Study Habits free essay sample

Study skills can be a combination of several techniques, including time management, note taking, self testing and being wise in the test, to name a few. There is no one best way to study, therefore, techniques can be tailored to the needs of the students to achieve the most optimal result. However, diagnostic testing is also available to assist students in assessing their weaknesses in their learning behaviors and study habits. Research has shown that effective study skills lead to improved academic performance.The habits that students develop during their college years will remain with them long after graduation ND will be reflected in their performance in college. This paper will provide insight into the different techniques that improve study skills, and in turn, improve academic performance. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines the word study as the application of the mental faculties to the acquisition of knowledge, which can be in a particular field or to a specific subject. We will write a custom essay sample on Study Habits or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The dictionary then defines skill as the ability to use ones knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance. A rather general combination of the ;o terms would yield, learning and motivational strategies considered essential in being successful n college (Tucking, 2003 page). A more in depth conceptualization Of the term is the competence in acquiring, recording organizing, synthesizing remembering, and using information and ideas, and are among the skills that can be modified for learners of all ages (Harvey, 1 995 page). In other words, study skills are systematized approaches to learning and retaining knowledge to apply to academic and non-academic progression in college and beyond college (White, 2004).The extent of students learning in academics maybe determined by the grades a student earns for a period of learning has been done. It is believed that a grade is a primary indicator of such learning. If a learner earns high grades it is concluded that they may also have learned a lot while low grades indicate lesser learning. At this point in time, the researcher would like to investigate the relationship of study habits to the academic performance of third year students of Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School for the academic year 2011-2012. Background of the Study The Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School (Stars, Sic-Tech Hi, and GIRTHS) is a Secondary Public Science High School located in J. P Racial Blvd. Barraging Market Area, Santa Rosa City, Laguna, in the Philippines. By the virtue of the Republic Act 9083 written by the former Representative of the 1st District of Laguna, Alular Joaquin, the School was built with the support of the Local Government of Santa Rosa led by former Mayor Leon C. Arcadias.The school has three stages of screenings composed of an Aptitude / Mental Ability Examination, Proficiency Examination and an intent,IEEE and are implemented in a step-by-step format (An applicant will be ineligible to be screened in the next stage if he/she fails on the previous stage). An applicant just have at least 85% average and no failing subjects in order to qualify for the entrance test. Provide a photocopy of first and second quarter of School Report Card with dry seal Of school, Form, etc. Examinees must fill up the Application Form and submit it on/before the deadline of submission.A student of Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School must maintain a grade of 85% in all major subjects (English, Math and Science) and a grade of 83% in all minor subjects. With Engineering Science and Education Program as its curriculum, the school is a lot different from ordinary public schools. The school offers subjects more than what is offered in ordinary public schools. It also has its own grading system that readily distinguishes students that are good in science, math, TIT_E and language.The third year curriculum offers the following subjects: Filipino Ill (Noel Me Teenager), English Ill (American Literature), T EL Ill (Civil Technology), Math Ill (Advanced Algebra, Advanced Statistics, and Pre-Calculus), Science Ill (Chemistry, Physics, and Zoology), MAPLE Ill, Values Education Ill, Social Studies (World History), and Computer Literacy (Web Design). With its thirteen (13) subjects, third year dents has to do a lot works and therefore must develop and improve study skills that will enable them to pass all the subjects. In this study, junior GIRTHS students are the respondents. They were selected as the respondents because they are the batch that has gone through different political issues having past students, parents and teachers to question their qualification and quality and the admission where they went through because comparing with the last batches of third year students they are the first batch who got a very low average on the annual National Achievement test administered last March 2011 on their sophomore year.They will be given a survey questionnaire to evaluate them whether they have given their all to be able to survive the tough curriculum and for the researchers to identify what are the students study habits that make great impact on their academic performance. Theoretical Framework In Dorothy E. Johnnys Behavioral System Model, she stated that a behavioral system encompasses the patterned, repetitive, and purposeful ways of behaving.These ways of behaving form an organized and integr ated functional unit that determines and limits the interaction between the person ND his or her environment and establishes the relationship of the person to the objects, events, and situations within his or her environment. Usually the behavior can be described and explained. A person as a behavioral system tries to achieve stability and balance by adjustments and adaptations that are successful to some degree for efficient and effective functioning. The system is usually flexible enough to accommodate the influences affecting it.Therefore, it is well-explained that through little efforts on modifying a students habits in studying, they can develop an organized pattern of behavior useful to their goal of becoming a successful student who has good academic performances. This theory clearly supports this study that study habits are relevant to academic performance. The basis Of Edward Thorniness approach to problems of behavior lay in his belief that human behavior could be analyzed and studied in terms of units. The essence of behavior was to be found in the initiation of an even and an individuals reaction to them.As a behaviorism, Thornier views learning in terms of establishing connection or bond between stimulus and responses. Humans only differ from other animal their greater capacity to make associations. Thornier investigated learning in animals by using cats. A hungry cat was confined in a puzzle box with food visible on the outside. He presented it a problem, which required the cat to manipulate some devices, which would open the gate of the puzzle box. Bits of food were placed outside the box as an incentive for the cat to open the gate.F-room such experiments, Thornier made the following observations. The cat first behaved aimlessly as if doing things by trial and error. It then responded correctly by accident (chance success) and finally, repeated the successful operation the food (satisfier) rewarded it. Getting the reward strengthens the connection between the stimuli and the response made just before the reward (satisfier) was given. From the above observations, Thornier formulated three major laws, namely: law of effect, law of readiness and law of exercise.The law of effect states that the association between a stimulus and a response will strengthen or weakened depending on whether a satisfier or an annoyer follows the response (Gibson, 1980). An act, which is followed by satisfaction in a given tuition, will generally become associated with that situation; so that when it recurs the act will also be likely to recur (Curran, 1 981 On the other, an act, which results in discomfort, tends to be disassociated from the situation, so that when the situation recurs, the act will be less likely to recur.The greater the satisfaction or discomfort exp erienced, the greater the degree to which the S-R bond will be strengthened or loosened. After research studies have showed that this explanation was inadequate, Thornier propounded another law, the truncated law of effect. This law added the idea that while testifiers always strengthens the bond between a stimulus and a response, the effect of annoyers is much less predictable; sometime they weaken the bond, but sometimes they do not.The law of exercise states that response to a situation may be strongly connected with the situation depending on the number of times it has been so connected and to the average strength and duration of the connection. The exercise here refers to practice. Practice they say makes perfect. In a later revision of the law, Thornier asserts that practice in itself did not make perfect, but practice in circumstances that lows the learner to be informed or given comments about his progress could be valuable in strengthening the S-R links.The law of readiness states that a learners satisfaction determined by the extent of his preparatory set, that is, his readiness for action. This law was summarized into two: When someone is ready to perform an act to do so is satisfying. When someone is ready to perform some act, not do so is annoying. An interference with goal- directed behavior causes frustration and making someone to do something he does not want to do is frustrating. Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework discussed the flow of the study to be taken. The study used the systems approach.It is of three (3) frames composed of input which went to the process or operation and emerged as the output. Figure 1 Conceptual Paradigm The input contains the profile of the respondents. The second frame contains the methods and procedures to be used to analyze those variables by the form of questionnaires, interview, documentary search and statistical analysis. The third frame is the output that contains the recommendations suggested by the researcher for the improvement of students academic reference with regards of their academic skills.The arrows include the workflow of information in the research process. The feedback loop connects the output to the process involved as well as to the input. It made the system continuous. Statement of the Problem The study aims to identify different study habits and academic performance of third year students of Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School for the school year 2011-2012. Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions: 1. What is the profile of the third year students in terms of the following: 1. 1 Age 1. 2 Gender 1. 3 Section . 4 Second Year General Average 1. National Achievement Test Average 1. 6 Favorite Subjects 1. 7 Less Favorite Subjects? 2. What are the students response on the self-evaluation stated in terms of study habits and values, ethics and attitudes as students? 