The Theories And Implications On Corporate Financial Decisions Finance Essay

The Theories And Implications On Corporate Financial Decisions Finance Essay This paper concerns mainly on exploring the area of corporate valuation models and their implications in assessing the value of corporate firms. The models to be reviewed and analyzed are Economic Value Added (EVA), Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Free Cash Flow (FCF). The selected models would be used on 5 publicly listed firms in the Bursa Malaysia. The aim of this study is to analyze the three models on how it can be utilized in helping a firm to create, sustain and access its corporate value. This paper consists of six parts, which are introduction, literature review, importance of theories and its implications on corporate financial decisions in Malaysia, application of concepts, tenets, fundamentals, technical issues, etc to the five chosen firms, methodology to analyze 5 years financial data of the selected firms and conclusion. Introduction In this paper, three corporate valuation models have been chosen as our main concern, which are Economic Value Added (EVA), Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and Free Cash Flow (FCF). We then apply the selected valuation models and methodologies to five publicly listed firms in the Bursa Malaysia from the food and beverage industry. The five companies are Dutch Lady Milk Industries, Fraser Neave Holdings Berhad, Nestle Ltd, QSR Brands Bhd and Yeo Hiap Seng (M) Berhad. Summary will be made by reviewing ten journal articles under the literature review part for a preliminary understanding of the models. This paper includes four journal articles for EVA as well as another seven journal articles for FCF and CAPM. In addition, we will identify the importance of the theories and describe its implication on corporate financial decisions in Malaysia. This study has provided us a great learning opportunity by accessing the company value of the real corporate firms. It also provides us a lear ning platform in how to utilize the valuation tools to evaluate companys performance for investment purpose in the future. Literature Review Economic Value Added (EVA) Economic Value Added (EVA) is a corporate valuation tool developed by Stern Stewart Co. to assist managers in their decision making by incorporate two basic principle of finance inside. The first principle is the financial goal of any company for shareholders wealth maximization and the second one is that a companys corporate value is based on the extent to which investors expect future earnings to exceed or fall short of the cost of capital. Another way to explain is that, EVA is developed to align decisions with shareholders wealth. According to Stewarts study in 1994, it is proved that EVA as the single best tool of measuring wealth creation on a contemporaneous basis and the result in describing changes in shareholders wealth is about 50 percent better than its greatest accounting-based rival of EPS, Return on Asset (ROA) and Return on Equity (ROE). EVA model assist managers in better investment decisions making, to identify improvement opportunities as well as to consider the short-term and long-term benefits for a firm. Based on Taubs study in 2003, it is observes that most of the valuation models used among industries focus only on the financial or accounting information. Unlike EVA, it combines factors like accounting, market and economy information in a companys performance evaluation. Various studies have proved the superiority of using EVA over other traditional models for evaluate companys performance due to its transparency and capacity to obtain more important information. According to Kudla and Arendts study in 2000, EVA can eliminate the arising conflicts and confusion when a company employs multiple measures like EPS, Return on Investment (ROI), Return on Equity (ROE) and Net Operating Profit after Tax (NOPAT). Furthermore, EVA can also be used as a tool to eliminate economic distortions of General Accepted Accounting Practice (GAAP) to focus decisions on the actual economic outcomes. It promotes better evaluation of decisions that have an impact on the income statement and balance sheet or trade-offs between each other. Also, EVA managed to cover every aspect of the managerial cycle through the use of the capital charge against NOPAT. There are also studies indicate that EVA is a superior measure of the managerial decisions quality. From Fishers study in 1995, EVA is suggested to be treated as a reliable pointer in estimating a firms value growth in the future. Also, according to Sterns study in 1989, the purpose of EVA is to change the management behavior as well as their performance, leading managers to act in the owners interest. It can be used as a motivation tool to encourage managers to create shareholder value by being a basis for management compensation. Importance of the theories and implications on corporate financial decisions in Malaysia As business grows wider and complex across the border, there is a demand for better valuation tool to evaluate the performance of the business. It is important to adopt more innovative performance metrics so that the companys management behaviors can be closely monitored to achieve the goal of maximizing the shareholders benefits. It is also important to access a firms value for any decision making regarding business expansion or contraction. According to the article