In South Africa, adolescence is a sensitive period, and...

In South Africa, adolescence is a sensitive period, and not a critical period, for identity development as it is â€Å"a period during which normal development is most sensitive to abnormal environmental conditions† (Bruer, 2001). When looking at South Africa particularly, the abnormal environmental conditions would be apartheid, and one will see its profound effects on identity development. Adolescence is a sensitive period rather than a critical period as a critical period focuses on a system that â€Å"requires a specific kind of experience if normal development is to occur† (Bruer, 2001). Therefore this essay will place an emphasis on adolescence as a sensitive period for identity development. One first needs to explore the term, sensitive†¦show more content†¦Outside that specific time frame, the experience does not have the same effect (Armstrong et al., 2006). For the reason that this essay is focusing on identity development in South Africa, it would be more accurate in stating that adolescence is a sensitive period for identity development. Events that affect individuals during a sensitive period have more chance overcoming the effects than if it were a critical period. Thus, sensitive periods are subjects of theoretical interest and empirical examination which will therefore contribute to the idea that adolescence is a sensitive period for identity development in South Africa. Identity development of South African adolescents in a democratic society is a crucial topic to explore as one will find out how important adolescence is in determining one’s identity. Given South Africa’s past, it is only correct in saying that apartheid had an enormous effect on people’s lives and in particular on adolescents. Once we examine the effects it had on adolescents, one will realise that adolescence is considered to be a sensitive period for identity development. Political and Social events such as the end of apartheid are likely to have a negative effect on an individual’s psychosocial development (Norris et al., 2008). Thom Coetzee (2004) stated that identity formation depends mostly on how an individual recognises society and their expectations of it. It also relies on specific stages in one’sShow MoreRelatedMoral Development During Adolescence Essay8689 Words   |  35 PagesMoral Development In Curbing Adolescents’ Moral Decay. Surname: Zondo Initials: G. L. Student number: 43097855 Examination period: October/November 2015 1 The Determinants Of Moral Development In Curbing Adolescents’ Moral Decay. Abstract The study explored the determinants of moral development in curbing adolescents’ moral decay. These determinants included identity development, gender, parental (mother) relationship with adolescent, and ethical and moral values. A mixed-model method (bothRead MoreA REPORT ON THE EFFECTS OF SIBLING SEXUAL ABUSE5691 Words   |  23 Pagesï » ¿A REPORT ON THE EFFECTS OF SIBLING SEXUAL ABUSE BY NWOKO ISRAEL. I STUDENT NUMBER-53918126 UNIQUE NUMBER-322943 POST GRADUATE CERTIFICATE IN EDUCATION, UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA. AUGUST, 2013. PREFACE In this report the word ‘’ Sibling ’’ is used to refer to children who grow up in the same family, whether they are step-children, foster children, adopted children or children by birth. Naturally and healthy sexual explorationRead MoreBohlander/Snell-Managing Hr24425 Words   |  98 PagesManaging Human Resources, 14e, Bohlander/Snell -  © 2007 Thomson South-Western  © STONE/GETTY IMAGES chapter 15 International Human Resources Management After studying this chapter, you should be able to objective Identify the types of organizational forms used for competing internationally. objective 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Identify the unique training needs for international assignees and their employees. objective Explain the economic, politicallegal, and cultural factorsRead MoreThe Social Impact of Drug Abuse24406 Words   |  98 Pagesother consequences. They have made the differences and inequalities around the world more apparent and more unacceptable. In many cases, the differences between rich and poor grow wider. Moreover, a number of developing countries, especially those in Africa and selected countries in Latin America and Asia, have largely missed out on the benefits of increases in world trade and investment and consequent economic growth. In some cases, this has been the result of political instability, ethnic conflictRead MoreEthics of Information Communication Technology (Ict)27618 Words   |  111 Pagesand availability of electronic data and systems, computer-related crimes, such as forgery and fraud, content related offenses, such as those related to child pornography, and violations of intellectual property rights (IPRs). Further, threats to critical infrastructure and na tional interests arising from the use of the internet for criminal and terrorist activities are of growing concern after the September 11 incident. The harm incurred to businesses, governments and individuals in those countriesRead MoreAbnormal Psychology. Classification and Assessment of Abnormal Behavior20707 Words   |  83 Pagesstressful event, such as signs of bereavement or grief following the death of a loved one, is not considered disordered within the DSM, even if behavior is significantly impaired. If a person’s behavior remains significantly impaired over an extended period of time, however, a diagnosis of a mental disorder might become appropriate. The DSM and Models of Abnormal Behavior The DSM system, like the medical model, treats abnormal behaviors as signs or symptoms of underlying disorders or pathologiesRead MoreEffect of Broken Home19368 Words   |  78 Pageshappy family life with room and equipment for preparing and eating means for recreation. When a student imagines his homes a â€Å"Vaccum can† which exposed him or her to same problems in the environment. I some societies in Nigeria and other parents of Africa such children are regarded as neglected. ISAKE and others (1984), mother are considered as the backbones or major providers of prorgamme of services to individual child. Base don the needs and understanding of his environment. They said childrenRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesCharacteristics of the U.S. Workforce 41 †¢ Levels of Diversity 42 †¢ Discrimination 42 Biographical Characteristics 44 Age 44 †¢ Sex 46 †¢ Race and Ethnicity 48 †¢ Disability 48 †¢ Other Biographical Characteristics: Tenure, Religion, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity 50 Ability 52 Intellectual Abilities 52 †¢ Physical Abilities 55 †¢ The Role of Disabilities 56 Implementing Diversity Management Strategies 56 Attracting, Selecting, Developing, and Retaining Diverse Employees 56 †¢ Diversity in Groups 58 †¢ EffectiveRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pages619 Supplement C Conducting Meetings 651 Appendix I Glossary 673 Appendix II References 683 Name Index 705 Subject Index 709 Comb ined Index 713 iii This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Preface xvii INTRODUCTION 1 3 THE CRITICAL ROLE OF MANAGEMENT SKILLS The Importance of Competent Managers 6 The Skills of Effective Managers 7 Essential Management Skills 8 What Are Management Skills? 9 Improving Management Skills 12 An Approach to Skill Development 13 Leadership and ManagementRead More_x000C_Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 Pagesare arithmetic and graphing exercises. They become statistics problems only when a context gives them meaning and allows for interpretation. While this makes for a text that may appear â€Å"wordy† when compared to traditional mathematics texts, it is a critical and necessary component of a modern statistics text. Examples and exercises with overly simple settings do not allow students to practice interpreting results in authentic situations or give students the experience necessary to be able to use statistical

Optimization Of Oil Field Operations And Other Relative...

OPTIMIZATION OF OIL FIELD OPERATIONS AND OTHER RELATIVE DIMENSIONS Abstract The most essential donors to the world s aggregate oil production are the giant oil fields. Utilizing a complete database of giant oil field production, the normal decrease rates of the world s giant oil fields are evaluated. Dividing subclasses was essential, since there are expansive contrasts in the middle of area and seaward fields, and also between non-OPEC and OPEC fields. The advancement of decrease rates over past decades incorporates the effect of new innovations and production procedures and unmistakably demonstrates that the normal decay rate for individual giant fields is expanding with time. These components have huge ramifications†¦show more content†¦These issues are the optimization of settings (weight then again stream rate) in existing wells, optimization of the areas of new wells, and information digestion or history matching. The execution of the subsidiary free calculations is demonstrated to be truly adequate, particularly when they are actualized insid e a disseminated nature s domain. Introduction Monetary improvement principally depends on non-renewable assets. The rapid growth of interest in creating nations has offered ascent to a consistent increase in utilization of most non-renewable assets, including oil and gas. Liquid fuels are required to remain the significant wellspring of vitality and their aggregate consumption continues to increment in spite of climbing costs. Thus, world s aggregate characteristic gas consumption is relied upon to increment by 1.6 percent for every year generally. An average enhancement issue comprises of expanding or minimizing one/a few destination function(s) by methodically picking data values from within permitted sets. The permitted sets of information variables are deï ¬ ned in types of a few stipulations. As oil and gas assets have a restricted accessibility, the importance of arranging exercises climbs. Streamlining strategies are vital devices that help upstream and midstream directors

Pet Shop Boys and Beauty Free Essays

Success Jealousy in Beauty Beauty, written by Jane Martin in the mid nineteen hundreds, is an ironic play about two successful women, Bethany and Carla. Both women were the same age yet complete opposites. They also had completely different personalities and were unhappy with their lives. We will write a custom essay sample on Pet Shop Boys and Beauty or any similar topic only for you Order Now Martin casted and characterized them this way to illustrate a few themes. The drama was mainly centered on the theme that no one is ever happy unless they get their wishes granted. However, in these two women’s cases, getting what they wanted caused them to realize there is nothing wrong with being different. These two themes can be seen through the two character’s success, jealousy, and a genie. Bethany and Carla experienced success in Beauty. Carla was a famous, â€Å"beautiful catalogue model that was going to become a big time model soon after speaking with Ralph Lauren† (Martin 735). On the other hand, Bethany, the smart one, â€Å"received a $40,000 job offer straight out of college. She also published several short stories† (735). Carla was characterized as the perfect and beautiful success story, while Bethany was characterized as the ugly screw-up. However, neither person was happy in their respective positions. Carla was always annoyed, â€Å"and always hung by her fingernails in modeling. She felt like she had zero privacy, and guys would hassle her on the street and pressure her from the beginning of a relationship. She never was able to have a long relationship† (736). Likewise, Bethany did not see herself as a success story because, â€Å"she did not see herself as a beautiful individual† (736). They both envied each other’s success and looks. This alone shows the reader that the characters were very jealous of each other’s lives. Jealousy is very noticeable in Beauty, especially when it comes to Bethany. Bethany was extremely jealous of, â€Å"Carla because she looked beautiful. She represented that beautiful person that knocks a man across a room twenty-four hours a day. Beautiful was in the major leagues, whereas pretty was in the minor leagues as a way for people to simply discover each other† (736). Bethany just considered a self a disgrace and a piece of trash. Carla explained, â€Å"Bethany is beautiful and she has the charm, personality, and is perfectly pretty† (736). Of course, Bethany places a stereotype on beautiful by saying, â€Å"it is the real deal. Carla gets discounts on makeup for no reason. Parents treat beautiful children better and they even statistically get paid more. Beautiful people can have sex any time, any place† (736). Carla, confused, did not understand why Bethany wanted to be just like her. Bethany hated Carla most of the time because of her beauty. This leads Carla to go on a rant about beauty and why it is so difficult to live and be beautiful simultaneously. Carla tells Bethany to be herself and she will have an amazing life. Bethany begs to differ and says, â€Å"it is what everyone wants to be. Money can only make you buy things. Beauty makes you the center of the entire universe. All eyes are always on those individuals that are beautiful† (736). Carla says, â€Å"Bethany will hate her life is she was beautiful. She would be miserable and unhappy† (736). Bethany then pulls out a genie in a bottle. Bethany, determined, reiterates, â€Å"Carla’s thoughts do not matter. Carla was just lying about everything, which explains why she had no friends or a long relationship. Bethany wanted to be just like Carla, and she had a god dam genie and only one wish to make† (736). Bethany indeed used her one wish and wished that she was just like Carla. The genie is used as a symbol to symbolize the fact that Bethany got everything she wanted to be happy. The genie allowed Bethany to â€Å"walk in Carla’s shoes†. Bethany and Carla looked at each other and realized they had swapped roles. Both women stated, â€Å"We have each other’s jewelry, legs, nail polish, clothes and shoes. We can see each other! † (737). Upset, Bethany stated, â€Å"She wanted to be beautiful, but she did not want to be Carla. (737). In the end, both women realized they regretted getting what they wanted because they both had the same thing that every other human had. They both realize that their happiness was not good because it only showed that they both just had a plethora of different problems. Beauty is practically a real life drama that actually occ urs every day in the world. There are hundreds of thousands of people that are not happy with their current situations in life. Many of them just want to be so much more successful, and, in Bethany’s case, more beautiful. Too many people think that success and having good looks automatically lead to unlimited happiness. Sadly, this is a lot more false than true. People will only be happy if they are themselves and are different and unique. After reading Martin’s play, one can see that the two women are just like two people in the real world. They both have experienced success and jealousy. Too many people worry too much about their image and appearance. The genie in the play showed what happens sometimes when someone is given everything they ever dreamed of having. The genie granted Bethany’s wish so she could realize how it felt being in someone else’s place or position. Afterwards, she saw that being different was okay and actually better than she initially thought. She realized that she did not want to be anyone but herself. Overall, Beauty illustrates a real life event that teaches people a valuable lesson: One should be happy and unique because there is nothing wrong with being different. Martin, Jane. Beauty. Literature and the Writing Process. Ed. Elizabeth McMahan, Susan X. Day, Robert Funk, and Linda S. Coleman. Backpack ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2011. 733-737. Print. How to cite Pet Shop Boys and Beauty, Essay examples

