CV Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

CV - Essay Example I now know that architecture is what I was born to do, and I will pursue this goal wherever it takes me. My educational achievements, along with extracurricular activities, prove that I am a committed and hard-working person in all aspects of my life. I had the privilege of studying at Kingston University in London due to the generosity of the Saudi Arabian government, which gave me a full scholarship. During my training experiences, I was able to get along with my co-workers and learn how to fit into a team. The specific activities that I had the opportunity to perform include model making and sketching. When I received training at Retaj Consulting & Engineering last summer, I interned in the architectural department. Please refer to my resume for more information and do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything that you would like to discuss with me. Thank you for taking the time to consider my application and I look forward to hearing your response

Students’ fitness and their academic achievement Essay Example for Free

Students’ fitness and their academic achievement Essay Running Head: Discussion Investigations into the relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness have produced mixed results. Weber (1983) correlated fitness, using the Iowa Physical Proficiency Profile (including sit-ups, pull-ups, running), to entrance exam scores and grade point averages for 246 male college students. Fitness level had a significant positive relationship with grade point average (r = . 41), but did not relate to performance scores on entrance exams. Hart and Shay (1994) examined mathematics and verbal SAT scores and the Physical Fitness Index in 60 college women. When the relationships between verbal scores and mathematics scores and fitness index were examined, the r values were . 068 and . 146, respectively, although neither was significant at the . 05 level. A battery of fitness tests (e. g. , flexed arm hang, curl-ups, and step test) were administered to 827 female freshmen and subjects were placed in one of three categories of fitness: high, fair or poor (Arnett, 1988). Arnett (1988) found significant differences in grade point average between the groups, with participants with higher fitness levels having higher GPAs. Using various academic measures and fitness measures on school-aged children, studies have also resulted in inconsistent findings. Clarke and Jarman (1991), examining 217 boys (aged 9, 12 and 15), found that there was a consistent, and for some fitness measures, a significant tendency for the students in the high fitness group to have higher means on both standard achievement tests and grade point average. Current studies have used standardized achievement and fitness tests as measures. A study involving 1,767 students in second, fourth and sixth grades examined the relationship between performance on the Georgia Criterion Referenced Test for Reading, Mathematics and Career Education and performance on a variety of physical fitness tests from the Minnesota Performance Test, the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) Health Related Physical Fitness Tests, and the Texas Physical Fitness-Motor Ability Test (Harris Jones, 1982). For the boys and girls, multiple regression analysis demonstrated a low, but significant, relationship between reading and mathematics ability and the combination of eight motor performance measures examined, five of which were fitness measures. Winn (1993) studied 302 fourth and fifth grade children and examined the relationship between scores on the California Test of Basic Skills (reading, mathematics) and performance on the AAHPERD Presidents Challenge. Using national norms, total fitness and total academic achievement scores were determined. The overall correlation between the total scores was . 213. When each test item was correlated with scores in each of reading, mathematics and language, the correlations ranged from . 043 to . 462, although none of the correlations were significant at the . 05 level. An examination of 7,961 youngsters from 7 to 15 years of age in Australia was conducted by Dwyer, Sallis, Blizzard, Lazarus and Dean (2001). School ratings of scholastic ability were compared with performance on a variety of fitness measures including sit-ups, push-ups, and a 1.6 kilometer run. Across the age groups, there were significant, but weak, correlations (ranging from. 1 to . 27) between fitness (cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular force and power) and academic performance. Most recently, the California Department of Education (2002; 2005) reported the results of two studies that examined the relationship between scores on achievement tests and the Fitnessgram. In the first study, performance on the Stanford Achievement Tests and scores on the Fitnessgram for 884,715 students in grades 5, 7, and 9 were investigated. A composite score, ranging from zero to six, was created for physical fitness, in which a student obtained one point for each of the six test items for which the student was determined to be in the healthy zone. In each of the three grades, higher levels of fitness were related to higher academic achievement. The relationship was stronger for math achievement and fitness, especially at higher fitness levels. This study has yet to be published. As a result, no statistical measures are available. Nevertheless, the results were cited by professional sources, such as the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (no date) and the PE Central web site (no date) as evidence that there is a direct relationship between physical fitness levels and academic achievement. In the latter study (California Department of Education, 2005), performance on the California Standards Tests and the Fitnessgram for 1,036,386 students in grades 5, 7 and 9 were compared. Again in this study, students were awarded a composite score, representing the number of fitness test battery items in which they were in the healthy zone. Results were similar to the 2002 study, with higher fitness scores associated with higher scores in English-language arts and mathematics (p . 