of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), Latest Trends in Corporate Performance Measurement (1992), many companies were experiencing difficulties in implementing measurement frameworks and these statements have been brought to today. There is a study conducted by Dr. Issham Ismail in Malaysia with the purpose to examine the relationship between EVA and the company performance in Malaysia. The study indicates that EVA has a strong relationship with stock return as compared to other measures due to its focus on long-term performance. EVA enhances stock performances by including more informational content in describing the stock returns. According to the study, EVA is considered as a better alternative to other traditional valuation tools such as EPS, ROE, etc. Its characteristic of transparency and capacity to provide more important information helps investors in Malaysia to make better investment decision as well as the resources allocations decisions. Besides that, EVA and MVA can be also treated as performance measures and signals for any strategic change (Lehn and Makhija, 1996). There is another study conducted by Norfarah, Suhaila and Wan Mansor in Malaysia regarding the adoption of EVA on real estate corporations in Malaysia. In Malaysia, real estate sectors have grown to become a large sector and continue to develop for the past two decades even through difficult economic period. Some has been performing well in the industry such as IOI Properties and Boustead Properties Bhd while some of them are experiencing hardship like Country Heights, Land General, and Damansara Realty. In order to identify the company potential of adding more shareholders value, an alternative corporate valuation model has been introduced, which is EVA, proposed by Stern Stewart Management Services. The adoption of EVA is considered to be more comprehensive as its measurement tool provides a clearer picture of whether a business is raising or reducing shareholder wealth. Most of the multinational companies such as Sony, Coca-Cola and Monsanto have formally announced their adoption and implementation of EVA as management systems in their quest of the value. On the other hand, EVA based performance plan produces positive result towards a company management. There is a study on the effects of adopting management bonus plans based on residual income measures. According to Wallaces study in 1997, EVA based performance plan motivates managers to utilize companys assets in a more productive and efficient way. This hence, reduce of the conflict between managers and shareholders interest and the decreasing agency cost eventually help the company to boost its profit after the adoption of the residual income based incentives plans. As a result, EVAs superiority is proved in encouraging managers for shareholder wealth creation. However, in order to work out the EVA compensation system, it requires large commutation effort and extensive training for both managers and their subordinates. Lastly, EVA and its practical applications as a management control system for performance measurement which helps manager to make better investment decisions. Methodology Economic Value Added is an evaluation tools used to examine a companys true economic profitability because it factors in net operating income after taxes interest minus the opportunity cost of capital deployed to earn that net operating income. In other words, EVA tells whether a companys financial performance is higher or lower than the minimum required rate of return for shareholders or business lenders. Besides that, EVA also tells investors if their amount of invested capital in the business is providing them a higher return than their minimum, or if it is better to shift their capital elsewhere. There are few steps required in calculating EVA and this is how Economic Value Added (EVA) is used by the financial analysts. Annual reports from the five selected firms have been sourced respectively in this report. First of all, we have to identify the earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) from the income statement. Next we have to calculate the Net Operating Profit after Taxes (NOPAT) by deducting the Income Tax Expenses from the EBIT. Afterwards, we need to determine the invested capital deployed in the business by deducting Non-interest Bearing Current Liabilities from Total Assets. Then, we need to calculate the Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) using the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM). WACC calculated by adding Risk Free Rate with Beta multiply by Market Risk Premium, where Market Risk Premium is calculated by deducting Risk Free Rate from Market Return. Take WACC multiply with the Invested Capital and finally, EVA can be found by deducting the multiplication of WA CC and Invested Capital from the Net Operating Profit after Tax. The calculation formulas for EVA are as follows: EVA = NOPAT (WACC * Invested Capital) where, NOPAT = Profit Lost Before Interest and Tax Income Tax Expenses and, Invested Capital = Total Assets Non-interest bearing Current Liabilities and, Cost of Equity, WACC is calculated by using CAPM Model where, WACC = Risk Free Rate + ( Beta * Market Risk Premium ) where, Market Risk Premium = Market Return Risk Free Rate Free Cash Flow Literature Review Free cash flow (FCF) refers to the cash generated by the assets of the business available for distribution to all the shareholders and it cant be affected by the businesss capital