Mentor

Instead of cursing the dark we have to light a candle; instead of looking down at the gutter at the roadside on a moonless night why not look up and appreciate the stars   in the sky? We should put passion in every undertaking. And instead saying â€Å" It’s cloudy outside but it’s a Sunday,† why not make it as an opportunity and say   â€Å"It’s a   great Sunday!† Meaning you’re optimistic that the day   would turn out right  Ã‚   because you are free from your office work—of your responsibility here–  Ã‚   despite the clouds hovering at the horizon. Right? In short we, all of you (managers, supervisors, section heads) should try to inspire others through your thoughts, words and deeds. First you should think and act as mentors and not mere managers or slave drivers of employees.   A mentor says â€Å"we have to do this way,† rather than ordering a subordinate â€Å"to do that way.† Make yourself  Ã‚   part of the solution – a member of the team. As a mentor you take every problem as a new challenge. As proactive mentor you have to be ahead of the situation or you have to put up measures to prevent potential problems   to crop up. To be an effective mentor you have to have the unlimited capacity to understand. How? Review your college psychology, about human nature or behavior, about motivation and aspirations of individuals. Make your subordinates feel that their aspirations and ambitions would be addressed by playing   their roles in the company. Make their individual ambitions and the company’s objective   one. Make them proud to belong to the company since they are being taken care of including their loved ones. To be a competent mentor every manager should have an open line of communication. You have to remove the partitions and cubicles. Let every worker approach you any time of the day – or night — and help him solve even his personal problem. As a mentor your responsibility does not end after office hours. The communications line should be open 24 hours a day. Mentoring is like coaching a football or basketball team. A coach is a mentor-leader —not a manager– because he inspires people. Your effectiveness as a coach could be measured on how the athletes play the game and not on the number of games won. The objective of the manager is to win all the games. As for the coach? His foremost consideration is the welfare of the individual players including their future and direction. Winning is secondary. Winning is not the objective. Winning a game or the championship should be the result of mentoring. No amount of shouting, cursing or suspension could make a player give a 100-percent contribution to a game if he is not inspired to play. He only gives his best because of the motivations from his coach. An example is Carter of the popular movie Coach Carter. He made men out of the spoiled and undisciplined youngsters. He transformed their lives—and their future. He considered every game lost an opportunity for each of his players to improve and do better. Carter   provided them reasons to live a beautiful and fruitful life. Another organization where you can find a mentor-leader is the Army. It is not the platoon leader but it’s usually the platoon sergeant who motivates the infantrymen during battles. One factor that inspires the soldiers could be the courage of the sergeant. And he leads in front of his platoon every skirmish. Because he has the extensive knowledge and experiences acquired from previous battles his men have confidence of his leadership. They know that what the sergeant is doing is  Ã‚   for their welfare and to reduce casualties.   In short extensive knowledge and courage play an important role in motivating people. And you can have more knowledge by attending managerial and motivational workshops on your initiative and on your own time. In short self-improvement. Another role you should play as leader is that of a facilitator. You should group your subordinates into teams not as work-related groups, like budget, accounting,   or disbursing section .Each team has an objective to accomplish—just like every squad in the army. Each team member has a defined role to play or a specialization.The men in a squad don’t carry the same type of weapon. One carries a bar or a special weapon which is effective for long range shooting. Another carries a machine gun for close combat. Others carry assault   rifles for the final push. Others carry sniper’s rifle with night vision for evening assault, and so forth. And in the absence of the point -man, the next in rank can take over to accomplish the objective of the team since every member’s role is clearly defined. So you have a logistical team rather than a dispatching section. Each team leader is empowered to make decisions. In case of misunderstanding or conflict in the implementation of an office policy, as manager or supervisor you act as collaborator but not as compromiser. As team member you consider everyone in the group as your   colleague or peer not as your immediate supervisor or your direct subordinate. Each role should be defined not by the ranking of the position but by specialization or skills. Thus, the secretary   becomes communications specialist and the telephone operator the   solutions provider—   for she gives answers to queries, Right? With these changes each can assert his role in the organization and he could measure his overall contribution. Even the janitor must have a position fitted to his contribution — as sanitation specialist. Try to imagine a single day without a janitor. You will find that the following day everything is in chaos or the office smelly. In case of conflict, as facilitator you initiate collaborative work, you initiave   comprehensive cooperation from all the members of the team. For an example in the advertising department, you yave to facilitate the production of the best creative idea for a promotional campaign. In this case you don’t have to criticize ideas presented. You have to facilitate the frution of the ideas into a useful concept. As facilitator you have to be highly assertive so it would be faster for a collegial decision to crop up from the team. Another role you should play as supervisor is that of a monitor. In short you have to record and take note of the progress of each team in your group. You don’t have to record their attendance nor whether they come on time or leave the office earlier. That’s not the point. As monitor you record as to how far they are from the goal. You have to be goal-oriented. You manage by objective. To be an effective monitor you have to be competent about   information management—the ins and outs of the system.In short you have your own system to grade your members. In the military there is such thing as demerits. For example you wear a complete uniform you would be given 100 merits. Any stain or dirt in the uniform, or improper wearing of a single insignia   the officer would give you the corresponding demerits. In this way your team members know their goal if they could make   you objective and make it   perfectly.. The military for example, has its own counterintelligence group. This way the military plays it safe by moving ahead of its enemies. This means you monitor the contribution of each member of the team and advice them from time to time as the necessary adjustments needed in their activities. Another function you should do as manager is that of a coordinator. In this situation you act not only as the coach of the team. You act at   the same time  Ã‚   the team captain or   the playing coach. You coordinate the maneuvers on the court as team captain. All the members of the team observe you from a distance as to what signals you are transmitting to them. As coordinator you know the specialized skill of each member. Like basketball, you know   how the guard or the forwards functions during set plays. You know the capacity   of your center or you know who would be the slotman or pointmaker during crucial time of the game. In short each man has a specialization—just like in your department or section. In basketball, the team captain sometimes decide  Ã‚   as to when they   need   to rest – and not necessarily the coach–   and transmit this need to the coach or the bench officials for the team to take a rest or take a time out to   change plan of  Ã‚   maneuvers . Compared to our company, as facilitator you must have the hands-on knowledge of the operation of your division or section.You cannot play as team captain if you don’t know the limit of your teammates, right? To summarize the following table show you the roles and the competencies needed: ROLES   COMPETENCIES NEEDED MENTOR       Big understanding; open-mindedness, effective verbal and oral Communications; ;extensive understanding of human Motivations; example that of a coach; can   emphatize FACILITATOR  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   team-building skills; delegation of authority; assume Responsibility; will not compromise solution; example That of a college instructor;example:   basketball team captain MONITOR     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Proactive and goal-orientation; ability to detect Weaknesses; extensive analytical ability; example: a high school teacher; another example is the Army’s demerit system. COORDINATOR  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Proactive; ability to measure capacity and limits; ex: team captain;   he gets the opinion of the members of the team to arrive at a good decision; ability to get the attention of every member of the team; ability to get respect from the team. Case 1 Shaheen Matombo, staff member The case of Shaheen is not an isolated one. It is always the problem of single mother who doubles as head of the family. Shaheen is not a hopeless case. In fact Shaheen has offered an alternative schedule of 8:30 a.m. in exchange for a 30-minute lunch break. As CEO I would suggest to Andre Tate, Shaheen’s manager, to adopt the staff member’s offer of arriving at 8:30 with 30-minute lunch break, with off at 5 p.m., just like everybody in the office. As manager   it is the foremost to maintain manpower, especially that   Shaheen is a product of a computer college. It is the goal of Shaheen’s immediate supervisor to give the newcomer—three months at work—a chance to develop herself in her workplace. In this age of computers,   and flexible time, the offer of Shaheen is laudable.   Morale of her co-workers would not be affected if the change of Shaheen’s schedule would be known by everybody in the office.And   the same flexible time schedule would be offered to anybody who have the same reasons that of Shaheen. As manager, Andre should also provide a counteroffer. Meaning, Shaheen would follow her suggested schedule religiously.And a single late or failure to follow the schedule may mean she has to revert to the 8 a.m. regular time. During contingency, Shaneen would be given the chance to work online at home, so by the time she will be at the office she would not miss any important call. A system would be installed that calls made at 8 a.m. to the office would be coursed through the home telephone or computer of Shaheen at home. Another counteroffer would be for Shaheen to observe her suggested schedule but without coffee breaks of 15 minutes in the morning and another coffee break of 15 minutes in the afternoon. In short let Shaheen eat at his work station in exchange for her coming at 8:30 p.m. Since Shaheen is a computer graduate, sooner she would learn the ropes and could be effective in her work. As manager, Andre’s work is to maintain cohesion, morale and develop through training all the employees, not only Shaheen. As manager, Andre’s responsibility is to develop human resources in the company, particularly at this time when it would be hard to hire competent employees who are readily knowledgeable with office work. One of the   four approaches to effective values (HM 2022, frame 17 of lecture 2) is emphasis on human relations where the goal of the manager is maintaining human relations. Shaheen stay in the office can be considered probationary for it   takes   from three to six months before an employee becomes regular. Assuming Shaheen is already a regular staffer, the more that she should be retained and given the chance to improve herself.   In this case, Andre may assign a veteran worker or her supervisor as her office mentor. Shaneen needs the guidance of a facilitator and coordinator who understands her first and second willing to help her until she may be six months in office. In this way, if she would not improve, Andre have the reason to look for her replacement or put her in a job that does not require her to be at 8 a.m.. Of she may be given flexible time schedule to suit her work at home. The manager should understand the situation of Shaneen from the poiont of view of a parent. The manager should try to wear the shoes of Shaheen to undertanding extensively the situation Shaheen is in. As mentor, Andre should inspire Shaheen to work better and improve in her work. Andre should have the capacity and the patience to work with a worker like Shaneen For sooner, Shaheen may improve for she has the potential to be an effective worker.               

