that regardless of your viewpoint, there is a set of requirements, whether it is conscious or sub-conscious, for which conformance is the goal. It is important to understand a range of peoples requirements both for a products customer base and within the company in design, manufacturing and other departments. 3 How would you specify quality for executive holloware? A quality product for Executive Holloware is a product that is free from: * Dimensional inaccuracies * Scratches * Bruises The product must be free from defects if a customer is to be proud of presenting it on their dinner table. Customers use the product to give their dinner tables a touch of class and give their guests the impression that no expense has been spared. In terms of the Georgian tea set, the product should be made of a layered silver-plate, other products are made from pewter or stainless steel. 4 What are the underlying causes of the problems at Executive Holloware? One of the main problems is that there is no dimensional / defect inspection carried out until the product is ready for shipment. Too many problems are getting ignored during the manufacturing processes and the product is getting passed down the line with defects. It appears that there is no quality control data generated during the processes until the end of the production line. For this company, the data would not have to be complex, just a numerical count of defects and possible reasons. There definitely seems to be a lack of control chart knowledge. The problems with defects are causing a massive amount of rework, which costs the company money as work is being done twice, this should be virtually unnecessary. The culture of the workforce is wrong. It appears that this stems from the top as the Production Director, Andrew Keegan, is constantly pressuring them to speed up production. This will not work if the quality is not under control. It will only multiply the problem or even increase the percentage of rework. It is a reactive culture with people only reacting to problems with the finished product. There seems to be a blame culture affecting the workforce too. Nobody wants to help with the root causes of the problem; they just want to blame somebody else. This could be because the workforce doesnt feel empowered to do anything about the quality problems. They cant stop production if they notice a problem because they will get blamed for a loss of production time. The workforce may be paid per item they get through their station. This is the case in so many industries of this kind. The problem with that is that the workforce is inclined to rush jobs because they know that if there is rework then they will get paid again. Another problem is that when a defect is found the workforce has no way of knowing if it is out of tolerance or not because there is no specification. There are no limits. 5 How should Executive Holloware measure quality at each stage of the process? Statistical Process Control should be used to take periodic samples from the processes and plot sample points on a control chart. It can then be determined whether the process is within limits. Variability is inherent in production processes and the aim is to lessen the variability to random causes. Three quality characteristics have been highlighted in section 3 which can be measured. A specification needs to be drawn up so that the workforce can decide which defects are failures and which are not. There needs to be a set of tolerances for problems like dimensional inaccuracies. The workforce also needs to be provided with measuring equipment to assist with this. A process control chart can be used as shown in Figure 5‑1. The process would be in control if no sample points lie outside the limits, most points are near the average, and there are an equal number of points above and below the centre line. A histogram can then be created to visually show which problems are most significant. A Pareto analysis could also be done to work out which problem is costing the most. Using control charts at each stage it will be possible to pinpoint at which stage defects are caused. A Fishbone diagram could then be used to show all the causes of a particular quality problem. All these visual aids are useful for meetings to aid effectively communicating the message to everybody present. Another approach to quality control is acceptance sampling. This can also be used on a random basis to measure the % defective. As the products are intended to be top quality and supplied to a top end market, this is not really suitable; especially with the large number of non-conforming products. 