structure. A firms stock value is calculated by projecting the future free cash flow (FCF) that will be generated by the business assets and then compute the present value of FCF by discounting them at the appropriate required rate of return. FCF appeared to be an appropriate valuation model to be used when (1) the firm doesnt pay dividends at all or pays out lesser dividends than dictated by its cash flow, (2) free cash flow tracks profitability or (3) the analyst takes a corporate control perspective. The present value of FCF is the most fundamentally useful valuation tool used in assisting any investing decisions like investment opportunities appraisal and corporate valuation (Arumugam, 2007). It can also be used to measure the potential of investment opportunities as well as to forecast the firms future performance by accessing its corporate value. Based on an article written by Ben Lardes in March 2010, a companys free cash flow reflects a lot of information about the company performance. Obviously the higher the free cash flow of a business is, the more money you can expect to earn as the businesss shareholder. Every firm has different FCF, which is depends on how well is their performance over the periods. For instance, a well performing firm may have a good amount of positive cash flows. On the contrary, a firm may not have a positive cash flow at all if it has been struggling to succeed. A firm will have a negative FCF if its expenses are exceeding its income. By looking at the FCF, a company can decide whether to go on with its current business direction or to change its management operation. However, negative FCF does not always signify problems within a business. The negative FCF may be due to the preparation of business expansion in the future. The age of a company and its circumstances should always be in the consider ation before judging it purely based on its free cash flow. According to the study conducted by McClure, although FCF has its merits, it still has some limitations and the most significant one would be the garbage in, garbage out principle. Predicted FCF is used as the main input in DCF calculation to evaluate any investment decisions, thus the quality of FCF is very important in the valuation process in order to get an appropriate and reliable outcome. If all the FCF values have found to be inaccurate, then it will be useless in assessing the firms stock price. Therefore, the ability to make good future projections of FCF is critical. The more you confident about the future cash flow, the better project evaluation you can made, leading to a desirable profit from your investment. In this case, the forecast of potential cash flow appeared to be the tricky part, as you are required to prepare a full financial model to get a better estimation. This requires some serious analysis of the business, the macro-economic environment, the legal and regu latory framework and the competitive landscape (Cartmail, 2010). Importance of the Theories Implications on Corporate Financial Decisions in Malaysia Investing decisions can be made based on a simple analysis like selecting your desire firm with a product you expect to have high demand in the future. The underlying expectation is that the company will continue to produce and sell high-demand products and will generate cash flow back to the business. The second part is that the companys management will know where to spend this cash to continue its operations whereas the third assumption is that all of these expected future cash flows are worth more today than the stocks current price.   Free cash flow (FCF) tracks the remaining operating cash flow for the shareholders after laying out the money a firm required to expand or sustain its asset base. It is important as it allows business to pursue more opportunities that could enhance shareholders value. Present value of all free cash flows is the key indicator of a firms equity value. The growing FCF is often a prelude to increased profits. Firms that facing surging FCF as a result of revenue growth, debt elimination, improvement of operational efficiency and others, can reward their investors tomorrow. Thats the reason investors cherish FCF as a sound valuation metric. The odds are good when a firms FCF is increasing, it is believed that the firms share value will soon be increased as well. An important thing to note is that, negative FCF is not bad in itself, however it could represent a sign that a firm is engaging in large investments (Investopedia, n.d.). DCF is one of the favorable and sound tools to be used in corporate valuation because it can produce outcome, which has the closest value to an intrinsic stock value. Unlike other valuation tools like P/E ratio, DCF analysis relies on FCF. It is believed that FCF reflects a clearer view of a firms ability in generating cash, as profits can sometimes be clouded by accounting tricks, but cash flow cannot. The reason is because cash flow generation is hardly to be influenced by accounting assumptions and practices. Also, FCF is a trustworthy measure that eliminates most of the arbitrariness and guesstimates found in reported profits (Investopedia, n.d.). Other than that, FCF can be considered as a forward-looking metric because it depends more on future prospects rather than past results. In addition, it also enables expected operating strategies to be included in the valuation as it allows varies business components to be valued separately. On the other