Information Gathering Obu Essay

Every Research Report requires information as the basis for analysis. Information sources can be categorised as either primary or secondary data. There is no requirement for you to collect primary data within your Research Report; it is wholly acceptable to undertake your Research Report using only secondary data. The difference between primary and secondary data is identified below. Primary data is original data that has been collected by a researcher by whatever means appropriate in the answer of a specific research question. . e. it has been collected specifically for the Research Report. Examples of primary data include questionnaires, interviews, e-mail contacts and surveys. If you decide to collect primary data as part of your research work, then you should state and justify the following: ? The data collection techniques you intend to use e. g. questionnaires, interviews. ? Your sample size and an outline of your sampling strategy. ? The method you will use to select your samp le and the likely response rate. If you intend to collect primary data from staff within your chosen organisation you must obtain permission to do this from a senior member of staff within the organisation. You should do this as early as possible during your Research Report, since if you are denied access to your desired information sources you may have to reconsider how to meet your project objectives and research questions. Secondary data is data that has been collected by others for their own purposes, but which may be used by a researcher for his or her different purposes. Examples of secondary data include reference material, books, CD ROMs and financial statements. You should always evaluate the appropriateness and relevance of secondary data sources. Information included in internet sources may not be reliable from an academic perspective and may not be appropriate for use in your Research Report. If you decide to use secondary data as part of your research work, you should state and justify your choice to do so. Where you use published secondary data you must provide precise references using the Harvard Referencing System. This is discussed in more detail in the following section. You must retain all of the information that you collected during your project work until you have received official notification of your RAP grade from Oxford Brookes University. This includes any questionnaire responses, copies of financial statements, extracts from journals, reports, magazines etc. Oxford Brookes University may wish to ask you to provide additional evidence of your information gathering following the marking of your Research and Analysis project.

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 6

Leadership - Essay Example In order to decide on the most effective approach, the manager must consider the experience and skill levels of employees, the kind of work involved, the organization’s environment and the manager’s natural or preferred style (Schriesheim, 1982). While positive leadership commonly give rewards such as independence and training to employees with an aim of increasing employee morale, negative leadership emphasizes giving penalties. A close analysis of the company’s management has revealed that most supervisors in the company have preferred the application of transformational management over other management styles. The impacts of this management style theoretically include improved employee morale and performance according to Bass (1998). It is however unclear whether its application in the company has and will continue to yield positive fruits. It is in this respect that the organization seeks to carry out a research to make certain whether or not the transformational management style is effective in practice as it is claimed to be in theory with regard to this company. The research will be limited to the company and its employees and will therefore preclude the involvement of other persons or parties. While mention of several management styles will be made, the research will be biased towards the application of transformational leadership vis a vis autocratic leadership. Further, the research will mainly concentrate on determining the effects of supervisors’ application of transformational leadership on employees and their performances at work. In this respect, the research will focus on measuring the impacts of the management style in terms of employee commitment, absenteeism and performance as well as production turnover. In appreciation of the fact that management style of an organization’s leadership has significant and measurable impacts on its (the organization’s) performance, there is a

Individual Presentation( about homeless people) Essay

Individual Presentation( about homeless people) - Essay Example Lack of physical space exposes individuals to unhygienic conditions which can lead to serious health issues. Moreover, the insecurity that the lack of a permanent shelter imparts on an individual causes serious outcomes in terms of his or her psychological well being. When it comes to the case of children these implications are much serious. Homelessness amongst children can lead to serious consequences affecting their growth and their future. It has been found from experiences around the world that homeless children are prone to risks of abuse, child labor, addiction and health issues. Physical and sexual abuse of children who live on streets is a very common incidence being reported all across the world. Forced child labor is also a very sad but common consequence of homelessness amongst children. The plight of these children without homes must be an eye opener for all of us. It must be realized that a shelter is a basic right for every human being. The implications of homelessness have always been proved to be serious. Governments and Human Rights organizations must take serious measures to ensure that every individual has a shelter. Especially, no child must be deprived of a safe shelter. Every measure be taken that the welfare of the homeless is taken care of. It becomes our responsibility as a fellow citizen, as a fellow human being USDHUD. (2007). The Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congres. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Community Planning and Development. Retrieved from http://www.huduser.org/Publications/pdf/ahar.pdf> Bassuk, E.L., et al. (2011). America’s Youngest Outcasts: 2010. The National Center on Family Homelessness. Retrieved from

2-way mixed ANOVA Schizotypy practical report protocol Essay

2-way mixed ANOVA Schizotypy practical report protocol - Essay Example These findings were consistent with the theories put forth that a diagnosis of schizophrenia is made by a high score on deviating from normal emotional indications, as well as the theories that schizophrenics tend to have cognitive deficits with regards to context processing, and not as many cognitive deficits with regards to spatial processing. Schizophrenia is an illness that is characterized by a number of neurocognitive impairments, including impairments in attention, executive functioning, and verbal and non-verbal memory. (Gooding & Braun 261). Failure in logical reasoning is also a hallmark of schizophrenia (Tsanikos 1717), as is emotional disturbance (Yoon et al. 2008). Schizotypal personality disorder (SPD) is often associated with schizophrenia, and some theories state that schizophrenia and SPD share the same genetic liability, with environmental stressors being a leading cause of SPD turning into schizophrenia. (Olin et al. 93). Research has shown that schizophrenics tend to perform poorly on tasks that involve sustained attention. (Rawlings & Goldberg 2001) (Hoff & Kremen 2003). This would affect the participants, as the spatial reasoning portion of the study was timed, therefore it would be predicted that the higher on the schizotypal scale the participant is, the lower he or she would score on the spatial reasoning scale. Research has also established a positive correlation between schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder and emotional disturbance. (Yoon et al. 2008). Yoons study of participants who scored high on the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) found a positive correlation for depression, anxiety and anger, and a negative correlation for mood clarity and mood repair. (Yoon et al. 2008). This is backed up by other research. For instance, Kohler (2003) has shown that schizophrenics have difficulty reading facial

Develop a Vision, Mission, Philosophy, and Program Evaluation (2) Coursework

Develop a Vision, Mission, Philosophy, and Program Evaluation (2) - Coursework Example This paper proposes the vision, mission, philosophy and program evaluation of a developmentally-appropriate early childhood education program for children aged 2-6 years with the objective of developing confident, independent, creative and competent children, with the collaboration of their parents and families. The proposed early childhood education program shall offer a high quality early childhood education program that provides young learners with developmentally-appropriate activities to develop their knowledge and skills. With a strong home-school partnership, the program aims to cultivate confidence, independence, confidence and creativity in young children so they grow to be ready to succeed in a globally competitive world. There were several considerations in coming up with this vision for an early childhood education program. The first consideration is the nature of the child and how he learns. Lilian Katz (2003) recommends looking into children’s perspectives and natural processes of learning. Questions such as: â€Å"What are the concepts and skills they need to learn relative to their life stages?†; â€Å"What kind of environment would they thrive best?†; â€Å"How do they learn best?† should be reflected upon in planning the program. These are deemed most important instead of just complying with what adults around them believe about what is best for them. The program should be designed to engage young children in learning in ways that are natural to them so that it will enable them to maximize their abilities to gain competence and independence. It is offered in a nurturing environment that encourages children’s confidence and creativity. The early childhood education center or preschool upholds high standards for the quality of care and education of its learners, aged 2-6 years. It provides them with abundant opportunities for learning with a balance of adult-led activities and child-initiated experiences. The