3. Is there any significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and their self- evaluation on study habits and academic performance? Hypothesis The null hypothesis to be tested is: There is no significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and their self-evaluation on study habits. Scope and Limitations Of the StudyThis study will focus on the identification of study habits and academic performance of third year students of Santa Rosa Science and Technology High School based on a self-evaluation and their values, ethics and attitudes while studying. The respondents of the study are the 220 third year students of GIRTHS. The questionnaires will be administered after the second quarterly exam on October 201 1 and be retrieved after a day. Students past academic records will also be requested to the guidance and registrars office. Significance of the Study This study will serve the following individuals and organizations. Third year students of GIRTHS. This study will be beneficial because it will make an improvement in grades and other academic performances. It will also have a long effect as the students went to college and work after. Administrators of GIRTHS. This will serve as a tool for evaluation of the standard and quality of the school they are implementing under the curriculum Engineering Science and Education Program. It will also help the guidance and registrars office in the proper admission of tests and elimination of students who did not qualify for the set standards of school.Teachers and Advisers. This will enlighten their awareness of the students learning styles and habits, problems in studying and the causes of their bad or good performance in school. It will help them guide and improve students study habits in the future. Teachers will also be helped in understanding better the diversity of learning their students. As such, it is hoped that they could develop more effective methodologies in teaching their subject matter. Guidance and Counseling Centre. The study will provide a more focused and factual knowledge on the factors affecting students study habits.The increased understandings of the Guidance Counsel sort the interplay of variables in this research. Such knowledge is hoped to help the guidance and counseling practitioners towards the development and implementation of more effective programs in consideration of these variables. Students. Students will be given information on how study affects their academic performance. The result of the study will make them aware of the common study habits among their fellow students. Future researchers. They may be able to use the result of the study in farther research similar to what the study is. Definition of TermsThe following terms are defined for better understanding and interpretation of the study. Academic Performance. Academic performance refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers. Academic performance is the ability to study and remember facts and being able to communicate your knowledge verbally or down on paper. Age. It refers to the students span of life when the research was conducted. Attitude. This refers to the judgment of students in studying the degree of dislike and like for something like studying, school subjects, etc. Ethics. These are students concepts of good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc. Favorite Subjects. These are the set of subjects that the students got easy dealing it and got good grades. Gender. This refers to the classification of respondents either male or female. Less Favorite Subjects. These are couple of subjects that find difficulty in dealing with it. National Achievement Test. It is an annual examination given in March to second year high school students to assess the competency of both public and private schools.The students knowledge and skills are tested in the objects of Mathematics, English, Science, Filipino and Social Studies. Parents Educational Attainment. This is the status of parents in education whether they graduated or not in a college, secondary and elementary course. Parents Occupation. This refers to the job or work the parents are doing in order to support their children on their basic needs. Respondents. These are the persons intended to be the subject of the study who will be asked to answer the questionnaire such as the third year students of GIRTHS.Second Year General Average. It refers to the to the average grade the exponents received during his/her study as sophomore student. Section. The group of students in one year level according to their academic performance in the past few years of high school life. Self Evaluation on Study Habits. This is a questionnaire to be given to the students to identify their different study habits that affects their academic performance in school. Study Habits. Study habits are the ways in studying the habits that formed during school years. Study habits can be good ones, or bad ones.Good study habits include being organized, keeping good notes, reading your textbook, existing in class, and working every day. Bad study habits include skipping class, not doing home work, watching TV or playing video games instead of studying and losing work. Values. This refers to the beliefs or ideals of students of a certain group, section or year level about what is good or desirable and what is not. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES Foreign Literature According to the how-to-study. Com (2009), students who are very successful in their desired career have good study habits.It is stated in the website that students apply these habits to all of their classes. The website also recommends some tips in improving study habits. The website also suggests that the student should try not to study all the subjects in just a period. The website also added that if students try to do too much studying at onetime, they will tire and studying will not be very effective. Space the work that needs to be done over shorter periods of time. Taking short breaks will restore mental energy. On the website www. Academics. Org, the following blobs about establishing good study habits are posted: According to Dante Battles on the tip Efficient Use of Time, Im here to tell oh what I think is a key to academic survival and success. The first and most important thing I feel, at least to sundial and success in the classroom is efficient use of your time outside the classroom. Remember, there are 24 hours in a day. Set aside tap to three hours each day for studying. This will leave you with five to six hours after we subtract time for our classes, meals and a good nights sleep to do things that we would like to do much more than studying.The next thing that feel contributes to survival and success in the classroom is a periodic review of your lecture notes and the appropriate happens in your textbooks. Periodic review and beginning to study for your exams early will save you time in the long run and it will prevent cramming. That way you can be well rested and more motivated and less anxious on test day. The last thing that you can do to help get good grades is take advantage of all the academic resources tryout university. It can only help you. On another blob about the Power of Cooperation, Mike Brown posted this, Education often looks like competition. We compete for interest in school, for grades when FL?re in school, and for job when we leave school. In such a climate it is easy to overlook the power of cooperation that is developed through study support groups. Study support groups feed you energy. People are social animals and we draw strength from groups. Aside from the comradely, the fellowship and the fun, support groups can assist you by elevating your spirit. There will be days when you just dont want to work on your education.Other members of the study group, however, can support you and encourage you. In addition to drawing strength from the group when youre down, you can give support to others yourself as they need it. A study purport group is also a good place to build rewarding relationships with people. So remember your friends and classmates when you study. Dry. John Filmier on Changing Your Habits wrote this, Poor study habits such as not completing assignments, missing classes, and staying up too late before your next class do not have to be repeated in the future. Who can make these changes?You and only you can change the future to achieve more success and productivity. Make these changes for a better life. According to Palm Beach Community College (BBC, 2008), they recommend that students study should have at least three hours out of class or every hour spent in class. They also said that a student must have a special place to study with plenty of room to work. And students should not be cramped. They presupposes that study time will go better if a learner take a few minutes at the start to straighten things up. A desk and straight-backed chair is usually best. Dont get too comfortablea bed is a place to sleep, not to study as what they said. A student must have everything close at hand (book, pencils, paper, coffee, dictionary, computer, calculator, tape recorder, etc. ) before starting to study. Students are not suggested to spend on time mumping up and down to get things. The BCC suggests also that distracting noise should be minimized however, they said that there are some people need sound and some like silence. In this case, a learner must find what works for him or her. Culprits are family and friends. Consider a do not disturb sign and turning on your answering machine is the way also to have better study habits according to the BBC. Karri and Hosannas (2006) also note the exponential growth digital information, which changes the way students perceive studying and with printed materials that are to be use in facilitating study. Gun (2005) also found that Nigerian study from materials downloaded from the Internet. Study habits are said to be improving because of the advent and wide use of the Internet, hypertext, and multimedia resources which greatly affects the Study Habits (Ill, 2005).Ill (2005) and Ramirez (2003) report that students print material from the Internet in order to study and read later on. Professors in the developing countries said that the undergraduate students should be fully equipped with high level of analytical skills, the capacity for critical reasoning, self-reflection and conceptual grasp and ability to learn autonomously and exercise flexibility of mind (Commissions). According to Mark Crinkly (2000), Successful students are able to balance social activities with good study habits. A diversion from studies will alleviate stress and help prevent from becoming fatigued.He said that a student should make sure that he must take a break for an hour after studies to meet with friends, to play some cards, work out at the gym, or to gab with anew acquaintance. For this way, that student will find concentration when he studies, if he plans a social activity afterwards. He said, To develop a healthy social life, develop routine study habits. After supper, lug your books and homework to the library, find a comfortable and quiet niche, and study for two or three hours, taking intermittent 1 0 minute breaks every 45 minutes or so. Making friends with whom you share similar study habits, and share a table or a study space with them would be a best way in developing study habits. Local Literature The Department of Educations (Depend) Monitoring and Evaluation Report for SYS 2004-2005 revealed that students who were observed to have positive attitude towards their classes (Br idge Program) have shown improved skills in Mathematics, Science, and English (Depend, 2005). This confirms the importance of a positive attitude towards learning in ones acquisition of skills.Education experts and teachers also affirm the role of students positive attitude and interest in learning as major factors in their acquisition of reasoning skills. They noted that students have to be interested in what they are doing for them to be able to learn. They should have a positive view of things that they are learning, by relating this with their goals, and by viewing learning as an activity to be done for its own sake. Because man is different room animals, he has the ability to think symbolically.In fact, he can recognize qualities, form, concepts, recalls, remember and memorize solutions until he forms habits (Canyon and Young, 1992). If study habits are formed during the early years, some educational problems could be solved such as those involving the difficulty of pupils in solving mathematical problems and their reading difficulty. Aquinas averred that academic failure caused by reading difficulty gives rise to feelings of inferiority and frustrations. Because of this, teachers and parents should guide students in order to form good study bits.One of the three main factors affect the success in study is the ability in studying. This ability involves knowing what to study and how to study. Likewise, Gregory suggested some measures by which students can be properly guided on how to study. These are follows: a) develop in the students an active interest in effective study based on an understanding of its importance; and b) help them become. Andrea noted on his study (1982). Santos, et. Al. (1987) cited a number of reasons on why one should learn to read well. These include: One reads to acquire meaning, effective immunization skills, for enjoyment and to socialize.In addition to this, Canyon and Young (1992) recommended that one should read for ideas rather than words or use the eye and do away with lip service and should read while seated upright in sufficiently illuminated quiet room fixed for the purpose where other study aid materials are easily accessible. They further suggested that relative to study habits, it is best to read alone, thus the study room may need to be compartmentalized. Moreover, they described the effectiveness of writing. Thus, Effective Scheduling. This leaves us to the object of scheduling your studies. This periods, meals and leisure activities.