hand, free cash flow theory has important implications for the leverage effect on a firms investment financing decisions. The FCF model implies that for an over-investor, an increase in leverage should lead to a reduction in unprofitable investment spending. Additional leverage will leave less amount of free cash flow at the discretion of the managers at the same time that it increases the intensity level at which the companys activities can be closely monitored. Overall investment will become more efficient as the firm substitutes contractually obligated debt service for negative net present value investments. Empirically, the reduction in unprofitable investment spending should contribute to an increase in the firms stock price that reflects the improved efficiency of managerial investment decisions. Methodology Free Cash Flow (FCF) is the cash generated by the companys assets and it is available for distribution to all the shareholders. It is used to tracks the remaining operating cash flow available for the shareholders after laying out the money a firm required to expand or sustain its asset base. It is calculated by deducting Net Investment in Operating Capital from Net Operating Profit after Tax (NOPAT), where NOPAT is calculated by deducting Income Tax Expenses from the Profit Lost before Interest and Tax (EBIT) and Net Investment in Operating Capital is obtained by using the Operating Capital at time t to minus the Operating Capital at time t-1. Operating Capital is calculated by adding up Net Operating Working Capital (NOWC) and Net fixed Assets, where NOWC is calculated by deducting Non-interest Bearing Current Liabilities from Operating Current Assets. The calculation for FCF is as followed: Free Cash Flow (FCF) = Net Operating Profit after Tax (NOPAT) Net Investment in Operating Capital where, NOPAT = Profit Loss before Interest and Tax (EBIT) Income Tax Expenses and, Net Investment in Operating Capital = Operating Capital at time t Operating Capital at time t-1 where, Operating Capital = Net Operating Working Capital (NOWC) + Net fixed Assets where, NOWC = Operating Current Assets Non-interest bearing Current Liabilities Capital Asset Pricing Model Literature Review Basically, Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is based on Markowitz (1959) and Tobin (1958), who introduced the risk-return portfolio theory. The primary implication of the CAPM is the mean-variance efficiency of the market portfolio. The efficiency of the market portfolio implies that the positive linear relationship between expected returns and market betas is exists and only beta is playing a significant role in explaining the expected returns of stocks. Several attempts have been done to test the implications of the CAPM using historical rates of returns of securities and historical rates of return on a market index. The CAPM is relies on several assumptions with the fact that every investor wants to maximize the expected satisfaction of their wealth. An addition to the risk aversion is that all of them are having the same expectations towards the returns of the securities. The returns of the securities follow a normal distribution, which characterizes the phenomenon of homoscedasticity. Besides that, CAPM also assume that every investor is allowed to borrow any amount of money at the risk free rate. Finally, there are no taxes or other barriers which lead to an imperfection of every market, that is, the market is assume to be in equilibrium and have a perfect competition among all the participants in the market. According to Grigoris and Stavross study in 2006, one of the earliest empirical studies that support the theory of CAPM is that of Black, Jensen and Scholes [1972]. By using monthly data of return and portfolios rather than individual stocks, Black et al tested whether the cross-section of expected returns is linear in beta. By constructing a portfolio made up by an amount of securities, investors managed to diversify away most of the firm-specific risk, thus increasing the precision of the beta estimates and the expected rate of return of the portfolio. This approach eliminates the statistical problems that arise from measurement errors in beta estimates. The data found to be consistent with the predictions of the CAPM, at which the relationship between the average return and beta is close to linear and that portfolios with high (low) betas will have high (low) average returns. There is another classic empirical study that supports the theory conducted by Fama and McBeth in 1973. In the study, they examined whether there is a positive linear relation between average returns and beta. In addition, the author also investigated whether the squared value of beta and the volatility of asset returns can explain the residual variation in average returns across assets that are not explained by beta alone. There are several studies in the early 1980s suggested that there were deviations from the CAPM risk return trade-off due to other variables that affect this tradeoff. The objective of the studies was to find the missing components that CAPM omitted in explaining the risk-return trade-off and to identify the variables that created those deviations. Banz [1981] tested the CAPM by examining whether the size of firms can explain the residual variation in average returns across assets that remain unexplained by the CAPMs beta. CAPM is being challenged by indicating that firm size does explain the cross sectional-variation in average