British Petroleum and its Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

British Petroleum and its Operations - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that British Petroleum, which is also referred to as BP PLC is a British international Gas and Oil Company, which its headquarters stationed in London, England. Based on the revenue statistics released in 2012, British Petroleum is the fifth largest Oil and Gas Company in the world. It deals with the exploration, production, transportation, refining, marketing, distribution and trading of oil and petroleum products. It also deals with power generation, research, and exploration of renewable energy sources such as wind energy, solar energy and biofuels. Petroleum helps provide oil-based fuels for machines, lubricants and petroleum products used in infrastructure development, making plastics, gas, and petrochemicals among other products. BP America forms the largest British Petroleum subsidiary. The company also owns nineteen percent stake in Rosneft, which is a Russian Oil Company that is the most publicly traded in the Oil and Gas sector of the stocks exchange. British Petroleum’s market capitalization is an excess of eighty-five billion pounds and makes the fourth largest company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company is headed by a board, which is responsible for oversight and guidance of the company in the interests of the shareholders. The company’s executive management has several branches that include, Finance, Refining and Marketing, Exploration, Safety and Operational Risk, Production, Strategy and Regions, Corporate Business Activities, Human Resources, and the Upstream department. Various subsidiaries have leaders who report to the main offices in London. There are various external factors that can affect British Petroleum’s success. These include the global economy, natural environment, wars, politics, currency devaluation, infrastructure, customers and the relationship between the company and the local communities. The most important external factors that can affect the compa ny’s success are the global economy and the natural environment. The global economy has a strong influence on the success of British Petroleum as seen during the recession in 2008 when the company recorded falling profits. The profits had declined from eight billion dollars to three dollars. If the recession continued the company would have started to make losses, which would affect its success negatively.

The Success of Multiculturalism in Australia Compared to Other Parts Essay

The Success of Multiculturalism in Australia Compared to Other Parts of the World - Essay Example How well it has actually implemented in to the society is what this research plans to emphasize. In 2001, one would have that the country of Australia was a very welcoming country towards other ideas and beliefs. After all the National Olympics were held there in that year and during that whole time there was a great air of friendliness towards the large majority of ethnicities that had travelled to Australia from all around the world. One person would not have picked up on any bitterness or resentments towards other races at all. However, now in 2006 it seems those feelings have changed somewhat and there has been tension developing in the country concerning the idea of multiculturalism in its entirety (Suter 2001). Not only is this an issue, but the idea has developed that the country should offer sanctuary to refugee's seeking asylum from other parts of the globe has become a concern as well. There are a lot of Australians that are very up tight about this and aren't as welcoming of the concept as it was anticipated they would be. One such example is in the idea that Australia should provide refuge for Afghanian's wanting entrance to its borders in order to seek protection from violence and terrorism in their own country. The Australian Prime Minister has not been too fond of this thought concept and initially denied permission for one ship to land on a part of the country's territory close to the borders of Indonesia (Suter 2001). Some of the feelings of why Australia is against such an idea are the fact that they have heavy concerns of invasion from other countries. It has been found that the Parliament of Australia itself believes that once they start allowing activities such as this to take place, more and more foreigners will expect the same type of treatment and before anything would even have a chance to be implemented to prevent this from happening, the whole cou ntry would be enveloped in a tide of other multicultural people from around the world, many of whom would only be coming there for refuge. Suter (2001) details in his article that the Australians fear of invasion runs deep, and can be traced all the way back to the period of the First World War. Also, they have a fear that the Island of Australia itself will eventually become overcrowded and burdened if there is an extensive amount of foreigners continuously coming in for refugee. These are some of the most logical reasons why there is such negativity by the Austrians towards this concept of wholly allowing for multiculturalism to become a constant part of the Island. What some people around the world aren't aware of are the various policies that encircle the country of Australia. Australia was developed through an idea of imperialism and meant for only white settlers. In fact in 1901 there were many strict policy enactments that prevented any one who was non-white from being able t o enter through the Austrian border. Of course times have changed now but there is still a small part of these ideals left within the country and the people of Australia itsel

Lesotho Case Essay Example for Free

Lesotho Case Essay Lesotho Case Study BY byrne280 The Market and the Mountain Kingdom: Change in Lesothos Textile Industry Apartheid and the resulting sanctions against South Africa are what ultimately created the textile industry in Lesotho. Aside from the workers that have historically worked across the border in South African mines, the arrival of the textile industry gave Lesotho its first real participation in the global economy. Otherwise the Lesotho economy consists mostly of subsistence farming. The textile industry gives Lesotho an opportunity to participate in trade with the rest of the world and ideally benefit rom globalization. Geographically, Lesotho is uniquely landlocked and in a complete enclave of the country of South Africa. It is the abundance of affordable labor that has attracted clothing manufacturing firms, mostly from Asia that then bring the finished products to the world markets, primarily the United States and Europe. Lesotho has been an appealing location for textile manufacturing in part because of world trade agreements such as the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA), the Lom © Convention and the African Growth and Opportunity act (AGOA). All of these trade greements have expired or are set to expire in some capacity as of the writing of the subject case study, The Market and the Mountain Kingdom: Change in Lesothos Textile Industry written in November of 2006. I will be examining these trade agreements and other factors to determine the costs and benefits of each. Lesotho is at a crucial stage of economic development and the decisions that the government makes will affect the quality of life for the people of Lesotho for years to come. Through this examination of the past there are many lessons to be learned from these previous trade policies. In some ways, these policies benefit other countries more than Lesotho. Hopefully these lessons can be applied to a plan of action for the government of Lesotho. It is my recommendation that the government of Lesotho evaluate the causes and effects of these policies as well as the costs and benefits. Going forward Lesotho should do more to empower and educate its own people rather than rely on preferential trade policies. It is not my point that Lesotho should not take advantage of trade policies while they are in place but it has repeatedly set itself up for failure when trade policies expire. Analysis of Previous Policies Affecting the Lesotho Textile Industry The Lom © Convention: The Lom © Convention was the first experiment in development and co-operation between Europe and Africa after colonial rule. It was established in 1975 and during the 1980s greatly benefited Lesotho by providing a developmental spark to the textile industry. It also provided for a smoother separation from British colonization and was a good stepping stone for development. As result, Lesotho along with other former colonies benefited from preferential trade with Europe. However the agreement went through five major evisions as needs changed and finally expired completely in 2007. The Lom © convention can be credited for providing a short-cut to development for developing former colonies but the preferential treatment was not sustainable long term. It was changed to require that the raw materials originate from a former colony as well. Since Lesotho does not produce its own raw materials and imports most of raw materials from China rather than other former colonies, the policy was already outdated before it expired. This left a 17% tariff in place for Lesothos access to European markets. This virtually eliminated trade with Europe by 1998. The Multi- Fiber Arrangement (MFA) and, the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) The MFA was a multi-nation agreement that created quotas from individual countries on imports to the Unites States. The MFA was active from 1974 to 1994 and was then replaced when the World Trade Organization (WTO) implemented a similar policy called the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). The policy expired in 2005 and there are currently no country quotas on textiles. Much like the Lom © Convention, the ATC helped to start the Lesotho textile industry and carried it through 2005. The cost is that arguably quotas can hinder free trade in the world arket. It gives inefficient countries and unfair advantage over efficient countries. The aggregate world output of textiles is fundamentally lower with the quotas in place. The MFA and ATC provided a great way for Lesotho to participate in world trade but unless the policies are permanent, it is not a sustainable solution. Because quotas facilitate inefficient production of goods, they cannot be in place indefinitely. Eventually, truly fair trade must be allowed among all countries and Lesotho must be able to manufacture textiles as efficient as countries like China if it would like to have its textile industry survive.

