Business strategy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Business strategy - Assignment Example Evaluation of different tactics for Leeds University Growth in the business is a complex and multifarious aspect but is a highly desired phenomenon for the organizations unanimously. Business growth stands synonymous to business outcome, which signifies the achievement of business goals, increasing the number of employees, enhancing the value of the business related to the stakeholders and enhancing the profit or the sales of the business. New ventures or strategies consist of processes that are related to the capabilities and resources of the organization (Kariv 477). The University of Leeds is ranked as the second largest university of United Kingdom (UK). This university is a significant player in the higher education of UK and has built its reputation on the basis of quality, volume and breadth of research and education along with its diverse portfolio of research excellence. The university has implemented various strategies in order to integrate education, scholarship and world- class research in order to secure a position among the top 50 universities in the world. Through these steps, they aim to create an impact on the global society. Along with achieving academic excellence, the organization also aims to form an efficient, effective and sustainable organization that would promote a healthy workplace, standardised processes and sustainable environment. Financial stability and appraisal of the university staff is also given equal importance in their strategy (University of Leeds â€Å"Strategy Map.†). Therefore, it can be seen that for attaining the world class position, the university has not only framed strategies related to their business, but has also employed resources that will be responsible for delivering the results. Thus, the strategy will lead to substantial growth. 2. Grounds based on which suitable future strategy are chosen for Leeds University To decide on a strategy, the managers devote considerable amount of energy and thought proc esses on considering and reconsidering the future and the present scenario of the organization. Creating a strategy is highly dependent on the scenario analysis and assessment of the business opportunities. Strategy scope plays an important role in this context. The University of Leeds is operating in a rapidly changing business environment where it requires addressing the scope which presents them with an opportunity. The scopes that the university requires to address are product or service scope, customers scope, geographic scope and the stakeholder scope (Fahey and Randall 23-28). Firstly, for University of Leeds to position itself among the top 50 universities, the product and services that they offer plays a significant role. The product and services that is education should be as such, that it develops outstanding scholars and graduates. Hence, the primary focus should be on methods to enhance the product to make it better. Secondly, in case of the customer scope that is the s tudents, the university should deliver their education in such ways that high quality students are developed who in turn will impact the global society. Thirdly, geographic scope is an important parameter for the success of the university. In order to create an impact on the global front, internationalization of the university is very important. This requires expansion of its geographic limits. Lastly, maximization of stakeholder’s value and meeting their expectations are significant for sustainability of the organizati

Business Studies Essay Example for Free

Business Studies Essay What does the nature of business mean ? Usually, when filling out some kind of form, nature of business refers to the type or general category of business or commerce you are describing. For example, if you worked at McDonalds, the nature of your business is food services. Nature of Business means what type of business your are doing? like Wholesale, Retail or Service, Manufacturing, Marketing, etc. If you want more specific, then HBA wholesale, Car Service, Furniture manufacturing, health Drinks Marketing, etc. The nature of business, means what exactly your business is doing and what is the service/product you are offering. For example the nature of Walmart as a business is Retail and the nature of Microsoft is Software. Internal and External Influences on businesses The external environment includes those factors over which the business has little control, such as government policy, technology, economic conditions and social attitudes. The internal environment includes these factors over which the business has some degree of control, such as products, location, resources, management and business culture. External Influences on business  ·Economic  ·Financial  ·Markets  ·Competitive siuation Technological  ·Institutional  ·Political  ·Legal  ·Social  ·Geographic If you had a shop and everyone decided to go to another shop that would be an econmic disaster! If this continues for a month then the business would close, employees would be laid off, and landlords and suppliers will not be paid. Charasteristics of boom perios Higer lever of employment -Inflation may increase The level of spending by consumers increases as they have more confidence in the economy Characteristics of recessi on period Unemployment levels rise Inflation may remain stable or fall Wages are less likely to rise as employers The level of spending usually decreases Internal influences on Business Product The types of good and services will affect the internal operations of a business, The product influence and the size of the business -Location -A good location is an asset and will lead to high levels of sales and profits and a bad location is a liability that adversely affects sales and products  ·Location Factors Visibility, promixity to customers, promixity to suppliers and promiximity to support devices -Management- Resource management -Business culture Failure to SME failure  ·Failure to plan  ·lack of information  ·leaderhsip skills  ·inaccurate record keeping  ·new taxes  ·not enough sales  ·economic turndown  ·staff difficulties Success to SMEs  ·Entrepemtua l abilities