Business Ethics

Business Ethics Robert Nardelli used an authoritative leadership style throughout his tenure at Home Depot. His style of leadership was also described by others as an imperial one. In spite of his authoritative nature, Home Depot regained its stable financial position after a period of five yearsAdvertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Business Ethics Home Depot specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More . This implied that his leadership style was excellent even if he was not a favorite personality to everybody. For instance, a significant growth in sales was realized within a relatively short period. The sales rose to 81 million dollars from 6 million dollars within a span of five years. Nonetheless, employees were alienated by his leadership style. Most of the managers also complained that he was focusing too much on the profitability of the company at the expense of the moral wellbeing of employees of the organization. Customers were al so alienated by is style of leadership (Grow et al., 2007). He also preferred curt communication while interacting with employees. For example, it can be recalled that a major shareholders’ meeting held in 2006 was punctuated with dilemma when Nardelli commanded that the meeting would be held for about thirty minutes. Shareholders in the meeting were also supposed to be restricted to only a single question. In addition, a speaker’s microphone would be switched off exactly after one minute elapses. This implied that they were allowed to speak for one minute only during the meeting. To a large extent, consensus building was never a concern for Robert Nardelli. Worse still, he lacked the ability to communicate effectively when disseminating important information. He facilitated the institution of part time employees who took the position of full time workers. This move resulted into a lower employee overhead and an improved gross margin. The Home Depot brand was also chan ged dramatically by Nardelli. One of the reasons for taking this action was that employees lacked adequate motivation in the course of delivering their duties. He also argued that customers found it difficult to located items even though the process was supposed to be swift (Charan, 2006).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More According to the leadership trait theory, the success of leaders at workplace is largely dependent on certain inborn traits that may hardly be acquired through formal training. The theory affirms that true leaders are born. In the case of Robert Nardelli, it can be seen that his commanding nature was inborn and an internal trait. The behavioral theory argues on the opposite line of thought. It states that leaders are not born, rather they are made. The theory continues to affirm that learnable behavior that can be vividly defined is usuall y part and parcel of successful leadership. It is possible that Nardelli applied some of the acquired leadership styles while at the helm of Home Depot. For example, the significant rise in the profitability of the firm was directly occasioned by sufficient training on financial management. Inherent capabilities or inborn traits are not sought by behavioral theory. The actual performance or actions of leaders is the main focus when it comes to behavioral theory. Needless to say, people should be in a position to act in a similar manner if success can be described in terms of individual actions. Perhaps, this appears to be the main weakness of this theory. Nonetheless, situational and contingency leadership theories profess that successful leadership does not depend on any given leadership style. In other words, any leadership format can be used to run an organization (Baack, 2012). Hence, Nardelli’s style of leadership was appropriate according to these theories. It is possib le for a given leadership style to be appropriate in one scenario but inapplicable in another. From the above discussions, it can be concurred that Nardelli’s leadership or management style was unethical to some extent. In spite of the fact that Home Depot needed to regain its profitability, he should have employed a more democratic style especially in situations that demanded consensus. The worst case scenario was witnessed when he authorized microphones to be switched off exactly after one minute. Second, Nardelli failed to create a harmonious working relationship with the rest of the employees. It is not possible to be ethical as a leader while at the same time fail to develop a unified team. Effective leaders are supposed to seek the input of the subordinates before major decisions are made. It is interesting to learn that the performance of an organization may not necessarily be proportional to the management style in place.Advertising We will write a custom rese arch paper sample on Business Ethics Home Depot specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More To make this point clearer, Home Depot grew substantially irrespective of the dissatisfied employees and shareholders who thought that Robert Nardelli was mismanaging the organization (Merrifield, 2003). On a final note, Nardelli’s leadership style was also unethical because he dramatically directed his effort to minimally reward employees. In any case, part time workers have fewer privileges than full time employees. An organization that does not want to hire permanent workers is highly likely to be exalting unethical practices. For instance, part time employees may not enjoy the benefits of joining trade unions or being pensionable. References Baack, D. (2012). Organizational behavior. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Charan, R. (2006). Home Depot’s blueprint for culture change. Harvard Business Review, 84(4), 60-70. Grow, B., Foust, D ., Thornton, E., Farzad, R., McGregor, J., Zegal, S. (2007). Out at home depot. Retrieved from https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2007-01-14/out-at-home-depot Merrifield, B. (2003). What distributors can learn from home depots woes. ISHN, 37(5). Business Ethics Moral considerations play a critical in determining the success of the organization in the modern organizational culture. The ethical codes determine the relationships between customers and the company in the sense that any organization willing to follow the established moral codes will increase its market share (Duska, 2007).Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Business Ethics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In the case provided, Soybean Derivative Research Initiative has to observe moral codes in order to achieve its intended objectives. The organization stands to benefit in four major ways, as listed below if it observes ethics: The company will attract potential investors, as well as keeping shares high. In this regard, the management will have protected the organization from a possible takeover. Many excellent employees will be willing to join the organization since any person feels comfortable when associate d with strong moral conducts. This will perhaps bring down the costs associated with recruitment. The talented workers will be retained, which is an advantage to the organization. The productivity of the organization will be high, as labor turnover will be reduced tremendously. A company with a good business name attracts many customers implying that the sales of the firm will always be high hence increasing profitability. The Financial Executive Issues related to finances are always important to the survival of any organization, including Soy- DRI. In particular, the issue of trust must be taken into consideration since it might bring down the performance of the finance unit. Due to the fact that organizations are constantly in violation of the financial fair play, a number of global bodies have been set up to ensure that ethical codes are observed when handling the financial matters of any firm. When drafting financial policies, the top executive has to be sensitive to the demand s of clients regarding the environment and social issues. These issues must be resolved before moving on to make any financial policy. Based on this, the financial officer is advised to be an active owner by simply integrating the issues into the policies and practices of the organization. As a rule, any financial officer should disclose any unfair solicitation of funds since it would maintain the position of the organization in the ever-competitive market. For this to happen, the officer has to work hand in hand with other organizational units. Organizational investors are expected to carry out their fiduciary duties pertaining to environmental, social, and governance issues. In one of the studies conducted by the Asset Management Working Group of the UNEP Finance Initiative, it was established that stakeholders should stop concentrating on making profits and instead focus on following the law in order to preserve the environment and safeguard lives. The law on social governance is very clear since it states that all organizations have a role to play in safeguarding the lives of citizens. The finance manager should explore some of the ways that will enable the organization to introduce its customers to the correct brand other than using a different brand in serving babies. A different report published in 2009 by EIRIS suggested that many financial executives obey the ethical codes, even though the financial sector is yet to accept this reality.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since the organization is faced with a major ethical issue, the finance officer will have to come up with strong financial management codes to protect the reputation of the organization. For this to happen, he or she is expected to observe some principles, including the following: The officer should act honestly meaning that he or she has to be an individual with high integrity. The official has to come up with financial policies to minimize the misuse of company products without necessarily creating any conflict of interest in personal or professional life. The executive has the moral responsibility of offering financial information to various units. The information ought to be realistic, precise, inclusive, objective, pertinent, well timed, and comprehensible. The financial executive should pass any form of information whether negative or positive. Moreover, all sections should be addressed independently to avoid any chance of breakdown in communication. Timely disclosure of information will perhaps help in presenting the accurate picture of the organization regarding the financial position of the organization. This will go a long way in ensuring that the business achieves its financial objectives. The organization is faced with both ethical and legal issues. Apart from resolving the moral issues, the financial expert should advise the com pany on the best way to handle the situation to prevent any form of legal action (Arnold, Beauchamp, Bowie, 2013). The financial operation of the organization should abide by some of the established rules put in place by the state, the federal authorities, and the local governments. Some public and private statutory bodies are charged with the role of setting up rules and regulations to be followed by all organizations. Since the company’s product is being misused in the market, the financial officer should report this to the relevant section for action to be taken. The financial executive has to notify the auditors about the misuse of the company product for corrective measures to be taken. The position of the financial manager is very challenging, as it needs a lot of care, competence, and diligence when handling issues. Based on this, the finance officer should restrain himself from making personal judgments and instead follow the professional financial codes. Other units in the organization might not have adequate skills as regards to legal issues associated with misuse of the company product. The role of the financial expert in this case is to share any information that will help avert the situation before it deteriorates. Marketing Officer The role of a marketer is always challenging since he or she is supposed to ensure that the company product is a household name in the competitive market. In this regard, many marketers are never concerned with the way the product is consumed, as their role is to popularize the company product. In the United States, the professional body for marketer established some of the well-established ethical codes that must be followed by all marketers. Soy-DRI faces various challenges related to marketing, which means that the officer in charge has a lot to do to ensure that the problem is resolved. The continued misuse of the product on babies might bring several problems to the organization, some being ethical issues while others might be legal in nature. Therefore, the marketing executive must ensure that the organization comes up with strategies that will facilitate accurate usage of the product that is already in the market. This will be managed through following the guidelines provided in the marketers’ professional code of conduct. The marketer should be sensitive to the needs of customers since he or she is charged with the responsibility of maintaining the company image in the market. The top marketing official should understand that values are often used in evaluating the performance of any organization in the market (Arnold, Beauchamp, Bowie, 2013). Based on this, any marketer should understand that, apart from serving the interests of the organization, they are also stewards of society as far as generating, facilitating, and implementing efficient and effective transactions in the economy is concerned. In other words, marketers are responsible to all stakeholders in the organi zation, including clients, fellow employees, investors, distributors, regulatory bodies, and the community in general. When the marketing official meets with other employees of the organization, he or she will have to remind them of the general norms of marketing, which include the following: All marketers have to understand that their skills should not be misused in causing harm to members of the public. They must do everything under their control to ensure that the organization achieves its financial objectives while at the same time safeguarding the interests of the customer. Therefore, the executive in charge of marketing must insist on following the applicable laws and regulations in handling the situation at hand. The second concept that all marketers have to understand is the major role of fostering trust in marketing structure, which implies that all products should be suitable for use. Marketers should not engage in promotional activities that mislead customers on the best products in the market. All officials in the marketing unit ought to desist from actions aiming at deceiving customers or misleading clients. The senior official in the department should recommend the setting up of the department that will be in charge of addressing customer complaints and guiding clients on the usage of company products. A marketer has to act in good faith while at the same time showing some fairness (Arnold, Beauchamp, Bowie, 2013). Marketing is one of the functions that must embrace ethical values, which are achieved through communication. Efficient communication improves the confidence of the consumer and boosts the integrity of marketing exchange system. The third principle of marketing is the most important and the marketing official is advised to embrace this general norm. All marketers should be honest implying that they have to be truthful in all situations. The products promoted should be aiming at fulfilling the needs of customers other than affecting their lives. Even though the products are reported to be misused in the market, the marketing department should not criticize any of the products.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Business Ethics specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Since the merchandize is misused in the market, the people responsible for the fault are the marketers. Therefore, the top executive in the department should accept the responsibility of not sensitizing customers on the usage of the product. Consequently, the marketing executive should come up with ways that will enable the proper handling of the vulnerable segment of the market, which include children and the elderly. Director Research and Development The official in charge of research and development should be aware that the company’s success depends on the corporate image since a spoil image will definitely interfere with the performance of the organization in the market. Incor porating stakeholders into the strategic plan of the organization is one of the ways of ensuring ethical governance. Once all stakeholders are incorporated in drafting the organizational strategy, handling issues emerging from the market will be easy (Arnold, Beauchamp, Bowie, 2013). Based on this, the director in charge of research is advised to employ participatory planning as one of the ways of involving stakeholders in managing the affairs of the firm. The method suggests that the director of research and development identifies the major concerns and ethical issues emerging from members of the public and moving a notch higher to develop a broad consensus regarding the drafted initiatives. The method allows the utilization of vast information that stakeholders hold in establishing a practicable, proficient, and sustainable solution to the problem at hand. Vice President Sales and Marketing The executive charged with the responsibility of disposing off company products is often u nder pressure to increase the profit margins of the firm, even though other stakeholders are often concerned with this move. In many cases, the sales person might not care whether the product meets the needs of the customer or not. In this case, a wrong product is often sold just to increase sales. Any sales person is advised to be aware of the three masters in case he or she is to executive services diligently. The three masters have various agendas and the sales person comes in as an arbitrator. The organization, which is the employer, has the aim of ensuring that sales increase with an aim of making profits. On the other hand, the customer is concerned with the value of the product (Arnold, Beauchamp, Bowie, 2013). The salesperson has a different objective that is mainly related to income. Irrespective of the agendas of various masters, the salesperson has to ensure that all parties are contented with the sale. The manager in charge of sales should be concerned with the performa nce of the new product, as well as the misuse of the other two products. As he or she seeks to correct the situation, the profit margins and the targets set by the organization should be considered.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Conclusion In any business establishment, employees play a critical role in ensuring that the organization achieves its ambitions. Irrespective of the size of the organization, an employee is an important asset. The chief executive officer should be aware of the impacts of employee behavior on the performance of the organization (Cory, 2004). Some employees might spend the whole day checking personal mails instead of concentrating on the important matters that affect the performance of the organization. Employees should be taken through an extensive training schedule to ensure that they are well groomed to accomplish organizational goals. Some ethical issues related to employee relations attract legal actions, especially issues related to discrimination based on gender and race. Therefore, any top executive is advised to seek the help of a professional in drafting rules and regulations that would govern the behavior of an employee. When recruiting employees, the company should consi der following all established laws to avoid any legal suits that might come about because of discrimination based on gender and race. The company ought to follow the law when signing contracts with its employees. This is important to prevent the loss of resources in legal tussles. The head of any company has to ensure that selection process adheres to the established standards since t boosts the image of the company in the market. In other words, following labor laws strengthens the corporate governance of the firm. The company has to follow the environmental laws has established by the national and international bodies. Employees should be trained to conserve the environment. References Arnold, D. G., Beauchamp, T. L., Bowie, N. E. (2013). Ethical theory and business. Boston: Pearson Education. Cory, J. (2004). Activist Business Ethics. Boston: Springer Duska, R. (2007). Contemporary Reflections on Business Ethics. Boston: Springer.

