Business and International Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business and International Law - Essay Example One of them is that a flag state must have an established maritime organization capable of enforcing all international and national regulations and secondly is that a flag state must be a member of International Maritime Organization (IMO) that adopt the IMO's maritime safety Resolutions and Conventions. Mr. and Mrs. Lowell boarded one of the Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. DWI's Small cruise ships known as Minnow for a week long journey from Miami. The Minnow flied the flag of Liberia. They returned to their cabin one of the nights and found two ship employees removing cash and Mrs. Lowell jewellery from their luggage. This paper discusses my duty as the VP for Risk Management of Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. It will discuss how I will develop knowledge and expertise in all areas of business law, consult with corporate and outside counsel on legal matters, advice the board as to available options to reduce or minimize the risk and liability of DWI in its ongoing activi ties Mr. and Mrs. Lowell boarded one of the Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. DWI's Small cruise ships known as Minnow for a week long journey from Miami. The Minnow flied the flag of Liberia. They returned to their cabin one of the nights and found two ship employees removing cash and Mrs. Lowell jewellery from their luggage. Mr. This paper discusses my duty as the VP for Risk Management of Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. It will discuss how I will develop knowledge and expertise in all areas of business law, consult with corporate and outside counsel on legal matters, advice the board as to available options to reduce or minimize the risk and liability of DWI in its ongoing activities Business and International Law Mr. and Mrs. Lowell boarded one of the Diversified Worldwide Industries Inc. DWI's Small cruise ships known as Minnow for a week long journey from Miami. The Minnow flied the flag of Liberia. They returned to their cabin one of the nights and found two ship employees removing cash and Mrs. Lowell jewellery from their luggage. Mr. Lowell struggled with the robbers until he collapsed and suffered a fatal heart attack in the process. Mrs. Lowell was later locked inside the cabin restroom as the robbers escaped. The ship docked in Grand Cayman a few hours later and the robbers escaped with the cash and the jewellery stolen from Lowell's'. Mrs. Lowell was rescued after the ship left Grand Cayman and she identified the two employees who robbed them in a photo line up. My duty as the VP for Risk Management I will develop knowledge and expertise in all areas of business law, consult with corporate and outside counsel on legal matters, advice the board as to available options to reduce or minimize the risk and liability of DWI in its ongoing activities Despite the fact that the DWI cruise had a "flag of convenience", it had to comply with SOLAS standards and other international conventions monitored by the port states and the flag. For this case, DWI should be aware that the flag state has a key responsibility of ensuring that the cruise has all the requirements and guidelines established internationally. An annual ship examination is required whereby the cruise is thoroughly inspected to ensure that its safety systems are operational. 1 The DWI ought to be aware that since its cruise had a "flag of convenient", they are governed by a regulatory agency of maritime experts that ensures that the shipping firm is compliant with the laws of commercial vessels that are registered in that country in areas of practices and operational procedures. (International Council of Cruise Line, 2006) DWI also ought to be aware that the interest of a small cruise like Minnow with a passenger capacity of 16 is represented by an International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) that serves as a consultative non governmental organization to the International Maritime Organization. Its aim as a trade association is to ensure there is development of regulatory and policy

Adolescent Substance Essay Example for Free

Adolescent Substance Essay In my teen age, I was exposed to a different atmosphere from Mark Spencer’s. For example, my parents who were very strict about my welfare did not accord me any freedom as Spencer’s parents do. Further, my parents were very concerned about my associates and therefore never accorded me any free time to go anywhere without their permission. They tried to make sure that all their views were imposed onto their children. Due to their strictness, my siblings and I used to clandestinely slip to the neighborhood. We would then enjoy the little free time we acquired via sneaking. This phenomenon had a lot of significance with regard to what activities we engaged in as well as whom we associated with. Although we used to hang around with girls, I used to make sure that my parents never discovered this for such awareness could cause a lot of negative consequences to my wellbeing as well as to my relationship with my associates. If a familiar grownup met me in such funny corners, and I could make sure that they did not report me to my parents because it was suicidal to have been caught in such places. As time went by, I became rebellious to my parent’s so-called rules. I thus started to secretly take drugs at some funny hideouts until I got addicted l. Eventually, I could not hide my drug addiction any longer. Consequently, my parents tried to groom me by the use of the cane but this was of no use to me for I had been hardened with this kind of habit. My parents thus had to send me to a rehabilitation center but again, this action was not significant to me. After spending a year at the center, I pretended to be reformed and was sent back to my parents. At home, I joined some of my old friends and we started to rob people of petty objects. We could then sell such items so that we could sustain our drug habit. I was arrested and taken to child custody where I was reformed and thus became a good teen. At the age of 17, I had reorganized my life and could systematize myself well. The problem that is seen in Mark’s kind of world is that his parents are providing all that he asks for. They erroneously think that denying him some privileges can cause disaster. This is the reason why he is given a car and is allowed to go out on his own. Further, the parents are not aware of the kind of people that Mark is associating with (Steinberg, Fletcher Darling, 1994). Such parental oversight has caused him to indulge in drugs to the extent of bringing drugs into the house. Conversely, due to the strictness of my parents, rather than seeking appropriate ways to curb my defiant behavior, they caused my hardening. It is notable that my case only needed to be addressed with love, understanding, and support from my parents (Gallo Matthews, 