Comcast Business Report Essay

Abstract The purpose of this report is to dissect and learn about the strategies, management team, external environment and industry analysis that Comcast has put in place to become a booming and profitable corporation. Comcast, which is headquartered in Philadelphia and is a well-liked service provider for television, phone, and internet, has been around for many years with a positive reputation. Comcast is known for using the acquisition entry strategy by purchasing numerous TV networks, such as NBC Universal, and the cable company, Time Warner Cable. General Why did you choose this company? As a group, we decided to do Comcast for a variety of reasons. One being that the television, internet, and phone service provider is popular in the Hampton Roads area. It’s competitor for television and Internet service is Verizon. As a Fortune 50 leader, Comcast sets the pace in a variety of innovative and fascinating businesses and create career opportunities across a wide range of locations and disciplines. What Comcast does? Comcast is the largest cable and home Internet service provider in the United States and is ranked third for the largest telephone service provider. Comcast provides services for residents and commercial offices in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Additional, Comcast is a producer of film and television contents, operates cable channels including E! Entertainment Television, the Golf Channel, and national channels such as Telemundo. In February 2014, the company agreed to merge with Time Warner Cable in an equity swap deal worth $45.2 billion. Where/When it was established? In 1963, Comcast was found in 1963 (previously known as American Cable Systems) and is currently headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Comcast has come a long way since its beginnings as a single-system cable operator in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1963. Today, Comcast is a leader in the worlds of media, entertainment and technology and our story has unfolded due to an entrepreneurial spirit that is the foundation of everything we do. Company goals Comcast has many goals, but since 1963, Comcast continues to fulfill Ralph Roberts’ goal of building an organization with a close-knit, family feel. Comcast’s strategic objective is to gain long-term market share and dominance. The company is striving to become the most desired high-volume and low-cost service provider in the market Company Mission Statement â€Å"Comcast brings together the best in media and technology. We drive innovation to create the world’s best entertainment and online experiences.† (Comcast) Company Vision & Values In Comcast’s Corporate Social Responsibility Report, the company has a range of different values that the company as a whole would like to uphold. These values would be: Connect media, technology, and people Create media that matters Reduce environmental impact Operate responsible Deepening trust through stewardship Develop and engage employees Promote diversity and inclusion Bring the best out of people Number of Retail Units Although there is not an exact number for retail units throughout the United States, there is information about the number of customers for television, internet and phone services provider for residential and commercial. As of December 31, 2013, there are a total of 53.8 million customers receiving service from Comcast. Television service is provided to 21.7 million customers, high-speed Internet is provided to 20.7 million customers and phone service is provided to 10.7 million customers. Majority of these customers can be found in Maryland, New York, Massachusetts and Miami. Number of Employees Comcast has nearly 130,000 employees that help make the company successful. Comcast employees pride themselves with ingenuity and passion with everything that they do. The employees provide excellent service and have ideas for innovative products to create insightful and entertaining content. Comcast tries to create an attractive work environment and rewards their employees because of their dedication. Employees are rewarded with competitive pay, benefits, professional training and opportunities to build exceptional leadership skills Revenue Comcast is the largest mass media and communications company in the world in revenue. As of March 31, 2014, according to Yahoo! Finance, Comcast has earned $17.4 million revenue, which is a $1.5 million increase since December 31, 2013. Net Income Comcast’s net income last record on March 31, 2014 by Yahoo! Finance is $1.8 billion, which is a decrease since December 31, 2013. In December it was recorded that the net income of the popular service provider was $1.9 billion. According to ycharts.com, the net income (quarterly) range from $866 million being the minimum income in March 2010 to $2.113 billion being the maximum in September 2012. (See Fig NI for a line chart of net income since 2010) Number of Shareholders There are a total of 539,000 shareholders that hold a share in the company in either a direct or indirect form of share. Direct shareholder is if you hold a physical stock certificate, while an indirect shareholder is if you hold your stock through a broker. Top Management Team In today’s workforce, diversity is extremely important to equal opportunity employment. Women make up about 40% of the American workforce. Comcast believes in cultivating an inclusive and diverse workforce in an effort to leverage perspectives and remain on the cutting edge of innovation. Comcast believes strongly in diversity and the total team concept. According to the Comcast website (2014) Women roughly occupy eight positions on the top management team at Comcast. These women are known as â€Å"the women of Comcast and NBCUniversal†. D’Arcy F. Rudnay is the Chief Communications Officer for the Comcast Corporation. According to the website for corporate Comcast (2014) Rudnay serves as the communications counsel to the Chairman and CEO as well as other members of the executive branch. She leads the management of the company’s brand, reputation and strategic communications activities across the Comcast organization. Rudnay has years of experience in both the public  and private sector. Before joining Comcast, Rudnay worked at the Lincoln Financial Group where she served as Vice President of Corporate Communications and Media Relations. She also served as Vice President of Lincoln Financial Group Foundation. Rudnay has a long list of awards to her credit to include induction into the Public Relations Hall of Fame as one of the Nation’s top 25 communications executives. Her experience and skills has been a valuable addition to Comcast team. Amy Banse serves as the Managing Director and Head of Funds for Comcast Ventures. Banse has critical role in strategic planning for funds throughout the Comcast spectrum. According to the website for corporate Comcast (2014) Banse has accumulated over 20 years of experience in investing at Comcast. She began her career at Comcast in 1991 as an attorney responsible for investing, starting and building companies throughout Comcast. Banse became a central figure in the development of the TV Everywhere strategy. She founded Comcast Interactive Media and led the charge in overseeing multiple acquisitions to include Xfinity.com, Xfinitytv.com, and Fancast. These acquisitions led to the development of the TV Everywhere strategy. The experiences of Rudnay and Banse have been vital to the success of Comcast. Any organization that resembles Comcast must have some form of legal counsel who is responsible for the companies’ legalities and business ventures. Business ventures are critically important to growing and expanding the businesses to the Comcast level. Banse is an experienced team lead who is responsible for founding the Comcast Interactive Media. This venture led to the development of the TV Everywhere strategy. Her experience and expertise keeps the company moving forward and leading the charge in the digital age. Rudnay brings a wealth of experience from the communications side of the business. Rudnay has been elected to the Public Relations Hall of Fame for her diligent efforts. Together Rudnay and Banse provide the necessary tools and experience to keep Comcast at the tip of the spear in the digital world. My impression of the top management team is two-fold. Women are well  represented at the executive levels holding eight offices spanning from chairman to vice president. The positions held by these women represent a breakthrough for women as minorities. On the other hand, minority women such as African Americans and Hispanics were not represented. However the door to diversity remains open for minority women. In my opinion, the cast of executive women may be too small given the size and scope of the Comcast Company. According to the website for Comcast Executive Biographies (2014) Brian L. Roberts serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Comcast corporation. Roberts took the helm as President of Comcast Corporation in 1990. Under his leadership at Comcast, the company’s annual revenue has grown to over $64 billion Comcast has grown into a global Fortune 50 corporation under the leadership of Roberts. Roberts has numerous awards for his leadership and recognized by Fortune magazine as a â€Å"Business Person of the Year.† Duality does exist for Roberts who has served as chairman for three consecutive terms. Board of Directors The Board of Directors is a diversified group of professions. The Board of Directors is represented by a diverse group of men and women. The Comcast Board of Directors is comprised of 61 professionals and out of the compliment of 61 personnel, 16 are professional women. This group of professional women is represented by minority women as well. The Comcast Corporation has many moving parts. Considering the size and scope of the Comcast Corporation, in my opinion, the 61 members who make-up the Board of Directors, is the right number of personnel to oversee each aspect of the Comcast corporation. Most small businesses and large corporations have an obligation to shareholders to disclose what they do with the profits and how they obtain their profits. It is also a means to manage the corporations’ impact on the economy, society, and the environment. Comcast has a corporate social responsibility aimed at giving back and supporting the communities they serve. According to the website for Comcast (2014) the Comcast Corporation  seeks to empower local partners with the required resources to improve neighborhoods and create opportunities to change lives. Comcast also provides resources and funding for local supporting nonprofit organizations. Comcast hosts annual events to support different groups and organizations within the community. Comcast Career Day is an annual event that focuses on community service. The goal of Comcast Career Day is to send a goodwill message from the Comcast’s employees, families, and friends and to leave an indelible mark on the communities they serve. According to the website for Comcast (2014) â€Å"In 2012, approximately 75,000 employees of Comcast and NBCUniversal and family members volunteered in local community service projects. This effort spanned across 665 different locations logging more than 454,000 labor hours and awarded more than $1.5 million in Comcast Foundation matching grants in 2012†. In a continued effort of corporation social responsibility, Comcast also supports and works with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. The website for Comcast (2014) reports Comcast partnered with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America to connect Comcast employees with students in need. Comcast launched a program called Beyond School Walls. This program paired local student’s up with Comcast employees to serve as mentors. The Beyond School Walls program reported greater work satisfaction and the students showed improved grades which encouraged an expansion of the program. In recognition of Comcast’s support of the Big Brother Big Sister of America program, Comcast was honored with its President’s Award. Comcast: Business Level Strategy Comcast has been making significant investments to enhance their products, while improving the service and support being delivered to consumers. Comcast’s strategy is to mainly focus on providing consumers with the best and most content across all available platforms. Comcast’s vision is to give customers more content choices – all of which are available to consumers at the click of the remote, without having to buy any additional equipment. One huge business level strategy that Comcast has implemented is a new  brand. In 2010, Comcast began promoting â€Å"Xfinity†, the company’s rebranding trademark for the services provided. With this brand, Comcast is looking to improve customer perception and reputation with this new brand. Comcast’s networks and products now offer 100+ HD channels, 50 to 70 foreign language channels, incredibly fast Internet speeds and thousands of TV shows and movies online for a variety of customers of all ages to enjoy whenever and wherever they would like. With the â€Å"Xfinity† brand in full effect, â€Å"Xfinity Signature Support† is a new service for personal computers, home networking equipment and many other devices that customers connect to Comcast services 24/7. With Signature Support, Comcast customers have access to knowledgeable and experienced IT professionals who can provide support, troubleshooting and online technical support, either over the phone or in the home. This type of assistances is available either as part of a monthly subscription plan or for a stand-alone basis for those one-time fixes, such as virus removal or connecting printers or game consoles wirelessly. Customers are given the opportunity to choose an equipment protection plan that provides extended warranties for computers and televisions. Comcast will not have to change its strategy to continue to operate after the merger with Time Warner Cable. Comcast uses a focused differentiation strategy, since the company looks for innovations that television, high-speed internet and phone service subscribers will be interested in using. General Environment Demographics: In regards to demographics, the