Marketing research for Ice pad and Outline the process for gathering Paper

Marketing for Ice pad and Outline the process for gathering data for and explain how you would analyze the inf - Research Paper Example Yet again, market research can help management decide how best to deliver their products to the target market. With many manufacturers producing and marketing a variety of ice pads in the U.S. it is important for a new entrant in the market such as Ice Pads Limited to establish what kind of products it needs to offer to win a significant part of the market. Ice Pads Limited was established in 2011 and has been a market leader in the supply of ice pads in China. The company sees a great potential in the United States, and particularly in New York City where winter sports are commonly played. The company targets individuals of either gender who engage in winter sports such as skating and ice hockey aged between 16 and 60. The sports are played by people across all socio-economic backgrounds and who have different lifestyles. Although these games are popularly played during the winter season when there is a lot of snow, there are places in New York that have ice courses for playing thro ughout the year. The major competitors in the New York market include Paragon Sports, New York Golf Center, and Jack Rabbit, all of which offer various ice pads used for sporting purposes. Problem Definition Ice Pads Limited needs to establish the kind of ice pads to offer to the New York market, the best price for the products, and the factors that people consider when buying ice pads for winter sport activities. The organization is a new entrant in the market and needs to offer unique and well priced products to win a significant part of the market within its first year of operations. Objectives 1. To establish what customers like or dislike about the products that are offered in the market currently 2. To establish what needs to be improved in the products offered in the market currently to make them better for customers 3. To establish the factors that consumers consider when buying ice pads 4. To establish the appropriate price for ice pads in the New York market Research Metho ds Data for market research can be drawn from primary or secondary sources according to Wight (2013). During the market research, primary as well as secondary data will be collected. Secondary data will be drawn from the Internet and brochures produced by competitors in the market. Primary data will be collected through a field survey. During the survey, a sample of 50 respondents randomly drawn from New York city will be issued with questionnaires containing about 10 closed ended questions. Given that the products for which the market research is conducted are mainly bought and used by individuals across all age groups, the sample frame will include individuals of either gender, living in New York City aged between 16 and 60 years interested in and actively engaging in winter sports. In this respect, the samples will include individuals who have at least taken part in one winter sport at one time or another in their life. The samples will be drawn from different streets in New York City. The researchers will draw the samples by randomly approaching individuals between the age of 16 and 60 going about their businesses. The potential respondents will be asked to spare a few minutes of their time and introduced to the research. More specifically, the researcher will introduce themselves before briefing the potential respondent about the study; its nature and the objectives of the

The Church Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Church - Essay Example St Peter and St Paul were perhaps the two most important influences on the Early Church after Jesus himself and on a par with Jesus’ brother James. The Early Church seemed to face major challenges as the Apostles died out. Despite these challenges the Early Churches would go on developing and would eventually allow Christianity to become the sole official religion of the Roman Empire some three centuries later, the same Roman Empire that had tried so hard to eliminate the Early Churches. Evidence about the Early Church was recorded not only in the New Testament especially the letters of St Paul, the letters of James, St Matthew’s gospel and the Book of Acts it was recorded by non-Christians within the Roman Empire. The writing of the four gospels of the New Testament was given greater urgency by the fact that the Apostles and those who had actually witnessed Jesus for themselves were dying through old age and persecution. Raymond Brown wrote The Church the Apostles Left Behind for various reasons. One reason was to examine and explain how the Early Church not only survived the death of the Apostles yet also how it would eventually prosper in the face of persecution and hostility. Brown concentrated on studying and writing about the seven main Early Churches such as those of the Corinthians and Rome. To be a Christian in the 1st century AD not only put people into a tiny minority it also put them at great personal risk, Jesus, St Peter and St Paul had all been executed and would be followed by many ordinary Christians. The strength of faith and bravery of many members of the Early Church had to be admired. The Early Church seemed to well endowed with the Holy Spirit and strong sense of its own convictions. All good Christians should after all be prepared to stand and fight for what they believe to be right. Brown also explored how the Early Churches started to organise themselves in terms of developin g the roles of the ministry and the laity

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

Crime - Essay Example Expressive crimes (e.g., rape) are committed for the sake of expected pleasure; instrumental crimes (e.g., burglary) mainly for the sake of expected gain. Both often can be deterred by disincentives -- the fear of pain the threat of punishment. To the criminal, the cost of a crime is the risk of punishment. Not what is threatened by the law, but the punishment he risks given his actual chances of being convicted and imprisoned At present the actual punishment is much lower: 6 to 7 days per burglary, roughly 2 years per murder, 6 months per rape, 2 months per robbery; aggravated assault costs 8 to 9 days; car theft 2 to 3 days. These risks still deter many prospective criminals, but are too low to reduce the crime rate. Most people are not aware of how small the actual chance of punishment is; but professional criminals are. It is what makes the career attractive. They know that on average they will serve no more than 40 per cent of their sentence, and that most of them will not serve at all--they are rarely caught. Some people become criminals because small offenses are not dealt with effectively. In our childhood, most humans learn that there are social limits to their natural aggression. While some are inherently more aggressive than others, virtually all humans have a potential for becoming aggressive. This is due to a rich genetic past which favored aggression in early humans. Humans still have the remnants of a reptilian brain that told its host, "kill, eat, reproduce." Family structures and functioning have crucial impacts on socialization, the capacity for symbolic interaction, self-concepts. Families are primary agents of socialization are tempting to consider as direct causal agents of crime. All except a handful of jurisdictions recognize the immediacy of this connection in "contributing to delinquency" statutes, parental liability laws, and a number of other restitution schemes. Many criminological theories (social disorganization, social learning, and especially social control) grant the family causal significance. It has been demonstrated statistically significant causal relationships between family contexts and both juvenile and adult crime. Seven family conditions are considered: parental imprisonment, divorce, stepfamilies, adoption, punitive parenting, incompetent parenting, and single parenting. The first four come primarily from what is called the "broken home". Punitive and incompetent parenting have been taken from the literature on dysfunctional families, which are in fact "functionally broken". Single parenting refers to unwed mothering, either by misfortune or choice, the latter not qualifying as either broken or dysfunctional but deviating from the cultural standard of nuclear family structure. Six behavioral outcomes are considered: property crime, violent crime, mental disorder, alcoholism, drug addiction, and status offenses. Through a combination of bad parenting, institutional failure and the weakness of people they learn to exploit, some children grow up learning they can get away with aggressive actions. When they commit offenses that are serious enough for police, courts and social workers to deal with, it is often too late - a cumulative pattern of successful aggression is already established. Some causes are uncontrollable, for e.g. the age of the population: the more young males, the more

Effects of Domestic Violence on Children

Effects of Domestic Violence on Children The effects of domestic violence on children and how they could be protected 2. Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction This thesis highlights the instances of domestic violence at home and its effects on children. The social, psychological, physical and emotional impact of domestic violence could be studied from a broad perspective although domestic violence has a significant effect on children and especially in their psychological development and the way they react to their social world at a later stage of life. The thesis discusses how children could be protected from domestic violence and what are the measures that the government or social organizations could take to control or stop domestic violence. The description of domestic violence in all dimensions is followed by an analysis of the different types of domestic violence and who are the people affected by domestic violence or how domestic violence could have an impact on the children. The long term and short term influences of domestic violence are studied after a careful analysis of research papers. 3. Chapter 2 2.1 Background Domestic violence is threatening behavior or some sort of violence or abuse between adults who are or were in relationships as also violence between family members and could affect anyone irrespective of gender, age, ethnicity or sexuality. Domestic violence could be psychological or physical, sexual or emotional or even financial. It could range from forced marriage and genital mutilation to physical abuse and assault. Domestic violence usually takes place within intimate family type relationships and could form a pattern of coercive and controlling behavior in which one family member of partner tries to control the other family members or partner. Domestic violence can mean a range of behaviors and some may not be typically violent and could fall under domestic abuse. Research has indicated that one in four women face domestic violence in their lifetime and usually happens when the abuser has a desire for power and control over their partner. Domestic violence can be life threateni ng and could be harmful to the lives of men and women if their partners are engaged in repetitive violence. Domestic violence is mainly carried out by men and experienced by women although it could be the other way round and there could be repeated physical or sexual assaults and this could result in injury or death. It has been projected that men could be violent towards their partners or might face violence although women get violent as an attempt towards self defence as they try to move out of controlling behavior. Domestic violence has a direct adverse effect on the children in a family and more than 75% children are considered at risk when they have abusive parents in their family. Children are also sometimes abused by the family member. Domestic violence exists within all kinds of relationships and in some cases older children could get violent or abusive towards their parents and so the equation between the parent and child could be abusive both ways and in either case there are possibilities of domestic violence. Some common factors have been identified in defining the experiences of abusive relationships and identifying these factors could help in preventing the abuse. Domestic violence could take many forms of destructive criticism and verbal abuse as in threatening, mocking, abusing and name calling. Abusers also use pressure tactics and could give threats or could break trust by being in other relationships or withhold information, show disrespect or could subject their victim to isolation and harassment. Physical and sexual violence are the usual forms of domestic violence although verbal attacks are most common. Domestic violence could