6 What steps would you advise Paul Stone to take to improve quality? The basic four steps from the Total Quality Management theory should be used: * Step 1: Collect and organize data * Step 2: Identify problematic components or maintenance processes * Step 3: Analyse data after maintenance process monitoring * Step 4: Action plan [5] The management should ask themselves the 5 Whys each time there is a problem with quality. The 5 Whys is a technique that doesnt involve advanced statistical tools, and in many cases can be completed without a data collection plan. By repeatedly asking the question Why at least five times, you can peel away the layers of symptoms which can lead to the root cause of a problem. [6] Paul should advise management to instil a new culture into the workforce. The workforce should be empowered to report problems and stop production if they feel there is a problem. They should also be involved with problem resolution because it has been proven that if a workforce feels more involved then they are more likely to use their process knowledge to come up with solutions for themselves. This would increase morale and is a basic TQM (Total Quality Management) philosophy. There could be daily meetings for each production unit to go through control chart data. There could then be monthly meetings for the entire staff which will make everyone feel involved and issues can be discussed between departments. Installing a continuous improvement mentality should be the goal. Quality control data as discussed in section 5 should be analysed and used to direct resources for improvement efforts. Specifications need to be created for each product stating tolerances for defects of different types and in different locations on the product. Appropriate metrics need to be identified so that problems can be measured against a standard. There could be cause for a pay restructuring so that workers are paid a fixed rate instead of per item. Bonuses could be introduced based on quality production targets as a different type of incentive. Andrew Keegan should be advised that if the efficiency of the process is increased, then this will bring an increase in productivity. Cycle time should also be increased because there will be fewer problems during processes and rework should be rare. The spare capacity introduced from the lack of rework could then be used to increase production and for new product development. It may be possible to reduce manpower which will lower costs and increase profitability. Increased production means increased turnover. One study by the University of Manchester states that success in applying the quality tools and techniques discussed relies on: * In-depth knowledge of the process * Formal training in problem solving techniques * Appropriateness of tools selected for use * Application of simple models at all levels in the organisation to aid communication and learning [7] If this is true then there needs to be formal training of statistical process control and problem solving techniques generally. There must also be involvement from all levels of the organisation. The Six Sigma theory can be used to help this organisation as well and can be applied to all stages of the problem solving process. The DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) methodology can be used. Six Sigma seeks to improve the quality of process outputs by identifying and removing the causes of defects and minimizing variability in manufacturing, which is exactly what this company needs to do. As quality assurance manager, Paul should take the lead role in this. The six sigma tools matrix (see Table 6‑1) can present a clear roadmap for the problem solver, especially if the problem solver is a novice (Black Belt or Green Belt). Six Sigma may be an appropriate strategy to base the work on but not in place of TQM because, as Dr Rick L. Edgeman from the University of Idaho said: Six Sigma is a highly structured, information-driven strategy for product, system and enterprise innovation and design. In contrast I would say that TQM seeks to satisfy customer needs continuously by providing what they desire at the lowest possible cost as a result of involving a critical mass of the organizations human resource. [8] Different aspects of both of these methodologies / strategies will be helpful for this company. The steps discussed in this section should have a positive effect on the shops as they will be more confident in the product they are selling, and the end users. Works Cited 1. Encyclopedia Britannica. Holloware Article. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. [Online] [Cited: 7 December 2009.] http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/269441/hollowware. 2. AtlanticHospitality.com. Holloware. Atlantic Hospitality. [Online] 2003. [Cited: 7 December 2009.] http://atlantichospitalityinc.com/images/on_halloware/EJAZZ.JPG. 3. International Organization for Standardization. Quality management systems Fundamentals and vocabulary. 2005. ISO 9000:2005. 4. American Society for Quality. ASQ Glossary Entry: Quality. 5. E. Vassilakis, G. Besseris. An application of TQM tools at a maintenance division of a large aerospace company. Journal of Quality in Maintenance Engineering. 2009, Vol. 15, 1. 6. EMS Consulting Group. Problem Solving. Lean Manufacturing Consulting and Training. [Online] 1 February 2006. [Cited: 7 December 2009.] http://www.emsstrategies.com/dd020106article.html. 7. Greatbanks, David R. Bamford and Richard W. The use of quality management tools and techniques: a study of application in everyday situations. International Journal of Quality Reliability Management. 2005, Vol. 22, 4. 8. Antony, Jiju. Six Sigma vs TQM: some perspectives from leading practitioners and academics. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. 2009, Vol. 58, 3. 9. Catherine Hagemeyer, John K. Gershenson, Dana M. Johnson. Classification and application of problem solving quality tools. The TQM Magazine. 2006, Vol. 18, 5.

