The Financial Comparisons Between Two Companies Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 14 Words: 4300 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Compare and contrast essay Did you like this example? Abstract The analysis has been done using secondary data. The secondary data is available through the companys main home website where the annual financial reports of the company are available of 2006-2010 financial years for Nike Inc. For Adidas the analysis is done only by using the data from the financial years 2006 2009 as the annual report for the year 2010 is not published by the home website of the company yet. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Financial Comparisons Between Two Companies Finance Essay" essay for you Create order The method which is applied to find out the financial comparisons between the two companies is the efficiency ratio analysis which will help us to show how the firms resources are being used and can be held as a strong measure on the firms financial performance. Another method is the profitability ratio as we know that the profit is the main key to find out the financial performance of the company hence the GPM and the net profit margins of the companies are calculated by using the formulae. Each analysis has been supported with the help of a graph which shows the trend of the companies to arrive at the final conclusion. 186 Words Introduction: The main aim of my commentary is to investigate the financial performance of Adidas and Nike Inc which are two rival companies. Adidas and Nike Inc are the only companies which dominate the footwear, sportswear and sports equipment sector of the market. For testing the financial strength of the companies, I have tried to use the revenue and profit ratios. In the era of globalization, to attract the investors, the financial data of the two competitors is available on the net. A broad comparison is drawn between the two companies based on sales turnover and other relevant ratios to get an understanding of the financial structure and its effectiveness in the business. Both the companies have strived hard to keep the image of their companies high with the help of these reports to attract more people to invest in their company and to buy more shares. The companies can be compared by the revenues they earned over those financial years, the sales of the company, the sales turnovers of the company, using the various tests and to comment on the performance of the company overall. Normally, people look at the balance sheet and the profit and loss account to know the success of the company and to decide whether they want to invest in a company or not. But, it is worth noting that ratio analysis give a better picture of the trend of the company over the years, it pin points the exact highs and lows for the company and comparing the same on an industry level it can be observed whether the industry as a whole is facing crisis or it is the companys inability to generate profits. In the essay I have used historical comparisons which involve comparing same ratio for Adidas and Nike Inc. By using historical ratios the comparisons over the years show a trend which will help us to assess the financial performance of both the companies. This will help us conclude which company has done well financially better than its counterpart. So I have done the comparisons by using the profitability ratio as the profit is a key objective for most of the businesses and can act as a strong measure of a businesss success. The efficiency ratio is also used in finding out the financial performance of these companies. Efficiency ratios show us how well a firms financial resources are being used in which the stock turnover and the return on capital employed are calculated from the financial reports of both the companies. Main Findings: For Nike Inc 2006 2007 these financial years specifically showed consistency in their performance without making heavy losses which is the primary aim of all the companies. 2008 was a good year for the company as here the company showed good signs of improvements and performed better than the years 2006, 2007 and 2009 in all cases 2010 was the best year so far as the company has made improvements and has earned the maximum in this year. It is seen that the company after having a drastic fall in the year 2009, the company has bounced back from drought in almost every case and have performed better than the previous years which is a very good thing for the company. In 2010 the company has the best performance. 2009 the company Nike Inc had handled very well due to the recession the companies had been affected in a huge way like a huge decline in their work but in the case of Nike Inc there wasnt much problem for them if compared to others For Adidas 2006 2007 these financial years showed consistency in the performance of the company In the year 2008 the company had the best financial performance and had performed very well 2009 has been a very bad year in case of financial performance for Adidas as the company has had a major decline in their financial performance which is an alarming state for the company. The year 2009 was a very bad year as the world was hit by a major recession and had created a major slump in the case of many businesses. Adidas was hit by this recession and it was affected in a major way as they incurred heavy declines in their financial performances. https://shoesobsessions.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/ad-2-copia.jpg NIKE INC Profitability Ratios for Nike Inc Gross Profit Margin (GPM) Profit would be the main aim for many businesses and can help act as one of the methods to measure of the firms financial success and performance. The GPM ratio portrays the value of gross profit as a percentage of the sales revenue. The GP M ratio is expressed as percentage with the help of the formula. GPM= Year 2006 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $14,954.9 The Gross Profit was $6580.16 Gross Profit Margin 44% Year 2007 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $16,325.9 The Gross Profit was $7167.07 Gross Profit Margin 43.9% Year 2008 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $18627.0 The Gross Profit was $8382.15 Gross Profit Margin 45% Year 2009 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $19167.1 The Gross Profit was $8606.03 Gross Profit Margin 44.9% Year 2010 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $19014.0 The Gross Profit was $8803.48 Gross Profit Margin 46.3% Graph of the GPM from 2006-2010 Analysis: The trend in the above graph shows the variation of the GPM of the company over 5 years GPM can be increased by using two main strategies financial and non financial In 2006 2007 the company had a comparatively low GPM But in the year 2008 the company improved their performance to a higher percentage as is evident from the graph In 2009 the company did have a small fall of 0.10% in their GPM but then they recovered in the year 2010 with a sudden rise in their Gross Profit The increase in gross profit over the years could be mainly because of two methods Nike Inc could have increased the price of inelastic products to earn more profit (inelastic products are such products whose demand does not go down due to rise in its price) Example: The Nike Inc could have increased the price of their studs, which are very popular and unique; the demand of those products would not go down. However, considering the globalization, these strategies have become very subjective. Or the company could have reduced the price of elastic products and increase its turnover by luring the common man with its brand name. (Elastic products are such products whose demand rises and falls with a rise and fall in its price. Normally such products have substitutes in the market) Example: If the company reduce their cost of shoes by 5%, its turnover may increase beyond the loss due to reduction in the price. Net Profit Margins (NPM) The Net Profit Margin Ratio is a better measure of a firms profitability since it accounts for the companys sales and expenses. The more the NPM the better for the company as the company would have more profit to distribute to shareholders and to reinvest in the business. The NPM is generally high for high volume products. We can calculate the NPM using the following formula. Net Profit Margin = Year 2006 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $14,954.9 The Net Profit was $1392.0 Net Profit Margin 9.31% Year 2007 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $16,325.9 The Net Profit was $1491.5 Net Profit Margin 9.14% Year 2008 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $18627.0 The Net Profit was $1883.4 Net Profit Margin 10.11% Year 2009 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $19176.1 The Net Profit was $1486.7 Net Profit Margin 7.75% Year 2010 Sales Revenue of Nike Inc $19014.0 The Net Profit was $1906.7 Net Profit Margin 10.03% Graph of the NPM from 2006-2010 Analysis: The trend in the above graph shows the NPM of the company Nike Inc over 5 years The following trend line shows the NPM for Nike Inc in 2006 2007 was showing signs of consistency after a particular rise from 2004 2005 and then in the year 2007 there was another rise in the net profit 2008 was not a good year for the company as the net profit fell to a great extent directly from 10.11 high to 7.75 low of the company in the time period of these 5 years The company came back strongly with recovering their status and stabilizing their net profit in the year 2010 where they came back to their Net Profit to 10.03% Some of the ways to increase the NPM are: Negotiating a cheaper rent for the premises Cutting down other indirect expenses like providing economy class tickets for travelling rather than business class. Using video conferencing instead of flying over to other destinations unless need be Reducing other overhead expenditure which can be cut down, say for instance, making a policy to shut down the computers, air conditioners/heaters when they are not in use Efficiency Ratios for Nike Inc Stock Turnover Stock Turnover ratio would measure the number of times a firm sells its stocks within a time period. The ratio hence indicates the speed at which a firm sells and replenishes all its stock. The formula to find out Stock Turnover is Stock Turnover = OR Stock Turnover = * 365 Year 2006 Cost of Goods Sold $8367.90 Average Stock $1943.9 Stock Turnover 4.30 Year 2007 Cost of Goods Sold $9165.4 Average Stock $2099.3 Stock Turnover 4.37 Year 2008 Cost of Goods Sold $10239.6 Average Stock $2280.15 Stock Turnover 4.49 Year 2009 Cost of Goods Sold $10571.7 Average Stock $2397.7 Stock Turnover 4.41 Year 2010 Cost of Goods Sold $10213.6 Average Stock $2198.9 Stock Turnover 4.64 Graph of the Stock Turnover from 2006-2010 Analysis: Inventory turnover ratio or Stock turnover ratio measures the velocity of conversion of stock into sales Usually a high inventory turnover ratio indicates that the stock is fast selling and the management does not face difficulty in conversion of stock into sales In the graph for the stock turnover of Nike Inc it can be observed the rise in the stock turnover ratio for the years 2006-2008 2009 had a drastic fall in the stock turnover This fall was recovered and improved better than 2008 in the year 2010. The low inventory turnover ratio implies that, during that period, the sale of the company has declined The other reason for rise in the ratio could be that the company started producing for increasing its stocks, but considering the situation at that point of time, it seems highly improbable. Only in the industries in which seasonal products are utilized, higher stock turnover ratio can be acceptable Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) The ROCE is an efficiency ratio that measures the financial performance of a company as compared with the amount of capital invested. The ROCE is also an indicator of the profitability of a company. ROCE can help investors see through growth forecasts, and it can often serve as a reliable measure of corporate performance. The return on capital employed is used to prove the value the business gains from its assets and liabilities, a business which owns lots of land but has little profit will have a smaller ROCE to a business which owns little land but makes same profit. The formula to calculate the Return on Capital employed is Return on Capital Employed = * 100 Year 2006 Capital Employed $6696.2 Net Profit Before Tax and Interest $1392.0 Return on Capital Employed 20.8% Year 2007 Capital Employed $7435.6 Net Profit Before Tax and Interest $1491.5 Return on Capital Employed 20.06% Year 2008 Capital Employed $8266.7 Net Profit Before Tax and Interest $1883.4 Return on Capital Employed 22.78% Year 2009 Capital Employed $9076.6 Net Profit Before Tax and Interest $1486.7 Return on Capital Employed 16.38% Year 2010 Capital Employed $10119.8 Net Profit Before Tax and Interest $1906.7 Return on Capital Employed 18.69% Graph of the Return on Capital Employed from 2006-2010 Analysis: The ROCE line shows how the company