affect anyone regardless of age, gender or social background or ethnicity and it could happen at any stage of a relationship and incidents of domestic violence could become increasingly severe over time. Domestic abuse is a result of the desire for power or control and could directly cause or be caused by individual experiences. The responses of society are contributory factors in domestic violence although men can easily get away with it. Domestic violence would have direct impact on children and there could be both long term and short term impact on children. Developmental perspectives could consider direct or indirect abuse effects on infants and adolescents, school age children and teenagers. The next part of the review highlights domestic violence and its impact on children as noted in literature review and research studies. The Impact of Domestic Violence on Children 2.2 Developmental Perspective 2.3 Short and Long term impact 2.4 Impact of intimate partner abuse on Children The developmental perspectives of domestic violence could be studied by measuring the impact of violence on children, infants, toddlers, adolescents and teenagers and would also suggest how the impact differs in each case. The short and long term impact of domestic violence could also be analyzed and in case of children the long term effects are usually mental illness or psychological problems, chronic health problems and in some cases poverty and homelessness. Developmental Perspectives Kennedy et al (2010) studied the clinical and adaptive features of juvenile offenders who were violent towards their parents and compared this with children who had no history of violence against their parents and the groups were compared on mental health issues, relation ship findings and intellectual abilities. Children who face domestic abuse are more likely to show gang behaviors and could have trouble relating to parents and other members. There were no significant differences noted in emotional symptoms and in personal adjustments. In the context of domestic violence, Lapierre (2010) studied mothering and womens experience of mothering and how this was related to domestic violence. There seems to be a lack of research on womens experiences in mothering in the context of domestic violence and this study highlights the difficulties that abused women face during mothering. The author argued that motherhood itself could pose a challenge as difficulties of interaction arise within broader situations. Women have at the same time increased responsibilities to motherhood and loss of control over their children and therefore this would be a major challenge. Mothers are required to be vocal about their concerns as intimate partner violence faced by mothers would affect not just them but also the well being of their children ho may be exposed to the violence and its after effects (Rhodes et al, 2010). In a study with 39 adult women, mothers raised concerns on the negative effects of partner violence on their children. In discussions on the barriers to prevent violence and abuse by partners, the victims expressed their conflicts and how children could facilitate and inhibit leaving of an abusive relationship as the mothers could worry that children will be adversely affected if they remain in a violent family but could also be affected if they stay away from a family environment. This suggests that victims with children were always very conflicted as children could both facilitate and inhibit leaving relationships that are abusive. Mothers are thus in conflict as to whether they should spare their children from harmful effects of violence and leave or whether they should spare their children from any instability caused by separation or divorce. The mothers also suggested that fear of involvement of child protection services prevented them from seeking help with social service agencies. Social service agencies will have to understand the conflicts faced by mothers and should be able to help them. There could be individual differences and personality patterns that would suggest why some children show unstable behavior when exposed to domestic violence and why some other children are more resilient (Howell, et al 2010). Resilience was characterised by emotional regulation and prosocial skills, and was studied by a research group who observed mothers and their 4 to 6 year old children. The study suggested that better parenting, fewer maternal mental health problems and less severe exposure to violence could predict better emotional regulation and prosocial skills and this was negatively correlated with maladaptive child behaviors. Gardner noted the experience of children who live in families affected by domestic violence and collected information on children who continued to remain in parental home after child maltreatment (Gardner et al, 2009). There is a high policy oriented interest in domestic violence and is an important aspect of child mal treatment concerns. There are how ever several challenges inherent in the interaction of domestic violence and this could affect outcomes of how children are treated by family members and social service agencies. Short Term and Long Term consequences of domestic violence Domestic violence now has greater recognition in public policies in the United Kingdom. Devaney (2009) suggests that more than 1 million children may have been exposed to domestic violence that are perpetrated by adults family members. This sort of violence could have short term and long term consequences and could affect the social and emotional adjustment of the children. As male perpetrators of domestic violence are not held to account, the children will have to be given special care and protection by social services. It is however suggested that it is the women s responsibility to protect their child from any harm and this is done when they either leave or force their partner to leave. Devaney suggests that the women of the household are held responsible for having to protect their children and typically they are expected to leave or force their partners to leave and women are also responsible for making men realize their responsibilities as father and also by making them account able for their behavior. External environment, the causes and immediate correlates of psychological problems in children are considered although Carrell and Hoekstra (2010) suggested that measuring data could have its methodological limitations. However the authors tried to correlate childrens school records with cases of domestic violence to estimate the negative effects of domestic abuse. The results from the study indicated that children from troubled families could have decreasing grades and along with falling grades there is a possibility of misbehavior in the classroom. Achievement scores are however affected by family differences so domestic violence could not be the only factor for determining grades but the family environment is also important. In many cases when women face domestic violence at home they are asked to stay with their husbands for the children. Although Emery (2009) suggests that the concept of marriage could benefit men, women and children. The relationship between marital stability, husband violence, and childrens behavior problems was studied and the married women who reported husband violence also indicated child behavioural problems although this negative behavior reduced when violence was controlled. Witnessing, participating or being subject to domestic violence would all have negative consequence and especially adverse consequences for children. There are socio demographic correlates of children who witness domestic violence and this could have an association with mental disorders both as children and as adults (Meltzer et al, 2009). The traumatic effects of experiencing domestic violence were found to be related to biographic, socio-demographic and socio-economic characteristics and the report stated that at least 4% of children are regularly subject to domestic abuse. The factors hat could cause greater likelihood of domestic violence would be mixed ethnicity, physical disorder, several children in family, divorced parents, living in rented accommodation, poor neighbourhoods, the mothers emotional state and family dysfunction. A greater likelihood of the child witnessing domestic violence has been associated with conduct disorder although this was not associated with emotiona l disorders and there has been an association of domestic violence and emotional disorders so that with witnessing of domestic violence social workers and policy makers could identify the needs of the children who witness domestic violence. Impact of Domestic Violence on Children Young people caught in negative family experiences could be adversely affected by gap in knowledge of issues related to domestic abuse (Templeton et al 2009). Young people sometimes create the circumstances they live in and in the study by Templeton 8 young people were interviewed from five families (Templeton et al 2009). It has been suggested that research in which the opinion of young people are taken directly would be needed and in this case data from five families helped understand the lives of young people who lived with parental alcohol misuse and violence. Links have been found between parental drinking and domestic abuse with verbal aggression and physical violence. The young people noted a range of strategies in which they tried to cope with their home environments and one of the ways they received support was from friends, family and other professionals. The practice and policy responses for children living in family environments will have to be changed significantly. It has been suggested that intimate partner violence is not just a distinct and unitary phenomenon and could be differentiated according to partner dynamics, context and consequences and the four patterns of violence described are coercive controlling violence, violent resistance, situational couple violence and separated instigated violence (Kelly et al, 2008). Gender symmetry and asymmetry in intimate partner violence could be studied although there would be methodological limitations. Differentiation in the different types of domestic violence would be possible with procedures as explained in family, criminal courts with characteristics of different types of partner violence. Parenting plans tend to ensure outcomes for children and parent child relationships. Spilsbury et al (2008) discussed adjustment problems in community program samples with the school children being exposed to domestic violence. Children with internalizing and externalizing problems are the majority in domesti c violence cases although children could also have externalizing problem without internalizing problem. However there are a small group of children with internalizing problems only. The demographic and violence characteristics showed that profiles of domestic violence and children affected by it could differ by child gender, mothers education, childrens lifetime exposure to violence and contacts with community programs (Spilsbury et al, 2008). When children are exposed to domestic violence the focus becomes child neglect according to jurisdictions and DAmbrosio (2008) suggests that not all domestic violence is the same and not all families are affected with domestic violence issues. The several factors of domestic violence could be the frequency and intensity of violence, the frequency and intensity of childs exposure to violence, the family members unique experiences and characteristics. The parents who participate in counselling services help in the promotion of health and safety of their children and also support removal of children from any exposure to domestic violence. Child protection agencies examines domestic violence and also helps in mitigating the effects of childs exposure to domestic violence and in some cases could provide an opinion for or against removal of children from homes exposed to domestic violence. In advanced welfare states, the abuse of mothers by their adolescent male children has been found to be prevalent (Hunter et al, 2010). However as Hunter el al claim, mother to child abuse remains a very under researched form of family and domestic violence and not much is studied about child to parent violence and usually it is the other way round. There are issues of stigma or shame when children are violent with their parents and studies on this usually focus on the interventions that could deal with anti social behavior and adolescent violence towards mothers is a prevalent issue. This brings in the different disciplines of youth justice, child welfare and domestic violence into focus and the behavior of children and young people towards their mother could highlight issues of responsibility. However there is also a failure of service providers to respond to such destructive forms