Design Strategy Of Air-Conditioning For A Residential Building

Questions: Does the existing HVAC system or other cooling system have the capability to match with the cooling requirement of the occupants? Does the design strategy being adapted by the building is efficient in terms of energy consumption? What are the benefits of determining suitable air conditioning strategy for residential buildings? Answers: Introduction This research is based on determining the design strategy of air conditioning for a residential building. The focus of this research is to identify gaps in the previous studies available on the topic or the same research area. The air conditioning system in a building is responsible for around 50% of the energy being consumed and other 50% is consumed by other services in the building. Hence, it is essential to determine effective design strategies for air conditioning in a building. The reduction in energy being consumed by air conditioning will help to increase savings on consumption along with carbon emissions (Grondzik and Kwok 2014). In this study, the proposal for conducting research on design strategy for air conditioning in a residential building has been prepared to discuss on motivation behind the research. Further, a timeframe has also been prepared to illustrate upon finance activities along with duration required to complete the research project. Background of the study This study is based on identifying the effective design strategies for implementation of air conditioning to suit the cooling needs in a residential building. The passive cooling strategies that gains control over heat dissipation is considered as suitable for consistent climatic areas whereas in modern houses, the changing temperature is a major issue being faced by the occupants (Chua et al. 2013). The poor design of buildings often causes the heat to be trapped that increases indoor temperature. The roof area and surrounding walls of a building is considered as the most critical part due to the fact that these are exposed to heat being caused by high solar radiation. The determination of proper design strategies will help to effectively reduce the consumption of energy in a building as well as provide comfort to the occupants (Vakiloroaya et al. 2014). This particular study has been undertaken to determine the effective design strategies for air conditioning in a residential build ing so that the comfort requirement of occupants are fulfilled with respect to the changing climate. Motivation for research The developing countries majorly that are located in tropical regions have dry climate and there is existence of special problems due to extreme heat retention by the buildings if ventilation is not adequate for cooling at night. A major portion of the buildings being designed in such climatic regions are not suitable for occupants as those are poorly designed and no design strategy is adapted for the climate (Alibabaei et al. 2017). The residential buildings are often designed without considering the parameters that are responsible to ensure thermal comfort along with efficient use of energy. Hence, the dependence on artificial lighting and ventilation is prevalent in almost every residential building. However, power disruption on a frequent basis and load shedding during the summer or hot days makes the life of occupants much troublesome. The circumstance turns out to be more terrible during the hot summer days in between the period of mid-March and early May as there is gradual in crease in the surrounding temperature (Yang, Yan and Lam 2014). Amid this period, the demand in the use of electricity goes up to its most elevated amount due to hot weather and in addition the demand increases to supplement the cooling requirements in the residential buildings. The buildings that does not have dynamic strategies to meet the cooling requirements during the rising demand of energy will incur poor indoor atmosphere. This often leads to exhaustion along with issues related to health and safety (Taleb 2014). This study will deal with describing the approach for passive air conditioning design strategies suitable in residential buildings. The poor design of buildings often causes the heat to be trapped that increases indoor temperature. The roof area and surrounding walls of a building is considered as the most critical part due to the fact that these are exposed to heat being caused by high solar radiation. The determination of proper design strategies will help to effectively reduce the consumption of energy in a building as well as provide comfort to the occupants. There are two fundamental techniques for cooling of residential buildings in a tropical atmosphere and they are oppositely inverse in nature. It is imperative to comprehend the core philosophy of both the strategies to confirm that could be appropriately adjusted for residential buildings (Shirazi et al. 2016). Commonly, a plan that is genuinely dedicated to one technique or the other, cannot generally be effectively changed over into the other. The principal procedure is passive cooling. Out of the two methodologies, this is the one that can be considered naturally dependable and having a place with economical plan. Homes with passive cooling uses extensive open areas for allowing cross-breezes through the spaces very easily and utilize openings in high regions to enable warmed air to rise and escape (Kim et al. 2016). The objective of passive cooling is to utilize normal conduct of air to upgrade ventilation and diminish inside temperatures in fabricated spaces. The second techniqu e is mechanical cooling. Mechanical cooling utilizes equipment to accomplish cooling of interior spaces. Clearly, mechanical cooling can help to achieve thermal comfort by substantially higher decrease in temperatures that is not possible by means of passive cooling (Yoon, Bladick and Novoselac 2014). Despite the fact that there is energy being spent, though passive cooling utilizes no energy, this does not imply that mechanical cooling is not economics dependable. Hence, this research is based on determining the suitable air conditioning design strategy for residential buildings. Research questions The aim of this research is to study the air conditioning design strategy for a residential building. It is one of the most critical criteria or issue being faced by the occupants of building situated in a rigorous changing climatic zone. Some of the research questions that are prepared to conduct this study in details are provided as below. Objectives of the research The implementation of proper design strategy for air conditioning in residential building is an essential element to fulfill the cooling requirement of the occupants. The buildings situated in continuously changing climate needs proper design strategy for installation of air conditioning. The objectives that have been prepared for conducting this particular research are presented as below: To determine the capabilities of existing HVAC system or other cooling system for matching the cooling requirement of occupants of a residential building. To identify whether the adapted strategy is suitable for the residential building in terms of energy consumption. To evaluate the benefits of determining suitable air conditioning strategy for residential buildings. Proposed chapters of report Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter will provide a brief overview of the undertaken topic along with the aims and objectives determined for the project. This chapter will introduce the purpose behind undertaking this particular topic for research. In this section, the problems that are existing related to the undertaken topic area will be discussed to identify the gaps in previous studies on the same topic. Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter will comprise of critically reviewing the existing articles or journals on various design strategies for air conditioning in buildings. The study of online available articles and journals will help to identify gaps in the knowledge area (Attia and Carlucci 2015). This section will also illustrate upon the essential components that are required for determining the design strategy of air conditioning. Chapter 3: Research Methodology This chapter will also help to determine the various methods for conducting the research. This section will provide the information regarding the type of research that have to be conducted with the topic. Further, the discussions will be carried out on the process of data collection and sampling for the research on the topic (Chen, Yang and Lu 2015). This chapter will also deal with designing the process for research. Chapter 4: Data analysis and Findings This chapter will focus on data analysis that will be done on the data that has been collected with the help of statistical tools. The interpretation of the results gained from analysis of the gathered data will be carried out in this section. The findings from the data analysis will be provided in this section to determine the output from the research. Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations This chapter will focus on the results being achieved from data analysis and the overall research. In this section, a conclusion will be drawn to the study to summarize the results being gathered from the entire study. Further, some recommendations will also be provided in this section to suggest improvements that can be made in future study. Proposed time-frame of the research study Task Name Duration Start Finish Predecessors Resource Names Design strategy of air-conditioning for a residential building 59 days Fri 04-08-17 Wed 25-10-17 Selection of the research topic 2 days Fri 04-08-17 Mon 07-08-17 Researcher, Supervisor Analysis of requirements 3 days Tue 08-08-17 Thu 10-08-17 1 Researcher Feasibility study for the research topic 2 days Fri 11-08-17 Mon 14-08-17 2 Researcher Conducting thorough literature review for identification of gaps 5 days Tue 15-08-17 Mon 21-08-17 3 Researcher Identification of specific aims for the project 2 days Tue 22-08-17 Wed 23-08-17 4,2 Researcher Developing objectives related to the specific project 2 days Thu 24-08-17 Fri 25-08-17 5 Researcher Research existing strategies for design of air-conditioning 4 days Wed 18-10-17 Mon 23-10-17 6 Researcher Prepare draft budget for the project 3 days Mon 28-08-17 Wed 30-08-17 3,6 Researcher Obtaining advice/guidance from colleagues as well as other members 4 days Thu 31-08-17 Tue 05-09-17 8 Researcher Determining audience of the project 3 days Wed 06-09-17 Fri 08-09-17 9 Researcher[50%], Supervisor[50%] Preparing draft proposal 2 days Mon 11-09-17 Tue 12-09-17 10 Researcher Review of prepared proposal 1 day Wed 13-09-17 Wed 13-09-17 11,5,9 Supervisor Submission of revised proposal 3 days Thu 14-09-17 Mon 18-09-17 12 Researcher Identification of sources for data collection 4 days Tue 19-09-17 Fri 22-09-17 13 Researcher Gathering of data from primary as well as secondary sources 5 days Mon 25-09-17 Fri 29-09-17 14 Researcher Analysis of data 2 days Mon 02-10-17 Tue 03-10-17 15 Researcher, Supervisor Discussion of the findings 3 days Wed 04-10-17 Fri 06-10-17 16 Researcher Preparing report with the gathered results 2 days Mon 09-10-17 Tue 10-10-17 17,15,16 Researcher Drawing conclusion to the study 2 days Wed 11-10-17 Thu 12-10-17 18 Researcher Recommendations based on the results and findings 1 day Fri 13-10-17 Fri 13-10-17 19 Researcher, Supervisor Submission of draft report 2 days Mon 16-10-17 Tue 17-10-17 20 Researcher Review of prepared report 3 days Wed 18-10-17 Fri 20-10-17 21 Supervisor Approval from supervisor 1 day Mon 23-10-17 Mon 23-10-17 22 Supervisor Submission of final project report 2 days Tue 24-10-17 Wed 25-10-17 23 Researcher References Ai, Z.T. and Mak, C.M., 2016. Short-term mechanical ventilation of air-conditioned residential buildings: A general design framework and guidelines.Building and Environment,108, pp.12-22. Alibabaei, N., Fung, A.S., Raahemifar, K. and Moghimi, A., 2017. Effects of intelligent strategy planning models on residential HVAC system energy demand and cost during the heating and cooling seasons.Applied Energy,185, pp.29-43. Attia, S. and Carlucci, S., 2015. Impact of different thermal comfort models on zero energy residential buildings in hot climate.Energy and Buildings,102, pp.117-128. Chen, X., Yang, H. and Lu, L., 2015. A comprehensive review on passive design accounting in green building rating tools.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,50, pp.1425-1436. Chen, X., Yang, H. and Sun, K., 2017. Developing a meta-model for sensitivity analyses and prediction of building performance for passively designed high-rise residential buildings.Applied Energy,194, pp.422-439. Chua, K.J., Chou, S.K., Yang, W.M. and Yan, J., 2013. Achieving better energy-efficient air conditioninga review of technologies and strategies.Applied Energy,104, pp.87-104. Grondzik, W.T. and Kwok, A.G., 2014.Mechanical and electrical equipment for buildings. John Wiley Sons. Kim, J., business, R., Parkinson, T., Candido, C., Cooper, P., Ma, Z. and Saman, W., 2016. Field study of air conditioning and thermal comfort in residential buildings. Ruiz, P.A., De La Flor, F.S., Felix, J.M., Lissn, J.S. and Martn, J.G., 2016. Applying the HVAC systems in an integrated optimization method for residential building's design. A case study in Spain.Energy and Buildings,119, pp.84. Shirazi, A., Pintaldi, S., White, S.D., Morrison, G.L., Rosengarten, G. and Taylor, R.A., 2016. Solar-assisted absorption air-conditioning systems in buildings: control strategies and operational modes.Applied Thermal Engineering,92, pp.246-260. Taleb, H.M., 2014. Using passive cooling strategies to improve thermal performance and reduce energy consumption of residential buildings in UAE buildings.Frontiers of Architectural Research,3(2), pp.154-165. Vakiloroaya, V., Samali, B., Fakhar, A. and Pishghadam, K., 2014. A review of different strategies for HVAC energy saving. Management Conversion and Management,77, pp.738-754. Yang, L., Yan, H. and Lam, J.C., 2014. Thermal comfort and building energy consumption implicationsa review.Applied Energy,115, pp.164-173. Yoon, J.H., Bladick, R. and Novoselac, A., 2014. Demand response for residential buildings based on dynamic price of electricity.Energy and Buildings,80, pp.531-541.

SWOT Analysis of GE free essay sample

Global recognition: General Electric has ventured into the world market thus gaining global recognition for its unique goods and services. In the year 2009, Forbes magazine ranked GE as the worlds largest company. Hurbert (2007) notes that General Electrics brand is the worlds most recognized brand. This kind of recognition has given it a competitive edge over other companies due to its ability to attract more customers. Global strength and competitiveness:The Company’s products have been recognized for their quality and the company is known for meeting customer-specific needs (General Electric, 2009). As a result, it has attracted numerous clients including corporations and government agencies and its competitive position is quite favorable. GE is the biggest lender in many of the countries where it invests with exception of the United States (Hurbert, 2007). Its power generation equipment generates a quarter of the worlds electricity everyday. Excellent Management: GE utilizes a unique management style, whereby business operations are divided into business units. We will write a custom essay sample on SWOT Analysis of GE or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Each business unit plays a distinct role within the company and has its own independent management. Examples include GE Commercial Finance, GE Equipment Services, GE Energy, GE Insurance, and GE Consumer Finance among others. This kind of management style increases productivity due to the high level of accountability and efficiency that business unit managers are expected to maintain. Diversified lines of operation:GE has invested in a wide range of products under its units. These activities range from technology, energy, automotives, and aviation and home appliances to financial services and insurance services among other undertakings. This kind of diversification shields the company from risks in case of misfortunes. Environmental initiatives: GE has ventured into environmental initiatives as it embraces the green economy and increased social responsibility. Its Ecoimagination program is undertaking the production of environmentally friendly technologies, energy sources such as solar, low emission engines for airplanes, hybrid locomotives and water purification (Makower, 2005). This has earned a good reputation for the company which is considered socially and environmentally responsible. WEAKNESSES Under-performing energy sector:Following the global crisis and the serious fluctuations in fuel prices, the energy sector is not performing as expected (Hurbert, 2007). Fluctuations in prices of oil and gas have mostly been caused by supply shortages and this has threatened the companys profitability. Threat to flexibility:Too much diversification is often considered dangerous for a company. This is because it results in over-stretching which usually slows down decision making. At GE, the numerous units require attention and could prove hard to manage if excessive diversification occurs. OPPORTUNITIES Mergers and acquisitions: GE has performed several mergers in the recent past. These not only help the company to expand globally but to diversify its activities into new areas thus increasing productivity. Some of the companies include Interbanca S. P. A, Whatman Plc, VetcoGrey and Turbomecanica Combustor Products (General Electric, 2009). The merger of NBC with Vivedi opens better opportunities for GE in the media business. Research and development:Intensified research and development characterize the companys activities as it seeks to maintain a competitive edge over others in the same industry. A substantial amount of resources are committed in the companys relentless efforts to ensure the production of innovative products which meet current customer demands (Hurbert, 2007). THREATS Competition: Operating in an environment where stiff competition is present is a threat in itself. Just like any other company, GE risks losing its customers to competitors. Competition could be intensified by better production techniques and technology among competitors such that the companys goods may be outdone in the market. Information security:When it comes to information security, every company faces a threat of losing important information through hackers, natural disasters and employee dishonesty. Loss of information could greatly affect the companys activities and cause a slow-down in production. Financial crisis: The global financial crisis has had an effect on most companies in the world today. The rises in prices and shrinking bank lending rates have deprived businesses of the much needed profits and capital respectively. Media depictions: Depictions put forth by the media on certain occurrences about a company could ruin its operations. GE has been a victim of media deception and was associated with the Enron scandal which brought a lot of criticism and loss of investor confidence. The documentary named deadly deception aired in 1991 displayed GE as a threat to human life for participating in testing and building of nuclear weapons (Chasnoff, 1991). Such depictions could be used by competitors to tarnish the companys name. Evaluation and Analysis It is notable that GE has a number of strengths that work to its advantage by enhancing profitability. Its global recognition, strengths and competitiveness put GE at a favorable position as compared to other companies in the same sector. The use of business units for management presents an effective way to manage the expansive company. This not only reduces the possibility of overwhelming senior management with work but also promotes productivity based on accountability expected from the business unit managers. The company undertakes numerous activities which highly contribute to profitability. This is enhanced by the mergers and acquisitions that have diversified the companys product range and in turn leading to improvement on profits incurred. The strengths and opportunities however have not come without constraints. Various threats and weaknesses threaten the performance of the company by presenting constraints on the companys management. High levels of competition, financial crises and threat of information loss are a threat to the company’s survival. Weaknesses within the company including the poor productivity of the energy sector and flexibility threat could impact negatively on the company. In order to reduce the impact of threats and weaknesses, the company could use the strengths and opportunities to mitigate them. For example, the companys established research and development could be used to curb competition by coming up with innovative products from time to time. The efficient management can also be used to prevent loss of data through implementing proper control measures and to avoid losses which could exemplify the situation caused by the financial crisis. References

Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso essays

Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso essays A lot of great Canadian authors base their books on the prairie or land and its inhabitants. Wild Geese by Martha Ostenso is a wonderful example of this. Throughout the novel, many references are made to natural elements and also animals. Three very noticeable references could be picked out. These references were made to Judith, who is seen as a wild horse, to the wild geese that always move to new places, and also to the weather and how the family's attitudes and emotions, especially Caleb's, are changed by it. Wild Geese are talked about quite frequently throughout this novel. There are many references to people who are compared to the wild goose, along with what they symbolize. Lind Archer, the schoolteacher, is considered the wild goose for the first while. She came from a large municipality, "to a region beyond human warmth...beyond even human isolation..." (Ostenso, p.34). Mark Jordan is also compared to a wild goose for fundamentally the same reasons as Lind. When he first meets Lind, she thinks that his cry seems to be a, "smote cry upon the heart like the loneliness of the universe..." (Ostenso, p.53). Both Mark and Lind can be compared here, because they are both lonely and isolated. The wild goose symbolizes moving, loneliness, and isolation. Moving is shown when Mark and Lind come from their large municipalities to move up north to a very cold and unfriendly place. Loneliness is shown again through Mark and Lind and how they both miss their life before. They have ver y few friends and are moderately secluded to a very little area. Isolation is also shown by the fact that they are secluded and also that they are in the middle of nowhere with no one within a close distance to talk to. They feel isolated form society because the farms are so spread apart. In the end Mark and Lind move together to go back to the large municipality and wild geese are referred to again. They moved back to where they came f ...