2006). In my time, I could not do anything without first consulting my peers. I was thus always struggling not to displease them. In my world, I could not be allowed to go to any overnight party, a privilege which was awarded to Mark (DiClemente et al. 2001). The influence brought about by the environment that I was growing in made my life to change. I thus became a hard nut to crack. This development was brought about by the strict environment in which I grew. Due to Mark’s associates segregating him, because he does not associate with them, he feels rejected by the whole world (Coleman, 196I). This viewpoint makes him to have a negative opinion about all people a disposition that makes him to be very bitter. Further, Mark does not want to be under any authority. The act of purchasing a car for Mark by his parents facilitates him to get back to his friends. Moreover, he is willing to do anything so as to please the associates. Mark therefore starts to take drugs when his parents allow him the freedom to go out with his friends. Instead of the parents in both cases offering guidance to us, they started devising alternative mechanisms to curb our behaviors. This was just a straight way of strengthening our bond with our â€Å"good friends† who were teaching us the so-called â€Å"good habits†. In both cases, parental neglect caused failure in school performance since it made myself to be jailed, while to Mark, it seems boring to go to school (Mak Kinsella, 1996). This disposition has made Mark’s performance to greatly drop from an above average student to merely maintain an average of grade C. References Coleman, J. S. (196I). The adolescent society. The social life of the teenager and its impact on education. Psychoanalysis Quarterly, 32, 126-128. DiClemente, R. J. et al. (2001). Parental Monitoring: Association with adolescents risk behaviors. Pediatrics, 107, 1363-1368 Gallo, L. C. ; Matthews, K. A. (2006). Adolescents attachment orientation influences ambulatory blood pressure responses to everyday social interactions. Psychosomatic Medicine, 68, 253-261. Mak, A. S. ; Kinsella, C. (1996). Adolescent drinking, conduct problems, and parental bonding. Australian Journal of Psychology, 48, 15-20. Steinberg, L. ; Fletcher, A. ; Darling, N. (1994). Parental Monitoring and Peer Influences on Adolescent Substance Use. Pediatrics, 93 1060-1064.

Working Capital Versus Capital Expenditure Management Finance Essay

Working Capital Versus Capital Expenditure Management Finance Essay The purpose of this research is to investigate the impact of firms capital expenditure on their working capital management. Net Liquidity Balance and Working Capital Requirement for determination of working capital requirement and developed multiple regression models. The empirical research found that organisations capital expenditure has a significant impact on working capital management. The study also found that the firms operating cash flow, which was recognized as a control variable, has a significant relationship with working capital management. Capital forecasting in a downturn environment where change is rapid. Incorporating dynamic forecasting to measure the impact of key uncertainties and risks on the portfolio of projects is crucial. The findings increase the knowledge base of working capital management and will help companies manage working capital efficiently in growing conditions associated with capital expenditure. 1.1 Working capital for accountants, investors and managers is the short-term health of a company. Working capital equals current assets minus current liabilities. Current accounts are accounts that the company collects or are due in the next year. Making a capital expenditure will have several effects on the companys working capital, depending on the transaction. However, in certain cases, there may be no impact; it is important to understand why. Corporate finance basically deals with three decisions: A) capital structure decisions, B) capital budgeting decisions, and C) working capital management decisions. Working capital management is a very important component of corporate finance since it affects the profitability and liquidity of a company. It deals with current assets and current liabilities. The decision-making process on the level of different working capital components has become frequent, repetitive, and time-consuming. Working capital management is recognized as an important concern of the financial manager due to many reasons. For one thing, a typical manufacturing firms current assets account for over half of its total assets. For a distribution company, they account for even more. The maintenance of excessive levels of current assets can easily result in a substandard return on a firms investment. However, firms with inadequate levels of current assets may incur shortages and have difficulties in smoothly maintaining day-to-day operations. Efficient working capital management involves planning and controlling current assets and current liabilities in a manner that eliminates the risk of inability to meet due short term obligations on one hand and avoids excessive investment in these assets on the other hand. Capital forecasting in a downturn environment where change is rapid. Incorporating dynamic forecasting to measure the impact of key uncertainties and risks on the portfolio of projects is crucial. Analyzing and quantifying the impact of risks and delays at project and portfolio level. Governance and control over capital expenditures, Portfolio prioritization. Determining the optimal decision making level for capital allocation decision (corporate level vs business unit level vs hybrid model). 1.2 Working Capital Estimates The analysis includes estimates of all investments required for a project. The project may require increases (or decreases) in cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, or inventory. 2.1 Capital expenditure Whenever we make an expenditure that generates a cash flow benefit for more than one year, this is a capital expenditure. Examples include the purchase of new equipment, expansion of production facilities, buying another company, acquiring new technologies, launching a research development program, etc., etc., etc. Capital expenditures often involve large cash outlays with major implications on the future values of the company. Additionally, once we commit to making a capital expenditure it is sometimes difficult to back-out. It has been found that managers spend a considerable time on day-today working of capital decisions since current assets are short-lived investments that are continually being converted into other asset types (Rao, 1989). In the case of current liabilities, the firm is responsible for paying obligations mentioned under current liabilities on a timely basis. Liquidity for the on-going firm is reliant, rather, on the operating cash flows generated by the firms assets. Corporations are looking for new ways to stimulate growth, improve financial performance, and reduce risk in todays challenging economic climate. Funds tied up in working capital can be seen as hidden reserves that can be used to fund growth strategies, such as capital expansion. Cash flows locked in stock and receivables can be freed up by understanding the determinants of working capital. Many organizations that have earned profits over the years have shown the efficient management of working capital (WCM). Broadly, industry characteristics, firm-specific characteristics, and the financial environment are recognized as determining factors of both capital expenditure and working capital. In addition to the growth, leverage, and the size of a company, type, and size of expenditures, such as finance and operating and capital expenditures, have different impacts on capital expenditure and working capital. 