is able to generate the profits using the resources in their possession If the capital employed falls while the net profits remain the constant it means that the company has been able to achieve the same profit with less capital. This is good for the company The company graph shows that the ROCE was constant in 2006-2007 The company had a reasonable rise in their ROCE in the year 2008 but it dropped drastically in the year 2009, but stabilized in 2010 If the capital employed is high then there could be a decline in the ROCE which could be a reason in the year 2009 2010 is the year where the company begins stabilizing and tries to recover their standards https://www.soccerwallpaper.mackafe.com/var/albums/David-Beckham-Wallpaper-Gallery/beckham-wallpaper-adidas.jpg ADIDAS Profitability Ratios for Adidas Gross Profit Margin (GPM) 1 EUR = $1.337479367 The profit would be the key objective for most of the businesses and can help act as the measure of the firms financial success and performance. GPM ratio shows the value of gross profit as a percentage of the sales revenue. The GPM ratio is expressed as percentage with the help of the formula. Gross Profit Margin = Year 2006 Sales Revenue of Adidas $13,487.1 The Gross Profit was $6015.25 Gross Profit Margin 44.6% Year 2007 Sales Revenue of Adidas $13.774.7 The Gross Profit was $6529.21 Gross Profit Margin 47.4% Year 2008 Sales Revenue of Adidas $14443.4 The Gross Profit was $7033.94 Gross Profit Margin 48.7% Year 2009 Sales Revenue of Adidas $13884.4 The Gross Profit was $6303.52 Gross Profit Margin 45.4% Graph of the GPM of Adidas from 2006-2009 Analysis The trend in the above graph shows the trend of the GPM of the company over 4 years The GPM portrays the profit a company makes after paying off its Cost of Goods sold (COGS) In 2006 the company had a very low GPM, but it increased over the years In the year 2008 the companys GPM reached its peak and even the success of the company was at its highest during that period As discussed earlier GPM is the first aspect to be measured to measure the success of the success of the company. This will provide the company an opportunity to invest more, do more marketing of their company and use the money for research so that the company can develop and grow. In 2009 the company did have a massive fall in their GPM which is a bad sign for the company as it is a huge decline Adidas can increase the price of inelastic products as they can get more sales revenue from the market if the customers respond in a positive way to the change in the prices Example: Adidas can increase the price of their shoes and the demand of the products does not fall then the strategy can be called successful. Adidas would have to improve their GPM in the year 2010 to recover and not have a negative impact on the minds of the customers and other important stakeholders. ÂÂ  LowÂÂ  profit marginÂÂ  ratios can also suggest the business is unable to control production costs, or that a low amount of earnings are generated from revenues. Net Profit Margins (NPM) 1 EUR = $1.337479367 The NPM Ratio is a better measure of a firms profitability since it accounts for the companys sales and expenses. The more the NPM the better for the company as the company would have more profit to distribute to shareholders and to reinvest in the business. The NPM is generally high for high volume products. We can calculate the NPM using the following formula. Net Profit Margin = Year 2006 Sales Revenue of Adidas $13487.1 The Net Profit was $1178.3 Net Profit Margin 8.7% Year 2007 Sales Revenue of Adidas $13774.7 The Net Profit was $1269.3 Net Profit Margin 9.2% Year 2008 Sales Revenue of Adidas $14443.4 The Net Profit was $1431.1 Net Profit Margin 9.9% Year 2009 Sales Revenue of Adidas $13884.4 The Net Profit was $679.4 Net Profit Margin 4.9% Graph of the Net Profit Margin of Adidas from 2006-2009 Analysis: The trend in the above graph shows the NPM of the company Adidas over 4 years. The following trend line shows the NPM for Nike Inc in 2006 2007 was showing signs of consistency after a particular rise from 2004 2005 and then in the year 2007 there was another rise in the net profit 2008 was not a good year for the company as the net profit fell to a great extent directly from 10.11 high to 7.75 low of the company in the time period of these 5 years The company came back strongly with recovering their status and stabilizing their net profit in the year 2010 where they came back to their Net Profit to 10.03% Some of the ways to increase the NPM are: Negotiating a cheaper rent for the premises Cutting down other indirect expenses like providing economy class tickets for travelling rather than business class. Using video conferencing instead of flying over to other destinations unless need be Reducing other overhead expenditure which can be cut down, say for i nstance, making a policy to shut down the computers, air conditioners/heaters when they are not in use Efficiency Ratios for Adidas Stock Turnover 1 EUR = $1.337479367 Stock Turnover ratio would measure the number of times a firm sells its stocks within a time period. The ratio hence indicates the speed at which a firm sells and replenishes all its stock. The formula to find out Stock Turnover is Stock Turnover = OR Stock Turnover = * 365 Year 2006 Cost of Goods Sold $7471.85 Average Stock $1898.55 Stock Turnover 3.94 Year 2007 Cost of Goods Sold $7245.49 Average Stock $2164.04 Stock Turnover 3.35 Year 2008 Cost of Goods Sold $7409.46 Average Stock $2423.51 Stock Turnover 3.06 Year 2009 Cost of Goods Sold $7580.88 Average Stock $2317.85 Stock Turnover 3.27 Graph of the Stock Turnover from 2006-2009 Analysis Inventory turnover ratio or Stock turnover ratio measures the velocity of conversion of stock into sales Usually a high inventory stock velocity indicates efficient management because more stocks are sold Graph above for the stock turnover of Adidas shows the decline in the stock turnover ratio from 2006 to 2007 Since 2007 the company had a low stock turnover However the company could not improve its stock turnover ratio over the years The low inventory turnover ratio implies that the products of the company are not selling as fast as they were in the year 2006 The other reason for rise in the ratio could be that the company started producing for increasing its stocks, but considering the situation at that point of time, it seems highly improbable. Only in the industries in which seasonal products are utilized, higher stock turnover ratio can be acceptable Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) 1 EUR = $1.337479367 The ROCE is an efficiency ratio that measures the financial performance of a firm compared with the amount of capital invested. The ROCE is also an indicator of the profitability of a company. ROCE can help investors understand the growth forecasts as predicted by the company and it can often serve as a reliable measure of corporate performance. The ROCE is used to prove the value the business gains from its assets and liabilities, a business which owns lots of land but has little profit will have a smaller ROCE to a business which owns little land but makes same profit. The formula t calculate the ROCE is Return on Capital Employed = * 100 Note I have considered net borrowings entirely as the long term debt since working capital includes short term debt Year 2006 Capital Employed $6766.31 Net Profit Before Tax and Interest $1441.80 Return on Capital Employed 21.31% Year 2007 Capital Employed $6405.19 Net Profit Before Tax and Interest $1558.16 Return on Capital Employed 24.33% Year 2008 Capital Employed $7456.45 Net Profit Before Tax and Interest $1711.97 Return on Capital Employed 22.96% Year 2009 Capital Employed $6270.10 Net Profit Before Tax and Interest $1043.23 Return on Capital Employed 16.64% Graph of the Return on Capital Employed from 2006-2010 Analysis The ROCE trend line shows how the company is able to generate the profits If the capital employed falls while the net profits remain constant this shows that the company is earning the same with less amount of capital employed The company graph shows that the ROCE was improving in the years 2006-2007 Improving ROCE is always a good sign for a company but from the year2007 there is a constant decline in the trend which is observed Comparative Analysis Graph of the GPM for Adidas (2006 2009) Nike Inc (2006 2010) Analysis Adidas had started the year 2006 above Nike Inc with a GPM higher than Nike Inc Adidas in the year 2007 has improved their companys standing as there is a constant improvement in their performance The year 2008 saw a successful year for the market as a whole and the performance of both the companies was better, however the performance of Adidas was better than Nike Inc In the year 2009 the companies had a massive decline in their GPM as the world was battling recession, which affected the entire globe as a whole. Adidas had a major decline in their GPM where Nike did not have a very major fall although the company had a decline it was not as bad as Adidas It was also said that the boom of the commodities which was on for 5 years had come to an end Graph of the NPM for Adidas (2006 2009) Nike Inc (2006 2010) Analysis Adidas had a relatively low NPM compared to Nike Inc In the year 2006 Adidas had a lower NPM than Nike Inc In the year 2007-2008 they were almost the same Due to the recession in the year 2009 hit Adidas very bad as they had fallen in both the NPM and the GPM Nike Inc on the other hand was not affected that badly due to the recession Reducing other overhead expenditure which can be cut down, say for instance, making a policy to shut down the computers, air conditioners/heaters when they are not in use Graph of the Stock Turnover for Adidas (2006 2009) Nike Inc (2006 2010) Analysis Inventory turnover ratio or stock turnover ratio measures the velocity of conversion of stock into sales. The graph shows that Adidas have had a relatively low Stock Turnover than that of Nike Inc throughout the year The graph shows that the stock turnover of the Nike Inc has been very consistent whereas the Adidas company have had a low and declining stock turnover The higher the stock turnover it is better for the company as it shows that the stock gets sold very fast and it also implies that your product has a high demand in the market If the stock turnover is high the company is said to be more efficient in converting its stocks into sales A low stock turnover is bad for a company as it shows that the company has less sales and its product is not much in demand by the customers Graph of the Return on Capital Employed for Adidas (2006 2009) Nike Inc (2006 2010) Analysis A company with a high ROCE is normally a highly profitable business The return on capital employed trend line shows how the company is able to generate the profits Return on Capital Employed ratio also indicates whetherÂÂ  the companyÂÂ  is earning sufficientÂÂ  revenuesÂÂ  and profits in order to make the best use of its capital assets In the year 2007 Adidas had a better ROCE as they had improved their business as and were able to generate more profits and have had a better ROCE that Nike Inc as Nike Inc had their ROCE decline in 2007 Adidas had a decline in ROCE in the year 2008 and Nike Inc improved their ROCE Due to the recession Adidas and Nike Inc both had a drop in the ROCE and again Adidas had a more major drop if compared to Nike Inc Conclusion Ratio analysis can be used by not only the management to know its status, but as it projects a trend, it can be used by prospective investors, government agencies etc. The investors can decide whether the company is going through a bad phase or the industry or the index as a whole. Ratio analysis makes it possible to measure the effectiveness of any kind of business. Here, we are looking at two companies which sell similar products in the markets and we are able to know which company is better than the other. Say for instance, if the capital employed by one company is more than the other, then even if the profit is higher it does not mean that each investor will get more dividend as number of shareholders will be more. . After comparing both the companies the highlights of the discussion are: Adidas has a higher GPM as compared to Nike Inc showing that direct costs are lower for Adidas as compared to Nike Inc Adidas has a lower NPM than that of Nike Inc showing that the ev en though the GPM is higher for Adidas its indirect costs are so high that its overall profitability has reduced The Stock Turnover of Adidas is low compared to that of Nike Inc showing that Nike Inc is able to convert its stock into turnover faster Having the NPM and the Stock Turnover both higher than Adidas, it shows that Nike Inc have their administration and other indirect expenses lower than that of Adidas Due to recession Adidas would be hit more as the stock turnover ratio is low despite high GPM Adidas has a higher ROCE than that of Nike Inc. The high ROCE indicates that a larger amount of money can be re invested in the company and the company can be called a more efficient one Bibliography