Comm 4462 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Comm 4462 - Coursework Example One party perceives that the other party has better alternatives of power so the weaker party tries to suppress the conflicting issues. It is distinctive as power relationship is maintained between two parties on consideration of weaker and stronger party. 3. Anything that can be employed in achieving the set goals of a party or getting into conflicts of others qualifies as a resource such as personal strengths and skills. These resources can be employed for solving different kinds of conflicts. 4. The three methods that supervisors can use in criticizing their subordinates can be 1) private criticizing of subordinates instead of criticism in front of other people, 2) along with issues, points of better performance and good work are also discussed by the supervisor and 3) supervisor did not attach compensation increase with criticism. These methods are supportive in endorsing power because subordinates cooperate with the supervisor and do not challenge his authority. The resistance is minimized because of this approach as subordinates consider themselves affiliated with the supervisor. 5. The two levels of meaning carried by messages during face-to-face interactions are report aspect and command aspect. The report aspect can be described as the deliverance of content of the message while command aspect can be described as a relational message or verbal message that is indicative of the relationship between two people or their regard for each

Objective To construct a small commercial database and demonstrate its Essay

Objective To construct a small commercial database and demonstrate its functionality - Essay Example The website design primarily focuses on younger customers, and contains some good examples of e-commerce best practice, such as, decent navigation and filtering options, well sorted product reviews, and site search (Charlton, 2009). Founded in 1884 by Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer, Marks and Spencer is a major British retailer of clothing, footwear, gifts, home furnishing, and luxury food products. The company’s main headquarter is in the City of Westminster, and has a wide network of stores with 703 in the United Kingdom, and 361 in more than 40 countries across the globe. The group also owns the clothing retailer Brooks Brothers and the King Super Markets chain in the United States of America (Wikipedia, 2012). This attribute will contain the answer to the secret question of the customer. The system uses this attribute to verify the customer in case if the customer forgets the password, and wishes to know the password; if the customer is verified positively, then the system sends an email containing the password to the customer’s email

Disadvantages of herbal remedies Speech or Presentation

Disadvantages of herbal remedies - Speech or Presentation Example The government does not support any institutions as such that help prepare these herbal remedies so there is no quality control and the user may end up buying a low quality treatment. Also, herbal remedies do not work in serious illnesses and injuries. Herbs cannot replace surgeries, laboratory tests, and operations. Sometimes, herbal treatment negatively interacts with the formal medicines like anti-depressants and thus may hinder with their effect. Since, herbal remedies do not come with an instruction manual or package insert, so this becomes very likely that the user will overdose the remedy. Also, some herbs get poisonous when they are harvested in wild, or some part of the plant gets venomous, so when these are extracted into a remedy, the user will also catch that poison. In short, the use of herbal remedies depends mainly on the user himself because he should know what kind of herb he is using, what he is using it for, and for how long he has to use it.

On Outdoor Play Children And Young People Essay

On Outdoor Play Children And Young People Essay The following research is to be related to outdoor play and its benefits for children and why outdoor play is not what it used to be. Research done on children stated that it is a myth that children enjoy staying indoors playing computer games and indoor games, a greater number of children prefer to play outside eighty eight per cent would prefer to play at the beach or by a river, seventy nine per cent like to play in the park, seventy nine per cent enjoy riding their bike and seventy six children playing ball games. However parents would prefer that their child stays indoors as they feel it is safer one in four would rather their child play on the computer than climb trees and one in five computer- based games play than letting their children play on fields. (Play England 2011) Children missing out on the great outdoors http://www.playengland.org. Methodology To help with this research project the literature research will be conducted on secondary research from books and articles on the subject and through the internet. It will also examine a range of quantitative and qualitative research. Literature review Research by the Department of the Environment (1973) on children that play outdoors and in the local area of where they live have declined over the past thirty years, a report done on outdoor play in 1973 showed that seventy five per cent of children played in the street as this was found to be the most popular. The study showed that children were more involved in physical activities like walking, running, made their own go-karts and ball games (Department of the Environment 1973). Another Study that was done by Play Board in 1995 had a similar outcome regarding childrens play this was done on two samples of over eight hundred children aged five to fourteen, these children were asked where they would play if they were not at home twenty four per cent of children said playing in the street, eighteen per cent said the play park and seventeen per cent said the garden (Parkinson 1985) Information obtained from a survey done in 2005 stated that only fifteen per cent of children aged between five and fifteen play outside in the street this is due to the quantity of obstacles put in their way of outdoor play (Department of transport 2006). Transport has a big influence on how children play. An ESRC sponsored study in 2000 showed that children thought that traffic is one of the biggest dangers of outdoor play along with gangs, bullies, and strangers (Matthews and Limb 2000). Research done by Savlone and playengland (2011) showed that most parents ventured outdoors as a child, however they now have concerns their children do not have the same opportunities as they did then. Research done with children showed that forty two per cent of children said that they have never made a daisy chain; thirty per cent of children have not attempted to climb trees. Children are aware of barriers to outdoor play as their parents are telling them to keep safe a report done by Young Voice and The Childrens Society in preparation for Playday 2003 stated that parents are always warning their children of stranger danger (Stockdale,Katz and Brook 2003a) Public attitudes toward children spending more time playing outdoors is positive and believe this as being an important part of a childs life it has social benefits play with other children has an impact on how children relate to one another, from being part of a group or part of the local community (Casey 2010) In the street, particularly in the nooks and crannies of the public space not under the watchful gaze of adults, children may thus begin forming a public identity and establish their own selfhood and independence(Spilsbury 2005, p 81). For years research findings has shown the importance of outdoor play and childrens well- being this was recognised in the 1960s when Mead (1966) stated that the neighbourhoods give children the opportunity to discover their environment and learn life lessons. Worpole and Knox (2007) believed that play is important for children; it can build some good friendships and understand the rules of social life. Outdoor play can benefit children in natural surroundings; free play and exposure to nature are vastly recognised as part of a childs healthy development (Moore and Cosco 2009). Studies of research show that daily connections with exposures to the outdoors can improve fitness attention and can lower sickness rates it is also believed that this can give children a sense of freedom. Children that play outdoors learn to navigate their immediate environment and build their self-confidence (Open university 2011). Those children that do not play outdoors will have less confidence and will unlikely be involved in the community (Gleave 2010). When children play out in the natural environment they are likely to enjoy nature as they grow up. Adrian Voce, Co-Director of Play England Said: Most parents know that children are curious about, and love to play outdoors. This is a deeply instinctive part of human nature and a vital part of healthy childhoods. We need to ensure that all children can access local green spaces to play, enabling them to have everyday adventures outside. To do this we need to support parents to help them feel confident to let children play out. (Adrian Voce, Co-Director of Play England) Children missing out on the great outdoors (wwwplayengland.org.uk). A UK survey found that ninety one per cent of adults understood the importance of outdoor play, sixty per cent said that they were worried about the safety of their children play in public places (Mc Neish Roberts, cited in Valentine McKenrick,1997). Beunderman (2010) found evidence that child learn life skills through outdoor play in their communities for example looking out for each other, asking for help. It is argued that having these abilities can offer them a positive outlook on the community gaining trust, feeling welcome and getting to know people in the community and being able to respect and have better relationships with other adults. According to the working paper by Lester and Russell (2010) on the importance of play: Adults should be aware of the importance of play and take action to promote and protect the conditions that support it. The guiding principle is that any intervention to promote play acknowledges its characteristics and allows sufficient flexibility, unpredictability and security for children to play freely. (Lester and Russell 2010: 46) Bishop (2012) stated that 25 per cent of toddlers are lacking vitamin D. The importance of outdoor play is essential for vitamin D as this comes from the sun and is one of the most important vitamins you need for your immune system and bones. Bristol University exposed some new research from the children of the nineties study recording the health of fourteen thousand five hundred children from birth in the 1990s, it shows that the connection among low levels of vitamin D and depression this happens in childhood so children that play outdoor reduce the risk of getting vitamin D deficiency and have a healthy body If you spend your time playing Nintendo or computer games instead of running about outside, riding in a car instead of on a bike, taking the tube / bus instead of walking through the park, thinking you look cool always wearing dark glasses or if you have dark skin to genetically protect you from a hot equatorial sun and you live in northern Europe or north America then you are going to benefit from a vitamin D supplement. A vitamin D deficiency leaves you with a greater risk of a number of different diseases not just bone problems such as rickets. (Yvonne Bishop-Weston 2012) Conclusion It is evident that there is a shortage of outdoor space for children to play with the ever increase of built up areas. Fewer play parks and not enough affordable places for parents to take children so that they can have the freedom to be able playing outdoors. It is also evident that children achieve much better when they are playing outdoors such as physical development, social skills, problem solving and creativity. (http://www.npt.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=1639). References Casey, T (2010) Inclusive Play: Practical strategies for children from birth to eight. London: Sage. Beunderman, J (2010) People Make Play: The impact of staffed play provision on children, families and communities. London: Play England. Department of the Environment. (1973). Children at Play: Design Bulletin 27. London: HMSO. Department for Transport (2006). National Travel Survey 2005. Transport Statistics. www.dft.gov.uk Gleave, J (2010) Community Play: A literature review. London: Play England. Available online at: http://www.playday.org.uk/PDF/Community-play-a-literature-review.pdf (Accessed Jan. 2013). Lester, S and Russell, W (2010) Childrens right to play: An examination of the importance of play in the lives of children worldwide. Working Paper No. 57, The Hague, The Netherland: Bernard van Leer Foundation Matthews, H. and Limb, M. (2000). Exploring the fourth environment: young peoples use of place and views on their environment. Stirling: University of Stirling. ESRC. Mead, M (1966) Neighbourhood and human needs, Ekistics, 21, 124-126, in Blakely, K S (1994) Parents Conceptions of Social Danger to Children in the Urban Environment, Childrens Environment, 1, 1, 16-25. Moore, R and Cosco, N (2009) The re-emerging importance of outdoor play in nature, Playrights Magazine, 1, 4-6. Parkinson, C. E. (1985). Where Children Play: an analysis of interviews about where children aged 5 14 normally play and their preferences for out of school activities. Play Board. Open University (2011) Play, learning and the brain. Available online at: http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/oucontent/view.php?id=397465printable=1 (Accessed Jan. 2013). Spilsbury, JC (2005) We Dont Really Get to Go Out in the Front Yard: Childrens home range and neighbourhood violence, Childrens Geographies, 3, 1, 79-99. Stockdale,D. Katz,A.and Brook,L (2003a) You cant keep me in. London: The Childrens Society, Young Voice Voce, A. (2013). Co-Director of Play England (2013) Children missing out on the great outdoors http://www.playengland.org.uk/news/2011/08/children-missing-out-on-the-great-outdoors.aspx (Accessed Jan. 2013) Yvonne Bishop-Weston (2012) http://nutrition-news.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/uk-children-and-adults-lack-vitamin-d.html (Accessed Jan 2013) Worpole, K and Knox, K (2007) The Social Value of Public Spaces. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Analysis of Frozen Food Market in the US Essay -- lean cuisine, healt

Introduction There are many low calorie microwavable food options available in the market today. With the rise in income people can afford an easier lifestyle therefore there has been a change in the cooking style of people. People now use microwaves in place of traditional cooking methods. With the rise in microwaves, the rise in the number of food items also occurred. With so many varieties and products available one can easily target upon a healthy choice of microwavable food. A low calorie food or a healthy option of food is one which comprises of a good source of protein along with having least 3 grams of fiber (for satiety), in addition to not more than 600 milligrams of sodium. (Zelman, (n.d.)) Some of the options are manufactured by Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice. Both of them are the competitors in the market of frozen foods. Lean Cuisine was started in 1981 and has since then grown its market in US, Canada and Australia. The company is owned by Nestle and offers variety of frozen foods and is a leading choice for low calorie food. Healthy Choice, the product manufactured by ConAgra is another leading low calorie frozen food supplier. They are the biggest opponents to Lean Cuisine. The market segment is decided by three criteria’s which are Behavioral, Psychographic and Profile variables. Behavioral variables are those that are sought from the product, and buying patterns like frequency and volume of purchase may be considered the fundamental basis. Psychographic variables are used when purchasing behavior correlates with the personality or lifestyle of consumers. Consumers who hold varied personalities and lifestyle trends also become prejudiced towards certain products. Their ch... ...formance of the organization. There can be numerous ratios that can be taken out using the available financial data. It is very important for financial data to be correct for correct computation and analysis of data. The choice of ratio depends on the kind of organization and the kind of information we have. References Ames, M (1983, February). Small Business Management. West Publishing Co. Baron, D. P. (2000). Business and its environment 3rd Edition. NJ: Prentice Hall. CNB (2004). Short-run food price prediction methods. Retrieved from http://www.cnb.cz Myers, J. H. (1962). Reporting of Leases in Financial Statements. Walter Nicholson, C. S. (2012). Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions. (11th ed.). USA: Cengage Learning. Zelman, K. M. (n.d.). How to choose healthy frozen dinners. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com