2.2 Portfolio Approach in Capital Budgeting Portfolio approach to achieve capital efficiency and organisational alignment can yield immediate positive cash-flow results for companies. Typically companies view capital expenditures through a cost and benefits filter that focuses largely on ROI and IRR type measures. Whilst these measures are relevant, companies that do so often do not necessarily link these to the strategy of the company. They also do not prioritise capital expenditures in terms of their effect on strategy and shareholder value. We believe that by using a portfolio approach companies could: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increase returns on invested capital by understanding which projects contribute most to shareholder value and lie on the project efficiency frontier à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Have a holistic portfolio view of the return of the capital of the entire company à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Improve the strategic and organizational alignment of projects à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Make informed decisions on where to invest scarce cash resources. 2.3 Capital Budgeting Decisions: Stage 1: Decision Analysis Decision-making is increasingly more complex today because of uncertainty. Additionally, most capital projects will involve numerous variables and possible outcomes. For example, estimating cash flows associated with a project involves working capital requirements, project risk, tax considerations, expected rates of inflation, and disposal values. We have to understand existing markets to forecast project revenues, assess competitive impacts of the project, and determine the life cycle of the project. If our capital project involves production, we have to understand operating costs, additional overheads, capacity utilization, and start-up costs. Consequently, we can not manage capital projects by simply looking at the numbers; i.e. discounted cash flows. We must look at the entire decision and assess all relevant variables and outcomes within an analytical hierarchy. This analytical hierarchy is known as the Multiple Attribute Decision Model (MADM). Multiple attributes are involved in capital projects and each determinant in the decision needs to be weighed differently and their relationship with each other determined. Several techniques are available to arrive at a financial decision regarding a capital expenditure project. These include: the net present value method. This method discounts all cash flows to the present using a predetermined minimum acceptable rate of return as the discount rate. If the net present value is positive, the financial return on the project is greater than this minimum acceptable rate and indicates the project is economically acceptable. If the net present value is negative, the project is not acceptable on economic grounds. the internal rate of return method. The internal rate of return is defined as the discount rate that makes the net present value of a project equal to zero. It is the highest rate of interest that a company could incur to obtain funds without losing money on the project. the equivalent annual cost method. When considering alternative proposals, it may be that only costs are involved. In such situations, a choice of alternatives can be made by determining which has the lowest equivalent annual cost. Under this method, capital expenditures are converted to their equivalent annual cost and added to the annual operating costs. Equivalent annual cost is the annual amount that would repay the capital over the life of the project at a specified discount rate. It is similar to an annual, level repayment schedule for a mortgage. The alternative with the lowest total cost would be the most attractive (ignoring intangibles). the payback method. This method estimates the time taken to recover the original investment outlay. The estimated net cash flows from a proposal for each year are added until they total the original investment. The time required to recoup the investment is called the payback period. Projects with a shorter payback period are preferred to those with longer periods. the discounted payback method. The discounted payback period is the number of years for which cash inflows are required to (a) recover the amount of the investment and also (b) earn the required rate of return on the investment during that period. In this method, each years cash inflow is discounted at the required rate of return, and these present values are cumulated by year until, their sum equals, the amount invested. Projects with a shorter discounted payback period are preferable to those with longer periods. the accounting rate of return method. The accounting rate of return is a measure of the average annual income after tax over the life of a project divided by the initial investment or the average investment required to generate the income. It is important to note that this method assesses net income and not cash flows which are used in the other methods. Stage 2: Option pricing In financial management, consideration of options within capital budgeting is called contingent claims analysis or option pricing. For example, suppose you have a choice between two boiler units for your factory. Boiler A uses oil and Boiler B can use either oil or natural gas. Based on traditional approaches to capital budgeting, the least costs boiler was selected for purchase, namely Boiler A. However, if we consider option pricing Boiler B may be the best choice because we have a choice or option on what fuel we can use. Suppose we expect rising oil prices in the next five years. This will result in higher operating costs for Boiler A, but Boiler B can switch to a second fuel to better control operating costs. Consequently, we want to assess the options of capital projects. Stage3: Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) Discounting refers to taking a future amount and finding its value today. Future values differ from present values because of the time value of money. Financial management recognizes the time value of money because: Inflation reduces values over time; i.e. Rs.1, 000 today will have less value five years from now due to rising prices (inflation). Uncertainty in the future; i.e. we think we will receive Rs. 1,000 five years from now, but a lot can happen over the next five years. Opportunity Costs of money; Rs. 1,000 today is worth more to us than five years from now because we can invest Rs 1,000 today and earn a return. 