Hamlets Weakness In Hamlet - 1490 Words

â€Å"Frailty, thy name is woman!†(1.2.146). Frailty, according to OxfordDictionaries.com, means: â€Å"the condition of being weak and delicate,† and more specifically: â€Å"weakness in character or morals†. Hamlet, the main character, sees weakness in all women. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, he expresses that women are merely weak and almost insignificant to the play, but it can be argued that the women are stronger and do have importance in the story, especially the Queen. She’s very intelligent when it comes to staying in her powerful position and how some manipulative fragments that move the play forward. Despite this, Hamlet sees the women as harlots because of his views on Ophelia and his mother, he even uses their sexuality as a weapon against†¦show more content†¦She moved on from the King Hamlet to King Claudius in a blink of an eye. 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Caveat Emptor free essay sample

Caveat emptor is Latin for Let the buyer beware (from caveat, may he beware, the subjunctive of cavere, to beware + emptor, buyer). Generally, caveat emptor is the property law principle that controls the sale of real property after the date of closing, but may also apply to sales of other goods. Under the principle of caveat emptor, the buyer could not recover damages from the seller for defects on the property that rendered the property unfit for ordinary purposes. The only exception was if the seller actively concealed latent defects or otherwise made material misrepresentations amounting to fraud.Before statutory law, the buyer had no express warranty ensuring the quality of goods. Common law requires that goods must be fit for the particular purpose and of merchantable quality, but this implied warranty can be difficult to enforce and may not apply to all products. Hence, buyers are still advised to be cautious. We will write a custom essay sample on Caveat Emptor or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 1 Definition of Caveat Emptor A Latin phrase for let the buyer beware. The term is primarily used in real property transactions. Essentially it proclaims that the buyer must perform their due diligence when purchasing an item or service.Investopedia explains Caveat Emptor In other words, consumers need to know their rights and be vigilant in avoiding scams. For example in the private purchase of a used car, caveat emptor places an onus on the buyer to make sure the car is worth the purchase price. This is because once the transaction is complete the buyer will not receive a warranty or return option from the seller. As per Advanced Law Lexicon by P. Ramanatha Aiyar, 3rd Edition. 2005 at page 721: Caveat emptor means Let the purchaser beware. It is one of the settled maxims, applying to a purchaser who is bound by actual as well as constructive knowledge of any defect in the thing purchased, which is obvious, or which might have been known by proper diligence. This maxim is used with reference to sale or sales of the properties where the buyer is expected to exercise proper diligence and to inform himself as to its quality and encumbrances. Caveat emptor does not mean either in law or in Latin that the buyer must take chances. It means that the buyer must take care. See Wallis v. Russell [1902] 2 IR 585. 1. ttp://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Caveat_emptor Caveat emptor  is the ordinary rule in contract. A vendor is under no duty to communicate the existence even of latent defects in his wares unless by act or implication he represents such defects not to exist. (See William R. Anson, Principles of the Law of Contract 245 (Arthur L. Corbin Ed. 3d. Am. ed. 1919) Applying the maxim, it was held that it is the bounden duty of the purchaser to make all such necessary enquiries and to ascertain all the facts relating to the property to be purchased prior to committing in any manner. Caveat emptor, qui ignorare non debuit quod jus alienum emit. A. maxim meaning Let a purchaser beware; who ought not to be ignorant that he is purchasing the rights of another. Hob. 99; Broom; Co. , Litl: 102 a: 3 Taunt. 439. As the maxim applies, with certain specific restrictions, not only to the quality of, but also to the title to, land which is sold, the purchaser is generally bound to view the land and to enquire after and inspect the title-deeds; at his peril if he does not.Upon a sale of goods the general rule with regard to their nature or quality is caveat emptor, so that in the absence of fraud, the buyer has no remedy against the seller for any defect in the goods not covered by some condition or warranty, expressed or implied. It is beyond all doubt that, by the general rules of law there is no warranty of quality arising from the bare contract of sale of goods, and that where there has been no fraud, a buyer who has not obtained an express warranty, takes all risk of defect in the goods, unless there are circumstances beyond the mere fact of sale from which a warranty may be implied.Bottomley v. Bannister(1932) 101 L. J. K. B. 46; Ward v. Hobbs 4 App Cas 13. (Latin for Lawyers) No one ought in ignorance to buy that which is the right of another. The buyer according to the maxim has to be cautious, as the risk is his and not that of the seller. 1 1. http://www. lawyersclubindia. com/articles/Rule-of-Caveat-Emptor-5399. asp#. UZpgLKL-Hmp Caveat Emptor is a common-law maxim that serves as a warning to the buyer of any property, real or personal, that he assumes the risk that the product he is buying might be either defective or unsuitable to his needs.Simply put, it imposes obligation upon the buyer of a property to examine and check for themselves the things that they intend to purchase. In case they comply with this obligation, they cannot later on hold the vendor responsible for the defective or broken condition of the thing bought. It must however be stressed that the doctrine of caveat emptor is not designed to encourage the vendors to engage in fraud or bad faith in dealing with buyers. It only seeks to stress that the buyer has the obligation to examine, judge and double-check the product before it is purchased. In essence, it serves as a guide for the courts to determine whether the vendor or the purchaser should be held responsible for the damaged or defective goods. For instance in the sale of motor vehicle, it is presumed that before the buyer has delivered the purchase price to the vendor, the buyer has examined the motor vehicle and that he is satisfied of its present condition.It is also presumed that the buyer is purchasing the property at the same condition it was bought. The buyer cannot be heard to complain later on and ask for the recovery of the purchase price in case he subsequently finds out that the motor vehicle’s brakes are defective. In the sale of land, it is also presumed that the buyer buys the real property at its present state and condition. In the absence of an express provision in the contract or fraud the buyer is deemed to have pu rchased the land together with its defects. Defects involving land may either be patent, or those that that are obvious, or latent, those that are hidden from view. The doctrine of Caveat Emptor applies only to patent defects. This means that the buyer of a real property is under obligation for his own protection to examine the real property for any obvious defects. Such is the duty of the buyer since the vendor is under no obligation, in the absence of an express provision in the agreement or fraud, to communicate to the buyer any patent defects relative to the acquisition of the land.For instance, the buyer has purchased a house and lot. After full payment of the purchase price, the purchaser cannot be heard to complain and seek to recover damages from the vendor on the ground that the house is made of weak materials or the roof is defective or the tiles composing the floor of the house is damaged since it is presumed that the buyer has examined the property he is buying. It is presumed that he has checked the house and lot for any obvious defects.

