My Native Town

My native town is Mandalay it’s also well-known as a culture city of Myanmar. Mandalay is Upper Myanmar's main commercial, educational, health centre and considered the centre of Burmese culture. Mandalay is Located in the central dry zone of Myanmar and on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River. Its also surrounded by Sagaing Hill, Shan Yoma Hill, Kyut Sae Hill and Mandalay Hill. My native town is the second-largest city and the last royal capital of Myanmar. King Mindon founded Mandalay and the royal palace, Mya Nan San Kyaw as a new capital at the foot of Mandalay Hill in 1857. When it was founded in 1857, the royal city was officially named Yadanabon which means â€Å"The City of Gems†. King Mindon also founded the Kuthodaw Pagoda, the Thudhamma Zayats and the library for the Buddhist scriptures. I'm always proud the glory of Mya Nan San Kyaw Palace and Mandalay Kyone. That's a trademark of my native town. Mandalay is famous with the places such as Maha Muni Pagoda, Kyauktawgyi Pagoda, Kuthodaw Pagoda, Shwenandaw Monastery and Atumashi Monastery. Mandalay is Myanmar's cultural and religious centre of Buddhism, having numerous monasteries and more than 700 pagodas. That show my native town is very devout in Buddhist religious. Moreover, Mandalay is well-known in the world by The World's Biggest Book, located in Kuthodaw Pagoda and U Paing Bridge. Most of the famous authors and artists in Myanmar were emerged from Mandalay and they served our traditional culture not to disappear and created new cultural tradition to our generations. Therefore, no matter how much the globalization wave is influenced in Mandalay, Mandalay always has a sense of our Myanmar people's culture and overwhelmed the religious beliefs.

Myra Levine Theory Critique

Introduction Myra Levine proposed a grand theory of energy conservation. Using the Chinn and Kramer Model for critique, this paper will describe the theory reviewing purpose, concepts, definitions, relationships, structure, assumptions, and rationale for selection. Then, the theory will be critically examined for clarity, simplicity, generalizability, accessibility, and importance. Energy conservation provides a unique framework for education and current practice. Well-defined concepts of environment, health, nurse, and patient can guide research.However, the theory has limited application to some areas such as health promotion and disease prevention. Further refinement of this theory would beneficially develop the knowledge base of nursing, guide practice, and contribute to favorable outcomes. Description of Theory Purpose Myra Levine was an experienced nurse and teacher who sought to educate medical-surgical students about major concepts in nursing. Levine wanted the focus of nursi ng to be patient-centered instead of task-oriented (Sitzman & Eichelberger, 2011).Also, like other early nursing scholars, Levine wanted to distance nursing practice from medicine (Meleis, 2012). Trophicognosis is a term Levine invented to replace medical diagnosis. Trophicognosis referred to nursing judgement arrived at by the scientific method; according to Meleis (2012) trophicognosis was a â€Å"useful beginning for the use of the nursing process† (p. 291). Concepts Levine based her theoretical concepts on her personal philosophy. Levine viewed man as â€Å"an ever-changing organism in constant interaction with an ver-changing environment† (Levine, 1969, p. 93). Levine believed individuals respond to their environment in a systematic way based on their perceptual systems. Therefore, Levine conceptualized nursing based on the idea that â€Å"an appreciation of these responses will conserve the patient’s resources, alter his environment to fit his resources, and be an extension of his perceptual systems when his own are impaired† (Levine, 1969, p. 93). Conservation is unique to Levine’s theory and is the primary concept (Sitzman & Eichelberger, 2011).Levine identified four conservation principles as a framework for nursing interventions and established the goal of conservation as adaptation (Meleis, 2012). Other important concepts included wholeness, organismic responses, adaptation, integrity, and perceptual systems. Definitions The conservation model clearly defines major concepts related to patients, environment, adaptation and energy conservation. Levine did not think it was an accident that the word â€Å"health† was derived from the Anglo-saxon word for â€Å"whole† (Levine, 1969).Levine saw patients as complete persons made up of dynamic systems that continuously seek a state of balance. Levine viewed health and disease as patterns of adaptive change along a continuum of dynamic processes within a perso n’s unique pathophysiology and environment (Levine, 1966). Both internal and external environments were described; the external environment was categorized as perceptual, operational, or conceptual. Conservation of energy was defined as the goal, or outcome, of nursing; the concept of conservation included maintaining a person’s social, personal, and structural integrity (Meleis, 2012).Relationships According to Levine, the patient’s health is dependent on the nurse-supported process of adaptation (Sitzman & Eichelberger, 2011). Nurses function as an extension of the patient’s perceptual systems, but work to end the dependence as quickly as possible (Levine, 1966). Structure The conservation model follows a linear progression from desynchronization to energy conservation to adaptation. As a patient-focused and goal oriented theory, success is measured by outcome-based criteria. Assumptions Levine presented many implicit and explicit assumptions throughout her theory development.Levine’s assumptions centered on the essence of the human experience, adaptation, and nursing. The most influential assumption was the wholeness and complexity of patients (Meleis, 2012). Rationale for Selection There are many reasons to study Levine’s Conservation Model. The concept of energy conservation is unique to this model. Levine believed in holistic care and supported patient’s rights to personally define their health (Meleis, 2012). The concept of wholeness is consistent with most modern philosophies of nursing. The World Health Organization definition of health is also consistent with Levine’s concepts.Many multidisciplinary concepts relate to adaptation, including physics, physiology, and neuroscience (Meleis, 2012). These concepts may facilitate future theory development and research. Finally, in the current socio-political environment, outcome-based theory will likely become increasingly relevant as reimbursement depe nds on patient outcomes. Critical Reflection Clarity Chinn and Kramer defined clarity based on ease of understanding and consistency of concepts (Meleis, 2012). Myra Levine precisely and accurately labeled her theory Energy Conservation.It is apparent that her pedagogical practices influenced definitions of main concepts. I think she was consistent in her operational definitions of the patient, the nurse, the environment, and adaptation. However, I agree with Meleis (2012) that the derived concepts of integrity, wholeness, and humanism do not have clear boundaries. Simplicity Some of the definitions are complex, but Levine maintained simple components consistent with the theoretical assumptions & propositions (Meleis, 2012). Although human responses are a complex phenomenon, Levine limited much of her paradigm to physiologic responses.I believe this limitation benefits the use of her theory for empirical approaches to research. Generalizability The theory of energy conservation seek s to provide a broad framework for nursing care. However, the pathophysiology-based foundation biases application to acute care settings. Likewise, the specificity of the conservation principles limits implications for practice. The theory emphasizes short term goals and treatment; it does not generate propositions for modern issues of nutrition, diversity, health promotion, long-term care, family care, or community health (Meleis, 2012).Accessibility Levine’s theory has been widely used to direct education, administration, research, and practice (Meleis, 2012). The theory provides a useful framework when energy conservation is important for patient recovery. Therefore, this framework readily applies to vulnerable patient populations. However, a lack of clear definitions, boundaries between concepts, and development of propositions reduces the theory’s testability (Meleis, 2012). Importance Practically applied, Levine’s theory most readily relates to acute care settings.However, within the grand theory of energy conservation, Levine asserted concepts that are still important today. Levine emphasized science, recognized wholeness, and acknowledged patients as partners in care (Fawcett & Swoyer, 2008). Empirical knowledge remains imperative to scientific development in nursing. Also, contemporary nurses widely accept the paradigm of holistic care. Person-environment interactions and life processes are additional ideas Levine presented which current nursing practice accepts (Meleis, 2012). ConclusionLevine’s Conservation Model has proven useful as a theoretical framework to develop educational curricula, guide practice, and improve patient outcomes. The theory application is limited to acute care settings and lacks well-developed propositions for research. However, the theory possesses many salient ideas which could encourage future research on environment, energy, and adaptation. Levine accepted the evolution of theories, acknowledgin g their potential for change and development (Meleis, 2012). I think Levine would be pleased that her ideas continue to be explored.