Medical Terminology Essay

1. How can eliminating abbreviations reduce errors? Abbreviations are usually used for convenience, to save space and to avoid the trouble of spelling out the word fully. Abbreviations are used in medical records and in medical language. Though the usage of abbreviations do have some advantage and make the recording easy and faster, there are several difficulties that could be faced in using abbreviations in medical record. It makes it difficult for the medical professional to understand properly, takes longer to train medical personnel, and it delays proper patient care and often times it hinders patient care. So eliminating abbreviations can reduce and avoid to certain extent some of these difficulties. Spelling out the word will help understand the message properly and give the right kind of treatment or service as required. Proper communication becomes impossible when abbreviations are used sparingly in documentation. â€Å"When we rely on abbreviations in our business writing, we start a process of â€Å"inbreeding† that may prevent us from clearly communicating our thoughts to people outside our company, department, or discipline. Readers are intimidated when they see a bunch of abbreviations; rather than risk embarrassment by asking you what the abbreviations stand for, they’ll read without really comprehending your message (or will skip your document altogether). To make your writing clear, use abbreviations sparingly and explain every abbreviation you do use. Always define an abbreviation the first time you use it†. 2. Should written polices be developed for Abbreviation usage? If yes, what should the policies contain? If no explain. Yes, it is essential that written polices be developed for abbreviation usage. This will help in using the abbreviations properly and will avoid the consequent errors and difficulties in communication, especially in medical records and communication. In medical record keeping, already there are regulations in using abbreviations: â€Å"Each healthcare facility develops its won list of acceptable abbreviations (that can be used in documents produce in that facility) and a list of unacceptable or â€Å"do not use abbreviations†. In addition to that (JCACHO) has a list of abbreviations that should not be used because they cause errors. JCAHO’s National Safety Goal states that these   abbreviations must appear on a facility’s â€Å"do not use list†.2 So the written policies should contain a list of abbreviations that can be used and should not be used to avoid errors in medical as well as in all documents and communi- cation. â€Å"JCAHO also has addressed errors in interpretation of abbreviations commonly used in health records by publishing a prohibited abbreviation list. The abbreviations note on the list should not be found in the patient health care records of their accredited providers. providers†. 3. When are abbreviations acceptable? Who should use them and why? Abbreviations are acceptable in documents and communication. It is a method of communication In saving time, space and trouble in spelling out the full word. As such using abbreviation can help in solving certain time consuming communication. Medical and technical professionals are the main users of abbreviation. â€Å"Abbreviated terms—whether abbreviations, initialisms, acronyms or symbols—save time, space, and the needless repetitions. However, decisions about acceptable and appropriate abbreviations remain ambiguous in modern publishing. While few general rules apply, in most cases, writers need to be familiar with the rules and conventions recognized by specific Usage authorities.† â€Å"Only abbreviations and symbols approved by the organization should and/or medical staff rules and regulations should be used in the health record.†5 In an organization, the rules and regulations in using abbreviations should be written and maintained as a policy item and should be informed to all the staff, so that proper communication and accurate record keeping are possible by avoiding errors and confusion, at the same time saving much time and effort in searching for the right word and meaning of abbreviations use. â€Å"Organizations that create or use abbreviations often in their work should develop an abbreviation data base or glossary to ensure consistency. This data base will also serve as the basis for decisions about abbreviations among different disciples and organizations.† 4. According to the information in the online articles, do you think enough steps have been taken to reduce errors? Explain why you agree or disagree. No, not enough steps have been taken to reduce errors. In fact there is not much done so far to reduce errors occurring from the use of abbreviations. At present the use of abbreviations have increased tremendously due to the internet and internet based communication facilities. â€Å"Widespread use of electronic communication through mobile phones, and the internet during 1990’s allowed for a marked rise in colloquial abbreviation. This was due largely to increasing popularity of textual communication services such as instant-and text messaging. SMS for instance supports message†. In spite of such increased use of abbreviations, there is no proper step taken to avoid errors in modern methods of communication. Even in technical and medical profession there is need for improvement in streamlining the usage of abbreviations. Specific rules and regulation should be outlined for abbreviation usage in all fields so that the related errors and confusion in the usage of abbreviations can be reduced if not eliminated. REFERENCE: 1. Gary Black and Robert W Bly: The Elements of Business Writing, Macmillan Publishing Company, New York,1991, p. 116 2. Susan Turley: Medical Language, p. 26 3. Merida L Johns: Health Information Management Technology, AHIMA, Chicago, 2007, p. 93. 4. Philip Rubens: Science & Technical Writing, Routledge, New York, 2001, p. 125 5. Medida L Johns; Health information Management Technology, AHIMA, Chicago, 2007, p. 92 6. Philip Rubens: Science & Technical Writing, Routledge, New York, 2001, p. 126 7. Internet: Wikipedia, Abbreviation, p.2

Free Essays on Case Study

Identifying Data and Reason Referral: Lenny Peters is a 48 year-old Caucasian gay male recently admitted for inpatient psychiatric treatment. He was referred for a psychological testing by his psychiatrist to assist in diagnostic clarification regarding personality dynamics and/or Axis I pathology. Evaluation Instruments and Sources of Information: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Second Edition (MMPI-2) Clinical Interview Background Information: Developmental History: The information collected is compliments of a self-report by Mr. Lenny Peters. Mr. Peters, an only child, confirms that his mother did not report having a complicated birth or suffer hardships while caring for Lenny during his early developmental stages. He claims that he â€Å"grew up with everything† and also admitted being the â€Å"spoiled Jewish kid on the block.† He reports being loved by his mother and father, but his relationship with his father was not as secure as his relationship with his mother. Family History and Significant Relationships: Mr. Peters did not report of any complications such as sexual or physical abuse as a child. His problems began to surface once he has revealed his sexual orientation. He expressed that although his mother got over the gay issue quickly, being that he â€Å"is her baby†, his father had a harder time adjusting to having his only son claim to be a homosexual. He expressed that he and his father were never close and that his father was a â€Å"man’s man† which may have contributed to their lack of closeness. Mr. Peters explains that his father died 14 months ago due to an aneurism, and that his mother has â€Å"lost her spark and love of life.† It is not clear if Mrs. Peters is suffering through these feelings due to the loss of her husband or not. Living alone, Mr. Peters claims that he is not in a current relationship, but does participate in some casual dating. He expresses that he is experien... Free Essays on Case Study Free Essays on Case Study Identifying Data and Reason Referral: Lenny Peters is a 48 year-old Caucasian gay male recently admitted for inpatient psychiatric treatment. He was referred for a psychological testing by his psychiatrist to assist in diagnostic clarification regarding personality dynamics and/or Axis I pathology. Evaluation Instruments and Sources of Information: Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-Second Edition (MMPI-2) Clinical Interview Background Information: Developmental History: The information collected is compliments of a self-report by Mr. Lenny Peters. Mr. Peters, an only child, confirms that his mother did not report having a complicated birth or suffer hardships while caring for Lenny during his early developmental stages. He claims that he â€Å"grew up with everything† and also admitted being the â€Å"spoiled Jewish kid on the block.† He reports being loved by his mother and father, but his relationship with his father was not as secure as his relationship with his mother. Family History and Significant Relationships: Mr. Peters did not report of any complications such as sexual or physical abuse as a child. His problems began to surface once he has revealed his sexual orientation. He expressed that although his mother got over the gay issue quickly, being that he â€Å"is her baby†, his father had a harder time adjusting to having his only son claim to be a homosexual. He expressed that he and his father were never close and that his father was a â€Å"man’s man† which may have contributed to their lack of closeness. Mr. Peters explains that his father died 14 months ago due to an aneurism, and that his mother has â€Å"lost her spark and love of life.† It is not clear if Mrs. Peters is suffering through these feelings due to the loss of her husband or not. Living alone, Mr. Peters claims that he is not in a current relationship, but does participate in some casual dating. He expresses that he is experien... Free Essays on Case Study The article that I read was found in the October 29 issue of the Wall Street Journal. This article is called, â€Å"Verizon Net Drops, But Wireless Area Sees Revenue Rise.† Verizon Communications Inc. reported that third-quarter net income fell fifty-nine percent from the year-earlier period, when results were helped by asset sales and tax benefits (p.B7). However, there was an eighteen percent jump in revenue at the wireless affiliate. Verizon’s total number of residential phone lines fell 3.5%, business lines declined 4.6%, and revenue in the U.S. wireline division was down 4.1%, which was the steepest decline of this year (p.B7). Like other regional telecommunications companies, Verizon continues to suffer from declines in usage of traditional phone services as people rely more on cell phones and the Internet (p.B7). Verizon Wireless had a net gain of 1.3 million retail subscribers and customer growth accelerated from the first and second quarters. Also, Verizon is taking customers from rival carriers like Sprint PCS and Cingular. Therefore, Verizon needs to focus most of its attention to the wireless affiliate because that’s what is giving Verizon a competitive advantage. Last month, Verizon cut its earnings forecast for the year, as well as expenses associated with a new labor contract and heady growth in the wireless business (p.B7). Verizon will have to create something new for the phone company and to do so they might have to increase the expenses a little to be more technologically advanced. However, their net income would increase and they would get more customers. This article parallels the subject matter covered in business organization and management because it involves the aspects of innovation and gaining a competitive advantage over similar companies. Verizon’s net income is going down because everyone has a cell phone instead of a regular phone these days. Venison was innovative when they creat... Free Essays on Case Study Background I have had the privilege to follow around Bryson Bolling who is a senior at Kokomo High School in Kokomo, IN. I live in Kokomo where I was born and raised and went to high school with Bryson’s brother Ryan. Bryson and I before this project have never spoken. He was born 6/23/86 in Kokomo, IN where he has been living his whole life. He has attended Kokomo Center Schools his whole life including Boulevard Elementary, Maple Crest Middle School, and now is attending Kokomo High School and will graduate this spring. He is from a middle class family background where his mother and father have worked ever since he can remember. He has a 2.9 GPA and has always studied to make his grades. He scored a 1020 on his SAT and a 23 on his ACT. He has been accepted and is planning to join the freshman class at Indiana University in Kokomo (IUK) and after that move on to a larger campus maybe IU or Purdue. He is undecided on what he plans to study but he is leaning towards business. Bryson has one older sister whose name is Brittany and one older brother who is my friend Ryan. Ryan and I went to high school together and have kept in touch since he went to IU and I am attending IUPUI. His older sister Brittany graduated from Kokomo High School in 2003 and is not going to college. His parents have been married for 25 years and have lived in Kokomo all their lives. He works at a local YMCA as a basketball referee for younger kids’ games. A job that is not as challenging as it is rewarding for him seeing little kids playing basketball. He is in the process of trying out for the varsity basketball team himself while working and going to school. He is also planning to try out for the baseball team in the spring. He was brought up Lutheran and goes to church regularly. His family is not super religious but they do attend church every Sunday and believe in God. He is however in a youth group at his church that gets...