Manson Essays - Manson Family, Apocalypticists, Charles Manson

Manson Charles Manson Born no name Maddox in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 12, 1934, Manson was the illegitimate son of Kathleen Maddox, a 16-year-old prostitute. His surname was derived from one of Kathleen's many lovers, whom she briefly married, but it signified no blood connection. During 1936, Kathleen filed a paternity suit against one Colonel Scott, of Ashland, Kentucky, winning the grand monthly sum of five dollars for the support of Charles Milles Manson. Scott instantly defaulted on the judgment, and he died in 1954, without acknowledging his son. In 1939, Kathleen and her brother were sentenced to five years in prison for robbing a West Virginia gas station. Charles was packed off to live with a strictly religious aunt and her sadistic husband, who constantly berated the boy as a sissy, dressing him in girl's clothing for his first day of school in an effort to help Manson act like a man. Paroled in 1942, Maddox reclaimed her son, but she was clearly unsuited to motherhood. An alcoholic tramp w ho brought home lovers of both sexes, Kathleen frequently left Charles with neighbors for an hour, then disappeared for days or weeks on end, leaving relatives to track the boy down. On one occasion, she reportedly gave Charles to a barmaid, in payment for a pitcher of beer. By 1947, Kathleen was seeking a foster home for her son, but none was available. Charles wound up in the Gibault School for Boys, in Terre Haute, Indiana, but fled after ten months, rejoining his mother. She still didn't want him, and so Manson took to living on the streets, making his way by theft. Arrested in Indiana, he escaped from the local juvenile center after one day's confinement. Recaptured and sent to Father Flanagan's Boy's Town, he lasted four days before his next escape, fleeing in a stolen car to visit relatives in Illinois. He pulled more robberies en route and on arrival, leading to another bust at age 13. Psychology Essays

Ascertain Cause, Manner, And Time Of Death Essays - Signs Of Death

Ascertain Cause, Manner, And Time Of Death Ascertain cause, Manner, and Time of Death The Presumptive Sings of Death include cessation of respiration, cessation of heartbeat, changes in the eyes, and cooling of the body. Positive signs of death indicate that death has occurred. This includes postmortem lividity, postmortem rigidity, instantaneous rigor, postmortem decomposition, and insect invasion. All of these signs of death can help you determine time, cause, and manor of death. Cessation of respiration is the apparent lack of breathing. In certain types of death like electrocution and drowning, the victim may not be breathing but life may still exist. To determine if breathing is occurring, watch movements of the chest and abdomen. You can also hold a mirror over the mouth or nose too see if the victim is breathing. If breathing is absent, other signs of death should be looked for. Cessation of heartbeat is the absence of the heart beating. A person qualified using a stethoscope can only determine it. The doctor can't always detect a weak heartbeat so feel for the pulse or lay a hand flat over the left side of the chest. If no heartbeat it is likely that death has occurred but it should be confirmed by another person. Cooling of the body does not indicate death because the body may have cooled of medical conditions retarding circulation or by prolonged exposure. If death has occurred the body will become the same temperature of its surroundings. The cooling of the body can be different in the area were the body is. If it were found in the snow the body would cool much faster then if it was found on a hot day. If the body is found in room temperature and it is cool and clammy it is likely that death has occurred at least 12-24 hours before it was found. The temperature of the body is affected by the environmental factors involved. The positive signs of death indicate that death has occurred. Postmortem lividity is livor mortis. This is the result of the blood settling by gravity toward the lowest part of the body. The areas affected take on the appearance of a patchy mottling, apparent within a half hour after death. This is a very good way to determine the time of death. The condition is completely developed and permanent in 8 to 12 hours, by witch time the blood has coagulated. Lividity provides information concerning the position of the body after death, so you can tell if a body was moved after death. Postmortem rigidity or rigor mortis, is the stiffening of the body. The stiffening of the body is caused by chemical changes in the muscle tissue. Rigor mortis normally starts in the head and neck and progresses down the body in an orderly fashion. This helps determine the time of death because at first when the body dies it is still limp it takes some time for rigor mortis to set in. Time of death could be estimated at approximately 29-34 hours previous. Instantaneous rigor is also called cadaveric spasm. This is when the muscles stiffen immediately at the moment of death. This phenomenon has been for the most part, discredited by contemporary forensic pathologists because of lack of documented cases which would tend to substantiate its existence. This is not a good way to determine time of death because it is hared to tell if it was rigor or instantaneous rigor. Postmortem decomposition, there are many ways for a body to decompose but the most common is a process called putrefaction. Putrefaction is when the skin starts to peal off the body; bacteria breaking down the body's tissues cause it. The time that it takes for this process depends on the temperature, clothing, size of the body, ground conditions. The first sing of putrefaction is a greenish discoloration of the skin, appearing in 24-72 hours of death. This process will go much faster is the body is in very hot conditions. Insect invasion is when various insects may eat the flesh and lay eggs in it. The infestation of maggots can occur in a matter of hours. The insects should be collected because a entomologist can estimate the date or season a

How To Perfect Social Listening With Joei Chan From Mention

How To Perfect Social Listening With Joei Chan From Mention Your customers use social media to talk about your industry, competitors, and brand. They provide valuable information that you can use to generate content ideas, understand why they go elsewhere, and prevent PR disasters. That’s why social listening is so important. Today, we’re talking to Joei Chan content marketing manager from Mention. She shares some examples, tips, and advice that will help you capitalize on social listening opportunities. Some of the highlights of the show include: Mention is a Web and social media listening tool for brands to track online conversations and listen to key topics and strategies for brand development. Joei leads content marketing partnerships to generate demands and leads for the sales and marketing team. Social listening is monitoring online conversations to understand what customers are saying and collect feedback about your brand and industry. Part of social listening involves understanding keywords and topics that your audience is talking about. Tracking when your company name or brand is mentioned. Also, track content marketing for keywords used in your industry. Identify keywords and topics that focus on your goals. Social listening is important for marketers to understand and care about because they need to know their target audience. Is what you have in mind when it comes to your audience, reality? Is your perception accurate? Social listening also helps you track campaign effectiveness. How far is the reach? Brand sentiment? Social listening can be used to improve campaigns and content by understanding what platforms your customers are using and what kind of content interests them. Also, utilize content directly from your customers to generate engagement. There are a lot of opportunities that you can discover by listening to what your customers are saying, and then tailor your content based on those conversations. User-Generated Content: For example, you can tie into users who like to show off your product after using it by asking them to use a specific hashtag or encourage them to generate specific types of content. It is a team effort between you and the customers. You can highlight and leverage user-generated content in various ways to promote your brand. Share entertaining and humorous content, even if it is your own expense and you need to welcome humility. Every brand messes up once in awhile. Embrace your failures and be authentic about it. Use social listening to find and build your audience. Understand your audience and give them content that interests and engages them. Listen and react to them in real-time. Competitive Analysis and Monitoring: Gather information on your competition. Your brand and products are never alone and always compared with others. What are your competitors doing that you can learn from? Inbound Marketing and Social Listening: Attract people to your brand through brand awareness and brand perception. What works in your favor? Your social media presence/reputation and positive reviews. If you liked today’s show, please subscribe on iTunes to The Actionable Content Marketing Podcast! The podcast is also available on SoundCloud,  Stitcher, and Google Play. Quotes by Joei: â€Å"I get to talk to a lot of other awesome marketersand work with a ton of different, great marketing companies and learn from them.† â€Å"Social listening is monitoring online conversations to understand what customers are saying about your brand and your industry.† â€Å"The only thing that defines your brand is what people think, what people are saying. This is why social listening is critical for marketers.† â€Å"There are a lot of opportunities that you can discover by listening closely to what your customers are saying.†