cable industries top 10 competing TV subscriptions are Netflix, Comcast, Direct TV, Dish, The Warner Cable, Hulu, AT & T, Verizon Fios, Charter and Cox. Video subscriber Netflix is the leading company with 36.2 million subscribers. Within the cable industry the subscribers between the ages of forty and sixty purchase the most subscriptions. As a result, certain channels are included on these cable networks in order to appeal to subscribers that purchase most of their service. Along with the aging population, many different nationalities & ethnicities make up the demographic market. Therefore within the cable industry, different channels are included in order to provide entertainment services to viewers of all cultural backgrounds. For instance, Comcast offers American Spanish language television and Telemundo in order to make their company more marketable to different cultures in the cable industry environment. Telecommunications and the development of broadband internet services are the rising affluence within the cable industry. Telecommunications have become very popular within the industry serving 26 million customers (NCTA, 1). Broadband Internet services within the industry make up five of the top ten residential phone companies in the country servicing 50 million customers (NCTA, 1). Socio/Cultural: From a socio cultural standpoint, society places a lot of emphasis on a diverse non-discriminating work environment where women and men are treated equally. Within the cable industry there has been emphasis on women employment due to pre-recession levels. However, Comcast is working with these socio cultural expectations by creating a diversified non-discriminating workforce for women with interest pertaining to their cable industry by hiring more women to be a part of their team. Along, with hiring women within the cable industry the pressure to accommodate older worker plays a major role in the socio cultural environment. According to the government data, â€Å"40 percent of workers older than 55 were in the workforce as of February 2012 up from just 29 percent in 1993. The number is expected to increase to 43.5 percent by 2018. This trend reflects the need for many older workers either to stay in or rejoin the workforce to beef up their retirement income by temping† (Greenberg 1). Temping plays a major role in society because it opens up the option for older men and women to work. However, the cable industry accommodates these workers by offering part-time positions and retirement plans with good pay. Comcast helps to accommodate older workers by providing retirement plans, salaries, and bonuses. Technology/Global: The cable industry delivers through broadband providing service to over 50 million customers as of year ending 2012(NCTA 2). Some trends that consumers are looking for in cable companies are fast broadband speeds and standard cable broadband speeds ranging from 10 mps to 20 mps. Comcast is  keeping up with this trend by creating innovative services in their technologies including online streaming of their cable channels and faster Internet services (Comcast 1). In regards to global, poverty can increase the amount of viewers that purchase TV subscriptions since; this can be used as an alternative to going to the movie theaters or purchasing movies. Also, poverty can decrease the amount of viewers that purchase TV subscriptions due to their lack of income. Economic/Political: There are a lot of factors that contribute to the economics of cable networks. The pay TV ecosystem in the United States has set the platform of growth for cable networks. In today’s society approximately 100 million US homes and business pay an average of $68 per month to a cable or satellite operator for 19 channels of video programming (Grimes 1). â€Å"They pay TV providers, in turn; pay some $20 per subscriber per month to the cable networks in carriage fees that aggregate to roughly $24 billion per year. Add U.S. advertising sales of $25 billion in 2011, another billion or so for the sale of content to alternate distribution outlets and a $50 billion annual revenue industry with 40+% cash flow margins comes into focus. And that excludes the contribution from international networks that is especially significant for ESPN, CNN, MTV and the Discovery network†(Grimes, 2). Therefore, it is evident that cable networks make a lot of profit in today’s economy as a result of subscribers. In the economy, more people are willing to pay a subscription for a small monthly fee and as a result this has fueled new growth in their revenues as an industry. The good news for cable networks is that advertising sales trends remain strong on a demand and cost per thousand (CPM) basis such that the industry’s ad revenue growth rate of 11%(Grimes 3). This just continues to add to the revenue of cable networks as a whole to continue to make their industry worth more profit. Events such as the London Olympics and U.S elections contributed a lot to their exceeding revenues. Along with cable networks with international broadcast, has increased the growth rates of non-U.S business which is the first time in years that this has exceeded domestic business. The less good news is that while cable and satellite carriage fees are expected to rise at the healthy, but lower, rate of 7% this year on a per-subscriber basis, the days of U.S. pay TV subscriber growth are over, probably forever (Grimes 4).  The year 2012 will be the first years in 33-year history of pay TV in the U.S. As a result subscribers will decline from the previous year. Younger people are paying for TV at lower rates than people of older generations. The downward slope of TV subscriptions will begin, however investors will be forced to think about a world in which cable networks are finally maturing assets (Grimes 5). Industry Analysis When looking at the Industry Environment of Comcast, The Five Forces of Competition Model, created by Michael Porter, can break it down. Rivalry among competing firms When looking at the different products and services that Comcast offers, their competitors come from several different markets. For their most known service as cable television provider, Comcast is the top cable provider, having a reported 21,690,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2013, which is sustainably more than the rest of the top 10 cable providers in the United States. The most known competitors in this market include Times Warner Cable, AT&T U-verse, and Verizon FIOS, all of which having 10,493,000 less subscribers in the country or more, making the current competition level in this area a low threat. With same companies as competitors in cable Internet services, AT&T is their highest competitor. Both companies with recorded 17 million customers and AT&T offer slightly better services compared to their prices. Even though this is the case, customers still have resided with Comcast, as they are known as the largest Internet cable provider as well. After gaining ownership of NBCUniversal, Comcast also has competition in the area of major film studios. NBCUniversal is the third largest film studio behind Warner Bros Entertainment, which is owned by their new business partner, Times Warner Cable, and The Walt Disney Studios. Respectively the firm’s own 17.1%, 15.9%, and 13.9% of the U.S. and Canadian market share in 2013, and have been in similar position since 2005. As Comcast begins to develop new online streaming services of its cable channels and other networking systems, it will meet other competitors as well. Threat of new entrants Because of the amount of time that is spent behind entering and becoming a competitor in these industries, and the fact that Comcast is the leader of them as well, the threat of new entrants that would affect the firm’s market share is very low. The difficulty behind making a successful worldwide cable provider is a high level barrier to entry and the current cable providers have been in existence for decades. Comcast’s threat of new entrants would not occur unless a firm was created that provided more innovating technology at a greater and widespread form. Threat of Substitute Products Due to the fact that new technology is being created constantly, Comcast has met new threats of substitutes in the recent years. Firms like Netflix and Hulu, which offer customers on-demand Internet streaming media, usually shows and movies that are offered on their cable channels, for low monthly rates, are substitutes that have been encountered within the past decade. This has lead to some consumers to use this service rather than paying heftier cable bills every month. This substitute threat is the reason why they are currently producing their own online streaming of their cable channels to compete with these companies, which is predicted to launch later this year. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Because Comcast is always searching for innovating technology and software to provide their customers with new services; Information technology suppliers have high bargaining power against the firm. These suppliers understand that they are necessary for Comcast to continue success so they will always be at high demand, and able to charge a heavy amount as well. Bargaining Power of Buyers Because there is a limited amount of communication and cable companies in the United States, the bargaining power of buyers of Comcast’s services are limited. At the same time, in order to compete with their competition in the industry, they also have to make sure that the services and the prices of those services are at levels that their customers are willing to pay. If customers believe they are not reasonable, they will convert to another  firm’s cable services. So, by voicing their opinion on Comcast’s services, customers are able to bargain for what they want from the firm. Recommendations The long term sustainability for Comcast will be based on their ability to streamline movies and sitcoms. This will allow them to maintain their market share from competitors like Netflix, Hulu TV, Livestream and other startup companies. In order for Comcast to attain long-term sustainability, the company will have to improve the reputation that they have when it comes to their customer service. Comcast has the lowest customer-service rating of any Internet service provider. (Berr, 2014) Comcast customers are not happy with the type of service they receive and that affects the company if they would like to have a future in the television, internet, and phone service industry. Although Comcast has stated that a goal of the company is to improve the customer service, the company is just not there yet. Improving the customer service will help the company tremendously for the present and for the future. Works Cited â€Å"Amy Banse.† Amy Banse. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014. . â€Å"Brian L. Roberts.† Brian L. Roberts. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2014. . Comcast. â€Å"Comcast Corporation Form 10-K.† Comcast. Comcast, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. â€Å"CMCSA Income Statement | Comcast Corporation Stock – Yahoo! Finance.† CMCSA Income Statement | Comcast Corporation Stock – Yahoo! Finance. Yahoo! Finance, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 18 June 2014. . â€Å"Comcast Corp..† . Edgar Online, 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 18 June 2014.. â€Å"Comcast Net Income (Quarterly).† Comcast Net Income (Quarterly) (CMCSA). YCharts, 31 Mar. 2014. Web. 18 June 2014. . â€Å"Corporate Social Responsibility Report – 2012.† 2012 Corporate Social Responsibility Report. Comcast — NBC Universal, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 June 2014. . â€Å"D’Arcy F. Rudnay.† D’Arcy F. Rudnay. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 June 2014. . â€Å"Develop and Engage Employees.† Develop and Engage Employees. Comcast — NBC Universal, 1 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 June 2014. . Cox, Kate. â€Å"Why Comcast Wants To Buy Time Warner Cable, And Why TWC Wants To Let Them.† Consumerist. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. â€Å"Developing Tomorrow’s Professionals and Leaders.† Developing Tomorrow’s Professionals and Leaders. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014. . Fowlkes, Jasmine. â€Å" » Opinion: Why Social Media Is Destroying Our Social Skills USA TODAY College: College News and Information Powered by USA TODAY.†  » Opinion: Why Social Media Is Destroying Our Social Skills USA TODAY College: College News and Information Powered by USA TODAY. N.p., 11 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. Green, R. Kay. â€Å"The Social Media Effect: Are You Really Who You Portray Online?† The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 07 Aug. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2014. Greenberg, Paul. â€Å"Temping: An Option for Older Workers. Web. 23 June 2014. Grimes Spencer. â€Å"Sunset of the Golden Age As Cable Networks Mature†. Web. 23 June 2014. http://seekingalpha.com/article/519831-sunset-of-the-golden-age-as-cable-networks-mature Horrocks, Bill. â€Å"Equipping Homes for Energy Efficiency.† Equipping Homes for Energy Efficiency. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. â€Å"Major Movie Studios.† Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 04 Oct. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. â€Å"National Cable & Telecommunications Associations†. Web. 23 June 2014. https://www.ncta.com/industry-data Pomerantz, Dorothy. â€Å"Comcast Looks Set To Buy Time Warner Cable.† Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. Stelter, Brian. â€Å"Comcast Agrees to Buy Time Warner Cable for $45 Billion.† CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. â€Å"The Women of Comcast and NBCUniversal.† The Women of Comcast and NBCUniversal. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014. . UELAND, SIG. â€Å"20 Top Internet Service Providers.† Practical Ecommerce. N.p., 11 Dec. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. Warrell, Margie. â€Å"Seduced by Social Media: Is Facebook Making You Lonely?† The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 08 Nov. 2013. Web. 11 Apr. 2014. â€Å"XFINITY TV.† Comcast. Comcast, n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2014.