Performance Management System

Contents 1. Performance management on the benefits of a company or organization. 2. Examples and behavior of Performance management. 3. Performance Management Systems 4. Human Capital and Strategic Planning 5. Recommendations Performance management on the benefits of a company or organization. Successful organizations know that to win in today’s competitive marketplace they must attract, develop, and retain a talented and productive staff.Winning organizations get their competitive edge from a performance management system that communicates the organization’s vision and values, aligns individual and team performance goals with the organization’s strategic objectives, outlines career development paths for each team member, and provides ongoing feedback for staff development. We will guide you through the development of your Competency Based Performance Management System, customizing the program to reflect the unique needs of your organization.A Senior Consultant w ill work with your leadership team to develop a model that will maximize employee input, buy-in and utilization of the new review process. Performance management system training is a process that uses your employees to their full potential, developing the talents of the existing workforce as a cost-effective way to increase the bottom line. These systematic training programs ensure the goals of your company are consistently met by each individual employee.Performance management helps evaluate each employee to see if he is in the right position, and a continued training program develops his skills to their highest level. Having a common goal among employees and management is what makes a company successful. Performance management system training teaches and develops these common goals. When you train your employees effectively, they know what is expected of them and need less monitoring. Employee morale is boosted when each employee feels she is adequately qualified for her job posit ion.Positive morale has proven to increase productivity, which ultimately means higher profits for the business. Performance management includes employee appraisals as a necessary first step. Discerning how your employees currently perform helps you determine how you would like them to perform. You can then set the goals necessary to bridge that gap. You will create a checklist of what you want to assess in each employee, establish a deadline for completing the appraisals and determine how you will go about the evaluation.Performance management is all about motivating employees to do better, so these appraisals are an opportunity for supervisor and staff to mutually agree on goals that will help them succeed. Examples and behavior of Performance management. A management system is the framework of processes and procedures used to ensure that an organization can fulfill all tasks required to achieve its objectives. For instance, an environmental management system enables organizations to improve their environmental performance through a process of continuous improvement.An oversimplification is â€Å"Plan, Do, Check, Act†. A more complete system would include accountability (an assignment of personal responsibility) and a schedule for activities to be completed, as well as auditing tools to implement corrective actions in addition to scheduled activities, creating an upward spiral of continuous improvement. Also as in the aforementioned management system, an occupational health and safety management system enables an organization to control its occupational health and safety risks and to improve its performance by means of continuous improvement.A management system is a proven framework for managing and continually improving your organization's policies, procedures and processes. The best businesses work as complete units with a shared vision. This may encompass information sharing, benchmarking, team working and working to the highest quality and environ mental principles. A management system helps your organization to achieve these goals through a number of strategies, including process optimization, management focus and disciplined management thinking. Performance Management SystemsPerformance management is a discipline that aims at promoting organizational performance by managing the human capital of an organization. The know-how, skills and capabilities that inherent and used by workers in an organization are referred to as human capital. Human capital is an integral asset of any business, company or organization and many of them have concentrated their investments of human capital. Why are organizations interested in the development management and promotion of human capital? Is human capital becoming more and more relevant to organizations?Studies have indicated that there is a huge overt and covert influence of human capital on the performance of any organization and business and there has been intensive research on human capi tal as a factor in business and organizational performance. This is why organizations are increasingly empowering their human resource departments which deal with the human capital. It has been proved by various studies that any practice that promotes or enhances human capital influences organizational performance directly by molding organizational behavior and attitudes.Human capital also creates structural and operational focal points that improve efficiency. According to most business executives, people are the most integral assets in any organization because they are the ones that make the rest of the assets to function. They have proved that investment in people often lead to improved revenue and profit margins. However the problem that arises from this assertion is that human capital as an asset is not tangible. This means that is cannot be in any way captured in financial results and statement.This puts a challenge on the business executives to empirically prove that investme nts in the human capital adds positive value to an organization that results to the growth of the organization and additional, value to the shareholders. There are some indicators that can measure the effectiveness of human capital in a business. They include the image of the organization, popularity with headhunters, experience, satisfaction and loyalty but these signals are not efficient because they do not put a real estimate on the added value to the company.In simple terms, the influence of human capital on the growth of a business is something that cannot be easily documented quantitatively. This is what challenges business executives in their attempt to claim that people are the most important asset in any business. This complicates their quest for the organizations to allow more funding to enhance and promote the human capital they claim is the most integral asset. The human resource management departments in organizations in Australia have realized that human capital needs additional support for the organizations to grow in terms of market share, competitive advantage and revenue base.The emphasis on human capital by businesses and organizations in Australia is based not only on conventional ideals of human capital but also on the contemporary knowledge and information based world of organizations. in a society which is becoming revolutionized by technology, the concept of human capital cannot remain static. For businesses to remain competitive and productive in this digital age, the workforce must therefore be equipped with the relevant skills to keep them at par with the dynamics of technology.This will ensure that things to do with on job training must be emphasized. Additional financial capital needs to be channeled towards the human resource departments to facilitate the training of the workforce. Human Capital and Strategic Planning Strategic decision making must precede the HR functions of the organizations because it is the strategic decisions made that will determine how the strategic functions will be carried out. An organization must therefore identify its missions and visions which must be articulated to all the shareholders.Clear visions and missions are very fundamental for the development of HR strategies because they have to be relevant with the literacy levels and the competencies of the employees who will have to face the challenge of delivering it. One of the problems faced by organizations is the development of unrealistic strategic plans that completely destabilize the HR functions. This is because at times there is absence of leadership competence that does not understand that there is an umbilical cord that connects the strategies with their relevance to the people who will be supposed to execute it.This is why the HR department must also be part of the strategic decision making process and the best way of helping in the making of the strategic decisions is by using its competencies model where the compete ncies of the already existing employees are factored in such that while most of the visions and missions being planned will be planned around the competencies and the creativity levels of the existing employees.This will minimize the need to make a complete overhaul or a reengineering that would be occasioned by strategic decisions that do not factor in the competencies of the employees. Where the strategic decisions go beyond the competencies of the existing HR, external recruitment would be the most appropriate HR function otherwise, internal promotions based on competencies and performance would be the most viable option as long as the competencies and the performance of the existing HR is factored in during the strategic decision making process (Bradford, 2000).The strategic plans can be easily realized using a HR team that is already acquainted with the practices of the organization meaning that the internal promotions would be the most viable HR practice especially when recrui ting for middle level and top management positions. The use of the correct HR practices will enable an organization to adopt a holistic approach that will enable it to capitalize on the competitive market trends avoiding internal divisions and personal agendas that end up blocking the path to the realization of the strategic plans.Recommendations There are a few recommendations that will made that will help in the improvement of performance management systems 1. Firms should invest more in human capital because it is the single most important economic resource of any organization 2. The human capital should be availed with the necessary resources for them to be able to give firms a competitive advantage 3.Human capital should be included in the strategic decisions of a firm because they are the ones who will work on the strategies 4. A collective culture in should be enhanced in firms in order to give the human capital the correct working environment 5. There should be management an d leadership styles that support and motivate the human capital to enhance its performance

Development of Arab Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Development of Arab Film - Essay Example However, the Quran does not have instructions on the subject giving Arab cinema creators a chance to come up with pieces that include a man and beast character. The cinema producers are prohibited by Islam from using images that are works of Satan. The minor religious objection led to the development of film in Arab. Symbolism is used to develop relations between characters and the plot of the films. Traditional Arab culture did not recognize symbolism in both fine arts and literary genres such as classical poetry ( Shafik 61). Lack of symbolism recognition in Arab films then paved way for western film influence. The films began to integrate symbols into Arab’s literary creations. The process brought meaning to symbols used in Arab fills that would depend on different elements to fix images. The influence of western films came in to teach the directors how to come up with symbols with unambiguous statements. The major forms or elements of popular theatre in Arab films include performers, audience, director, theatre space, design elements, and dramatic action personified in the text. The elements were initially developed by the activities of the actors, actresses, and directors who combined effort to create plays with public appeal. For instance, a play such as Kish Kish bey was adapted for the film but the play was a success due to a combined effort of the stars (Shafik 72). The films were directed for Arab and international audience after World War II. The dramatic actions, design elements, and arrangement of theatre space were influenced by elements of European theatre.  

Challenges and opportunities effects of Canada's changing population Essay

Challenges and opportunities effects of Canada's changing population reality - Essay Example It is expected that, between 2015 and 2021, the aged people will be more than the population of children below fifteen years. Increase of aged population will have a number of challenges, which the Canadian government articulates on swiftly. Factors contributing to this population trend include decrease in birth rate for the last one decade and increase in life expectancy level. Effects of changing population in Canada Reduction of Labour Force Industries and other sectors of production depend heavily on labour force of young and energetic people. In Canada, as the population trends stands, there is an increase of the aged people who are not productive as compared to juniors. Reduction of the work force in industries will have tremendous consequences such as a decrease in production thus fall in profit. The overall countries economy will be affected as the tax levied from these industries is determined by the volume of production. Increased competition of skilled labour A lot of Cana dian’s population has attained the retirement age. There being no enough young people to fill the gap left by retiring people, this has led to rise in competition of skilled workers (Carstairs and Keon 73). ... As a result of this, many companies and industries are experiencing low and poor production growth rate. Increase of public health care spending Canadian population being dominated by the aged people has led to increase of the public health care spending. Aged people needs a close attention on health care matters as their bodies are generally weak and susceptible to illnesses. Health services and associated policies makers will need to come up with necessary measures so as to cope with these demands (Carstairs and Keon 34). Health sector have to identify key challenges facing the ageing people and formulate constructive and a lasting solution to them. The paramount way to have a lasting solution is by health sector involving the aged to identify what they want for their health care. In order to facilitate all this, government will therefore have to spend more to cater for aged health issues. Slower Population Growth According to researches, the fertility rate of human beings is high at young age and decreases significantly as one advances in age. Aged people being the majority in Canada, pose a serious decrease of population growth due to the fact that aged people are not fertile, hence they cannot reproduce. Slower population growth indicates that in the near future, the country will lack enough manpower to handle its various activities (Carstairs and Keon 13). Reduction of Growth Rate Productivity is measured on how much an individual can accomplish in a given duration of time. Therefore, productivity is an indispensable aspect of daily life of mankind as it determines their living standards. High productivity enhances good living standard whereas low productivity cause poor

Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Education - Essay Example In addition, US government supports education to reduce illiteracy, criminal activities, and drug abuse behaviours that are prevalent with the uneducated. This paper discusses education in the US as a social issue. The two theories quoted in literature trying to explain or predict student’s performance include needs theory and expectancy theory. According to Geiger and Coopers, â€Å"expectancy theory suggests that motivation to act is a combination of the perceived attractiveness of future outcomes and the likelihood one’s actions will lead to these outcomes† (Geiger and Coopers 1995). This means that to motivate a student to work hard depends on their perceptions of the academic performance and in their beliefs that after hard work they will yield great results. The second traditional that attempt to explain academic success suggests that motivating students to perform depends on their intrinsic individual needs. Individual student’s motivational behavio ur is influenced by their desire to achieve, to dominate, to belong to a certain affiliation, or autonomy. The two theories differ in that motivation from students may come from some needs in the subconscious mind or by a conscious choice. A concern on whether educational opportunities are equal to all lingers many minds. According to Collins, â€Å"Social reproduction theory argues that schools are not institutions of equal opportunity but mechanisms for perpetuating social inequalities† (Collins 2009). Researchers have associated three perspectives in the analysis of the emergence and development of social reproduction, which include economic, cultural, and linguistic. Despite different analysis to understand how social inequality results from the interplay of schools, classrooms, and the wider society, no solution exists yet (Collins 2009). Conflict theory believes that the society is full of a community with different values and social rewards. It views relations in socie ty as based on exploitation, oppression, domination, and subordination. Teachers equally behave in the same manner whereby they use traditional teaching curriculum and expect students to get some support from their parents in the evenings but this is not normally the case. The state gauge knowledge passed to its students via the curriculum, which in most cases does not make sense to the students. Structural functionalism views institutions of education as gateways that keep order and meaning to a society. Through socialization, the society produces citizens after equipping them with knowledge, attitudes and values the need. These theories together with political arithmetic helps one understand the structural mechanism in educational inequalities. Implicitly, schools have central role of assisting immigrants in adapting to the new lives they find themselves. This is where immigrant students start their integration with working life as they share the same skills with the native studen ts. However, this is not the case in America since equality in schooling inputs is no longer enough to assess equity in education. After accounting for the social-economic factors of the parents of the students, PISA mathematical scale discovered that immigrants still rage behind by 30 score points to their native counterparts (Schleicher 2006). Researchers shows that immigrant students attend schools with poor learning conditions such as student-teacher ratio and that they lack in other

IBM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

IBM - Essay Example IBM is an American Computer manufacturing company which was founded in 17 February, 1874 by Thomas Watson. It is also known as the ‘big blue’ due to the color of its logo. The company started as a producer of punch cards tabulating machines. It built a 600s calculator in 1930s which was based on the punch card processing machine. The first computer (Mark 1) to perform long calculations automatically was co-funded by the organization in 1944 together with Harvard University. Watson Junior developed the 701 EDPM in 1953 which was meant to help in the policing of Korea by the United Nations but was not compatible with the punch card processing machine. The machine had processing units which were about 10 times faster than the core memory. The organization built more computers of IBM types like the IBM 704 of 1956, IBM 7090 of 1960, the 650 EDPM which was compatible with the earlier calculator 600s and it was the first massively produced computer. In 1981 the organization bu ilt a home-use computer called IBM PC. The company currently produces software products and computers. IBM research has helped the company in development of new technology and their application and helped the company to make innovations in the industry. These include; the innovation of copper chip technology that are capable of holding very large capacity of information. These were scheduled to be produced in 1998; Introduction of the Giant Magneto-resistive Head (GMR) which allowed introduction of products with higher areal densities e.g. disk drives; Speech recognition technology that would revolutionalise data input and usage of computers in business. There is research to expand and enhance voice recognition software which is already available in 8 words; Scalable parallel systems that allows joining of computer processors together while breaking down complexity and data-intensive jobs to speed their completion; Token-ring networking that allowed more efficient and reliable control of LAN (Local Area Network) traffic-a token-ring controls an individual computer to accessing of the network for example used in factories, cyber cafes, and university campuses; discovery of High-temperature superconductivity in ceramics which was done in 1986 by two scientists from the organization and they were offered the Nobel Peace Prize; discovery in Fractals allows mathematical description of natural irregularities via fractal geometry. A paper which contained the view that, irregular shapes in the nature, like tree branching of objects or phenomena had similar form when given a close up view or far away. The paper was published by Mandelbrot Benoit a scientist at IBM, in 1967; introduction of Formula Translation System (FORTRAN) in 1957; Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), whose memory concept of storing one bit of information in a memory cell consisting of only one transistor and a capacitor, was first described by a researcher in organization in a patent issue of 1968.