05). In this study (California Department of Education, 2005), however, only means were reported; thus, no standard deviations were given for the groups compared, nor were effect size measures made to quantify the practical significance of the differences observed between groups. Conclusion In summary, research examining the relationship between academic achievement and physical fitness has produced mixed results. Of these, one study has been published only as a press release in which no statistical analysis was reported and a second study had incomplete statistical information to effectively interpret the results (California Department of Education, 2002; 2005). In the remaining investigations the interpretation of the results focused on whether a statistically significant finding was observed. A number of statistical researchers, however, have emphasized that the correct interpretation of research results requires that not only the statistical significance of the data be considered, but also the practical significance of the findings (Sterne Smith, 2001; Thomas, Salazar Landers, 1991; Vincent, 1999). This is particularly important in studies such as the present one, and the ones discussed above, which typically involve very large sample sizes of hundreds to hundreds of thousands of subjects. Due to the effect of sample size on the calculation of statistical significance, with large sample sizes it is possible to calculate statistical significance on a result that has no practical significance (Vincent, 1999). As evidenced by the history of investigations, the importance of understanding the relationship between physical fitness and academic performance in children and youth is relevant, and increased by recent evidence from studies conducted on animals and elderly humans that increased physical activity results in improved cognitive function (Colcombe et al., 2004; 2004; Rhodes et al. , 2003). References Almond, L. , McGeorge, S. (1998). Physical activity and academic performance. British Journal of Physical Education, 29(2), 8-12. Arnett, C. (1988). Interrelationships between selected physical variables and academic achievement of college women. Research Quarterly, 39, 227-230. Clarke, H. , Jarman, B. O. (1991). Scholastic achievement of boys 9, 12, and 15 years of age as related to various strength and growth measures. Research Quarterly, 32, 155-162. Colcombe, S. J. , Kramer, A. F. , Erickson, K. I. , Scalf, P., McAuley, E. , Cohen, N. J. , et al. (2004). Cardiovascular fitness, cortical plasticity, and aging. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, 101, 3316-3321 Creswell, J. W. (2002). Educational research. Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. Upper Saddle River, N J: Merrill Prentice Hall Dustman, R. E. , Emmerson, R. , Shearer, D. (1994). Physical activity, age and cognitive function. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 2, 143-181. Dwyer, T. , Sallis, J. F. , Blizzard, L. , Lazarus, R. , Dean, K. (2001). Relation of academic performance to physical activity and fitness in children. Pediatric Exercise Science, 13,225-237. Fraenkel, J. R. , Wallen, N. E. (2003). How to design and evaluate research in education (5th ed. ). Boston: McGraw Hill. Harris, D. I. , Jones, M. A. (1982). Reading, math and motor performance. Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, 53(9), 21-22. Hart, M. E. , Shay, C. T. (1994). Relationship between physical fitness and academic success. Research Quarterly, 35, 443-445 Hopkins, W. G. (2001). New view of statistics: Effect magnitudes. Retrieved July 10, 2004 McAuley, E. , Kramer, A. F. , Colcombe, S. J. (2004). Cardiovascular fitness and neurocognitive function in older adults: A brief review. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 18, 214-220 National Association for Sport and Physical Education. (2002). 2001 Shape of the nation report. Reston, VA: Author. Nutrition and physical activity. Overweight and obesity.. Retrieved July 15, 2004 Ogden, C. L. , Flegal, K. M. , Carroll, M. D. , Johnson, C. L. (2002). Prevalence and trends in overweight among U. S. children and adolescents, 1999-2000. Journal of the American Medical Association, 288, 17281732. Presidents Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. (1992). Normative data from the 1985 school population fitness survey for use with the presidents challenge youth physical fitness program. Washington, DC: U. S. Government Printing Office. Plato, The republic,Book III, 412A-B. Translated by Conford, 1945, pp. 101-102 Rhodes, J. S. , van Praag, H. , Jeffrey, S. , Girard, I. , Mitchell, G. S. , Garland, T. Jr. , et al. (2003). Exercise increases hippocampal neurogenesis to high levels but does not improve spatial learning in mice bred for increased voluntary wheel running. Behavioral Neuroscience, 117, 10061016. Sterne, J. A. C. , Smith, G. D. (2001). Sifting the evidence whats wrong with significance tests? British Medical Journal, 322, 226-231. Symons, C. W. , Cinelli, B. , James, T. C. , Groff, P. (1997). Bridging student health risks and academic achievement through comprehensive school health programs. Journal of School Health, 76, 220-227. Thomas, J. R. , Salazar, W. , Landers, D. M. (1991). What is missing in p is less than .05? Effect size. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 62(3), 344-348. Vannier, M. , Poindexter, H. B. (1964). Physical activities for college women. Philadephia: W. B. Saunders. Vincent, W. J. (1999). Statistics in kinesiology. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Weber, J. R. (1983). Relationship of physical fitness to success in college and to . rsonality. Research Quarterly, 24, 471-474. Winn, K. L. (1993). A study of the relationship between physical fitness levels and the academic achievement of fourth and fifth grade students. Unpublished masters thesis, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA.

