Corporate Finance High School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Corporate Finance High School - Essay Example That is, organizations need to be structured in such a way so the agent will expect that diligently serving the interests of his or her principals will also be in his or her own long-run best interests. In order to accomplish this, the principals need to be reasonably clever in setting up the initial rules of the game that are set in the employment contract , sufficiently vigilant in keeping track of their agents' quality of performance over time, and willing to bear at least some minimum level of "agency costs" in order to provide the necessary incentives There are many definitions for the term ethical investment, and what this term entails. Ritsie Lowry, maintainer of the GoodMoney site1 suggests that "In one sense, ethical investment is just like traditional investment. Ethical investors pursue the same economic goals as all investors: capital gains, higher income and/or preservation of capital for future needs. However, ethical investors want one additional thing. They don't want their investments going for thing that cause harm to the social or physical environments, and they do want their investments to support needed and life-supportive goods and services". From this certain definition we are able to realize that ethical investment is similar to the conventional investment, but differs to the fact that it needs one more requirement. Ethical Investors are very strict as far as the kind of business their money is going to fund. Many researches have proved that the ethical investors prefer to invest their money ethically although they know beforehand that the investment will not be as lucrative as a traditional investment. Russell Sparkes 2 in his book mentions "Repeated surveys (the last by Minitel in 1991) have shown that around 40% of the public want their money invested ethically. Interestingly enough, most of those in favor said that they would make ethical investments even if they knew that the returns would be lower than on conventional investments". Nevertheless there exist some facts which prove that ethical investment is quiet lucrative and in some cases more lucrative than the traditional investment. Weidner Investments3, point out four reasons, why the ethical investment is more profitable: 1) Management of the ethical company can focus on genuine growth without worrying about public reactions 2) Legal and hassle related costs are minimal 3) Brand loyalty is less expensive to maintain 4) Active ethical investors and consumers will give the firm free advertising again and again All these points seem quiet rational and representative of reality. We can assume that ethical

The Expert Witness Controversy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Expert Witness Controversy - Essay Example One of the initial problems with expert testimony is that it is used by both the prosecution and the defense. The two experts must necessarily be at opposition in an effort to help their side's case and one of them must be wrong. This is further complicated by the vast number of "Expert Testimony Services" that have cropped up in recent years as lawyers and investigators pursue an expert-for-hire strategy. Some of these firms have been criticized for advertising that they will be paid only if they win the case. This is contrary to science and removes the neutrality of the scientific method. This attitude extends itself into the prosecution as government and police labs exaggerate claims or suppress evidence. In the case of Bromgard vs. Montana, Jimmy Ray Bromgard was convicted of raping an 8 year old girl based on a forensics expert who testified that the hair found at the scene had only a 1 in 10000 chance of not being Bromgard's. This expert testimony was fraudulent as there were n o means to statistically match hairs through microscopic inspection. Another problem with expert testimony enters the courtroom by way of new technology that may be unproven and unreliable. Termed "junk science", it is sometimes used by the defense to instill reasonable doubt, and more often by the prosecution to sway a jury in their favor. The 1993 case of Daubert vs. Merrill Dow Pharmaceutical set strict guidelines that lower courts must use to determine the admissibility of scientific evidence. It mandated that expert testimony be proven valid, reliable, peer reviewed, and generally accepted by the scientific community (Junk science, 2005). However, as new technology arises, it finds its way into court cases and is only upheld or overturned after years of appeal. When first introduced, fingerprint enhancement was labeled by defense attorneys as "...junk science, unreliable, and easily manipulated" (DeMarzo, 2003). Though the appeals process eventually upheld this technique, it runs the risk of alienating a jury and may result in a guilty verdict be ing overturned on appeal. The American Medical Association has been proactive in protecting the credibility of its profession by setting standards for medical testimony. In 1998 they adopted a policy that states, "... expert witness testimony is the practice of medicine subject to peer review" (Reardon, 1998). Medical malpractice suits and the questionable ethics of a Doctor receiving a contingency fee upon winning the case should arouse a sense of trouble in all involved. Expert testimony as it pertains to psychiatry is equally as troublesome as was seen in the case of John Hinkly. More recently, the case of Andrea Yates was overturned and ordered a new trial because of inaccurate testimony given by a leading forensic psychiatrist for the prosecution (Hausman, 2005). Further complicating the case was the controversial "Postpartum