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Economic Essay

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Economic Growth of the Host Economies - Essay Example ects of FDI on economic growth in host countries greatly depend upon the local conditions and contexts of doing business there: for example, human capital enhances the positive effects of FDI on host economies, while the existing technology gaps make it possible to implement even the simplest foreign direct investment reforms (Wang, Gu, Tse & Yim, 2012). Added to this is the role which market size plays in attracting FDI to host countries, whereas technology-absorptive abilities predetermine host returns from FDI (Li & Liu 2005; Blalock & Gertner 2008). These results have far-reaching implications for policy development and implementation, although all risks and factors changing the nature of FDI inflows to host countries need to be thoroughly considered. Even more interesting are the results of another study conducted in the three major countries-recipients of FDI. These include Malaysia, Chile, and Thailand (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). Again, the researchers confirm that the effects of FDI on economic growth are very heterogeneous and primarily depend upon the level of GDP in host countries (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). At least in Thailand and Malaysia, the relationship between GDP and FDI is very explicit (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). Again, these findings have far-reaching implications for policymaking, since understanding causality between FDI and economic growth is crucial for the creation of policies that encourage the inflow of investments from abroad in the developing world. Both studies confirm the importance of the FDI-economic growth causality but also imply that the nature of this causality and its direction should be placed under professional scrutiny. As long as the effects of FDI on economic growth in host countries are characterized by considerable...This essay outlines the difficulties in establishing the functional relationships of FDI influence on economic growth in host countries. One of the greatest problems in this respect is the lack of suff icient empirical data. Another difficulty is the lack of organization and poor systematization of the existing knowledge. Theoretically, FDI promotes economic growth through an increase in investment volumes, leading to increased efficiency of all economic and financial operations. Another theory suggests that economic growth is a direct result of the technological diffusions caused by FDI. Objectively, there is no single explanation to the effects of FDI on economic growth: numerous variables moderate the relationship between FDI and economic growth in host countries, and the current knowledge of financial markets and macro/microeconomics does not allow producing a comprehensive theory of FDI and its impacts on host countries’ economies. In order to understand how and why FDI impacts host countries’ economic growth, the meaning of both terms needs to be clarified. For the goal of this paper, foreign direct investment is defined as â€Å"the process whereby residents of one country (the source country) acquire ownership of assets for the purpose of controlling the production, distribution, and other activities of a firm in another country. FDI impacts economic growth through structural effects, skill and technology, and size effects. TNC play a huge role in the transfer of capitals and skills from one country to another.

Five Skills that a Forensic Accountant Needs to Possess Research Paper

Five Skills that a Forensic Accountant Needs to Possess - Research Paper Example The country’s top accredited organization of accountants, AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) made a study on what are the top skills for a forensic accountant needs to possess to become effective with his or her job. The respondents of the study were academics and practitioners. a. Analytical and detail oriented Their study revealed that a forensic accountant has to be analytical. Both the academics and practitioners that a forensic accountant must have the analytical proficiency that would provide an invaluable insight to the practitioner in its engagements than the regular auditing and problem solving skills (AICPA a, nd). Frauds are deliberately concealed and uncovering them requires analytical skills and dedication to details in addition to the usual auditing and problem solving skills of accountants. b. Interpretive skills or intuitive investigative skills The ability to interpret data and simplify them were also ranked as the second among accounta nts and academics (AICPA a, nd). They complement the analytical skill of a forensic accountant for this skill allows the practitioner to determine the usefulness of such data. Other respondents called this intuitive investigative skills or the ability to intuitively associate information for it to be useful in any forensic accounting investigation (AICPA a, nd). c. Soft skills/effective oral communicator The ability to communicate effectively was deemed important in the practice of forensic accounting. This is both oral and written communication. This skill is essential for a forensic accountant to possess because the nature of the work requires the practitioner to provide an expert opinion either orally (i.e. giving expert opinion in court of laws, providing consultancy advise to clients) or in a form of a formal written report (AICPA a, nd ). Forensic accounting is such a complex discipline and the ability to simplify information and language that can be easily understood by verif ier of facts or clients is an essential skill. d. Skepticism In the study, some respondents wrote it as â€Å"skepticism† which is essential for an investigative work. This became an important skill of a forensic accountant in cases where the practitioner is tasked to uncover or investigate fraud. e. Ethical Being ethical is ranked as one of the top five skills of a forensic accountant because this skill is â€Å"consistent with the mission of the forensic accountant† (AICPA a, and pg. 11). In plain language, forensic accountants are the antidote to frauds and scams and if they themselves are susceptible to unethical behaviors which they are tasked to investigate and uncover, the general public will be left with nothing to shield them from such undesirable financial practices. In addition to these five skills that a forensic accountant must profess, the practitioner must also have the ability to review large volumes of financial statements and documents. A forensic acc ountant must also be grounded on the various business models that companies use. The practitioner must also be able to prepare and dispense expert reports under a strict timetable (Owojori and Asaolu, 2009).  

Curriculum Goals, Objectives, and Products Essay

Curriculum Goals, Objectives, and Products - Essay Example Curriculum goal is defined as an end or purpose that is stated through general terms where the achievement criterion is not used. When curriculum goals are used in a given system or school, they become the aims of education. On the other hand, curriculum objective illustrate an end or purpose that is stated in measurable and specific terms. Thus, curriculum goals are used to derive the curriculum objectives. The locus of curriculum objectives and goals is that they are written at school-district, state and individual level with expectations that jurisdiction has to be adhered to in a respective level. Nevertheless, any curriculum objective and goal, which is developed in a given level has to cut across several disciplines. The development of the curriculum goals and objectives has to focus on states of today with a bias on departmental development while reflecting on change in modern society. Educational aims and developers’ philosophy are used to establish curriculum goals an d objectives in individual, district and state based schools. Thus, the entire process and product of curriculum materials establishment is

Strategic Management Analysis Managing change Essay

Strategic Management Analysis Managing change - Essay Example In the case studies under consideration, we will look at two types of organizations - one local public sector organization and the other a private one. Both these organizations have been facing issues on account of the changing environment based on the factors discussed earlier. Let us have a macro level picture of the issues faced by each. In our later sections we will also discuss the various theories related to change management and analyze the two organizations and their strategies in the light of these theories. The public sector organization under discussion is the Haram Commune. A commune is the basic level of the local government in Norway. Haram is an area of one of the counties of Norway, which is faced with a changing demographic profile of its population. As the area does not have sufficient career opportunities, it is faced with the exodus of young population seeking better career prospects outside Haram resulting in shortage of young, highly educated and skilled manpower. The future local job market is expected to be more knowledge-based and hence requires highly educated workforce. The commune, which was so far a public service organization, needed to change its way of functioning to make Haram an attractive business destination. We will analyze the various strategies and their outcomes in our later discussion. Our second organization, Marks and Spencer, had been very successful till 1998. However since then it started facing losses on account of increased competition, lack of abil ity to change with time and risk avoidance strategies. The case later analyses the various strategies employed by two CEOs, Holmes and Rose, with the aim of turning the company around. We will analyze the various strategies in our later sections and also try to see what could be a sustainable change management approach. Literature review Looking at the importance of change for today’s organizations, change management has been an important subject of study and a lot of research has been done in this regard. Some researchers suggest a transition change model whereby â€Å"four interlocking management processes lead to† implementation of sustainable change in an organization (Paton, Paton and McCalman 2008). These processes are described as – trigger layer, vision layer, conversion layer and maintenance and renewal layer (Paton, Paton and McCalman 2008). Sustainable change management requires organizations to identify and open for change to encash upon opportunitie s rather than to overcome crises. They need to have leadership with a vision which establishes and tracks the future course of an organization. (Pettigrew and Whipp 1991). This vision should be converted to actual actions by gathering support within the organization. And

