Total Rewards Program Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Total Rewards Program - Case Study Example g back to several millennia in ancient China and the fabled old city of Babylon under Hammurabi (1750 B.C.E.); a key concept of insurance as a form of protection against any financial losses has stayed the same all throughout from ancient times to modern times. Another vital concept in modern insurance is the use of statistical data and probabilities to determine insurance rates, using actuarial science. In this regard, it has become almost an entirely mechanical process, using powerful computers to determine the risk premiums suitable for an insurable risk, to be able to produce a profit. The original use of insurance was to protect traders who transport their goods using the sometimes treacherous or dangerous river rapids in ancient China from a possible sinking of the boat carrying the goods. In the probability a boat had capsized, the indemnification a trader gets from the insurance will ensure he can rise again financially. In Babylon, the concept of insurance had a much different application. A sea merchant whose ship sinks in the Mediterranean Sea can expect to recoup his losses, because he had paid a premium on the loan to finance his expedition. That extra premium will enable the lender to cancel the loan in case of a ship sinking. In todays capitalist, free-market environment, insurance coverage extends to many situations, such as life, car, boat, condominium unit, motorcycle, or anything of value, even the health of a person. Insurance is a financial product that needs to be sold aggressively, as opposed to other consumer products which people simply buy on their own initiative. Unless it is mandated, as in the case of the new health insurance coverage as required by law under the health reform act, it is a product that most people would rather do without, as premium payment is an added expense. It is therefore important for an insurance firm to have a wide network of sales agents who will push its insurance policies, preferably exclusively with

Should Canada, North America, and Central America form an American Essay

Should Canada, North America, and Central America form an American Empire, or super-state, similar to the European Union - Essay Example ree leaders, President Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Martin, and President Fox of Mexico conferred to deliberate upon bringing the North American countries as one. The leaders had agreed to settle for a condition in which both political and economic policies on security and antiterrorism would be integrated encompassing sectors as immigration, energy, transportation, and customs and to be complied with by the nations involved. Combining regulations to such extent might to some point yield the desired results however, since it would eventually expedite border crossing and facilitate an approach that favors ease in clearance of commodities and people at the continental level, one would not afford but imagine how it would give further allowance to entries beyond good cause. Once boundaries become freely movable, there would be huge probability toward illegal trade of goods as in smuggling, drug trafficking, and prostitution. Additionally, the common security perimeter would most likely induce elements that run counter to preservation of culture unique for each nation (Edwards). Super-state formation, on considering adoption of foreign policy, may entail threat to laws or acts made to protect both human health and environment. Just like the initial step by NAFTA, SPP has also targeted to modify certain regulations that enable corporations or private business firms to file charges against provincial and municipal governments. Later on, this would lessen the chance for environmentalists to express and defend their concerns since the new set of standards regard commercial motives more than environmental impact and would thus limit favor on establishing safety measures on humanitarian aspect. As it turns out, the union inhibits a sense of democracy especially when Amero becomes the new currency upon the mergence (Wells). The associated plan to establish a global transportation system is initially difficult to gauge given the complexity of the transportation