Community Planning Model for Sustainability

Community Planning Model for Sustainability Narrative In the West, Twentieth Century urban planning policies and rapid urbanisation; characterised by single use zoning; low density land use and car dependent communities; have often separated people from traditional community interaction. For many this individualistic existence can be perceived as dystopia. What if people were given the opportunity to respond to such dystopia assisted by the further development of cooperative community model that facilitated sustainable living and supportive mutual respect? What if an alternative means to live was promoted helped by the provision of flexible and supportive physical mixed use environment which was both accessible and beneficial to the whole community? It is arguable that true sustainability relates not only to the natural environment but also to the built environment and it has key economic and social community dimensions Brief Outline of User Requirements: Cohousing communities provide a developing physical, economic and social model to achieve such objectives outlined above. They are typically composed of mixed use flexible buildings containing private living space, economic activity and extensive common areas, which are owned, managed and maintained by the residents, providing an affordable, sustainable and community focused lifestyle. Facilities should include a range of communal facilities proportionate in size to the development including a large kitchen and dining room area, a laundry, offices and workshops with broadband access and a range of leisure facilities Communal outdoor spaces should provide attractive areas for social interaction. The buildings should be flexible and adaptive and encourage supportive cooperative behavior. The proposed buildings should seek to take maximum benefit from their town centre location and seek to achieve high environmental standards against the sustainability code. Close spatial relationship between work and residence and interaction economically with the neighbourhood and visitors to the city centre should be encouraged. This self-generative environment will enhance a socio-economic sustainability that can successfully adapt to the changing needs of the resident and wider community. Proposed Location: Fish Street is located in Leeds City Centre. It connects Kirkgate, King Edwards Street and Vicar Lane providing access to the boutique retail outlets in the Victorian Quarter of the City, The City Markets and Lower Briggate, all of which are major tourist attractions. INTRODUCTION THE GLOBAL PROBLEM Some sociologists such as Georg Simmeland Ferdinand Tà ¶nnies, have posed the theory that the anonymity of the city leads to a feeling of alienation (Hess, A, 2001) (Lucaccini, G, 2009). Twentieth century urban planning policies and rapid urbanisation; characterised by single use zoning; low density land use; large corporate business and car dependent communities; have served to separate people from traditional community interaction. For many this individualistic existence can be perceived as a dystopia. Furthermore, with 75 per cent of the 10 billion people expected to inhabit the planet by 2050 predicted to reside in urban centers this is a global issue that needs to be addressed (Ripplinger, S, 2009). The future shaping and wellbeing of cities requires the promotion and implementation of new models of flexible mixed use and adaptive buildings responding to and promoting cooperative, supportive and sustainable communities. LEEDS Scattered and isolated communities are no more apparent than in Leeds (Nuttgens, P, 1979). Over the course of the last century city residents have been driven from the City Centre and out into the suburbs leaving some urban areas neglected, unsafe and underused (Nuttgens, P, 1979) especially during times of economic decline such as that precipitated by the credit crunch. Although  £1.8 billion of major property development has been undertaken in Leeds over the last 10 years, this part of the City remains detached and aloof, and many city dwellers still face exclusion or separation from community support. Maxwell Hutchinsons assertion that Leeds is building the high rise slums of tomorrow theyre forgetting to build communities would appear particularly accurate, despite Leeds City Planning Policy that sets out to tackle social exclusion and foster better communities (BBC Inside Out Leeds Changing for the Better?) (Leeds City Council 2007, Sustainable Development in Leeds). HOW THE SITE STARTS TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM The Fish Street area is deep within the commercially driven retail heart of Leeds City Centre. The site, having once accommodated thriving mixed use markets in the 19th Century, is now an unattractive backland space which for big brand retail outlets, is unappealing and limited in size and economic potential. However it is the ideal place to shape and develop a sustainable urban community which is accessible for all, inclusive and community focused. SITE (PHYSICAL CONTEXT) 1500 1556 SITE CHOICE 100 94 The reuse and repositioning of obsolete or underutilised buildings and sites is essential to revitalising Leeds City Centre and renewing blighted neighbourhoods and replacing them with more prosperous communities. Six such areas were analysed to identify the best opportunities to shape a sustainable urban community within Leeds City Centre and promote opportunity for investment, business enterprise and social interaction. The sites were analysed in terms of size, transport links, proximity to community essential amenities, foot fall, gathering and retreating, sense of entry and arrival, parking and orientation. THE SELECTED SITE? 100 109 The most suitable location was the Fish Street Area. This location benefits from excellent footfall, permeability and connectivity (See Right). It lies directly between the two main East-West pedestrian routes across the City Centre (Kirkgate and King Edwards Street) as well as the main North-South pedestrian and vehicular routes (Briggate and Vicar Lane). The Fish Street area is located in close proximity to the Victorian Boutique Retail Outlets, the City Markets and Briggate, all of which are major tourist attractions. Community essential amenities are plentiful as are transport facilities with major bus routes on Vicar Lane and Leeds Railway Station is a 5 minute walk away. SITE INFORMATION 150 144 The Fish Street area has a T alignment in terms of the street and building form. The site consists of three clusters of unattractive and under-utilised buildings including two storage facilities and two run down B grade commercial buildings one of which is advertised for redevelopment. The Fish Street area is generally used as a thoroughfare and a hair salon and two small cafes allow for some very limited community interaction. The area underperforms environmentally, socially and economically and presents a substantial opportunity for regeneration The sites total approximately 1030 sq m and have a street frontage of 100 m. A considerable proportion of the sites have a single frontage. There is a slight fall of approximately 700mm from West to East across the site over a distance of 41 metres (1:59) and from North to South it is relatively level. Assembly of the site may require compulsory purchase by the Local Authority under wellbeing powers. VISUAL SURVEY 100 87 Immediate and distant thresholds and views of the site have been investigated. The results are shown over the following pages. The Fish Street area is surrounded by a range of architectural building styles and materials (See Conservation: Limitations and Opportunities). However the red brick and ornate Victorian facades on King Edwards Street provide the best example of architectural consistency and are typical of the Victorian listed buildings in this area of Leeds. Care must be taken to respect the language and expression of these buildings especially in terms of colour, materials and where practicable scale and height in any redevelopment. Much of the site is however tucked away in its own context, providing some flexibility. IDENTIFICATION OF ANY EXISTING HAZARDS 300 242 GROUND CONDITIONS CONTAMINATION Fish Street lies adjacent to Briggate and Kirkgate, two of the oldest streets in Leeds dating back to 1207. The presence of former cellars, unconsolidated ground and foundations or structural relationships with adjoining buildings will be examined. The stability of adjoining buildings and any party wall issues will need to be assessed. Any risks associated with former coal mining will be examined. Middle and Lower Coal Measures are present across central Leeds. These deposits comprise a thick sequence of alternating bands of clays, shales, sandstone, mudstone and coal (LCC, 2001, Contaminated Land). HYDROLOGY The major surface watercourse within the Leeds area is the River Aire and Leeds Liverpool Canal. The Fish Street area is not within flood risk zones currently identified (LCC, 2007, Sustainable Drainage in Leeds) MANMADE HAZARDS Given the city centre location, the air quality and the noise and light pollution levels will be assessed and mitigation taken where necessary to meet environmental standards. Vicar Lane is a major vehicular route therefore road safety and air pollution must be considered. The location and availability of gas, electricity and broadband services and foul and surface water drains must also be determined through detailed surveys and consultation. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS 350 283 CLIMATE In Leeds rainfall averages 600mm annually (metoffice.gov.uk). The predominant wind is from the South West with an average speed of 10 knots (windfinder.com). Though the project location is surrounded by large and frequent obstructions, funneling at ground level along Fish street, Kirkgate and King Edwards Street should be considered. The Fish Street area is approximately 36m above sea level. Air temperature averages 11 °C annually and a snow load of 0.6kn/m sq should be accommodated for in the design. Within the area a microclimate will moderate extremes. SUNLIGHT/DAYLIGHT At street level some overshadowing occurs, though the upper levels of the proposed development should be relatively open to sunlight subject to some flexibility in the heights relative to adjoining buildings. However, given the narrowness of the highways through the site and the single aspect of much of the sites, effective penetration of natural light into the buildings will be a major consideration. Any potential rights of light issues will be examined and negotiated. The Fish Street Area slopes gently Eastward and maximum environmental advantage will be taken of this aspect by the height and design of the new buildings. DESIGN FACTORS AND OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF THE SITE 450 CONSERVATION The Fish Street area is located in conservation area 45A of Leeds City Centre. Numerous listed buildings line King Edwards Street and Vicar Lane. Appropriate consent will be necessary to enable demolition of the buildings in the scheme and the development proposals. Conservation and urban design policies are included in the Local Development Frame Work (LDF) and need to be taken into account. ARTICULATION, ORNAMENT AND MATERIALS Facade treatment; ratio of solid to void and detailing of facades should be designed to complement traditional proportioning, and materials should complement the existing range of brick and stone in terms of reflectivity, colour and texture. Rooflines should be staggered or otherwise broken to take account of changes in level and roofs should be pitched and punctuated by features such as dormers, chimneys or turrets where appropriate. SITE ACCESS Site accommodation for the contractor and site cabins, cranes and materials is limited and must be resolved. The minimum provision of lifts can be met through incorporation of walkways in the sky between the separate sites. As some of the buildings are single aspect they will back onto blank party walls of adjoining properties and so there will be issues of absence of light and views.Ventilation ducts that run horizontally to the roof and the use of solar chimneys must be considered. COMMON LAW RIGHTS There are also rights to light, rights of way and covenants and restrictive covenants that must be investigated. Ownership factors such as Highways Services way leaves and the Party Wall Act will affect the legalities of the development. Access for refuse, emergency services and deliveries must be catered for in the design. BRIEF 1500 1527 AN OUTLINE BRIEF 500 451 An innovative iconic inner city group of buildings is required to demonstrate a new form of regeneration post credit crunch. Urban development that is more sustainable, affordable and community focused will reshape Leeds City Centre (LCC, Leeds Sustainable Strategy, 2009). The development must be an attractive investment proposition for the tenant whom is able to live and work within a likeminded empathetic community that shares the benefits of shared resources and knowledge, in an environmentally friendly, non alienating environment. BUSINESS ENTERPRISE Mixed use driven out of the older back streets of Leeds, by big commercial business on Briggate and the Headrow etc. The Fish Street area is unattractive to big commercial retailers/business due to complexities of the site. Providing a community model which makes these spaces available to smaller business. COMMUNITY Research has shown that 65% of people have nobody with whom they can co-operate in their daily lives, 84% do not have close relationships with their neighbours and one in three people live alone (2006, National Lifestyle Preferences). Crime, antisocial behaviour, dirty streets, neglected open spaces, lighting and lack of facilities for young people have also been highlighted as the most concerning of social issues (2008, New Economics Foundation). The development must address the breakdown of community in urban centres. MANAGEMENT TENURE 100 92 The membership and outreach policy will be democratic, open and inclusive and will seek to develop close connections with the surrounding community. A process of recruiting founder members will take place as part of the design process to ensure their involvement in the design of the scheme. The development must