3.1 Quantitative Analysis and Estimates : The foundations for good capital planning are reliable forecasts of the following parameters like competitive technology, marketing opportunities, likely actions by competitors and governments, sales volumes, selling prices, operating costs, changes in working capital, taxes payable and capital costs of equipment. Effective management of capital expenditure decisions, therefore, requires that controls be designed and operated to ensure that projections are realistic at the time decisions are made. Reliable estimates and forecasts are vital to the capital investment decision. The degree of precision necessary for the estimates related to the capital expenditure decision depends on: the stage of evaluation of the project (i.e., in early stages less precision is needed), the sensitivity of the projects economics to the level of accuracy and timing of each of the elements within the estimates, and the similarity of the project to others already undertaken. 3.2 Planning Horizon of a project: It is often difficult to estimate the life of a project (i.e., its planning horizon). The criterion is the continued ability to generate satisfactory cash flows or other intangible benefits. The economic life of a project is the lesser of its physical life, technological life or product-market life. Physical Life of Project Technical life of the Project Market life of the product to be manufactured depends upon: Detailed Market Research/Study Competitive Factors Price Estimation and Determination Organisation Market Position Maintenance Property related costs Depreciation Plant Administration, Service Department Costs 4.1 Research Objectives Overall objective. The overall objective of this research study is to investigate capital expenditure on a project and consequently working capital requirement and there relationship. Working capital measured in terms of net liquidity balance and working capital requirement (WCR). Specific objectives. are to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate whether there is a relationship and type of relationship between capital expenditure and the firms working capital (W.C.). à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Describe the relationship between the nature of expenditure and the working capital. To investigate the impact of different factors affecting the working capital on net liquidity balance and working capital requirement. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate the existing literature on working capital management to highlight the recent trends. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Understand the applicability of NLB and WCR as a measure of working capital management. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Investigate the relationship between corporate performance and working capital management. 4.2 Literature Review The chief financial officers of most companies spend most of their time and effort on day-today working capital management. Still, due to the inability of financial managers to properly plan and control the current assets and current liabilities of their companies, the failure of a large number of businesses can be attributed to the inefficient working capital management. Working capital is the most crucial input and the success or failure of an organization can be rightly attributed to the quality and efficiency in the management of working capital (WC) or net current assets (NCA). Account receivable management models and inventory management models were used in approximately 65 % of companies. The management of the working capital, stresses the need for the development of a viable system with the dual finance goals of profitability and liquidity, only such models will assist practicing financial managers in their day-to-day decision-making. Over the years, many researchers have focused on determining the optimal level of each component of working capital. It was found that the working capital literature is rather limited and that the management of short term resources is not understood too well. Thus, the consensus in academia seems to recognize the paucity of theory concerning the management of financial resources due to the inherent difficulties in the development of a working capital decision model, while accepting the normative needs for a more critical examination. The tendency of firms with low levels of current ratios to have low levels of current liabilities. 5.1 Methodology The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a very important aspect of financial management known as working capital management. The study will show the relationship of capital expenditure on firms working capital management and its impact. This chapter of the research deals with the analytical framework of data analysis, which describes the firms and variables included in the study, the distribution patterns of data, and applied statistical techniques in investigating the relationship between working capital management and capital expenditure. 6.1 Data Collection Since the study is based on financial data, the main source of data was financial statements, such as income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements of listed companies for the period from 2000 to 2005. The reason for restricting the time period to six years was that the latest data for the study was available for these years. In addition, annual reports of companies have been used in order to understand the company back ground and industry. 6.2 Sample Selection The study uses secondary data of listed companies in the stock exchange. Companies with missing data are excluded from the study. The study also excludes the financial and securities sector companies, as their financial characteristics and use of leverage are substantially different from other manufacturing companies. The working capital requirements and capital expenditure of a manufacturing organization is widely different from trading, financial and securities sector companies. 6.3 Variables In addition to identifying capital expenditure, the study undertakes the issue of identifying all factors that affect the working capital management. Most of the determinants identified in the investigation have been taken from the existing literature on working capital management. The study takes into account of all the variables discussed below. Variables, which include dependent, independent, and control variables, have been used to investigate the test hypothesis. 