Functional Assessments and Intervention Strategies Essay Example for Free

Functional Assessments and Intervention Strategies Essay Dewolfe (1997) discusses the relevant points on the book written by Reichle and Wacker (1997) about the effective approaches in terms of assessing challenging behaviors; and what are the intervention strategies that could be employed in order to decrease the risks for the development of a challenging behavior. According to Reichle and Wacker (1997), the most effective venue for the assessment of challenging behavior could be conducted in natural environments such as home, school and local community (para 2). Also, another key factor that must be kept in mind with regards to changing childrens challenging behavior is the idea that when one wants to change a behavior of a particular child, it necessarily follows, that the behavior of those people around her should also be changed. Effective interventions are also very relevant most specially the rate, quality and the effort that is given on the reinforcement (para 3). Reichle and Wacker (1997) also emphasized that Communications Based Interventions are the best approach in terms of dealing with challenging behavior (para 4). Such a type of intervention should be followed by a functional assessment that should be able to understand the child very well. In effect of this, what will one have is a communication based approach that perfectly matches the need of the child. The facilitation of an intervention program has been emphasized by Reichle and Wacker (1997) has to be conducted in natural settings. As such, the traditional notion that interventions should be normally done in clinics are no longer that patronized. Discussion The rate in which challenging behavior has been increasing now a days is understandable. On the advent of the 21st century where everything is in set to be in fast paced, most parents tend to forgot their responsibility to their children. On the first part of this paper, the author was able to enumerate the different causes and various risk factors of challenging behavior. In a nutshell, one could see that majority of the causes stem out because the mother fails to take care of her child during the prenatal stage and even during the early years of the child. Fox, Dunlap and Powell (2002) emphasized the necessity of early intervention during childhood in order to prevent the development of challenging behavior. In addition with this, the perception that problematic behaviors among toddlers and preschool-age children should not be dismissed as mere effects of his or her development stage. Rather, parents should be vigilant to see the patterns and the rate in which challenging behaviors occur and significantly think of a plan in order to address such a problem. The case of June is a good example on how a child develops challenging behavior during her life. June is perceived to be raised in a broken family. It could be implied that the source of family income is solely shouldered by her mother, hence leaving her and her siblings with small amount of time. In addition with this, the fact that June has two other siblings that her mother have to take care and worry about, further decreases the chance that June could be given appropriate attention and guidance. It is clear from the history of June and her other siblings that they somehow share the same patterns of behavior. Although the author could not completely distinguish if such is the result of how they are reared or maybe how did their mother take care of herself during pregnancy; but it could be seen that such a pattern of behavior is clearly evident to be existing within her family circle. The manner in which June was assessed, intervened and treated in her school could be seen as one of the most effective steps in which one could deal with challenging behavior. The team used a Communications Based Intervention (Reichle and Wacker (1997) in order to deal with the problem. One could recall that the manner in which the teacher talked to June allowed her to express her feelings and also allowed her to tell stories that upset her within the family and also within the school. In addition with this, the assessments that were made to June are done in a natural environment, such as her school. It could be recalled that various attempts are also made by Junes residential and community program placements, but such proves to be null. As such, the author perceived that the assessment at the school, wherein June spends mostly her time is a very effective approach because not only that she will be able to properly relate with her peers, such an approach will also pave the way for more understanding and willingness to support among her teachers. Reicle and Wacker (1997) emphasized the need of other people to also change their behaviors if they wanted to help a child with challenging behavior. It could be significantly noted that Laursen (2005) claimed that the team that is taking care and assisting June has also made an effort to make her educators understand the depth of her problem and how their support could help her to overcome her challenging behavior. In relation with this, the author wanted to introduce the notion of Positive Behavior Support (PBS) of Fox, Dunlap and Powell (2002) in order to change challenging behaviors among children. The PBS is tailored to meet the specific needs of the child and also takes into careful consideration all of the contexts in which problems with regard to challenging behaviors emerge. The model devised by Dunlap and Fox (1999) as cited from Fox, Dunlap and Powell (2002) creates an Individualized Support Program (ISP) that seeks to help the family and the childs care givers in order to change his or her difficult behavior. The ISP model revolves on two major steps which is the functional assessment and the person centered planning. The functional assessment focuses on accumulating detailed information about the childs behavior, activities, and other contexts that could be helpful for the family, taking into consideration the cause and effects of a particular behavior. Consequently, the person-centered planning centers on the expression of the childs dreams and other challenges that the child perceived to have within his or her family. After such, a behavior support plan will be created which is perfectly in accordance to the specific needs of the child.