returns on a particular collection of assets better than beta. The author concluded that the average returns on stocks of small firms were higher than the average returns on stocks of large firms, vice versa. This study has known as the size effect. The general reaction to Banzs [1981] findings, that CAPM may be missing some aspects of reality, was to support the view that although the data may suggest deviations from CAPM, these deviations are not as significant to invalidate the theory. Importance of the theories and implications on corporate financial decisions in Malaysia CAPM, which is a theoretical representation of the financial markets behavior, can be used in the estimation of a companys cost of capital. Despite the limitations, the model can be a superior addition to the analytical tool kit of financial manager. The modern financial theory relies on three major assumptions. First, we assume the participants in the securities market are dominated by rational, at which all the investors are risk averse. Risk-averse person often seek to maximize satisfaction from the returns on their investment. CAPM also assume a perfect competitive market, which is in the equilibrium. It means that the financial market is populated with highly sophisticated and well informed buyers and sellers, meaning that the financial market has the characteristic of transparency. The third assumption implies that investors will choose to hold diversified portfolios, means that every investor wants to hold a portfolio that could reflects the stock market as a whole. Although i t is impossible to own the market portfolio, it is relatively easy and inexpensive for investors to eliminate specific or unsystematic risk and construct a portfolio that tracks the stock market through diversification. Another significant problem is that, it is not possible for investors to borrow at the risk-free rate in the real world. This is because the risk associated with individual investor is particularly higher than the risk associated with the Government. This inability to borrow at the risk-free rate means that the slope of the SML is shallower in practice than in theory. However, CAPM is generally considered as a better method to calculate the cost of equity and it explicitly takes into account the sensitivity of a companys security return to market risk. It is clearly superior to the WACC in providing discount rates to be used in investment appraisal. Research has shown the CAPM to stand up well to criticism, although the arguments against CAPM have been increasing in the recent years. Investment managers in Malaysia have widely applied CAPM as well as its sophisticated extension as the investment valuation metric. CAPMs application to corporate finance is the recent development. Although it has been employed in many utility rate-setting proceedings, it has yet to gain widespread use in corporate circles for estimating companies cost of equity. Methodology The Capital Asset Pricing Model indicates a simple linear relationship between expected rate of return and systematic risk or market risk of a security or portfolio. The model is an extension of Markowitzs (1952) portfolio theory. The researchers who are commonly credited with the CAPM development are Sharpe (1964), Linter (1965) and Black (1972) and that is the reason CAPM is normally referred as SLB model. Markowitz (1952) developed a concept of portfolio efficiency through the combination of risky assets that minimizes risk for a given return or maximizes return for a given risk. Variance of expected returns has been used as the measure of risk and then the efficient portfolio will be developed to minimize risk for a given rate of return. The equation of CAPM indicates the relationship between cost of capital and market returns. The general idea behind CAPM is that investors need to be compensated for two reasons: time value of money  and risk. The time value of money is represented by the risk-free rate, Rf  in the equation and investors are being compensated for the forgone opportunity cost and time value of money due to their investment over a period of time. The other half of the equation represents the risk and the risk premium is the compensation for the investors for taking on any additional risk. It is calculated by using a risk measure (Beta) to the market premium (Rm-rf). The calculation of CAPM is as followed: Ri = Rf + ( Beta * Market Risk Premium ) where, Market Risk Premium = Rm Rf where, Ri = return on equity or portfolio Rm = return on the market portfolio Rf = return on risk-free asset Beta = sensitivity of security or portfolio to the systematic risk The equation indicates that the expected rate of return on asset i is equal to the rate of return on the risk-free asset plus a risk premium. The risk premium is calculated by multiplying beta with the difference between the expected rate of the return of the market portfolio and the risk-free rate. Risk free rate can be obtained from the return on Malaysian Treasury bill at particular time of the stock trading while beta can be calculate from the historical prices of stock and the market and the market return can be calculated based on the market index. To calculate the beta value, we need to first calculate the covariance of the security and the market. Second, we need to calculate the variance from market return. Next, we need to divide covariance of the particular security and market by variance of market to obtain the value of beta.