6.4 Independent Variables Capital expenditure (CAPEX) is identified as one of the independent variables and includes expenditures incurred by firms for acquisition and upgrading/renovating physical assets, such as land, buildings, machinery, vehicles, and equipments. Capital expenditures are added to assets account and depreciated against profits over their economic life as Deferred Revenue expenditure( DEFEREX). Capital expenditure is incurred by a company when buying new, fixed assets or in adding value to existing assets to increase their economic lives. Capital expenditure includes buying the value of assets, carriage inwards, insurance, legal costs, and all costs needed for acquiring assets ready for use. Managers pay careful attention to capital expenditure decisions, since they are very costly and irreversible. Operating expenditure (OPEX) is the cost of ongoing operations, product or system. Unlike CAPEX, firms meet OPEX continuously. Operating expenditures are written off against profit for the period. They are Revenue expenditure (REVEX) which includes salaries, wages and facilities expenses, such as rent, rates, electricity, etc. Finance expenditure (FIEX) is cost incurred on debt capital. Interest incurred on debentures, bank loan and other long term liabilities are recognized as finance expenditures. 6.5 Dependent Variables NLB = (cash and cash equivalents + short-term investment) (short-term debt + commercial paper payable + long-term debt a year term). These are considerations of the financial decisions of a company, regardless of the operation cycle. Thus, it is called as net liquid balance. WCR = (accounts receivable + inventories) (accounts payable + accrued expenses +other payable), which relate to the working cycle and are called working capital requirements. 6.6 Control Variables In addition, firms operating cash flow (OPCASH), extracted cash flow statement, growth (GRO) of the firm measured by sales, leverage measured by total long-term debt capital and divided by equity (D/E). All the above variables have relationships that affect working capital management. These relationships might vary over variables, companies and industries based on business strategy, economic environment, and financial environment. 7.1 Hypotheses Development Working capital management is traditionally rated by current ratio, quick ratio, and net working capital. According to Shulman and Cox (1985), these traditional ratios dont consider the going concern of the company and net working capital does not measure the correct value of liquidity. They classify net working capital into working capital requirement (WCR) and net liquidity balance (NLB) in order to predict the financial crisis of a company. WCR is measured in order to evaluate the management of working capital, and NLB is considered with the capability of raising and allocating capital respectively. NLB is better than traditional indicators in terms of predicting crisis and liquidity of a company. The basic purpose of this study on working capital management to evaluate the impact of capital expenditure on working capital. Thus, this study will categorize expenditure of a firm into three types: a) Operating expenditure, b) Capital (investment) expenditure, and c) Finance expenditure. However, except capital expenditure, operating and finance expenditures will be considered on accrual basis, not on the cash basis, because incurred expenditure will determine working capital management of the company. When a company has growth opportunities, it needs to acquire fixed assts (pay capital expenditure) relevant to future growth plans. Thus, incurred or expected capital expenditure is positively correlated with NLB. With growth opportunity, a company can increase the holding cash, since it manages working capital efficiently. Under such circumstances, terms to pay operation-related liabilities are lengthened and operation-related receivables can be accelerated in collection, causing less demand on working capital. Expected capital expenditure is negatively related to WCR, and firms with a higher growth rate pay more attention on the management of capital expenditure. Hypotheses A- Capital expenditure is positively related to NLB Hypotheses B- Capital expenditure is negatively related to WCR 8.1 Model Specification This study uses panel data regression analysis of cross-sectional in order to test the hypothesis. A use the pooled regression type of panel data analysis. The pooled regression, which is also called the constant coefficients model, is one in which both intercepts and slopes are constant, where the cross section from a data and time series data are pooled together in a single column, assuming that there are no significant cross section or temporal effects. The general forms of our models are:t NLB Decrease in WCR H1a= NLBit = ÃŽÂ ²0 + ÃŽÂ £ ÃŽÂ ² X + ÃŽÂ µ (1) H1b= WCRit = ÃŽÂ ²0 + ÃŽÂ £ ÃŽÂ ² X + ÃŽÂ µ (2) WCR: working capital requirement of firm I at time t; i = 1, 2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..no. of firms NLB it: net liquidity balance of firm i at time t; i = 1, 2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.no. of firms ÃŽÂ ²0: the intercept of equation ÃŽÂ ²i: coefficients of X it variables X it: the different independent variables for working capital management of firm i at time t t: time = 1, 2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦,6 years. ÃŽÂ µ: the error term Specifically, when I convert the above general least squares model into my specified NLBi = ÃŽÂ ² OPEXi + ÃŽÂ ² FIEXi + ÃŽÂ ² CAEXi + ÃŽÂ ² M/Bi+ ÃŽÂ ² Gti + ÃŽÂ ² D/Ei + ÃŽÂ ² OCASH + ÃŽÂ µ (3) WCRi = ÃŽÂ ² OPEXi + ÃŽÂ ² FIEXi+ ÃŽÂ ² CAEXi + ÃŽÂ ² M/Bi+ ÃŽÂ ² Gti + ÃŽÂ ² D/Ei + ÃŽÂ ² OCASH + ÃŽÂ µ (4) Where: NLB = (cash cash equivalents + short term investments) (short term debt + commercial paper payable + Long term debt year term) WCR = (accounts receivable + inventories) (accounts payable + other payable). WCR equals net working capital NLB. ÃŽÂ ² = coefficient of regression, OPEX = operating expenditure FIEX = financial expenditure CAEX= capital expenditure M/B = market to book value ratio D/E = total debt to total assets Gt = sales growth OCASH = operating cash flow in firm ÃŽÂ µ = the error term These findings are consistent with hypothesis H1b. Operating expenditure and interest expenditure also have a positive significant relationship with working capital requirement. 