Corporate Governance on the Capital Investment Decision

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

Vaid’s Liberal Argument :: Research Papers

Vaid’s Liberal Argument Andrew Sullivan and Urvashi Vaid are two of the most prolific advocates of homosexual equality. Urvashi Vaid's book, Virtual Equality, argues that homosexuals are living as if they are equal to heterosexuals when in fact homosexuals are still treated unfairly and need to seek true liberation. Sullivan's book, Virtually Normal, examines several different political groups and their differing beliefs concerning how society should deal with homosexuality. The arguments expressed in Vaid's book suggest that Sullivan would categorize her into chapter four of Virtually Normal, entitled, â€Å"The Liberals.† It becomes evident that Vaid is neither a Prohibitionist, Liberationist, Conservative, nor an advocate of Sullivan's ideal politics. Sullivan would categorize Vaid into the Liberal category because her ideals concerning societal education, anti-discrimination laws, and individual freedom match those of Liberal politics. Though Vaid may share the same goals as other political group s, her methods of achieving these goals are definitely Liberal. Vaid's argument does not fit Sullivan's Prohibitionist category. Prohibitionists, according to Sullivan, believe that homosexuality goes against the grain of both Christianity and natural law. Homosexuality, the Prohibitionists believe, is deemed morally wrong in the bible, and should be denounced as well as punished. Sullivan writes: â€Å"It is that homosexuality is an aberration and that homosexual acts are an abomination† (20). Sullivan goes on to write: â€Å"Drawing on Aristotle's conception of normative nature, Aquinas theorized that all human beings had a single fundamental nature†¦According to Aquinas, all human beings' sexuality is linked to procreation†¦This is what sexual activity is for† (32). The above thinking is what Prohibitionists call natural law. Each being has a natural function, and, for humans, that function is to reproduce. Here, it would be wrong for people to have sex without the intention to reproduce. Since there is no reproduction involved in homosexual sex, Prohibitionists denounce homosexuality. Though Vaid herself may be a homosexual, it is her argument and not her identity that suggests that she could not be placed into the category of Prohibitionist. Vaid writes: â€Å"At its core, this right-wing movement rejects the two-hundred-year-old experiment of American pluralism and, in its place, proposes a Christian state, a theocracy. Right-wing leaders and organizations explicitly reject democratic values like tolerance, dissent, individual freedom, and compromise† (307). Vaid believes that the religious right, a proponent of Prohibitionist politics, is against diversity, democracy, and equality. For this reason, Sullivan would not categorize Vaid's argument in the Prohibitionist category.

Free Epic of Gilgamesh Essays: Defining Humanity in Gilgamesh :: Epic Gilgamesh essays

Defining Humanity in The Epic of Gilgamesh Fifteen Works Cited Stories do not need to inform us of anything. They do inform us of things. From The Epic of Gilgamesh, for example, we know something of the people who lived in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the second and third millenniums BCE. We know they celebrated a king named Gilgamesh; we know they believed in many gods; we know they were self-conscious of their own cultivation of the natural world; and we know they were literate. These things we can fix -- or establish definitely. But stories also remind us of things we cannot fix -- of what it means to be human. They reflect our will to understand what we cannot understand, and reconcile us to mortality. We read The Epic of Gilgamesh, four thousand years after it was written, in part because we are scholars, or pseudo-scholars, and wish to learn something about human history. We read it as well because we want to know the meaning of life. The meaning of life, however, is not something we can wrap up and walk away with. Discussing the philosophy of the Tao, Alan Watts explains what he believes Lao-tzu means by the line, "The five colours will blind a man's sight." "[T]he eye's sensitivity to color," Watts writes, "is impaired by the fixed idea that there are just five true colors. There is an infinite continuity of shading, and breaking it down into divisions with names distracts the attention from its subtlety" (27). Similarly, the mind's sensitivity to the meaning of life is impaired by fixed notions or perspectives on what it means to be human. There is an infinite continuity of meaning that can be comprehended only by seeing again, for ourselves. We read stories -- and reading is a kind of re-telling -- not to learn what is known but to know what cannot be known, for it is ongoing and we are in the middle of it. To see for ourselves the meaning of a story, we need, first of all, to look carefully at what happens in the story; that is, we need to look at it as if the actions and people it describes actually took place or existed. We can articulate the questions raised by a character's actions and discuss the implications of their consequences.