Marketing Proposal Essays

Marketing Proposal Essays Marketing Proposal Essay Marketing Proposal Essay Our report analyzes the issues incorporated in NYF and recommend way to improve the situation. After evaluating the needs and wants of our existing and potential consumers, we decided to introduce a new product, which is Potatomade Noodle. Also, this paper will discuss the SWOT analysis performed, and evaluating what are the opportunities and strengths as opposed to our weaknesses and threats. Also, we have come out with an initial plan to market our new product. Through (1) Branding and Positioning; (2) Pricing; (3) Marketing channel; and (4) Promotion, we will bring the product toward success. ? 3? Introduction: the Company New York Fries (NYF) is a privately owned, Canadian franchise founded by Jay Gouldand his brother Hal in 1983. It specializes in fresh-cut fries and hot dogs. The firm’s concept is simple but their standards are high. New York Fries start with hand-cut fresh potatoes on site everyday and cook them in non-hydrogenated and Trans-fat free sunflower oil, which makes their fries low in saturated fat and cholesterol free. So their company mission is very simple: to serve customers with â€Å"REAL. FRESH. FRIES†. They are customer-centered policy that put customers as the essential consideration criteria to their products. Currently, there are over 201 stores across the world, but only two in Hong Kong. Agreement requires franchisee to open a minimum of 10 locations in Hong Kong and Macau within 5 years. New Product Idea There are several issues with NYF that make it less popular as opposed to other fast food restaurant in Hong Kong. NYF sales are significant lower than other competitors. The lack of variety and popularity of NYF (HK) are the main concerns of our marketing strategy group. As we found in a survey conducted by our group. There are 70% of participants who did not know anything about New York Fries. Among those who knew the existence of NYF, there are more than 50% of them thought NYF offers limited choice of food. 1 Therefore, we have decided to enhance the variety of food and introduce a whole new concept of fast food, the Potato-made-noodle. Besides providing varieties to the 1? Refer? to? appendix? I? ? 4? consumers, we choose potato made noodle because potatoes are more filling and will be able to satisfy consumers’ hunger, especially for those who need to be full during their long working day. Also, potatoes are generally healthy as well. Our product is a freshly potato made noodle, either western or Asian style. These noodles will be freshly made by a selected supplier and delivered to our stores promptly everyday. They will be served in different flavors like chess baked noodle, oriental style soup noodle (spicy/nonspicy/chicken flavored, beef flavored) and other flavors. Besides adding to the variety of foods sold in NYF, this new product also solves the issue of health concern of their customers. Customer Needs and Wants For our targeted customers, they have a similar desire for a benefit that is fast-served yet healthy food. Thus, we serve these customers with a new concept of fast food: highquality, convenient, delicacy, fashion and prestige. Although it seems that the new concept is irrelevant to NYF’s current business line, it is in fact consistent with the firm’s current mission, which is to actively change the business in order to satisfy their customers’ needs and wants. In addition, modern consumers are actively seeking for a highly fashionable lifestyle, which might also affect their eating habits. Also, we believe that potato made noodle is more filling, and will able to satisfy our consumers’ hunger during break time. In contrast to wants, products will only be successfully introduced if consumers are able to afford, thereby converting wants to demands. We believe our targeted customers, who are ? 5? the white-collar working class, have the purchasing power to afford a bowl of potato noodle served by us. Targeted Market Segment In Hong Kong, we are targeting Asian who has tradition of eating delicious noodles. Our target customer group is aged from 20 to 45 years old, with a monthly income of $10,000 to $50,000. They are mainly the white-collars, who are in the working or middle class. They are status-oriented achievers and always demand for fashionable way of enjoying traditional foods. We target to serve our noodles as a quick lunch during the customers’ limited break-time. We believe the noodles will be beneficial to those who seek for high quality, healthy and fashionable fast food. Our target segment is relatively small but well defined at this stage in order to achieve greater market share at the introduction of our potato noodle. SWOT Analysis Strengths Since NYF has been specializing in potatoes for more than 20 years, this provides us sufficient resources and abilities to produce potato products. Also, we have a strong and effective supply network in both North America and Hong Kong, which enables us to obtain cheap potatoes supply. These ensure that we are able to produce superior potatoes with current skills and knowledge. ? 6? It has a long established image of best potato product’s providers, which is mainly based on our long-term outstanding brand-service to the customers. For those who knew about NYF, they thought NYF provides the best fries (potatoes), compared to their competitors, McDonalds and KFC. Due to the experience obtained in past years, the production technology is complete, which means that NYF is able to provide variety of sauce flavors. Weaknesses Low variety of food because of their specialization. This situation may cause failure in attracting more customers who may have varieties of tastes on food. Limited consumer groups since the majority of our consumers are young adults, who are below 40 years old. Our service seems to be inaccessible because there are only two stores in Hong Kong nowadays. The relative number of branches of NYF in Hong Kong is too small and people may find it hard to find our location. However, we would look into the further business expansion upon the reform of NYF. Our current line of food maybe relatively unhealthy, because we usually provide fried food, which is always the pronoun of rubbish food and it doesn’t fit the modern concept of â€Å"good food†. NYF is yet to get popular in Hong Kong. Publicity and advertisement are obviously not enough due to limited investment on advertising. ? 7? Opportunities Increasing emphasis on healthy food will bring us a new opportunity because nowadays people prefer to eat healthier food with the illusion that the so-called healthy food can always make them healthy. We think that providing modern healthy food can both increase the turnover of our company and the image of our own brand. At the same time, we are aiming to change the stereotyped perception of consumers toward fast food. There are more people emphasizing on efficiency these days. Therefore, they want faster-serving foods. This potato noodle will be served like a fast food. Thus, this will serve the benefit seek by customers. According to the our daily observing, people nowadays prefer new fast food concept, they are totally bored with traditional fast food like fries, burgers etc. Our new concept of fast food may refresh their discerning taste. Potato is one of agriculture products that have an elastic demand. Therefore, supplier cannot exploit the company by increasing their price, as supply of agriculture product always exceeds the demand in the economy. Threats There are too many competitors in Hong Kong, and we always have to face substitute’s threat. For example, the other fast food provider, noodle stalls and etc. ? 8? It will be hard to make the public to change their stereotyped perception toward fast food, which is â€Å"fast food equals junk food and potato equals fats†. If this is not well encountered, we could not deeply develop this new market. In the process of developing our new product, we also have to face the dietary of modern world people: they always reject fast food. And this will force us to think of different efficient ways to change this kind of dietary. Branding and Positioning NYF has got reputable brand equity. Since its establishment back in 1983, NYF has been established as a fresh potato fries provider, offering exceptional fresh and best fries in town. We would be using the manufacturer’s brand, NYF for our new product. We are introducing a new product to the existing brand, the potato noodle. Thus, it would be a brand extension for NYF. This would save a little cost as a result of slightly less advertising cost. It would take less time than normal new brand development for consumers to accept our product. This is because existing loyal consumers are more likely to accept and try out our new product. Besides, the brand extension is also consistent with the current brand’s image, which is providing fresh potato-related products to consumer. In relation to managing the product life cycle, we believe it would have a relative longer life than normal fast food, as it is less likely to trigger any health issue as compared to other fast food. This can be supported by the long history of noodles restaurant in Hong ? 9? Kong, which are still earning significantly large profit at present. In addition, NYF marketing team will be innovative in future to invent more flavours to the potato noodle in order to extend its maturity stage of product life cycle. Our positioning statement would be â€Å"To customers who need fast, healthy and delicious food, we cook the best potato noodles†. Our positioning strategy will focus on the following two differentiations: Product Differentiation In contrast to the prevailing unhealthy, fried fast food, we developed the new fast food concept: the potato noodles. We choose the best potatoes and specialize in delicious, healthy potato-made noodle, which is different from McDonald and KFCs fried chicken. Potato noodles will fulfill the eating habit of Asian people and those who like to eat potato Image Differentiation New York Fries will continue to use yellow sunflower as their symbol, which indicated that the food is made with sunflower oil, which is healthy. Yellow sunflower also conveys the information of brightness, happiness, and loveliness to pleasure our customers. Overall Positioning Our product is offering the â€Å"more for same†. We are offering the more added value noodle at market price for other noodles. NYF will be able to have slightly more advantages in cost control as we have been in this business for years. We are able to offer a distinctive quality of noodle as compared to our competitors, other noodle providing restaurants. ? 10? Pricing The market our company operates in is a monopolistic competition market where there are many buyers and sellers trading with differentiated offers. Product differentiations are particularly essential in order to achieve high turnover. We are setting our price at market price so that consumers would purchase our products rather than the competitors. Market penetration pricing is a suitable pricing strategy for our new product. This is because consumers are not very aware of our company. In order to attract a large number of buyers, it is better for us to set a low price to gain a larger market share quickly. Once the consumers are confident and more loyal to our product, we can then evaluate and raise the price to increase our profit margin in future. Initially, we would propose that the price for a bowl of standard potato-noodle would be charged at around HKD$25-HKD$35. Promotion This promotional strategy will last for 3 years as there are three stages that we want to achieve from time to time. Firstly, in the Stage–Brand Recognition: advertising and sale promotion and buzz marketing are crucial to enhance people’s recognition toward NYF. Advertising: in lifestyle and fashion magazine and on buses: We want to advertise in some local magazine, for instance, Readers’ Digest and Milk. Since the above magazines are well circulated in Hong Kong, the readers are mostly working classes or even adolescent who are our targeted customers. Compared to ? 11? advertising in some TV channels, advertising in magazines is a cheaper method to approach our potential customers. It can also lower our promotional cost. Also we need to increase the exposure of our brand name. Advertising in outlook of buses is one of our promotional means. It is not only inexpensive, but it also spreads our messages to a huge audience. Online banners on strategic websites: Nowadays, internet is a bridge to communication. People use it as an information channel to get the first-hand information, especially in some forums, for examples, Uwants and Discuss. It is hoped that the online banners on these two forums could get people’s attention. Sale promotion and buzz marketing Our company will offer some sample tasting of potato noodles outside our branches for the first week of selling. Participates are required to fill in the evaluation form after tasting for further improvement. The cost of sample tasting is low. It could also attract more potential customers to try our new products. Also we will offer price packs in first month after the first selling. This price packs mainly aims at stimulating our sale and attracting more customers. As one month after the first selling, people may lose their curiosity to try our new products, therefore, launching price packs can help customers’ lower their defensive to the new products. The price packs can be launched for a year until the start of the second stage of promotion. ? 12? Second Stage would be Brand Knowledge. The amount of advertisements will be sharply decreased and the format of the ads will have slightly changes. We will focus on the public relations in order to build up the company image in the community. Informative advertising in lifestyle and fashion magazine Milk and Readers’ Digest will be continued to act as our communication platform. We will invite some gastronomes and editors to try on our new products and write some commentary and recommendation in order to attract more new customers. Public Relations in continuing the donation to National Kids Cancer Ride: NYF has been longed established the donation to National Kids Cancer Ride. There will be three days of selling in August where all sales revenue will be all donated to National Kids Cancer Ride. Also, we will organize a range of fundraising activities for Children’s Cancer Foundation, which is a local charity organization. Hong Kong people concern about whether the company is ethical or not. It is believed that the donation for these organizations can act as differentiation with other similar fast food shops in Hong Kong. Third Stage is the Brand Preference. Advertising and public relations will be continuously launched. It is hoped that all the promotional means could be deep-root in many Hong Kong people’s mind in order to help people remember the brand of NYF and choose it as the first priority in comparison with other fast food shops in the local. We will advertise in the Cable TV because it is cheaper than TVB and have more potential customers than ATV. Wewe will emphasize on our strengths in order to compete with ? 13? other prevailing products. Although the cost of the broadcast in TV channel is relatively high, it can reach many audiences. From a psychological research, when the same picture is broadcasted on the TV nonstop, it simulates peoples’ purchasing power. In relation to public relation, we will continue the donation to National Kids Cancer Ride and Children’s Cancer Foundation. Charity works will be continued because it not only acts as a promotional means, but it is also a social responsibility. For Sale promotion and buzz marketing We will continue sample tasting. After collecting evaluation forms from the first stage of promotion, we will amend it and launch a second round for customers to try on. The sample tasting will launch at the third year. It is hoped that different sauces of potato noodle enhance the variety of the existing products. In addition, we aim at boosting the sales of potato noodles and providing opportunities for new customers to try our product in a cheap price through price packs Place (Marketing Channel) NYF adopted the vertical marketing system (VMS) as its channel structure. We understand that cooperation and efficiency between channel members are important in order to deliver our products to customers smoothly. Therefore, we use contractual VMS which is a franchise system (service firm-sponsored retailer franchise system), NYF will grant franchise to retailer shops in different parts of the world to operate business. This system is unified; coordination and conflicts management are attained through contracts and agreement. ? 14? NYF is popular in Canada and US but not in Asia. The limited number of branches in Hong Kong makes it inconvenient and inaccessible for customers. Our products cannot reach our customers efficiently. Therefore, we have a new distribution strategy. In order to satisfy customer needs, we will open 2 branches in Central and Admiralty, and 1 in Causeway Bay, which are accessible for white collar working class as well as teenagers. We can provide them quick and healthy potato noodles during their limited lunch time. As these places have high pedestrian flow, this can easily attract customer’s attention and raise NYF popularity. Morever, NYF uses selective distribution, which has good market coverage and a moderate cost. As from the franchise agreement, opening more branches are inevitable in the coming years. In this way, our new product, potato noodle can easily reach the targeted customers and at the same time with more control and less cost than intensive distribution. For international distribution channel, NYF will first introduce potato noodles in Hong Kong and other parts of Southeast Asia, we will test the response from customers and collect feedback. Then we will continue to improve our product. When our product becomes mature, we will introduce potato noodle to Canada and US. We will establish potato noodle as an exotic, oriental and healthy fast food. ? 15? Appendix I Attached result of our online research (survey). There were in total 60 participants to our survey conduct. ? 16? ? 17? Apendix II (online survey questions) Cognition of New York Fries Author: yyy We are doing a marketing plan on a fast food company New York Fries. Our goal is to investigate the Hong Kong people of cognition toward New York Fries. It would be much appreciated if you could kindly spare some time to fill in the following questionnaire. Your information provide for academic purpose will be kept confidential. It will be discarded properly. ? 18? Thank you. End ? 19?

Statement for application to university Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Statement for application to university - Essay Example I could not especially imagine leaving all of my friends and relationships with professors behind. However, I arrived at Illinois Institute of Technology(IIT) which was ranked as one if the top ten overall best Colleges among the United States National University. Being a private university, Illinois Institute of Technology provide a wide variety of science courses. This includes; engineering degree programs, architecture, food process engineering, telecommunication and software engineering. Following discussion with our dean professor, I realized that Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) would be the best college to prepare me for my civil engineering career. I believe that in Illinois Institute of Technology, I will be able to gain first-hand experience through their internships andcampus academic launches and events. I discovered that each year, the campus organizes a launch in which students can showcase their homemade devices as they catapult their invention along the streets of Chicago. In addition, the school provides a technological curriculum where students get distinctive and relevant education in a scientific and technological environment where professional knowledge creation and innovation is advocated and emphasized. In addition, the university has launched a system where students can experience interprofessional projects programs like last year, one of the college’s student launched a perfect power system which basically tried to eliminate costly outages, power disturbances that were power related and alternatively control greenhouse gas secretion. Learning in IIT will make me a graduate not only on a viable job prospect, but also as a well-rounded and learned adult who can make diverse and valuable contributions to my community. Illinois Iinstitute of Technology would be the learning institution for

Week 8 discussion posts 6500 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 8 discussion posts 6500 - Assignment Example You can introduce this idea to your preceptor and if it is viable you can implement it, I hope it will be a solution to one of your challenges. Your post on this week’s discussion topic is great and inspiring. It is encouraging to learn that your objectives were achieved as early as you started working on your project. I have great interest in reading your posts because I believe your project; â€Å"Reducing Acting-Out Behavior with Therapeutic Communication† is based on a very important subject in the medical world. On your challenges, I believe that you already have a solution, you will be able to attract a willing audience once you utilize the knowledge you have which you have mentioned in your post. â€Å"It requires me to not only think about what I am teaching, but also how students are perceiving what I am teaching†¦ no one group of learners is going to all learn†¦ requires a variety of strategies in order to be effective (Billings & Halstead, 2012).† I believe if become more diverse such as changing the environment or using different activities such as games to educate the learners you will be able to finish the rest of the project. I enjoyed reading your post and I believe your project is on the right track as you near the end. Reading your post, made me realize that you are really enjoying your practicum project. This is the first step towards success, as you get to do ‘your best at your best’. It is always important to plan about the project evaluation early as this is a very important step in realizing your objectives. I understand that you have already come up with the â€Å"clinical evaluation tool† that you will use during evaluation; similar to my project, I have also adopted by creating my own evaluation tools. This gives you ample time to go through it with your preceptor and eliminate any errors. Simulation, is the next best thing to real practice, my advice would be to take it positively and see yourself in the

Social and Cultural Changes after the First and Second World Wars Essay

Social and Cultural Changes after the First and Second World Wars - Essay Example The political situation was polarized with Soviet Union focusing on national security and the US spreading the democracy that led to repartition of Europe (McCauley, 2008). With one form of totalitarianism defeated, with the ashes of Nazism literally scattered among the living and dead of that conflict, the tensions between East and West renewed themselves. In some respects, the Cold War was inevitable: the incompatibility between communism and capitalism, the differing opinions about the rights of man, cultural and ideological disagreements about the most profound issues including religion, personal identity, freedom of assembly, democracy -- all of these differences would (and did) come to the fore between the United States, Western Europe and the Soviet Union. And all of these differences were party the outcome of the WWI and WWII. The brutal reality of the wars contributed to the development of medical thought. A lot of soldiers were wounded and injured; their treatment became the upfront priority for the countries involved in the conflict as they have already lost a lot of men. The field of plastic surgery was rapidly developing as many men needed immediate treatment. (Hunt, 2009). Psychological damages that soldiers received also needed assistance. The work of psychologists cannot be underestimated (Merriman, 2010). All these demands forced the medical field to evolve and develop at an unprecedented speed. The field of vaccination industry was developing and was as effective as never before. Vaccine innovations were able to tackle such diseases as influenza and pneumococcal pneumonia that took millions of lives in the past. The work of doctors and scientists contributed to the mass production and usage of penicillin and developed vaccines that were able to prevent various diseases across the world (Hoyt, 2006).

Uniform Civil Code Essay Example for Free

Uniform Civil Code Essay India is a secular democratic country. Secularism means equal rights to everybody. The rights should not differ on the basis of sex or religion. The fact that India is having different Civil Code for different persons based on their religion does not suite its secular state status. The two major laws that are governing the lives of most of the people of our country is the Hindu and Muslim law (Sharia law). Both these laws have varied approach to civil rights. The marriage and divorce in Muslim law is one of controversial points that is male supportive. The concept of saying â€Å"Talak† three times will result in divorce without even the consent of the female partner. The alimony also needs to be given only for three months after divorce. These things are completely against the rights of women. The guardianship is also a controversial issue. According to both the above said laws. The first guardian is the father and then the mother is the second guardian. This is completely against the right of the women towards her child. The Muslim law allows a male child to get 3 times the female child of their family’s property. The HHiHindu law while it was not even asking for a share for the female child was later modified to allow equal partition of the wealth. There is an article in our constitution that allows the old British laws to exist unless otherwise notified and the law allowing everybody to follow any religion of their wish. It is not the time for our government to rob in religious leaders, scholars and law makers to a common table and devise a new common civil code with the goal of giving equal rights to everybody.