be for a mixed-income, multigenerational demographic to ensure financial and community sustainability. OVERALL EXPECTATIONS/STATEMENTS ON THE QUALITY TO BE ACHIEVED 200 111 The development will create a beautiful living, working environment which will maximise green spaces, natural energy resources and areas for social interaction, maximising the potential of the upper floors and aspect of the separate building sites and the narrow urban space between the buildings. As a pilot scheme it will need to have good quality materials, finishes and fittings that reflect the statement being made and that are durable minimising future maintenance costs. Different levels of finish will be considered as appropriate especially in the workshop areas and retail areas. A DIAGRAMMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE FUNCTIONAL AREAS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS 450 The creation of inter-junctions between interior/exterior and public/private space on a variety of scales accommodates various residential activities and will facilitate spontaneous social interactions. COMMUNAL ACCOMMODATION A communal-house will be at heart of the community and will include kitchen and dining space, a TV room, a crà ¨che and a multi-use room and will be a general use gathering space for the community. The entrance area must be both enticing and sheltered and should lead to or incorporate mail and coat functions. The communal house will have direct access to the roof terrace which will provide a real microclimate for the building, providing opportunities for food production, outdoor dining and recreational activities and a space to retreat. The kitchen must easily access innovative recycling and refuse facilities and be acoustically insulated and ventilated. Tables and equipment should be easily set up and removed and there must be two general use toilets. The crà ¨che must be accessible by the public to enable appropriate income generation and be visually connected to the kitchen. There will be separate spaces for different age groups such as babies, toddlers and teenagers. Storage, toilet and changing facilities, common house security (due to public access) and exterior play space are important considerations. Guest facilities should flank the communal house and have access to its facilities whilst being separated from the workshop and retail core of the development. PRIVATE ACCOMMODATION The cooperative will include a minimum of 6060 residential units to ensure the schemes economic viability. All residential units will meet Lifetime Homes, Homes Community Agency standards in terms of size and quality and seek to achieve Sustainable Code level 4. The buildings will house at least 138 people and 10 temporary paying guests in shared bedrooms and flats. The guest bedrooms and flats will be able to adapt and merge into a 3 bed dwelling or 5 bed dormitory. There should be at least 7 studios and 15 one bed and 20 two bed flats, half of which have an adjoining workshop. Living environments should be capable of being fully integrated with work and public spaces. All dwellings will have the ability to adapt and merge and subdivide to ensure flexibility for a changing demographic and community needs. The scheme will include at least 5 two bed flats which will have the capacity to merge with one bed flats to provide three bed dwellings. Lift facilities will be provided and the buildings will be connected at strategic levels. All units must easily access laundry, recycling and refuse services and communal accommodation. They will be located on elevated stories to provide a safe and audible separation from the street. SEMI-PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION At least 24 workshops will cater for those residents who choose not to have an adjoining workshop to their property. Workshop space may be used for stone, wood and metal work and therefore must be acoustically insulated and ventilated. Natural lighting should be incorporated where possible. Ceiling heights will be higher at ground floor level than standard residential room heights and for at least 50% of the workshop units overall. Crà ¨che PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION Trading space and small live/ work units allow residents to remain local for their work and shopping. Trading/retail court/units. Large spaces for e.g. architects, department store kind of space, small stall like space OTHER The buildings should include a cellar and also be capable of vertical extension in the future. A bike park and an innovative recycling and refuse facility will be located at ground floor level. The latter will be accessible to all and in particular will be linked to the communal kitchen and workshops.. It should be secure hidden from view but accessible to collection vehicles. SCHEDULE OF MAJOR AREAS OF ACCOMMODATION ANALYSIS OF THE BRIEF 900 1076 AIMS (ARE REALISTIC/ACHIEVABLE?) 100 63 The scheme will offer quality affordable housing accommodation that embraces cohousing principles with dedicated creative business and workshop space, removing the cost of commuting and fostering the entrepreneurial spirit of the City, creating a socio-economic sustainability that can successfully foster and adapt to the changing needs of the community. A LWBC creates a balance of community and privacy, by arranging private, self-sufficient homes around a communal house with shared resources. The narrow access ways between the site components lends itself to the principles of co housing schemes. The location is within walking distance of public transport and other community essential amenities such as food shops, restaurants, places of worship and cultural attractions. Assembly of the site would if necessary involve Compulsory Planning Order by the Local Authority under well being powers. BUSINESS ENTERPRISE A range of affordable workshops of different sizes and configurations allow for people who desire a better choice of where and how to live and work. Large commercial/office space will be rented to outside business and a number of small retail outlets and a trading court can be used by the residents or again rented to local creative businesses. COMMUNITY The scheme will encourage empathy for small business and enterprise within a highly interactive urban community. Tenants will live, work via the internet, manufacture, produce and sell on site. Based on the Danish co-housing model, community interaction is maximised through mixing private living space with shared facilities in a co-house. The benefits of the community include the creation of a traditional neighbourhood within a dense urban centre with safe environments onto which the residential units front and common values. There are particular benefits for children in terms of secure play space and shared activities with their peers. The multi generational LWBC is for creative professionals (including architects, artists, jewelers, potters, music producers etc) who choose to shape their business produce, within a fluid architecture that will change shape as their living needs change, shaping an ever evolving organic inner city community. The communal living concept builds upon established demand for similar projects around the UK including projects in Stroud, Lancaster, Lewes, Dorset, Sheffield, Bradford on Avon and London with at least 15 other prospective projects. MANAGEMENT TENURE (HOW IT WORKS?) 400 563 A partner Registered Social landlord (RSL) will be sought to oversee and support the development. A mixed tenure of units is proposed which may vary depending on market conditions. Approximately 25% of units will be owner occupied with units owned outright through long term fixed leases (called leasehold enfranchisement). Mortgage funding would be sought by such purchasers. The investor therefore benefits from any increases in property value should they decide to sell. Any profit from this element of the scheme will be used to cross-subsidise the rest. Approximately 50% of units will be social rented properties subsidised by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) Social Housing Association Grant at 50% of development cost the rest being funded from rental income operated through a fair rent common ownership cooperative. The land and dwellings will be owned by a registered co-operative which is controlled by its members who are those who lease the properties. The build cost will be financed by mortgage loans from long term investors (such as Ecology Building Society, the Cooperative Bank or Triodos or the Local Council through Prudential Borrowing or The Homes and Communities Agency), together with grants and deposits from members some of which are effectively retainers. The remaining 25% of properties will be a form of shared ownership. The land and build cost is financed by the mortgage loans and divided into equity shares that are bought by members through monthly payments. Members will need to pay a minimum deposit equal to 10% of the equity shares they can afford to finance through their monthly payments. 5% will be paid on joining and the other 5% when land is purchased. A credit check will ensure that potential members are able to repay the mortgage debt. The number of individual shares owned depends on the build cost of the individuals home and what is affordable (these are the number of shares which are financed by 35% of net income). The value of the equity shares owned by these households must not differ by more than (+ or -) 10% of the build cost. Members therefore secure a foothold on the housing ladder at lower household incomes and the correlation to average earnings helps reduce risk and retain affordability. Similar tenure models are evident in Norway OBOS (Oslo Buildings and Savings Co-operative) providing for 214,000 members, and in Sweden HSB Riskforbund provides for 375,000. Le Corbusiers, Unite dHabitation de Reze, in Nantes also follows a highly active co-ownership principle involving private and public tenants. TYPES OF UNITS PROPOSED There will be a range of residential unit sizes. 20% studios, 40% 1 bed and 40% 2 beds of which 10% will have the capacity to adapt into 3 bed dwellings. Members can therefore move between properties as they become available and as their housing needs change (See schedule of accommodation). All of the studio units and 50% of the 1 bed dwellings will have enlarged living quarters to enable home office working. Flexible workshops spaces will also be provided between some of the residential units that can be shared or sole used by adjoining tenants. 20 separate workshops will be provided for those tenants who choose not to live directly with their work place. Retail units and large commercial office space at ground floor level which will be rented on a commercial basis on the open market. An additional guest space associated with the communal facilities is provided on a rentable easy in and out basis with an appropriate retainer. DESIGN ISSUES 1500 EXISTING PROJECTS AND THE THEMES OF THE SOLUTIONS WHICH IDENTIFY THE ARCHITECTURAL QUALITIES 600 BOXLEY STREET, SILVERTOWN, EAST LONDON, ASH SAKULA 2004 This housing scheme involved the reconsideration of housing standards and regulations for the Peabody Trust. The enlarged circulation space renamed sorting zone is the focus point for communal activity, and the kitchen are the most important parts of the dwellings. The zone is a room in itself promoting use for many different functions and the kitchen is for living, meeting, playing and cooking. The only built-in cupboards are in the zone rather than in the bedrooms. This plan reverses typical spatial priorities providing more space in areas usually designed down to a minimum. The remaining rooms are reduced to a minimum size and can be used in a variety of ways including fro bedrooms or living space. KRAFTWERK 1 STUCHELI BUNZLI COURVOISIER ARCHITEKTEN, ZURICH HARDTURMSTRASSE 287, ZURICH, SWITZERLAND 2001 200 177 An inner city site in Zà ¼rich comprises of three buildings 5-9 storeys for Kraftwerk 1 housing cooperative which promotes living, working and living and social inclusion. It has sustainable objectives and is financed by commercial loans, investments from members and state assistance. These Suiten are intended to allow different forms of communal and co-living though a variety of communal and private spaces. The building blocks feature a large variety of flat sizes, ranging from 2.5 room flats to units with up to 13 rooms and from 31 m2 to 350 m2. They range from singles and families to communal groups of independent people. The range of unit sizes is facilitated by a repetitive constructional system of cross walls, which can be knocked through at points. The cross walls are spaced at the width of a typical residential room. This dimension allows an almost infinite range of potential layouts. The units have a central circulation and service core and it is also possible to insert private internal staircases between cross walls, to create two and three storey apartments. URBAN CENTRE COHOUSING COOP CANYON, DALLAS200 58 Designed by Standard for the Dallas Urban Re:Vision competition, Coop Canyon harvests enough rainwater, solar energy, and agriculture to completely sustain its 1,000 residents. The structure resembles a terraced canyon with housing units tucked into the canyon wall. On the canyon floor, community gardens allow residents to grow produce. The design exploits natural energy resources through a central atrium space. Excellent permeability and footfall across and through the site allow for community engagement with the retail and crà ¨che facilities. A communal facility with shared cooking and laundry and recreation facilities is a key part of the scheme as with all cohousing. This is located centrally on an immediate level so is easily accessed by all. ADAPTIVE LIVING 41-75 CONSORT ROAD, PECKHAM, LONDON 200 229 (Walter Menteth Architects 2007) Clear span floor construction across the width of individual residential units means internal partitions are non-load bearing and enable considerable flexibility in layout from the outset (Schneider T 2007 p 195) (See Figure X). Spans of up to 6.5 metres require steel/concrete beam and column frame construction. Party wall block-work/masonry walls can be used as the main load-bearing structure. Fin wall construction maintains considerable flexibility.