Culture Intervention in the School Essay

In (PLEASE PUT THE NAME OF YOUR SCHOOL HERE), students coming from different races and ethnicities are accepted. Thus, this creates a student body which is culturally diverse and different in terms of the beliefs, values, languages, and other aspects related to culture. People coming from different cultures are not expected to have a harmonious relationship right away especially with regard to their young age. However, there may be some forms of intervention that can reduce the friction, tension, and conflict due to cultural differences. Before delving into the details of intervention for culture, it is necessary to define culture to be able to target the right elements. Culture is defined â€Å"in anthropology, the patterns of behavior and thinking that people living in social groups learn, create, and share† (Bodley, 2005). This is comprised of the â€Å"beliefs, rules of behavior, language, rituals, art, technology, style of dress, ways of producing and cooking food, religion, and political and economic systems† (Bodley, 2005). Thus, the term culture encompasses a wide range of factors that paves the way for more differences among the students. There are several intervention measures that can be put into application in the school. First, it is important that there is an atmosphere in existent in the school that clearly sets a zero tolerance for bullying and by-standing within the premises of the school. Bullying and by-standing are common consequences of variations in culture. More often than not, the students belonging to the majority culture teases the students who are members of the cultural minority groups. This could lead to bullying and constant fear and inferiority for those who become the victims of the bullies and by-standers. With the foregoing statement, the school administration, in cooperation with the parents, should be able to make a concerted effort to make and agree on policies that will lead to harmonious relationships between the culturally-varied students. Corresponding sanctions should be placed upon the violations and their degrees should be identified. Moreover, rewards for those students who help in creating a stable environment and who makes a way to accept cultural differences in the school should be given a rewards in terms of academic and recognition factors. This is a long and tedious process and there are a lot of factors and minute details to be considered in making the policies. Also, through the cooperation of the parents, there will be reinforcement measures even when the children go back to their homes. It will not simply be a school responsibility for them but hopefully, will become a way of life and a part of their values. Second, there is a need for adult mentors to become visible to the students. However, they should not see these adult mentors as someone who would always pinpoint their mistakes and become an authoritative figure that will constrict their movements. Rather, these adult mentors should be perceived as persons who will be a help within their reach for any problem they have. Adult mentors will be based on a schedule formulated for each break period to patrol on places where the children mostly are and in places that become a favorable place for bullying. The procedures for this should be discusses together with the first culture intervention. Lastly, the students should also be involved in the efforts to have an environment which accepts cultural differences. This can be done by having one class period devoted to an open discussion regarding the different cultures of students and to highlight the exciting and new information about each culture. This way, the students will become aware that it is not only their culture that is in existent but there are a lot of colorful things to look forward to in the treasure box of another student’s culture. Also, the homeroom adviser or teacher could serve as a facilitator for discussion that will dwell on the different problems of culture they have in the school right now. The children are expected to understand this with a proper explanation from the facilitator. The facilitators of the group discussions will have to undergo training for this subject. References Bodley, J. H. 2005. â€Å"Culture. † Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006 [CD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation.

Environmental Management Essay

The world climate is changing and the effects of global warming are being witnessed in various part of the world. Available researches points out human activities as the major case for climate change and global warming. United States is the world leading emitter for global warming pollution and its emission mainly being from green houses and burning of fossils. The country is now on the forefront in taking the appropriate steps to contain the situation and it have come out with a program known as cap trade program. The cap-trade program which is a market based approach utilizes the market forces to achieve environmental protection which are cost effective by giving business both direct and flexible incentive to find innovative way of pollution reduction. The policy has been implemented successively in several states and it is looking forward to be implemented at the national level. The world climate is changing and the evidence of global warming is unequivocal. According to the report of IPPC synthesis 2001 (Crowley, 2000), the increase in earth warmth is dated back in the years between 1900 and 1940 which later cooled down between 1941 and 1965. Information collected from millions of thermometer in the world since 1860 shows an increase in the average surface air measurement. These data which is believed to be the most accurate and useful in global climate description, shows 1998 as being the warmest year on record with 1990-2000 being the warmest decade. The global temperature has increased by approximately 0. 6 degrees since the start of 20th century with 0. 4 of this occurring during 1970s (McIntosh & Roderick, 2006). As result of alteration in the world ecosystem which consists of the atmosphere, ecosphere and social sphere harmful gases have been released impacting negatively to our atmosphere. Scientists believe that the gases have led to global warming due to depletion of ozone layer. They attribute Human activities like deforestation and fossil combustion to increase of carbon dioxide emission while organic wastes and fossil fuel mining increases the release of methane which is affect negatively on ozone layer (Hardoy et al, 2001). Also Nitrogen fertilizers commonly used by farmers and release of refrigerant cfcs in factories increases nitrogen oxide and chlorofluorohydrocarbons gases respectively to the atmosphere (Hardoy et al, 2001). Over the years this gas has accumulated in the atmosphere bring adverse effect ranging from acid rains, climate change and depletion of the layer (Burroughs, 2001). Ozone layer is made up of ozone o3 molecules which three atoms of oxygen. It is located in the stratosphere portion of the atmosphere and it shields the harmful UV rays from the sun to reach the earth. Ozone layer depletion is the major cause of global warming and its effect such as Elevated temperature and weather extremes. Melting of ice as witnessed in the Polar Regions and flooding of major cities are clear indications of temperature elevations (Crowley, 2000). As human being competes to exhaust the precious resources around them they leave behind a serious environmental trauma which pauses danger not only to themselves but also to other living things (Hardoy et al, 2001). The environmental problems of the world today are much greater compared to last century when the damage was smaller. It is predicted that the situation will not reverse in near soon since the population is expanding and also the fact that human being have continued to stress for development without conservation of the environment (Broecker, 1995) In 2007 the panel consisting of the world leading scientist charged with the task of reviewing summarizing and validating the latest research concluded that the warming of the climate is clear. The panel attributed ninety percent of warming in the 50 s to green houses which are human creation. Other scientific reports have documented the specific impacts of warming including the melting down of the artic ice cap, shifting of the wildlife habitat, increased heat waves and wild fires. The United States of America is the global leading emitter of overall warming pollution. The emission is mainly through green houses and also burning of fossils. Their however not spared by the effects of the climate change as they experience glaciers, flooding of cities and intense storms in their backyard (Broecker, 1995) The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze climate change as one of the environmental issues and discuss the policy that united states have adopted in dealing with the issue. I wish to take the proactive side that indeed the climate change is being managed in the correct way in reducing its effects in the present and in the future. Important steps are being taken by various stakeholders in United States to contain the effects of climate change. In order to achieve reduction in large scale emissions as a necessary step to address climate change, there is need to adopt effective policies that stresses on shifting in the way the world uses and produces energy. Policy makers are treating the issue of climate change as an urgent one and are deploying currently available resources to reduce global warming pollution at all cost (Comiso, 2002) United States is now leading the way after years of inaction. The country now recognizes the need for effective environmental program for management of climate change which is perceived is a threat to environment and human beings in general. The climate policy which United States adopted is called cap-trade program. The plan requires the natural gas producers to purchase allowances for emissions from downstream gas consumers with less likelihood that the cost will be passed to consumers. Cap and trade program was designed in united states and also tested and proven by the Americans as a program within the clean air amendment of 1990. Its success as shown in the appendix 1, led to be crowned the green success story by the economist magazine. The program which is a market based approach utilizes the market forces to achieve environmental protection which are cost effective by giving business both direct and flexible incentive to find innovative way of pollution reduction. The policy has been implemented successively in several states Groups of states especially in the east and west coast are coming together to set up market place for electric facilities to buy and sell credits to release carbon dioxide among other gases which lead to global warming (NYT, 2002). In Chicago an emission trading allowance program have been launched which uses electricity utility in more than nine north eastern states. Western states on their side have teamed up with Canadian provinces to unveil yet another ambitious trading system which encompasses both industries and utilities . the plan aim at reducing greenhouse emissions by 15% within 12 years. Also a program to have a carbon trading market aiming to be running by 2010 is underway in Wisconsin, Illinois and other Midwestern states. I am optimistic that this program will go along way in reducing the emissions blamed for global warming and they will do so efficiently and less cheaply than regulatory program. New York merchantile first auction of emission allowance opened a new beginning in America response to change in climate, although reducing carbon dioxide is predicted to increase electric rates the cost will be lesser as compared to convectional regulation . to ensure protection of consumers. The program uses the cap and trade approach to realize proceeds that can be used to promote energy efficiency and conservation saving money for household (Houghton, 2004) Emission dealings began in 1990 and focused on reducing sulfur dioxide which causes the acid rain. The cap and trade program is preferred than the regulatory program since it is effective in cutting emissions quickly. In fact with the both McCain and Obama supporting the cap and trade program there is high likelihood of national trading program which will cover the whole country (Houghton, 2004). The problem related to this policy is that it will lead to fewer natural gas wells which may result to shortfall in production and over all reduction in supplies. High demand and low supply entails that prices will go high in order to meet the new climate goals. An eventual increase in consumer spending is likely and the price will also drive gas dependent industries abroad resulting to job losses (Hardoy, 2001) Conclusion The great scholars seem to agree that the world climate is changing and the earth is warmer than it was a century ago. Scientist attributes the global warming to human activities such as fossil burning and deforestation. An immediate step is required in the establishment of compulsory emission limits joined with a market based system that provide for a reduction in emission which is cost effective. Nevertheless to address the issue of climate change cannot succeed without involvement of united sates. The starting point is a program that will enable United States to substantially and permanently reduce their emission since they are the largest emitters of global warming pollution.There is need for quick enactment of energy policies which include more stern fuel efficiency regulations. Reference Broecker, W. C. (1995). The Glacial earth According to Wally. Eldigo Press, Columbia University, Palisades, New York Crowley, T. J. (2000). Origin of climate change over the past. UK: Cambridge University Press, Comiso, J. C. (2002). A rapidly declining permanent sea ice cover in the Arctic. London: Routledge press. New York Times (NYT) (2002, November 9). â€Å"Waters and dying lobsters and warming waters†. Times, 143, pp. 30-32 McIntosh & Roderick (2006). Atmosphere, History, and Human Action. New York: Columbia University Press, Burroughs, W. J. (2001, November 9). â€Å"Climate change† The Journal for Comparative Change, New York Times, Vol. 36-118-134. Hardoy et al, (2001). Global warming: multidisciplinary climatic approach. London: Arnold press. Houghton, J. T. (2004, May 22). Global warming: the Complete Briefing, 89-456-458 U. K: Cambridge University Press.