Working Capital Management And Profitability

Working Capital Management And Profitability Working capital management (WCM) refers to management of a firms current assets and current liabilities, which is also a primary function that support firm daily operation such as used to funds its stock, credit sales, and credit purchases. The management of working capital is important in order to maintain its liquidity in day-to-day operation; to ensure it operation is running smoothly and meets its obligation (Eljelly, 2004). A firm without sufficient cash flow will have difficulties to survive in the future as it will be unable to pay its obligations. Therefore, if a firm does not manage their liquidity position well, it will affect firms growth, survival and profitability (Shafii, 2010). The trade-off between profitability and liquidity are essential, however most of the firms ultimate objective is to maximise profit, while disregarding the dilemma of liquidity. One objective should not be cost of the other because both of them have their important (Raheman Nasr, 2007). Jose et al. (1996) also point out this fact saying firms with glowing long term prospects and healthy bottom lines do not remain solvent without good liquidity management. For these reason WCM should be given proper consideration. However, the management of working capital is complex as it needs to manage a number of different components which are inter-linked to each others. The management needs to concern on account receivables, account payables, inventories and cash, as altering one component will affect the others. Therefore, firms need to identify the optimal level of working capital that can maximise firms value (Afza and Nazir, 2007). According to Ganesan (2007), optimization of working capita l means minimisation of related costs and maximisation of related income. Efficient WCM will increase firms free cash flow, which in turn increases the firms growth opportunities and return to shareholders. Consequently, efficient WCM is crucial in order to maintaining firms survival, liquidity, solvency and profitability. Thus, WCM has enormous influence to firms performance. Research Question Does the past evidence showing a relationship between WCM and profitability hold true in Malaysian Listed Companies -manufacturing and services industries. 1.2 AIM The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between WCM and profitability in a sample of Malaysian listed companies by looking at the manufacturing and services industries. The cash conversion cycle (CCC) will be the indicator of firms liquidity which is a comprehensive measure, so that able to identify the most important variable that will affect CCC for two different industries. 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY Examine the relationship between the CCC and firm profitability. Examine the relationship between CCC components which are account receivables, account payable and inventory turnover period with firms profitability. Investigate whether the two industries have the same effect on the relations. 1.4 RATIONAL OF THIS STUDY Extensive empirical research on WCM has been carried out around the world widely and those researches had given different results on the relationship between WCM and profitability. As the studies on the data undertake from Ernst Young, 2010 reveals that WCM vary across different industries. The study also gives significant evidence that different firms or sectors adopt different approaches to WCM. So, different firms will use different approaches and strategy to manage their working capital, such as those firms that is less competitive will choose to minimise their receivable in order to increase their cash flow. While for those firms that depends on supplier will maximise their payable account. Therefore, the impact of various working capital mechanisms on firms performance from Malaysia perspective might be different due to divergence business environment and culture between other countries. Besides that, there are few factors that may influence firm working capital such as nature of business, production policy, production cycle, credit policy, and availability of supply (Rama, 2009). Nature of Business The nature of business between different industries or firms is different. Thus, working capital requirement needed, also different among different industries or firm. For example, manufacturing is the productions of the product where the inventory can be keep in the warehouse. While services are the services provided to customer which cannot be stored. It also does not have investment in either raw materials, work in progress (WIP) or finished goods. Besides that, it also involves in immediate realization of cash after the services are provided, which means there will be less accounts receivables is exists. In here, it can be believed that services will have lower working capital requirement. [low wc, more risk n return] This is further proven by John Louie Ramos Production Policy The management of hospitality capacity (inventory) is difficult as compared to manufacturing firm due to fluctuating demand pattern. For example, for service industry their inventory is room availability. The number of rooms in a hotel is fixed, once the room is vacant, they will lose the chances of earning money and the inventory during the period is wasted. Meanwhile, the services provided to customer cannot be store. Besides that, if the demand for the room is more than supply, they had to lose the income as they cannot produce the inventory based on demand. While for the manufacturing firm, they can produce their inventory based on the seasonal demand. They can produce more inventories during the peak demand and less during off-seasons. Then, the firm will have low working capital during off-season. While for those firm that have fixed inventory production policy which means produce the same quantity of inventory to meet the peak demand, then the firm will have large accumulation of inventory during the off-seasons. The large accumulation of inventory will increase the amount of working capital. Thus, the production policy will affect the firm and industry working capital requirement. Production Cycle The time and process involved in manufacture of goods will also affect firm working capital requirement as more fund is needed to invest, in order for the goods to be completed in time and in good quality. Credit Policy Credit policy also one of the factors that will affect firm or industry working capital requirements which it determine the firms receivables. For services industry, it will have low working capital as it involved cash sales while for manufacturing the working capital requirement will depend on the firms credit policy. If the firm offer short credit period, then it will only need low working capital and vice versa. Availability of supply The availability of inventory such as raw materials will affect firm working capital requirements. If the availability of raw materials is easily to obtain then firm can maintain low inventory which mean only need low working capital. However, if the level of supply is hard to predict or obtain then the firm had to keep a large amount of inventory in their warehouse in order to avoid the shortage of production. Thus, the firm need large amount of working capital. Therefore, this study is to examine the differences of the WCM between to the two industries and relationship between liquidity and profitability in Malaysia listed company. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT Working capital represents safety cushion for providers of short term funds of the firm. Without a proper management of working capital, it will have cash shortages and will result in difficulty in paying its obligations, especially in the competitive business worlds nowadays (FPR, 2010). Besides that nowadays, most companies normally do not think of improving liquidity management until them faces financial crisis or becoming on the edge of bankruptcy. In order to make sound decision and survive in the long term, firm must combine strategic planning with comprehensive data by using both financial and non-financial data. Working capital and liquidity management is important for all businesses either are small, medium or large firm. As cash is the most liquid asset in a firm, therefore efficient liquidity management involves planning and controlling firms current assets meets its current liabilities is essential so that firm will not excessive invest in short term finance and avoid risk of inability to meet its short term obligation. Furthermore an efficient WCM enable firm to minimise the need for external financing as the external financing comprises of financial risk. By referring to the risk and return theory (Pettengill et al, 1995), higher risk investments will result in higher returns and vice versa. Hence, firms with low liquidity of working capital may have higher risk then high profitability. Conversely, high liquidity of working capital may face low risk then low profitability. Therefore, firm must take into consideration all the current assets and current liabilities when making financial decision making and try to balance the risk and return. As a result, in addition to profitability, liquidity management is vital for ongoing concern. Working capital management comprises of inventory management, cash management and credit management. A detailed of those components will be discussed below: 2.1.1 INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Inventory management is essential for businesses, without proper control and management of the inventory will lead to serious issues facing by the firm. For example, if the inventory does not managed properly or in an efficient manner, it may delay firms production process, lost of important customer, customer dissatisfaction, and or result in working capital curtailment (Richard A, 1978). Inventory consists of raw material, WIP and finished goods (Adeyemi, 2010). By referring to (Marilyn, 2006) raw materials are used to make production scheduling easier, to take advantage of price changes and quantity discounts, and to hedge against supply shortages. If raw material inventories were not held, purchases would have to be made continuously at the rate of production. This would not only mean high ordering costs and less quantity discounts, but also production interruptions when raw materials cannot be procured in time. WIP serves to make the production process smoother and more efficien t. Besides that, it will provide a buffer between the various production processes. Finished goods have to be held to provide immediate services to customers and to stabilise production by separating production and sales activities. Firm can improve the inventory turnover or shortening the inventory turnover period by speeding up the WIP into finished goods, however it cannot be fully transformed. While for the raw material and finished goods is depend on management decision. Thus, it can be said every firms inventory turnover level is significantly different from each other. High inventory holding in a firm will reduce the risk of shortage and decrease the ordering cost. However, hold too much inventories on hand there may be a risk of inventory obsolesces (Van Horne, 1995). Therefore, firm must find a trade-off between those risks by discovery an optimal inventory level. An optimal inventory level can be measured using the economic order quantity (EOQ) as it minimise the annual ho lding costs and ordering costs (Adeyemi, 2010). The formula for EOQ is as below: A = Annual demand Cp = Cost to place an order Ch = Cost of holding an inventory in a year Besides that, EOQ can also be explained using graph in the Figure 1. The graph is plotted for total ordering cost, total holding cost and total cost for the quantities ordered. The point at which the line of total ordering cost intersects with the total holding cost is the EOQ. At the point of EOQ, it will show the minimum costs that will incurred when the firm placing the total amount of quantities. The graph also shows that the cost of ordering is decreased when the order quantity is increased. Then, the holding cost will increase when the order quantity is increased. In addition, when the order quantity is increased or decreased, the total cost will increased and decreased as well, where the total cost is the sum of total ordering cost and total holding cost. Hence, the optimal level of inventory cost is at the point of EOQ. According to Abraham (2005) inventory for services industries consists of two kinds of perishable inventory. One is room availability and the other is food beverages. The identification of fast and slowing moving of these inventories is within the total inventory is essential in order to avoid insufficient inventory. He also states that an optimal inventory is important in order to have a proper management of the inventory as those unused inventory will lead the firm suffer a lost. 2.1.2 CASH MANAGEMENT According to Van Horne (1995) cash management is involves managing the monies of the firm in order to maximize cash availability and interest income on any idle funds. Cash management also include the trade receivable of a firm which play an important role in managing working capital. By improving the trade receivable routine more efficient, firm can reached optimal receivables by having adequate credit policy and collection procedure. A credit policy specifies requirements to value the worthiness of customers and a collection procedure provides guidelines to collect unpaid invoices that will reduce delays in outstanding receivables (Richards Laughlin, 1980). An efficient cash management is essential as it can be an instrumental in preventing losing of cash, maintain sufficient cash to made payment and prevents unnecessary large amounts of cash from being held idle in banks account that produce little or no revenue. 2.1.3 CREDIT MANAGEMENT Lastly, the optimal payables can be achieved by extending its trade credit from supplier. Simona and Paul (2007) state that trade credit is a substitute financing choice of short term borrowing, where trade credit is free while short term borrowing is costly as it needs to incur interest cost. For example, when firm extends its credit period from suppliers it will save the cost of short term borrowings. This means that an increased in account payables, will lead to a decrease in the short term borrowing costs. However, by delaying the payments to supplier will damage the firms reputation and loss some of the cash discounts offered by supplier for early settlements. 2.2 LIQUIDITY MEASURES Corporate liquidity is examined from two distinctive dimensions either static or dynamic views (George, 1997; and Lancaster et al., 1999). 2.2.1 CURRENT AND QUICK RATIO The static view is normally based on traditional measure of current ratio and quick ratio which is calculated based on information at the balance sheet and incorporates no cash flow variables. The underlying behind why these two ratios are well-known in used is due to its simplicity. Current ratio is defined as the relationship between currents assets and current liabilities. It is calculated by dividing the total of the current assets by total of the current liabilities. The current ratio represent margin of safety to the firms creditor, an index to the firm stability. While for quick ratio is the ratio of liquid assets to current liabilities. Kamath (1989) argues that the information generated from the ratios is inadequate to measure the liquidity and future cash flow due to their static nature which measures liquidity at a given point of time. George (1997) assert that it will be more appropriate and accurate to evaluate effectiveness of WCM by CCC, rather than the traditional mea sures of liquidity current ratio and quick ratio. 2.2.2 CASH CONVERSION CYCLE (CCC) Whereas dynamic CCC measures ongoing liquidity from the firms operation is define as more comprehensive measure of working capital and as a supplement to current ratio and quick ratio (Richards and Laughlin, 1980). CCC shows the time lag between expenditure for the purchases of raw materials and the collection of sales of finished goods (Schilling, 1996). This CCC measures also has been highly recommended by Kamath (1989), and others. CCC is a measure for the efficiency of WCM as it indicates how quickly the current assets are converting into cash. CCC comprise three components of days inventory outstanding (DIO), days sales outstanding (DSO) and days payables outstanding (DPO) [CCC = DIO+DSO-DPO]. DIO is a key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its inventory. It is calculated by inventory/cost of sales x 365 days. A decrease in the DIO represent an improvement, increase is deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). DSO is the key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its account receivables. It formula to calculate is account receivables/sales x 365days. A decrease in DSO represents an improvement, whereas increase represents deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). DPO is the key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its trade payables. It is calculated by trade payable/cost of sales x 365days. For DPO, an increase in days represents an improvement, whereas decrease indicates deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). The traditional view on CCC and profitability highlight that the shorter the CCC, the superior the firm profitability. The firm can shorten their CCC by improving the inventory turnover, collects cash from receivables more quickly and slowing down the payments to suppliers. This will increase the efficiency of firm internal operation and result in greater profitability (Mohammad, 2010). This can be seen in the case of Dell manufacturer in American, which it mainly business is sales of its own brand (Dell) computer and computer accessories through internet and open door sales. Their primary focus is on student market and home user. Richard (2003) had analyse on the Dells working capital showing that the increase in inventory turnover and receivable turnover days were affect Dells overall profitability. Later in the year 1997, Dell had made some changes on its business operation by only producing those computers when the order is placing by customers and thus, the company able to reduc e its CCC to negative working capital due to low inventory turnover. The negative CCC show that Dell able to collect payments from customers before they made payment to their supplier. On the other hand, shortening the CCC could harm firms profitability as reducing the inventory conversion period could increase the shortage cost, reducing the receivable collection periods could makes the companys lousing its good credit customers, and lengthening the payable period could damage the firms credit reputation. Therefore, shorter cash conversion cycle associated with high opportunity cost, and longer cash conversion cycle associated with high carrying cost. By achieving the optimal levels of inventory, receivable, and payable will minimize both carrying cost and opportunity cost of inventory, receivable, and payable and maximises sales, and profitability of firms. In this regards, an optimal cash conversion cycle as more accurate and comprehensive measure of working capital management. Schilling (1996) mentions optimum liquidity position, which is minimum level of liquidity necessary to support a given level of business activity. Briefly, he says it is critical to deplo y resources between working capital and capital investment, because the return on investment is usually less than the return on capital investment. Therefore, deploying resources on working capital as much as to maintain optimum liquidity position is necessary. Then he sets up the relationship between CCC and minimum liquidity required such that if the CCC lengthens, the minimum liquidity required increases; conversely, that if the CCC shortens, the minimum liquidity required decreases. 