Advanced financial reporting and regulation Essay

Advanced financial reporting and regulation - Essay Example The important characteristic of intangibles is that they lack physical substance. It is very difficult to estimate the value of intangibles and there is a high degree of uncertainty regarding the length of time over which they will provide future benefits. IAS 38 clarifies that intangibles should not be recorded as other assets. Also this standard does not apply to intangible held for sale in the normal course of business of the entity. Similarly differed tax assets, leases, assets arising from employee benefits, financial assets, mineral rights, and other exploration and evaluation assets, and most importantly goodwill arising from business combinations do not fall the preview of IAS 38. The identifiable assets should be separable. The entity is in a position to sell, transfer, and license, rent or exchanges the intangibles. It is important to note that intangibles should be clearly distinguishable and controlled separately from the goodwill. Such identifiable intangibles may have arisen from contractual or other legal rights, whether those are transferable or not, or separable from the entity or other rights and obligations. The initial accounting for intangible is largely dependent on whether they are purchased or developed internally. When intangibles are purchased from others, they are initially recorded at their cost. The amount capitalized will include the purchase price and, like other assets, costs of preparing them for their intended uses. As a result, costs of registration or legal fees related to acquisition are also capitalized. When intangibles are purchased in a business combination, the cost to be recognized is the fair value at acquisition. When intangibles are acquired free of cost or received as a grant, the fair value or nominal value and directly attributable costs of such intangibles is recognized. All other costs of intangibles are charged to revenue. Internally generated intangibles are not recognized as

Employee Development Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Employee Development - Case Study Example Learning is a ubiquitous phenomenon. Everyone learns on a daily basis. It is not possible to do a good job without learning. Learning is an ongoing lifelong process. No matter how good one is, he has scope to learn and do better. Learning can be done at close quarters or even from a distance. Peter Cresswell, general manager for consultancy services at Siemens, says, "Companies tend to think that they have got a unique problem and struggle with the idea of how to take it forward. But one of the benefits of training is that it allows you to apply a positive solution to any activity. Nothing is unique and nothing is insurmountable through either organizational or personal development" (Employee development coursework assignment). An organization keeps its performance in order by providing constant training to its staff and workers. Training is a learning process within a time frame. It raises the learning curve of an employee and keeps him attuned to the latest gadgets and services. There are many training models to choose from. An organization chooses the model that best suit it purposes. The training model must seek to enhance quality and it is in every employee's interest to develop his performance through training. Businesses producing exceptional results year after year have to thank their training programs for their employees. Training help forge good team work (Employee development coursework assignment). Diversity Issues Culturally diverse workforce makes challenging working environment. Cultural difference, ethnicity, nationalism, cultural identity, cultural taboos, cultural shock, cultural colliding, and diversity can cause difficult times in the work place. Diversity may not mean only racial differences but also differences in gender, age, sex, and religious beliefs. Diversity is the spice of life. It helps individuals and organizations by offering a wide range of options in different situations. Diversity is the combination of seven different colors that combine to give one color - white. However, diversity can also create rifts and class consciousness. Diversity does not mean only adversities. An enlightened management is capable of assimilating the diverse backgrounds and creates harmonious working conditions to achieve excellence. Globalization has been responsible for diversity in many corporations. It is mandatory for corporations to put in place appropriate training of its diverse personnel to

Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Nursing - Assignment Example ntage of SOAP is that there is documentation which ensures communication among different health professionals that may be involved in treatment of that patient. This will prevent any misdiagnosis which may be blamed on one health worker only and which may lead to that health worker being sued. In case of anything going wrong for the patient, all the health workers who were involved and integrated by the SOAP will be in trouble but that is rarely the case. The other legal advantage of a SOAP documentation system is that since the documentation is in note form, the progress notes and all other information appear on one page and hence no chances of ignoring part of the notes or not seeing all the notes as a result of missing pages as is common with other traditional documentation systems (Iyer, et al. 2006). This will ensure that non maleficence and beneficence are promoted as no information which may cause harm to the patient will be left without being addressed. This documentation system however has disadvantages too. One of the disadvantages is that every diagnosis is recorded in a different SOAP and this result to redundancy of the work. This may lead to some health workers failing to record all the information which legally amounts to neglect which may cause harm and also ignore the non maleficence code hence charges can be pressed for such a health worker. This is the commonly used documentation system where the patient’s care and treatment information is recorded chronologically over the duration the patient is in hospital or in a health facility (Iyer, et al. 2006). One of its main legal advantages is that it is useful in emergency situations to quickly collect information of patient’s health and treatment interventions necessary. In case anything fails to be recorded or is misreported at that time, the health worker has legal protection as it was an emergency which is allowed by law. Traditional narrative is the system that most health workers are

Gay Rights Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Gay Rights - Research Paper Example son of Florida Citrus Commission and also widely known for her best selling pop albums had lent a strong voice against gay activism and protested by stating that the prevalence of this movement was seriously hampering her basic right as a mother and creating impediments in the â€Å"moral atmosphere† that is considered right for the children (Gillian 127). There are enormous reasons for several divisions of opinion among people regarding same sex marriage although they have not been placed with substantiated doctrines or principles that would suffice the purpose of abandoning such marriages. A majority of anti gay activists have not been able to cite any other reason than the principles of the Holy Bible and their perceptions have centered on the fact that same sex marriage challenges the order of God, which is being counter challenged by the gay people who have repeatedly stated that those who have put forth their opinions may not be fit or able-bodied for defying the rights of homosexuals. As a matter of fact, such decisions must be taken by those who are able to envisage gay rights with reason and common sense according to the gay rights activists. On the other hand, the research studies of Regenurus took a different path than the previous studies conducted on same sex marriages. This research was based on a sample of young America n adults and compared with a group that was biologically intact. The parameters that were intended to be measured through this research included crime rates, tendency of sexually transmitted infections and drug addiction. The result of this study was quite disappointing as most of the young adults whose fathers were involved in same sex relationship were more likely to take drugs than others. The girls with lesbian mothers were four times more prone to thrive on public help than the children of normal biological parents or even single mothers (Ponnuru 29). Despite the studies that reveal such thwarting reports, gay activists have