'Overseas discoveries could be used to suggest fundamental questions Essay

'Overseas discoveries could be used to suggest fundamental questions about the values and standards of a civilisation' (H. E - Essay Example It will be argued that both writers represent a challenge to the burgeoning rise of cultural imperialism that was a force in their historical era. The historical context or background of Shakespeare's age and Montaignes, is important. Shakespeare and Montaigne both lived in an age when exploration and colonial expansion was in its early phase. At the forefront of the European expansion into the 'new world', was the early sixteenth century exploration and colonization of the West Indies, South and Central America1. What is important to note, is that colonization or colonialism brought with it an imperial set of attitudes and beliefs. The people of the new world were largely viewed as uncivilized, and the state of nature that they were living in was viewed as inferior to the European invaders. It is these attitudes, for example, that facilitated the enslavement of people. Likewise, what soon followed with colonial expansion, were missionaries or the missionary movement of the Catholic Church in Europe. Both slavery and the sentiment of missionaries, are premised on assumptions that the inferiority of a people legitimated their exploitation. That is, the missionaries goal was to civilize the people and take them away from what was perceived as barbaric practices. It is interesting to note that it took centuries before Europe was able to let go of its basically 'patriarchal' views of people in the under developed world2. Expansion and colonization, was an important source of fascination for Europeans in the time of Montaigne and Shakespeare3. While Europe had a geographical and therefore, cultural connection with South and East Asia, the 'new world' or the the Americas held a great deal of interest. Montaignes sources for his writing, were some of the written accounts of explorers who had encountered cultures in South America, and one of the elements that is significant, is the connection with nature4. Montaigne writes of the people of the new world, in a way that can be described as paternalistic or patronizing, but also reverent in that he sees them as living in harmony with nature: â€Å"and they are, moreover, happy in this, that they only covet so much as their natural necessities require†5. In Montaigne, there is the sentiment expressed as what later became known as the theory of the â€Å"noble savage†6. That is, the perspective that civilization is essentially a corrupting force, and that people who live closer to a state of nature are more noble. Individuals who live in a state of nature, are living in a sustainable relationship with their environment. They consume only what they need, and are not reaching beyond the basic needs. In Montaignes world, there would very obviously been a contrast of lifestyles insofar as he would be immediately familiar with the folly of consumption. Likewise, the wealth and behavior's of Prospero and his noble visitors are presented as a stark contrast to the state of nature that the chara cter of Caliban lives in as we shall see from the Tempest. It might be argued that Shakespeare's Tempest represents a very early form of a critique of colonialism. Central to this perspective, is the figure of Caliban. The background to the story is that a nobleman from Italy or Milan, named Prospero and his daughter Miranda are exiled on a faraway island. The only inhabitant on the island who Prospero and Miranda have contact with is a figure named Caliban. The name Caliban is believed to be

Journal Assignment for documents and videos Essay

Journal Assignment for documents and videos - Essay Example At one vantage point, books are typical form of secondary source. Mostly scholars use primary sources material to make secondary sources for example letters and diaries to write books. It is also easy to determine whether a book functions as a primary source in case of published memoirs, autobiographies, and published documents. Also use of video in class, where the students to can see clearly charts, tables or concept maps are the most significant areas where students can find key ideas and relationship among ideas. In museum graphics organizer are there so that students can answer most historical questions, write connections, and relate to particular observation to larger concepts. Videos also help students to compare and contrast, a strategy that help analyze similarities and differences, this can be applied to in museum exhibitions and resources too. Forms film give the students a tangible feel of what people felt and how things were happening that time. Those videos show clarity to what may seem random happening. Examples of primary source include constitution, pamphlet, treaty, a law, and city council proceedings in political history. In cultural history, we have Novel, dance, music oral traditions, key religious work, and training manual for new converts, visual art, costume, and religious tract. Also in social history, we have Lyrics such as protest songs, laws, college catalogues for curriculum and types of students, letters, biographies, and news reports. According to economic history, primary sources are tax filing, will, and foreclosure records, patent applications Business ledger and contract placards. In military history it includes, map, soldier diary, weaponry, uniform and strategic and tactical plans. Court transcript, judicial ruling, parole officer report, police report in legal history and A law, constitution, pamphlet, treaty, city council proceedings finally in political science. Handling of selected primary documents. Identifying primary sources and using them requires a careful thought and some extra knowledge. Primary sources increase questions, may be among them: primary source is what? What is the level of history in these primary sources among others? They stand for range of concerns from vital studying skills to the nature and historical knowledge. There basic questions we must know their answers so that we can identify source of primary data: 1. Is the source is self-published? 2. What is the level of history does the source belong? 3. Is the source independent? 4. Where did the document originate? 5. The limitations present in the document. 6. Why is the document there? 7. How reliable the document is? All above will determine how we handle our primary document, which are useful in working definitions about historical sources and practical tips for reading primary documents. The theory of primary, secondary, and tertiary sources came from academic discipline of historiography. It gave historians away to indi cate how related was the piece of information to real events . It is vital that the concept is with actions of events but not ideas or theoretical aspects. A primary source has about same time of event, despite the source of contents. Therefore, when a dictionary is a tertiary source, an ancient one is the primary source because it has the meaning of words in ancient world. There is no quaternary source; the sources may be primary, secondar

Antigone Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Antigone - Essay Example The repeated pleas of Antigone’s sister Ismene, the collective opinion of the people of Thebes was disregarded and severely neglected when he passed his decision of not allowing Polynices a respectable burial. Moreover the harsher decision of sentencing Antigone to death because she vehemently protested the dishonourable events that Polynices was made to undergo in not allowing a proper burial, was another nail in the coffin for Creon. Through the voice of Sophocles the need for showing mercy, giving benediction and forgiving was impressed upon the minds of the audiences, the people of Athens. Through the series of misfortunes on Creon and the unusual turn of events that brought him from the royal throne of Thebes to the grave of sorrow and great anguish was a clear portrayal of God’s will holding sway over man’s mortal wish. The play Antigone, serves as a guide for a solution to the eternal questions of the individual versus the community or, God’s rule versus man’s rule through the foreboding of Sophocles, the forewarning of Tiresias and the various events where mercy and forgiveness was asked for. These were clear signs of Nature’s law, God’s will and the community’s prosperity being sacrificed for the safeguarding of one man’s monarchic ways. Every time that a greater good was sacrificed for a man’s stubborn decision, Sophocles was heard lamenting the grave decision. According to Tiresias’ reasoning there are certain acts which should not be done because they are against the meaning and nature of God’s creation. As for example the burial for Antigone underneath the earth alive was a direct defiance of a creature’s purpose, it was merciless and atrocious. Tiresias warned Creon of not burying Antigone alive as it was improper of letting a body perish underneath the earth alive. In this play the tussle or indecision of Creon causes him the loss of his wife, son and

Future considerations of nurse staffing shortage (is a huge problem Research Paper

Future considerations of nurse staffing shortage (is a huge problem that impacts quality and safety everywhere and is only going tmuch worse with an aging nursing staff and retirements.) - Research Paper Example Shortages in working staff also impacts on the nurses themselves as they become dissatisfied, stressed, and overwhelmed. Recent research shows that High patient to nurse ratio lead to job burnout and frustration and this in turn leads to higher turnover. An inadequate nurse staff force plays a negative role in the patient outcomes. The Agency for healthcare Research and Quality in 2007 conducted a met- analysis which found that shortage of registered nurses together with an increased work load poses potential threat to the quality of health care (Papas, 2008). To ensure and facilitate future improvements in nurse staffing, healthcare organizations must focus on maintenance, recruitment and retention. A case study by the Nogueras, recommended that policies need to be developed to ensure an increase in recruitment and retention of young persons into the nursing profession (Coshow, Davis & Wolosin, 2009). The nursing career and profession should be recognized as a faculty that poses high levels of pertinent technical and scientific knowledge as well as personable aspect. This will be more appealing to a more diverse applicant pool. It is also imperative for the nurse leaders to develop and sustain a working environment where the employees connect with their organization. This should be done with a focus on recruitment as well as retention of the employees. Researchers also suggest that health care organizations should focus on aspects that yield more satisfaction to the older nurses such as benefits and pay. This will aid in achieving job sa tisfaction and retaining the experienced veteran nurses (Zurmehly, 2008). It is the responsibility of the health department and the various health organisations to come up with strategies that will ensure there is sufficient replacement of the aging and retiring number of nurses. First there should be partnerships between

Perspective on Marriage Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Perspective on Marriage - Term Paper Example Celibacy discrimination on the other hand seems to have no significance to me. Callahan (chapter 13) implies that greed and sexual desire often tend to distort the human mind. This is a significant and valid point since the urge for sexual satisfaction often produces self-deception that blind or affect the mind. For example, the Catholic Church has continuously been plagued by cases of sexual abuse. The need for sexual gratification is the major reason for these crimes. When under sexual arousal, people mostly do not think in a straight manner hence they often commit actions which are against the church teachings. The catholic priests molest their young children since they need to be satisfied sexually. Therefore, the desire for sexual satisfaction leads to various forms of abuses such as rape, sexual harassment prostitution and transmission of diseases. Equality in marriage is a necessity for any successful marriage. The church advocates for equality in marriage. This progressive Christian sexual tradition is unappreciated since people are used to equality between sexes, autonomy and free consent. However, the tradition is appreciated in societies where the female population is oppressed and controlled. As such, equality in marriage is a significant and valid point put across by the author. The church prefers celibacy to marriage. This point is retrogressive and backward since it describes celibacy as the best and maybe only way to achieve or attain holiness. The notion is as a result of the prejudices put forward against the female body. The concept as such demeans women and depicts them to be unholy and dirty. To begin with, people often confuse the notion of love with committed love. They tend to think that a one is mainly attached with the other. However, this is not the case. On the other hand, there is a clear difference between love and committed love. As a sentiment, love is generally

SSOrganizational Setting Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

SSOrganizational Setting - Coursework Example The expansion strategy saw the company introduce slightly above 45 manufacturing plants in the United States spread across 26 states. The manufacturing centers include the world’s largest food center that is located in Frankfort Indiana. â€Å"Currently, Frito-Lay has over 1800 distribution facilities and employs over 20,000 employees in addition to selling products in approximately 350,000 retail centers in the United States alone†(Wicklound & Alvers, 2001). In addition to this, Frito-Lay is also considered as one of the leading advertisers in the United States, a situation that has further strengthened the company’s market share as a leading marketer and snack manufacturer. As stated by Lucas and Baroudi, (2004) Frito-Lay has been in operation since the early 1950s where the company’s growth is attributed to the aggressive marketing strategy that Frito-Lay employs. In addition to this, Frito-Lay is involved in the advertising business that implies that the company spends less on marketing. The excess funds that could alternatively have been used in marketing are therefore channeled towards an expansion strategy that has seen Frito-Lay’s sales volumes increase drastically over the years. Over the years, Frito-Lay has introduced into the snack market various products that range from potato chips to various types of cheese dips. The introduction of cheese dips was necessitated by the increased popularity of Mexican food which began to rise steadily in the early 1960s. Today, it is estimated that a significant percentage of Frito-Lay’s dips are linked to vegetables, a situation that food and business experts attribute to low competition in this area. In addition to this, several researchers in food and nutrition have established that sour-based cream dips are increasingly becoming popular in the United States where Frito-Lay controls a significant market