The Technological Tower of Babel: Electronic and Digital Tongues in Media Society :: Technology Technological Essays

The Technological Tower of Babel: Electronic and Digital Tongues in Media Society Works Cited Missing Anticipate the moment at which all your personal electronic devices - headphone audio player, cellular telephone, pager, dictaphone, camcorder, personal digital assistant (PDA), electronic stylus, radiomodem, calculator, Loran positioning system, smart spectacles, VCR remote, data glove, electronic jogging shoes that count your steps and flash warning signals at oncoming cars, medical monitoring system, pacemaker (if you are so unfortunate), and anything else that you might habitually wear or occasionally carry - can seamlessly be linked in a wireless bodynet that allows them to function as an integrated system and connects them to the worldwide digital network. (Mitchell 29) In City of Bits, from which the above quotation was taken, William Mitchell outlines a digitally integrated future which we need only optimistically anticipate. He goes on to discuss the possibility, or perhaps inevitability, of cyborg citizens where digital and electronic devices will extend and enhance human perception, efficiency and overall convenience. However, what is noticeably downplayed in the above quotation is reference to the citizen component of this technological symbiosis. Beyond the nebulous assertion that it will be "you" who will be wearing or carrying these devices, the only element that approximates the notion of a human within this mass of interconnected gadgetry is Mitchell's concept of the "bodynet". But rather than implying that the human body is at the center of a network of technology, this term appropriates a human characteristic and applies it to an inert collection of digital devices. What Mitchell inadvertently alludes to is the fact that as our cybernet ic components begin to communicate with each other, our biological half is increasingly relegated to the periphery of this communication, and by extension, of this new cybernetic existence. If technology is to play the pivotal role outlined in City of Bits, the most important development to come out of the notion of the cyborg citizen may well be the drowning out of the human voice under the increasingly boisterous voice of technology. Although Mitchell's concept of the cyborg citizen may be some years away, the groundwork for the removal of human language has already been laid. Not only does technology circumvent human language through intra-technological communication, it also devalues it as humans become more dependent on technologically mediated language transmission. The telephone, the television, and most recently the Internet and digital technologies deconstruct and then reconstitute human content at reception sites. The Technological Tower of Babel: Electronic and Digital Tongues in Media Society :: Technology Technological Essays The Technological Tower of Babel: Electronic and Digital Tongues in Media Society Works Cited Missing Anticipate the moment at which all your personal electronic devices - headphone audio player, cellular telephone, pager, dictaphone, camcorder, personal digital assistant (PDA), electronic stylus, radiomodem, calculator, Loran positioning system, smart spectacles, VCR remote, data glove, electronic jogging shoes that count your steps and flash warning signals at oncoming cars, medical monitoring system, pacemaker (if you are so unfortunate), and anything else that you might habitually wear or occasionally carry - can seamlessly be linked in a wireless bodynet that allows them to function as an integrated system and connects them to the worldwide digital network. (Mitchell 29) In City of Bits, from which the above quotation was taken, William Mitchell outlines a digitally integrated future which we need only optimistically anticipate. He goes on to discuss the possibility, or perhaps inevitability, of cyborg citizens where digital and electronic devices will extend and enhance human perception, efficiency and overall convenience. However, what is noticeably downplayed in the above quotation is reference to the citizen component of this technological symbiosis. Beyond the nebulous assertion that it will be "you" who will be wearing or carrying these devices, the only element that approximates the notion of a human within this mass of interconnected gadgetry is Mitchell's concept of the "bodynet". But rather than implying that the human body is at the center of a network of technology, this term appropriates a human characteristic and applies it to an inert collection of digital devices. What Mitchell inadvertently alludes to is the fact that as our cybernet ic components begin to communicate with each other, our biological half is increasingly relegated to the periphery of this communication, and by extension, of this new cybernetic existence. If technology is to play the pivotal role outlined in City of Bits, the most important development to come out of the notion of the cyborg citizen may well be the drowning out of the human voice under the increasingly boisterous voice of technology. Although Mitchell's concept of the cyborg citizen may be some years away, the groundwork for the removal of human language has already been laid. Not only does technology circumvent human language through intra-technological communication, it also devalues it as humans become more dependent on technologically mediated language transmission. The telephone, the television, and most recently the Internet and digital technologies deconstruct and then reconstitute human content at reception sites.

Chanel Marketing Plan

Marketing Interim Report By Bilal Rasheed & Hisham Ahmed Executive Summary Chanel’s objective is to provide a sense of luxurious, elegant and fashionable bringing up for women introducing timeless style. If Chanel wants to retain the same kind of brand image then it needs to continue with the same strategies which are currently being applied. However, in order to increase market share, emphasis on mass media and e-commerce would be effective which the competitors are already practicing. Chanel’s vision is’ o be the ultimate house of luxury’.Chanel is an established brand and specializes in haute couture, luxury goods, accessories and ready to wear cloths. With the vast positive change in the global economy, the trends are changing with time like demand for luxury products is on its boom. Company Summary Chanel started back in 1909 and it is operating mainly in europe,asia and most parts of united states. The house of chanel is known for its fashion stores all over the globe. In this new milinoum Chanel stepped up its purchsess in luxury sectors.Chanel offers and is known for fashion apparel ,watches ,eye products and various other fasion able accessories for women. Products and services Product description: Chanel specializes in wide range of products. Famous Perfumes by Chanel include Allure, Chance Eau Tendre and N5, which used to be global perfume leader and is still one the best perfumes in the world. The company offers trendy handbags as well. These emply different leather and locks in order to be adjustable to individuals One of the famous unisex wristwatches line by Chanel is J12.Chanel also has a clothing line for women. Competitive Comparison: Brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci are strong competitors for Chanel as they have a very strong image amongst the people. Technological needs: Chanel, a luxury goods brand with a long tradition, has evolved into what it is now by constantly adding new innovations to its tradition. Instea d of resting on the business fields where it has proven successful, the company has brought forth new ideas. Technology management refers to business management conducted around sophisticated technological proficiency.Although Chanel was a latecomer to the watch business, Chanel’s commitment to technology is noticeable in the establishment of its own workshop. Chanel’s commitment to technology will be considered through the example of the â€Å"J12,†, Chanel’s first mechanical watch. Market Analysis Target market Target Market Segment Strategy: Chanel customers are women who wants to identify what Chanel represents which is elegance, simplicity, modern and class. Chanel’s cosmetics are targeted to younger consumers but they still retain the classic market which is their strong suit.With the launch of chance perfume, Chanel is targeting women between the age group 18-39. Market Trends: Trends change every now and then and it is important for a busin ess to keep a track of changing trends especially in the target audience. In Chanel’s case changing trends could be more like e. g. ; in accessories, size of pendants or shapes of earrings keep changing with time however, style remains the same and Chanel’s market image is such that what they bring into the market is labeled as fashion. Market Growth:Chanel’s success started from the sale of their famous, world leading perfumes, N5. Later on in 1920’s and 1930’s they decided to launch new perfumes amongst the public to gain more market. Soir De Paris was another fragrance launched after N5. To keep flourishing in the market and to make the business grow, cloths were also being sold under Chanel’s name. In late 1980’s more than 40 boutiques were opened worldwide. This was later followed by other product chains like Shoes, Chanel watches and various other highly priced accessories Industry AnalysisIndustry Participants/Key Players: The key players in the industry same as Chanel would be; * Louise Vuitton * L’Oreal’s Lancome * Calvin Klein * Gucci * Burberry * Alberta Ferretti * Bulgari * Canali Main Competitors/Competitive Analysis: Chanel’s biggest competitors in the market would be L’Oreal’s Lancome who are also focusing mainly on luxury cosmetics along with Chanel creating a very tough competition. Not just this but other renowned brands like Gucci and LV are also equally strong competitors specifically for Handbags and other accessories.Perhaps it’s really hard to dominate in such a market where brand image for competitors is also very strong. Strategy and Implementation Summary Marketing Strategy: Chanel is focusing a lot on developing plans to take an impressive lineage into today’s market. During 1999, Chanel took an initiative to target the age group of people under twenty five which was earlier ignored by the company. It was really important to take some ne w initiatives like this in order to compete with competitive fashion stores like C Pricing Strategy: Chanel is known for its luxurious products around the globe.To Maintain this top quality image products, high prices are being charged for its products. For similar reasons, their products are usually not discounted as it won’t be really consistent for their image at all. Prices for their product are decided and selected entirely by Chanel, France. Promotion Strategy: To grow their market, Chanel focuses more on promoting their new products instead of older ones. For this, their website is updated frequently providing information for all the up to date promotions and also about their new upcoming products, if any.Not just this but to keep up with customers, very clear and easy information is provided for the customers to reach the company and contact them. This would help the company get their feedback and work on it in order to main the relations with customers and satisfy th em. Distribution Patterns: Products by Chanel such as their perfumes are not only sold in their own boutiques but also by other distributers. E. g in Canada, Distributors such as The bay, Luwinna etc are selling their perfumes aswell. Basically chanel uses a comparatively short channel for distribution.Chanel has mostly signed with local distributors in different country along with their own boutiques. This is just to diversify and make the most out of sales. SWOT Analysis Strengths * Very strong brand image * Efficient management with intense training * High quality products Weakness * Poor geographical coverage * Work needs to be done on website as it does not specifies the prices for products Oppertunities * Can look forward to expand more, specifically In asia irorder to gain more market * Keep up with technology Threats * Highly priced and counterfiet productsWeb Plan Summary Website Marketing Strategy: To grow sales and gain a foothold in competitive markets, having so many to ugh competitors, products were sold online directly through their website making it easier for all the customers to get the product. This would definitely enhance their total amount of sales at the end of the day. Development Requirements: * Invest in the emerging markets, open more stores * Increase emphasis on new media technology * Pay more attention to the counterfeit and possible invest in technology to prevent it.