Colonialism and Post Colonial Ethnic Conflict in East African Countries

From the end of the nineteenth century until the attainment of independence in the early 1960s, the countries of East Africa were under the colonial administration of European empires. After decades of foreign rule which saw unparalleled transformations within society, the post-colonial states that emerged have been blighted by ethnic conflict. It has been argued that the beliefs of British, Belgian and German administrators led them to completely reorganise the societies they governed based on a fictitious ‘tribal’ model, and in the process they invented ethnicity. There is a great deal of debate on this matter, though, and its continued relevance to contemporary politics only makes it more vigorous. Before we go on to analyse to what extent it may have been invented under colonial rule, we need to first of all establish just what exactly is meant by the term ‘ethnicity’. It is a complicated as well as a contentious question, interpreted in a variety of different ways that can depend on political beliefs, social status, place of birth and personal history. Clearly, if we are to talk about ‘ethnicity’ without descending into an exhausting debate on linguistics and semantics, it is necessary to take for granted a certain degree of generalisation. We can say that all human beings, broadly, do belong objectively to some form of ‘ethnicity’; that is, a social group whose members they are linked with through a shared culture, religion, territory, language, or genealogy. What varies greatly is the awareness of this connection, and the importance an individual places upon it. The term ‘tribe’ would further complicate the debate, and serve no other purpose than to draw discussion away from the process of invention; the main focus of... ...nd every aspect of life from marriage to choice of profession was influenced by the ethnic group you belonged to. Transience, multiplicity, and change were the key words, though. One can say that what the colonial governments actually invented, and what has often left such a painfully devastating legacy, was not ethnicity itself, but the codification of ethnic groups in national laws, the exclusivity of groupings, and the bringing to the fore of a person’s ‘tribe’ at the expense of all other means of identification. You no longer merely took comfort from being part of a Tutsi community, you were a Tutsi from the day you were born until the day you died, and the course of your life would be decided for you based on this label. Rather than inventing it, colonialism destroyed ethnicity’s one defining characteristic in the East African context: its ability to transform.

American Beauty by Sam Mendes Essay -- Film Movies

American Beauty by Sam Mendes This essay has problems with formating ï » ¿Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In American Beauty, 1999, directed by Sam Mendes, we are confronted with the permeating images that have consumed mainstream American life. Mendes exploits these images as constructions that we created around ourselves as a means of hiding our true selves. Mendes is able to implicate us in the construction and make us active viewers by exploiting our voyeuristic nature. In American Beauty Mendes uses the voyeuristic tendencies of the spectator to acknowledge the permeating constructed images. Mendes, through the use of narration, the mise en scene and cinematic techniques implicates the spectator in to using their voyeuristic tendencies to deconstruct the images in order to reveal the true image. From the start of the film the construction of images is evident.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American Beauty begins with the obvious constructed shot, shown through the use of a video camera, of a young teenage girl. The narration reveals that she wants her father dead. The image portrayed around her is constructed as an evil, unaffectionate youth. The next scene is of a high angle shot, with a voice-over narration. The voice-over goes to explain that this is Lester Burnham’s speaking and he is already dead and the following is a construction of the relevant events. This scene holds relevance for two reasons. First it constructs an image that the young teenager in the previous scene is the killer. And as we will learn by the end of the film this image is not all that it appeared to be. This is a reoccurring theme throughout the film, that these are constructed images, and to notice that there is more to the story then what appears on the surface. The high angle spanning shot of Lester’s street also holds significance for the spectator. This opening shot is quite similar to that of Alfred Hitchcock’s opening scene in Psycho. The similar t hemes is the spectators being the voyeurs. In each we are looking into the private sphere of the character. However, in American Beauty our voyeuristic nature is not shameful. The narration that accompanies the scene is allowing our voyeuristic desires to enter into the private lives without guilt or shame. Mendes as does Lester asks the spectator to be the voyeur. As well the sign on Lester’s cubicle wall is not a coincidence. Mendes is again soliciting t... ...ng against the jumbled blinds of the sliding door. The perfect symmetrical image within the mise en scene is erased in order to represent the failing images in Carolyn’s