9.1 Conclusions and Recommendations Working capital management attracts less attention of the management than capital budget and expenditure, capital structure in financial management in the ordinary course of business. Working capital management relates to the findings of sources of short term finance and investments in short term assets. Working capital management deals with profitability and the risk of the company. Inefficient working capital management results in over investment in working capital and reduces the profitability of the firm. On the other hand, inefficient management of working capital leads to an insufficient amount of working capital and results in financial difficulty, putting the company at risk. The optimal level of working capital, which is a trade off between risk and profitability, can be affected by both internal organizational characteristics and various outside factors. Existing literature has paid little attention to many factors that determine the working capital. This research investigated some of the factors such as capital expenditure, operating expenditure, finance expenditure, leverage, performance and operating cash flow. This research paper uses NLB and WCR as proxies for working capital in order to assess working capital management with capital expenditure and other influencing factors. Empirical results show that capital expenditure has a significant effect on working capital management. This finding will help a companys management manage working capital efficiently. The findings can be used as a benchmark for managing working capital and evaluating performance. Through this paper it was able to find out that operating cash flow has a significant impact on a companys working capital management, consistent with conclusions in previous research/literature. By conducting the same study on each business sector separately, managers can understand specific behavior of a companys working capital in relationship with capital expenditure. Since the model is a general model, it might not be able to be applied or might not give the same findings in specific business sectors. Moreover, further research can be conducted on the same topic in different countries. Working capital management policies can be compared between developing and developed countries in order to determine the correct management policies. 14) Capital expenditure decisions are very crucial and not easily reversible. Substantial amount of money is blocked in capital expenditure decisions. Hence such decisions have to be taken very carefully with a lot of deliberations.

Creating a Robotic Garbage Truck with Lego Mindstorm :: Robotics

Includes Source Code Robotic Garbage Truck Abstract For my final project I decided to build a robot garbage truck that can drive by itself on a ?road? and pick up garbage. This garbage truck would also be able to distinguish from trashcans and anything else that might be in its place. This robot is a one-of-its-kind creation that has to my knowledge never been tried before. So I could replicate a real garbage truck as much as possible, I researched how garbage trucks work and how they have changed in the past 85 years of existence. I decided to create an arm unlike any garbage truck so far only because regular garbage truck arms need to be placed in a very small area to be able to lift up the trashcans. In seven days of work I was unable to finish creating my robot. I was only able to completely build the robot and partially program it. I believe that I made tremendous progress in building this robot in the time that I worked on it. This project has taught me so much on how to build a vehicle that replicates something useful for manki nd. Background Robotic Garbage Truck Garbage trucks have been around since the early 1920?s and are getting more and more advanced each year. But even now in the 21st century the same basic principle of how garbage trucks are run has remained the same. They still require 1-2 sanitary engineers to operate a garbage truck, and they still have to take the trash from your home to landfills. Advancements could be made and an event has proven that robotic vehicles can drive on their own. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) grand challenge is hosted a first of its kind all robotics race through the Mojave Desert from Barstow, California to Las Vegas, Nevada. Two hours before the race the contestants are given the route at which their robots will have to take in order to win the race. Once the race starts human intervention will result in disqualification. The prize for finishing in the fastest time is one million dollars. So far no one has ever finished the race the farthest robot going just over seven miles, but they have made tremendous progress. Imagine this cutting edge technology incorporated into garbage trucks. This would eliminate the need for humans to transport garbage from your home to a landfill. Garbage companies like Waste Management would save millions of dollars because they wouldn?

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Effective Virtual Leadership Josh Henson Shorter Universityâ€Æ' EFFECTIVE VIRTUAL LEADERSHIP Twenty first century technological advances in communication have broken down almost all of the physical barriers to communication in the world today. Today a person can communicate with almost anyone in the world at any time. Leaders in today’s workplace face new advantages and new challenges when it comes to advances in communication. The traditional workplace is changing as the virtual workplace expands. Research indicates that one of the biggest challenges to companies today is finding leaders with the skills to thrive in a complex and changing world (Dennis, Meola, Hall, 2013). Leaders of today need to be able to reach across differing cultures, many time zones, and they need to collaborate and build alliances across geographic distances (Dennis et al., 2013). Leaders today need to have a global mindset which includes operating from multiple sites, directing workers at multiple locations and working with clients in different geographic areas (Dennis et al., 2013) . In a recent study by ASTD.org entitled Virtual Leadership: Going the distance to manage your team, a survey of five hundred and five managers found that ninety-nine percent responds affirmatively when asked if their employer provides some employees to opportunity to work virtually (Mandzuk, 2014). A virtual workforce is described as any team whose members are not all physically under the same roof, as long as the participants have complementary skills and knowledge that produce greater value when they work together than if they worked separately. A virtual team can be local, national, or global, with members from one firm or many. Teams can be made up of full-time... ...dgment. According to the article qualitative judgment is the ability to formulate and select the right options (You can’t be a wimp, 2013). Qualitative judgment involves moving from the big picture down to the concrete, developing a diverse and trustworthy social network, and thinking through second and third order consequences ( You can’t be a wimp, 2013). Qualitative judgment is the second quality of a great leader. The third quality of a great leader is credibility. The lack of credibility will keep your ideas from ever being accepted in the company (You can be a wimp, 2013). Credibility according the article is gain by listening to diverse and contradictory views, building support from the board, employees and outside constituents, and having the courage to make the best decision for the company despite its popularity (You can’t be a wimp, 2013).