Global Managerial Essay

Debt crisis of 1980 was quite significant in a number of ways. First it enabled the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to gain a visible role in managing its crisis. The crisis also played quite substantial role in financial crisis of Asians. IMF is criticized by many observers because of its ability to handle cases related to debt crisis but all in all this institution finally helped in resolving the acute phase of the debt crisis. The fund brought together the commercial banks, countries with debt and other issues which were involved in the crisis. Various involvements of MIF in their development issues were also illustrated by the debt crisis. The value of existence of IMF was greatly facilitated by the debt crisis. There are quite a number of social cost which arisen as a result of debt crisis of 1980. Debt crisis during this period eventually wiped out all the efforts which were made to reduce poverty within those countries which owned debts (Carrasco R. 2008). Global managerial entails shifting of management from being managed by the national state to being managed by the global institution. This shifting can be either absolute or not. Various institutions that are managed nationally usually embrace various global goals. The state need to adopt various procedures and policies so that they can achieve better global managerial since it entirely needs to be developed from within but not to be adopted from other countries. This usually helps in relocating producers in various global economies. This managerial basically recognizes global managerial in all parts of the world but not just in some specific parts. The debt crisis of 1980 was basically viewed as crisis for banking which left out other national economies to give various feedbacks which could else be challenging to the state’s development. Since debt crisis was entirely treated as banking crisis brought about global fin. This time of debt crisis physically brought a lot of challenges to various state developments. This resulted to rise of the social spending and various state enterprises were finally privatized as a result of these crisis. During the debt crisis regime, two trends were incorporated in the crisis which had emerged in 1970s. First economic growth diverged among the states which were affected by the crisis after they underwent the 3W as collective entities (Macesich 1996). Then the world economy was managed through global managerial and management strategies which were used were coordinated through procedures based on various rules which were used to solve out various management issues. During this regime various terms debts were rescheduled by most of the countries which made them not to pay for their dues as if was required. Therefore, these debts over extended and this made many countries which were being affected by the debt crisis. The debt crisis started to grow in early 80’s which was led by growing countries which earned a lot of money earned as a result of oil that they exported to other countries. This led to these countries having extra money which brought about idea of rendering the money to other countries which did not have a lot of income. These countries which had extra money as a result of sale of oil deposited their extra money into western banks which realized that most of the countries had a lot of money which was not freely circulating but it was only invested in banks (Baird 2006). This money was lead to the third world countries by the bank so that they could initiate various development projects which could consequently boost their status to produce more money and the banks believed that since the money was lead out for development projects, they will consequently pay with a lot of interest. Due to some factors which arose such as global recession, increased would interest rate and low prices of commodities eventually made a lot of debts to grow quite fast and therefore these countries begun to fail in the payment of their debts which made them to result in owning large amount of debts from the bank. The money which was loaned to those developing countries increased significantly during the early 1980’s. These countries since they were unable to pay their debts, they continued to owe money from World Bank, IMF and to other first world government which had invested their money in those bank. Therefore due to these huge debts owned by developing countries, the debts crisis arose. In quite simple terms, debt crisis arose as a result of debts owned by the third world countries. These debt crises kept on growing since these countries were unable to repay the debts that they owned from the banks. Most of the loans which are owned by the third world countries in most cases are repaid using hard currency which are quite stable and therefore their value to not keep on changing in most countries (Watkin 1995). Most developing countries usually use soft currencies which usually deteriorate the value with time and therefore it’s no very much applicable in paying the debts and therefore the debts owned by the country eventually rises. The values of debts kept growing which makes the export to decrease and the value of most of the commodities to consequently go down this has brought a lot of problems in paying back the loans they owned. Most of the Europeans countries were involved in various debt crises which were quite huge such that they could not be waved. Various institutions such as commercial banks facilitated the adverse growth of the debt crisis. Due to rapid development of the crisis, IMF played quite a major role in helping to solve various crises. It acted as a loophole for those countries which were heavy laden by debts but it was unable to solve various problems such as economic problem, societal and also political problems. Despite of its great effort to solve the crisis it failed in carrying out those measures. Debt crisis contributed greatly to global changes which are meant to control various economic services associated with the debt crisis and these economic policies are usually globally managed by which government is meant to adopt various policies which are usually presented by various global institution which are usually designed in regard to globe instead of national consideration which has consequently lead to erosion third world state’s sovereignty (Thedani 2006). Most of these countries acquired debts after borrowing money in late 1970’s and faced quite a number of difficulties in repaying the debts. After the debtors who were basically the banks made various negotiations in regard to the debts condition after they were equally accepted by the global management and they also had overview of the policies in regard to national economy. The countries which owned various debts developed financial power of world wide multilateral institutions which gave them powers to have concession from the state which helped them to pay their debts (Loxley 1998). It paying for their debts, it was required of them to adopt to move policies which were economic so that they can have strategies of repaying for their debts. During this time of debt crisis, various terms of economic managements were reformulated which enabled powers to be shifted from third world state towards various global agencies. The banking institutions which were involved in debt crisis to allocate powers onto themselves which were meant to regulate unprecedented power. In the rise of debt crisis, people believed that it rose to due to many factors. Some of those who observed the rise of debt crisis believed that petrodollar recycling which occurred during 1970’s resulted to these debt crises. This period is known to have had high oil prices which had risen drastically. Many of the countries which exported oil such as Middle East countries had a lot of profit which made them to invest large sum of money in various banking institutions especially in European and United State banks. These banks wanted to make profit for those countries which needed loans and this facilitated to them being led large sums of money which was not consequently repaid. Most of the developing countries by them wanted to borrow large sums of money so that they could boost their development projects. They believed that this money was relatively cheap and that they could be able to repay it without any problems. The debts kept on increasing and these people were finally unable to repay the debts which resulted to debt crisis of 1980. After this period of borrowing money from various banking institutions the export decreased and the internet rate increased significantly during the period in early 1980s. Due to this decrease, debtors consequently defeated in paying their debts to those banking institutions and therefore the country’s owner of money felt that they needed their money due to the decreased export. Giving out of these loans and borrowing of loans by the developing countries came to an end in 1980’s with global recession. The debtor countries had experienced quite a significant drop in their exports, and at the same time dollar value increased more than the value of other currencies which were used by other countries (Effros 1989). Interest rate globally increased foreign exchange which was reserved for debtors depleted and therefore these countries only looked upon the help from the various transactions which resulted from the international finances. Those debtor countries strained a lot in making arrangements to pay for their debts which was quite expensive for those countries since the money that they had received from these banking institutions had floating rates of interest which consequently increased with relative increase in global rates. Those who were active participant of the debt crisis included-government from both third world countries and those from developing countries, World Bank, banking institutions such as commercial bank and the IMF (Thedani 2006). As a result of their negotiation in regards to the debt crisis they made the international finances to collapse since they did not come in terms when negotiating for the means of payment of those debts since the currency was not stable and it kept on depreciating in value. The debt crisis caused a lot of strain on the social cost which lead to development of the lost decade those who were involved in debt crisis and also various observers and a negative attitude towards World Bank and IMF because of the way that they handled the debt crisis. Their criticism was quite similar to that of financial crisis which developed among the Asians. These banking institutions finally came up with stable way of dealing with the crisis since they came up with adjustment program by coming up with high prices in developing countries. Most of the developing countries contributed greatly to neoliberalism as a result of debt crisis (Pascual 2006). This is because these countries had to come up with their own ways of ensuring that they repay the debts that they owned with their own companies so that they could eventually raise money to repay their debts on. Those companies which were established by the developing countries, when they were unable to repay the debts that they owned they gave shares to those countries who had given the loans so that they could be part of the shareholders and they believed that this would help them in retrieving back their money. In conclusion, the debts owned by the third world countries cannot be repaid by those countries which are under developed loans which are rendered a fresh only increases the burden of debts in those countries and this can lead to future crisis arising and more also worsening since they will tighten the financial situation of the third world countries.

Developing the Under Developed essays

Developing the Under Developed essays The desolate and scorched soil of a vast empire that once ruled lay wasted in the dim morning sun. This is symbolic of a newly developed nation that grew at a pace that the environment could not stand. Human life in future generations depends on the judgement of the civilizations prior to the existing generation. Historical research points to many reasons why developing nations should conserve not expend their resources. Three areas of analysis that solve this dilemma are the obligation to later generations (religious), governmental obligations (political), and the harms caused by developing fully (religiouspolitical). One must also consider the repercussions caused by each decision on not only the existing generations but the generations that follow as well. The first area of analysis is the obligation to the later generations. All the creatures born or awaiting birth have a right to live in the world with peace. (doc. 4) One can not be so vain as to state that one human is any better than another is, therefore when once a human destroys a resource beyond recovery than that individual is denying the rights of everyone that follows. It is an injustice to deny the God given right to live in peaceful and undisturbed world. Denying the earth as a living object, some ecologists fail to realize the true repercussions that could and will plague the earth if resources are expended by the current nation and not left for the next. (doc. 16) The Egyptian people believed that without the Nile then their civilization would die. Their logic was that if the Nile dried up or was ruined in any way then the dwelling is silent and all fertility is lost. The Egyptians also believe that even the Gods would be upset if the Nile were to be tarnished becaus e it would destroy and render the fields that they created useless. (doc. 2) Giving the people dominion over animals and other creatures, God intended the people to ...