2.3 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE There are numerous empirical research had done on the relationship between WCM and profitability in different countries and industries by using different variable selection for analysis. Some of the research prove that there is a positive relationship between profitability and CCC such as Dell, however there also had research shows that there are negatively related. Richards and Laughlin (1980) concluded that there is a positive relationship between the current and quick ratios and the cash conversion cycle. Besides that, Chowdhury and Amin (2007) also had found positive correlation between working capital and profitability which examine on the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh. The study done by Lazaridis and Tryfonidis (2006) using the sample of listed company from Athens Stock Exchange for the period 2001-2004 showed that there is a significant relationship between CCC and profitability, which use gross operating profit as a measure of profitability. It same apply for Ganesan (2007), analysis on the WCM efficiency in telecommunication equipment industry, found that there is negative relationship between working capital and profitability. It can be said that management of working capital have significant impact on profitability and liquidity in different countries and industries. Besides that, an empirical research on Pakistani firms done by Raheman and Nasr, (2007) with a sample of 94 firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange from period 1999-2004, shows that there is a negative relationship between variables of WCM and debt with profitability of the firm. In addition, a study in Indias hospital for the period 2005-2006 by Christopher and Kamalavalli, (2010) the correlations and regression analysis signifying that working capital component namely current ratio, cash turnover ratio, current assets to operating income and leverage negatively influence profitability of the firms. Lastly, the recent study in 2009 by Uyar (2009), he used the ANOVA and Pearson correlation to analyse the relationship between CCC and return on asset for the firm listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange for the year 2007. The research showed that there is a significant negative correlation between those two variables. Belt (1985) examined for US companies the trends of cash conversion cycle and its components during the period 1950-1983, for those lines of businesses for which Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining and Trade Corporations (QFR) . He found that retailing and wholesaling firms both had cash conversion cycles shorter than those of manufacturing firms. Mining firms had the shortest cash conversion cycle because this type of industry has the longest payment deferral period of all the major business types. Besley and Meyer (1987) evaluated empirically the interrelationships among the working capital accounts and cash conversion cycle, the firms industry classification and the rate of inflation for US companies for the period 1969-1983. Using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient they found that the cash conversion cycle was most correlated with the average age of inventory and least correlated with the age of spontaneous credit. The conclusion suggests that inventory ac tivity is the most important input to the cash conversion cycle. The age of inventory, the average collection period and the age of spontaneous credit proved to be highly correlated. The cash conversion cycle and its components for the examination period differed from industry to industry, but did not vary from year to year. By looking at the empirical literature on WCM, there is limited research study on the consequences of WCM from Malaysias firm perspectives. Irene Lee (2007) research results show that the Malaysian public listed firms have positive relationship between profitability and working capital to a certain extent. Besides that, the recent study by Mohammad (2010) explores the relation between WCM and firms performance. He measures the relationship by selecting 172 listed companies in Bursa Malaysia for the period 2003-2007. Using the Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis, he found significant negative associations between working capital variables with firms market value and profitability. Therefore, he highlights the importance of managing working capital requirements to ensure an improvement in firms market value and profitability and must consider the working capital when making companys strategic. It can be seen from the above that many studies have done on the WCM, its component and profitability by using different variable to test those relationship. From those studies, different countries, industries and strategies gives different results, some are positively related between WCM and profitability while some are negatively related. Since the previous studies of WCM in Malaysia, is focusing on the relationship between WCM and profitability. Therefore, in studies will further study on the relation of the both variables by making comparison on the two listed industries of manufacturing and services industries in Malaysia. 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The objective of this study is to look at one parts of financial management which known as WCM with reference to Malaysia. Here, will see the relationship between WCM practices and its effects on profitability of two industries in Malaysia; 16 firms listed on main board of Bursa Malaysia for the period of three years from 2007 to 2009. This section of the study will discuss on the sample selection, variables, and statistical techniques that will be used to examine the relationship between firms WCM and profitability. 3.1 DATA SET SAMPLE In this study secondary data; firms financial statements will be used to examine the research question. Those secondary data will be collected from Bursa Malaysia. A sample of eight companies will be randomly select for both manufacturing and services industries for the period of three years from 2007-2009. The reason for selecting this period was that latest data that will be available for investigation. Manufacturing and services industries are selected for this study because they reveal district difference in term of nature and management of the business. The services industries have a seasonal period and profit as they unable to predict the sales and demand from customers as services industries are people-oriented and people-driven, it is more difficult to effectively automate and control the service costs than in other non-services business sectors. Whereas the inventory for the manufacturing can be stored in the warehouse in order to avoid shortage but for the services industri es unable to stored their capacity (inventory) as it will affect their firms profitability. Therefore, a comparison of the WCM between the two industries will be look at in this study. Primary data will not be used as the data that has not been gathered before and the collection of data is time consuming, and high cost. Besides that, the primary data is not able to measure the firms financial strength and weaknesses. The measurement of firms financial wealth can only be measures and compare by using quantitative data. In addition, this study is to examine the relationship between WCM and profitability which required the quantitative information. 3.2 VARIABES This study had identified key variables that will influence Malaysia firms WCM. Choice of variables is influenced by previous study on WCM and also to further study on the previous study on Belgians WCM by Deloof. CCC will be used as a comprehensive measure of WCM which also used as independent variables. CCC is simply DSO plus DIO  less  DPO. Profitability is measured by gross operating income (GOI), which is defined as sales minus cost of sales, and divided by total assets minus financial assets. Why it was divided by total assets minus financial assets? As from the list of companies that are randomly selected from Bursa Malaysia, their financial asset is a significant part of its total assets, where financial asset include cash and bank balances, stock and securities that can be readily converted into cash. This also the reason why return on assets is not considered as a measure of profitability in this research, as if firm has mainly financial assets in its balance sheet; its operating activities will contribute little to the overall return on its assets. Besides that, sales growth ([this years sales previous years sales]/previous years sales) will be used as control variable in the regression analysis. 3.3 HYPOTHESIS TESTING As the objectives of this study are: Examine the relationship between WCM and profitability. Examine relationship between the DSO, DIO, DPO and firms profitability. Investigate whether the two industries have the same effect on the relations. The following hypothesis will be formulated and attempt to find statistical evidence for the two industries to support those hypothesis. Hypothesis H1: The CCC is negatively related to firms profitability (ROA) higher CCC, lower the firm profitability and vice versa. Hypothesis H2: Shortening the DSO will increased firms profitability. Hypothesis H3: Shortening the DIO will increased firms profitability. Hypothesis H4: Lengthening the DPO will increased firms profitability. 3.4 ANALYSIS USED IN STUDY In this study, two types of analysis are performed; there are descriptive and quantitative analyses. 3.4.1 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS The initial analysis in this study is descriptive statistic, which will provide detailed information of each relevant variable and describe the relevant aspects of cash conversion cycle. All the relevant variables were calculated using balance sheet value, rather than using market value, it is because the firms financial statement did not provided market value on the variables that is required in this study. Besides that, the measurement of profitability GOI could only be based on value in income statement values as there is no way to measure it at so-called market values. In addition, if the market values are used, there will a question on which date the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"market values are referred to. Thus, in this study the book values of the variables in the firms financial statement will be used. 3.4.2 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS Two methods had been applied in quantitative analysis. Firstly, correlation analysis is carried out, which specifically to measure the possible linear relationship between different variables under consideration. Secondly, is regression analysis, which is to estimate the relationship between liquidity, profitability and other selected variables. We have used Pooled Ordinary Least Squares and Generalized Least Squares (cross section weights) methods for analysis. We used panel data in a pooled regression, where time-series and cross-sectional observations were combined and estimated. In other words, several cross-sectional units were observed over a period of time in a panel data setting. For this purpose of analysis the E views software was used to analyze financial data and especially in case of pooled data. 4. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION The results of the two types of analysis will be discussed below. 4.1 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS Initially, descriptive statistics is the first step analysis in this research. It will provide a useful summary of central tendency; mean and median, and variability such as standard deviation, minimum and maximum. Table 1 and Table 2 presents descriptive statistics for the components of working capital efficiency for eight manufacturing firms and s Working Capital Management And Profitability Working Capital Management And Profitability Working capital management (WCM) refers to management of a firms current assets and current liabilities, which is also a primary function that support firm daily operation such as used to funds its stock, credit sales, and credit purchases. The management of working capital is important in order to maintain its liquidity in day-to-day operation; to ensure it operation is running smoothly and meets its obligation (Eljelly, 2004). A firm without sufficient cash flow will have difficulties to survive in the future as it will be unable to pay its obligations. Therefore, if a firm does not manage their liquidity position well, it will affect firms growth, survival and profitability (Shafii, 2010). The trade-off between profitability and liquidity are essential, however most of the firms ultimate objective is to maximise profit, while disregarding the dilemma of liquidity. One objective should not be cost of the other because both of them have their important (Raheman Nasr, 2007). Jose et al. (1996) also point out this fact saying firms with glowing long term prospects and healthy bottom lines do not remain solvent without good liquidity management. For these reason WCM should be given proper consideration. However, the management of working capital is complex as it needs to manage a number of different components which are inter-linked to each others. The management needs to concern on account receivables, account payables, inventories and cash, as altering one component will affect the others. Therefore, firms need to identify the optimal level of working capital that can maximise firms value (Afza and Nazir, 2007). According to Ganesan (2007), optimization of working capita l means minimisation of related costs and maximisation of related income. Efficient WCM will increase firms free cash flow, which in turn increases the firms growth opportunities and return to shareholders. Consequently, efficient WCM is crucial in order to maintaining firms survival, liquidity, solvency and profitability. Thus, WCM has enormous influence to firms performance. Research Question Does the past evidence showing a relationship between WCM and profitability hold true in Malaysian Listed Companies -manufacturing and services industries. 1.2 AIM The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between WCM and profitability in a sample of Malaysian listed companies by looking at the manufacturing and services industries. The cash conversion cycle (CCC) will be the indicator of firms liquidity which is a comprehensive measure, so that able to identify the most important variable that will affect CCC for two different industries. 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY Examine the relationship between the CCC and firm profitability. Examine the relationship between CCC components which are account receivables, account payable and inventory turnover period with firms profitability. Investigate whether the two industries have the same effect on the relations. 1.4 RATIONAL OF THIS STUDY Extensive empirical research on WCM has been carried out around the world widely and those researches had given different results on the relationship between WCM and profitability. As the studies on the data undertake from Ernst Young, 2010 reveals that WCM vary across different industries. The study also gives significant evidence that different firms or sectors adopt different approaches to WCM. So, different firms will use different approaches and strategy to manage their working capital, such as those firms that is less competitive will choose to minimise their receivable in order to increase their cash flow. While for those firms that depends on supplier will maximise their payable account. Therefore, the impact of various working capital mechanisms on firms performance from Malaysia perspective might be different due to divergence business environment and culture between other countries. Besides that, there are few factors that may influence firm working capital such as nature of business, production policy, production cycle, credit policy, and availability of supply (Rama, 2009). Nature of Business The nature of business between different industries or firms is different. Thus, working capital requirement needed, also different among different industries or firm. For example, manufacturing is the productions of the product where the inventory can be keep in the warehouse. While services are the services provided to customer which cannot be stored. It also does not have investment in either raw materials, work in progress (WIP) or finished goods. Besides that, it also involves in immediate realization of cash after the services are provided, which means there will be less accounts receivables is exists. In here, it can be believed that services will have lower working capital requirement. [low wc, more risk n return] This is further proven by John Louie Ramos Production Policy The management of hospitality capacity (inventory) is difficult as compared to manufacturing firm due to fluctuating demand pattern. For example, for service industry their inventory is room availability. The number of rooms in a hotel is fixed, once the room is vacant, they will lose the chances of earning money and the inventory during the period is wasted. Meanwhile, the services provided to customer cannot be store. Besides that, if the demand for the room is more than supply, they had to lose the income as they cannot produce the inventory based on demand. While for the manufacturing firm, they can produce their inventory based on the seasonal demand. They can produce more inventories during the peak demand and less during off-seasons. Then, the firm will have low working capital during off-season. While for those firm that have fixed inventory production policy which means produce the same quantity of inventory to meet the peak demand, then the firm will have large accumulation of inventory during the off-seasons. The large accumulation of inventory will increase the amount of working capital. Thus, the production policy will affect the firm and industry working capital requirement. Production Cycle The time and process involved in manufacture of goods will also affect firm working capital requirement as more fund is needed to invest, in order for the goods to be completed in time and in good quality. Credit Policy Credit policy also one of the factors that will affect firm or industry working capital requirements which it determine the firms receivables. For services industry, it will have low working capital as it involved cash sales while for manufacturing the working capital requirement will depend on the firms credit policy. If the firm offer short credit period, then it will only need low working capital and vice versa. Availability of supply The availability of inventory such as raw materials will affect firm working capital requirements. If the availability of raw materials is easily to obtain then firm can maintain low inventory which mean only need low working capital. However, if the level of supply is hard to predict or obtain then the firm had to keep a large amount of inventory in their warehouse in order to avoid the shortage of production. Thus, the firm need large amount of working capital. Therefore, this study is to examine the differences of the WCM between to the two industries and relationship between liquidity and profitability in Malaysia listed company. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT Working capital represents safety cushion for providers of short term funds of the firm. Without a proper management of working capital, it will have cash shortages and will result in difficulty in paying its obligations, especially in the competitive business worlds nowadays (FPR, 2010). Besides that nowadays, most companies normally do not think of improving liquidity management until them faces financial crisis or becoming on the edge of bankruptcy. In order to make sound decision and survive in the long term, firm must combine strategic planning with comprehensive data by using both financial and non-financial data. Working capital and liquidity management is important for all businesses either are small, medium or large firm. As cash is the most liquid asset in a firm, therefore efficient liquidity management involves planning and controlling firms current assets meets its current liabilities is essential so that firm will not excessive invest in short term finance and avoid risk of inability to meet its short term obligation. Furthermore an efficient WCM enable firm to minimise the need for external financing as the external financing comprises of financial risk. By referring to the risk and return theory (Pettengill et al, 1995), higher risk investments will result in higher returns and vice versa. Hence, firms with low liquidity of working capital may have higher risk then high profitability. Conversely, high liquidity of working capital may face low risk then low profitability. Therefore, firm must take into consideration all the current assets and current liabilities when making financial decision making and try to balance the risk and return. As a result, in addition to profitability, liquidity management is vital for ongoing concern. Working capital management comprises of inventory management, cash management and credit management. A detailed of those components will be discussed below: 2.1.1 INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Inventory management is essential for businesses, without proper control and management of the inventory will lead to serious issues facing by the firm. For example, if the inventory does not managed properly or in an efficient manner, it may delay firms production process, lost of important customer, customer dissatisfaction, and or result in working capital curtailment (Richard A, 1978). Inventory consists of raw material, WIP and finished goods (Adeyemi, 2010). By referring to (Marilyn, 2006) raw materials are used to make production scheduling easier, to take advantage of price changes and quantity discounts, and to hedge against supply shortages. If raw material inventories were not held, purchases would have to be made continuously at the rate of production. This would not only mean high ordering costs and less quantity discounts, but also production interruptions when raw materials cannot be procured in time. WIP serves to make the production process smoother and more efficien t. Besides that, it will provide a buffer between the various production processes. Finished goods have to be held to provide immediate services to customers and to stabilise production by separating production and sales activities. Firm can improve the inventory turnover or shortening the inventory turnover period by speeding up the WIP into finished goods, however it cannot be fully transformed. While for the raw material and finished goods is depend on management decision. Thus, it can be said every firms inventory turnover level is significantly different from each other. High inventory holding in a firm will reduce the risk of shortage and decrease the ordering cost. However, hold too much inventories on hand there may be a risk of inventory obsolesces (Van Horne, 1995). Therefore, firm must find a trade-off between those risks by discovery an optimal inventory level. An optimal inventory level can be measured using the economic order quantity (EOQ) as it minimise the annual ho lding costs and ordering costs (Adeyemi, 2010). The formula for EOQ is as below: A = Annual demand Cp = Cost to place an order Ch = Cost of holding an inventory in a year Besides that, EOQ can also be explained using graph in the Figure 1. The graph is plotted for total ordering cost, total holding cost and total cost for the quantities ordered. The point at which the line of total ordering cost intersects with the total holding cost is the EOQ. At the point of EOQ, it will show the minimum costs that will incurred when the firm placing the total amount of quantities. The graph also shows that the cost of ordering is decreased when the order quantity is increased. Then, the holding cost will increase when the order quantity is increased. In addition, when the order quantity is increased or decreased, the total cost will increased and decreased as well, where the total cost is the sum of total ordering cost and total holding cost. Hence, the optimal level of inventory cost is at the point of EOQ. According to Abraham (2005) inventory for services industries consists of two kinds of perishable inventory. One is room availability and the other is food beverages. The identification of fast and slowing moving of these inventories is within the total inventory is essential in order to avoid insufficient inventory. He also states that an optimal inventory is important in order to have a proper management of the inventory as those unused inventory will lead the firm suffer a lost. 2.1.2 CASH MANAGEMENT According to Van Horne (1995) cash management is involves managing the monies of the firm in order to maximize cash availability and interest income on any idle funds. Cash management also include the trade receivable of a firm which play an important role in managing working capital. By improving the trade receivable routine more efficient, firm can reached optimal receivables by having adequate credit policy and collection procedure. A credit policy specifies requirements to value the worthiness of customers and a collection procedure provides guidelines to collect unpaid invoices that will reduce delays in outstanding receivables (Richards Laughlin, 1980). An efficient cash management is essential as it can be an instrumental in preventing losing of cash, maintain sufficient cash to made payment and prevents unnecessary large amounts of cash from being held idle in banks account that produce little or no revenue. 2.1.3 CREDIT MANAGEMENT Lastly, the optimal payables can be achieved by extending its trade credit from supplier. Simona and Paul (2007) state that trade credit is a substitute financing choice of short term borrowing, where trade credit is free while short term borrowing is costly as it needs to incur interest cost. For example, when firm extends its credit period from suppliers it will save the cost of short term borrowings. This means that an increased in account payables, will lead to a decrease in the short term borrowing costs. However, by delaying the payments to supplier will damage the firms reputation and loss some of the cash discounts offered by supplier for early settlements. 2.2 LIQUIDITY MEASURES Corporate liquidity is examined from two distinctive dimensions either static or dynamic views (George, 1997; and Lancaster et al., 1999). 2.2.1 CURRENT AND QUICK RATIO The static view is normally based on traditional measure of current ratio and quick ratio which is calculated based on information at the balance sheet and incorporates no cash flow variables. The underlying behind why these two ratios are well-known in used is due to its simplicity. Current ratio is defined as the relationship between currents assets and current liabilities. It is calculated by dividing the total of the current assets by total of the current liabilities. The current ratio represent margin of safety to the firms creditor, an index to the firm stability. While for quick ratio is the ratio of liquid assets to current liabilities. Kamath (1989) argues that the information generated from the ratios is inadequate to measure the liquidity and future cash flow due to their static nature which measures liquidity at a given point of time. George (1997) assert that it will be more appropriate and accurate to evaluate effectiveness of WCM by CCC, rather than the traditional mea sures of liquidity current ratio and quick ratio. 2.2.2 CASH CONVERSION CYCLE (CCC) Whereas dynamic CCC measures ongoing liquidity from the firms operation is define as more comprehensive measure of working capital and as a supplement to current ratio and quick ratio (Richards and Laughlin, 1980). CCC shows the time lag between expenditure for the purchases of raw materials and the collection of sales of finished goods (Schilling, 1996). This CCC measures also has been highly recommended by Kamath (1989), and others. CCC is a measure for the efficiency of WCM as it indicates how quickly the current assets are converting into cash. CCC comprise three components of days inventory outstanding (DIO), days sales outstanding (DSO) and days payables outstanding (DPO) [CCC = DIO+DSO-DPO]. DIO is a key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its inventory. It is calculated by inventory/cost of sales x 365 days. A decrease in the DIO represent an improvement, increase is deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). DSO is the key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its account receivables. It formula to calculate is account receivables/sales x 365days. A decrease in DSO represents an improvement, whereas increase represents deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). DPO is the key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its trade payables. It is calculated by trade payable/cost of sales x 365days. For DPO, an increase in days represents an improvement, whereas decrease indicates deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). The traditional view on CCC and profitability highlight that the shorter the CCC, the superior the firm profitability. The firm can shorten their CCC by improving the inventory turnover, collects cash from receivables more quickly and slowing down the payments to suppliers. This will increase the efficiency of firm internal operation and result in greater profitability (Mohammad, 2010). This can be seen in the case of Dell manufacturer in American, which it mainly business is sales of its own brand (Dell) computer and computer accessories through internet and open door sales. Their primary focus is on student market and home user. Richard (2003) had analyse on the Dells working capital showing that the increase in inventory turnover and receivable turnover days were affect Dells overall profitability. Later in the year 1997, Dell had made some changes on its business operation by only producing those computers when the order is placing by customers and thus, the company able to reduc e its CCC to negative working capital due to low inventory turnover. The negative CCC show that Dell able to collect payments from customers before they made payment to their supplier. On the other hand, shortening the CCC could harm firms profitability as reducing the inventory conversion period could increase the shortage cost, reducing the receivable collection periods could makes the companys lousing its good credit customers, and lengthening the payable period could damage the firms credit reputation. Therefore, shorter cash conversion cycle associated with high opportunity cost, and longer cash conversion cycle associated with high carrying cost. By achieving the optimal levels of inventory, receivable, and payable will minimize both carrying cost and opportunity cost of inventory, receivable, and payable and maximises sales, and profitability of firms. In this regards, an optimal cash conversion cycle as more accurate and comprehensive measure of working capital management. Schilling (1996) mentions optimum liquidity position, which is minimum level of liquidity necessary to support a given level of business activity. Briefly, he says it is critical to deplo y resources between working capital and capital investment, because the return on investment is usually less than the return on capital investment. Therefore, deploying resources on working capital as much as to maintain optimum liquidity position is necessary. Then he sets up the relationship between CCC and minimum liquidity required such that if the CCC lengthens, the minimum liquidity required increases; conversely, that if the CCC shortens, the minimum liquidity required decreases. 2.3 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE There are numerous empirical research had done on the relationship between WCM and profitability in different countries and industries by using different variable selection for analysis. Some of the research prove that there is a positive relationship between profitability and CCC such as Dell, however there also had research shows that there are negatively related. Richards and Laughlin (1980) concluded that there is a positive relationship between the current and quick ratios and the cash conversion cycle. Besides that, Chowdhury and Amin (2007) also had found positive correlation between working capital and profitability which examine on the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh. The study done by Lazaridis and Tryfonidis (2006) using the sample of listed company from Athens Stock Exchange for the period 2001-2004 showed that there is a significant relationship between CCC and profitability, which use gross operating profit as a measure of profitability. It same apply for Ganesan (2007), analysis on the WCM efficiency in telecommunication equipment industry, found that there is negative relationship between working capital and profitability. It can be said that management of working capital have significant impact on profitability and liquidity in different countries and industries. Besides that, an empirical research on Pakistani firms done by Raheman and Nasr, (2007) with a sample of 94 firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange from period 1999-2004, shows that there is a negative relationship between variables of WCM and debt with profitability of the firm. In addition, a study in Indias hospital for the period 2005-2006 by Christopher and Kamalavalli, (2010) the correlations and regression analysis signifying that working capital component namely current ratio, cash turnover ratio, current assets to operating income and leverage negatively influence profitability of the firms. Lastly, the recent study in 2009 by Uyar (2009), he used the ANOVA and Pearson correlation to analyse the relationship between CCC and return on asset for the firm listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange for the year 2007. The research showed that there is a significant negative correlation between those two variables. Belt (1985) examined for US companies the trends of cash conversion cycle and its components during the period 1950-1983, for those lines of businesses for which Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining and Trade Corporations (QFR) . He found that retailing and wholesaling firms both had cash conversion cycles shorter than those of manufacturing firms. Mining firms had the shortest cash conversion cycle because this type of industry has the longest payment deferral period of all the major business types. Besley and Meyer (1987) evaluated empirically the interrelationships among the working capital accounts and cash conversion cycle, the firms industry classification and the rate of inflation for US companies for the period 1969-1983. Using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient they found that the cash conversion cycle was most correlated with the average age of inventory and least correlated with the age of spontaneous credit. The conclusion suggests that inventory ac tivity is the most important input to the cash conversion cycle. The age of inventory, the average collection period and the age of spontaneous credit proved to be highly correlated. The cash conversion cycle and its components for the examination period differed from industry to industry, but did not vary from year to year. By looking at the empirical literature on WCM, there is limited research study on the consequences of WCM from Malaysias firm perspectives. Irene Lee (2007) research results show that the Malaysian public listed firms have positive relationship between profitability and working capital to a certain extent. Besides that, the recent study by Mohammad (2010) explores the relation between WCM and firms performance. He measures the relationship by selecting 172 listed companies in Bursa Malaysia for the period 2003-2007. Using the Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis, he found significant negative associations between working capital variables with firms market value and profitability. Therefore, he highlights the importance of managing working capital requirements to ensure an improvement in firms market value and profitability and must consider the working capital when making companys strategic. It can be seen from the above that many studies have done on the WCM, its component and profitability by using different variable to test those relationship. From those studies, different countries, industries and strategies gives different results, some are positively related between WCM and profitability while some are negatively related. Since the previous studies of WCM in Malaysia, is focusing on the relationship between WCM and profitability. Therefore, in studies will further study on the relation of the both variables by making comparison on the two listed industries of manufacturing and services industries in Malaysia. 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The objective of this study is to look at one parts of financial management which known as WCM with reference to Malaysia. Here, will see the relationship between WCM practices and its effects on profitability of two industries in Malaysia; 16 firms listed on main board of Bursa Malaysia for the period of three years from 2007 to 2009. This section of the study will discuss on the sample selection, variables, and statistical techniques that will be used to examine the relationship between firms WCM and profitability. 3.1 DATA SET SAMPLE In this study secondary data; firms financial statements will be used to examine the research question. Those secondary data will be collected from Bursa Malaysia. A sample of eight companies will be randomly select for both manufacturing and services industries for the period of three years from 2007-2009. The reason for selecting this period was that latest data that will be available for investigation. Manufacturing and services industries are selected for this study because they reveal district difference in term of nature and management of the business. The services industries have a seasonal period and profit as they unable to predict the sales and demand from customers as services industries are people-oriented and people-driven, it is more difficult to effectively automate and control the service costs than in other non-services business sectors. Whereas the inventory for the manufacturing can be stored in the warehouse in order to avoid shortage but for the services industri es unable to stored their capacity (inventory) as it will affect their firms profitability. Therefore, a comparison of the WCM between the two industries will be look at in this study. Primary data will not be used as the data that has not been gathered before and the collection of data is time consuming, and high cost. Besides that, the primary data is not able to measure the firms financial strength and weaknesses. The measurement of firms financial wealth can only be measures and compare by using quantitative data. In addition, this study is to examine the relationship between WCM and profitability which required the quantitative information. 3.2 VARIABES This study had identified key variables that will influence Malaysia firms WCM. Choice of variables is influenced by previous study on WCM and also to further study on the previous study on Belgians WCM by Deloof. CCC will be used as a comprehensive measure of WCM which also used as independent variables. CCC is simply DSO plus DIO  less  DPO. Profitability is measured by gross operating income (GOI), which is defined as sales minus cost of sales, and divided by total assets minus financial assets. Why it was divided by total assets minus financial assets? As from the list of companies that are randomly selected from Bursa Malaysia, their financial asset is a significant part of its total assets, where financial asset include cash and bank balances, stock and securities that can be readily converted into cash. This also the reason why return on assets is not considered as a measure of profitability in this research, as if firm has mainly financial assets in its balance sheet; its operating activities will contribute little to the overall return on its assets. Besides that, sales growth ([this years sales previous years sales]/previous years sales) will be used as control variable in the regression analysis. 3.3 HYPOTHESIS TESTING As the objectives of this study are: Examine the relationship between WCM and profitability. Examine relationship between the DSO, DIO, DPO and firms profitability. Investigate whether the two industries have the same effect on the relations. The following hypothesis will be formulated and attempt to find statistical evidence for the two industries to support those hypothesis. Hypothesis H1: The CCC is negatively related to firms profitability (ROA) higher CCC, lower the firm profitability and vice versa. Hypothesis H2: Shortening the DSO will increased firms profitability. Hypothesis H3: Shortening the DIO will increased firms profitability. Hypothesis H4: Lengthening the DPO will increased firms profitability. 3.4 ANALYSIS USED IN STUDY In this study, two types of analysis are performed; there are descriptive and quantitative analyses. 3.4.1 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS The initial analysis in this study is descriptive statistic, which will provide detailed information of each relevant variable and describe the relevant aspects of cash conversion cycle. All the relevant variables were calculated using balance sheet value, rather than using market value, it is because the firms financial statement did not provided market value on the variables that is required in this study. Besides that, the measurement of profitability GOI could only be based on value in income statement values as there is no way to measure it at so-called market values. In addition, if the market values are used, there will a question on which date the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"market values are referred to. Thus, in this study the book values of the variables in the firms financial statement will be used. 3.4.2 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS Two methods had been applied in quantitative analysis. Firstly, correlation analysis is carried out, which specifically to measure the possible linear relationship between different variables under consideration. Secondly, is regression analysis, which is to estimate the relationship between liquidity, profitability and other selected variables. We have used Pooled Ordinary Least Squares and Generalized Least Squares (cross section weights) methods for analysis. We used panel data in a pooled regression, where time-series and cross-sectional observations were combined and estimated. In other words, several cross-sectional units were observed over a period of time in a panel data setting. For this purpose of analysis the E views software was used to analyze financial data and especially in case of pooled data. 4. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION The results of the two types of analysis will be discussed below. 4.1 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS Initially, descriptive statistics is the first step analysis in this research. It will provide a useful summary of central tendency; mean and median, and variability such as standard deviation, minimum and maximum. Table 1 and Table 2 presents descriptive statistics for the components of working capital efficiency for eight manufacturing firms and s