rights fees in sport :: essays research papers

The steadfast rule when it comes to sports and rights fees is that it’s the business of entertainment. The dollars are going to go where the value is. With Rights fees, networks pay fees to have the rights to a particular broadcast, for example march madness, the NFL or the Olympics. Rights fees are determined by the value a certain property holds, this is determined by the ratings. The most important ratings market world wide is undisputedly the North American, and in particular the US market as we will later discuss with the Olympic media coverage. With in the US it is a battle field to increase ratings because of the dollar value associated with the opportunity to sell advertising and consequently the rights fees. Personally I believe that 1.725 billion is a ridiculous amount for NBC to pay for the rights fees of March Madness. But obviously they are not mad. The economics and financials behind their decisions to continually pay more and more is justifiable. Once again boiling down to the ratings. The 70 hours of March Madness are extremely popular in the US and boast extremely high ratings. Therefore, advertisers are willing to pay the big bucks to get their ads on the air. The same is true about the Superbowl, with 30 second advertising sports reaching astronomical highs networks are lining up to buy the rights fees for the event. As Bill Brown the senior vice president of Fox Sports stated, â€Å" we want entertainment†¦we want to televise the teams that will deliver us the highest ratings†. That truly summarizes the essence of sport media today, and why rights fees are working. â€Å"Fox, paying MLB about $417 million a year in a deal†, which expires next year. With base ball’s popularity on the rise again the rights fees for the league are undoubtadly going to increase. But as the numbers have shown the Fox network is the big spender when it comes to rights fees, dispensing $2.5 billion from 2001 to 2006 on MLB alone. While Fox has a hold on baseball, Time Warner and ABC/ESPN seem to be focusing their dollars on the NBA, both handing over just over $2 billion over a 6 year period . But as aformentioned the rating speak volumes and while the NBA is very popular in the US, from a network point of view March Madness, NCAA basketball is a winner.

Global Statements

THE GLOBAL STATEMENT: What is it and where to use it? Aside from courtesy details, a thesis statement (a more direct statement about the topic/text than the examples below; a simple equation which may help is thesis = topic +opinion) and your road map, an introduction may also offer (usually in the opening sentence) a general or global statement about the nature of texts/ characters/conflicts/ideas/identity/ conventions/responses etc†¦ on all the usual topics you are asked to discuss in essay writing.You should use the global statements as the opening sentence of your introduction. Ensure your global statement stills offer a sense of where your thesis is heading, that is, it makes reference to an aspect of the topic. The global statement should, however, be much broader than your thesis. It may be useful to think of an introduction as sentences which transition from broad to narrow in sequence i. e. ower structures and identity ( position on hierarchy/social status ( age, sex an d occupation affect opportunities and way others behave towards you Here are some examples of global statements to learn/know/experiment with: †¢ Text can often reflect the real world; characters can reflect real people; settings can reflect real places or attempt to predict what the real world might be like in the future (sci-fi or speculative texts).If you need to discuss how ideas in texts can reflect or interpret the real world you might say – â€Å"Any given text can be considered the author’s attempt to reflect their understanding of the world† – â€Å"Narratives can allow readers to consider the nature of the world/the way the world works† – â€Å"Texts can speculate as to the future of our world† – â€Å"Texts can be critical of the nature of the world/human nature/ humanity† – â€Å"A narrative’s purpose is to communicate an understanding/ interpretation of the world† – â€Å"A text can teach us to appreciate aspects of our world we might take for granted† – â€Å"A text can be critical of those things we forget to question† †¢ Any aspects of identity is a locus (position) of power i. e. Gender is a ocus of power; Class is a locus of power; Age is a locus of power etc†¦ if you need to discuss identity in relation to a text/topic offer something like – â€Å"The identity of any given character determines their position in the social hierarchy† – â€Å"The identity ascribed to a character influences our expectations of them as readers† – â€Å"Identity is a social construct which influences the level of power experienced by an individual† †¢ Narrative techniques and conventions follow patterns to guide readers through texts; the reason you know how to read and comprehend a new text is because you have an awareness of textual conventions based on your reading of other texts. An inter textual topic or question might best be approached by a statement like â€Å"Narratives techniques provide a conceptual framework for comparing individual literary works to others, within and across genres† If your essay topic specifies a discussion of