Using the Lexical Approach for the Acquisition of ESP Vocabulary †Spanish Essay

Using the Lexical Approach for the Acquisition of ESP Vocabulary – Spanish Essay Free Online Research Papers Using the Lexical Approach for the Acquisition of ESP Vocabulary Spanish Essay Galina Kavaliauskienà « and Violeta Janulevià ¨nà « propose in this article that specialized vocabulary is the most important realm in teaching ESP. They also consider that â€Å"the more words a learner knows, the larger the learner’s vocabulary is†. Also, we have to take into account another fact in what vocabulary knowledge concernes. Galina and Violeta affirm that a native speaker knows a wide range of many other words for any given word, this is the reason why the larger the combinatory possibilities of a word the learner masters, the more knowledge of specialized items s/he can use. These specialized items are called by some researchers ‘chunks of language’ (also ‘lexical phrases or items’, or ‘multi- word chunks’). According to the authors these chunks of language, which are the occurrence of lexical patterns in language use, are very important in language use and acquisition because they provide many advantages for ESP language teaching. Michael Lewis (a contributing writer to the New York Times Magazine, a columnist for Bloomberg, and a visiting fellow at the University of California) proposed in 1993 that language consisted of lexical items belonging to four major groups. The first group consists of not many words and polywords, which have usually been considered to be essential vocabulary that the learner has to memorize. The second group is collocations, which is the way in which words usually occour with each other. The acquisition of the most common ESP collocations is paramount to develop an accurate level of English. The third and fourth groups are fixed and semi-fixed expressions, which are considered to be, as well as ESP collocations, the most important types of chunks or lexical phrases, because, as native speakers use and combine them, mastering these accurately will offer the learner the possibility to understand how language works. Related to Lewis’s theory, Galina and Violeta suggest that ESP students must learn and master high-priority vocabulary but do not need to know which category the chunks belong to. What ESP student must have in mind is the awareness of their existence and their effective learning. At this point the role of the teacher is essential for the learners to recognize chunks. S/he must spend some time to develop learners’ strategies for dealing with new lexical phrases. For this purpose they created a list of authentic passages containing the target lexical phrase so that learners are led to discover what different collocations exist for the item. As no knowledge on lexical category is needed to identify chunks of language, Galina and Violeta emphasize the use of authentic material, so that language units are learned in context, which is better for the students’ intake of ESP vocabulary. If an item is decontextualised it is more difficult to retain it in memory and conseq uently to master it. Finally, Galina and Violeta recommend for the students not to forget the new acquired ESP vocabulary to check comprehension of authentic passages, to practice, to revise and to consolidate. They suggest a specific activities for each recommendation, namely, a ‘fill in the blanks’ exercise to the comprehension check; oral practice for the second and ‘role-play’, ‘problem solving’, ‘discussions’, or ‘pictorial schemata’ exercises to revise and consolidate the vocabulary. In conclusion, ESP learners become aware of lexical phases and identify them thanks to Galina and Violeta’s lexical approach method, because they do not have to concentrate on lexical categories but on the structures of the phrases or chunks. It is worth to say that multi-word chunks is a challenge for second language acquisition because it reinforces the students spontaneous availability to use ESP items. It seems to be interesting Research Papers on Using the Lexical Approach for the Acquisition of ESP Vocabulary - Spanish EssayStandardized TestingAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementOpen Architechture a white paperAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraMind TravelQuebec and CanadaResearch Process Part OneRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Organizattional Structure Presentation Annotated Bibliography

Organizattional Structure Presentation - Annotated Bibliography Example The management of the organization needs to select financial experts to serve in the financial committee as a guide on finances. Financial experts prepare budget, financial statements and carry out audits of the organization. Harris, M. G., Society for Health and Administration Programs in Education., & Australian College of Health Services Executives. (2006). Managing health services: Concepts and practice. Marrickville, N.S.W: Elsevier Australia Development of quality improvement and clinical audit, experiences with other industries, consumers and funders has led to a keen interest to understand the nature of risk. Need to understand the potential benefit of risk, its management, and its influence to cause adverse effects. Lombardi & Schermerhorn (2007) shows the importance of a trustworthy form of communication in the healthcare organization. Examples are formal, informal, external and internal. Communication with stakeholders, patients, outside world and in the organization is essential. Miller (2007) puts into perspective the importance given to the human resource such as employee culture development of belonging and motivation for more productivity. There is the need to have a conducive work environment and maintenance of a balance between socio-technical system and effectiveness of the

Conference and Banqueting Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Conference and Banqueting Management - Assignment Example In the era of globalization, conference industry is regarded as the significant and vital. This is mainly due to the fact that it can help to bridge the gap modification of numerous industries from one nation to another. Example of the pivotal conference is World Expo. This conference is considered as the large scale worldwide international expo. Banquet industry is basically served as the purpose for large feast or meal. It is completed by the introduction of main course and ending with deserts. The purpose of the fest or meal can be for celebration, charitable occasion and honour of someone or can be ceremony. It has been estimated that in the UK more than 1.8 million people are being employed in the hospitality industry. This reveals the scope of conference and banquet industry which is crucial for any country. In the year 2006, it has found out that in UK more than 1.37 million conferences are held (Galal, 2008, p.72). According to one of the catering company Sodexo Prestige, it is determined that banqueting and conference sector has enjoyed a sustainable growth over the period of time which is regarded as resurgent. This is also defined as the scope of banquet and conference industry as it can help to maintain economic growth and sustainability in UK. Banquet industry was previously regarded as only food and beverage event. But eventually it has evolved from personalized catering business for any occasion in to full throttle event management industry. The scope of banquet industry is enormous as it is worth of about 500 billion dollars globally (Sernovitz, 2012, p.32). Due to the mature growth of banquet industry, it enabled catering companies to achieve some additional services which can be increase in revenue per contract or can be increase in royal customer base. Banquet in the older days were lot more different than of modern perception. In the 16th century, after dinner guests used to drink wine. But during the 17th century, after dinner

An analysis of the business communication skills needed by entry-level Assignment - 1

An analysis of the business communication skills needed by entry-level accountants - Assignment Example The results of this survey have shown that communication skills are essential especially for new hires. The study notes that the major important communication skills that are required by the new graduates include spelling, grammar, punctuation as well as writing clearly and precisely. This helps the new accountants to be in a position to achieve the desired goals especially with regards to information exchange with their targeted audiences. The study has noted that new accountants often lack basic communication skills such as writing and this often impacts negatively on their performance since there are chances that they may be rated as poor though it may not be the case. To a larger extent, this study is authentic given that there is no work that can be done without communication. Workers exchange views and ideas through the use of different communication styles that range from verbal to nonverbal communication, written as well as listening strategies. In order to be effective in co mmunication, each individual should be conversant in one or all of the communication skills outlined above. The other important aspect why communication is vital in the accounting profession is that the accountants are in a better position to give instructions to their workmates. The employees are also in a position to create mutual understanding among themselves if they communicate effectively. This can be achieved through the use of effective communication skills where the communicators are clear and precise in whatever they say.

Ethics & Social Responsability in Strategic Management Essay

Ethics & Social Responsability in Strategic Management - Essay Example could result in delay in supply of any one of them and consequently delay the launch. Â   The delay in projects, especially when the dates are announced, may corrode the reputation because the businesses build their credibility on the efficient and timely delivery of their projected target objectives. Mutual trust between business partners is also an important part of business processes and withholding of crucial information corrodes their credibility in the market that may result in loss of business in future. Â   The companies had not been able to launch successfully a commercial satellite primarily because it not only is high cost venture with costly software and hardware, the amount of contract is also dependent on the size of the anticipated market, the number of competitors and the whether the imageries would be used by the military and local agencies. Secondly in the case of the delays in launch, the preferences of the market may change, resulting in huge financial and business loss. Satellite programs are dependent on the venture capitalists for their finance and in case, they are not able to acquire advance contracts or their rivals are able to gain leverage, the venture capitalists are likely to withdraw from the business that may force the companies to stop production, leading to bankruptcy. The venture capitalists look for companies that could acquire advance contracts so as to ensure success for their investment. The current problem mainly cropped up because there was great chances of delay in the officially stated launch date of the satellite due to the fact that the satellite camera sub contractor was having problems with the development of thermal stabilizers for the instruments. The development of the thermal stabilizers could take up more time, thus delaying the launch by twelve to eighteen months. If the launch date is officially delayed and advanced by another one year, the company is

Law of express trust Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Law of express trust - Case Study Example It may be either a person or a legal entity; iv) Beneficiary, i.e. the person for whose benefit the trust was created. v) Purpose of the trust, i.e. the trust must have a purpose, which is legally valid. Express Trusts are further broadly classified into i) Living Trust: It is also known as inter vivos trust is made for the advantage of another during the lifetime of settlor. ii) Testamentary trusts: These are created by the will of the settlor. That means, the settlor's property will be converted into trust property only after his death. iii) Revocable Trusts: It is a trust where the setlor has full control over the trust property, and he can change or annul the trust at any time. This is a trust, which is at the whims and fancy of the settlor. iv) Irrevocable Trusts: As the name implies, this is a trust, which cannot be revocable except the consent of the beneficiaries, and trustees. Moreover, the trust does not fizzle out once the purpose of the trust is fulfilled. v) Fixed Trusts: These are those trusts where the trust property will be shared by the beneficiaries as per the calendar fixed by the settlor. In distributing the property, the trustee has no discretion to play. Gartsi de v IRC [1968] AC 553 the Inland Revenue argued that as each beneficiary might be entitled to income from the trust fund, they should each be charged as if they were entitled to the whole of the fund. vi) Discretionary Trusts: They are those trusts where the trustee has absolute power in management, administration and distribution and allocating the shares of the trust property to beneficiaries. This trust offers many tax benefits to the beneficiaries, as no interest is created to them until the property is distributed. Rights of beneficiaries: Under a discretioanry trust, the rights of individual beneficiaries are not clear. In Re Smith [1928] Ch 915 it was held that the trustees had to draw up a "complete list" of beneficiaries, but this principle is changed in McPhail v Doulton [1971] A.C. 424, 451, in case of family trust. Court's Jurisdiction: Schmidt v Rosewood Trust Ltd [2003] UKPC 26, [2003] 3 All ER 76: In this case the court held that 1) The court has inherent jurisdiction to supervise and even intervene in the administration of a trust if necessary. And there is no exception even in discretionary trust. 2) This inherent jurisdiction is the fundamental of law of trust. 3) The right to seek the court's intervention did not depend on entitlement to a fixed and transmissible interest. 3) The court has the discretion to intervene to maintain the balance between the competing interest of beneficiaries, the trustees and the third parties. Gartside v IRC [1968] 1 All ER 121 at 134.Re Manisty's Settlement [1973] 2 All ER 1203 at 1211-1212, Mettoy Pension Trustees Ltd v Evans [1991] 2 All ER 513 at 549. Questions: 1. Transactions made by the trustees in the course of management of trust property: The trustees made the following three transactions: 1. Sale Vintage care for 15,000 during the last year to Crowther's son, 2. Payment of legal management fee of 25,000 to the solicitors firm in which the trustees are partners. 3. Decided to invest from existing deposits in to a) partly