of intimate interpersonal violence. In another study that showed resilience among children who were exposed to domestic violence, mother-child dyads were examined when the children were 2-4 years of age. The study suggested that the young children who were exposed to domestic violence were more likely than the other group who were not exposed to domestic violence to show symptoms of internalizing and externalizing problems (Martinez-Torteya, 2009). However among the children who were exposed to domestic violence, 54% showed positive adaptation and non depressed mothers and thus greater resilience when compared with their non resilient counterparts. Domestic violence on a prolonged basis was associated with maternal depression, difficult child temperament and internalizing or externalizing symptoms. Heterogeneous outcomes among children exposed to domestic violence would involve influence on childrens adaptation. The perspectives of individuals and their relationships with each other and their lives and identity have been examined by Castelino (2009) and the focus was on family violence intervention programs. The study was on mens behavior change as they worked closely with their partners or children for their own safety. Within this organizational context, the childrens experiences at home with domestic violence have not been explored and although there is a framework for engaging in therapeutic work, the context of family violence tends to highlight work exploring safety and well being along with the complexity of family environment. The childrens experiences in domestic violence situations have been considered as significantly important. Berrick (2009) has argued that child welfare in the US is in a state of crisis and intense family problems such as drug addiction, domestic violence and criminal behavior bring greater problems to child behavior. When children are however removed from thei r homes they could be in a state of impermanence or transience without being in a stable family. Childrens well being and health should not be compromised in extended family relationships and the governments role is important in defining the vulnerability of childrens lives. Children are prevented from ill-treating their parents and this is done by placing them with carers also as Berrick argues these carers may not meet the qualifications for providing adequate care. However the primary mission of children would be an emphasis on protecting children who have been harmed by parents. The impact of exposure to domestic violence could be studied in terms of effects on health and well being of children and young people and Holt (2008) studied the impact of domestic violence across separate and interrelated domains as in domestic violence exposure and child abuse, impact on parental capacity, impact on child and adolescent development and exposure to additional adversities (Holt, 2008). The practices that would best suit childrens needs have also been highlighted. Holts study used databases through an 11 year framework and the results suggested that children and adolescents living with domestic violence could face increased risks of emotional and behavioural problems and could experience physical and sexual abuse with the presence of adverse conditions at home. The protective factors that could possibly reduce the impact of domestic violence on children would a strong and supportive relationship with one parent and in most cases it is the mother who provides support to children who may be facing emotional problems although in some cases the children are best removed from the home and given separate shelters by the social service providers. Children and young people are affected emotionally and behaviourally when they face domestic violence and the effects could be long term and would continue to ensure safety of the children. Children also construct their own social world and timely and individualized personalized responses have been considered as more appropriate. Timely and appropriate individually tailored responses to build resilience in the childs life could mean significant implications for responses. The relationship between domestic violence and different forms of child abuse show that exposure to domestic abuse could have different levels of impact on children and some children are more vulnerable than others and there could be potentially very harmful emotional, behavioural and physical effects in such children. The protective factors that could influence impact of exposure and outcomes for the child would suggest the need for a holistic child centred approach to service delivery and for this there is a need to focus on the assessment as well as the need to understand the individual childs experience and how it would be necessary to be responsive to the childs individual needs. Chang et al (2008) studied the association of partner psychological abuse and child maltreatment after using a sample of mothers with children aged 0-17 years and the mothers were asked about the occurrence of neglectful or abusive behaviors towards their children or abusive behavior by their husbands and partners. Outcome measures for abuse could range from no abuse to mother as perpetrator, father as perpetrator, to both parents as perpetrators. The results indicated that children were at greater risk of maltreatment when parents psychologically abused each other although some factors which affected children were mothers level of education, child age and gender. When the father of the family abuses the mother, the impact on children is greater than when there is no psychological abuse. Partner psychological abuse is thus strongly related to maltreatment of the children and an increased risk of maltreatment was found with partner psychological abuse. Prevention of abuse is only poss ible with education about the serious impact of partner violence. Domestic violence and child welfare agencies should be aware of the link between partner psychological abuse and child maltreatment (Chang et al, 2008) and work towards identifying and alleviation of these problems. How professionals protect children from domestic violence. 2.5 Different services or interventions that can protect children Several social work and social service agencies are responsible for taking care of children especially children who are abused and the different interventions that can protect children from domestic violence highlight not just the complexities of social work practice but also child behavior. In a study by Healey and Darlington (2009), it was suggested that participation of children and parents in child protection service could be complex and sensitive in social work practice as children and parents would have different issues in child protection cases and could voice varied concerns. In most cases participation would be separate and distinct. Child protection policies are closely associated with prevention of domestic abuse and promoting direct participation of children is a sensitive issue in social work practice. The child protection legislation policies promote ideals of service user participation although the principles and methods of achieving participatory practices in child protection will have to be elaborated and identified. However as Healey (2009) claim, the methods for participating in child protection services are not well developed. Child protection could refer to child and family welfare services and the prevention of child abuse, including through domesti c abuse and possible neglect and the social service agencies seem to have a responsibility in protection of children in all contexts . The services included in child protection are family support, domestic violence, statutory child protection, child and family advocacy services and a participatory practice in child protection. A qualitative analysis of interviews with child protection services show five domains of child protection work and core principles of participatory practice as given by Healey et al, (2009). The potential of social workers to shift from child protection to child welfare practice would show how social workers respond to child care problems (CCPs). Hayes and Spratt (2009) examined the potential of social workers from child protection to child welfare practice orientation and related child care problems. Social service trusts have usually responded to social policy goals to balance the protection of children and meeting welfare needs through reducing child protection investigations. Social workers tend to address perceived child protection risks and tend to balance social policing and supportive functions in practice as given in Every Child Matters (Chief Secretary to the Treasury, 2003) Ferguson (2009) highlighted the core experience of doing social work and the emotions and challenges of accessing children in social services. The methodology of child protection suggests that home visit is ignored and the emphasis is on policy and practice texts that happens in inter agency collaboration. The primary problem in contemporary child protection services for social workers would be the process of meaningfully engage with children. The practice through sociology and psychodynamic social work theory provides an understanding of social work experience. The concept of containment suggest ways in which practitioners could provide child protection for the benefit of children and other service users. 2.6 Barriers to services- and how children can overcome that. Services and interventions that can protect children include social work child protection services, and some of the barriers to service in child protection would be lack or shortage of resources and lack of understanding how child protection works. Barriers to service could also be about lack of cooperation and the children could overcome the barriers by actively cooperating with the social services and the parents and children should be able work together to cooperate in child protection issues. All risks will have to be identified and the children and parents and other relevant service users will have to ensure that social services agencies are able to provide the right kind of protection to the children. If the children have problems with custody or staying at a place with high levels of domestic violence, the social services may well take legal help to have them relocated to other shelters which would be safer for the children if the home environment is not safe enough. 4- Chapter 3 3.1 Limitation or findings- Critiquing the researchers about good and bad on their findings according to their aims. 5. Chapter 4 4.1 Discussion 4.2 Conclusion

The Psychology of Inspiration in Prose Poems by Lynn Emanuel Essay

Portraits in Pain: The Psychology of Inspiration in Prose Poems by Lynn Emanuel Reconstructing notions such as potentiality and inspiration, Emanuel’s prose poems, whose thematic range spans from involvement with the paintings of her renowned father Akiba Emanuel (a model and ‘pupil’ of Matisse) to the ‘portraits’ of Gertrude Stein, illuminate the interrelationship between language and world, and the psychology of inhabiting both through inspiration. This paper will address the question of what fuels creativity when it is put to work through the involvement of other voices which are represented (in Emanuel’s case) as suffering from having their genius interrupted either by death, by lack of recognition, or by amnesia. In all Emanuel’s three collections of poems, and a couple of other chap books, inspiration plays an important role, yet Emanuel is not interested in inspiration in the traditional sense to mean divine connection with a higher power or a muse, and romantic transcendence. Inspiration for Emanuel is always triggered by an attempt at understanding what pain is. The pain of creation and composition, and the pain of reading and writing promote two different types of understanding: first, that there is something to create out of nothing, and second, that ‘nothing’ is always a beginning. Inspiration for Emanuel is therefore the beginning of nothing. But how does one begin nothing, a created nothing, that is, a nothing which can be rendered and read and which can explain both the pain of understanding such relations and the inspiration that befalls them? One of Emanuel’s answers seems to be given through her use of amnesia. It is through the theme of forgetfulness that a connection between the writer an... ... . Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1999 Lethem, Jonathan, ed. â€Å"Introduction†. The Vintage Book of Amnesia: an anthology of Writing on the Subject of Memory Loss. New York: Vintage Books, 2000 Suà ¡rez Araà ºz, Nicomedes. â€Å"The Amnesis Manifesto†, 1984 [http://www.- smith.edu/calc/amnesia/manifesto.html] Zawinski, Andrena. â€Å"Poetry in Review†. In Posse Review. Osiduy. Issue 9. Vol. 1, year undisclosed [http://webdelsol.com/InPosse/zawinski9.htm] 9 1 Joyce 1992, 854 2 Domangue 1997, no pagination 3 Berman 1993, no pagination 4 Emanuel 1995, 42 5 Suà ¡rez-Araà ºz, 1984, no pagination 6 Joyce 1992, 854 7 Emanuel 1995, 57 8 Emanuel 1999, 7 9 Zawinski, no year; no pagination 10 Emanuel 1999, 27 11 Emanuel 1999, 28 12 Clark 1997, 10 13 Clark 1997, 119 14 Emanuel 1999, 29 15 Emanuel 1999, 30 16 Emanuel 1999, 34 17 Emanuel 1999, 34 18 Lethem 2000, xv