Qualities of a good teacher Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Qualities of a good teacher - Essay Example Effective teachers have the urge to succeed. They remain determined that their students receives utmost educational needs. Their determination brings out the best of their weak students while maintaining and building on the talents and abilities of others. Dedication remains as the fundamental tool to success. An effective teacher have the dedication and commitment to achieve excellence in his work. The effective teacher dedicates most of his or her time solving students’ challenges and providing them with amicable alternative solutions. It is imperative to understand that effective teaching requires creativity skills. Creative skills in teaching would enable a good teacher to design effective concepts and lesson plans that remains unique and dynamic to their students. The teacher recognizes difference in learning capacity of his or her students and design new methods that would best accommodate them (Walker 9). Effective teachers have the personality of being accommodative and cooperative. Cooperation in teaching is essential in building an effective relationship between the teacher and student. Such relationship helps in building the learners’ confidence. Therefore, an effective teacher do not only accommodate his or her students’ thoughts but also cooperate with them and other stakeholders of education sector. In conclusion, effective teaching requires comprehensive training that would ensure that teachers have the urge and passion in their job. It is important that an effective teacher would observe the ethical standards and inherent regulations within education sector. Therefore, effective teaching does not only involve teacher-student relationship, but also effectual relation with other education stakeholders including school administration and

Disaster Relief Plan Evaluation of Effectiveness Essay

Disaster Relief Plan Evaluation of Effectiveness - Essay Example re always some issues that are specific to a particular country, which in our case is Thailand, here transparency of the utilization of the relief funds and corruption are considered to be the major issues by the foreign or domestic donor and relief agencies. Without the proper and adequate evaluation of these issues proper Disaster Management Plan could not be evaluated. The most important element when evaluating any disaster relief plan is the integrity, honesty, coordination and availability of the local administration. Relief work would be very difficult if these elements are not available. After that one should consider the accessibility and logistic support available in the affected areas, because it is necessary to determine to scope of relief work. And it should be followed by the availability of trained and qualified professional, who could coup with any particular emergency or disaster. Gathering the support and trust of the locals administration is also very important, this would ensure the security of the relief team and adds to the capacity building of the relief work. Collection, storing and distribution of supplies is of fundamental importance, a good plan must cover these issues, this could be easily achieved through the participation from corporate or private sector of the country (Jaffin & Bob, 2008) As discussed earlier, the misappropriation and corruption in the relief funds is the main issue which the international community closely monitor when considering any relief effort for Thailand. Lack of transparency would cause a sense of unrest and lack of trust in the Sovereign Government, by the foreign or domestic fund or relief agencies. This issue would be of utmost importance when considering any disaster relief plan for Thailand. Efforts to mitigate and reduce the corruption in the funds received for relief of those affected by a catastrophe must be ensured. The foreign and Non-governmental agencies involved in the relief work must ensure

Efficient Market Essay Example for Free

Efficient Market Essay Q1. Efficient market is one in which stock prices fully reflect the information of a company, either positive or negative. If the information from a company is positive, investor will give a good response and the price of shares of this company will increase. Since the information is reflected in price at once, normal rate of return should only be obtained. Also the price that the firm received from issuing securities is the present value, and valuable financing opportunities are unavailable. There are three conditions that will cause market efficiency, which are the rationality of investors, dependent deviations from rationality and arbitrage. Three forms are divided by researcher according to the availability of information. The first one is Weak Form. The price in this form were just focused the past stock price. This is the cheapest, easiest strategy to find the pattern in stock price. But the future information is random due to random walk hypothesis therefore it is unable to generate any profit. The Semistrong Form will appear when all information is publicly available, including the historical price information. The price should rise at once when the news release and no chance for profit when the investor analysis the information. The Strong Form appears in which the price reflects all information publicly or privately on market. Secret news or insider’s news is useless for investors to earn profit in this form. Arbitrage will generates profit from the rationally purchase and sale of similar stocks in market in order to make the profit riskless. The rationally decision is included estimate the business rationally and methodically. So in Weak Form just need to obtain the historical stock information is enough for knowing the different of price. But financial statement, economic and politic situation is needed to consider in order to obtain the arbitrage in Semistrong Form. And some private information like the purchase of resources or amalgamations of firms are needed for understands in order to obtain arbitrage in Strong Form. Q2. Below are the advantage and disadvantage of different investment rules. Net Present Value is used to calculate the net change in company’s asset with respect to a project after considering the time value of money. So company can base on the result to make the decision, where positive NPV should accept the project. The advantage of NPV is accurate to obtain the best decision since it can fairly rank different projects and classify them by their size and duration. Because NPV consider and apply cash flow and discount rate, difficult to estimate and full of uncertainty of these two elements will be the disadvantage of NPV. Payback period is used to make decision by comparing break-even point that the project can payback within a predetermined cutoff. The advantage of it is simple and directly analysis. Also, it is useful for short-term project that cash management is the first priority since it payback mainly focus on liquidity of the project. The disadvantage is payback ignore time value of money and the cash flow after cutoff period, so some cost may neglected and cause an inaccurate result. Discounted Payback Period will convert the cash flow as the present value and compare the discounted break-even point that the project can discounted cash flows payback within a predetermined cutoff. Since the calculating is similar with Payback so they share their advantage and disadvantage. Since the time value of money is considered so result can be more accurate, but it also specified the discount rate so the analysis will become more complicated. Internal Rate of Return is the discount rate that NPV become zero. It will accept the project that has a greater discount rate compare to IRR. It is usually used because it is easy for manager to find out the rate of return. But it is no accurate when the project have some non-normal cash flow or when evaluating mutually exclusive projects. Finally, Profitability index is used to measure profitability among different projects. It obtains present value by discounting the cash flow. With formula: benefit/cost ratio, profit of all positive NPV project can be ranked properly. Therefore it is useful for manager to rank and select suitable projects through the list. But discount rate is difficult to calculate because it is very uncertain. And profitability index will be broken down by other resource constraints. In conclusion, there are similarities between some investment rules. NPV, IRR and PI consider the time value of money while the left rules do not. Although it is more complicated when computing with discount rate, the more accurate and detailed result can be work out so it is worth to do so, just like the rules discounted payback period and payback period. Moreover, IRR can give the accurate result to manager quickly, but it may affect by the non-normal cash flow. Therefore using NPV may be the right choice of rules to evaluating mutually exclusive projects. As a result, managers should choose different rules for particular situations.