The many failures that lead to the disaster at the Royal Bank of Scotland finance

The many failures that lead to the disaster at the Royal Bank of Scotland finance Among the many failures that led to the disaster at the Royal Bank of Scotland, there was obviously a failure of corporate governance. So it is only right that, along with all the other regulatory reviews, there should be a review of the governance of corporate governance. In Britain, this is partly a matter of self-regulation, with companies expected to follow the best practice corporate governance standards set out in the so-called Combined Code. It is surely only a matter of time before some headline-grabbing politician identifies the root cause of all our problems: we have been letting the rascals regulate themselves. So it is very sensible for the Financial Reporting Council, which acts as caretaker of the Code, to try to get its retaliation in first. And it is very sensible that it will work closely with Sir David Walker, who is conducting a separate review of governance of banks. Critics of the British approach to corporate governance particularly in America enjoy pointing out that RBS was, in fact, a model pupil. It did everything by the book, ticked all the boxes and filled page after page of its annual report with an exhaustive analysis of its corporate governance performance. In particular, it had a separate, non-executive chairman a central pillar of the UK code, but far from standard practice in the United States a post is designed to restrain an over-mighty chief executive. Yet the RBS chairman Sir Tom McKillop failed to restrain Sir Fred Goodwin, with catastrophic consequences for the bank and the taxpayer. American critics of the British system claim that we are so focused on ticking the boxes that it makes us complacent. It is one thing following all the rules, but boards also have to ensure that they are working in practice. There are a few obvious areas the review should examine. The roles of chairman, chief executive and senior non-executive director need to be better-defined. The code should encourage non-execs to seek outside advice on big decisions. It should consider whether there should be special rules applying to banks it would clearly be advantageous if at least the chairman and members of the risk committee of banks had specialist experience. The review should consider ways to encourage more active involvement of shareholders in corporate governance questions. And not just traditional institutions, but also sovereign wealth funds and even hedge funds. The problem with all this is that, however they are structured; boards are only as good as the people on them. And, for many reasons, the job of non-executive director of a big company, let alone chairman of a bank, is not getting any more attractive. Even good people fail. Example is RBS board. It included the likes of Peter Sutherland and Sir Steve Robson. And, given that so many reputations have been tarnished by the credit crisis, the pool of good people is shrinking. But it would be a mistake to allow the few good people to take on too many jobs. As chairman of BP, Mr Sutherland is now supporting the reappointment as a director of Sir Tom, whom he helped to become chairman of RBS. Sir Tom, the man ultimately responsible for Sir Freds pension, even sits on the BP remuneration committee. Research Question and Methodology: Royal bank of Scotland was a good example of following corporate governance which follows all the code of corporate governance. Despite this RBS had to bail out by taxpayer money, and majority of its share now owned by taxpayer. Board of directors of RBS was all outsiders and reputed on their own field and there was no inner member on the Board. This proposal found a report that RBS trader bought  £34 billion pounds of sub-prime toxic assets in US without informing its Board. The sub-prime assets are being blamed for causing the banks near collapse in 2008. Last year RBS posted a loss of  £28 billion the largest in British corporate history. There may be a conflict between Board of members and Management. Maybe if there were member in Board from inside or from management this trouble in RBS might be avoided. This proposal will try to find out structure and role of Board of Member and Management at RBS. And try to find out any conflict between Board and management which put RBS in turmoil. This proposal will try to research on theory of corporate governance and their practice at RBS; try to find out the impact of corporate governance and its practice at RBS. This proposal will use secondary date for its quantitative research. Literature Review: Corporate Governance Board of Directors The Corporate Governance is a wide and important subject that covers a range of issues from accountability and transparency and the relationship between the board of directors, management and shareholders to help in determining the path and performance of the corporation (Hunger Wheelen, 2007, p. 18). The corporate governance system was designed to help oversee the decisions and best interest of the shareholders. The system should works accordingly: The shareholders elect directors, who in turn hire management to make the daily executive decisions on the owners behalf. The companys board of directors position is to oversee management and ensure that the shareholders interest is being served. Corporate governance focus is with promoting enterprise, to improve efficiency, and to address disputes of interest which can force upon burdens on the business. Ensuring that the clearness, and truth in a companys business can make contribution to improving the enterprise standards and public g overnance. In brief, corporate governance is the system of controls to ensure that investors can assure themselves that they will get their investment back. Depending on laws and other standard it might vary, but