Teanage Driving Essay Example for Free

Teanage Driving Essay Imagine you just hit a car head-on. It’s probably because you are under the influence. This is why experts say the driving age should be raised to age 18. The minimum driving age differs from state to state. The lowest driving age in the United States is 13. That is in the state of Nebraska. You have to be thirteen years old qualify for a â€Å"farm husbandry permit.† The 13 year old can operate off-road vehicles used in farming. The government is considering raising the legal driving age. It should be raised because most of the teens who will or are driving will be doing things they know they should not do. They do things like texting on their cell phone and speeding over the limit. It is also because they are under peer pressure. Car accidents are mostly caused be teenagers. They take their own lives when they don’t wear their seat belts or are out past their curfews. The law keeps the voting age at 18 and buying alcohol at 21 but let a 16 years old have the responsibility of taking the busy streets. The legal driving age should be raised to age 18 because most teenagers are not responsible, most teens text while driving, and lives can be saved. First, the driving age should be raised because most teens are not responsible. Car crashes that are caused by teenage drivers are the number one killer of teens in America today. They kill most between 15 and 21 year old. 13% of teens said that they have been in a car with the driver had drunk alcohol before driving. 14% of teens say that they drive after drinking. 36% of teens say that they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking. Motor vehicle crashes kill between 5,000 to 6,000 people every year. Driving is something that requires focus and decision making. Teenagers are still developing self-control and appropriate emotional responses to a situation that might be going on. â€Å"Road rage† is used to describe the emotional response of something like anger or frustration that teens can experience while behind the wheel. Some teenagers’ get hurt just because they know that they should put on their seat belt and they don’t. Also, it is because the teenager doesn’t go home at their curfew. If a teenager wears his seat belt; it reduces the risk of dying by 45%. Teenagers are the youngest people to not wear their seat belt. Teenage drivers are more likely to have a car accident since they’re under the influence of alcohol. A driver’s license provides privileges other than driving. Four out of six teens that drinks and drive kill drivers 20 or younger that result in a fatal crash. One out of three teens will have a car accident within the first two years of driving. Secondly, the driving age should be raised because teens are texting while driving. 56% of teenagers answer and make phone calls while they are driving. 13% of teens say that they have sent and responded to text messages while driving. 45% of teens said that they would speak up if someone else was driving in a way that scared them. Texting while driving gives you a four times of a chance to having a car accident. Distracted drivers account for 80% of crashes that was from 18 to 20 year old. If we get teenagers off of the roads, then there would be fewer car crashes. Next, if teenagers don’t drive, lives can be saved. Allison Reboratti was a 19 year old. She had boyfriend named Steven Filipak. They both are in the state of Pennsylvania. Steven had driven them to Steven’s friend’s house. Steven got drunk and passed out. When he got conscious the both of them left. He got conscious on the early morning of May 9, 2001. Allison had let Steven drive the car home. Neither of them had their seat belt on when Steven had lost control of the car. He had hit a sign post, a fence, and an evergreen tree. Someone had called the paramedics. When the paramedics arrived, Allison was found dead lying across Steven’s lap. Steven was breathing, but unconscious. He was taken to the hospital. He had broken bones and brain damage. He had to stay in the hospital for five months. This story proves that the driving age should be raised. Male drivers between the ages of 15 and 20 were involved in fatal crashes. 37% were speeding and 26% were dri nking. Five percent of teenagers admit to driving a car after drinking alcohol. Eight hundredths percent of drivers have alcohol in their blood. Almost three out of four teen drivers were killed in a crash after drinking and driving and they wasn’t wearing a seat belt. 56% of teen’s deaths occur on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Fatal crashes rate from 16 to 19 year old. Teenage drivers are more likely to get into a car accident than older drivers. 55% of teens said that they go over ten miles per hour the limit. Some teens even go over 80 miles per hour while driving. 17% of teens say that they think that speeding is fun. 44% of teen’s said that they would drive more safely if their friends were not in the car. 67% of teens said that they felt unsafe would when someone else was driving. 37% of teens say that they would ride with one or more friends who speed in the coming year. Over 40% of teen crashes deaths occur between 9 P.M. and 6 A.M. 60% of teens’ auto deat hs occur before midnight. Therefore, the driving age should be raised to age 18. It should be raised because most teenagers are not responsible, text while driving, and lives can be saved. Also, it should be raised because most teenagers under age drink and their drinking leads to them having car accidents. Teenagers kill thousands of people every year. Lots of teenagers make and answer phone calls while they are driving. In addition, teens kill more people than mid-aged adults. That concludes the reasons why the driving age should be raised to age 18.

Hydromorphone

Hydromorphone The name of the drug is called Hydromorphone. The systematic name (IUPAC) is 4,5-epoxy-3-hydroxy-17-methylmor-phinan-6-one. Hydromorphone has a chemical formula of C17H19NO3 . There are four functional groups in Hydromorphone: An Ether group A Ketone group An Amine group (tertiary) A Phenol group Stereochemistry and conformation: Hydromorphone has 4 chiral centres (Four different groups attached to a sp3 hybridised carbon one chiral centre). Therefore it has 24 = 16 stereoisomers. Carbon number 1 has R-configuration Carbon number 2 has R-configuration Carbon number 3 has S-configuration Carbon number 4 has R-configuration Hydromorphone is a semi-rigid molecule because it is composed of a five-member ring system: the phenolic ring (A), the cyclohexane ring (B), the cyclohexanone ring (C), the N-methyl piperidine ring (D), and the tetrahydrofuran ring (E). The molecule has a T shape. Rings A, B and E form a vertical plane where the C and D form the horizontal plane. Ring C exists in a chair conformation due to saturation of C-C double between C7 and 8. Ring D also exists in chair conformation. Synthesis: Commercially, Hydromorphone is made from morphine via either direct rearrangement (reflux alcoholic or acidic aqueous solution of morphine with platinum or palladium catalyst) or reduction of morphine via catalytic hydrogenation, this two reactions both produce Dihydromorphine. The Dihydromorphine then undergo Oppenauer oxidation, where it is oxidised with benzophenone in the presence of potassium tert butoxide or aluminium tert butoxide to form Hydromorphone. Drug stability: The half-life of Hydromorphone is 2.6hours through oral route, where it takes 18.6 hours for sustained release Palladone. Hydromorphone hydrochloride is affected by light, although hydromorphone hydrochloride injection may develop a slight yellowish discoloration, this change does not indicate loss of potency. Hydromorphone hydrochloride injection should be protected from light and stored at a controlled room temperature of 25 degrees C, but can be exposed to temperatures ranging from 15 to30 degrees C; freezing of the injection should be avoided. Hydromorphone hydrochloride tablets should be stored in tight, light-resistant containers, usually at 15 to30 degrees C; however, the manufacturer recommends that the 8-mg tablets be stored at 15 to 25 degrees C. Hydromorphone hydrochloride oral solution should be stored in light-resistant containers at 15 to 25 degrees C, and suppositories of the drug should be stored at 2 to 8 degrees C. Hydromorphone hydrochloride injection reportedly is physically and chemically stable for at least 24 hours in most common IV infusion solutions when protected from light at 25 degrees C. Hydromorphone is slightly soluble in water, freely soluble in alcohol and very soluble in chloroform. Formulation and packaging: In the U.K. Hydromorphone is only available in form of oral capsules and modified release capsules, which means it is released slowly to extend the length of the drugs effect. Available strengths for hydromorphone hydrochloride (Palladone ®): 1.3mg (orange/clear), net price 56-capsules pack =  £8.82; 2.6mg (red/clear), 56- capsules pack =  £17.64. Where for the modified (release Palladone ® SR): m/r, hydromorphone hydrochloride 2mg (yellow/clear), net price 56- capsules pack =  £20.98; 4mg (pale blue/clear), 56- capsules pack =  £28.75; 8mg (pink/clear), 56- capsules pack =  £56.08; 16mg (brown/clear), 56- capsules pack =  £106.53; 24mg (dark blue/clear), 56-cap pack =  £159.82. [BNF 56 page 235-236]. Lipinskis Rules: The molecular weight of Hydromorphone is 285 g/mol. (below 500) The Log P of Hydromorphone is +1.69. (lower than +5) There is only one hydrogen bond donating group, which is the hydroxyl group in Phenol. (less than 5 groups) here are only three hydrogen bond accepting groups. (less than 10 groups) The functional groups are generally stable to metabolism, i.e. hydrolysis and oxidations. According to the Lipinskis rules of five, Hydromorphone is an orally active drug. LogP and discussion of hydrophobic/hydrophilic properties: It is possible to predict the Log P of a molecule by using the Hydrophilic-Lipophilic Values (p Values) for organic fragments. This gives (+0.5 x 11) + (+2 x 1) + (-1 X 3) + (-1 X1) = +3.5. Therefore, the Predicted LogP = +3.5. Since 3.5 is greater than 0.5, hydromorphone is insoluble in water. (Soluble in water if smaller than 0.5) According to the predicted LogP, Hydromorphone is a very hydrophobic (lipophilic) drug and it can pass through the membrane layers in cell and enter the bloodstream (high absorption). Hydromorphone is insoluble in water because of its non-polar groups. They are: The long aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, i.e. cyclohexanes and the phenyl group. These non-polar groups will not interact with polar water molecules as they cannot form hydrogen bonds together and therefore insoluble. pKa and ionisation state: Hydromorphone has a pKa of 8.2 at 20 degrees C [Medicine Complete], it is weakly acidic. To calculate the percentage of ionization of Hydromorphone (weak acid) at different pH, Equation 1 can be used: Equation 1 % ionisation= 1001+antilog(pKa-pH) At pH 2: % ionization = 1001+antilog(8.2-2) = 6.31 x 10-5 % At pH 7.4: % ionization = 1001+antilog(8.2-7.4) = 13.7% At pH 10: % ionization = 1001+antilog(8.2-10) = 98.4% From the calculations on the previous page, I can conclude that only 6.31 x 10-5 % of hydromorphone is ionized at pH 2, i.e. in the stomach. Therefore, there are 100% 6.31 x 10-5 % = 99.9999% of unionised Hydromorphone which can pass through the membrane barrier and enter the bloodstream. Hydromorphone is highly absorbed by the body in stomach. Mode of action: Hydromorphone is an opioid analgesic; it reacts with the opioid mu-receptors. The mu-receptors are discretely distributed in the human brain with high density in the posterior amygdala, hypothalamus, thalamus, nucleus caudatus, putamen, and certain cortical areas. These receptors are also found in the spinal cord and gastrointestinal tract. It binds onto the mu-receptors and exerts its principle pharmacological effect on the Central Nervous System and gastrointestinal tract to produce analgesia and sedation. Hydromorphone is highly absorbed by the human body and it shows the analgesia effect very quickly once enter the body. It is 8 to 10 times stronger than morphine due to its hydrophobicity (very lipophilic). Bibliography: Samuel, B., Stanley,G., Robert, R. (2004), Process for the Synthesis of Hydromorphone, http://www.wipo.int/pctdb/en/wo.jsp?WO=2006005112IA=AU2005001002DISPLAY=DESC, Date accessed 23/04/10. Author unknown. (Date unknown), One-pot Isomerization of Morphine to Dihydromorphinone (Hydromorphone), http://www.erowid.org/archive/rhodium/chemistry/dihydromorphinones.html, Date accessed 23/04/10. Author unknown.(2006), Hydromorphone, http://www.patient.co.uk/medicine/Hydromorphone.htm, Date accessed 23/04/10. Hildebrand, K., Elsberry, D., Anderson, V. (2001), Stability and Compatibility of Hydromorphone Hydrochloride in an Implantable Infusion System, Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 22 (6), Page 1042-1047. Author unknown. (2010), Hydromorphone Suppository, http://www.drugs.com/cdi/hydromorphone-suppository.html, Date accessed 24/04/10 Lipinski, C. (2004), Lipinskis rule-of-five, http://www.bioscreening.com/reference/lipinski_rule.htm, Date accessed 24/04/10. Author unknown. (2009), Showing drug card for Hydromorphone (DB00327), http://www.drugbank.ca/drugs/DB00327, Date accessed 24/04/10. Clarkes. (2006), Clarkes Analysis of Drugs and Poisons Hydromorphone, http://www.medicinescomplete.com/mc/clarke/2009/CLK0851.htm, Date accessed 24/04/10. Author unknown. (2008), Monograph Hydromorphone Hydrochloride, http://www.medscape.com/druginfo/monograph?cid=meddrugid=11338drugname=Hydromorphone+Rectmonotype=monographprint=1, Date accessed 24/04/10. BMJ Group,. (2008). British National Formulary 56, London, RPS Publishing. Bruice, P,. (2004). Organic Chemistry, Fourth Edition,Prentice Hall ,Pearson. Lo,K,. (1998) Synthesis of N- Phenethylnorhydromorphone, https://circle.ubc.ca/bitstream/handle/2429/11862/ubc_2001-0456.pdf;jsessionid=8D12F28D380E801AE9A422C0F9CD3435?sequence=1, Date accessed 26/04/10