BILABONG Australia †financial statement analysis assignment Essay

BILABONG Australia – financial statement analysis assignment ACCT 5910-Business Analysis and Valuation Contents Executive summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 Executive summary The purpose of report is to provide a comprehensive analysis of Billabong International Limited. This report is primarily based on a trend analysis of Billabong’s financial performance ratios from 2009 to 2011, common size table of the balance sheet and income statement and analysis of Billabong’s cash flows. Expect to provide a basis understanding of the company’s recent situation and future valuation. The company we compared, as a part of the surfwear industry is Quiksilver. Billabong is a multi-brand Australian company that was established by Gordon and Rena in 1973 in Gold Coast. After decades of expansion and restructuration of capitalization, Billabong’s shares have publicly listed on the ASX. Using four-step to analysis Billabong which including business strategy analysis, accounting analysis, financial ratio analysis and prospective analysis that would help a great deal in valuation of Billabong based on its current market situation. Business strategy includes continuous acquisitions and emerges like taking over strong brand and the products in the same sales area and expansion internationally by reaching more than 100 countries around the world. Billabong’s multicultural design of products featured new and fashion captures customer loyalty among targeted youth group. In order to ensure the company’s accounting information reflects its business reality. Three steps of accounting adjustments are taken in preparation for financial analysis, forecasts and valuation. First is to recast financial statements. This contains re-classifying accounts and preparing standardized balance sheet and income statement, using both reported statements and information from footnotes. After that is to identify accounts that should be adjusted. By analyzing notes and reports, three accounts are likely to contain  distortion information: provision for doubtful debts, leased assets and liabilities and goodwill. Last step is to make adjustments with accounting equation using more appropriate estimations and assumptions for the fiscal year from 2009 to 2011. The profitability of Billabong is unstable from financial analysis. However, compare with the other competing company, Billabong has higher ROE and ROA. The ability of Billabong sale its inventories decreased as its inventory turnover ratio decreased. It had a good control in liquidity with relative constant current ratio and quick ratio. However, it had decreased ability on unitize long-term asset and control its debt structure. Lacking of good control on debts structure and may face burden on debt expense, which may result a high financial risk and weak solvency. From prospective analysis, Billabong may be more profitable in the future after the reorganization, the decreasing sales growth may be appeared at first few year and then increase again. The ROE of the company will be higher than last year; the company may have better performance in the future. And the company may borrow or finance the equity for the operation or paying the dividend. 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Billabong is a famous Australian company with many brands, such as Element, Kustom and Xcel. Their main products are including clothing, watches and boardsports hardware. As surfing became more popular, the company constantly expanded its scale and exported its goods to Japan, USA and Europe during the 1980s, after that Billabong achieve leader in surfing area. In the recent ten years, Billabong had restructured its capitalization with growing global opportunities in the boardsports sector. 1.2 Business Strategy Analysis The business analysis through three aspects: industry analysis, competitive analysis and corporate strategy analysis. a. Industry Analysis With the expansion of world economy, surfing is not only a sport but also a life style and that leads to high demand of surfing products. The number of  firms enters that industry keep increasing as its attractive potential profits and less barrier to enter into that industry. Both companies have more bargaining power compared with their supplier and customer as their famous brand and diversified products could encourage suppliers to have long term business relationship with the company and satisfy the unique needs of customers. Overall, the prospects of this industry are optimistic; it did not shock too much under the downturn of economy. Surfing is an increasingly popular and well-known culture; companies need to continuing innovation in order to satisfy customer’s needs. b. Competitive Analysis As number of firms in the industry keeps increasing, greater competition force firms to earn more market share, innovate substitutes, produce differentiate products and be cost leadership to keep or improve their position in the industry. For example, some of the products of Billabong and Quiksilver are similar, consumer will choose to buy the one with lower price if they have similar function, or buy the one with higher price if the product is different from others. Thus, a firm could run well if it has different products and lower cost compared with rivals. c. Corporate Strategy Analysis Billabong hires different design teams for each different region to satisfy with customers from different cultural with different traditions and tastes. Billabong is expansion through strategic takeovers during last 10 years looking increase profitability through business synergies. Currently the group has direct company on operations and more than 50 countries. Sales are more than 100 countries under 13 different brands. The strategies expansion has been changing along with company’s growth. Billabong started with exportation of products to the USA and also licensed follow by relocated production off shore; FDI is the current global expansion strategy. Billabong buys bank licenses to take control of global operations and requires the existing business. 2. Accounting analysis Billabong’s performance from 2009 to 2011 shown downward trends in  profitability and market performance, therefore, it is possible that manipulation exists. In order to compare Billabong with other companies, standardized format and accounting equation-based adjustments are required. 2.1. Recast financial statements Because of the differences in the format of Billabong’s financial statements over years and that with other organizations, standardized financial statements should be made in preparation for accounting analysis, financial analysis and prospective analysis. 2.2 Accounting adjustments 2.2.1 Adjustments of revenues and provision for doubtful debts As can be seen in appendix, PDD (6.4%) has declined since 2007. Therefore PDD should be adjusted to 6.4% for the years 2008-2011. At the end of the fiscal year, the adjustments should be made to recognize PDD according to the adjustment calculation (Appendix A table (1)). 2.2.2 Adjustments of leased assets and liabilities As disclosed in Billabong’s financial report, it leases plant, machinery and warehouses of large dollar amount in order to maintain normal operation. Most of the leases are classified as operating lease. Thus, we need to record leases as assets and liabilities on balance sheet to make comparison with other companies (Appendix A table (2, 3, and 4)). 2.2.3 Adjustments of goodwill By calculating the proportion of goodwill in total non-current asset from 2007 to 2011, it can be seen that instead of being impaired, goodwill increased substantially from 12.94% to 42.13%. Set 12.94% as the standard level and overvalued goodwill could be recognized (Appendix A table (5)). 3. Financial Analysis Ratio analysis include time series and cross sectional analysis has been performed in this case to give investor’s direct understanding of the company’s historical and recent performance. 3.1 Dupont Analysis Exhibits 1: Dupont (Billabong) 2009 2010 2011 NOPAT/Sales 0.1141 0.1211 0.0989 Ãâ€" AT 1.4837 1.2428 1.4528 = ROA 0.1692 0.1504 0.1437 Spread 0.0597 0.0936 0.0945 Ãâ€" NFL 0.1993 0.1811 0.4031 = Financial Leverage Gain 0.0119 0.0169 0.0381 NI Margin 0.0994 0.1128 0.0853 ROE ( ROA + Spread * NFL) 0.1811 0.1674 0.1818 The Dupont approach can be decomposed into items as ROA, AT and net profit marginï ¼Å'which exists downward in 2011 compared with 2009. However, Billabong makes the new borrowings in its balance sheet and increases its financial leverage in 2011. Moreover, ROE is affected by ROA and financial leverage gain. As financial leverage increases and financial leverage gain increase, then ROE is back up to 0.1818 (almost similar to 2009) in 2011. Moreover, the enhancement in AT and leverage ratio also strengthened the ROE. The greater AT can increase company’s revenue. The higher leverage ratio reflected the lower capital cost. Consequently, high ROE of the company is represented the strong profitability in the same industry comparison, and company can increase ROE through changing the leverage by borrowing. 3.2 Operating Management Analysis Exhibits 2 Profitability (Billabong) 2009 2010 2011 Pre-Tax Income Margin 13.25% 15.23% 9.11% NI Margin 9.94% 11.28% 8.53% EBIT Margin 15.23% 16.39% 10.58% EBITDA Margin 17.51% 18.78% 13.06% NOPAT Margin 11.41% 12.11% 9.89% From exhibit 2, these margin ratios has increased from 2009 to 2010, and declined between 2010 and 2011. Pre-tax income margin is unstable; especially dramatically decrease from 15.23% to 9.11% in 2010 and 2011 due to revenue decreasing and expenses increasing. NI margin has been low, it had been increase from 9.94% to 11.28% between 2009 and 2010, but it again fell to 8.53% in 2011. Billabong should reduce its operating and interest expenses to increase the margin of net income, EBIT and EBITDA. NOPAT margin clearly shows the operating performance of Billabong is unstable. Therefore, Billabong should reduce expenses to increase revenue. Exhibits 3 Profitability (Quiksilver) 2009 2010 2011 Pre-Tax Income Margin -0.33% 0.65% -1.82% NI Margin -3.70% -0.44% -0.91% EBIT Margin -0.33% 7.03% 2.13% EBITDA Margin 2.45% 9.78% 4.79% NOPAT Margin -9.70% -0.34% -0.92% From comparison, Quiksilver has lower performance than Billabong just simply from profitability analysis. Because pre-tax income margin, NI margin and NOPAT margin have shown negative value from 2009 to 2011, only EBIT margin and EBITD margin are displayed positive value for these three periods. That indicates Quiksilver has higher expenses on interest, tax, depreciation and amortization than revenues. Exhibits 4 From exhibits 4, Billabong has higher ROA and ROE than Quiksilver for the last three years. It must be pointed out that ROA of Quiksilver has decreased to -65.33% in 2009. Higher sales and expenses of the company can lead to lower ROE and ROA. In terms of ROA and ROE which might attributed to  lower net profit margin. Moreover, compared to Quiksilver, Billabong has a relatively stable ROE and ROA from 2009 to 2011. Overall, Billabong has better performance than Quiksilver from probability ratio analysis. 3.3 Investment Management Analysis 3.3.1 Working Capital Management a. Inventory Turnover Exhibits 5 Billabong’s inventory ratio decreased from 3.08 in 2009 to 2.23 in 2011, it’s indicates that the ability of Billabong sale its inventories are decreasing. In contrast, Quicksilver also has decreased ratio but with higher overall level than Billabong. It implies that Quiksilver may face a problem of getting sufficient inventory to meet sales demand. Exhibits 6 b. Receivable Turnover Ratio Exhibits 6 indicates that Billabong operate on a credit basis. As Billabong increase receivables with store benefit card, with low account receivable turnover ratio. This low ratio implies that Billabong might need to re-assess its credit policies in order to ensure the timely collection of imparted credit that is not earning interest for the firm. c. Payable turnover ratio Payable ratio decreased from 2.32 in 2009 to 1.77 in 2011. It’s indicates that Billabong is taking longer time to pay its suppliers than before. d. Operating Working capital turnover ratio Exhibits 7 The working capital ratio of Billabong keeps increase from 5.17 in 2009 to 6.00 in 2011 (5.59 on average). It’s indicates that the effectiveness of Billabong using working capital to obtain revenue increase. However, the average ratio of Quiksilver (3.84) is quite lower. 