Greenhouse Effects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Greenhouse Effects - Essay Example However, an imbalance leads to varying degrees of abnormality leading to a change in climate. When solar rays hit a dark surface, heat is absorbed while the polar ice caps tend to reflect heat off. Every part of the earth absorbs and reflects heat differently resulting in differential heating and cooling of the earth. Elevated level of any the above mentioned green house gases can disrupt the balance which leads to increased temperature of the earth resulting in ‘Global Warming’ (UCAR, n.d.). What are Green House Gases? Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (MH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), cholofluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride (SH6) are collectively called as GHGs because they trap the solar radiation within the earth’s surface (Ramseur et al, 2008) What is the present level of atmospheric carbon dioxide? Why has Carbon dioxide increased since 1860? The level of carbon dioxide is increasing at an accelerating pace with each passing decade. The safety limit of atmospheric Carbon dioxide is 350 ppm (parts per million). However, since 1988, the level of CO2 has continued to rise. The current level of CO2 in the atmosphere is 396.78 ppm (CO2NOW, 2012). The International Energy Agency (IEA) reveals in its report that CO2 emission from fossil fuels hit 31.6 Gigatonnes (Gt) in 2011, just 1Gt below the threshold limit as predicted by researchers (Woodwell et al 1984). According to the energy Information Administration, there has been an increase of 25% of GHG emission since industrialization. What are some predicted environmental damages if carbon dioxide emissions are not reduced? The predicted environmental damages include rise in sea level. This may further lead to degradation of mangroves leading to environmental damages caused by cyclonic storms. Mangroves act as a barrier to wave off cyclonic effects into mainland. Depletion of the Ozone layer is yet another serious threat. Depleting layer of ozone leads to the penetration of ultr a-violet rays of the sun to reach the earth’s surface causing damage of soil properties, bio-degradation and causing skin cancer. Mitigating the effects of climate change can be accomplished by providing possible incentives and through CSR programs aimed at controlling the carbon footprint. Various Multinationals and powerful business houses are motivated to control this aggravating problem and thus taking steps to mitigate carbon emissions. Technological progress has ensured research in this particular field leading to a better understanding of the current scenario. Various software tools have been developed to mark the carbon footprint so that the carbon emission could be reduced by participatory management system. All these technological progress have been possible because complete data have been formulated into respective models of development (Green House Gas Emissions, 2012; Smith, Schellnhuber, & Qader Mirza, n.d.) In your analysis, how certain do we need to be about f uture predictions before acting on this problem? There is enough discourse on reliability of models related to climate change, since climate is a dynamic system. Climate change models are mathematical codes that are run on powerful computers after a series of observations. The confidence in predicted

Corporate Social Responsibility (Gallaher Group PLC ) Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility (Gallaher Group PLC ) - Essay Example One year on, we are commencing an annual process of reporting. This report examines our activities during 2004 and highlights the steps we intend to take in the future. We also provide an update on how we are performing against targets set last year; how we are establishing new performance indicators, and explaining further what we are doing, as we strive for continual improvement in corporate responsibility. Tobacco, by its very nature, is a controversial business sector, and it is important that we continue to listen to the opinions of others and communicate with clarity. One of the areas that we recognise is of key importance is communication and engagement with all of those who interact with our business. Feedback on our approach to corporate responsibility confirms that this is an area where we should continue to focus attention and, in recognition of this, dialogue is a key theme throughout this report. I hope that you will find this report informative. We believe that good corporate responsibility is the hallmark of a successful organisation, and we very much welcome your views, (yourviews@gallaherltd.com)". (http://www.gallaher-group.com/corporate/crr.asp) What sector does the company appear under GALLAHER GROUP PLC' main purpose is to increase it cash inflow from its big clients (Tobacco sector) in the countries like Austria, Republic of Ireland, Sweden and the UK and capitalize its operations in international growth strategy (Thompson, 1999) through export opportunities such as investing money in acquiring other companies and also entering into joint ventures and business tie ups with businesses all over Europe, the CIS, Africa and the emerging Asian economic region. In the UK, Gallaher Group PLC wants to increase its market shares(Irwin, 2000) in the growing value cigarette sector within the United Kingdom by continuing increasing its leading positions in the premium cigarette and cigar market segment. Gallaher Group PLC also aims to attain its goal of equalizing its sales figure with its profit percentages gained on these volume sales.Gallaher Group PLC also plains to vigorously maintain its top market positions in Austria and the Republic of Ireland by continuing its management strategy of equalizing its sales volume with profit percentages. Gallaher will implement its plans to enter into uncharted territories especially in Central and Eastern Europe. Gallaher Group PLC is presently aiming to increase geometrically its regional market portion(Chisolm, 1981) in the Commonwealth of the Independent States while it is doubling its efforts to increase the proportion of its brands(Goldman, 1997) marketed in the higher priced and intermediate markets in this region. Gallaher Group PLC plans to also increase its market positions(Slavin, 1989) in Poland, the Baltics, Africa and the Asia Pacific region. Alongside with this plan, Gallaher Group PLC is currently fighting to maintain it present market share in Sweden's cigarette market by also implementing it company policy of balancing its volume sales and profit ratios. ( Aug, 2006) What macro

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Essay Example for Free

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Essay For my book report I read the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. This book was published by Haughton Mifflin in 2005.  The novel takes place mostly in New York City, shortly after terrorists destroy the Twin Towers in 2001. However, the time switches from the narrators present to the late 1940s when his grandparents are newlyweds and even farther back to when they are teenagers in Germany. In the present time, Oskar lives in an apartment building. Across the street, in another building, is his grandmother. The two of them sometimes communicate with one another through signs in their windows and walkie-talkies. The main protagonist of the novel is a 9 year old boy named Oskar Schell. Oskar’s father, Thomas Schell, dies in the attack on the world trade center in 2001. While looking through his fathers closet, Oskar finds a key inside a vase, along with a slip of paper reading Black. Curious, Oskar sets off on a mission to contact every person in New York City with the last name Black, in alphabetical order, in order to find the lock to the key his father left behind. The novel also tells a separate narrative that eventually converges with the main story through a series of letters written by Oskar’s grandfather to Oskar’s father and by Oskar’s grandmother to Oskar himself. After almost a year of searching, Oskar is about to give up. After Oskar got vital news from one of the first blacks he met he goes and meets with a peculiar man named William Black. Oskar then gives William Black two keys, the one to the William’s father’s safe-deposit box and one for Oskar’s apartment. Oskar returns home and decides to dig up his father’s grave. He is joined in his mission by the renter, and after opening the empty coffin Oskar decides to fill it, but he is unable to decide what with. The renter suggests the letters that he wrote but was never able to send to his son, and they fill the coffin and re-bury it. Upon coming home, Oskar flips through a succession of photographs depicting a man’s fall from the World Trade Center. The main character of the story, Oskar Schell, a self-proclaimed inventor, is the nine-year-old protagonist. His thoughts have a tendency to trail off into several far-flung ideas, such as ambulances that alert passerby to the severity of their passengers’ conditions and plantlike skyscrapers, and he has several assorted hobbies and collections. He is very trusting of strangers and makes friends easily,  though he does not have many friends his own age. Oskar’s grandfather, Thomas Schell Sr. (also referred to as â€Å"the renter†) is an important character in the story, even though he does not physically meet Oskar until the book’s end. After the death of his first love, Anna, Oskar’s grandfather loses his voice completely and consequently tattoos the words â€Å"yes† and â€Å"no† on his hands. He carries around a â€Å"daybook† where he writes phrases he cannot speak aloud. Major themes of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close include trauma, mourning, family, and the struggle between self-destruction and self-preservation. One literary journal provides an in-depth analysis of the specific types of trauma and recuperative measures that Oskar’s grandmother and Oskar’s grandfather go though after the Dresden fire bombings, and that Oskar goes through after the lo ss of his father. The journal states that Oskar has a simultaneous death wish and extreme need for self-preservation: this theme is echoed in Thomas Schell Sr.’s pronounced survivor guilt and Oskar’s grandmother’s well-disguised inability to cope with her trauma. It also states that though Oskar’s journey to â€Å"find† his father does not help him get over his traumatic experience, it does allow him to grow closer to his mother. In my opinion the book was a well written story and honestly made me look at my life and made me realize that it’s not as bad as I thought it was. I think that Oskar’s grandfather should have told him who he was. Even if I don’t read this book again I would definitely recommend this book to others.