Overview Of Wilmar International Limited Company Marketing Essay

Overview Of Wilmar International Limited Company Marketing Essay Wilmar International Type Public (SGX: F34, ASX:à ¿SGT) Industry Agribusiness Headquarters Singapore Key people Kuok Khoon Hong, Chairman Products Palm Oil Revenue $23.89 billion USD (March 2010) Operating income $1.88 billion USD (March 2010) Total assets 23.36 USD (March 2010) Total equity 30.31 USD (March 2010) Employees >80,000 Website Wilmar International Homepage Wilmar International Limited[1] founded in 1991, is today Asias leading agribusiness group. It ranks amongst the largest listed companies by market capitalisation on the Singapore Exchange (second largest as of Sep 2010)[2]. It is a Singapore-based investment holding company that provides management services to its 400+ subsidiary companies[3]. Wilmar International business activities include oil palm cultivation, edible oils refining, oilseeds crushing, consumer pack edible oils processing and merchandising, specialty fats, oleochemicals and biodiesel manufacturing, and grains processing and merchandising. Wilmars merchandising and processing segment encompass (1) merchandising of palm oil and laurics-related products; (2) operations of palm oil processing and refinery plants; (3) crushing, further processing and refining of a range of edible oils, oilseeds, grains and soyabean. Its consumer products segment has oil bottling business in Peoples Republic of China, Vietnam and Indonesia. Its plantation and palm oil mills segment engages in oil palm cultivation and milling. Other segment includes manufacturing and distribution of fertiliser and ship-chartering services. Another success of the company are become a largest global processor and merchandiser of palm and lauric oils; it has a largest plantation companies in Malaysia and Indonesia; one of the largest palm biodiesel manufacturer in the world; a leading consumer pack edible oils producer, oilseeds crusher, edible oils refiner, specialty fats and oleochemicals manufacturer in China, in India, one of the leading importers of edible oils into East Africa. These are news about its successes: Primarily in the core agricultural business, Wilmar has chalked up US$21.3 billion in revenue following increased sales volume in oilseeds and grains and consumer products as well as higher selling price of agricultural commodities. Under the deal, Wilmar is buying Malaysia-listed PPB OIl Palms Bhd, Kuok Oils Grains Pte Ltd and PGEO Group Sdn Bhd for 4.1 bln sgd in an all-share deal. Wilmar will issue to the Kuok Group 2.4 bln new shares at 1.71 sgd each as payment for the acquisitions, giving the Kuok Group a 31 pct stake in the merged entity. The stake of Wilmar Holdings Pte Ltd in Wilmar International will be diluted to 48.5 pct from 81.90 pct after the merger is completed. Separately, Wilmar International said it is buying the edible oil and grains businesses of Wilmar Holdings , including the interest of Archer Daniels Midland Asia Pacific in the said businesses, for 2.5 bln sgd. (http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2006/12/14/afx3254056.html 12.14.06, 5:28 AM ET) 2. CSR : Corporate Social Responsibilitties of the Company Like all the big and famous companies, they always focus on the responsibilities to the increasing demands of society for greater Corporate Responsibility, They are interesting in protect the environment, they participated into the Sustainable sourcing activities, and Community and Social Benefit, News from Businessweek.com/news / 2010, Wilmar International bought a CSR Ltd sugar unit: By Wendy Pugh and Luzi Ann Javier July 5 (Bloomberg) Wilmar International Ltd., the worlds largest palm oil trader, agreed to buy CSR Ltd.s sugar unit for A$1.75 billion ($1.5 billion), beating Chinas Bright Food Group Co.s bid for Australias biggest refiner. The offer includes A$1.35 billion in cash and A$403 million in assumed net debt, Singapore-based Wilmar said today in a statement. Sydney-based CSR is the worlds second-largest exporter of raw sugar and Australias No.1 producer of sugar- based ethanol and renewable energy generator from biomass. (http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-07-05/wilmar-to-pay-a-1-75-billion-for-csr-s-sugar-business.html ) In official website of the company, they wrote these as undertaking to the society : Our business activities have a direct impact on livelihoods and quality of living, both on our employees and our neighbouring communities. The nature of our business means that we sometimes operate in the most remote parts of developing countries. We have benefited much from these countries and we wish to do our bit for these countries too. We recognise our ability, and our responsibility to better the quality of living conditions of our neighbours, especially for the rural poor. Our approach is to ensure we bring meaningful and lasting benefits to the communities in areas where we operate, while we maintain the continual viability of our business. We reckon one of the best means to achieving this is to build open, honest and mutually beneficial relationships that promote harmony with them. To this end, we are committed to progressive socio-economic policies and programmes in the local communities and economies we operate in In a nutshell, we firmly believe that environmental conservation and economic prosperity through sustainable agriculture can work in practice. (http://www.wilmar-international.com/sustainability/community.htm on March 04, 2011) And how do they face to Climate changes? They said : Human pressure on the global climatic system is largely the result of economic and industrial activities that have increased the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases, associated with the greenhouse effect and subsequent global warming, are caused by the accumulation of mostly carbon dioxide and other gases such as methane and nitrogen oxide in the atmosphere. We monitor our GHG emissions and are constantly looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint in our plantation and industrial operations.à ¿ For example, our mills make use of biomass to generate electricity, including agricultural wastes such as empty fruit bunches, tree fronds from the plantations, by-products from mills like shells and mill fibre. à ¿This helps to cut down our consumption of fossil fuels, by reducing our dependence on electricity from the national and local grids, as well as diesel-fired plant generators. These biomass energy plants generate carbon-neutral electricity, and some are registered as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. Under the Kyoto Protocol, aà ¿protocolà ¿to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), industrialised countries (countries listed in Annex B) can fulfil their commitments to GHG reduction, by participating in project activities in developing countries, which are certified to reduce GHG emissions. (http://www.wilmar-international.com/sustainability/stewardship_climate.htm on March 6, 2011) The concept of High Conservation Value Forests (HCVF) is defined by the Forest Stewardship Council as having outstanding and critical importance due to its high environmental, socio-economic, biodiversity, or landscape values. For example, the forested areas may contain rare, threatened or endangered ecosystems, or the areas may provide basic services of nature in critical situations such as erosion control. The concept is conceived as a way of reconciling socio-economic progress with environmental protection. (http://www.wilmar-international.com/sustainability/stewardship_land.htm on March 6, 2011) Subtainability But while fulfilling these obligations, businesses are often caught in a trade-off between the desire for economic growth and the imperative to protect the natural environment and safeguard the interests of the population; from climate change and environmental degradation, to the imbalance between rising population and depleting resources, as well as the widening rich-poor divide. In our endeavour towards achieving business excellence, we have learned from others as well as from our own experience that sustainable development is the way forward. With this appreciation, striving for the right balance between growth and sustainability becomes our principal goal. Amidst the impoverished regions of the developing economies in which we operate, our presence has brought relief and stability to many who live on the poverty line. In our farming practices, we have also adopted a responsible plantation management approach that enables us to enhance natures biodiversity without compromising yields or plantation profitability. In a nutshell, we firmly believe that environmental conservation and economic prosperity through sustainable agriculture can work in practice. At the same time, we also recognise we can do much more to benefit the world with help and support from other stakeholders. This refers to engaging stakeholders through listening and addressing their concerns into our business decisions and actions, as well as forming strategic collaborations with them, where relevant. Indeed, palm oil production can enjoy longevity if operators subscribe to the same set of principles and adopt the same set of responsible best practices They take care the Employee Welfare also as : Training and development have always been an integral aspect of continual investment in our human capital, to enhance individual and organisation effectiveness. We work to ensure that every employee has an equal opportunity at career development. We also encourage our employees to take up overseas assignments or postings to further their learning. Health and safety are Wilmars top considerations concerning the employees. Wilmar pays careful consideration to the safety of our employees at the workplace, for our plantation operations all over the world. We conduct regular trainings and implement programmes to foster awareness of occupational health and safety risks. Additionally, we inculcate stringent health and safety policies, as well as practices amongst our staff in all our operations. With a significant portion of our employees based in the plantations, we take an extra interest in their welfare. This is reflected in a series of undertakings to support their work and livelihoods. We provide rice at subsidised rates for our employees. In areas where oil palm cultivation is not suitable, we have converted the flood-prone lands to paddy fields for rice cultivation. The produce is then sold to employees at subsidised rates ( http://www.wilmar-international.com/sustainability/community_welfare.htm on March 6, 2011) Just look at the company website, we might have not a overall view of all, from another source we find out more about this : SYDNEY/SINGAPORE (Reuters) Singapores Wilmar International Ltd (WLIL.SI) on Monday struck a surprise deal to buy Australian conglomerate CSR Ltds sugar business for A$1.75 billion ($1.47 billion), trumping Chinas Bright Food Group. By Michael Smith and Charmian Kokin SYDNEY/SINGAPORE | Mon Jul 5, 2010 3:17am BST (http://uk.reuters.com/article/2010/07/05/us-csr-idUKTRE66328B20100705) While other companies either struggled or sank during the economic downturn last year, Singapore-headquartered agribusiness group Wilmar International had a busy 2009, continuing its growth strategy of previous years and making two large oleochemical investments. (http://www.icis.com/Articles/2010/09/30/9397836/wilmar-boosts-growth-in-oleochemicals.html on 30 September 2010 18:49) Will Wilmar Hit The Property Jackpot? Despite this, a challenging operating environment, lower margins and a hike in various expenses have brought about a 30% fall in Wilmars bottomline. Nevertheless, Wilmar generated 4.9 times increase in cash flow from operating activities. Notably, Wilmar was able to maintain its proforma net gearing at a healthy level of 0.7 times as at 30 September 2010, despite a 46.7% jump in net loans and borrowings. These speak volumes about the strong financial position Wilmar is in. (http://www.sharesinv.com/articles/2011/01/17/will-wilmar-hit-the-property-jackpot/ 17 January 2011) Why could they face with the world crisis? They were undertaking to protect environment, protect human work right, they had good policies to expand to another countries like China, and India which is along with the globalization large champagne, so the company could be faced to world crisis in recent years. Another way, in the company website, they said : Our business strategy involves building an integrated business model which captures the entire value chain of the agricultural commodity processing business, from origination, processing and transportation to the branding, merchandising and distribution of a wide range of agricultural products. Our business model enjoys lower cost due to economies of scale, integration, logistical and distribution advantages, and superior market intelligence. (http://www.wilmar-international.com/business_index.htm on March 7,2011) I think this is the main key of the company which it makes them overcome the crisis, while the world is faced the big inflation. Due to lower cost, supply for big customers with large volume of quality goods, they keep on the success way to maintain the reputation and revenue of the company. This is its strategy over past few years, Significance: Wilmars latest investment is in line with its long-term processing strategy and may see the company reap benefits in the future from rising commodity prices as palm oil is one of Indonesias main export commodities. (Singapore Daily Bulletin 08/02/11) The Markets it has focused are China, India Market to exploit the potential factors of these land while these countries are on the way to develop: that is the large market, great number of labours, and good source of materials etc for its improvement. The Globalization Strategy of the company is that process. And they have success on this strategy rather quickly, from 2006 until now. 5. Vision, Mission, goals: As the above evidence, we found out that the vision of Wilmar OUR VISION To become the best, reliable, honorable oil palm plantation and put on the international level. OUR MISSION To manage healthy and innovative oil palm plantation and processing industry and to put priorities on quality and environmental sustainability through the implementation of Good Corporate Principles in ensuring the goals of all companies stakeholders. (http://recruitment-wip.com/ on March 7, 2011) And what are goals: that is bring the value things to life for stakeholders, customers, environment, society and so on. REFERENCE: WILMAR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED (Company Registration Number: 199904785Z) (Incorporated in the Republic of Singapore) Page 1 of 3 NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO RULE 704(11) OF SGX-ST LISTING MANUAL List of persons, occupying managerial positions in the Issuer or any of its principal subsidiaries, who are related to a Director, CEO or Substantial Shareholder of the Issuer.