Macbeth essay :: essays research papers

Macbeth is one of the most gruesome plays ever in the history of theater and play writing. Throughout the play, there were various acts or quotes that gave example of the dark and bloody theme of the play. One of the many themes of this play, is fair is foul, foul is fair. This theme shows how foul play and evil helps the characters succeed in their lives. Many times, this foul play gets the characters into trouble. The theme fair is foul, foul is fair is a great theme to express the feeling and tone set in this play   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As the play begins, three witches are gathered together chanting fair is foul, foul is fair. Right in the beginning the mood is set in a gloomy tone. A bloody man then came in to report that Macbeth and Banquo had fought. For Macbeth’s bravery, Duncan made Macbeth thane of Cawdor. This is a good thing because it gave Macbeth more power. The bad part is that later Macbeth will kill Duncan to become king. Not to long after, Macbeth looks at the weather and says, â€Å"So foul and fair a day I have not seen.† This refers to the gloomy weather that has come over, which also helps in setting the tone. In the play, Macbeth also mentions, â€Å"If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me without my stir.† This basically means that if Macbeth is crowned as king, he will not have a problem with that, but he is not going to go out of his way to become the king. Lady Macbeth had a few things to do or say, which incorporated into the theme fair is foul, foul is fair. Lady Macbeth is a woman, but is meaner, and fiercer than a man. She also casts spells to make herself even more evil and manly. This phase slowly declines as the play goes on, and she becomes more and more afraid of what she has done. Also, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth to look like an innocent flower, but be serpent under it. This is a great example of fair is foul, foul is fair. She is basically telling Macbeth to look kind and innocent, but to act out his evil that is deep down inside of him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Death is also an object used to fit into this theme in various parts of the play.

Assimilation or Retaining Ethnic Identity

Assimilation or Retaining Ethnic Identity America was founded by a group of diverse immigrants. All immigrants are coming from different parts of the world such as Asia, Europe, Africa and Mexico and so on. Therefore, each person has his or her own culture, religion and beliefs. Most of the people who are immigrants are non-English speaking and face struggles and numerous challenges to assimilate into American society. Millions of people have been discriminated due to skin color, religions, and beliefs, so it means that people face struggles with assimilation and acculturation.One sure thing is people must understand others cultures when they fall in love with different races, or when they go to school at different countries. However, most of the people are not assimilating for their religion, and they are proud of being what they are. Love is blind. Love is the result of appreciating another’s goodness. So it is wonderful when people fall in love with each other. Love comes f rom emotion, so nobody can limit that one has to fall in love within the same race, especially in the United States where many different races are living together in the same land.That is why it is not an odd thing that white men fall in love with Asian girls or black men fall in love with white girls. But if one falls in love with someone from another race he or she will have to learn and understand his or her culture to build a long term relationship. On December 25th 2005, Junot Diaz published in the New Yorker about â€Å"How to Date a Brown girl, Black girl, White girl or Halfie†. Many people like to read this, and most of the readers commented that it provided really useful tips for the first date with different race girls.Before dating, the speaker Junot Diaz gives advice to the readers: â€Å"Clear the government cheese from the refrigerator†. Moreover, the speaker said â€Å"If she’s a white girl you know you’ll at least get a hand job. † If a man dated the white girl, he could involve sexual activities. He needs to find out what she wants to do after dinner and spends the rest of evening as she likes. According to the Junot Diaz â€Å"If she’s a halfie don’t be surprised that her mother is white. † The girl’s mother will be white or black or Asian, but he shouldn’t show the emotions of shocked and should say â€Å"Hi† to her mother friendly and smoothly.If he doesn’t prepare well to find what she likes or what her culture, he might get broken-heart. Moreover, he will not get a happy relationship. Some people may argue that a good relationship is only based on the personality instead of his or her culture and history, and they don’t need to assimilate others. For example, a white guy’s date with Asian girl may involve sexual activities for the first date. As a result, she may be think he is a ridiculous and rude person, and she won’t meet again bec ause Asian girl hardly ever involve sexual activities before she gets married.Assimilation and acculturation are needed in some situations. According to the Migration World Magazine â€Å"Non-English speaking immigrants grew quickly in numbers†. Most of the immigrants from Southern, and Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa don’t know the English language well. They are struggling with learning English because it takes them a little bit long to speak frequently. In Latino Issue conservative blog, Josue Sierra discussed about getting good English speaking skills is essential for immigrants in education, jobs opportunities, and preventing crime.The speaker says â€Å"If immigrants don’t speak English, chances are they won’t get very far from a low-level laborer positions†. Some