The IFAC code of ethics for profession accountants

The IFAC code of ethics for profession accountants Introduction Nowadays, independence is major issues to attain highest level of performances to meet the public interest requirement. (Messier et al, 2006) Therefore, International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has its mission to provide consistently high quality of service in the public interest by continues establish and strengthen the worldwide economic development and enhancement the accountancy profession with harmonized standards. (ICEAW ¹, 2005)[Online].An IFAC Ethics Committee which also known as The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) has been established by IFAC Board to develop the issues of the mission and therefore published the Code of Ethics for professional accountants to emphasize the independences and principle-based approach to its professional ethics. (IFAC ¹, 2010)[Online] The Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (The Code) is guidance for professional accountants identify, evaluate and respond to threats in providing independent audit and assurance service. Independence in assurances services are always being discussed in the Code in terms of a principles-based approach which takes into account threats to independence, accepted safeguards and the public interest.(Rick Hayes et al,2005) It is very important since they implicitly set limit for unethical behaviour and provide guidance in auditing.( Gary Pflugrath,2007) IFAC code always focuses on the issues of independent. Auditing is virtually worthless without independent as it is referred as cornerstone of auditing. An auditors should unbiased, and unaffected by conflict of interest in their viewpoint to provide a true and fair view of the entitys audit report. (Brenda Porter, 2008) It is important to independent to avoid possible threats and access to confidential and sensitive information when carry out their work with professional and due care. Public always rely on the auditors knowledge, skills and expertise in order to form an independent opinion when providing assurance engagement. (ACCA ¹, no date)[Online] Main Report 2.1 The role of IFACs code of ethics is strengthening the independent of external auditors to provide reasonable assurance service. With comply with fundamental principles and the conceptual of framework, the Code can provides information that is more confidential and reliable in public practise while maintaining professional competence and independence. (Graham W.Cosserat, 2009) .These fundamental principles fulfil their obligation for public interest and achieve objective of accounting profession. The conceptual framework of professional conduct and ethics also provided to identify evaluate and respond to threats with compliance with the fundamental principles are not compromised. (ICAEW ¹, 2005)[Online]. The Code also prohibiting members from incompatible activities like allowing commission or brokerage that soliciting clients or encroaching upon other members work. (Emmanouil Dedoulis, 2006) For positive aspect, the code of ethics provides high quality standards and strong professional accounting to serve public interest in a transparent, efficient, and effective manner. Independence plays a vital role for truthfulness and confidentiality financial reporting to investor to serve public interest. (IFAC ², 2004) [Online]. As the public interest continually increase in demand, the revised Code of Ethics has been issued and maintain in principles-based approach to strengthen independent requirement. The revised code is regarding the ethical responsibilities of the auditors who encounter illegal acts and fraud by developing additional guidance. Newer safeguard also has been applied into the revised safeguard to provide guidance for more quality framework from professional accountants. (IFAC ³, 2008)[Online] The revised code is addressing relationships and previous and current interest which related to new entity that may affect independence. Relationship and interest may create significant threats that objectivity could be compromised. (IFACà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ´, 2009)[Online] Apart from that, Mr. George has point out that the Code also helps in facilitate the global harmonisations. (IFACà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ µ, 2010)[Online].Global harmonisation is important because it is to reduce complexity and provides decisive strategic for future global capitals market. It provides greater confidence and sensitive in reliable and transparent information for individual companies. Therefore, it needs high quality accounting framework to develop the truly global set of the standards.(PWC,2007)[Online] Independence helps to provide high quality work which are meeting the information needs for capital market to allow the market operate efficiency, smoothly and effectively. This has improves the ability for investor and stakeholders to global basis to achieves substantial benefits from capitals market and lowers their risk and error of judgement. (ACCA ², 2006) [Online] On the other hand, the revised code of ethics has its negative side. It takes times to adopt the revised Code of ethics as all the professional accountants needs to absorb new information, knowledge, technical and skills in order to strengthen up the requirement of independent. It is also need to incur extra costs to provide training and preparation to adopt the newer information and requirement. Besides that, it needs to have extra communication for clearly understood all the requirement involving in revised Code of Ethics to minimise uncertainty and confusion. (ACCA ², 2006) [Online] The practice of professional accounting may create loopholes activities which may discredit the profession. Independent of profession accountants will hard to resolve this situation because the code is difficult enforcing by legally. (ACCA P1, 2008) [Online] Because the IFAC is not in a legislative position, the Code of Ethics contains no formal sanctions. (Hansrudi Lenz, 2008). Therefore, the auditors can choose to accept and comply with such a code without coercion. In such situation, the Code will fail to comply because they appear out-of-touch on ethics as they are unwilling or too busy to take the responsibility. (ACCA P1, 2008) Other than that, the code of ethics consists moral norm in provides guidance to strengthen up independence. Unfortunately, it has been fundamentally questioned about the moral base of the profession. It is neither a pure-lip-service nor a strict self-binding agreement in the sense of the Code of ethics. The independence may fail to maintain via the Code as there are self-binding that create opportunity to transgress a moral norm since independence of mind are difficult to observe. (Hansrudi Lenz, 2008)There is empirical evidence that shows moral norm are useless if the human natural are neither truly altruistic nor truly egoistic of the human behaviour. A selfish person will leave no rooms for moral obligations and maximise self-interest in decisions making which creates the ethical conflict of interest. (Sara Ann Reiter, 2000) 2.2 The IFAC code of ethics for profession accountants is essentially to maintain the principles-based approach in applying the fundamental ethics principles and conceptual framework. The IESBA have highlighted the principles-based approach as vital roles in auditing which gives guidance to resolving conflicts of interest. (ACCA P7, 2007). IFAC are more preferable to principles-based approach rather than rules-based approach as rules-based approach professional conduct and ethics cannot provide for all circumstances. There may result in inappropriate or inadequate safeguards for fundamental principles of ethics when the rules-based approach lead to unquestioning compliance to rules. (Philomena Leung, 2009) In positive aspect, the IFAC code with accordance with principles-based approach provides numerous set of specific rules for each ethical situation that had been identified. There are varied in the nature of engagement and work environment to professional accountants. (Messier, 2006)Therefore, the code with principles-based approach provides suitable guidance for every possible identified situation that involves ethical consideration with compliance with the fundamental principles that are not compromised. It is therefore the principles-based approach is acts as a driver to provide high quality work of audit. (IFACà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ¶, 2004) [Online] According to IFAC, external auditors independences are more preferable to principles-based approach because it creates the robust structures and applied to varied and diverse circumstances faced by professional accountants as it is continues to applicable in the rapid change of environment. (IFACà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ µ, 2010) [Online] As it is applicable to global environment, it helps professional accountants to avoid technical evasion of detailed rules. The Code is more robust and capable of more consistent application as the IFAC code clarifies the absolute restrictions or prohibition. (IFACà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ·, 2009) [Online] The principles-based of the Code are potentially very flexible because it provides flexible framework for multi-culture, multi-lingual, and multi-jurisdictional environment. (IFACà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ¶, 2004) [Online] This approach also provides best suited to the rapid change in business environment which allows multitude circumstances that may arise in practise. As such, the standards of the Code can be responsive to the changing needs of the public interest and serves better for the requirement and interests for both user and financial markets. (Intosai, no date) [Online] Conversely, principles-based approach in the Code of ethics may have potential drawbacks. Although the Code provides basic principles to guidance, it is however that a lack of precise guidelines may create inconsistencies. (IVSC, 2007) [Online] As there are many similar circumstances to follows, the illustrative examples can be mistakenly interpreted.(ACCA P1,2008) The professional accountants may covey the false impression in descriptions of situation where it may be misguide the work in practise. Hence, they may not establish any basic principles or essential procedures to be followed in audit review, other assurance and related services engagement. (IFACà ¢Ã‚ Ã‚ ¸, 2009) [Online] The Code with principles-based approach does not and cannot capture all ethical circumstances and dilemma unless the professional accountants have very good and clear understanding in the underlying principles. (ACCA P1, 2008) Ethical dilemma can be inevitably occurring when the code cannot be honoured without apparent breach of another. (FIG, 2007) [Online] As there are argue in the regional variations in cultural, social and ethical norms, the IFAC code cannot capture important differences in emphasis in some part of the world. In additional, the Code of ethics is not technically enforceable in any legal manner although there are sanctions exists in breach of the code in some jurisdiction. Therefore, the voluntary and perhaps for the ethical code is less effective. (ACCA ³, no date) [Online] Principles-based approaches are required auditors to exercise or apply judgement because specific audit may apply laws and regulations that impact on the audit objectives. However, it is depends in the ethical conduct of the auditors. (Gary Pflugrath, 2007) Fairness expression are necessary require in the audit opinion which limits of the consistent application. Auditor may not to be able to express unqualified opinion and judgement if there are uncertainties affecting in the financial statement. Materiality by nature or by context may found in consideration. (Intosai ², no date) [Online] 2.3 Other recommendations Apart from Code of ethics, there is support evidence that shows positive relationship between audit committees and auditors independence which means that audit committee can enhance auditors independence. (Nur Barizah Abu Bakar, 2005) Audit Committee is a committee of independent non-executive directors that provide independent point of reference to auditors with view of a companys affairs other than executive directors. By providing additional channel of communication, the audit committee are strengthening the independence of external auditors. (United Nations, 2006) [Online] The audit committee might provide an impartial body for auditors to consult conflict of interest. Audit committee will also lead to increasing public confidence in the credibility and objectivity of financial report. (ACCA P7, 2009) Besides that, audit effectiveness and independently can be raised through audit quality control process. The international Standard on Quality Control (ISQC) further enhancing confidence in independent audit by encourage stakeholders work together with open and constructive dialogue in order to contribute the work of government and regulators by generating practical ideas. (ICEAW ², 2006) [Online]. ISQC also provides guidance for auditor to acquire required capabilities and competences by impose quality control in perform audit and reviews financial statement and other assurance and services engagement. The ISQC require all professional accountants perform all professional responsibilities with integrity and maintain objectivity which gain the publics confidence in the credibility of their work. (Brenda Porter, 2008) In additionally, IFAC also issued the Continuing Professional Education programme (CPE) to enhancing the professional technical skills and competences which help to develop independent of professional accountants. CPE provides high level of training to helps it members acquire the knowledge they need to face the contemporary rigors and challenges of the professional. (MIA, 2007).CPE provides rapid development in legislation, accounting standards and guidelines, technology development and increase public expectations of the services to maintain professional competence and ensure due care at all times. (MIA, 2005) [Online] By developing the higher professional standards and fostering greater sharing information between member and expert of the industry, it geared enhancing the quality of the profession. (MIA, 2007) Conclusion IFAC code of ethics plays an important element for professional accountants to serve public interest. The Code has emphasize the important for external auditors to be independent in provide reasonable assurance engagement. With guidance by the Code, the professional accountants can provide high-quality standards works with access of truthfulness and confidentiality financial reporting. From positive view, the independence can be strengthen up by the code of ethics with comply with the fundamental principles and conceptual of framework which allow professional accounting achieve their objective of accounting profession and maintain competences in practices. Besides that, the code of ethics had been revised in order to strengthen independences requirement. The code also helps in facilitate harmonisation. The code always based on principles-based approach to provide flexible for professional accountants. Principles-based approach in the Code also provides numerous set of guidance for every possible situation. Apart from that, the principles-based approach of IFAC code provides robust structure to many different circumstances. It is also suitable for business environment that rapid in changing to allows multitude circumstances. Whereas from negative view, the Code needs time consuming and cost incurred to absorb the new information, new technologies and knowledge and skills. The Code also creates loopholes from professional accountants which will possible discredit the profession. Independent cannot be strengthening because of pure-lip-service and self-binding agreement that transgress moral norm. The principles-based approach of IFAC Code has some deficiencies. The guidances examples may mistakenly interpret as it is lack of precise guidelines. IFAC Code also does not and cannot capture all ethical circumstances and dilemma. The principles-based approach also requires the professional accountants provides too many judgement which may brings to uncertainties of financial statement. Thus, besides the IFAC code of ethics, the professional accountants are advices to further develop other international standards or regulated body such as audit committee, ISQC and provide CPE to strengthen independent of auditors in providing assurance service.