generally Board of Director describes as bellow: Those who set the overall path, vision and mission within the business. Those who make the decisions to hire and, or fire any top management member (Hunger Wheelen, 2007, p. 19) Those who oversee management and evaluate strategy. Those who have the shareholders best interest in mind. Those who review and approve the use of company resources, as well as monitoring the effectiveness of the governance practices. Corporate Governance in U.K. Corporate governance is varied in almost every country depending on a number of factors such as the economic development of the country, the strength of the legal system, the stability of the government but despite this the U.K is decidedly different from that of its neighbouring regions in the E.U. There is a unitary board of management and a broader shareholder bases as well as hardly any dual shares and no pyramid structures. (Franks et al. 2004) An examination of the history and development of corporate governance and legislation in the U.K may provide some answers to the considerable differences that have occurred in contrast to many other European countries and worldwide. The U.K corporate governance practices have evolved from an agency perspective and the principal agent theory with a strong bias towards shareholder protection and shareholder rights. The protection of shareholders, in particular minority shareholders is covered by Company Law and is a major reason for the wide shareholder base characteristic of U.K listed companies. The major developments of a workable corporate governance system for the U.K came about due to a few notable high profile financial scandals and public corporate collapses such as Maxwells Communication Corporation and Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI). Robert Maxwell had been taking money out of the pension funds to aid his downwardly spiralling financial situations and managed to bypass auditors and shareholders alike. His uncurbed power made this possible. The BCCI scandal had a worldwide effect. The Bank was guilty of bribery, arms trafficking, money laundering, the sale of nuclear technology, tax evasion, illegal immigration etc. Auditors were blamed again. After these and various other scandals there appeared to be a lack of confidence in the ability of many U.K companies to accurately report on their financial situations. This led to an important committee being formed; the Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance. The report issued by the committee in December 1992 is one the most influential codes on corporate governance and has been used and adapted by many other countries in the development of their corporate governance systems. Sir Adrian Cadbury was the Chairman of the Committee and so the report became known as the Cadbury Report. This report made many valuable recommendations on the composition and roles of the board of directors as well as the non executive directors. Some of the recommendations given in the Cadbury Report were the separation of the Chairman and the CEO, the inclusion on non executive directors, regular and scheduled board meetings, directors access to advice, the length of appointments, the system of appointing non executive directors, disclosure of remuneration and the system of reporting and controls. All U.K registered companies who want to be listed must comply with the Codes of Best Practice recommended by the Cadbury Report. This comply or explain system as opposed to statutory regulation is said to give the United Kingdom an advantage in that it doesnt unnecessarily constrain business practice and innovation. (Financial Reporting Council 2006)

heart of darkness :: essays research papers

Heart of Darkness For most of his young life, Joseph Conrad has had a burning desire to be a seaman; and in 1874, when he is just sixteen years of age, his dream becomes a reality. In addition, he worked his way up through the ranks and piloted a merchant ship up the mighty Congo River in central Africa. Later, it is the memory of this voyage that provides him with the first hand details for writing his most famous novel HEART OF DARKNESS, and these memories spring to life as Marlow , the main character, replaces Conrad in the story. A feeling of darkness is everywhere and it causes the reader to feel surrounded by it. This motif causes the reader to see the darkness in his surroundings, to experience the dark deeds of man, and to recognize the darkness of man's mind. HEART OF DARKNESS presents a story within a story, and at the beginning , we find Marlow, along with three friends, on board a small ship which is anchored near the mouth of the Thames River in London. When the unnamed narrator, uses words like gloom, black, and brooding repeatedly, it becomes evident that darkness is unfolding as a motif. The following example first gets the reader's attention: "The air was dark above Gravesend, and farther back seemed condensed into a mournful gloom, brooding motionless over the biggest, and the greatest , town on earth." While they wait for the tide to turn, the men become lost in their own thoughts until Marlow seizes the opportunity to tell his friends about his life as a seaman. He tells them of his fascination with Africa and how he longs to explore it. When he describes the Congo as " an immense snake uncoiled with its head in the sea, its body at rest curving afar over a vast country, and its tail lost in the depths of the land" a sense of dark mystery is felt by the reader, and as he continues , all kinds of negative information await him. He is next met with a tale of a man hanging himself because of the terrible heat. Then he experiences the painful stabbing of flies and the groans and misery of the sick and dying. Fifteen days later , he describes his arrival at Central Station as hobbling in to an area of back water bordered by smelly mud.