immigrants are already graduated and have a higher education in their country, but they only get lower job positions in the United States because they can’t speak English wel l. The speaker also mentions â€Å"An immigrant who has learned English can also look forward to better paying work in their home country†. It means that the immigrants who want to go back home have a benefit by learning English. They can get a better salary than any other in their home country by knowing English well.Some students find difficulties in college because teaching styles are different from their home town and self-study is essential for all students in the United States. For example, Burma which is situated in South East Asia, students are not allowed to argue with the teachers’ ideas. Arguing with teachers is rude and asking questions means students don’t understand the lessons. Moreover, teachers assume asking questions to them means they are not good at teaching, and it insults them. So most of the children are afraid to ask question even they don’t understand. These habits are hard to vanish when they are studying in the United States.Tha t’s why most Asian students are quiet in the class. Moreover, they have to study detail in text books and are not allowed to use their own idea. Next, â€Å"An immigrant that doesn’t speak English will be more hesitant to contact authorities when they are victimized, out of fear of not being understood†. Some of the international high school students have been bullied by English speakers. But they dare not to talk about it to their parents or teachers because they are afraid they can’t explain well. Sometimes, some non-English speaking girls get robbed, but they don’t dare talk to the police.Above these reasons, it is better for immigrants to forget their own origins and try to assimilate the new language. Most immigrants can assimilate living style, wearing style and some cultures in a short time, but they hard to try to assimilate another religion. In the United States, Christian is 78. 4% including Protestant and Catholic; other religions are 4. 7% such as Jewish (1. 7%), Buddhist (0. 7 %), Muslim (0. 6 %), Hindu (0. 4 %), Unaffiliated (16. 1%), Humanism (0. 8%) according to U. S Religious Landscape Survey. A Muslim guy could marry with the Christian girl, even though; the girl or the guy hard to change their religion status.Most of the children who were born to two different religions parents become Humanism. The United States is a democratic country and has freedom of religion and beliefs without government influence or interference. Even though, the country still has problems related to the religious beliefs. For example, in the abortion case, some Catholics don’t agree to destroy the pro-life as â€Å"Don’t kill Jesus’s children† because they assume that people is created by Jesus. For humanism and unaffiliated, they may think this abortion cases are the human right to destroy or not. People dare to die for their religions or their beliefs.So many religion wars have occurred in the world. An other example of religious attack happened on September 11 in New York. Many people’s life lost and the rest of the families felt pain and suffer about this attack. Actually â€Å"Religion is not a way to pigeonhole someone,† Professor of Religion Bruce Lawrence said. â€Å"You can be very Muslim, but also be very American because you appreciate the freedom and opportunity of the country. Loyalty to one's own background is an important part of being American. † Conflict over Muslim immigrants occurs not only in the United States but also in Europe.For example, in France, Muslims girls are banned by wearing chadors (head scarves) by French president. Moreover, in German schools, Muslims girls are asking to take the class of physical education class such as swimming or gym. According to Marion Berning, director of the Rixdorfer primary school in Berlin, Germany, â€Å"We have Muslim girls who say they don't want to swim with the boys. It's obvious the parents exe rt pressure on them, but [the parents] have to accept that coeducation is part of German schools. † These kind of small conflicts lead to ethnic disunity and hostile communities in Europe.In contrast to the European conception, assimilation in the United States â€Å"has always been much more flexible and accommodating and, consequently, much more effective in achieving its purpose,† according to Peter D. Salins, author of Assimilation, American Style. Different immigrants have different ideas of assimilation into American culture. People may get many new experiences and new ideas by assimilating, especially building good relationships and friendships. However, assimilating also has a drawback such as losing one’s own culture and traditions.So immigrants should decide themselves what American cultures support them to have a better life if they assimilate. If they can have a better life due to assimilating into other cultures, they should go for it. Simultaneously , they should keep some value about their own cultures to say what they are. Works Cited G. McDonald , Hellen and R. Balgopal, Pallassana. â€Å"Conflicts of American immigrants: Assimilate or Retain Ethnic Identiy. † Migration World Magazine. May-June 1998. Web. 9 November 2012. â€Å"Introduction to Immigration: Current Controversies. † Immigration. Ed.Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Current Controversies. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. Junot , Diaz. â€Å"How To Date A Brown Girl ( black girl, white girl, or halfie),† The New Yorker, 25 December 1995. Web. 10 November 2012. Sierra , Jouse. â€Å"The Important of English for Immigrants. † Latino Issues, A Conservative Blog. 8 April 2007. Web. 9 November. 2012. â€Å"U. S Religious Landscape Survey. † The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. 1615 L Street, NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036-50610, n. d . Web. 9 Novemeber. 2012.