George Orwells 1984 Essay -- Essays Papers

Orwells 1984 1984 as an Anti-Utopian Novel A utopia is an ideal or perfect community. While some writers have created fictional places that embody their ideals societies, other writers have written satires that ridicule existing conditions of society, or anti-utopias, which show possible future societies that are anything but ideal. In 1984 , George Orwell presents a terrifying picture of future as life under the constant surveillance of â€Å"Big Brother.† This book 1984 is an anti-utopian novel. The main character Winston Smith lives in the large political country Oceania, which is eternally at war with one of two huge countries, Eurasia and Eastasia. At any moment all existing records show either that Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia, or that it has always been at war with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia. Winston knows this, because his work at the Ministry of Truth involves the constant correction of news. â€Å"Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past,† the party slogan reads. Basically, Winston takes real news and twists it to what â€Å"Big Brother† wants the people to know. In the grim city and terrifying country, where â€Å"Big Brother† is always watching you and the Thought Police can practically read your mind, Winston is a man in great danger for the simple reason that his memory still functions. He knows the party controls people by feeding them lies and taking away their imaginations. The Pa...

Does Quantum Mechanics Force us to give up Determinism? :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Does Quantum Mechanics Force us to give up Determinism? 1. Definition of terms and endeavor 1.1 Unpredictability versus Indeterminacy Consider a pendulum and assume we describe its state s(t) at time t solely by the position of its bob . For simplicity suppose also that time is quantized in multiples of the basic time unit 1. If kept unperturbed, the pendulum’s motion is periodic ; thus any state s(t) will be be achieved infinitely many times. Assume for instance that s(t1)=s(t2). Does this imply s(t1+1)=s(t2+1) ? Clearly, there can be no such implication, since we do not know the velocity of the bob at the two times in question. Therefore, the system as described here is indeterministic. We might, however, imagine a description of the state in terms of more parameters ; with respect to this more extensive characterization the system might turn out to be deterministic. In that case, if we were given the parameters q1,q2, q3,...qn-1 qn,we would be able to predict the state s(q1,q2, q3,...qn-1 qn, t+1) at time t+1 from our knowledge of the state s(q1,q2, q3,...qn-1 qn,t) at time t. 1.2 The difficulty of establishing non-determinism The example illustrates the difference between unpredictability and non-determinism. If insufficiently characterized, the pendulum’s motion is unpredictable. However, this does not preclude the existence of a complete description s(q1,q2, q3,...qn-1 qn,t) of the pendulum’s states that will make the system deterministic. Unfortunately this means that it is very difficult to prove that a system is truly non-deterministic. Proving that a process is deterministic requires the more straightforward (though possibly very difficult) task of specifying the complete set of descriptive parameters for a state together with the rules by which we can obtain one state from the preceding ; proving that a process is non-deterministic, however, requires us to prove that no such complete description and set of rules can be found, whether in practice or in theory. Due to this difficulty, our philosophy of physics professor would be unlikely to ask his students to write an essay discussing whether or not the world behaves deterministically, or, whether or not an accurate deterministic description of the world could be found. What we can discuss, is whether or not, given some theory X, the acceptance of X as a correct description of the world entails that the world described by this theory X behaves deterministically. 1.3 Assumptions made All discussion in this essay is based on the assumption that we take