History of Social Policy

1. Explain the meaning of the following terms: industrialisation; urbanisation; public health problems and the implications for state provisions The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and technology had an extreme effect on the society’s economic and cultural conditions. Starting in the United Kingdom, then consequently spreading throughout Europe, North America, and ultimately the world. The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in history. Almost every feature of daily life was influenced in some way. Most particularly, average income and population began to exhibit extraordinary sustained growth. This is known as urbanisation. Urbanisation is the increase in the proportion of people living in towns and cities. Rapid urbanisation took place during this period of industrialisation, many people moved from rural to urban areas to get jobs in the rapidly expanding industries in many large towns and cities. It is estimated that 1/6 of the British population visited London during the 18th century, and the most adventurous and ambitious stayed. This urbanisation had huge implications and resulted in complex societal changes which had adverse effects on the public health of communities. Diseases like typhoid and cholera were common. An outbreak of cholera in 1848 killed 14,000 in London. This was due to the housing shortages, sanitation problems, low standards of personal hygiene, polluted drinking water, exploitation of workers and widespread poverty. Great Britain in the nineteenth century was a great bastion of individualism where that unsympathetic principle of the political economists -laissez faire- dominated public opinion, and Parliament. The individualist theory of government holds that the position of state is to protect the liberty of individuals to act as they wish, as long as they do not infringe upon the liberties of others. Although there has been extended debate over whether this â€Å"age of -laissez faire† gave way to an â€Å"age of collectivism,† This is the period regarded as the source for the widespread collectivism that would ollow. Collectivism At its root is the belief that a collective is more than just individuals interacting together. It is the belief that the group is an entity itself, more important than the sum of the individuals. Put simply by John F. Kennedy â€Å"Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. † And that is exactly what happened , In 1875 state intervention meant that a public health act was passed. This implemented that all new residential construction had to include running water, and an internal drainage system. Also the act meant that all towns had to have pavements and street lights. Yet there was still alot that needed to be done which meant more state intervention was necessary. The national insurance scheme introduced by the liberal government in 1911, gave most workers health insurance and unemployment benefits for workers in industries with high risks of unemployment. But by the 1920s and 1930s the economic depression and widespread unemployment meant that the national insurance scheme was paying out more that it recieved. Benefits were cut and a means test was imposed. This did not change a thing however, poverty was pervasive and particularly among the families of the unemployed. 2. Assess the relationship between laissez faire and ideas of welfare and poverty in the 19th century. Give examples including reference to the poor laws. The original people that believed in and encouraged laissez-faire were the physiocrats (political economists). The physiocrats were followers of the physiocrat school of economic thought, and were in a way the predecessors of classical economists. Although some of their more renowned ideas were very backwards, like believing that only land (physical assets) produced revenue, they certainly were the first to come up with the notion of laissez-faire. (or no government interference) In 1563 the poor of Britain were branded for the first time into deserving, and the undeserving. The elderly and the very young, the infirm, and families who irregularly found themselves in financial difficulties due to a change in circumstance were considered deserving of social support. But people who often turned to crime to make a living such as, highwaymen or pickpockets, migrant workers who roamed the country looking for work, and individuals who begged for a living, were to be treated unsympathetically. The act of 1572 introduced the first necessary poor local poor law tax, an important step acknowledging that alleviating poverty was the responsibility of local communities, in 1576 the concept of the workhouse was born, and in 1597 the post of overseer of the poor was created. The great act of 1601 combined all the previous acts and set the benchmark for the next two hundred years. The Poor Laws passed during the reign of Queen Elizabeth played an essential role in the country's welfare. They signalled important progression from private charity to welfare state, where the care and supervision of the poor was embodied in law and integral to the management of each town, village and hamlet. In 1843, the newspaper The Economist was founded, and became an influential voice for laissez-faire capitalism. In response to the Irish famine of 1846–1849, in which over 1. 5 million people died of starvation, they argued that for the government to supply free food for the Irish would violate natural law. Clarendon, the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, wrote, â€Å"I don't think there is another legislature in Europe that would disregard such suffering. † Laissez-faire policy was never absolute in any nation, and at the end of the 19th century, European countries again took up some economic protectionism and interventionism. France for example, started cancelling its free trade agreements with other European countries in 1890. Germany's protectionism started (again) with a December 1878 letter from Bismarck, resulting in the iron and rye tariff of 1879. 