Saving Natural Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Saving Natural Resources - Essay Example Likewise, the contemporary lifestyle of people all over the world can not be thought to exist without oil. Oil is used for fuelling the vehicles and airplanes. The modern lifestyle is shaped according to these. We can not think to continue the business in the modern age without having vehicles, which in turn, require oil to be driven. â€Å"A litre of petrol produces about 2.5kg (5 lbs) of greenhouse gases, while a US gallon produces nearly 15 lbs of greenhouse gases† (Viator.com). Gas is an alternative to oil, but that does not solve the problem of unsustainable development because that too is a natural resource and depletes as more and more of it is being used. The contemporary lifestyle is an outcome of heavy reliance on natural resources, thus it will diminish along with the natural resources. In light of the rapidly depleting natural resources, we need to change our living practices so that we can enjoy the pleasures of life for a longer period of time. Of all the natural resources, the one that concerns us the most is oil. If we stop depending upon oil, we will have done much to make the life style sustainable. In order to achieve that, what needs to be looked into is the purposes we need oil for in general. We generally need oil for fuelling cars and making electricity. Both of these purposes can be achieved without depending upon oil. Most of the oil that is extracted from Earth is used for fuelling vehicles. â€Å"Transportation is the second leading contributor to greenhouse gases in the country† (Shahan). The potential solution to this problem lies in the use of bicycles. Bicycles offer a solution not only to this, but to various other problems of the contemporary age as well like obesity. Bicycles do not need any fuel to be driven and yet, the wheels on which it runs make the journey less time consuming. In order to drive a bicycle, the rider needs to peddle constantly. This is a very good exercise for the thighs. In addition to making us smart and healthy, use of bicycles also reduces the chances of dreadful road accidents. The collision of a bicycle rider with a man on foot is least likely to result into a life taking accident, unless there were some other factors involved in it. Thus, by replacing vehicles with bicycles, man can not only make himself indifferent to the oil reserves, but it will also make our living practices environment friendly and the life style sustainable. Natural resources not only include what is hidden under the surface of Earth; they also constitute all plants and animals as they are the fundamental source of food and nutrition for the humans. Polar bears are dying in large numbers as a result of the global warming. The point here is not that they are food for humans, but â€Å"[i]f people want a more people-centered reason to save polar bears, it surely exists in the way lack of polar bears could ultimately affect human food supply and commercial fishing industries† (Ellis-Chri stensen). This takes the discussion of saving natural resources to the level of global warming. The two phenomena are linked with each other. As the temperature of Earth is rising, more and more animals are dying. They can not sustain the effect of heat. Therefore, we also need to take measures to reduce global warming in our attempt to save natural resources. Built environment happens

Ethics & Social Responsability in Strategic Management Essay

Ethics & Social Responsability in Strategic Management - Essay Example could result in delay in supply of any one of them and consequently delay the launch. Â   The delay in projects, especially when the dates are announced, may corrode the reputation because the businesses build their credibility on the efficient and timely delivery of their projected target objectives. Mutual trust between business partners is also an important part of business processes and withholding of crucial information corrodes their credibility in the market that may result in loss of business in future. Â   The companies had not been able to launch successfully a commercial satellite primarily because it not only is high cost venture with costly software and hardware, the amount of contract is also dependent on the size of the anticipated market, the number of competitors and the whether the imageries would be used by the military and local agencies. Secondly in the case of the delays in launch, the preferences of the market may change, resulting in huge financial and business loss. Satellite programs are dependent on the venture capitalists for their finance and in case, they are not able to acquire advance contracts or their rivals are able to gain leverage, the venture capitalists are likely to withdraw from the business that may force the companies to stop production, leading to bankruptcy. The venture capitalists look for companies that could acquire advance contracts so as to ensure success for their investment. The current problem mainly cropped up because there was great chances of delay in the officially stated launch date of the satellite due to the fact that the satellite camera sub contractor was having problems with the development of thermal stabilizers for the instruments. The development of the thermal stabilizers could take up more time, thus delaying the launch by twelve to eighteen months. If the launch date is officially delayed and advanced by another one year, the company is

Saving Natural Resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Saving Natural Resources - Essay Example Likewise, the contemporary lifestyle of people all over the world can not be thought to exist without oil. Oil is used for fuelling the vehicles and airplanes. The modern lifestyle is shaped according to these. We can not think to continue the business in the modern age without having vehicles, which in turn, require oil to be driven. â€Å"A litre of petrol produces about 2.5kg (5 lbs) of greenhouse gases, while a US gallon produces nearly 15 lbs of greenhouse gases† (Viator.com). Gas is an alternative to oil, but that does not solve the problem of unsustainable development because that too is a natural resource and depletes as more and more of it is being used. The contemporary lifestyle is an outcome of heavy reliance on natural resources, thus it will diminish along with the natural resources. In light of the rapidly depleting natural resources, we need to change our living practices so that we can enjoy the pleasures of life for a longer period of time. Of all the natural resources, the one that concerns us the most is oil. If we stop depending upon oil, we will have done much to make the life style sustainable. In order to achieve that, what needs to be looked into is the purposes we need oil for in general. We generally need oil for fuelling cars and making electricity. Both of these purposes can be achieved without depending upon oil. Most of the oil that is extracted from Earth is used for fuelling vehicles. â€Å"Transportation is the second leading contributor to greenhouse gases in the country† (Shahan). The potential solution to this problem lies in the use of bicycles. Bicycles offer a solution not only to this, but to various other problems of the contemporary age as well like obesity. Bicycles do not need any fuel to be driven and yet, the wheels on which it runs make the journey less time consuming. In order to drive a bicycle, the rider needs to peddle constantly. This is a very good exercise for the thighs. In addition to making us smart and healthy, use of bicycles also reduces the chances of dreadful road accidents. The collision of a bicycle rider with a man on foot is least likely to result into a life taking accident, unless there were some other factors involved in it. Thus, by replacing vehicles with bicycles, man can not only make himself indifferent to the oil reserves, but it will also make our living practices environment friendly and the life style sustainable. Natural resources not only include what is hidden under the surface of Earth; they also constitute all plants and animals as they are the fundamental source of food and nutrition for the humans. Polar bears are dying in large numbers as a result of the global warming. The point here is not that they are food for humans, but â€Å"[i]f people want a more people-centered reason to save polar bears, it surely exists in the way lack of polar bears could ultimately affect human food supply and commercial fishing industries† (Ellis-Chri stensen). This takes the discussion of saving natural resources to the level of global warming. The two phenomena are linked with each other. As the temperature of Earth is rising, more and more animals are dying. They can not sustain the effect of heat. Therefore, we also need to take measures to reduce global warming in our attempt to save natural resources. Built environment happens

Educating immigrant students Essay Example for Free

Educating immigrant students Essay A Study Critic of â€Å"Made in America: Immigrant students in our pubic schools† The dispute over sending immigrant students into public schools in the United States has continued to separate Americans. Its proponents advance the educational rights of qualified foreign students who have left their respective countries and faced being â€Å"Americanized† just to be able to learn American civilization as their second culture. Those opposing the system, however, argue that the white Americans should still be the priority since immigrant students are only second rate compared to them despite the immigrants earnest efforts to fit into the American society. It was also stressed that in order to be a part of the real American community, the immigrant students must set aside their native cultures and be ready to be customized as a true-blooded American. In so doing, however, it would be inevitable to expose problems or issues related to educating immigrant students. These include their differences with the Native Americans and hardships in allowing themselves to be made as American citizens. In addition, educating immigrant students in the U. S. present bigger issues such as racial discrimination, cross-cultural conflict and unfair learning system which are detrimental to the overall personality of an immigrant student. The problems mentioned above are what the book, â€Å"Made in America: Immigrant students in our pubic schools† by Laurie Olsen, has accurately presented. A qualitative study book that looks into the system of educating immigrant students in American public schools, it is a concrete proof that such problems and conflicts indeed exist. It is good to note, however, that the system is still salvageable. All it needs is honest to goodness solid training of teachers, additional support programs for the immigrant students and ultimately, an environment that allows them to keep to their native cultures while at the same time keeping at par with their white American classmates (Olsen, 1997). An Overview of the Study. The 1997 study book by Olsen is a survey on the lives of the immigrant students who are being educated and Americanized in an urban high school institution. It likewise presents the relationships of the immigrants with their teachers who are responsible for the immigrants learning program and Native American classmates who pose a challenge into their goal to adapt the American culture. The study was presented under a circumstance that the students with varying cultures are studying in a California high school wherein the promise and challenge of diversity are significantly increasing in a multinational society. The book shows that, because of their poor English speaking skills, the immigrant students are deprived of chances to seriously study and interact with their counterparts. Moreover, the immigrant students are classified or categorized according to their varying complexions and social classes which have definitely affected their chances in their future lives (Olsen, 1997). Meanwhile, majority of the teachers promote combination of multicultural students as well as the practice of justice and equal chances by having the students liberty to join in school. However, the teachers do not realize that exclusion and classification among students actually exist and is being practiced by the native white Americans against the immigrant students who originated from other races such as the Asians, Europeans and even the black Americans. In effect, the study presented in the book revealed the continuity of an unbalanced American community (Olsen, 1997). However, it likewise showed the potentialities of having dragging but specified changes. By studying the life stories of immigrant students and their interactions with their teachers and classmates, one can learn the modern interpretation or way of Americanizing multicultural students. It also reveals a complicated procedure that in the end necessitates them to surrender their respective culture as well as national recognitions and native dialects just to fit into a theoretical and cultural domain. Such a world ironically refuses the total involvement of immigrant students in the real American culture. The author depicts immigrant students as ones being made or created in America only to realize that to be Americanized is to endure being placed on the American racial map (Olsen, 1997) Methodology of the Study In the study book, Olsen (1997) carried out her research by centering on Madison High, the first American public high school wherein more than 20 percent of the students population is composed of natives of other countries. This is in addition to a significant number of students who are not fluent in English language or are part of households in which English is totally not used. The exploration was done so that the public outside the school can look into what it feels like studying and teaching in a school which is characterized by escalating complicated or multicultural relations (Olsen, 1997). Utilizing regular ethnographic procedures, Olsen (1997) recorded her functions as narrator, anthropologist, and proponent in three official journals. The author interviewed not only the main subjects (immigrant students) but their parents, teachers, and officials of the school as well. In this manner, Olsen was able to investigate several issues concerning the diversities and complexities of multilingual learning as well as having a population of multinational students. She was also able to discover other equally related issues such as racial discrimination, social conflicts, and unfair education practices accorded to the different sets of students who are the immigrant students and native white Americans (Olsen, 1997). In particular, Olsen (1997) stayed or allotted two and a half years in the said public high school where she actually attended classes and made the interviews. Madison High was chosen as the venue of the study because it has witnessed some sociological changes for the last 20 years such as an upsurge of Latino enrollees and a rise in the number of students whose second language is English or what is called the ESL population. During the period of study, Olsen noted that the school population is composed of 33 percent white Americans, 26 percent Spanish-American or the Latinos, 14 percent black Americans and the 26 percent is a combination of immigrants coming from the Pacific Islands, Philippines, Japan, and China. The author also took into consideration that various native languages aside from English are spoken by around one half of the population (Olsen, 1997). Relative to the above composition, Olsen (1997) further noted the apparent positioning or mapping of students according to their races. Upon arrival in Madison High, new immigrant students are correctly placed or positioned to their respective racial structures. Based from these racial maps, Olsen (1999) learned the various indicators or factors that led foreign students to study in Madison High and their corresponding implications. The study then proceeded by asking the students the reasons why they chose to study in the U. S. and what prompted them to study the English language and eventually adapt the American culture or be Americanized. Thereafter, the research also unveiled that the white Americans actually perceive that the system rob them of opportunities which they believe are for them. They blatantly expressed that immigrant students take away their chances of having a good quality of education and eventually getting a good job. In the end, Olsen (1999) summarized her study by recognizing that new immigrant students undergo the Americanization process based on theoretical classifications, the need to speak fluent English against all odds, requirement to surrender their local dialect so that one can be involved in Madison Highs academic and cultural life, and repetitive force to have a place in the American racial map (Olsen, 1997). Analysis of the Study Olsens study showed immigrant students tales which are abundant with sociological items and which have enabled the readers the chance to look into the challenges of studying in an escalating diverse society. The research has proven to be a very rich material for Olsen to come up with her study book. This is because it was done taking into consideration the perspective of the concerned immigrant students as well as their relationship with their teachers and classmates. The study book has effectively analyzed the difficulties of the immigrant students and the efforts of the teachers to accommodate the students which turned out to be not enough. The study can also be credited with its flexibility by also considering the roles performed by the teachers and school officials in offering a fair treatment and comprehensive curriculum for the immigrant students. Although the overall result of the study did not achieve much, its effort to open to the public the real educational condition of immigrant students is enough for Olsen and her research to earn recognition. Conclusion The issues concerning bilingual education that accommodated multicultural set-up and dialect diversity as well as the advent of immigrant students into American education system have encouraged separation among students which can be a threat to the learning structure. The study of Olsen is inclined towards a future wherein American immigration and cross cultural policies seem to fight it out with the educational system and institutions catering to immigrant students. Although the research did not totally achieve its ultimate goal, the fact that it enabled the awakening of the public with the existing educational condition is a turning point in which the government can take its clue to take action. Despite the grim reality wherein new immigrant students who are not fluent in English are placed in racial map and subjected to unjust learning practices, there are still ways to overcome the situation. It is in this manner that the study book of Olsen has proven to be of value because it alerts the public to the demands and instead invigorate the readers of the potential of having a fairer and more flexible American public education system. Reference Olsen, L. (1997). Made in America: Immigrant students in our pubic schools. New York: The New Press.