Hispanic Cultural Views And Traditional Values

Hispanic Cultural Views And Traditional Values Hispanics are the largest minority population in the United States. Projections suggest that the estimated 46.9 million Hispanics who currently reside in the United States (U.S. Census Bureau 2009) will grow to over 62 million by 2020 and to more than 133 million by the year 2050 (Bean, 2001). Research is crucial in learning how this population functions, assimilates and understanding the societal trends that have the strongest impact on Hispanics. Hispanics display an exceptional resilience to assimilating into mainstream American cultural patterns while maintaining their traditional cultural norms, beliefs and customs (Acevedo, 2009). Research that examines the underlying factors which facilitate Hispanic assimilation gives insight into understanding Hispanic culture. It can serve as the foundation for developing a guideline in studying cultural assimilation and aiding other cultures in achieving it. An individuals beliefs, motivation, and actions are defined and influenced by conn ections and investments with groups they consider themselves to be a part of. In the realm of behaviors and attitudes, groups are exceedingly significant (Acevedo, 2009). Therefore, studying Hispanics as a group supplies researchers a unique advantage in gaining relevant insight. One of the most prominent values of Hispanic culture is familismo, the emphasis on family relationships, which includes gender roles, childbearing, familial hierarchy, etc (Raffaeilli Ontai, 2004). It is a cultural value that highlights the priority of family connections, participation in larger family networks and harmony within relationships. In traditional Latino families, it is generally believed cultural values reflect traditional hierarchical gender roles. Women are supposed to be virginal until marriage. In essence this means they are expected to remain virgins until they marry and be ignorant in sexual manners because the husband is responsible for educating his wife in this arena (Quadagno, Sly, Harrison, Eberstein Soler, 1998). The womans most important roles are as wife and mother being the caretaker for the children, her husband, and home life in general. Traditional male roles are defined as machismo, in which males maintain dominant and aggressive attitudes and are r esponsible for working to support the family (Saez, Casado Wade, 2009). Men are considered to be the head of the household and possess the most power in making decisions. The traditional definition of these gender roles also implies that women are the more subservient sex and men being not only more powerful but also domineering, macho, and potentially excessively controlling and abusive. The relationship between gender-role socialization and hypermasculinity suggests that the home environment is a powerful source of messages regarding male gender role norms (Saez, Casado Wade, 2009) as well as female gender role norms. Scholarly research has criticized this depiction of traditional gender roles as stereotypical and invalid (Amaro, 1988). In the Latino world, machismo is defined as the expectation that a man will be honorable, responsible and loving towards his family (Parra-Cardona Busby 2006). Hispanic partners are also very likely to be influenced by cultural values that empha size personalismo, which refers to a high level of emotional resonance in interpersonal encounters (Parra-Cardona Busby, 2006). Therefore, communication and connection between partners and within the family carry significant weight, promoting familial harmony, strength and growth. Clinicians are responsible for understanding the familial gender roles as defined by different ethnicities in order to maintain cultural competence to work with those populations. Multicultural competence is generally characterized as involving three main areas: clinicians awareness of the culture they identify with, clinicians knowledge of the clients perception of society, and clinicians knowledge and implementation of culturally appropriate treatment strategies and interventions (Bean, 2001). Since the Hispanic population continues to grow, the demand for therapists who are trained to work with Hispanics will also rise. Therefore, research will supply information that can be applied toward developing and implementing treatment plans that will best serve Hispanics. There exists an overwhelming amount of research concerning gender roles amongst the Hispanic population. However, research concerning roles as defined by the elderly Hispanic population is quite scarce, creating a significant gap in understanding the populace. The population of U.S. Hispanics older than 64 years is one of the fastest growing segments of elderly Americans (Beyene, Becker Mayen, 2002). Respeto, or respect, is a traditional value in the Hispanic culture. All members of the family are expected to be respected and give it in return. Traditionally, Hispanic elderly were highly valued for their role and function as well as their ability to contribute their knowledge and experience to their family. They have served as repositories of history, tradition and values (Beyene, Becker Mayen, 2002). They are addressed as Don or Doà ±a, titles of reverence and respect. Children are socially and morally obligated to support their elderly parents, which typically translates to pare nts moving in with their childrens family once their condition limits their independence and inhibits their ability to care for themselves. However, the Hispanic elderly that have emigrated from their native country live in a different society that possesses values that differ greatly from the society they were raised in. In the modern Hispanic culture it remains common practice to seek out the elderly for advice concerning childrearing and family relations, but young Hispanics who were raised in the United States are more likely to align their values with those based on the U.S. culture, which emphasizes youthfulness and personal independence (Beyene, Becker Mayen, 2002). Research shows a significant connection between emotional well being and family support for the elderly Hispanic population. Elderly Hispanics deem emotional support, understanding, compassion and love from their adult children as the most important form of assistance. Thus emphasis is given to social relationships and emotional connection. An exchange of attention and affection with grandchildren also has a significant influence on the sense of well-being for Hispanic elderly (Beyene, Becker Mayen, 2002). The elderly Hispanic population tends to have a strong connection to religion and religious tradition. This is believed to aid in helping with the stresses of old age. Religious beliefs help people make life bearable, and determine their relationship to the supernatural, to the environment, to time, to activity, and enhance their self-worth (Beyene, Becker Mayen, 2002). Religious beliefs are aligned closely with the conservative sphere, which indicates the possibility that elderly Hispanic whom are less assimilated into American culture and feel a more powerful connection to their culture are more likely to possess conservative views and ideals than young Hispanics or Hispanics who are more assimilated into U.S. culture. Most Hispanics in the United States identify with Catholicism or evangelical Protestantism which are traditions that have a tendency to embrace conservative theological and social values, such as opposing abortion and contraception (Ellison, Echevarrà ­a Smith, 20 05). Ultimately, conservative views call for more traditional gender roles in the family, embracing old-fashioned practices which become scarcer as the United States continues to embrace and incorporate a more modern way of life Methods The literature suggests that within Hispanic cultures, there are strong traditional moral ties connecting younger and older generations, including traditions like adult children caring for elderly parents and women remaining celibate until marriage. However, these relationships may be different from generation to generation, particularly as some generations become more acculturated to American life. The question we will attempt to answer is exploratory in nature and serves to ask whether or not there is a relationship between age and traditional beliefs within the Hispanic population in the United States. In order to test this question, we will utilize data taken from the Pew Hispanic Center in 2002. The Pew Hispanic Center conducted the National Survey of Latinos in 2002 among 2929 Latinos and 1284 non-Latinos. This was a broad survey that asked a number of socially relevant questions related to culture, experience and relationship to the United States. These were telephone surveys conducted in both English and Spanish among a randomly selected sample of adults. The respondents were selected using a four-stage stratification system to identify areas more densely populated with Hispanic people and computer assisted calls were made to random phone numbers within these areas. The data received was proportioned to match expected area population values based on country of origin. We will use the data collected from only the Hispanic population in the sample, as this is the target population relevant to our research question. In order to test our question, we will look at two variables: age and level of agreement with the statement, It is better for children to live in their parents home until they get married (Pew Hispanic Center, 2002). This question is valid for our study due to its relationship to traditional Hispanic family values regarding child and parent roles. The answers were coded in the survey using possible responses of four levels of agreement, from strongly agree to strongly disagree and additionally allowed respondents to state dont know. For our purposes, we will recode the data received from this question to include just the four levels of response and encode the dont know responses as missing data, because these responses give us little insight within our exploratory analysis. We will begin our analysis by conducting descriptive frequencies analysis of our two variables, utilizing the datasets included recoded age data, which grouped age responses into five age groups, and the responses to the survey question. We will then run a crosstabulation of the two variables and conduct a Pearson chi-square test using SPSS software. The chi-square test will allow us to see if there is a significant relationship between the two variables. It will measure the significance of the difference between the expected and observed frequencies when comparing categories of the two responses within a crosstabulation. The crosstabulation will allow us to identify specific frequencies of each response divided by age group. The