life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In American Beauty, Mendes constructs his images in order to ask the spectator to deconstruct, by looking closer. This film represents the darkness that we have allowed to seep into American culture. We have allowed ourselves to be overly concerned with the way we want to be or told we should be represented. There are too many cases of the individuals soul being lost behind a maze of faulty images. Mendes begs the spectator almost in desperation to try to see the beauty that this world has to offer. However, he is not pessimistic in his conclusions. Like the flower the film is named after we can still bloom late and the appreciation for the beauty will last for eternity. Yet to reach a point to appreciate the beauty we must strip away the complex layers which we have surrounded ourselves with. This is Mendes point, the need to deconstruct the permeating ideologies within our culture. ï » ¿ Bibliography American Beauty. Dir. Sam Mendes. Dreamworks /Warner Brothers, 1999.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Medicaid Fraud

Medicaid Fraud HCS/545 July 9, 2012 Medicaid fraud comes in many forms. A provider who bills Medicaid for services that he or she does not provide is committing fraud. Overstating the level of care provided to patients and altering patient records to conceal the deception is fraud. Recipients also commit fraud by failing to report or misrepresenting income, household members, residence, or private health insurance. Facilities have also been known to commit Medicaid fraud through false billing.The Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse statute provides that an individual who knowingly and willfully offers, pays, solicits, or receives any remuneration in exchange for referring an individual for the furnishing of any item or service (or for the purchasing, leasing, ordering, or recommending of any good, facility, item, or service) paid for in whole or in part by Medicare or a state health care program (i. e. , Medicaid) shall be guilty of a felony; this is known as the â€Å"anti-kickba ck† statute (Mackelvie, 2004).Medicaid fraud affects taxpayers, recipients, and health care organizations. Measures to reduce Medicaid fraud are necessary. Individuals, facilities, and providers commit Medicaid fraud in several ways. One of the most common ways providers commit fraud is billing for services never provided. For instance, a physician may bill Medicaid for x-rays or lab work that the patient never received. Another way is double billing. Double billing occurs when both Medicaid and a private health insurance are billed for the same services.Medicaid is secondary health insurance to private health insurance and should be billed only for the charges that the primary health insurance does not pay. A third way providers commit Medicaid fraud is billing for phantom visits; charging Medicaid for seeing a patient who has not been seen. Providers have committed Medicaid fraud by billing for unnecessary tests and billing for more expensive procedures when a limited or les s comprehensive procedure was performed. Facilities such as pharmacies commit fraud by substituting brand name drugs for generic drugs and billing Medicaid for the brand name drug.Still other facilities receive kickbacks and file false cost reports. Kickbacks involve receiving payments or services for referral of patients to other facilities or providers where the patient will receive unnecessary services to generate additional income. False cost reports are seen in nursing home cases of fraud and involve owners filing charges for their own personal expenses. Individuals enrolled in Medicaid programs commit fraud by hiding resources, assets, and income.They also commit fraud by denying spouses live in their households or failing to report marriage to continue receiving Medicaid benefits. Individuals with private health insurance who fail to report this insurance and continue using Medicaid benefits are committing fraud. It is an abuse of the Medicaid program when individuals who cou ld obtain coverage on their own instead enroll in Medicaid to cover their medical expenses. Also the federal government stipulates that an individual cannot receive Medicaid in more than one state at the same time.Often, individuals move to another state and fail to report or close their Medicaid benefits with the state in which they were residing. Some individuals want to maintain coverage in more than one state because benefits differ from state to state and some individuals will travel between neighboring states using their Medicaid benefits. This constitutes Medicaid fraud. A program to fight Medicaid fraud has cost the United States at least $102 million in auditing fees since 2008 while identifying less than $20 million in overpayments, investigators found (Wayne, 2012).According to the National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units (2012), Medicaid provider fraud costs American taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars annually and hinders the very integrity of the Medi caid program. Medicaid fraud affects recipients, providers, health care facilities, and taxpayers. Fraud increases the costs of providing benefits to Medicaid recipients. To compensate for such fraud, states must either raise taxes or decrease services in other areas. Those who most need Medicaid services may