techniques, conventions, elements of construction and reader response you could say – â€Å"An authors’ manipulation and control of narrative techniques/ conventions is used to guide readers to an intended response† – â€Å"All texts are constructed to invite a certain response from the reader† – â€Å"Reader’s are positioned to identify with characters which the author presents favourably† – â€Å"The construction of a text is intrinsically linked to the meanings we make of it† †¢ Keep in mind if you are offering a resistant reading you could argue that despite a narrative leading readers to an intended response, sometimes the opposite happens. Texts ma y be constructed to guide readers to an invited response, but the values, attitudes and experiences of any given reader will ultimately determine how they feel about the text† †¢ For a topic about conflict/protagonists: – â€Å"Conflict drives the plot of any given text† – â€Å"Conflict is essential for engaging and sustaining audience interest† – â€Å"The easier it is for the protagonist to triumph, the less value there is in the drama of the narrative† – â€Å"A protagonist should be ennobled by his/her struggles by the narrative’s conclusion† †¢ Others which might help: – â€Å"Texts can encourage readers to reconsider their own values and attitudes† – â€Å"Texts can ask reader’s to take action against an issues of controversy† – â€Å"Texts reflect the context of their production†

Latin American Abortions essays

Latin American Abortions essays Latin America and Caribbean nations are estimated to have some of the highest numbers of abortion worldwide, despite also having some of the most restrictive abortion laws. Most of these countries allow abortion only to save a woman's life, and a couple of them prohibit abortion under any circumstances. As a result, abortion is a main cause of maternal mortality, constituting nearly 50 percent of maternal mortality in some countries and 21 percent in the region as a whole. Most abortion procedures are unsafe; an average of one unsafe abortion occurs for every three live births. (Ipas website). A number of different human rights organizations are working with the citizenry, state health departments, and pro-abortion organizations to change the existing laws. In Latin America millions of abortions are performed annually, normally in unsafe and covert conditions. The procedure is done secretly, sometimes by the pregnant woman herself, because they are illegal. Chile and El Salvador impose criminal penalties for abortion in all circumstances including the safety of the mothers life. Nearly every other country in the region has extremely restrictive abortion laws that include exceptions permitting abortion in certain narrow circumstances, such as where the life or health of the woman is in danger, or where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. Cuba, the regional anomaly, has made elective abortion available since the mid-1960s. (Mariner, 2005). The situation in each country is relatively more or less restrictive. For example, in Mexico the situation is even more complicated due to a federal system that places the regulation of abortion in the hands of state governments. Thus, each state is different. Some states have passed relatively progressive laws. Local authorities in Mexico City amended the penal code in 2000 to liberalize abortion rules where the woman's health is at risk or fetal defects exist. It also reduced ...

The Benito Pablo Juarez Journal essays

The Benito Pablo Juarez Journal essays What's a hero? A hero is define as "one that is much admired or shows great courage" by the Merriam Webster's Notebook Dictionary. A hero can also be define as what Benito Pablo Juarez is to Mexico. Benito was born in a small village in Oaxaca called San Pablo Guelatao on March 21, 1806 in a two roomed cottage with floors of dirt. Benito was born to Marcelino Juarez and Grigida Garcia two catholic Zapotec indians. Benito had two older sisters one named Maria and the other one Benito's parent's died only a couple of months apart from each other, three years after Benito's birth. When Benito's parent's died he and his sister's went to live with there grandparent's, Pedro Juarez and Justa Lopez. At the age eleven Benito's grandparent's died his sisters were older and had already gotten married. After that happend Benito had to move with his uncle Matias Juarez. Benito like many Zapotec indiants didn't speak spanish, he only spoke his native language. Matias tought Benito every thing he knew about the spanish language, but Benito wanted to learn more about it and about the world. The only way that Benito was going to be able to know more about the world and how to speak spanish was by going to the city of Oaxaca. Or by going to the Catholic Fathers, but Benito did not want to become a priest. One day when Benito was taking care of the sheep, he found out that there were some men that had come from the city of Oaxaca to buy some mules. As the men were walking down the road to get to the city of Oaxaca. Benito saw them, and decided to ask them to tell him a story about the city of Oaxaca. Wile the men were entertaining Benito with there stories about the city Oaxaca one of the men stole one of his sheep. A few minutes after the men left to the city of Oaxaca, Benito counted his sheep again. To see that one of them was missing, Benito does not ...