null hypothesis is that there is no significant relationship between the two variables and that the frequencies of responses will be distributed equally. We will use a two-tailed test in order to be fully able to observe if a relationship exists, either positively or negatively. Based on the literature, our hypothesis is that there is a positive relationship between age and the belief among Hispanics in the U.S. that children should remain at home until marriage. The usefulness of this exploratory analysis is that a relationship between these variables may be indicators of greater trends or differences in beliefs among generations and may serve as a basis for additional exploration. The limitation of this study occurs due to its exploratory nature in that we are looking at only one variable as an indicator for the relationship of tradition and age. Although limited in terms of general relationship, discovering a relationship with these variables specifically may help clinicians to better picture and predict generational belief differences within families regarding child and parent roles. Results By running descriptive frequencies on the recoded age variable, we were able to visualize an unequal distribution among our five age groups. The data (see Table 1) shows that of the 2929 respondents, the largest group were 18-29 years old, representing 32.0% of the total sample. The next two age groups, 30-39 and 40-54, reported in similar numbers, with 748 (26.0%) and 721 (25.1%) respectively. The largest drop then occurred, with only 8.5% reporting each for the next two groups, 55-64 and 65 or older. Descriptive frequencies run on our question variable (see Table 2 and Chart 1) shows heavily skewed responses, with 1779 (61.5%) of the 2929 respondents answering that they agree strongly that children should live in their parents home until they get married. 512 (17.7%) responded agree somewhat. Disagreement comprised of only 20.4% of the respondents, with 11.9% disagreeing somewhat and 8.9% disagreeing strongly. Of the total sample, 38 responses equally 1.3% of the total were counted as missing data. Running a crosstabulation on these two variables found 85 (2.9%) missing cases (see Table 3), which leaves 2844 (97.1%) cases that are valid for comparison. Within the frequency table generated by the crosstabulation (see Table 4,) we can see the degree to which each age group agrees or disagrees with the survey question. Although 61.4% of the total population strongly agrees with the question, the 65+ age group gave this response most frequently, with 78.0% of that age group strongly agreeing and 14.5% agreeing somewhat. The three middle age groups responded similarly in nearly equal numbers when proportioned for their age groups, representing 64.8% to 65.8% of each age group strongly agreeing and 16.7% to 17.8% of each age group agreeing somewhat. Although a lower proportion of the youngest age group responded with strongly agree, it is important to note that 49.4% of this age group still gave this response and 19.8% agreed somewhat. Disagreement with the question displayed fewer responses among the sample population, but skewed toward the younger age group, with 18.0% of that age group disagreeing somewhat and 12.8% disagreeing strongly. The numbers decrease with each age group, with 4.1% of the oldest age group disagreeing somewhat and 3.3% disagreeing strongly. From the crosstabulation results, there appears to be a relationship wherein older respondents respond more frequently in agreement with this question. Although younger respondents strongly agree in large numbers with the question, they also report disagreement more frequently. The results of the Pearson chi-square test (see Table 5) indicate that the relationship between these two variables is significant, with a p-value below the .0005 level, based on a chi-square value of 117.985 with 12 degrees of freedom. The results of our analysis thus reject the null hypothesis that there is an equal distribution of frequencies and no relationship. The results show a higher frequency of general agreement with our study question among the oldest group of respondents and a higher rate of general disagreement among the youngest respondents. The middle three age groups responded slightly more conservatively than the oldest group, however, they still responded more frequently with agreement to the survey question. The results of our analysis show a somewhat positive relationship between age and level of agreement with the survey question, thus confirming our initial hypothesis. Discussion and Conclusion The data collected shows that there is a relationship between age and traditional beliefs of people of Hispanic origin in the United States. The findings, as explained in the results section, indicate that there is a positive correlation between age and the belief that children should remain home until marriage. The older the individual surveyed is, the more likely he/she is to strongly agree with this belief. This finding assists social workers in understanding the importance of familial relationships as well as the effects of assimilation across generations within the Hispanic culture. Understanding the impact of these two factors helps to inform therapeutic work with members of this population by assisting clinicians in becoming culturally competent. Cultural competence is an important quality that all social workers ought to possess when working with individuals from a culture different from ones own. Cultural competence is then aspirational at best and requires the continuous de velopment of practitioners cultural sensitivity, awareness, knowledge, and skills (Furman et al, 2009) learning is an ongoing process and it is imperative that social workers keep this in mind in order to be able to serve clients from different backgrounds. By engaging in cultural competent practices clinicians will be able to better understand and empathize with his/her clients. Through the clinicians personal awareness and cultural sensitivity, client and clinician can build a trusting relationship. Without cultural awareness, social workers contribute to oppression when working with clients from other cultures. This is unethical practice and can cause clients great harm (Sue et al., 1992). This understanding amongst the clinician and client will serve to build a therapeutic rapport between the two, which is the foundation for successful work with a client. The effect of assimilation and acculturation across generations is another important factor that clinicians should be aware of. Though attitudes dont dramatically differ across age groups, it is important to recognize that traditional beliefs within the Hispanic population are slowly changing as many Hispanics assimilate into the American culture. Generally, acculturation has been measured in terms of behavior, cultural identity, knowledge, language, and values. These aspects, then, are critical components in understanding and addressing factors that cause intercultural conflict and distress related to adapting to a new culture (Furman et al, 2009). As social workers, it is important for us to realize the potential effects that this assimilation may have. For example, one noticeable difference between the American culture and the Hispanic culture is our value system. The American culture values independence and individualism while the Hispanic culture values interdependence and colle ctivism. Anderson Sabatelli point out this fact; they explain that, Workers need to recognize that a behavior or coping mechanism is not dysfunctional simply because it does not match dominant culture patterns (1999). This is very important for practitioners to realize when working with cultures that are different from their own. By becoming aware of potential differences in interpretations and problems practitioners will be able to better understand and relate to his/her clinics. Even problem identification itself is a part of this awareness process. What may be interpreted as a problem to the client may not be a viewed as a problem to the clinician and the same is true the other way around. For example, in terms of the survey that was conducted, it was found that older Hispanic people strongly believed that children should remain home until married. If a client came to seek counseling because his/her son/daughter moved out of the home to pursue a single lifestyle, a clinician wit hout cultural competency may shrug this problem off. He/she may attempt to convince the individual that this is not a pressing problem because every day, people move out of their parents homes in order to live on their own. This is an example of the practitioner not placing the clients values high in regard. This blatant disregard may make the client not want to participate in services. Researcher Tina Hancock further describes the interdependence of the Hispanic culture as it relates to family, the family generally is regarded as the survival net for its members, who internalize a strong sense of duty to one another and across generations. The foundation of this cultural orientation is the value of la familia and the principle of familismo (2005). We must look at the effects that such a change in traditionally held beliefs may have on the family unit and culture as a whole. Using a systems perspective to analyze the interactions between an individual and his/her family, social workers can better understand conflict and potential interventions, by acknowledging that the individual, family, and cultural systems all interrelated. Conclusion The Hispanic population in United States is growing faster than all other minority populations combined, The Hispanic, population is projected to swell from 28 million from 1990s to about 100 million in 2050( pewhispanic.org). With this increase in diversity in the population it is necessary for social workers to be able to work with a variety of cultures in their work with the American population. By using the information gathered on the issues of assimilation and familial relationships clinicians can develop better and more effective interventions in their work with this particular population. Developing cultural competency is one way of achieving this task. In this study we were limited by the variety of responses that we were able to obtain, as the questions that were asked were very broad in nature. For future research it would be beneficial for researchers to delve deeper into the topic of assimilation upon cultural attitudes. Additionally, further study the effects of cultural competency as it relates to client-clinician relationships would also be effective in shaping social work practice. By becoming more aware of the different values and traditions, practitioners work with varied populations will become more informed and effective.