External And Internal Determinants Of Capital Structure Finance Essay

External And Internal Determinants Of Capital Structure Finance Essay 1: Introduction 1.0 Introduction The literature on capital structure theory has made significant progress after the trend setting publications of Modigliani and Miller in1958. After the publication of Modigliani and Miller research work, various researchers have developed theoretical models based on the balancing of tax effect and inefficient distribution of information. Recently, there are many models that focus on the relationship between product and market or the effect of a particular ownership structure on the capital financing decisions of a firm (Bhaduri 2002). These models have been developed pertaining to many different sectors of economy such as manufacturing by Long and Malitz (1985) and Titman and Wessels (1988). Miller and Modigliani (1966) tested these models in the context of power generating and electric companies, while Jensen and Langemeier (1996) have focused on the agricultural firms. Among the noteworthy models proposed by researchers, the static trade off theory carries the primary importance. Modigliani and Miller (1958) contended that the static trade off theory is based on the assumption of friction and information-wise perfect markets. They also proposed the irrelevance theorem which implies that the financing decisions of firms have nothing to do with the value of organisation and their cost of financing. Titman and Wessels (1988), Rajan and Zingales (1995) and Graham (1996) have conducted their empirical research to investigate the important determinants of capital structure proposed in the theoretical models by finance commentators. In the majority of research, they found that firms decisions to achieve the target capital structure are spontaneous. In the imperfect market, these target ratios are not instantaneous and incomplete while in perfect market, these financial decisions are perfect and spontaneous. It means that firms try to adjust their optimal capital structure spontaneously as the cost of capital varies in the market. Marsh (1982), Jalilvand and Harris (1984) found that the main impediments in the way of adjusting capital structure are the adjustments and transaction cost associated to market imperfections. These imperfections arise due to the inefficiencies in financial market such asymmetric distribution of information and transaction cost etc. These researchers have found that the firms financial decisions usually taken in a two step process. Marsh (1982) and Jalilvand and Harris (1984) explained that in the first step, a firm decide its target capital structure and in the next phase, it strives to attain that target. Spies (1974), Taggart (1977), Jalilvand and Harris (1984) and Ozkan (2001) stated that financial behaviour of a firm can be best described by the partial adjustment model. In this partial target adjustment model, it is assumed that a firm adjusts to the target capital structure spontaneously. One common attribute in the research is that the capital structure of a firm varies with the change in industry type. Even after the efforts of numerous researchers, no single universally accepted capital structure theory exists. There are also a comparatively small number of empirical researches conducted up till now on this topic. One possible reason for the small number of empirical research is the intangible and conceptual nature of determinants proposed by the authors (Titman and Wessels 1988). However, the available empirical research has focused on certain factors such as the size of firms; profitability and volatility of earnings before interest, tax and depreciations etc. These determinants came out after the studies conducted in the developed countries such as the United States (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK). After the integration of markets, it is becoming increasingly more important to study these markets to test the validity of these determinants. Because of the confl icting ideas pertaining to the financial behaviour of firms, it is important to have practical research based on theoretical foundations to establish a valid capital structure determinant model. 1.1 Objective This research paper will endeavour to determine the factors which serve as an impetuous for changing the capital structure of firms across the different industries operating in the United States of America (USA). The main objective of this research will be achieved investigating the relationship between following determinants; Capital structure and profitability Capital structure and tangibility Capital structure and economic growth of the country Capital structure and rate of inflation Another objective is to find and evaluate the impact of internal forces which play an important role in changing the capital structure of a firm. Literature Review: 2.0 Introduction This chapter attempts to establish the theoretical foundation of determinants of capital structure. First of all, the effect of different industry types on the capital structure has been given. Then the different capital structure theories have been described. After that, all the possible external and internal determinates of capital structure has been discussed. Lastly, the latest development in the macro and micro environment, which have significant bearing on the capital structure of a film, are discussed 2.1 External and Internal Determinants of Capital Structure In this time of financial distress, where many companies are facing impending bankruptcy because of the liquidity crunch and mismanagement of resources, it is imperative for financial managers to use the optimal mix of debt and equity in order to drive down the cost of capital and thereby increasing the profitability of their firms. Another impetuous for using optimal mix is that the financial analysts, investment houses, common stock buyers and bond rating bureaus usually compare the financial leverage of a firm with industry average figures before taking investment decisions (Moyer et al. 2009). Hence, it is in the very interest of a firm to decide its optimal capital structure in order to make its financial health more conducive to further investment by yielding handsome returns (DeAngelo and Masulis 1980). As per definition, capital structure of a firm is the mix of the total long and short term debt plus the total amount of equity (both preferred and common) which is raised by a company to finance its total capital requirements (Investopedia 2009). According to Brigham and Ehrhardt (2001), there are many internal and external factors which a financial manager has to be mindful of before chalking out business plans and policies. Similarly, decisions of capital structure are the outcome of many internal and external variables (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). External variables consist of many macroeconomic factors such Gross Domestic Product (GDP), unemployment, inflation, interest rates and tax policies etc (Besley and Brigham 2007). GDP is the accumulated market worth of finished goods and services produced within the boundaries of a country during a particular period of time, usually one year (Investopedia 2010). Nominal GDP (inflation not adjusted) should not be confused with real GDP (inflation adjusted) as the increase in nominal GDP (merely increase in prices) doesnt mean that country has made more money during a certain period (Investopedia 2010). Inflation means the rate of increase in the prices of goods and services over a period of time, usually measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and GDP deflator (a ratio of nominal and real GDP) (Investopedia 2010). Some other important variables of macro economy are the economic growth, budget deficit and poverty. These macroeconomic factors indicate the aggregate economic performance of an economy (Investopedia 2009). As these macroeconomic factors are the result of many sub factors which collectively make a very complex economic system (Campbell, McConnell and Brue 2008). These factors, by nature, are out of the control of a firms manager so he/she cannot influence the determinants. They instead have to adjust the proportion of debt and equity according to their respective costs. Some other important external variables which affect a specific capital structure are the taxation, profitability, the interest expense, the effect of agency cost and the level of business risk faced by the company (Moyer, McGuigan and Kretlow 2009). Besides these external variables, there are many internal factors which a business manager has to consider before selecting a particular mix of debt and equity. These internal variables can be the industry specific variables such as the effect of seasonal levels of sales or these can be the internal to the firms such as the style and attitude of management. Entrepreneurial organisations, for example, have the tendency of taking bolder and riskier business decisions as compared to bureaucratic ones which shows more risk-averse behaviour. Among the most prominent internal variables are the level of profitability, degree of risk appetite of business managers and the tangibility of fixed assets etc. 2.2 Effect of industry type on the capital structure of a firm There are a lot of variations in the capital structure of firms across the different industries all over the world (Scott and Martin 1975). Capital structure of firms varies with the change in type of industries and even within the same industries (S. Titman 1984). It is evident from the Table 1 that the firms which are operating in the drugs and industrial machinery sector do not use a large amount of debt as compared to firms which are in the retail and utilities business (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). Some possible reasons are the uncertainties inherent in the research projects carried out by these firms or the chances of product liability law suits (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). Due to the low level of debt financing, these firms are also experiencing low level of financial distress (i.e. the times interest earned ratios are high) as compared to the other sectors as shown in table 1 (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). However, the firms which belong to the utilities sector usually rely heavily on debt financing which is evident from their common equity ratio as shown in table 1 (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). The major portion of total debt comprises of long term debt which they usually raise by issuing securities and mortgage bonds against their huge fixed assets (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). Another rational behind this phenomenon is the stable sales figures as compared to the other firms which have volatile sales (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). This factor enables these types of firms to use more debt financing because they can easily forecast the expected level of future sales and can have an optimal business risk (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). 