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Essay

The Enron scandal, revealed in October 2001, eventually led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation, an American energy company based in Houston, Texas, and the de facto dissolution of Arthur Andersen, which was one of the five largest audit and accountancy partnerships in the world. In addition to being the largest bankruptcy reorganization in American history at that time, Enron was attributed as the biggest audit failure. Enron was formed in 1985 by Kenneth Lay after merging Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth. Several years later, when Jeffrey Skilling was hired, he developed a staff of executives that, by the use of accounting loopholes, special purpose entities, and poor financial reporting, were able to hide billions of dollars in debt from failed deals and projects. Chief Financial Officer Andre Fastow and other executives not only misled Enron’s board of directors and audit committee on high-risk accounting practices, but also pressured Andersen to ignore the issues . Enron shareholders filed a $40 billion lawsuit after the company’s stock price, which achieved a high of US$90.75 per share in mid-2000, plummeted to less than $1 by the end of November 2001. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began an investigation, and rival Houston competitor Dynegy offered to purchase the company at a very low price. The deal failed, and on December 2, 2001, Enron filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. Enron’s $63.4 billion in assets made it the largest corporate bankruptcy in U.S. history until WorldCom’s bankruptcy the next year. Many executives at Enron were indicted for a variety of charges and were later sentenced to prison. Enron’s auditor, Arthur Andersen, was found guilty in a United States District Court, but by the time the ruling was overturned at the U.S. Supreme Court, the company had lost the majority of its customers and had closed. Employees and shareholders received l imited returns in lawsuits, despite losing billions in pensions and stock prices. As a consequence of the scandal, new regulations and legislation were enacted to expand the accuracy of financial reporting for public companies. One piece of legislation, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, increased penalties for destroying, altering, or fabricating records in federal investigations or for attempting to defraud shareholders. The act also increased the accountability of auditing firms to remain unbiased and independent of their clients. Rise of  Enron In 1985, Kenneth Lay merged the natural gas pipeline companies of Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth to form Enron. In the early 1990s, he helped to initiate the selling of electricity at market prices and, soon after, the United States Congress approved legislation deregulating the sale of natural gas. The resulting markets made it possible for traders such as Enron to sell energy at higher prices, thereby significantly increasing its revenue. After producers and local governments decried the resultant price volatility and asked for increased regulation, strong lobbying on the part of Enron and others allowed for the proliferation of crony capitalism. As Enron became the largest seller of natural gas in North America by 1992, its gas contracts trading earned earnings before interest and taxes of $122 million, the second largest contributor to the company’s net income. The November 1999 creation of the EnronOnline trading website allowed the company to better manage its contra cts trading business. In an attempt to achieve further growth, Enron pursued a diversification strategy. The company owned and operated a variety of assets including gas pipelines, electricity plants, pulp and paper plants, water plants, and broadband services across the globe. The corporation also gained additional revenue by trading contracts for the same array of products and services with which it was involved. Enron’s stock increased from the start of the 1990s until year-end 1998 by 311% percent, only modestly higher than the average rate of growth in the Standard & Poor 500 index. However, the stock increased by 56% in 1999 and a further 87% in 2000, compared to a 20% increase and a 10% decrease for the index during the same years. By December 31, 2000, Enron’s stock was priced at $83.13 and its market capitalization exceeded $60 billion, 70 times earnings and six times book value, an indication of the stock market’s high expectations about its future prospects. In addition, Enron was rated the most innovative large company in America in Fortune’s Most Admired Companies survey. Causes of downfall Enron’s complex financial statements were confusing to shareholders and analysts. In addition, its complex business model and unethical practices required that the company use accounting limitations to misrepresent  earnings and modify the balance sheet to indicate favorable performance. The combination of these issues later resulted in the bankruptcy of the company, and the majority of them were perpetuated by the indirect knowledge or direct actions of Lay,Jeffrey Skilling, Andrew Fastow, and other executives. Lay served as the chairman of the company in its last few years, and approved of the actions of Skilling and Fastow although he did not always inquire about the details. Skilling constantly focused on meeting Wall Street expectations, advocated the use of mark-to-market accounting (accounting based on market value, which was then inflated) and pressured Enron executives to find new ways to hide its debt. Fastow and other executives â€Å"†¦created off-balance-s heet vehicles, complex financing structures, and deals so bewildering that few people could understand them.† Revenue recognition Main article: Revenue recognition Enron and other energy suppliers earned profits by providing services such as wholesale trading and risk management in addition to building and maintaining electric power plants, natural gas pipelines, storage, and processing facilities. When accepting the risk of buying and selling products, merchants are allowed to report the selling price as revenues and the products’ costs as cost of goods sold. In contrast, an â€Å"agent† provides a service to the customer, but does not take the same risks as merchants for buying and selling. Service providers, when classified as agents, are able to report trading and brokerage fees as revenue, although not for the full value of the transaction. Although trading companies such as Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch used the conventional â€Å"agent model† for reporting revenue (where only the trading or brokerage fee would be reported as revenue), Enron instead elected to report the entire value of each of its trades as revenue . This â€Å"merchant model† was considered much more aggressive in the accounting interpretation than the agent model. Enron’s method of reporting inflated trading revenue was later adopted by other companies in the energy trading industry in an attempt to stay competitive with the company’s large increase in revenue. Other energy companies such as Duke Energy, Reliant Energy, and Dynegy joined Enron in the wealthiest 50 of the Fortune 500 mainly due to their adoption of the same trading revenue  accounting as Enron. Between 1996 and 2000, Enron’s revenues increased by more than 750%, rising from $13.3 billion in 1996 to $100.8 billion in 2000. This extensive expansion of 65% per year was unprecedented in any industry, including the energy industry which typically considered growth of 2–3% per year to be respectable. For just the first nine months of 2001, Enron reported $138.7 billion in revenues, which placed the company at the sixth position on the Fortune Global 500. Mark-to-market accounting Main article: Mark-to-market accounting In Enron’s natural gas business, the accounting had been fairly straightforward: in each time period, the company listed actual costs of supplying the gas and actual revenues received from selling it. However, when Skilling joined the company, he demanded that the trading business adopt mark-to-market accounting, citing that it would represent â€Å"†¦ true economic value.† Enron became the first non-financial company to use the method to account for its complex long-term contracts. The mark-to-market method requires estimations of future incomes when a long-term contract is signed. These estimations are based on the future net value of the cash flow, costs related to the contract were often hard to predict. Often, the viability of these contracts and their related costs were difficult to estimate. Due to the large discrepancies of attempting to match profits and cash, investors were typically given false or misleading reports. While using the method, income from p rojects could be recorded, although they might not have ever received the money, and in turn increasing financial earnings on the books. However, in future years, the profits could not be included, so new and additional income had to be included from more projects to develop additional growth to appease investors. As one Enron competitor stated, â€Å"If you accelerate your income, then you have to keep doing more and more deals to show the same or rising income.† Despite potential pitfalls, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the accounting method for Enron in its trading of natural gas futures contracts on January 30, 1992. However, Enron later expanded its use to other areas in the company to help it meet Wall Street projections. For one contract, in July 2000, Enron and Blockbuster Video signed a 20-year agreement to introduce on-demand entertainment to various U.S. cities by year-end. After several  pilot projects, Enron recognized estimated profits of more than $110 million from the deal, even though analysts questioned the technical viability and market demand of the service. Whe n the network failed to work, Blockbuster withdrew from the contract. Enron continued to recognize future profits, even though the deal resulted in a loss. Special purpose entities Main article: Special purpose entity Enron used special purpose entities—limited partnerships or companies created to fulfill a temporary or specific purpose—to fund or manage risks associated with specific assets. The company elected to disclose minimal details on its use of â€Å"special purpose entities†. These â€Å"shell firms† were created by a sponsor, but funded by independent equity investors and debt financing. For financial reporting purposes, a series of rules dictates whether a special purpose entity is a separate entity from the sponsor. In total, by 2001, Enron had used hundreds of special purpose entities to hide its debt. Enron used a number of special purpose entities, such as partnerships in its Thomas and Condor tax shelters, financial asset securitization investment trusts (FASITs) in the Apache deal, real estate mortgage investment conduits (REMICs) in the Steele deal, and REMICs and real estate investment trusts (REITs) in the Cochise deal. The special purpose entities were used for more than just circumventing accounting conventions. As a result of one violation, Enron’s balance sheet understated its liabilities and overstated its equity, and its earnings were overstated. Enron disclosed to its shareholders that it had hedged downside risk in its own illiquid investments using special purpose entities. However, the investors were oblivious to the fact that the special purpose entities were actually using the company’s own stock and financial guarantees to finance these hedges. This prevented Enron from being protected from the downside risk. Notable examples of special purpose entities that Enron employed were JEDI, Chewco, Whitewing, and LJM. Executive compensation Although Enron’s compensation and performance management system was designed to retain and reward its most valuable employees, the system contributed to a dysfunctional corporate culture that became obsessed with short-term  earnings to maximize bonuses. Employees constantly tried to start deals, often disregarding the quality of cash flow or profits, in order to get a better rating for their performance review. Additionally, accounting results were recorded as soon as possible to keep up with the company’s stock price. This practice helped ensure deal-makers and executives received large cash bonuses and stock options. The company’s main focus was its stock price. Management was compensated extensively using stock options, similar to other U.S. companies. This policy of stock option awards caused management to create expectations of intense growth in efforts to give the appearance of reported earnings to meet Wall Street’s expectations. The stock ticker was located all throughout the company buildings, including the lobbies, elevators, and computers. At budget meetings, Skilling would develop target earnings by asking â€Å"What earnings do you need to keep our stock price up?† and that number would be used, even if it was not feasible. At December 31, 2000, Enron had 96 million shares outstanding as stock option plans(approximately 13% of common shares outstanding). Enron’s proxy statement stated that, within three years, these awards were expected to be exercised. Using Enron’s January 2001 stock price of $83.13 and the directors’ beneficial ownership reported in the 2001 proxy, the value of director stock ownership was $659 million for Lay, and $174 million for Skilling. Skilling believed that if employees were constantly worried about cost, it would hinder original thinking. As a result, extravagant spending was rampant throughout the company, especially among the executives. Employees had large expense accounts and many executives were paid sometimes twice as much as competitors. In 1998, the top 200 highest-paid employees received $193 million from salaries, bonuses, and stock. Two years later, the figure jumped to $1.4 billion. Timeline of downfall â€Å"At the beginning of 2001, the Enron Corporation, the world’s dominant energy trader, appeared unstoppable. The company’s decade-long effort to persuade lawmakers to deregulate electricity markets had succeeded from California to New York. Its ties to the Bush administration assured that its views would be heard in Washington. Its sales, profits and stock were soaring.† A. Berenson and R. A. Oppel, Jr. The New York Times, Oct 28, 2001. In February 2001, Chief Accounting Officer Rick Causey told budget managers: â€Å"From an  accounting standpoint, this will be our easiest year ever. We’ve got 2001 in the bag.† On March 5, Bethany McLean’sFortune article Is Enron Overpriced? questioned how Enron could maintain its high stock value, which was trading at 55 times its earnings. She argued that analysts and investors did not know exactly how Enron was earning its income. McLean was first drawn to the company’s situation after an ana lyst suggested she view the company’s 10-K report, where she found â€Å"strange transactions†, â€Å"erratic cash flow†, and â€Å"huge debt.† She telephoned Skilling to discuss her findings prior to publishing the article, but he called her â€Å"unethical† for not properly researching the company. Fastow cited two Fortune reporters that Enron could not reveal earnings details as the company had more than 1,200 trading books for assorted commodities and did â€Å"†¦ not want anyone to know what’s on those books. We don’t want to tell anyone where we’re making money.† In a conference call on April 17, 2001, then-Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Skilling verbally attacked Wall Street analyst Richard Grubman, who questioned Enron’s unusual accounting practice during a recorded conference call. When Grubman complained that Enron was the only company that could not release a balance sheet along with its earnings statements, Skilling replied â€Å"Well, thank you very much, we appreciate that †¦ asshole.† This became an inside joke among many Enron employees, mocking Grubman for his perceived meddling rather than Skilling’s offensiveness, with slogans such as â€Å"Ask Why, Asshole†, a variation on Enron’s official slogan â€Å"Ask why†. However, Skilling’s comment was met with dismay and astonishment by press and public, as he had previously disdained criticism of Enron coolly or humorously. By the late 1990s Enron’s stock was trading for $80–90 per share, and few seemed to concern themselves with the opacity of the company’s financial disclosures. In mid-July 2001, Enron reported revenues of $50.1 billion, almost triple year-to-date, and beating analysts’ estimates by 3 cents a share. Despite this, Enron’s profit margin had stayed at a modest average of about 2.1%, and its share price had decreased by more than 30% since the same quarter of 2000. As time passed, a number of serious concerns confronted the company. Enron had recently faced several serious operational challenges, namely logistical difficulties in operating a new broadband communications trading unit, and the losses from constructing the Dabhol Power project, a large power plant in India. There  was also increasing criticism of the company for the role that its subsidiary Enron Energy Services had in the California electricity crisis of 2000-2001. â€Å"There are no accounting issues, no trading issues, no reserve issues, no previously unknown problem issues. I think I can honestly say that the company is probably in the strongest and best shape that it has probably ever been in.