Managment Motivating Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managment Motivating Style - Essay Example This paper describes management motivating style, by focusing the motivating styles practiced by Raul Valdez, Manager Cardinal Health. Raul Valdez was interviewed with the purpose of identifying the approaches he applies in to motivate his employees. In order to set up an environment that will stimulate the employees to motivate themselves, Valdez has recognized the need to understand the employee’s motivational needs. He does this by evaluating every employee’s motivational needs that are consistence with the strategies and goals of the organization. Valdez says that the success of their organization directly depends on the improvement of an individual’s or group’s motivation (Singla 265). Valdez derives his motivation skills from theories by Herzberg and Maslow. Maslow theory suggest that people are motivated by a hierarchy of needs which include safety needs, esteem needs, physiological needs, belonging needs and self-actualization needs (Beach 31). Phy siological needs refer to the standard basic needs such as water, air, food, shelter and sleep. Safety needs entail personal security and safety as well as job security. Belongingness is the need to be part of groups such as family, clubs, religious groups, and work groups (Beach 31). Self esteem needs are grouped into two categories. The first esteem originates from mastery or competence of a task. The second esteem result from recognition and attention that come from other people. Self-actualization need is the â€Å"desire to become everything that one is capable of becoming† (Beach 32). Maslow suggested that individuals are motivated by the needs that are above the minimal needs which are fulfilling (Singla 265). People have fulfilled certain set of needs are not likely to be motivated by environments that fulfils needs at the lower level. Similarly, people will not be motivated by environments that fulfill higher needs before their lower needs are fulfilled (Beach 31). T his is the reason why Valdez has to determine how each employee works and what sparks energy in them. He says that employees have their personal needs and own drive that must be fulfilled for them to get motivated. He achieves this by maintaining adequate communication system with every employee, as well as watching and observing them. When the manager is faced with performance problem resulting from lack of motivation, he discusses the cause of the problem with every employee, and suggests what can motivate them, or the fact that makes them lose focus. For example, employees who are struggling to fulfill their physiological needs of sufficient shelter, food and water are likely to be motivated by the self-actualization (Beach 32). They should also be encouraged to seek inner peace and knowledge. Similarly, employees who have secure family, healthy ego and safe homes influenced by accumulation of wealth, are likely not to be motivated by providing financial rewards. Herzberg’ s motivation theory deals with the activities employees do at work. The motivators are recognition, growth or advancement, interest and achievement in the job (Hiam 35). In order to apply these theories, the leaders and managers must understand the motivational need of an individual or a group, so as to set up an environment in which they will motivate themselves. In addition, an overall approach that will reinforce the desired motivation is also established. This is the reas

Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

Nursing - Essay Example This year it will provide a real opportunity to expand opportunities which are related to the promotional of fitness and health services across the Maryland state. It will also provide the consumers with relevant health information and various resources on the websites. It will also provide a real experience in terms of showing medical technology and therefore breaking through various diseases. It will also provide me with real experience of having fun and fitness and the importance of the same; education, entertainment and empowerment under one room. Being part of the convention, I believe I will have the opportunity of getting to know on some of the actions to be taken to ensure that we remain healthy. Sharing of information is very important and being at the convention will provide a real opportunity to share with others and acquire new ideas with regards to remaining healthy. The information will help a myriad of the populace to improve the health standards. Substance abuse has been reported to be affected the lives of thousands of people across the globe. Maryland is not exceptional. Attending the convention will be an opportunity of providing information on some of the effects of substance abuse and the risks which are involved. Through sharing of information, there was a real experience of some of the substances which are often abused and the risks associated. There is also a guideline on how some of these cases can be handled. (Commission on Social Determinants of Health final report 1) There was also lesson son some of the preventive measure of substance abuse in the county. Besides pr3eventive issues, there are also a number of programs in the county which are designed to deal with the issues of substance abuse. The convention provided a platform whereby those who attended got the opportunity to be taken through some of the programs existing to deal with the issue. Drugs endanger the lives of children. Unfortunately, most parents and guidance are