3.3.2 Long-Term Asset Management Exhibits 8 The net long-term AT ratio of Billabong decreased from 1.63 in 2009 to 1.25 in 2011. It implies that there is a decline trend of Billabong’s long-term asset utilization. Compared with Billabong, Quiksilver have quite stable net long-term asset turnover (2.30,2.21,2.37 respectively), which indicate that Quiksilver could utilizing its resources to increase its production more efficiently. b. PP&E Turnover Exhibits 9 From exhibits 9, there is a significant increase of Billabong’s PP&E turnover ratio from 4.60 in 2009 to 6.41 in 2010. It implies that BBG use its PP&E efficiently during that period, however it following a critical decrease from 6.41 to 4.34 in 2011. As the sales increased by $13299 from 2009 to 2011, too much investment in plant and equipment may be the reason of decreased PP&E turnover ratio. We can conclude that Billabong has been utilizing its fixed asset from 2009 to 2010 better than from 2010 to 2011. 3.4Financial Management Analysis 3.4.1Short-Term Liquidity Exhibits 10 Billabong 2009 2010 2011 Average Quiksilver Current Ratio 2.76 2.10 1.85 2.24 2.06 Quick Ratio 1.99 1.44 1.04 1.49 1.33 Cash Ratio 0.91 0.51 0.30 0.57 0.46 Overall, exhibits 10 illustrate the liquidity ratios of Billabong did not change much from 2009 to 2011 and Billabong had a good control in liquidity. From the analysis of the past three years, it’s indicated that the consistently falling of Billabong’s current ratio is due to a higher level of liabilities relative to assets. Current ratio produces a value that’s large than one means the current assets are greater than the current liabilities. Quick ratio also produces a value that’s large than one implies that Billabong has very less â€Å"dependency† on inventory or other â€Å"less† current assets to liquidate short-term debt. 3.4.2Debt and Long-Term Solvency a. Debt Ratios Exhibits 11 The value of Billabong’s D/E decreased from 0.49 in 2009 to 0.36 in 2010 and  then increase to 0.53 in 2011. The reason for this change is that debt structure and policies of Billabong was changed during the three years. Similarly, as total debts change from 2009 to 2011, L/E and Net debt to equity had the same trend to D/E. a. Coverage Ratios Billabong 2009 2010 2011 Average Quiksilver Financial leverage ratio 0.49 0.36 0.53 0.46 0.45 Interest Coverage ratio -2.34 -5.33 -4.41 -4.03 -4.59 Exhibits 12 Both firm have similar financial leverage ratio which means that each $1 of equity supports for $0.45 or $0.46 of total assets. The interest expense of the firm ($50840, $38367 and $50072 respectively) shows that Billabong had no good control on debts structure. Both firm’s interest coverage ratio is negative indicates that they may face huge stress on debt expense which may result a high financial risk and weak solvency. Exhibits 13 Billabong 2009 2010 2011 Average D/E 0.49 0.36 0.53 0.46 Retention Rate (b=1-D/E) 0.51 0.64 0.47 0.54 ROE 0.18 0.17 0.18 0.18 Sustainable Growth Rate (g=bxROE) 0.09 0.11 0.09 0.10 Exhibit 13 shows the changes in dividend payout ratio, retention rate and ROE from 2009 to 2011, which are used to generate the sustainable growth rate. On average, dividend payout ratio is 46%, retention rate is 54% and ROE is 18%. Thus, the growth rate is 8%. 3.5 Cash Flow Analysis Exhibits 14 $’000 2009 2010 2011 Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities 175,685 187,247 24,336 Net cash (outflow)/inflow from investing actives -215,243 -105,764 -266,935 Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities 249,873 -192,102 200,951 Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents 210,315 -110,619 -41,648 The CF from operating activities has increased from $175.685m to $187.247m, and then followed a rapidly decrease to $24.336m in 2011. Large payments to suppliers and employees are the main reason drive CF from operating activities down and further decrease net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities. The CF from investing activity had outflows from 2009 to 2011. As the Company has largely used its cash for purchase new subsidiary and this led to a net cash outflow in 2011. 4. Forecasts and valuation 4.1 Assumptions and forecast Billabong may be more profitable in the future after the reorganization as it will close underperforming stores based on the recent announcement. This would decrease expenses and increase EBITDA and may further lead to a higher profit in next decade. Therefore, sales growth may appear downward sloping at first few years and then increase again. However, stable turnover ratio with approved new strategies may enhance the development of the company although the sales growth changes more than AT during the last few years. In addition, from the financial analysis, there will be a downward trend in ROA  but a rise in the financial leverage. As the result, it can be forecasted that the company’s ROE may not vary obviously during next few years, which offset by the sum of ROA and financial leverage gain/loss. Therefore, some assumptions may be undertaken to forecast the performance of the company in the next decade and to estimate the PV of the company by using the abnormal earning valuation model. As the sales growth has a downward trend, the assumption for growth rate is 8.64% (average of last three years) in 2012 and it will keep constant in the future. It is forecasted to be 9% during next 10 years as possible potential profit growth may appear after downward sales. For the NOPAT to sales ratio, it is assumed to 7.89% in 2012 due to an evident declined historical pattern. Moreover beginning net operating working capital to sales ratio might have a decreasing trend in the future based on the historical data. Thus, it is assumed to be 13.69% on average with puny decline than last year and it is believe that the change of working capital of the company is slight. As we use average method in this assumption, the beginning net operating long-term asset to sales ratio was 6.92% that also be considered as long-term rate as the change of the rate was insignificant. Ratios that we assumed based on historical (Appendix B table (1)). Overall, as the forecast under the assumptions, Billabong will have higher ROE and better performance than previous. The company may have insufficient operating assets to generate operating profit with relatively lower ROA. From this, the company may borrow funds or finance equity to keep operating and pay dividends. 4.2 Cost of capital Cost of capital is a critical method of evaluating company’s asset, and it is using equation WACC=Vd/(Vd+Ve)*rd (1-T)+Ve/(Vd+Ve)*re, the cost of equity (re) is estimated by CAPM with a constant capital structure. Thus, it is assumed that the company has not change the capital structure. re is estimated to 16.13% in terms of the equity beta (1.49), market premium (7%) and risk-free rate (5.7%) from market. The cost of debt is 6% according to  historical YTM for the publicly traded bond. Therefore, WACC is calculated by: Exhibit 15 Debt 448,422 ($000) Equity 1,109,155 ($000) Value of firm 1,557,557 ($000) Cost of debt 6% Cost of equity 16.13% Tax rate 28% WACC 12.73% 4.3 Valuation The Discount Abnormal Earnings Valuation Model is a measure of determining the value of the company by abnormal earnings and discount rate. The abnormal earning is the difference between net income and change in equity. Through forecasting the sales growth and NOPAT/sales ratio to forecast net income; and working capital to sale ratio and long-term asset to sales ratio to calculate the change in equity. PV of equity is $436,567,619, which is discount by the abnormal earning each year and the number of share outstanding is 253,321,020. For that reason, the share price is estimated to be $1.72. A reduction in the abnormal earning during the assumption periods may result in lower share value compared with currently. (Appendix B table (2)). 4.4 Sensitivity analysis The sensitivity of the share price to changes was calculated in multi-factors, such as growth rate and beta. This analysis is performed to check how susceptible the company is to the changes in key factors in the future. Firstly, the share price shows a negative relationship with the growth rate when the growth rate changes to 10%. There will be 13% dropped on the share price if the growth rate increases by 11%. Secondly, the share price is increasing if there is a decrease on the beta of the company. If the beta changes from 1.49 to 1.2, the share price will increase to $2.34, which closes to the company’s current share price. Therefore, the share price is inversely affected by the change of beta. 5. Conclusion Above analysis would help a great deal in valuation of Billabong based on its current market situation. From time series analysis, Billabong had a good control in liquidity but it need to re-assess its credit policies in order to ensure the timely collection of imparted credit that is not earning interest for themselves, increase account payable turnover as it take longer time to pay its suppliers than before and increase interest coverage ratio to lower their financial risk and strong their solvency. Even though, the working capital ratio increase from 2009 to 2011, but very high working capital turnover ratio does not show good position of company because its shows company is operating with high short-term debt obligations. From cross sectional analysis, compared with Quiksilver, Billabong needs to improve ability of inventory management, asset utilization and debt control. From prospective analysis, revenue of Billabong increased, but expenses also increases at the same trend, the performance of Billabong is still unsatisfied. From valuation, Billabong’s share value still decreases with sales decrease. Therefore, we highly recommend that investors should hold their shares or do not buy it if Billabong continuously running business as its historical model. Reference: 1. Billabong Investors Home. http://www.billabongbiz.com (Accessed 5 April 2012) 2. Hoover’s company profiles: Billabong International Limited http://www.answers.com/topic/billabong-international-ltd (Accessed 3 May 2012) 3. Hoover’s company profiles: Quiksilver, Inc. http://www.answers.com/topic/quiksilver-inc (Accessed 3 May 2012) 4. Palepu, K. G., P. M. Healy, V. Bernard, S. Wright, M. Bradbury, P. Lee. (2010) Business Analysis and Valuation Using Financial Statements: Text and Cases. Asia Pacific Edition, Cengage Learning. 5. Quiksilver Investors Home. http://www.quiksilverinc.com (Accessed 13 April 2012) 6. Calif, A.V. (2011), ‘SIMA Retail Study Confirms Significant Changes-Surf Industry’s Footwear, Westuits and Board Categories Lead Growth in 2010.’ http://www.sima.com/news-information/news-detail/id/108.aspx (7 August 2011, accessed 8 May 2012) 7. Calif, A.V. (2009), ‘Surf Industry Riding Out the Economic Storm – Findings of SIMA’s Retail Research Show Resiliency of the Surf/Skate Industry.’ http://www.sima.com/news-information/news-detail/id/68.aspx (7 Sep 2009, accessed 8 May 2012) 8. Wikinvest. http://www.wikinvest.com (Accessed 13 April 2012) Appendix: Appendix A —Accounting Analysis Table 1 Worksheet: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement ($’000) Asset = Liability + ShareCap’ + RetEarning + Rev + Exp +Div 2009 Provision1 -6,964 -6,964 Deferred tax2 1,797 1,797 2010 Provision -12,306 -12,306 Deferred tax 3,507 3,507 2011 Provision -14,169 -14,169 Deferred tax 989 989 Table 2 Worksheet: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement for year 2009 ($’000) Current Assets Non- Current Tangible Assets Deferred Tax Assets = Current Debt Non- Current Liabilities Income Equity Retained Earnings 13 153,484 153,484 24 -29,162 -29,162 2 -8224 -8,224 35 45,276 46 -32,997 -12,279 4 102,373 102,373 57 -24,159 -24,159 68 -2,280 -2,280 79 57,824 -57,824 Total – 202,536 -10,504 = 57,824 165,036 6,558 -37,386 Table 3: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement for year 2010 ($’000) Current Assets Non-Current Tangible Assets Deferred Tax Assets = Current Debt Non-Current Liabilities Income Equity Retained Earnings 1 62,450 1 -49,247 -13,203 2 99,709 99,709 3 -38,069 -38,069 4 -894 -894 5 58,201 -58,201 Total 61,640 -894 58,201 -7,739 10,284 Table 4: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement for year 2011 ($’000) Current Assets Non-Current Tangible Assets Deferred Tax Assets = Current Debt Non-Current Liabilities Income Equity Retained Earnings 1 62,857 1 -50,273 -12,584 2 241,476 241,476 3 -37,563 -37,563 4 -1,017 -1,017 5 94,662 -94,662 Total 203,913 -1,017 94,662 96,541 11,693 Table 5: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement ($’000) Asset = Liability + ShareCap’ + RetEarning + Rev + Exp +Div 2009 Goodwill10 -16,652 -16,652 Deferred tax11 4,296 4,296 2010 Goodwill -30,967 -30,967 Deferred tax 8,826 8,826 2011 Goodwill -36,161 -36,161 Deferred tax 2,524 2,524 Appendix B Table (1) assumption of the ratio