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest

| Battle of the Teutoburg Forest In 9 AD, Roman general Roman general Varus was betrayed by Arminius, the leader of a massive Germanic tribe. Arminius deceived the Roman and led them into a trap deep into the Teutoburg forest which would lay a foundation for what will be one of the biggest defeats in roman history; resulting in the extermination of some 20,000 roman troops. The effects of this defeat halted Roman expansion beyond the Rhine River. The psychological affects would eventually take a toll on Augustus, leading to illness and death. (Wells, p. 5) Arminius was the prince of the Cherusci tribe of Germans. He lived in the northern part of modern day Germany. (P. 107) Later, he would go on to serve in the roman army, in command of Roman auxiliary forces comprised of members from the surrounding tribes. He learned his tactic here while in his service for Rome. This would later grant him the upper hand, for he will know the Romans weaknesses and he will know how they fight. He mo st likely had a variety of motives for serving in the Roman military. Besides earning a substantial salary, he would have gained considerable status in Rome.During his years of service to the Roman Military he learned Latin and in recognition of is efforts to Rome, was award with Roman citizenship. (P. 108). This is a prize that is normally bestowed upon those leaders who give exceptional service to Rome. Also, he was granted status as an equestrian, which is quite a high rank in Roman society. Around the year of 9 A. D. , Arminius left the Roman military and returned to his homeland. When he returned home at the age of 25, his experience with the Roman military had prepared him to lead. Rome’s man in the Rhineland in A. D. 9 was Publius Quinctilius Varus. † (Wells,P. 80) He had attained an excellent record of service as governor and general in various places within the Empire. In the year of 13 B. C. he served for consul with Claudius Nero. Varus was provided entry int o the political elite of Rome via marriage connections and relationships linked with Augustus. As his role as Consul, Varus was able to integrate himself within the political world and shake hands with the right people. Events leading up to the attack were slow but steady.Romans held little of Germania before the revolt, they had some organized communities but not many. Romans believed they had a mission to grant others with the civilized life such as theirs and to give other regions what they have to offer. This expansion pushed smoothly and slowly through Germania as the tribes there began to see the benefit of Roman civilization. â€Å"The barbarians were adapting themselves to Roman ways, were becoming accustomed to hold markets, and were meeting in peaceful assemblages.They had not, however, forgotten their ancestral habits, their native manners, their old life of independence, or the power derived from arms†¦becoming different without knowing it. † (Cassius Dio, P. 1) However, when Quinctilius Varus was placed Governor of the province of Germania he began to push Roman way of life on them at a much quicker rate. According to Cassius Dio, â€Å"Besides issuing orders to them as if they were actually slaves of the Romans, he exacted money as he would from subject nations. To this they were in no mood to submit. Ancient historian, Velleius Paterculus, notes that Varus was â€Å"more accustomed to the leisure of the camp than to actual service in war. † The quiet camp grounds and communities suits Varus quite well. Arminus returned to Germania from Pannonina as a respected leader and trusted Roman citizen. Germanic tribe members complied with Roman law while suppressing their barbarian ways of solving issues. This was only a front to keep the Romans off their backs. The barbarians were growing tired of the Roman rules and having to go to Roman courts to have the Romans decide their disputes.The barbarians had long standing traditions for solving their issues and they were not satisfied with the way that Varus forced this rule onto them. The resentment begins to build while the surface seems calm. Varus had not been accustomed to governing those who did not want to be governed. So, when the Germanic people had enough of the Roman forces, they decided to fool him for something must be done to get rid of him. This of course is when the turn to Arminius, for no one is more perfect for the job.His high status and trust within the Roman government allows him to set the largest trap imaginable. Velleius Paterculus adds, â€Å"This young man made use of the negligence†¦seeing that no one could be more quickly overpowered than the man who feared nothing, and that the most common beginning of disaster was a sense of security. † The Germans set their trap deep in the tree clogged forest of the Teutoburg forest. Varus and his troops are packing up to advance to a camp to the east. Meanwhile, he is approached by an o ld friend, Arminius. He notifies Varus of a small ribal uprising right off the course to their intended path to the camp. This ambush was setup alongside a narrow path, causing the romans to march closely together. (Cassius Dio, P. 7) Cassius Dio notes, â€Å"they had with them many wagons and many beasts of burden as in time of peace. † To add to the difficulties, it had begun to rain, making the forest floor slippery while tree tops fell on them creating confusion. While the Romans were undergoing such complications, the barbarians suddenly surrounded them on all sides at once. They were caught in the worst situation possible.The Roman army was slaughtered as thousands of soldiers were ambushed by barbarians, destroying 16,000 Romans in one swoop (Wells, P. 189). This battle was significant for the fact that it halted Roman expansion across the Rhine River and sent a message to Rome that they were not invincible. While it may have been a short battle, it was a large loss. W hen Augustus is exposed the extreme loss, he is devastated. The Romans, along with Varus, knew that it was completely Varus’s fault and would lead him to suicide. Works Cited Wells, Peter S.The Battle That Stopped Rome: Emperor Augustus, Arminius, And The Slaughter Of The Legions In The Teutoburg Forest / Peter S. Wells. n. p. : New York : W. W. Norton, 2004. , 2004. Louisiana State University. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. â€Å"The Battle of Teutoburg Forest. †Ã‚  Penelope. uchicago. edu. Web. 17 Oct. 2012. . â€Å"Velleius Paterculus. †Ã‚  The Battle in the Teutoburg Forest. N. p. , 16 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Oct. 2012. .