1929 was a crucial year across the globe. When the United States stock market crashed, ripples were felt across Europe. As hardship and insecurity walked hand-in-hand into the 1930s, they met increasing unemployment and poverty. As president of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt took action by implementing a new economic strategy in the New Deal. This model was the â€Å"optimistic activism, experimentation, and interventionist reforms† that the country so desperately needed at the time whilst the USA committed herself to social justice and firmly held the belief of government responsibility towards its citizens, the USSR praised socialism and developed communism. The United Kingdom saw the action other global governments were taking, and decided to follow the lead. In 1935 Attlee became the new leader of the Labour Party. At that time the Conservative government feared the spread of communism from the Soviet Union to the rest of Europe. In 1940 Attlee joined the coalition government headed by Winston Churchill. He was virtually deputy Prime Minister although this post did not formally become his until 1942. It was afterwards claimed that during the Second World War Attlee worked as a restraining influence on some of Churchill's wilder schemes The Labour party published the Beveridge Report (1942), the bestselling â€Å"report (that) set out social programs to slay the ‘five giants’: Want, Disease, Ignorance, Squalor, and Idleness†. In 1945 Herbert Morrison (who was defeated by Clement Attlee for the leadership of the Labour Party in 1935) was given responsibility for drafting the Labour Party manifesto that included the blueprints for the nationalization and welfare programmes. The Labour Party was a socialist party and proud of it. As a result, the Labour government â€Å"established free medical care under a newly constituted National Health Service, created new systems of pensions, encourage better education and housing, and sought to deliver on the unambiguous commitment to ‘full employment. In 1945, the United Kingdom gave birth to the first modern welfar e state. 3. How did the political ideology of the new right wing impact on social policies under Mrs Thatcher? What is a political ideology? Alcock (2003, p. 194, original emphasis) argues that ideology is ‘a concept that refers to the systems of beliefs within which all individuals perceive all social phenomena’. He goes on to stating that ‘in this usage no one system of beliefs is more correct, or more privileged, than any other’. Heywood (2003, p. 12) suggests, an ideology is a more or less coherent set of ideas that provides the basis for organized political action, whether this is intended to preserve, modify or overthrow the existing system of power. The new right, it is generally accepted that the political ideology of the New Right contains two interrelated but also sometimes contradictory strands of political thought: neo-liberalism and neo-conservatism. The core elements of neo-liberalism are support for individualism, laissez faire and limited government intervention in economy and society. Neo-liberals believe that individuals are rational and therefore the best judges of their own best nterests and that they should be allowed the utmost possible individual freedom to determine their own behavior subject only to the restriction that their behavior should not harm others. The core elements of neo-conservatism differ in several respects from those of neo-liberalism. Whereas classic liberals are all in favor of free individualistic decision making, conservatives put forward that this kind of individualism is a recipe for anarchy and that individual freedom, can best be guaranteed via respect for traditional norms, values and i nstitutions. They declare that traditional institutions and patterns of social behavior which have stood the test of time must have done so because they have been socially beneficial which leads neo-Conservatives to support the maintenance or at most only gradual change in the existing social order which implies support for traditional sources of authority, traditional patterns of social and economic inequality, traditional institutions and traditional values. They are therefore expected to be supporters of strong but limited government, the Monarchy and the Aristocracy, the Church, the traditional family and traditional education. Under the leadership of Mrs Thatcher the conservatives made it their duty to do away with socialism and to reduce the power of the trade unions. Thatcher’s government made changes to the N. H. S, by creating the internal market. This was down to the Griffiths reports (1983) which suggested that the N. H. S should be run like a super market. Instead of meeting patients’ needs, trusts would be run in competition with one another for patients. Administration costs in the N. H. S in 1979 were around 6%. After the introduction of the internal market these costs had doubled to 12%. this shows that Thatcher had introduced inefficiencies as a result of outsourcing and duplication of work. However, Thatcher’s intended privatisation was never carried through completely due to the backlash from the pub lic. Tebbit once described the N. H. S as the nearest thing in Britain to a â€Å"national religion†. The conservative government also contributed in making reforms to the state education system. The Conservatives' 1979 Education Act removed the requirements introduced by previous Labor Governments that Local Authorities whose secondary schools were not currently organized on comprehensive lines must prepare plans for the transition to comprehensive education. Also under the 1979 Act Local Authorities were requested to place greater emphasis on parental choice in the allocation of school places although it has been suggested that in practice this requirement had only limited practical effects. The 1980 Education Act introduced an assisted Places Scheme which subsidized students who passed an entrance examination but whose parents had limited funds to be educated at private schools in the hope that this would enable these more able students to develop their talents more fully than would be possible in the state sector of education. This policy is a sign of a Conservative belief that state schools were often incapable of developing the talents of the most gifted pupils and in effect provided a state subsidy to the private education sector which the Conservatives wished to support. An important reform was the 1986 Education Act. This abolished corporal punishment in state schools. Other than this the Thatcher lead conservative party made many more changes to the education system Under the terms of the 1988 Education Reform Act, the following education policies were introduced. A National Curriculum was introduced which was to be followed compulsorily in all mainstream state schools but remained optional for independent schools. The National Curriculum was originally to contain 10 compulsory subjects of which 3 [English, Mathematics and Science] were to be â€Å"core† subjects and 7 [History, Geography, Technology, Music, Art, PE and a modern foreign language {at key stages 3 and 4}] were to be foundation subjects. Welsh was to be a Core Subject in Welsh -speaking schools and a foundation subject in Welsh non-Welsh speaking schools. RE was to be a compulsory â€Å"basic† subject in all schools although problems would arise surrounding the precise nature of the RE curriculum which was to be primarily based around Christianity except where the ethnic/religious composition of the school population suggested that this was inappropriate. In conclusion Thatcher’s conservative party had an immense impact and made numerous reforms and changes whilst in government. After all she is not called a social policy expert (Clare Beckett: The 20 Prime Ministers of the 20th Century) for nothing.