Poverty in India Essay Example for Free

Poverty in India Essay With 44 percent (44%) of the global outsourcing market in the off shore sector for software and other business process currently being hosted by India, it has fast gained global recognition as the premier global destination for business process outsourcing.   With generated revenues totaling over US$ 17.2 billion and employment related to outsourcing at 1.05 million as of March 2005, India has greatly increased its economic output and per capita GDP.   This economic growth of India has been heralded as one of the most amazing success stories of the 20th century.   The growth rates that India has been posting over the past five years have made it one of the reasons why investments have risen in the area. The problem is that even with the robust economic growth of India the schism between the rich and the poor continues to grow.   Outsourcing, while creating a boon for the Indian economy, has also intensified that gap by creating new social classes and spawning new cultural changes.   Therefore, because of the weak economic fundamentals of the Indian Economy, instead of narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, it is instead widened and fewer jobs are created thus leading to more widespread poverty. The greatest problem that these poor fundamentals present to society however is the widening of social divisions that are already existent in society.   In the Indian model the social rifts that are created deal with the differences from within the family unit in relation to the outside society.   The creation and birth of a new type of middle class society which is predominantly comprised of members of the youth sector is creating a class that is being socially and culturally alienated from the rest of society, particularly in the traditionally conservative Indian society. New work habits and consumer patterns have created a new class that enjoys the more expensive and extravagant lifestyle that is supported by the relatively high wages that receive as compared with the rest of Indian society.   There is very little time to spend in the household where more solid and fundamental values are instilled and nurtured and instead the constant exposure to western society has resulted in a degradation of whatever morals were created or instilled in the first place.   For others, the pressure of keeping the job and maintaining the accustomed lifestyle isolates them from other members of society in their efforts to generate more income. In India where the economic disparity was historically at lower levels, the introduction of higher paying jobs as a result of business process outsourcing has increased the rift between social and economic classes as well.   The newly emancipated and empowered women as well as the new rich employees of outsourcing firms are now experiencing things that their parents could never have enjoyed in their lifetimes such as televisions, ipods, cars and cellular phones.   The rift would not be so great however were the opportunity available equally to all sectors of society.    As it is however, only those with certain qualifications and training are allowed those opportunities and this has created a new resentment for those who have gained so much in so little time. While this has certainly generated more income for the Indian government to utilize in other social welfare projects, the income from taxes is not spent on decreasing the economic divide that exists but has actually been spent on infrastructure projects in IT designed to drum up more business and thus increasing the social gap even more.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another reason for the widespread poverty in India lies in the failure of the government to enact programs to ensure that the economic developments that benefit certain sectors of society also trickle down to the masses.   The Indian Planning Commission has estimated that as of the year 2004 and 2005 nearly 27.5% of the Indian population was living below the poverty lines. Nearly 75% of all those living below the poverty line are located in the rural areas of India.   This shows that while most of the developed cities in India are beginning to grow, the rural areas of India are not able to benefit from this economic development.   With over 836 million citizens living on less than US$ 0.50 cents, it seems that the poverty problems of India are more rooted on the poor economic structure than anything else. Another reason for this is because of the different social, religious and economic groups that are in India.     The fact that the caste system was encouraged until the early 20th century has also added to the poverty rate in India because of the special rights and privileges that were given to others.   Coupled with the lack of property rights, since the right to property is not constitutionally declared in India, these barriers effectively prevent those from the lower economic classes of India from entering the middle class. There are a number of other reasons that can be cited as the cause for poverty in India.   Most of these theories are based on the poor economic fundamentals that were established during the British Regime and during the resulting political turmoil that resulted immediately after the transfer of power in 1947.   Be that as it may, such poor fundamentals have also given birth to other economic problems such as the growing divide between the different economic classes in India. The recent economic growth of India due to its growing role as a major player in the outsourcing industry has indeed granted a number of benefits to Indians but at the same time it has served to increase poverty in certain areas because of the failure of the government to ensure a more equitable distribution of income among the masses.   Lack of government infrastructure projects and rampant corruption remain to be the deterrents for India’s true economic growth.   Until India is able to address these problems, poverty will remain to be synonymous with the Indian Economic system for years to come.    References: Agrawal, A. N.: Indian Economy. Problems of Development and Planning. 18th edition, New Delhi: Wiley Eastern Limited 2002 Ahluwalia, Isher Judge: New Economic Policies. Reform of Public Sector Enterprises and Privatisation in India. mimeo, February 2004, paper presented for the Conference on Economic Liberalisation in South Asia at the Australia Singh, Ajit Kumar: Social Consequences of New Economic Policies. With Particular Reference to Levels of Living of Working Class Population. In: EPW, February 13, 1993, p. 279 – 285 Sridhan, E.: Economic Liberalisation and Indias Political Economy: Towards a Paradigm Synthesis. In: The JCCP, vol. XXXI, no. 3, November 1993, pp. 1 31 A overview and critical discussion on theoretical explanations of the Indian political economy Varadarajan, P.; Bharadwaj, S.; Thirunarayana, P.: Executives attitudes toward consumerism and marketing an exploration of theoretical and empirical linkages in an industrializing country. In: Journal of Business Research, 1994, vol. 29, no 2, pp 83-100