not be able to obtain benefits because resources are not available.For patients, Medicaid fraud could mean tampering with their medical records, which could put their health at risk. People can get hurt when doctors or other providers give less or more care than needed just to make more money. Also the public is more skeptical about social service programs as more incidents of Medicaid fraud occur every day. Providers and facilities who commit Medicaid fraud can face penalties from state and federal governments. Federal or state authorities may investigate allegations of fraud depending on where the fraud was reported, the laws broken, and the amount of money involved.The stric tness of penalties levied by state governments varies from state to state. Federal laws such as The False Claims Act, Anti-Kickback Statute, and Social Security Act are laws that address fraud and abuse. Title XI of the Social Security Act contains Medicaid program-related anti-fraud provisions, which impose civil penalties, criminal penalties, and exclusions from federal health care programs on persons who engage in certain types of misconduct (Staman, 2010).Under federal regulations, providers convicted of fraud are excluded for a minimum of five years from receiving funds from any federally funded health care program, either as a health care provider or employee (National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units, 2012). The False Claims Act imposes penalties on anyone who knowingly submits false claims for payment through a governmental program. Penalty for conviction under this Act is a fine not exceeding $10,000 or an imprisonment of up to five years, or a combination of the two (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, 2011).The Anti-Kickback Statute makes it a criminal offense to knowingly and willfully offer, pay, solicit, or receive any remuneration to induce or reward referrals of items or services reimbursable by a Federal health care program (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, 2011). Violations of this law are punishable by up to five years in prison, criminal fines up to $25,000, administrative civil money penalties up to $50,000, and exclusion from participation in federal health care programs (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, 2011). There are other federal laws to address fraud and abuse of government programs such as Medicaid.These penalties are a reactive measure to control abuse of Medicaid, but proactive measurements are needed to discourage providers, individuals, and facilities from committing fraud. On October 27, 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed the legislation that provided each state with the opportunity and resources to establish a Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) to investigate and prosecute provider fraud (National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units, 2012). The MFCU investigates Medicaid provider fraud and misuse of Medicaid recipients’ funds.The jurisdiction of the Medicaid Fraud Control Units is limited to investigating and prosecuting Medicaid provider fraud, MFCU’s do not investigate recipient fraud. States must also take initiatives to curtail fraud. Many states are looking to use new technology as a means to prevent fraud. One such technology is biometrics. Biometric technology compares a user’s feature such as a fingerprint. This technology has the potential to prevent recipient fraud by eliminating card sharing as well as preventing provider fraud by reducing phantom billing and other forms of fraud.New York, for example, has integrated targeted data mining and risk analysis into its fraud-fighting tool box. In Texas, a few simple process changes and new pattern analys is and recognition efforts moved the state closer to ‘real–time analysis’ and significantly increased the amount of fraud identified (National Conference of State Legislators, 2012). States must develop continually ways to prevent Medicaid fraud and protect the resources provided for recipients. Controlling Medicaid fraud will be a continual task.The burden falls not on just the federal government, but also state governments, facilities, providers, recipients, and citizens. States should fully commit to working with federal policymakers and agencies to improve the integrity of the Medicaid program. Clarity is needed to define federal and state government roles in maintaining integrity of the Medicaid program. Collaboration and communication between Medicaid and Medicare is needed to reduce fraud. States should evaluate the utility of existing tools used to fight Medicaid fraud. Incentives for providers, recipients, and citizens to report suspected fraud must be m ade available.Abuse of Medicaid affects everyone and costs will continue to rise if measures are not taken to use better the resources available in the Medicaid program. References National Association of Medicaid Fraud Control Units. (2012). What is Medicaid Fraud?. Retrieved from http://www. namfcu. net/about-us/what-is-medicaid-fraud Mackelvie, C. F. (2004). â€Å"The impact of fraud and abuse regulations – Medicare and Medicaid fraud and abuse statutes. Retrieved from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m3257/is_n10_v46/ai_13413481/pg_6/? tag=content;col1 Wayne, A. (2012). Medicaid Fraud Audits Cost Five Times Amount U. S. Found. Retrieved from