Corporate Governance on the Capital Investment Decision

Corporate Governance on the Capital Investment Decision ABSTRACT This paper investigates the factors that determine the sensitivity of the investment-cash flow relationship. The Q model assumption is used to relate the investment opportunities available to the managers with its liquidity constraints due to asymmetric information and managerial discretion of internally sourced free cash flow. The result purports that there is a positive relationship between the degree of the Investment-Cash flow relationship and Q, found in low or no dividend paying firms. It is evident that the results are in support of Myers Maljuf (Myers Maljuf, 1984) pecking order theory of the investment-cash flow relationship. Introduction Overview Through various studies over the years, different scholars and financial analysts have been able to establish a relationship of cash flow on firms investment spending. It was significantly proven by (Modigliani Miller, 1958) that a firms financial status is irrelevant for real investment decisions in a world of perfect and complete capital markets, after controlling for the cost of capital. In case of managerial discretion, based on (Jensen, 1986) free cash flow theory, firms increase investment (including projects with negative present value) based on the availability of cash flows with incentive of increasing firms value beyond level of optimal investment. Moreover, an agency costs also appreciate the borrower net worth by charging a premium on the external financing. The discussion above explains that the firms investment decisions are dependent on the availability of internal funds, as cost advantage over external fund is evident. While choosing an appropriate capital structure, there are certain trade-offs which affects the decision. These trade-offs include tax advantage through acquiring debt against the bankruptcy cost which advocates the use of equity. Keeping this in view, various different models have been supported to explain this corporate capital structure behavior. Pecking Order Theory, initially mitigated by (Donaldson, 1961) describes the financing practice as prioritizing the means of financing, which is necessary for the management to counter against asymmetric information. Either they should generate the funds internally or acquire funds externally through debt rather than equity. Implications to the pecking order theory involves the positive impact of leveraging on the market price, which means, financing through debt sends a positive signal into the market about the firms future prospects. Furthermore, intermediaries also undermine the role of management as the financial intermediaries such as investment banks function as the insider to the firm. Consequently, keeping an eye on the firms operations and influencing the firms capital financing decision. However, Pecking order theory of (Myers Maljuf, 1984) argues that the firms operating in imperfect or incomplete capital markets where the cost of external capital exceeds that of internal funds, the financial structure may be appropriate to the investment decisions of companies facing uncertain prospects. Gauging the level of corporate investment in any firm is based on the corporate governance; market position of a firms asset against its book value can be termed as Tobins q ratio. Identified by (Chung Pruitt, 1994), Tobins q as proportion of firms market value to replacement cost of its assets. Tobins q can be considered an effective tool for determining financial performance as the data can be collected readily from a balance sheet. When calculating Tobins q ratio, the replacement cost can be determined approximately by the book value of firms plant and equipment. Approximate q can be replaced with the actual Tobins q to make the calculations unproblematic and data can be readily available without any discrepancies. Problem Statement To study the impact of corporate governance on the capital investment decision through cash flow and Tobins q interaction in relation with Capital Investment HypothesEs H0: Firms cash flow having a significant impact on its capital investment will be linked with high Q values. (FCF Theory) HA: Firms being liquidity constrained due to least payout will have significant investment-cash flow sensitivity, and will be linked with high Q values in the market. (PO Theory) Outline of the study The report contains the contemplation of research data that will study the phenomenon of cash flows and investment discussed earlier in this paragraph. The study categorizes firms according to characteristics (such as dividend payout, size) which will help measure the level of constraints faced by firms. The study will help readers to understand the complexities of Pecking order theory and Free Cash Flows concept with regard to asymmetric information available and corporate governance which influences decision of the firms. To measure the effect that cash flow-financed (internally sourced) capital spending and Q has on firms investment, Ordinary Least Square Regression model will be used to estimate the function. To compute the influence on the Investment, instruments used are: (1) Cash Flow, (2) Approximate q, and (3) an interaction of both variables are created. Through studying the parameter estimates of interaction variable, positive influence on investment will support the Pecking Order hypothesis and negative influence will govern the Free Cash Flow hypothesis. The equation hypothesized in the next part is linear. Definitions Pecking Order Theory: (Myers Maljuf, 1984): à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A firm is said to follow a pecking order if it prefers internal to external financing and debt to equity if external financing is used.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Free Cash Flow Theory According to (Jensen, 1986), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“free cash flow theory, high cash flow and low debt create agency costs associated with conflicts between manager and share holder over the payout of this free cash, which is the cash left after the firm has invested in all available positive net present value projects.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? Capital Structure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A careful and systematic analysis of how claims against a corporations assets can or should be determined, assessed, and accounted for.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Riahi-Belkaoui, 1999) Capital Investment Decision à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Capital Investment decisions are those decisions that involve current outlay in return for a stream of benefit in future years.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Drury, 2006) Tobins q à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Tobins q is a measure of investors expectations concerning a firms future profit potential. It is defined as the ratio of the market value of a firm to the replacement cost of its assets.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Strecker, 2009) Literature Review Vogt (Vogt, 1994) explained the capital spending behavior of companies with respect to change in dividend cash paid, cash flows, sales, and market value of assets. The regression equation models the variables to proportion of fixed assets, and distributes the firms data in segments of Dividend Payout Groups and Asset Groups. Primarily, Dividend Cash has a strong negative impact on capital spending; it explains that in order to finance additional fixed investment firm needs to sock cash by reducing their dividend. Cash flow, Sales, and Q Ratio having a positive coefficient demonstrates that with an increase in future cash flows, the firm will improve its capital spending. A relationship has been developed between the firms investment decision and the firms financial status by Cleary (Cleary, 1999), financial status has been studied with respect to the liquidity constraints. The data is classified into groups through a discriminant analysis on basis of dividend payout policy. Groups taken into study have made possible to identify firms which are more financially constrained more likely to be investment-cash flow sensitive, furthermore, availability of internal sources of funds have a greater impact on firms with high credit worthiness, and vice versa. It has been proposed that the various ownership structures make managerial decision based on the interaction between investment and the firms liquidity constraints. The study conducted by Dedoussis Papadaki (Dedoussis Papadaki, 2010) mentioned that the management can be held separate from its ownership, even on basis of the nationality of the company. On the other hand, it also explained that the relative shareholding of CEO and the controlling shareholders can also be the basis of separation. The sample used in the study was separated and grouped on basis of dividend payout, asset size of the firm, age of the firm, source of control, and kind of ownership. On the given sampling criterion; greater asset size firms, older firms, lower Q (high investment opportunity), and high dividend payout firms showed higher cash flow sensitivity towards investment. Findings support that the Low Q, small, and new firms under the generalized model are facing asymmetric information problems. Indeed these firms are expected a priori to face financing problems that affect the cost of their external financing. On the other hand, low Q, old and low dividend firms are more likely to face managerial discretion problems that result to over-investment. The impact of Tobins Q is mainly used to determine the investment opportunity of the firm. In this article, marginal Tobins Q has been taken to evaluate the firms investment and Research Development expenditures. The asymmetric information (AI) hypothesis proposed that firms provided with a profitable investment-project may not be able to source it through internal cash flows and the high financial cost of borrowing funds externally due to lack of awareness of firms investment opportunity in the capital market. On the other hand, agency or managerial discretion (MD) hypothesis constructs the investment-cash flow relationship on the assumption that managers are well qualified in context with proficiency they obtain from managing a huge and fast paced firm and thus exceeding the wealth shareholders beyond their expectations. (Gugler, Mueller, Yurtoglu, 2004) Taking in viewpoint the impact of capital structure on the capital investment decision, firms investment demands is the more susceptible towards cost-of-capital or tax-based capital incentive. Whereas, capital structure seems irrelevant as against internal sources of funds can be effectively substituted with sources of funds generated externally. The size of the investment project can be a deterministic factor towards it. Fazzari, Hubbard, Peterson, Blinder, Poterba (Fazzari, Hubbard, Peterson, Blinder, Poterba, 1988) explicates that cash flow/investment relationship is more sensitive when taken in reference with firms dividend behavior. Comparison based on firms having more or less liquidity constraints can be further improved when compared on a division based on the scale of the firms, i.e. young or small firms versus large ones. This way the researchers can address the problem of firms lacking the asymmetric information. Under the impression where capital investments decisions mainly pertains to the capital structure or choosing the appropriate source of investment, Schaller (Schaller, 1993) conducted three different empirical tests to determine that information asymmetries have a huge influence on the firms investment behavior. Differences among the informational base of investors and creditors was also considered a capital market imperfection. Ownership status and age of the firms has an impact on the cost of equity financing, mature firms pay comparatively less price for it than young firms. Same aspect goes for the firms with concentrated with comparison to dispersed ownership. Borrowing is considered a more rational source for investment-projects. Pledgeable assets generate greater borrowing capacity, which afterwards makes firms invest more in pledgeable assets. As suggested by Almeida Campello (Almeida Campello, 2007), such a phenomenon can be termed as a credit multiplier. In case of financially constrained firms, a multiplier relates to the sensitivity of firms investment-cash flow relationship that is reflected as the increase in the tangible assets of the firm. Therefore, it is proposed that with fewer tangible assets firms are more likely to be financially constrained. The sensitivity of investment-cash flow relationship is evidently influenced by the tangibility of a firm, as latter discussed. Managers while making capital investment decision considers externally-sourced funds costlier, therefore, overconfident managers over assessing the profitability of an investment-project invests more when having abundant internal funds to utilize. However, deciding not to source externally in case where they are short of internal funds to generate. There has been an evidence of significant relationship between the managerial discretion and investment-cash flow sensitivity. Equity concentrated firms are more likely to be influenced by overconfident managers, unless compensation tools can be used to reduce the effects of managerial overconfidence. (Malmendier Tate, 2005) Goyal Yamada (Goyal Yamada, 2004) have explained the impact of asset pricing in the stock market against investment-cash flow sensitivity. Overvalued stock prices triggers an increased in investment spending and are cut back when stock are being undervalued, consequently, inflated prices collateral assets attract higher level of external financing. Inflationary pressures primarily determined by the economic monetary policy impacts on the variation of cost on external financing, though it reflects highly on cost of external financing, marginally impacts less on the investment-cash flow sensitivity. It has been observable that less financially constrained firms have significantly higher investment-cash flow sensitivity. Characterizations of firms based on financial constraint can sometimes create confusion. Firms having unusually high cash holdings can either be characterized as unconstrained based on the opportunities it has to invest or constrained based on the assumption that it needs to have a precautionary savings to invest in future investment projects. Therefore, financial constraints cannot be used as an influential determinant for investment-cash flow sensitivity. (Kaplan Zingales, 1997) Hu Schiantrlli (Hu Schiantarelli, 1998) put into picture the effect of general economic factors and various firms characteristics on the value of the firms net worth. Mainly financial status is the most important determinant for the level of asymmetric information problem that managers face. A strong balance sheet position can reflect good sign of firms performance which enhances the market value of the firms asset to its stake holders, mainly investors and creditors. Q models assumption also assists in determining the sensitivity of the investment-cash flow relationship, where the indicators determine the investment opportunity and the sources of funds to choose from. Understanding the market influence in proxy of q can also give a clear picture to the movements in the firms investment over a period. Net worth of firms helps manager determine if the sourcing of funds externally is a viable option in contrast to the investment opportunity which underlies. (Hubbard, 1998) Research conducted on the investment-cash flow sensitivity addresses many aspects of the firms financial strength. Further study by Calomiris Hubbard (Calomiris Hubbard, 1995) shows that when firms tax taken under investigation also reflected a significant influence on the volume of spending on investment-projects. They explored the impact of surtax margin, as a tax experiment, on the cost of internal and external funds. Surtax when levied on undistributed profits, obligate the firms to incur certain cost on the internal funds. This effects the managers decision to invest and is also reflected on the investment-cash flow sensitivity against the surtax margin. As a result to evade burden of higher cost on internal funds, firms with high surtax-margin exhibits elevated sensitivity in investment-cash flow relationship. Quan (Quan, 2002) discusses the Pecking Order theory with reference to the Modigliana-Miller proposition that works under the assumption of perfect market. Here it is stated that value of the firm is irrelevant and based on a few limitations the choice of financing can be determined via gauging the strength of the firm. These factors pertain to the imperfect market and influence the managers to make their capital investment decision. Once the assumptions are released the financing structure shows a clear picture. The association between Free Cash Flow theory and Agency theory has always been under the limelight when there is a question of retaining the undistributed profits. FCF Theory taken under consideration gives out an option to the management to hold on to excess cash sacrificing the shareholders opportunity cost. These excess funds can be generated to better internal operational efficiency or at managers discrepancy to source its investment-projects. (Wang, 2010) Research Methods The chapter explains the model used in the given research study. The study focuses on analyzing the influence of Cash Flows and Tobins q on Corporate Investment. The equation represented by a dependent variable as a ratio of capital spending to the beginning net fixed asset (I/K) predicted by independent variables: (1) ratio of cash flow to the beginning gross fixed asset (CF/K), and (2) beginning Tobins q (Q). Method of Data Collection Main source of collecting the required data is from secondary sources. It includes the Balance Sheet Analysis of Joint Stock Company listed in Karachi Stock Exchange provided by State Bank of Pakistan consisting of data of our relevant variables. The data was taken in annual terms to conduct this research. Sampling Technique The Convenience sampling or grab or opportunity sampling would be use in this research. Sample population selected because it is readily available and convenient. Sample Size The sample period taken under study covers 8-years period beginning at the start of 2000 and ending at the close of 2008. The data was taken from a sample of 70 (non-banking and non-financial) companies which are listed on Karachi Stock Exchange and included in KSE-100 index. Research Model Statistical technique Ordinary Least Square Regression technique is used to study the impact of variables included in the study. It helps studies the relationship between a dependent variable and several independent variable. It also assumes the relationship to be linear or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“straight line,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? where the values of predictors lies directly proportional to Criterion variable. SPSS Software is used to develop the regression model and evaluate the influence of predictors on dependent variable. Results Findings and interpretation of results Aggregate Sample: Table : Represents the model summary of regression estimates for the full sample of 69 firms The predictors, i.e. main effects of Cash Flow and Tobins q and an interaction variable of both combined, included in the model explains 78.5% of Investment (Table 1) shown mentioned as R Square. Least variation in Adjusted R Square suggests that the variable to observation ratio in the given model is sufficient. Casewise diagnostic was also conducted to eliminate the outliers in the data to improve the results. Table : Studies the F-statistics to test whether the model predicts the dependent variable significantly The F-statistics (Table 2) is significant and it determines the regression model with the given predictors can significantly predict the outcomes at a 0.05 significance level. Table : The parameter estimation for full sample of 69 firms with respect to dependent variable, t-statistics is used to test the null hypothesis ÃŽÂ ²1 = ÃŽÂ ²2 = ÃŽÂ ²3 = 0 The coefficient values of all predators included in the test are significant at a 0.05 significant level (Table 3), which shows that they have a strong influence on the investment of the firm. The standard coefficient shows that Cash Flows have a much greater impact on Investment than market value on the firm, which is exemplified through Tobins q. Dividend Payout groups: Table : Presents the sample statistics for 69 KSE listed (non-banking and non-financial) companies which are included in the KSE-100 index. The three rows distribute the statistics into High, Medium, and Low payout policies. Average dividend-to-income ratios of greater than 0.35, between 0.35 and 0.10, and less than 0.10 define High, Low, and Medium dividend-payout firms, respectively. While studying the dividend-payout groups (Table 4), the descriptive helps to identify characteristics to confirm whether the data being studied has the authenticity and the behavior pattern which commonly related to the groups assigned. The values of Investment, Cash Flow, and Tobins q associated with the groups are in complete correspondence with the hypothetical occurrence. Firms having a higher (lower) dividend payout have greater (lower) market value, and lower(higher) level of cash flows and investments. Table : Represents the model summary of regression estimates of 69 firms split by High, Medium, and Low dividend-payout policies. The model helps explains 81.9%, 66.7%, and 80% data in High, Medium, and Low dividend-payout firms (Table 5), shown in R Square. Least variation in Adjusted R Square suggests that the number of observations is sufficient with respect to variables in each group separately. Table : Studies the F-statistics to test the null hypothesis of ÃŽÂ ²1, H = ÃŽÂ ²1, M = ÃŽÂ ²1, L The F-statistics (Table 6) in each dividend payout group is significant and it determines that each regression model with the given predictors can significantly predict the outcomes at a 0.05 significance level. Table : Shows the parameter estimation for each payout groups with respect to dependent variable, t-statistics is used to test the null hypothesis ÃŽÂ ²1 = ÃŽÂ ²2 = ÃŽÂ ²3 = 0 The coefficient values of predators in High and Low dividend payout groups are all significant at a 0.05 significant level (Table 7), which shows that they have a strong influence on the investment of the firm. Except for Medium dividend payout group, which has insignificant coefficient values of Tobins q, showing no impact on the investment. The standard coefficient shows that Cash Flows have a much greater impact on Investment than market value on the firm, which is exemplified through Tobins q. Hypothesis Assessment Summary Hypothesis Independent Variables B t Sig. Comments Firms cash flow having a significant impact on its capital investment will be linked with high Q values. (FCF Theory) Cash Flow ÃÆ'— Q H0: ÃŽÂ ²3 ÃŽÂ ²3,H = .135 5.295 .000 Rejected ÃŽÂ ² 3,M = .072 .991 .324 ÃŽÂ ² 3,L = .140 5.482 .000 Firms being liquidity constrained due to least payout will have significant investment-cash flow sensitivity, and will be linked with high Q values in the market. (PO Theory) Cash Flow ÃÆ'— Q HA: ÃŽÂ ²3 >0 ÃŽÂ ² 3,H = .135 5.295 .000 Accepted ÃŽÂ ² 3,M = .072 .991 .324 ÃŽÂ ² 3,L = .140 5.482 .000 Dependent Variable: Investment (I/K) Table : Summarizes the results and explains that the hypothesis accepted is directly in correspondence with the aggregate hypothesis. As illustrated (Table 8) capital spending of low payout firms is positively and strongly influenced by the interaction term, consistent with the PO hypothesis, the parameter estimate for the high payout firms are also positive but marginally significant. Conclusion, Discussions, Implications And Future Research Conclusion The results illustrated above demonstrates that the positive relationship between the degree of the Investment-Cash flow relationship and Q represented latter in the aggregate data (Table 3) is concentrated in low or no dividend paying firms. This finding is in further support with the PO hypothesis. Discussions The objective was to study and test the causes of universal relationship between Cash Flow and Investment Spending. Hence, two hypotheses were included in the research to study the source of this relationship: the free cash flow hypothesis (FCF) hypothesis, which works on the assumption that managers prefer investing its free cash flow excessively into investment projects that are not profitable, and the pecking order hypothesis (PO) purports that managers are prone to investment comparatively less than the opportunity provided due asymmetric information-induced liquidity constraint. As advocated in favor of Pecking Order Theory by (Fazzari, Hubbard, Peterson, Blinder, Poterba, 1988) and many others, for groups which consists of small firms with low-dividend payout to fund capital spending, exhibits heavy reliance on cash flow and cash changes. The relationship can be more significantly studied when the impact of larger q value is associated with this group. Evaluating the impact of corporate governance on investment-cash flow relation requires a critical judgment as to how do the firms cash flow and the existing market value influence the investment decision. Financially constraint firms may have a larger impact on liquidity associated matters and managers might take discretion in choosing the right sources to tap. Agency cost may be involved in making such a decision where managers may consider paying dividend as a higher opportunity cost as it reduces the firms free cash flow to exploit new profitable investment projects. Implications and Recommendations In the current market situation where external pressures existing can also be taken into proxy. When managers making a capital investment decision they need to take in view other non-financial aspects that also influences the decisions to a certain extent. Furthermore, financial intermediaries having a certain level of involvement and sharing information sensitive to the market can also be a major factor that might be giving a varying result against Investment. Investing in profitable-investment projects can bring in greater resources to the firm in future and it entails a huge decision burden upon the shoulders of the managers. Shareholders expecting to earn a greater return through investing in them can also be undermined when manager decided to have a low payout policy. Funds generated internally is a possibility where there is a healthy cash flow, but it is also preferable if this free cash is invested into marketable security for allocating the resources into a profitable venture for a time being to make it a positive impression. Future Research In future studies there may be more aspects of cash flow-investment relationship which can be studied for assessing the degree impact it has on this relationship, i.e. sales, debt performance, capital structure, firm size, etc. The research study may also be improved if the observation of firms are increased that will in turn reflect a more clear picture about the relationship in the current scenario.