2.3 Theoretical Foundations of Capital Structure Franco Modigliani and Merton Miller (famous as MM) (1958) are pioneers, having studied the impact of internal and external determinants on the capital structure of an organisation (cited in Bhaduri 2002). In the years since, there has been a large volume of research by many researchers to determine the individual effect of these environmental factors on the capital structure of a firm in different countries of the world (Al-Najjar and Taylor, 2008). Modigliani and Miller proposed that in a supposed no-competition world, the value of a firm is independent of its capital structure (cited in Bhaduri, 2002). Further they also assumed that their theory is valid under the assumptions of perfect competition, no taxation cost, not transaction cost. They also stated that the productivity of firms is not dependent on mode of financing (cited in Bhaduri, 2002). In the above mentioned scenario, internally generated sources of funds are almost the perfect substitute of external funds (Bhaduri, 20 02). Hence, companies are indifferent to the sources of financing. After the publication of their work, researchers have found some imperfections such as Kim (1978) introduced the idea of bankruptcy cost. The idea of facility of tax shield was introduced by DeAngelo and Masulis (1980) and the agency cost by Jensen and Meckling (1976). All these researchers agreed that the optimal capital structure is the most realistic solution to the capital structure dilemma faced by the todays firms. As the cost and benefits of leverage changes from one industry to the other, many previous researchers are of the opinion that industry must have significant impact on the capital structure of firms (Scott and Martin 1975). Every firm tries to chase the average industry ratios (Tucker and Stoja, 2007). Ang (1976) said that firms can only have an optimal gearing ratio rather an ideal universal ratio for all in the real world scenario. Remmers et al. (1974) agreed with the Ang (1976) by stating the gea ring ratio of firms varies with industries. They also said that firms that belong to the same industries face same environmental conditions which lead them toward common earning and sales patterns (Remmers, Wright and Beekhuisen 1974). Scott (1972) and Scott and Martin (1975) said that most of the firms tries to choose the gearing ratio that is appropriate to their risk/return profile and their inherent business risks. Antoniou et al. (2002) found that the UK, German and French firms continuously adjust their debt ratios according to the target ratio, but at their own rates which is contingent to whether they belong to the manufacturing or services sector. Bradley, Jarrel and Kim (1984) said that the agency cost and bankruptcy cost are just the partial determinants of leverage. It means that these factors also have impact on the capital structure of firm but in a less likely fashion. Many researchers endeavoured to tackle the issue of optimal capital structure (Bhaduri 2002). All these works have collectively contributed in the development of financial theory (Bhaduri 2002). In spite of all these efforts, there is no one comprehensive solution to the capital structure dilemma (Titman 1984). Moreover there have been very little practical evidence regarding determinants of capital structure till recently (Harris and Raviv 1991).The main reason behind this limited number of empirical research evidence on this topic is the abstract nature of determinant such as size of firms, their growth rates, intensity of capital, gross profits, volatility of future sales and free cash flows and the impact of taxation on changes in the capital structure of a firm (Harris and Raviv 1991). Another important issue is pertaining to the geographical locations that most of the available research works have focused on the United States of America (USA) market (Bhaduri 2002). Less economically developed countries (LEDCs) lag behind due to the neglected role of the private sector in the economic development of country and the limited sources of funds for the companies belonging to the LEDCs (Bhaduri 2002). 2.4 Main Factors Influencing the Capital Structure of a Firm The chief determinants of capital structure are the attributes and factors that have very significant impact on the leverage ratio of a firm. The following is the detail of the most relevant determinants of capital structure of a company. Asset Structure According to the agency cost and asymmetric information theories, the composition of tangible assets owned by a company greatly affects its capital structure (Jensen and Solberg 1992). Agency cost theory states that shareholders of a firm, which has high proportion of debt in its capital structure, have the intention to invest sub-optimally (Galai and Masulis 1976; Jensen, Solberg and Zorn 1992). A positive relationship has also been found between the collateralisable assets and debt structure of a firm. Another factor is the over consumption habit of business managers which ultimately reduces the value of a firm (Bhaduri 2002). Financial Distress If a firm is using a huge amount of debt and it has to pay heavy payments periodically, there is very high probability that it will go bankrupt in the case of falling revenues or future free cash flows (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). This implies that the firms, which are having volatile sales figures, usually use less debt financing in order to avoid probable financial distress (Ensen and Meckling 1976). Fear of bankruptcy forbade the firms to rely heavily on the debt financing (Bhaduri, 2002). Non-Debt Tax Shield DeAngelo and Masulis (1980) said that one of the firms objectives of using debt financing, is to avail the benefit of a tax shield because interest expense reduces the taxable income of a firm. So the firms which have a large non-debt tax shield are likely to use less debt financing. Size There are is large number of evidences that the firms which are large in size and well diversified are less likely to experience financial distress (Demsetz and Lehn 1985, Remmers, Wright and Beekhuisen 1974). This encouraged them to use relatively large amount of debt financing (Warner 1977; Ang and McConnell 1982). Age The age of firm is also a very pertinent factor that influences the firms decision about having a specific of capital structure (Scott 1972). Young firms are more intended to use debt financing because of the high appetite for risk taking and limited amount of information at hand (Scott 1972). So they find borrowing from banks a cheaper and convenient way as compared to use equity financing. Growth Fast growing firms experience a higher cost of agency problem as compared to the firms which not growing very fast. Bhaduri (2002) said that fast growing firms have more chances of adjustments in the coming years. Hence there is a negative correlation between the longer term debt and the future growth of a firm. Myers (1977) said that the short term debt is the remedy to this problem. By doing this, fast growing firms dont need to enter into long term debt contrast and can easily adjust their capital structure according to the requirements of growth and financial conditions (S. Myers 1977). Profitability If managers of a company are not capable and credible enough to convince venture capitalists to lend capital, they will preferentially rely on the internal sources of revenue (e.g. retained earnings) (Myers and Majluf 1984). Myers and Majluf (1984) noted that profitable firms usually have more money as retimed earning in order to invest in the growth projects. Hence there must be negative relationship between debt proportion and historical profitability of the company (Myers and Majluf 1984). Uniqueness It is found that the firms which are producing unique kind of products usually have low leverage ratio (Bhaduri 2002, Antoniou, Guney and Paudyal 2002). These firms face great difficulty in borrowing debt from the financial institutions because in case of liquidation, their assets cant be used for some other substitute purposes (Auerbach 1985). Industry effect It is one of the most important variables that affect the capital structure of firms (Harris and Raviv 1991). The companies which belong to those industries where there is greater degree of uncertainty in the research projects and expected future sales, they rely less on debt financing (Remmers, Wright and Beekhuisen 1974). Contrary to this, the firms which have more level of certainty in their future cash flows and huge amount of fixed assets, they intended towards more debt financing (Remmers, Wright and Beekhuisen 1974). Maksimovic and Zechner (1991) said that the diversity of technologies used by firms is also the key determinant of using their capital structure. They argued that the firms which are using multiple technologies have the facility of sourcing capital from various sources of financing (Maksimovic and Zechner 1991). Where these firms can raise their funds from multiple sources, they can also reduce their risk by spreading over the wide range of technologies (Maksimovi c and Zechner 1991). 2.5 Most Important Capital Structure Theories 2.5.1 Static trade-off theory This theory of capital structure assumes that company should pursue a financing mix where tax shield advantage should be equal to the interest rate expense, keeping the other factors constant such as credit crunch and probability of bankruptcy costs (Jensen and Meckling 1976). This theory mainly deals with the pros and cons of issuing fixed asset securities like debt (S. Myers 1977). It assumes that there exists an optimal point under which the value of the firm is maximized. This optimal point is achieved by balancing the benefits and cost of issuing more debt (Myers 2001). One of the main advantages of issuing more debt is to take the benefit of tax deductable. This simple benefit can be more complicated when manages and owners have to pay personal tax and the issue of an absence of tax shield (Myers 2001). Debt financing also reduces the chances of agency conflict (Maksimovic and Zechner 1991). The rational is that the use of debt reduces the amount of free cash flows at the dispo sal of managers and there reducing the chances of conflict between managers and shareholders (Jensen and Meckling 1976). 