India and UK Financial Insurance Industry Analysis

India and UK Financial Insurance Industry Analysis Chapter 1: Introduction The financial performance of insurance industry can be assessed by knowing either its strategies or by knowing its profitability. Knowledge of strategy will helps in examining internal and external position of a company. Comparative study of insurance sector is analysis of financial performance of any insurance company. This is directly linked with the earning potential and effectiveness of management strategies of a company. Choosing a wise insurance is very crucial because of, balance to the risks and returns. The reason for choosing Indian and UK insurance industry for the research is because of improved economical status of the country and increase in the value of insurance in the country during last several years. The UK Economy is the largest in Europe and is also ranked as the fifth worldwide as per the market exchange rates, in terms of GDP (Broadberry et al, 1992) were Indian economy is now improving and it is now booming growth in insurance companies were greatest effect of Indian economy during the last several years. This would need a grate deal of financial planning knowledge, as well as the knowledge about the current financial market thus it can compare the other to the insurance companies the analysis of different insurance companies from India and UK. Also insurance companies has to manage their investment in such a way that the principal amount should not erode, investor should get the assured returns those company has promised. This would involve a grate deal of knowledge about the portfolio management of the risk and return and comparative study of insurance industries. Comparative study of insurance is also a topic of hunger for many economists. Till date many researches has been carried out for comparative study of financial analysis in banking sector and very few research has been taken on insurance industry. The main purpose of the research is to find comparative study of insurance companies in India and UK. What characteristic will determine of insurance industry is the main thrust behind the research. Further research is carried out to know in depth relationship of various characteristics that will make up the of Indian and UK insurance industry. The main outline objectives of the research are as under; A Research Design is the framework or plan for a study which is used as a guide in collecting and analyzing the data collected. It is the blue print that is followed in completing the study. The basic objective of research cannot be attained without a proper research design. It specifies the methods and procedures for acquiring the information needed to conduct the research effectively. It is the overall operational pattern of the project that stipulates what information needs to be collected, from which sources and by what methods. Objectives of the research This research has been carried out to comparative study of insurance companies and analyzes financial performance between Indian and UK’s insurance companies. The main aims of the research are: To analyze financial performance of insurance companies in India and UK To evaluate factors that determine financial performance of insurance companies To carry out strategic financial analysis of insurance in India and UK The structure of the research paper is as follows: Chapter 2 reviews the literature on comparative study of insurance sector; Chapter 3 describes the subject matter of the research: the Indian and UK economy and insurance industries ; Chapter 4 outlines the methodology and data used in this study; Chapter 5 presents the analysis and Findings and Chapter 6 discusses the results obtained in the context of the underlying theory the findings of other empirical research; Chapter 7 concludes the research outlining the limitations of the current study and makes recommendations for further work. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Theory Insurance is, a contract in which one party agrees to compensate another party fir any losses or damages caused by risk identified in the contract in exchange for the payment of a lump sum or periodic amounts of money to the first party. In simple meaning facilitates recompense during crisis situations, insurance means promise of compensation for any potential future losses. Insurance is a form of risk management mainly used to hedge against the risk of a contingent loss. It is designed to protect the financial security of an individual, company or other entity in the case of unexpected loss. Insurance is defined as the realistic transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for a premium. It is a contract between two parties the insurer (the insurance company) and the insured (the person or unit seeking the cover) in which the insurer agrees to pay the insured for financial losses arising out of any unforeseen events in return for a regular payment of premium. These unforeseen events are defined as risk and that is why insurance is called a risk cover. Insurance may be described as a social device to decrease or eliminate risk of loss to life and property. Under the plan of insurance, a large number of people correlate themselves by sharing risks attached to individuals. The risks which can be insured against include fire, the perils of sea, death and accidents and burglary. Any risk contingent upon these, may be insured against at a premium commensurate with the risk involved. Thus collective bearing of risk is insurance. Analyzing insurance companies is very different from analyzing corporate and thus presents unique challenges and industry specific issues. The ability of any insurance company to meet its policy obligations is the foundation of the industry. Absent the trust of policyholders in the financial integrity of any insurer and the industry as a whole, this risk transfer mechanism/industry would collapse. This truth is even more acute in the ES industry where no guaranty funds exist, except New Jersey. However, rapid growth of Insurance sector during the situation liberalization period is seen as the most significant event in financial sector hist. in view of the fact that then, lot of changes take place in the sector as it was exposed to new challenges of competitive competition. For the first time, the private and foreign players were given entry and thus the sector saw a wonderful rate of growth in its business. A well-developed insurance sector is needed for economic development for a rising economy like India as it provides long-term funds for physical and social infrastructure progress at the same time make stronger the risk taking ability. The investment supplies for India in the upcoming years are well-known. Thus, Insurance sector, to some extent, can enable investments in infrastructure development to help maintain economic growth of the country. In this backdrop, we raise two questions: what is the contribution of insurance sector growth towards economic development and financial intermediation in India and United Kingdom. Our study does not stop here as we take a step further to examine the financial and economic growth effects of Insurance sector reforms and the rate of growth of reforms. The insurance companies offer a comprehensive range of insurance plans. The most common types include: term life policies, endowment policies, joint life policies, whole life policies, loan cover term assurance policies, unit-linked insurance plans, group insurance policies, pension plans, and annuities. General insurance plans are also available to cover motor insurance, home insurance, travel insurance and health insurance. Due to the growing demand for insurance, more and more insurance companies are now emerging insurance sector all over the world. With the opening up of the economy, several international leaders in the insurance sector are trying to venture into the insurance industry. The comparative study of insurance sector, Analysis of ratios are calculated from companys balance sheet and income statement and are used to evaluate the performance of the company in a particular reporting period. Analysis of ratios can be compared to the previous years in order to assess trends or between the comparable companies across the industry in classify to get the relative performance estimation. It is very important that every ratio should have a reference point the industry (sector) average or median. The ratio analysis works better if comparing ratios not with the complete set of companies within a particular industry, but with a preferred subset of companies that share certain features, produce the similar product, and have identical macroeconomic and governmental factors affecting them. For the study of companies, operating in several industries it can be helpful to run a cross-sectional analysis to identify a group of firms, involved in the same mix of industries. In some cases a comparison to the economy averages can be meaningful, especially in successful or constricting economies. Therefore, stable margins may be a good indicator during the recession, while the industry and economy averages are declined. It is also important to that usually conclusions can not be made from reviewing one set of ratios. That creates a necessity of a complex analysis of one set of ratios against another. The classification of the objective ratio for the comparison may require a substantial amount of work and a good judgment in order to evaluate a range of achievable and acceptable values. Although the understandable simplicity, such ratios have certain limitations that often make them most useful at identify questions to be answered rather than giving answers to them. There are multiple factors affecting and limiting comparative study of insurance sector, in particular the actual comparability of the firms and different accounting policies used by them are among the most important ones. The issue of comparability may become one the critical aspects to pay attention to while performing the analysis. Various macroeconomic or legislative factors may apply to the companies in the same industry but in different countries that sometimes makes a direct comparison inappropriate. Comparisons with other companies may become even more difficult because of different accounting policies, especially outside the US. Thus different accounting methods may result in significantly different ratio values that require normalization by the analyst. 2.2 Classification of insurance sector There are mainly two types of insurance life and non-life (general) Life insurance is concerned with making provision for specific event happening to the individual, such as death whereas General Insurance(non-life) is more commonly concerned with provision for a specific event affects properly, such as fire, flood , theft, burglary etc. The major difference between Life Insurance and General Insurance is the Principal of indemnity. Indemnity means â€Å"making good the loss† i.e. for tangible goods, one can make good for the loss that has been caused due to reasons like – theft, fire or natural disaster. Here basically we can value the exact monetary value of a commodity, but in case of life insurance the principal of indemnity does not work, since we can not value in any way the value of human life. 2.3 There are five main sectors: Life Insurance Home Insurance Auto Insurance Health Insurance Disability Insurance Section 2 (11) of Insurance Act 1938 defines Life Insurance Business as follows: â€Å"Life insurance Business is the business of effecting contracts of insurance upon human life, including any contract whereby the payment of money is assured on death or the happening of any contingency dependent on human life and any contract which is subject to the payment of premium for a term dependent on human life and shall be deemed to include.† (Mukherjee and Hanif, 2007) In simple term we define life insurance as a contract in which the insurer in consideration of certain premium, either in a lump sum or by other periodical payments, agrees to pay to the assured sum of money , on the happening of specific event contingent on the human life. 2.4 Benefits of insurance industries Life insurance has long been a staple in basic estate planning. Life insurance  can provide an income tax-free death benefit* far in excess of the premiums paid. However, much of the life insurance proceeds can be wasted if the ownership and beneficiary designations are not properly structured. Superior to Any Other Saving Plan Unlike any other savings plan, a life insurance policy affords full protection against risk of death. In the event of death of a policy holder the insurance company makes available the full sum assured to the policyholder’s near and dear ones. Encourages and Forces Thrift A saving deposit can easily be withdrawn. The payment of life insurance premiums, however, is considered sacrosanct and is viewed with the same seriousness as the payment of interest on a mortgage. Thus, a life insurance policy in effect brings about compulsory savings. Easy Settlement and Protection against Creditors A life insurance policy is the only financial instrument the proceeds of which can be protected against the claims of a creditor of the assured by effecting a valid assignment of the policy. Administering the Legacy for Beneficiaries Speculative or unwise expenses can quickly cause the proceeds to be squandered. Several policies have foreseen this possibility and provide for payments over a period of years or in a combination of installments and lump sum amounts. Ready Marketability and Suitability for Quick Borrowing A life insurance policy can, after a certain time period (generally three years) ,be surrendered for a cash value. The policy is also acceptable as a security for a commercial loan, for example, a student loan. It is particularly advisable for housing loans when an acceptable LIC policy may also cause the lending institution to give loan at lower interest rates. Disability Benefits Death is not only hazard that is insured; many policies also include disability benefits. Typically, these provide for waiver of future premiums and payments of monthly installments spread over certain time period. Accidental Death Benefits Many policies can also provide for an extra sum to be paid (typically equal to the sum assured) if death occurs as a result of accident. Tax Relief Under the Indian Income Tax Act, the following tax relief is available 20% of the premium paid can be deducted from your total income tax liability. 