† (Kenneth Lay answering an analyst’s question on August 14, 2001.) On August 14, Skilling announced he was resigning his position as CEO after only six months. Skilling had long served as president and COO before being promoted to CEO. Skilling cited personal reasons for leaving the company. Observers noted that in the months before his exit, Skilling had sold at minimum 450,000 shares of Enron at a value of around $33 million (though he still owned over a million shares at the date of his departure). Nevertheless, Lay, who was serving as chairman at Enron, assured surprised m arket watchers that there would be â€Å"no change in the performance or outlook of the company going forward† from Skilling’s departure. Lay announced he himself would re-assume the position of chief executive officer. Investors’ confidence declines Something is rotten with the state of Enron. —The New York Times, Sept 9, 2001. By the end of August 2001, his company’s stock value still falling, Lay named Greg Whalley, president and COO of Enron Wholesale Services and Mark Frevert, to positions in the chairman’s office. Some observers suggested that Enron’s investors were in significant need of reassurance, not only because the company’s business was difficult to understand (even â€Å"indecipherable†) but also because it was difficult to properly describe the company in financial statements. One analyst stated â€Å"it’s really hard for analysts to determine where [Enron] are making money in a given quarter and where they are losing money.† Lay accepted that Enron’s business was very complex, but asserted that analysts would â€Å"never get all the information they want† to satisfy their curiosity. He also explained that the complexity of the business was due largely to tax strategies and position-hedging. Lay’s efforts seemed to meet wit h limited success; by September 9, one prominent hedge fund manager noted that â€Å"[Enron] stock is trading under a cloud.† The sudden departure of Skilling combined with  the opacity of Enron’s accounting books made proper assessment difficult for Wall Street. In addition, the company admitted to repeatedly using â€Å"related-party transactions,† which some feared could be too-easily used to transfer losses that might otherwise appear on Enron’s own balance sheet. A particularly troubling aspect of this technique was that several of the â€Å"related-party† entities had been or were being controlled by CFO Fastow. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, media attention shifted away from the company and its troubles; a little less than a month later Enron announced its intention to begin the process of selling its lower-margin assets in favor of its core businesses of gas and electricity trading. This policy included selling Portland General Electric to another Oregon utility, Northwest Natural Gas, for about $1.9 billion in cash and stock, and possibly selling its 65% stake i n the Dabhol project in India. Restructuring losses and SEC investigation On October 16, 2001, Enron announced that restatements to its financial statements for years 1997 to 2000 were necessary to correct accounting violations. The restatements for the period reduced earnings by $613 million (or 23% of reported profits during the period), increased liabilities at the end of 2000 by $628 million (6% of reported liabilities and 5.5% of reported equity), and reduced equity at the end of 2000 by $1.2 billion (10% of reported equity). Additionally, in January Jeff Skilling had asserted that the broadband unit alone was worth $35 billion, a claim also mistrusted. An analyst at Standard & Poor’s said â€Å"I don’t think anyone knows what the broadband operation is worth.† Enron’s management team claimed the losses were mostly due to investment losses, along with charges such as about $180 million in money spent restructuring the company’s troubled broadband trading unit. In a statement, Lay revealed, â€Å"After a thorough review of our businesses, we have decided to take these charges to clear away issues that have clouded the performance and earnings potential of our core energy businesses.† Some analysts were unnerved. David Fleischer at Goldman Sachs, an analyst termed previously ‘one of the company’s strongest supporters’ asserted that the Enron management â€Å"†¦ lost credibility and have to reprove themselves. They need to convince investors these earnings are real, that the company is for real and that growth will be realized.† Fastow disclosed  to Enron’s board of directors on October 22 that he earned $30 million from compensation arrangements when managing the LJM limited partnerships. That day, the share price of Enron decreased to $20.65, down $5.40 in one day, after the announcement by the SEC that it was investigating the various suspicious activities of Enron, characterizing them as â€Å"some of the most opaque transactions with insiders ever seen† Attempting to explain the billion-dollar charge and calm investors, Enron’s disclosures spoke of â€Å"share settled costless collar arrangements,† â€Å"derivative instruments which eliminated the contingent nature of existing restricted forward contracts,† and strategies that served â€Å"to hedge certain merchant investments and other assets.† Such puzzling phraseology left many analysts feeling ignorant about just how Enron managed its business. Regarding the SEC investigation, chairman and CEO Lay said, â€Å"We will cooperate fully with the S.E.C. and look forward to the opportunity to put any concern about these transactions to rest.† Two days later, on October 25, d espite his reassurances days earlier, Lay dismissed Fastow from his position, citing â€Å"In my continued discussions with the financial community, it became clear to me that restoring investor confidence would require us to replace Andy as CFO.† However, with Skilling and Fastow now both departed, some analysts feared that revealing the company’s practices would be made all the more difficult. Enron’s stock was now trading at $16.41, having lost half its value in a little more than a week. On October 27 the company began buying back all its commercial paper, valued at around $3.3 billion, in an effort to calm investor fears about Enron’s supply of cash. Enron financed the re-purchase by depleting its lines of credit at several banks. While the company’s debt rating was still considered investment-grade, its bonds were trading at levels slightly less, making future sales problematic. As the month came to a close, serious concerns were being raised by some observers regarding Enron’s possible manipulation of accepted accounting rules; however, analysis was claimed to be impossible based on the incomplete information provided by Enron. Industry analysts feared that Enron was the new Long-Term Capital Management, the hedge fund whose bankruptcy in 1998 threatened systemic failure of the international financial markets. Enron’s tremendous presence worried some about the consequences of the company’s possible bankruptcy. Enron executives accepted questions in written form only. Proposed buyout by Dynegy Sources claimed that Enron was planning to explain its business practices more fully within the coming days, as a confidence-building gesture. Enron’s stock was now trading at around $7, as investors worried that the company would not be able to find a buyer. After it received a wide spectrum of rejections, Enron management apparently found a buyer when the board of Dynegy, another energy trader based in Houston, voted late at night on November 7 to acquire Enron at a very low price of about $8 billion in stock. Chevron Texaco, which at the time owned about a quarter of Dynegy, agreed to provide Enron with $2.5 billion in cash, specifically $1 billion at first and the rest when the deal was completed. Dynegy would also be required to assume nearly $13 billion of debt, plus any other debt hitherto occluded by the Enron management’s secretive business practices, possibly as much as $10 billion in â€Å"hidden† debt. Dynegy and Enron confirmed their deal on November 8, 2001. Commentators remarked on the different corporate cultures between Dynegy and Enron, and on the â€Å"straight-talking† personality of the CEO of Dynegy, Charles Watson. Some wondered if Enron’s troubles had not simply been the result of innocent accounting errors. By November, Enron was asserting that the billion-plus â€Å"one-time charges† disclosed in October should in reality have been $200 million, with the rest of the amount simply corrections of dormant accounting mistakes. Many feared other â€Å"mistakes† and restatements might yet be revealed. Another major correction of Enron’s earnings was announced on November 9, with a reduction of $591 million of the stated revenue of years 1997–2000. The charges were said to come largely from two special purpose partnerships (JEDI and Chewco). The corrections resulted in the virtual elimination of profit for fiscal year 1997, with significant reductions for the other years. Despite this disclosure, Dynegy declared it still intended to purchase Enron. Both companies were said to be anxious to receive an official assessment of the proposed sale from Moody’s and S&P presumably to understand the effect the completion of any buyout transaction would have on Dynegy and Enron’s credit rating. In addition, concerns were raised regarding antitrust regulatory restrictions resulting in possible divestiture, along with what to some observers were the radically different corporate cultures of Enron and Dynegy. Both companies  promoted the deal aggressively, and some observers were hopeful; Watson was praised for attempting to create the largest company on the energy market. At the time, Watson said â€Å"We feel [Enron] is a very solid company with plenty of capacity to withstand whatever happens the next few months.† One analyst called the deal â€Å"a whopper [†¦] a very good deal financially, certainly should be a good deal strategically, and provides some immediate balance-sheet backstop for Enron.† Credit issues were becoming more critical, however. Around the time the buyout was made public, Moody’s and S&P both reduced Enron’s rating to just one notch above junk status. Were the company’s rating to fall below investment-grade, its ability to trade would be severely limited if there was a reduction or elimination of its credit lines with competitors. In a conference call, S&P affirmed that, were Enron not to be bought, S&P would reduce its ra ting to low BB or high B, ratings noted as being within junk status. Additionally, many traders had limited their involvement with Enron, or stopped doing business altogether, fearing more bad news. Watson again attempted to re-assure, attesting at a presentation to investors that there was â€Å"nothing wrong with Enron’s business†. He also acknowledged that remunerative steps (in the form of more stock options) would have to be taken to redress the animosity of many Enron employees for management after it was revealed that Lay and other officials had sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of stock during the months prior to the crisis. The situation was not helped by the disclosure that Lay, his â€Å"reputation in tatters†, stood to receive a payment of $60 million as a change-of-control fee subsequent to the Dynegy acquisition, while many Enron employees had seen their retirement accounts, which were based largely on Enron stock, decimated as the price decreased 90% in a year. An official at a company owned by Enron stated â€Å"We had some married couples who both worked who lost as much as $800,000 or $900,000. It pretty much wiped out every employee’s savings plan.† Watson assured investors that the true nature of Enron’s business had been made apparent to him: †Å"We have comfort there is not another shoe to drop. If there is no shoe, this is a phenomenally good transaction.† Watson further asserted that Enron’s energy trading part alone was worth the price Dynegy was paying for the whole company. By mid-November, Enron announced it was planning to sell about $8 billion worth of underperforming assets, along with a general plan to reduce  its scale for the sake of financial stability. On November 19 Enron disclosed to the public further evidence of its critical state of affairs. Most pressingly that the company had debt repayment obligations in the range of $9 billion by the end of 2002. Such debts were â€Å"vastly in excess† of its available cash. Also, the success of measures to preserve its solvency were not guaranteed, specifically as regarded asset sales and debt refinancing. In a statement, Enron revealed â€Å"An adverse outcome with respect to any of these matters would likely have a material adverse impact on Enron’s ability to continue as a going concern.† Two days later, on November 21, Wall Street expressed serious doubts that Dynegy would proceed with its deal at all, or would seek to radically renegotiate. Furthermore Enron revealed in a 10-Q filing that almost all the money it had recently borrowed for purposes including buying its commercial paper, or about $5 billion, had been exhausted in just 50 days. Analysts were unnerved at the revelation, especially since Dynegy was reported to have also been unaware of Enron’s rate of cash use. In order to end the proposed buyout, Dynegy would need to legally demonstrate a â€Å"material change† in the circumstances of the transaction; as late as November 22, sources close to Dynegy were skeptical that the latest revelations constituted sufficient grounds. The SEC announced it had filed civil fraud complaints against Andersen. A few days later, sources claimed Enron and Dynegy were renegotiating the terms of their arrangement. Dynegy now demanded Enron agree to be bought for $4 billion rather than the previous $8 billion. Observers were reporting difficulties in ascertaining which of Enron’s operations, if any, were profi table. Reports described an en masse shift of business to Enron’s competitors for the sake of risk exposure reduction. Bankruptcy Enron’s stock price (former NYSE ticker symbol: ENE) from August 23, 2000 ($90) to January 11, 2002 ($0.12). As a result of the decrease of the stock price, shareholders lost nearly $11 billion. On November 28, 2001, Enron’s two worst-possible outcomes came true: Dynegy Inc. unilaterally disengaged from the proposed acquisition of the company, and Enron’s credit rating was reduced to junk status. Watson later said â€Å"At the end, you couldn’t give it [Enron] to me.† The company had very little cash with which to operate, let alone satisfy enormous debts. Its stock price fell to $0.61 at the end of  the day’s trading. One editorial observer wrote that â€Å"Enron is now shorthand for the perfect financial storm.† Systemic consequences were felt, as Enron’s creditors and other energy trading companies suffered the loss of several percentage points. Some analysts felt Enron’s failure indicated the risks of the postâ€⠀œSeptember 11 economy, and encouraged traders to lock in profits where they could. The question now became how to determine the total exposure of the markets and other traders to Enron’s failure. Early calculations estimated $18.7 billion. One adviser stated, â€Å"We don’t really know who is out there exposed to Enron’s credit. I’m telling my clients to prepare for the worst.† Enron was estimated to have about $23 billion in liabilities from both debt outstanding and guaranteed loans. Citigroup and JP Morgan Chase in particular appeared to have significant amounts to lose with Enron’s bankruptcy. Additionally, many of Enron’s major assets were pledged to lenders in order to secure loans, causing doubt about what if anything unsecured creditors and eventually stockholders might receive in bankruptcy proceedings. Enron’s European operations filed for bankruptcy on November 30, 2001, and it sought Chapter 11 protection two days later on December 2. It was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history (before being surpassed by WorldCom’s bankruptcy the next year), and resulted in 4,000 lost jobs. The day that Enron filed for bankruptcy, the employees were told to pack their belongings and were given 30 minutes to vacate the building. Nearly 62% of 15,000 employees’ savings plans relied on Enron stock that was purchased at $83 in early 2001 and was now practically worthless. In its accounting work for Enron, Andersen had been sloppy and weak. But that’s how Enron had always wanted it. In truth, even as they angrily pointed fingers, the two deserved each other. Bethany McLean and Peter Elkind in The Smartest Guys in the Room. On January 17, 2002 Enron dismissed Arthur Andersen as its auditor, citing its accounting advice and the destruction of documents. Andersen countered that it had already ended its relationship with the company when Enron became bankrupt.