2.5.2 The Trade-Off Theory of Capital Structure The basic idea behind this theory is that a firm normally conducts the cost-benefits analysis before taking any decision regarding its capital structure (Tucker and Stoja 2007). It means that company will just rule out the possibility of convenience in this important financial aspect as stated by the pecking order theory (Jensen and Meckling 1976). In spite of criticism by Miller (who called it a comparison of horse and rabbit), the advanced dynamic model of this theory is very robust and practical (Tucker and Stoja 2007). 2.5.3 Pecking order theory The pecking order theory talks about the cost of asymmetric information (Myers and Majluf, 1984). It says that firms choose their sources of financing according to the rule of least effort or least resistance (Myers and Majluf 1984). This implies that the firms will choose the equity financing as a financing mode of last resort (Myers and Majluf 1984). According to this theory, firms will prefer debt financing as long as it is feasible and when it is no longer possible, then they will opt for equity financing (Myers and Majluf 1984). 2.6 Capital Structure and Financial Risk The Financial risk of a firm is the risk associated with a lack of a sufficient amount of future free cash flows in order to meet its short term obligations (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). In other words, financial risk also increases as the use of fixed income securities increases like preferred stock increases in the total financing of the firm (Harris and Raviv 1991). Brigham Ehrhardt (2001) asserted that as the amount of debt increases in the overall mix of capital structure, the degree of financial leverage increases. Financial leverage means that the total amount of debt that is used in the capital structure of a firm (Harris and Raviv 1991). Another related concept is that of operating leverage which means that the portion of fixed cost used in the total cost of production of a particular product or range of products (Moyer, McGuigan and Kretlow 2009). Investors are very much concerned about the financial risk of firms because this is the kind of additional risk which they have to bear because of debt financing besides equity, in the firms total capital structure (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). It is the main objective before the financial managers to design the capital structure so that the value of the firm is maximized and at the same time mitigate the risk at hand (Harris and Raviv 1991). To gauge the financial risk of a firm, Times Interest Earned (TIE) ratio carries special importance in the eyes of these investors (Besley and Brigham 2007). Times interest ratio is of immense importance to analyse the true interest cost coverage ability of a firm (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). TIE depends upon three important factors: the amount of debt in the total capital structure, the cost of debt and the profitability of the firm (Haugen 1995). Usually the industries which are less leveraged such as Drugs and electronics etc. have a very high TIE ratio (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). However, the firms which are in the business of retailing or utilities which rely more on debt financing, have low interest coverage ratios (see table1) (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001).There are also variations in the capital structure of individual firms operating in the same industry due to the different attitude of managers and their particular risk/return profiles (S. Myers 1977). The firms where manger s are more aggressive and have high risk appetite usually use more debt financing than those firms where managers are risk-averse (Hull 2008). The tools used to find the optimal capital structure are EBIT/EPS Analysis and EPS indifference Analysis (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). 2.6.1 EBIT/EPS Analysis Earnings Per Share (EPS) of a firm vary with changes in the amount of debt in the capital structure of a firm (Warner 1977). Theoretically, as the amount of debt increases in the capital structure, the financial risk increases (Warner 1977). Because of this high financial risk, investment houses change higher interest rates for the further debt which ultimate increases the cost of capital for a firm (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). Surely extra amount of financial leverage increases the capability of a firm to earn higher earnings per share in the coming years (Jensen and Solberg 1992). Brigham Ehrhardt (2001), however, suggested that EBIT/EPS ratio should range from 0 to 5%. To find the exact point in this range, financial managers have to conduct an EPS indifference analysis. 2.6.2 EPS indifference analysis The purpose of this analysis is to find out the point where a firm is insouciant as to whether it uses debt or equity for the same ratio of EPS (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). Brigham and Ehrhardt (2001) found that a firm will report higher EPS at a low level of sales and firm is using the more equity than debt. On the other hand, an organization will experience faster increase in EPS with the increase in sales if a firm is using more debt than equity (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). The point worth noting is that if business managers are confident about a certain level of sales of their firm, they should go for debt financing and vice versa (Besley and Brigham 2007). Financial risk of a firm is usually measured by interest coverage ratio, fixed charge coverage ratio and longer debt ratios (Moyer, McGuigan and Kretlow 2009). These ratios are usually compared with industry average ratios to gauge the true financial health of a firm (Moyer, McGuigan and Kretlow 2009). These ratios are also compared to the previous years ratio of the same firm to determine the trend of firms performance over a period of time (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2001). The Financial risk of a firm depends upon a number of factors such as financial leverage, Operating leverage, expected future free cash flows and so on. Because of the intense competition and uncertainty in the market, it becomes essential for the finance executives of companies to manage the risk of their organisations by either diversification, adopting an optimal capital structure, or using the sophisticated derivative securities (Hull 2008). An optimal capital structure is to arrange the financial structure of the firm in such a way that minimises the weighted-average cost of capital and thereby maximises the value of the firms stock (DeAngelo and Masulis 1980). The dilemma here is that when a firm is trying to maximise its EPS by increasing the amount of debt, its financial risk also increases at the same time (DeAngelo and Masulis 1980). On the other hand, if a firm tries to minimise its financial distress, it has to reduce its financial leverage which ultimately hurts the EPS of the firm (Bhaduri 2002). Hence there arises the need of an optimal financial structure which increases the EPS of a firm and reduces its overall finan cial distress simultaneously (Bhaduri 2002). This choice of the optimal capital structure depends upon a number of factors such as the size of firm, its growth rate, cash flow projections and product and industry characteristics. (Bhaduri 2002). There is a school of thought advocating that derivatives are the most useful tool to hedge financial risks at the firms level (Jalilvand, Tang and Switzer 2000). Yet there is another group who believe that there are some alternative (i.e. using less debt financing) as compared to the typical hedging techniques available which can be used to reduce the financial risk at corporate level (Berkman, Bradbury and Magan 1997). From these studies, it is evident that managing the financial risk of firms is very important for firms in order to be competitive in the market place. Some companies have made internal risk management policies as part of their corporate business strategy (Maksimovic and Zechner 1991). Smith and Stulz (1985) commented on the goal of risk management in these words: The primary goal of risk management is to eliminate the probability of costly lower-tail outcomes those that would cause financial distress or make a company unable to carry out its investment strategy(p. 3 95). It is clear from the words of Smith and Stulz (1985) that the main goal of companies is to manage risk by either means. During the last decade, there has been a lot of research on the impact of industry in deciding the capital structure of firms (Booth, et al. 2001). Booth et al. (2001) studied whether the factors affecting the capital structure of firms are country specific or not. For this purpose, their study focussed on ten developing countries: India, Pakistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Brazil, Turkey, Jordan and Korea. They reported that: In general, debt ratios in developing countries seem to be affected in the same way and by the same types of variables that are significant in developed countries. However, there are systematic differences in the way these ratios are affected by country factors, such as GDP growth rates, inflation rates and development of capital market (Booth et al. 2001 p. 118). The institutional owners who hold large amount of shares of a firm also play a very significant role in deciding the capital structure of these firms (Al-Najjar and Taylor 2008). As these owners have the right to elect the board of directors, they can influence the mangers of their firms to adopt specific risk management policies and finance capital in a certain and specific manner (Al-Najjar and Taylor 2008). 2.7 Financial market Dysfunction In developing countries, banks and other financial institutions are main sources that provide liquidity to the economic system by advancing credit to the films (Demsetz and Lehn 1985). In repressed financial system, banks provide short and medium term loans to the young and established entrepreneurs; while big and developed financial institution provide long term loans to the big corporation (Kester 1986). These loans are mostly given to the particular sectors of national economies such as agriculture and transport and housing (Antoniou, Guney and Paudyal 2002). Governments used to influence these commercial institutions to favour certain sectors and advance soft credit to the small industry (Leech 1987). Regularity agencies mostly restrict the banks from advancing credit to certain limits (DeAngelo and Masulis 1980). Antoniou, Guney and Paudyal (2002) said that the limitation on the financial institutions by the authorities result in the form of credit rationing. Another hu