Analysis of Divisional Performance of Asian Paints Ltd

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY ASSIGNMENT ON ADVANCED COST ACCOUNTING ANALYSIS OF DIVISIONAL PERFORMANCE OF ASIAN PAINTS LTD SUBMITTED TO: -SUBMITTED BY: – DR. G. SHANMUGHASUNDARAM A. PURUSHOTHAMAN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR M. COM (BUSINESS FINANCE) DEPT. OF COMMERCE 2nd YEAR PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY REG. NUMBER: 11351059 INTRODUCTION DIVISIONAL PERFOMANCE OF COST CENTRE AND PROFIT CENTRE A profit centre is a unit of a company that generates revenue in excess of its expenses. The main aim of profit centre is to earn profit.The performance of profit centre is evaluated in terms of whether the centre has been achieved its budgeted profit A  cost centre  is a business unit that is only responsible for the  costs  that it incurs. The manager of a cost centre is not responsible for  revenue  generation or asset usage. The performance of a cost centre is usually evaluated through the comparison of  budgeted  to actual costs. The costs incu rred by a cost centre may be aggregated into a  cost pool  and allocated to other business units. Investment centre is responsible for both profit and investment.The investment centre manager has control over revenue, expenses and the amount invested in the current assets. The following are the techniques used to measure the divisional performance of cost centre and profit centre * Variance analysis * Profit * Return on investment * Market share COST PER UNIT: Cost refers to the total cost incurred for the production. So cost per unit refers to the cost incurred for producing 1 unit. Normally we used the below formula to calculate the cost per unit Cost/unit = total cost / No. of unit produced COST PER UNIT year| Production| Total expenses| COST PER UNIT| 008| 40946. 7| 559586| 0. 073173203| 2009| 50418. 7| 602922| 0. 083623918| 2010| 57937. 2| 732142| 0. 079133829| 2011| 72582. 9| 849056| 0. 085486587| Interpretation: The above table and chart shows the cost per unit of Asian p aints India ltd. They incurred highest cost per unit in the year 2011. This may because increasing the cost of raw material or other charges etc. It is better to have lower cost per unit because when cost per unit increases the total cost will increase. That in turn reduces the profitability of a firm. In the 2008 the firms have lower cost per unit of production compared to other years.So may be this year the profit is increased. The cost per unit is higher in the years 2011 and 2009. COST VARIANCE Cost variance (CV) is the amount of money that was actually spent on a project or a part of a project compared to the amount of work that was actually accomplished. Cost variance = Budgeted cost of work performed – The actual cost of work performed. YEAR| TOTAL COST| STANDARD| COST VARIANCE | DECISION| 2008| 40946. 7| 61276. 54| -20329. 84| A| 2009| 50418. 7| 61276. 54| -10857. 84| A| 2010| 57937. 2| 61276. 54| -3339. 34| A| 2011| 72582. 9| 61276. 54| 11306. 6| F| 2012| 84,497. 20| 61276. 54| 23220. 66| F| Interpretation: Here from 2008 to 2010 there is a favorable situation because in these years actual cost is less than standard cost. In 2011 and 2012 actual cost exceeds standard cost. That may be because of increase in the cost/unit in these years. SALES VARIANCE Sales variance is the difference between actual sales and budget sales. It is used to measure the performance of a sales function, and/or analyze business results to better understand market conditions. Sales variance = Actual sales – standard sales Segment 1= PaintYEAR| SALE| STANDARD| SALES VARIANCE| DECISION| 2008| 39062. 2| 51731. 3| -12669. 1| A| 2009| 48641. 9| 51731. 3| -3089. 4| A| 2010| 56135| 51731. 3| 4403. 7| F| 2011| 63086. 1| 51731. 3| 11354. 8| F| Segment 2= Others YEAR| SALE| STANDARD| SALES VARIANCE| DECISION| 2008| 1731. 7| 1717. 375| 14. 325| F| 2009| 1634. 5| 1717. 375| -82. 875| A| 2010| 1774| 1717. 375| 56. 625| A| 2011| 1729. 3| 1717. 375| 11. 925| A| TOTAL SALES VARI ANCE YEAR| TOTAL SALES| STANDARD| COST VARIANCE | DECISION| 2008| 40,946. 70| 62,655. 72| -21,709. 02| A| 2009| 50,418. 70| 62655. 72| -12,237. 02| A| 2010| 57,937. 0| 62655. 72| -4,718. 52| A| 2011| 72,582. 90| 62655. 72| 9,927. 18| F| 2012| 91,393. 10| 62655. 72| 28,737. 