100% of the premium paid is deductible from your total taxable income. When these benefits are factored in, it is found that most policies offer returns that are comparable or even better than other saving modes such as PPF, NSC etc. Moreover, the cost of insurance is a very negligible. The issue of comparability may become one the critical aspects to pay attention to while performing the analysis. Various macroeconomic or legislative factors may apply to the companies in the same industry but in different countries that sometimes makes a direct comparison inappropriate. Comparisons with other companies may become even more difficult because of different accounting policies, especially outside the US. Thus different accounting methods may result in significantly different ratio values that require normalization by the analyst. Seasonality may also affect the ratios if the business is a subject to seasonal fluctuations in demand, thus year-end values may not be enough representatives and should also be normalized. Most of the ratios are preferred to be within the industry averages or economy norms. For example, all turnover ratios belong to this category. However, for some ratios the extreme deviations from the industry averages may mean that the company is highly attractive for the investors. This is usually true for all ratios dealing with income or cash flows. There are different insurance companies that offer wide range of insurance options and an insurance purchaser can select as per own convenience and preference. Several insurances provide comprehensive coverage with affordable premiums. Premiums are periodical payment and different insurers offer diverse premium options. Insurance companies may be classified into two groups: Life insurance companies (which sell life insurance, annuities and pensions products) and Non-life, General, or Property/Casualty insurance companies (which sell other types of insurance). Life insurance is concerned with making provision for specific event happening to the individual, such as death whereas General Insurance(non-life) is more commonly concerned with provision for a specific event affects properly, such as fire, flood , theft, burglary etc. The major difference between Life Insurance and General Insurance is the Principal of indemnity. Indemnity means â€Å"making good the loss† i.e. for tangible goods, one can make good for the loss that has been caused due to reasons like – theft , fire or natural disaster. Here basically we can value the exact monetary value of a commodity, but in case of life insurance the principal of indemnity does not work, since we can not value in any way the value of human life. 2.5 Introduction of insurance sector India In India, the concept of insurance was never a serious thought as compared to other countries. People still are under insured, life insurance premium to gross Domestic Product (GDP) ratio is a mere 1.4% as compared to a healthier rate of 8% amongst other developing with poor state of services provided. Presently in India, the insurance sector is nationalized, services are rendered by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and General Insurance Company (GIC) along with its 4 subsidiaries .While LIC provides life insurance, GIC is concerned with non life insurance. – Motor, marine, fire, health and personal accident insurance. LIC employs people in various departments – publicity, public relation department , development department, personal department , accounts department, legal department ,investment department , inspection department, mortgages department vigilance department, foreign department, corporate planning department, building department etc. Of late, parliament’s nod for the insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) bill has changed the whole scenario. With the passage of the bill, entry of Private Indian as well as foreign companies, a long with existing players, in the insurance sector will add variety and quality to the present insurance services. The other positive impact would be on creation of new employment opportunities. Till now employment in the insurance sector was considered akin to any government job, but now with private participation, it will assume significance importance and probably become an exciting career option. UK’s The UK Insurance sector remains a crucial contributor to the UK economy after the public, banking and manufacturing sectors. The industry accounts for approximately 10% of total UK IT expenditure, and positive growth is expected to continue for the next few years as insurance firms begin to realize the benefits to be gained from IT investment. Although the United Kingdom (UK) insurance market is now one of the five largest in the world, relatively little is known about the practices of the major firms and policy-makers which influence its operations. In particular, whilst the determinants of rating agencies’ assessments of United States (US) insurers is well documented, published studies have yet to provide comprehensive evidence about insurance company ratings in the UK. (Hardwick, P and et al, 2000) 2.6 Current scenario of insurance industry Breaking of strict monopoly of LIC was not an easy task where to an audience who spelled insurance as LIC. LIC is working for last 50n years and caved its name for itself in the Indian psyche. Insurance being long term contract, an established name means feeling of security and more importantly LIC policies come with the safety tag-the most touted government guarantee. To enter private insurers with an altogether new agency force, all ready to hawk freshly designed insurance policies. and the market scene – a government owned established insurance entity-the Life insurance Corporation with a field force of over 6,00,000agents and more than 80 products to choose from. Purchase of Insurance is a decision that determine by a number of demographic as well as personal behavior factors. Main responsible factors include Age, Income, Education, Risk, etc. Some of the important determinants as review by different scientists in their research are as under 2.7 Risk and return in industry Risk seems to be a fact of life experienced by an individual as well as by a whole organization. This risk may be economic, physical or financial. There is an increase in unexpected losses caused by natural disasters as well as accidental damage. Wealth is subject to possible loss, and therefore everyone from individual to the whole financial firm desire to invest in loss prevention activities that reduce the probability of loss (Hoffman, 2007). A sense of security may be the next basic goal after food, clothing, and shelter. There are various forms of risk is exist in the market. All the risks are differed from each other. Some risks creates a quick big impact on a business while, the impact of some risks can be seen at a long run. The risk in business is always associated with losses. Prevention and management of risk is only possible after having sufficient information regarding its intensity. Preventing and managing risk is one of the burning issues for the corporate world. The management of any company is always looking for the thing that will reduce the risk on their investment and definitely gives some output on the account of their investment. The ultimate thing that will satisfy this need is the return. Return is the proportionate sum of capital given to the investors for their investment. In other words, return is some kind of security against the investment made for any kind a business. Figure 2.1 Risks management in business Asset Market Credit Operating Business Event Liquidity Catastrophe Non-Catastrophe Risk Financial risk is mainly divided in to 2 main categories i.e. Systematic or Market risks and Unsystematic risk. The risk associated with an investment can be broadly divided into two categories based on nature and occurrence of risk. Some risks are associated with the firm, and that risks are called as firm-specific, whereas the rest of the risk is associated with market condition and generally affects all investments in whole market. The firm specific risk can be further sub-divided in to various categories. Some firm specific risks are affect s project value that is called Project specific risk and in some cases projects value is affected by the nature of competitions and that type of risks are known as Competitive risks. Some risks are affecting the value of a whole industry and so known as Industry associated risks. In some cases, all the companies in a market will affect by macro economic factors and so that type of risk is known as Market specific risk (Friend and Bicksler, 197 7). Default risk is the risk fallen on the part of financial institution or a creditors for your investments i.e. weather they are able to make a monthly return on your asset or not. To achieve short term financial goals most of the investors preferred cash investments. The only limitation with use of cash investments is that, they are unable to produce higher returns over long term as compared to other financial options. The only reason for this is cash investments are unable to adjust inflation rates. In other words cash investments are not preferable source of investment for long term project. So, what are the other options that will satisfies needs for investment of long term project. 2.8 Empirical research Economic decisions are made on both the negative as well as positive issues. Positive issue studies on insurance gradually integrated these issues via assimilating developments in the field of risk and uncertainty following works by Arrow (1963), Lewis (1989), (1953) and others. The economics on insurance demand became more attentive on evaluating the amount of risk to be shared between the insured and the insurer rather than evaluation of life or property values. Economic value judgments are made on both the normative as well as positive issues. Later studies on insurance gradually incorporated these issues via assimilating developments in the field of risk and uncertainty following works by von Neumann and Morgenstern (1947), Arrow (1953), Debreu (1953) and others. The economics on insurance demand became more purposeful when determining the amount of risk to be shared between the insured and the insurer rather than evaluation of property values. Headen and Lee (1974) studied the effects of short run financial market behaviour and consumer expectations on purchase of ordinary life insurance and developed structural determinants of life insurance demand. Morris and Barbara A (2003) study about Risk Insurance and mean study related with a Wedge between Insurers and Reinsurers, authored by credit analysts and legitimate disagreements between insurers and reinsurers about the values attributed. Criteria and claims values, insurers and reinsurers are equally concerned with the Risk. Cole et al, (2008) theoretical in observed research related to the comparative analysis between property-casualty insurance industry, studies commonly focus on either insurers or reinsurers. Richard et al (2008) give article of features a presentation and discussant comments on hurricane and wind insurance organized by Richard A., for the American Risk and Insurance Association (ARIA) 2007 Annual Meeting in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Venard et al. (2008) determine in the article of analyzes Hungarys insurance sector as an important part of the countrys economic transition from a centrally planned economy to a market economy. It details the historic economic development of the Hungarian insurance market from a state monopoly to a competitive. Yu, Tong et al 2008) study about Intangible assets facilitates insurers capacity to retain existing business and attract new clients. In his study it can be shows that analyze how the incentives to protect intangible assets affect asset risk-taking behaviour of property and ability insurers. Browne et al. (1993) concluded that income and social security expenditures are significant determinants of insurance demand. They further concluded that inflation has a negative correlation with demand of purchasing for insurance. Beck and Webb (2003) identified the two main services provided by life insurance: income replacement for premature death and long-term savings instruments. They further found that demographic variables, higher levels of education and greater urbanization as independent factors in explaining insurance demand. Income has been found to be having a positive association with health insurance purchase decision consistently in different studies conducted in different countries Propper (1989) in UK: Cameron, Trivedi (1988) in Australia and Hurd and McGarry (1997) in USA. Health insurance choice essentially entailed a simple decision whether or not to purchase private health insurance (Barrett and Conlon 2003). Binary discrete choice models using either logit or probit has been used to analyse determinants of this type of purchase decision. Cameron and Trivedi and Cameron (1991) specified a conditional expected utility function that is associated with alternative health care regimes. The consumer chooses the regime that maximizes expected utility. Feldstein (1973) has argued that as the price of health care increases, the demand for insurance should increase as well because this causes an increase in the risk of net worth depletion and thus an increase in the demand for insurance. Healthcare expenditure largely depends on healthcare costs. Recent research has documented that most of the secular change in health insurance coverage can be attributed to higher health care costs (Cutler et al. 2002). Zietz (2003) and Hussels et al (2005) has studied about purchasing behaviour of a customer to purchase life insurance over a period of 50 years. The research further concluded that there is a positive association observed between increase in savings behaviour, financial services industry and demand for life insurance. Beenstock et al. (1988) noted that marginal tendency to insure i.e. increase in insurance spending when income rises by 1$, differs from country to country and premium rates are varies directly with real rates of interest. Browne and Kim (1993) found from his study that income and social security expenditures are significant determinants of insurance demand; however, inflation has a negative correlation with demand of insurance. Beck et al. (2003) found out the two main services provided by life insurance: income replacement for premature death and long-term savings instruments. They considered three demographic variables i.e. young dependency ratio, old dependency ratio and life expectancy, higher levels of education and greater urbanization as independent factors in explaining insurance demand. Income is positively co-related with purchase of health insurance product, concluded from various studies conducted in different countries by Propper (1989) in UK: Cameron and Trivedi (1988) in Australia and Hurd and McGarry (1997) in USA. Barrett and Conlon (2003) concluded from their study that choice of health insurance essentially entailed a simple decision whether or not to purchase private health insurance. Binary discrete choice models using either logit or probit has been used to analyze determinants of this type of purchase decision. Cameron and Trivedi (1991) specified a conditional expected utility function that is associated with alternative health care regimes. The consumer chooses the regime that maximizes expected utility. Feldstein (1973) noted that as the price of health care increases, the demand for insurance should also increase. This is because an increase in the risk of net worth depletion. Healthcare expenditure largely depends on healthcare costs. Nyman (1999) noted that higher healthcare costs may led to higher demand for insurance in the face of rising costs. However, people belonging to different income groups are likely to respond differently to these changes. Kronick and Gilmer (1999) argue persons with low incomes and few assets buy insurance primarily to protect their health. Van De Ven and Van Praag (1981) noted that, education and income are generally positively correlated. Higher income generally decreases the opportunity cost associated with the purchase of private health insurance. Overall, increases in both income and education would be expected to lead to an increase in the probability of buying the insurance. Some studies conducted in context with the financial performance of General Insurance Companies of India. The Researcher has studied those research works which are as follows: Performance of various plans marketed by Life Insurance Corporation of India – A case study of Rajkot Division, A dissertation by Mrs.Sonal Naina evalua