Case Analysis of Sutton Health

CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 1 Case Analysis of Sutter Health CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 2 Sutter Health is a non-profit network that is made up by community-based health care providers based in Northern California. This network introduced an interface that was aimed at enhancing revenue collection of the facilities from the self-pay patient.This network identified that traditional payment processing system had limitations that hindered the effective collecting of revenue. What with the recession, healthcare organizations have seen an increase in the inability to collect debt from the self-pay, the uninsured and underinsured patients. This has caused a lot of struggle when it comes to the organizations to meet the operational margins and the profits.I find there are a number of reasons for the new increase in patient’s debts, the most common are, poor accounting practices, lack of patient information and correct demographics. There is new governance that is designed to p rovide more coordinated care to said patients (Gleeson,2010). There are five geographic regions that reflects the health care access to the customers of Northern California. Each of the five regions will have governance structure and it will oversee many of the Sutter affiliated medical facilities and also the hospitals. In its effort to increase point of service collections and improve the overall revenue cycle Sutter health took steps to measure performance using a handful of specific primary benchmarks, empowering PFS staff to assume responsibility for every individual account they handle, ensure each registration is analyzed using a rules engine to identify problems before patients leave the registration desk and ensure PFS staff receive appropriate comprehensive training to excel under the new system† (Souza, McCarty, 2007).Obtaining the correct patient information plays a large part on non-collectable debt because patients are not able to be reached. These limitations we re associated with limited access to accurate information by the account representatives, ineffective performance measures and fragmented centers of the service provision. The Sutter Health program developed a system that was comprised of solutions that were geared towards overcoming these limitations. I will be CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 3 discussing the new system that was created by Sutter Health.The key problems and issues, is that the United States healthcare system is characterized by huge upkeep from collecting revenue from patients. This situation is brought about by a health care insurance system which entails high deductible pay health plans and as well as higher co-payments plan. (Souza, McCarty, 2007). This situation has been made worse through the large proportion of the population not having healthcare coverage. The traditional health care system has had a hard time meeting their target revenue collection.This is due to several problems that attached along with the traditional payment system. Unlike when dealing with the payments through insurance claims but also dealing with the up-front payments that are required by the hospital for payment of services before the patient could even receive the service (Souza, Mccarty, 2007). So this means that the patient services staff (PFS) has to have complete and accurate information about above said client. This presented a problem for the traditional payment system where much of the customer payment system was processed in the back end.This system also required that the PFS staff ask for money from self-pay patients, but the PFS were not accustomed to this under the traditional system. The PFS staff found it hard to wait for the back end section to process customer information and to provide a breakdown of the patients payment details. So this became a tedious task for hospital accounting departments as well as for patients that had to wait a longer period before receiving services. The inefficiency o f the traditional system not only resulted in low quality services, but also in low revenue collections.The system provides such a broad range of health care services, which include acute, sub- acute, home health, long term, outpatient care as well as physician delivery systems. These services are provided through an integrated health care delivery approach that gives the system the ability to deliver a full range of healthcare products and services. CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 4 Sutter also identified that PFS staff could not get ahold of real time information in operational and financial indicators such as cash collections and A/R (Souza, McCarty, 2007).So in the long run this meant that the managers and staff had to wait until the end of the month in order to identify the benchmarks. Sutter also recognized that the traditional system did not provide a means for analyzing selected data nor did it generate required detailed report on demand. This led to more cost as the hospital had to rely on programmers to generate such reports. The front desk staff also lacked real time information which hindered their ability to serve the client without consulting the back end staff.It also meant that the front desk staff could not monitor the patients progress (Souza, McCarty, 2007). Another challenge was that the PFS members were not empowered enough to be held accountable for each patients accounts they dealt with and it reduced the amount of accountability among the staff. These are some of the key challenges that the Sutter system were meant to address. The solutions that were employed by Sutter Health was an attempt to overcome the challenges stated above. Sutter Health implemented certain changes in the fore mentioned system that would make their operation more efficient.The strategies identified by the Sutter program entailed transferring most of the back end tasking to the front desk; providing accurate and complete information to managers and upfront staff; p roviding more effective performance evaluation and integrating all data elements within the system (Souza, McCarty, 2007). Allowing front desk staff to handle much of the payment process was deemed to have an effect on the efficiency of the process. Various solutions were employed to ensure that this is achieved.One of these solutions entailed using benchmarks to measure performance by the Patient Service Staff (PFS). Sutter identified a handful of primary benchmarks which included; Unbilled A/R days, Gross A/R days, Major A/R days, Cash Collection, Billed A/R days, and CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 5 percentage of A/R over 90, 180, 360 days (Souza, McCarty, 2007). This benchmark introduced shorter periods with which staff performances could be evaluated. This move was timely especially when onsidering that the industry has changed and things happen in terms of hours and days but not months. Another solution involved empowering the PFS members to have full responsibility over the a ccounts they are dealing with. This move was meant to increase a sense of responsibility and accountability as each individual members will be responsible for his or her own account (Souza, McCarty, 2007). This also gave the PFS members more autonomy to act as they saw fit and this improved the speed and efficient of service delivery by these staff members.The program also provided the PFS members with tools, that enabled them to automate their accounts, sort out their accounting using various means and seen their performances based on the achievement of the target. PFS and other accountant representatives were presented with individual dashboards that helped in the tracking of their progress in meeting targets. This also helped in enforcing the benchmarks set by this program. Sutter’s health program also introduced a front end collecting system as means of overcoming the mentioned problems.The pint of access collecting system introduced an opportunity for the health care fac ilities to reduce claims and denials. Though this system the patient records are analyzed before the patient leaves the registration desk. This enables the front desk staff to identify problems such as bad debt, patient or invalid patient type early enough and take the necessary corrective action. The Sutter health program also embarked on a comprehensive training program that was designed to support the existing PFS members and the registration staff. This gave staff the necessary competence to deal with the tools provided by this system.The training program also eliminated the need to hire formally educated staff to operate the system that would CASE ANALSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 6 demand more than the $10-$20 an hour paid to current registration and PFS staff. For example, registration staff who were not used to asking patients for money were trained in effective communication skills. The training was also designed to introduce autonomy and effectiveness which acted as a motivator to the employee.The Sutter system allows staff to act with more independence which has made them active in owning the system. Autonomy is a critical element that enables workers to work effectively and deliver the best when it comes to their ability. The efficiency of the system has also made the work of the staff easier, acting as a further motivating factor for the staff. Another solution involved getting patients on board with this program. The POS collection system is not only beneficial to hospitals but also to the health care customers as well. (Souza, McCarty, 2007).This system provides a patient friendly billings which ensures transparency in the way customers are asked to pay for health care services. The payment system that is in force in other parts, bills the patient after he or she has already received the services and has already left the hospital. However, the Sutter program introduced transparency as the patient then gets to know what the services will cost him or her b efore they receive the services. It has become evident that patients would love to know how much the care they receive will cost them and this is what the Sutter program has provided.This system also offers a simplified system of settling hospital bills thereby making things easier for customers using said hospital system, customers are usually compelled to produce a lot of records and documentations in order to have their payment processed which introduces a lot of inconveniences. There is more accounting practices that are used by Sutter in identifying and solving problems, such as Sutter was discontented with the amount of revenue being collected from the self-pay patients (Souza, McCarty, 2007).The management team understood that the self-pay CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 7 patients were capable of meeting their medical expenses and therefore the problem was in their system. Sutter then resorted to evaluate the accountability and transparency in the process involved in the coll ection of revenue. It is through this evaluation that most of the traditional system did encourage responsibility and accountability to the people handling the revenue collection. Another accounting practice that was adopted was cost reduction.Accounting principles dictate that there are two major ways for increasing the margin; increasing profits or reducing costs. After exhausting all the avenues they could use in increasing revenue, Sutter embarked on a campaign that would reduce the cost of operation. This saw the collection process being integrated into a unified system. The methods used were also cost conscious, is why they opted for comprehensive training of their existing PFS and registration staff rather than hiring specially trained professionals, who would have demanded higher pay.Another alternative would be that Sutter’s strategies focused on improving accountability and autonomy of the staff in order to enhance revenue collection. Sutter health relied on solutio ns such as setting benchmarks and the empowering of staff. What they found to work was a full cycle of the amount payable. Amount payable refers to money owed to the institution by other parties while the full cycle refers to the amount of time it takes for the patients to settle their debt. (Rauscher, Wheeler, 2008).Reducing the full cycle may help to reduce the number of bad debts that a health institution suffers from. Traditionally a patient cycle followed procedures such as organizing schedule, registration, treatment, billing and collection (Solomon, 2011). The collection part is why the health institution is able to recover the debt owed to it by the patients. This section comes along after the treatment process is concluded and therefore increases the chances for bad debt. This paper proposes a system where bills are settled on a pre-service basis.The pre-service CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 8 system will be enabled by developing a system that standardized serves to make b illing before the client receives services easier (Trans Union, 2007). A per item standardized billing is advised. This is why a standard is set for each and every hospital procedure and the patient is billed by summing up the cost of all service items he or she has utilized. In my informed opinion the approach used by Sutter Health was effective. This is because their approach was able to address the concerns raised by the network.Sutter health was concerned with the growing number of self-pay payments and the diminishing of the amount of revenue. The need to increase the amount of collecting from this section of market was the primary objective of developing this strategy. The success of every strategy is able to deliver the set goals. When it comes to Sutter Health it is estimated that revenue collection from the self-pay patients increased by an additional $78 million after the implementation of the strategy (Souza, McCarty, 2007). This is a clear indicator of the programâ€℠¢s success. One of the benefits is improved quality of care for the patient.One of the solutions identified by Sutter was bringing the health customer onboard. This system did this by factoring the customer’s needs into the system, making it customer friendly. The customer’s now spend less time processing payment while at the same time, the patient’s get to know of the cost they will incur before receiving the services. The system has also reduced the number of patients being denied treatment as a result of a streamlined inventory system. In conclusion Sutter Health is a non-profit network based in California and is made up of community based health care providers.This case discussed how Sutter developed a system that was able to improve revenue collection from the self-pay patients. Sutter recognized that the number of bad debts was rising along with the rising number of self-pay patients, This network conducted an evaluation on its facilities and identified th at the problem of low revenue collection was linked to a disintegrated system of collection, in adequate accurate information CASE ANALYSIS OF SUTTER HEALTH 9 and poor performance indicators.Sutter Health employed solutions that entailed setting new benchmarks, empowering employees, factoring the customer’s interest and compressive training. References Rauscher, S. & Wheeler, J. (2008). Effective Hospital Revenue Cycle Management. Journal of Healthcare Management Robertson, K. (Oct, 16, 1995). Sacramento Business Journal 12, 30: 3 Solomon, P. (2011). State of Healthcare Reform Revenue Cycle Retrieved from http://philcsolomon. om/2011/04/the-state-of-healthcare-revenue-cycle-an-insi ders- perspective-part-2/ Souza, M. & McCarty, B. (2007). From bottom to top: How one provider retooled collection. Healthcare Financial Management 61 (9). 67-73 Trans Union (2007). Healthcare Collections: How Full Cycle Improvements Reduce Bad Debt. http://www. tranunion. com/docs/healthcare/busin essneeds/healthcarecollectionsWP. pdf