Study of Recurrent UTI among Mothers in the Philippines

Study of Recurrent UTI among Mothers in the Philippines INTRODUCTION Background of Study Millions suffer, only a few understand. In Barangay Ula, Recurrent UTI is one of the leading causes of morbidity among 40 households with a prevalence of 82.5% in which a bulk of 57% comprises of mothers. Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most prevailing infectious diseases with a substantial financial burden on society. An estimated 13,000 deaths annually are attributed to UTIs. The magnitude of the problem worldwide is becoming very apparent.Globally, there are an estimated 150 million urinary tract infections per annum. Nearly 20% of women who have UTI will have another, and 30% of those will have yet another, but of the last group, 80% will have recurrences. In the Philippines, UTI continues to be among the top five reasons for consultations in health facilities nationwide. It is one of the ten leading causes of morbidity in all ages with a rate of 127.84 per 100,000 population. Recurrence of UTI among these mothers is greatly affected by behaviors. In this regard, the study would like to focus on the UTI-related behaviors of mothers, in Barangay Ula, diagnosed with recurrent urinary tract infection. Review of Related Literature According to Al-badr and colleague (2013), urinary tract infections (UTIs) are one of the most common clinical bacterial infections in women, accounting for almost 25% of all infections. Around 50–60% of women will develop UTIs in their lifetimes wherein Escherichia coliis the most common organism in all patient groups, but Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Proteus,and other organisms are more common in patients with certain risk factors for complicated urinary tract infections (Kodner and Gupton, 2010). Hooton and Gupta (2013) defined recurrent urinary tract infection as ≠¥2 infections in six months or ≠¥3 infections in one year. Most recurrences are thought to represent reinfection rather than relapse, although occasionally a persistent focus can produce relapsing infection. Recurrent uncomplicated urinary tract infection is a common presentation to urologists and family doctors. A survey data suggest that 1 in 3 women will have had a diagnosed and treated UTI by age 24 and more than half will be affected in their lifetime. In a 6-month study of college-aged women, 27% of these UTIs were found to recur once and 3% a second time (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3202002/). Many women suffer from frequent UTIs. About 20 percent of young women with a first UTI will have a recurrent infection. With each UTI, the risk that a woman will continue having recurrent UTIs increases.Some women have three or more UTIs a year. However, very few women will have frequent infections throughout their lives. More typically, a woman will have a period of 1 or 2 years with frequent infections, after which recurring infections cease (http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/utiadult/). In a study of college women with their first UTI, 27 percent experienced at least one culture-confirmed recurrence within the six months following the initial infection and 2.7 percent had a second recurrence during this same time period. When the first infection is caused by Escherichia coli, women appear to be more likely to develop a second UTI within six months than those with a first UTI due to another organism. In a Finnish study of women ages 17 to 82 who had E. coli cystitis, 44 percent had a recurrence within one year(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3202002/). A number of factors also appear to increase the risk of recurrent UTIs such as biological or genetic factors, behavioural risk factors and even the pelvic anatomy (http://www.uptodate.com/contents/recurrent-urinary-tract-infection-in-women). In symptomatic women, predictors of recurrent UTIs include symptoms following intercourse, signs or symptoms of pyelonephritis, and prompt resolution of symptoms with antibiotics. Nocturia and persistence of symptoms between UTI episodes are strong negative predictors for recurrent infection (http://www.aafp.org/afp/2010/0915/p638.html). According to Hooton and Gupta (2014), sexual intercourse, diaphragm-spermicide use, and a history of recurrent UTI are strong and independent risk factors for UTI. Even spermicide-coated condom use results in an increased risk of UTI. However, risk factors specific for recurrent UTI have received relatively less attention. In one large case-control study of women with and without a history of recurrent UTI, the frequency of sexual intercourse was the strongest risk factor for recurrent UTI in a multivariate analysis. Other risk factors identified were: 1) Spermicide use during the past year; 2) Having a new sex partner during the past year; 3) Having a first UTI at or before 15 years of age; and 4) Having a mother with a history of UTIs. Sexual activity can move microbes from the bowel or vaginal cavity to the urethral opening. If these microbes have special characteristics that allow them to live in the urinary tract, it is harder for the body to remove them quickly enough to prevent infection. Following sexual intercourse, most women have a significant number of bacteria in their urine, but the body normally clears them within 24 hours. However, some forms of birth control increase the risk of UTI. In some women, certain spermicides may irritate the skin, increasing the risk of bacteria invading surrounding tissues. Using a diaphragm may slow urinary flow and allow bacteria to multiply. Condom use is also associated with increased risk of UTIs, possibly because of the increased trauma that occurs to the vagina during sexual activity. Using spermicides with diaphragms and condoms can increase risk even further (http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/utiadult/). According to Wilkinson and Treas (2010), perinneal care is part of routine hygiene care. When washing the perineum, it must be from front to back to prevent contaminating the urethra with any fecal material left in the anus. Fecal particles left on skin can cause skin breakdown due to enzyme activity, and may increase the risk of a urinary tract infection because of the presence of E. coli in the feces. During menstruation, it is important to change sanitary pads, tampons or menstrual cups regularly. The standard time for a sanitary pad is once every six hours, while for a tampon is once every two hours. Sanitary napkins are made of cotton wool and gel. When an individual bleed into one, most of the blood gets soaked in, but at a certain point the pad gets saturated and may leak. Another consideration is that menstrual blood – once it has left the body – gets contaminated with the body’s innate organisms. When these organisms remain in a warm and moist place for a long time they tend to multiply and can lead to conditions like urinary tract infection, vaginal infections and skin rashes. Therefore changing is essential (http://health.india.com/diseases-conditions/hygiene-during-menstrual-periods-10-things-you-should-know/). General Objective At the end of the study, we will be able to describe the UTI- related behavior of mothers in Barangay Ula, Tugbok, Davao City who were diagnosed with Recurrent UTI from 2009 to 2013 in terms of personal hygiene, sexual activity and birth control method. Specific Objectives To determine the personal hygiene practices of mothers base on the following parameters: Handwashing Perineal care Type of underwear used Usage and changing of panty liners Changing of sanitary pad during menstruation To determine the sexual activity of these mothers To determine the birth control methods used by mothers Significance of the Study This study will provide a reference point on the personal hygiene practices of mothers regarding UTI. The data gathered will be used as a guide in forming future program strategies in decreasing the prevalence of Recurrent UTI in the area. The results of the study will also serve as an insight on the following parties: Barangay health care providers (doctors, nurses and midwives) to provide and disseminate proper information to BHWs and mothers about the behavioural risk factors that can cause recurrence of UTI; Barangay health workers (BHWs) as the most accessible source of information, they should be equipped with the proper and adequate information regarding the behavioural risk factors causing UTI; Mothers to assess whether their personal hygiene practices are correct. This will also, in a way, equip mothers and correct any malpractices they have. There are indeed many cases of recurrent UTI which were not prevented because the mothers have poor personal hygiene practices. Mothers should therefore be properly equipped with adequate understanding of the personal hygiene practices that can be of great importance in the prevention of UTI. Hence, this knowledge can lead to the resolution of this problem. Definition of Terms Behavioural Risk Factors – the elements that predisposes the mothers in having recurrent UTI. Recurrent UTI – Recurrent Urinary Tract Infection; the reinfection involving the urinary tract including the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra. Mother – a person who has been pregnant and has already given birth regardless of her marital status. Personal Hygiene Practices – set of actions performed to care for one’s health Perineal Care an everyday hygienic practice of washing the perineum Chapter 2 Methodology Research Design Descriptive research was used in this study. The study aims to determine the Behavioural Risk Factors of Mothers diagnosed with Recurrent UTI in Purok 6, Barangay Ula, Tugbok District, Davao City. Locale of the Study The study will be conducted in Purok 6, Barangay Ula, Tugbok District, Davao City. Unit Analysis The subject of this study is a Mother diagnosed with Recurrent UTI residing in Purok 6, Barangay Ula, Tugbok District, Davao City. Sampling A total enumeration of 40 mothers will be included in the study. Variables and Measures Data Collection Procedure The testing in this study is focused on the behavioural risk factors of mothers diagnosed with Recurrent UTI, through the scheduled interview of all Mothers in Purok 6, Barangay Ula, Tugbok District, Davao City. Treatment of Data The data was analyzed using the summary statistics like means and frequency distribution. Ethical Consideration We will provide each participant with informed consent forms. Confidentiality of participants’ information and answers will be of our paramount consideration. Chapter 3 Results This section shows the results of the study. The respondents were the 40 mothers of Purok 6, Barangay Ula, Tugbok District, Davao City. Table 1. The Frequency Distribution of 40 Mothers According to Diagnosed Cases of Recurrent UTI Table 2. The Frequency Distribution of 40 Mothers According to Behavioural Risk Factors Chapter 4 Discussion Limitation of the Study The study was limited to all mothers residing in Purok 6, Barangay Ula, Tugbok, Davao City. This was limited on a scheduled interview with the participants. Diagnosed Cases of Recurrent UTI The results showed that 33 mothers were diagnosed with Recurrent UTI while 7 of them were not diagnosed at all with the infection. Behavioural Risk Factors The results showed that all of the mothers were practicing handwashing before and after doing perinneal care. It also showed that a total enumeration of 40 mothers was washing their perineum everyday in which almost all of them were doing it about 1 to times a day. They knew that it is really important to maintain cleanliness within one’s self. About 24 of the mothers were using water and soap in washing their perineum, 11 mothers were using feminine wash while 5 of the mothers were only using water for perinneal care. Out of the 40 mothers doing perinneal care, 19 were washing their perineum from front to back and the remaining 21 mothers were doing it from back to front. The type of underwear used by 28 mothers was made of cotton while 8 of them used spandex and 4 used silk underwear. 22 mothers interviewed were using panty liners in which 19 of them changes their panty liners once to thrice in a day. Of all mothers, 27 were still having their monthly menstrual period while 13 of them were already menopausal. Among the mothers who were still having menstruation, 18 of them were changing their pads at least 1 to 3 times a day, 8 mothers change 4 to 6 times in a day while only 1 mother changes her pad at least 7 times in a day. There were 29 mothers who were sexually active who all had only 1 sexual partner. 26 of which were doing perinneal washing before sexual intercourse while 28 of the sexually active mothers were doing perinneal care after sexual intercourse and 26 of the said mothers were urinating before and after sexual intercourse. No mother was with catheters at the time of interview. This means that catheter is not the cause of the recurrence of UTI among the 40 mothers in the Purok. Birth control methods were used by only 18 mothers wherein 12 of them did not want to have a baby anymore while the remaining 6 were not yet ready to have a baby. The rest of the 22 mothers were not using any birth control methods because 18 of them were already menopausal and 4 of them were said to be pro-life. On the other hand, out of the 12 mothers who used family planning, 8 mothers used condoms. With these results, it revealed that many of the mothers who were diagnosed with recurrent UTI were having personal hygiene malpractices such as washing their perineum from back to front wherein it moves bacteria from the anus close to the urethra. Another was how often they change their panty liners as well as their sanitary pads in a day as the pads get contaminated with the bodies’ innate organisms. When this happens, organisms will multiply in such warm and moist environment leading to urinary tract infections. Chapter 5 Summary of Results, Conclusion and Recommendations Summary Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are among the most prevailing infectious diseases with a substantial financial burden on society. Globally, there are an estimated 150 million urinary tract infections per annum. Nearly 20% of women who have UTI will have another, and 30% of those will have yet another, but of the last group, 80% will have recurrences. In the Philippines, UTI is one of the ten leading causes of morbidity in all ages with a rate of 127.84 per 100,000 population. In Purok 6, Barangay Ula, Recurrent UTI is one of the leading causes of morbidity among 40 households with a prevalence of 82.5%. A bulk of 57% comprises of mothers. The results showed that 33 mothers were diagnosed with Recurrent UTI while 7 of them were not diagnosed at all with the infection. The results showed that all of the mothers were practicing handwashing before and after doing perinneal care. It also showed that a total enumeration of 40 mothers was washing their perineum everyday in which almost all of them were doing it about 1 to times a day. About 24 of the mothers were using water and soap in washing their perineum. The type of underwear used by 28 mothers was made of cotton. 22 mothers interviewed were using panty liners in which 19 of them changes their panty liners once to thrice in a day. Among the mothers who were still having menstruation, 18 of them were changing their pads at least 1 to 3 times a day, 8 mothers change 4 to 6 times in a day while only 1 mother changes her pad at least 7 times in a day. 26 out of 29 sexually active mothers were doing perinneal washing before sexual intercourse while 28 of the sexually active mothers were doing perinneal care after sexual intercourse and 26 of the said mothers were urinating before and after sexual intercourse. On the other hand, out of the 12 mothers who used family planning, 8 of them used condoms. With these results, it only revealed that many mothers who were diagnosed with recurrent UTI were having personal hygiene malpractices. Conclusions At the end of the study, we were able to determine the personal hygiene practices of mothers base on handwashing, perineal care, type of underwear used, usage and changing of panty liners, and changing of sanitary pad during menstruation. We were also able to determine the sexual activity of mothers associated with the prevalence of Recurrent UTI. Lastly, we were able to determine the birth control methods used by mothers that predispose them to recurrent UTI such as the use of condoms and IUDs. Recommendations To the City Health Office: conduct lectures and seminars on Recurrent UTI To the Barangay Officials: provide support on the programs on Recurrent UTI To the BHWs: attend lectures and workshops regarding Recurrent UTI