38| F| INTERPRETATION Sales variance is higher in the year 2012 which means that company sold more than standard sales in the year 2012. And the 2011 also have the favorable value but it is lower than 2012. From 2008 to 2010 company cannot sold more than standard sales. That is an unfavorable situation for the company. MARKET SHARE The percentage of an industry or market's total sales that is earned by a particular company over a specified time period is known as market share.Market share is calculated by taking the company's sales over the period and dividing it by the total sales of the industry over the same period. This metric is used to give a general idea of the size of a company to its market and its compet itors. Market share Year| Total sales| Industrial sales| Market share | 2008| 40,946. 70| 348047| 11. 76| 2009| 50,418. 70| 393266| 12. 82| 2010| 57,937. 20| 260717| 22. 22| 2011| 72,582. 90| 834703| 8. 70| 2012| 91,393. 10| 868,234. 00| 10. 53| Interpretation: Company has highest market share in the year 2010. It is decreased in the subsequent years may be because of increased price of the products.WORKING CAPITAL TURN OVER RATIO A measurement comparing the depletion of working capital  to the generation of sales over a given period called as working capital turn over ration. This  provides some useful information  as to how effectively a company is using  its working capital to generate sales. WORKING CAPITAL TURN OVER RATIO YEAR| TOTAL SALES| CURRENT ASSETS| CURRENT LIABILITIES| WC| WCTOR| 2008| 40,946. 70| 8,686. 30| 8018. 6| 667. 70| 61. 32| 2009| 50,418. 70| 10,403. 70| 7811. 4| 2,592. 30| 19. 45| 2010| 57,937. 20| 11,981. 00| 10588. 7| 1,392. 30| 41. 61| 2011| 72,582. 90| 15,475. 70| 11952. | 3,522. 90| 20. 60| 2012| 91,393. 10| 19,927. 70| 16008. 9| 3,918. 80| 23. 32| Interpretation: Here working capital ratio is higher in the year 2008. This means that company may have adequate working capital for their operation in 2008. Working capital to ratio is very lower in the subsequent years (i. e. 2009 to 2012), it shows that company is struggled with inadequacy of working capital in that years. INVENTORY TURN OVER RATIO Inventory Turnover Ratio is one of the efficiency ratios and measures the number of times, on average, the inventory is sold and replaced during the fiscal year.Inventory Turnover Ratio formula is: year| Total sales| opening stock| closing stock| Avg stock| ITOR| 2008| 40,946. 70| 40,946. 70 | 42,954. 70 | 41,950. 70 | 97. 61| 2009| 50,418. 70| 50,418. 70 | 52,427. 70 | 51,423. 20 | 98. 05| 2010| 57,937. 20| 57,937. 20 | 59,947. 20 | 58,942. 20 | 98. 29| 2011| 72,582. 90| 72,582. 90 | 74,593. 90 | 73,588. 40 | 98. 63| INTERPRETATIONA low inventory turnover ratio is a signal of inefficiency, since inventory usually has a rate of return of zero. It also implies either poor sales or excess inventory. A low turnover rate can indicate poor liquidity, possible overstocking, and obsolescence, but it may also reflect a planned inventory buildup in the case of material shortages or in anticipation of rapidly rising prices. In our case the 2008 has the lower turnover rate. A high inventory turnover ratio implies either strong sales or ineffective buying (the company buys too often in small quantities, therefore the buying price is higher).A high inventory turnover ratio can indicate better liquidity, but it can also indicate a shortage or inadequate inventory levels, which may lead to a loss in business. Here the years from 2009 to 2011 there is constant turnover rate. RETURN ON INVESTMENT A performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an  investment or to compare the efficiency of a number of different inves tments. The objective of every firm is to earn a satisfactory return on capital invested. This is the measure of success i. e. it shows the overall profitability of the firm. ROI = PAT/ cap. Employed YEAR| PBIT| CAPILAT EMPLOYED| ROI| 2008| 5925. | 9,285. 00| 63. 81583199| 2009| 6075. 9| 10,944. 70| 55. 51454128| 2010| 10526. 9| 15,572. 20| 67. 60059593| 2011| 11636. 7| 19,753. 20| 58. 91045501| 2012| 14,086. 30| 24,877. 80| 56. 62196818| INTERPRETATION The above table and chart implies us, The ROI is higher in the year 2008. The Company gets 63. 82% as return on investment. This may because; in this year company sold more than the standard sales. So return on investment is increased. Company received lowest ROI in the year 2009 CONCLUSION: The Asian paints ltd is having an indifferent performance levels, they have both positive and negative performance indicators.The sales variance is for the last two years is favorable for the company, and also all other indicators such as cost va riance favorable for the firm. Another thing is that market share of the company shows a decreasing trend due to decrease in sales. The inventory and working capital of the company is also not good. So it is important for the company to focus on to improve sales volume with higher turnover, better maintenance of working capital. And to try to get more return on investment by adopt necessary measure and techniques.