Government and Economics in China Essay -- China

Introduction China is one of the most populous countries of the world with over 1.3 billion people and covering a geographical area of about 9.6 million square kilometres. It lies on the eastern end of the large Asia continent and enjoys a remarkably long coastline. It has a large economy, given the large population and a wide array of natural resources especially mineral resources which are the backbone of its economy. With a well cultivated constitution that was put in place by the largest political party, the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has reforms underway aimed at closing the otherwise wide gap between the rich and the poor. The country suffers employment deficit, despite having one of the world’s largest economy. The people of China are largely farmers or work in the many industrial plants that are numerous. Having developed peacefully and after calming prior conflicts with different foreign countries earlier, currently China maintains peace with many countries of the worl d. Legal, Economic and Political Background of China The Chinese political system has taken a dual leadership system under which each local office is under coequal authority of the local leaders who have the overall local oversight of the relevant ministry. In the higher ranks, the larger Communist Party of China (CPC) almost entirely governs the country and apparently, the country has no relevant political opposition parties. The party has for long endorsed a system that considers people’s personal grievances although these grievances must not at all lean on any group organization. The current political directive aims at coming up with such policies that will guide any political ambitions towards lessening the rapidly increasing gap between ... ...U’s development. [Online]. Available at: [accessed 04 April 2012]. Barboza, D., 2010. In China, unlikely labour leader just wanted middle-class life, The New York Times, [Online]. Available at: global/14honda.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=unlikely%20labor%20leaders%20china&st=cse> [accessed 04 April 2012]. Child, J., 2009. Context, comparison and methodology in Chinese management research, Management and Organization Review, (5)1, p. 57–73. Howell, J.A., 2008. All-China Federation of Trades Unions beyond reform? The slow march of direct elections, China Quarterly, 196, p. 845–863. Hishida et al. 2010. China’s trade unions: How autonomous are they? A survey of 1,811 enterprise union chairpersons. Abingdon: Routledge. Wal-Mart China, China Journal, 58, p. 1–27. Government and Economics in China Essay -- China Introduction China is one of the most populous countries of the world with over 1.3 billion people and covering a geographical area of about 9.6 million square kilometres. It lies on the eastern end of the large Asia continent and enjoys a remarkably long coastline. It has a large economy, given the large population and a wide array of natural resources especially mineral resources which are the backbone of its economy. With a well cultivated constitution that was put in place by the largest political party, the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has reforms underway aimed at closing the otherwise wide gap between the rich and the poor. The country suffers employment deficit, despite having one of the world’s largest economy. The people of China are largely farmers or work in the many industrial plants that are numerous. Having developed peacefully and after calming prior conflicts with different foreign countries earlier, currently China maintains peace with many countries of the worl d. Legal, Economic and Political Background of China The Chinese political system has taken a dual leadership system under which each local office is under coequal authority of the local leaders who have the overall local oversight of the relevant ministry. In the higher ranks, the larger Communist Party of China (CPC) almost entirely governs the country and apparently, the country has no relevant political opposition parties. The party has for long endorsed a system that considers people’s personal grievances although these grievances must not at all lean on any group organization. The current political directive aims at coming up with such policies that will guide any political ambitions towards lessening the rapidly increasing gap between ... ...U’s development. [Online]. Available at: [accessed 04 April 2012]. Barboza, D., 2010. In China, unlikely labour leader just wanted middle-class life, The New York Times, [Online]. Available at: global/14honda.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=unlikely%20labor%20leaders%20china&st=cse> [accessed 04 April 2012]. Child, J., 2009. Context, comparison and methodology in Chinese management research, Management and Organization Review, (5)1, p. 57–73. Howell, J.A., 2008. All-China Federation of Trades Unions beyond reform? The slow march of direct elections, China Quarterly, 196, p. 845–863. Hishida et al. 2010. China’s trade unions: How autonomous are they? A survey of 1,811 enterprise union chairpersons. Abingdon: Routledge. Wal-Mart China, China Journal, 58, p. 1–27.

Jackie Robinson Essay -- essays research papers fc

Jackie Robinson   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jackie Robinson and integration are two phrases that cannot be segregated. Whether he liked it or not, he played the star role in the integration of society during the time that he played Major League Baseball with the Brooklyn Dodgers. His heroic journey that landed him in the Majors shows, “how integration has come to baseball and how it can be achieved in every corner of the land'; (Robinson 16). But this amazing triumph over the Jim Crow laws could only have been possible in New York as Robinson says, “Cooperstown, New York, and Birmingham, Alabama, are both in the Unites States. In Cooperstown I had been the guest of honor in the company of three other new Hall of Famers: Bill McKechnie, Edd Roush and Bob Feller. In Birmingham I was ‘that negrah who pokes his nose into other peoples’ puddin’'; (14).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jackie Robinson was born in Cairo, Georgia on January 31, 1919 and was raised by his mother in Pasadena, California. He attended UCLA, where he was a baseball, basketball, football and track star. He played semi-professional football for a short time in an integrated league with the Honolulu Bears before being drafted into the army. He was honorably discharged in 1945 with the rank of second lieutenant. Robinson then started to play in the Negro National League and was eventually seen by a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers. The scout brought Robinson to the attention of team president Branch Rickey, who wanted to try out his “noble experiment'; of integrating the Major League. The Major League was closed to black players at the time because no owners would sign a black man to their teams. Even a year after Robinson’s historic signing, the owners of the teams voted 15 to 1 (with Rickey dissenting) against integrating the league (Rampersad 160). Jackie Robi nson, however, did sign a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1945 and debuted in the Majors in April of 1947. He was only paid the league minimum of $5,000 a year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Although Jackie was finally signed with a Major League team, the discrimination didn’t stop cold turkey and couldn’t in some ways. It just wasn’t realistically possible. For instance, Branch Rickey moved spring training for the Jim Crow Sout... ... him because he was a just superb baseball player.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  New York is where it all starts. It is a city of diversity, new ideas, and radical thought. Is New York the center of the universe? It just might be. Integration of Major League Baseball, and by extension the whole American social culture, started here. “Integration in baseball has already proved that all Americans can live together in peaceful competition'; (Robinson 11). The “noble experiment'; of Branch Rickey obviously worked, probably even beyond his wildest dreams. Thank you Mr. Rickey and Mr. Robinson, from us all. Works Cited 1. Rampersad, Arnold. Jackie Robinson. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1997. 2. Robinson, Jackie. I Never Had It Made. As told to Alfred Duckett. New York: Putnam, 1972. 3. Robinson, Jackie. Baseball Has Done It. Ed. Charles Dexter. Philadelphia and New York: J. B. Lippincott, 1964. 4. Robinson, Rachel, and Lee Daniels. Jackie Robinson, An Intimate Portrait. Ed. Sharon AvRutick. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1996. 5. Tygiel, Jules. Baseball’s Great Experiment, Jackie Robinson and His Legacy. New   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  York: Oxford, 1997.