Thursday, November 28, 2019

A great and lasting experience. free essay sample

Although I was getting paid to camp with total strangers in the wilderness for six weeks, asked to dig borrow pits for trails, hike miles into the mountains, and eat what looked like an unknown species in my meals, I never thought the experience would completely change my outlook on my life. My summer job was like none I have ever experienced before, I was taught how to lead among my peers, work in a team, and realize just what I was capable of. My summer experience with Northwest youth corps has been the most memorable time of my life. We were told to pack our basic necessities, under garments, toothbrush, and boots. I had no idea what was in store for me and figured I was as ready as I would ever be. What they did not tell us is that we would actually get used to our natural odor, and accept everyone for who they really were. We will write a custom essay sample on A great and lasting experience. or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (Stinking or not.) Doing this turned out to be really easy. I was able to be my self, without always wearing a smile on my face. There were times I wanted to breakdown and give up like when we had to hike five miles up the Steen Mountain Wilderness with a huge and heavy backpack on our backs. The sweat was pouring down my face in the blistering hot sun and all I could think about was a nice cold bottle of water, but all I had to drink was the warm water in a two- gallon jug that I shared with 10 other people. Many of my experiences made me realize how many things I personally take for granted. As the first two weeks went by it seemed I was getting used to waking up when the sun rose, putting on my work outfit and boots, and looking forward to another days Work. Each typical day we would hike to our worksite, remind ourselves of the safety precautions, and start our job whether it was sawing down branches that were in the middle of trails, making slough piles, or taking down barbed w ire fencing. Each task seemed more challenging but thankfully I had a crew of people who I could ask for help when the going got tough. I learned that sometimes you cannot do things on your own and it is okay to ask for help. The relationships I built through my experience became unbreakable. One night, when we were camping backcountry I remember waking up to feel the rain drops splash on my face, our tent had forced itself out of the steaks it was under and was waving in the air like a flag getting ready to be knocked down, the boys from my crew woke up and helped us stake it back in the ground. They were willing to lose sleep and warmth in order to help us. I think that was when we realized just how much closer we had gotten. We became a family of dirty, stinky, tough teens. I became more confident in myself. On the weekends we went to different campgrounds and met up with other crews who had in their own way gone through what we had. However, there were till kids who just did not understand how much they were growing and maturing through this job. I was able to confront those kids who were doing wrong and really just step up to the role of being a peer leader. When people needed help I was willing to be there, I just wanted to show the others that there is always someone who can help. There were prizes some people won each week for being a leader and during the second weekend, I was given one and I was just so shocked that it was me because I did not realize people saw me as a helpful person. I was really excited that I could make a difference to teens my own age. The six weeks soon came to an end, and yet I was not ready to go home but I was eager to share my experiences with others and just use what I knew to my advantage. When I got home my family saw how different I was, they said I was more open, confident, and more willing to work. I did another session of this job as soon as I got back. This experience was not just something I did and then went home to be who I used to be, I carry this experience with me and use what I learned from it. When I went to the second session, it was a little bit different because I was able to go home everyday, but because I was experienced in the job, I was able to help the fresh faces I saw on my crew with tasks they were not familiar with, whether it was how to use the tools properly or just the advice of not wearing make up unless you wanted your face to melt off. Though these are more physical things I learned, I also learned to respect my crew leader and my crewmembers and just really work hard and wor k efficiently. My experience with northwest youth corps was like no other. There were many things I learned like, teamwork, trust, maturity, and working hard. Being on my own was a new and different experience but it prepared me for my future. Summer ended but my memory and what I learned I will always remember.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Pepsi Coke Challenge Lab Report Essays

Pepsi Coke Challenge Lab Report Essays Pepsi Coke Challenge Lab Report Paper Pepsi Coke Challenge Lab Report Paper The second one was hat there is no difference between brushing your teeth and not brushing your teeth, within the last thirty minutes, in their ability to distinguish between Pepsi and Coke. After doing the test and performing the necessary calculations on the chi-squared test, I found out that a greater amount of people who brushed were able to correctly identify the cola products. INTRODUCTION: If you were given a blind taste test and asked to distinguish between two products, how confident do you think you are in telling the products apart? In my Biology 141 class, we did the Pepsi/Coke Challenge and that challenge was simply about vying individuals a blind taste test, and asking them to distinguish between Pepsi and Coke. There are many reasons why reasons people perform blind test. These test can be sent, smell, feel or taste. In marketing, a blind taste test is used as a tool for companies to see how they can improve their product. It is also used as a tool for companies to develop their brand. For example, many restaurants select random people to taste their food, so that they would know which dish needs more improvement. The results of these tests are not always the same. This is because there are some people who may use those products very frequently, so they are more likely to tell the difference between the two products. On the other hand there are those people rarely use the product, so they will have a harder time distinguishing between the product and they are more likely to get it wrong. Then there are those people who are stuck between the two extremes who uses the product often enough, but they are unsure. However, I know that brushing your teeth and drinking or eating right after causes whatever you are eating or drinking to taste funny. Knowing this, the question I ask is, Is there a difference between brushing your teeth and not brushing your teeth, within the last thirty minutes, affect their ability to distinguish between the Cola products Pepsi and Coke? HI : There is a difference between brushing your teeth and not brushing your teeth, within the last thirty minutes, in their ability to distinguish between Pepsi and Coke. H2O: There is no difference between brushing your teeth and not brushing your teeth, within the last thirty minutes, in their ability to distinguish between Pepsi and Coke. If there is a difference between brushing your teeth and not brushing your and Coke, then there will be a difference in the percent that each group correctly identifies the colas in a blind test. METHODS: In order to get accurate results in our Pepsi/Coke Challenge blind test, the Biology 141 class disguised each can by wrapping aluminum foil over the entire can. We then decided to only ask fifteen students who attend the University of the Virgin Island on SST. Thomas campus to participate in our challenge. Before leaving the lab, the class was split into two groups, Comparison or Single Cola (which was Pepsi). The Comparison group gathered thirty cups, so that the participants wouldnt reuse the same cup and alter the taste by mixing the two products, fifteen questionnaire forms, an ice bag, ice three Coke cans and three Pepsi cans. The Single Cola group gathered fifteen cups, fifteen questionnaire forms, an ice bag, ice, and three Pepsi cans. We placed the cans that werent being used as yet into the ice bag until the one can being used was empty. Before giving the students the products to taste, we had them fill out the questionnaire that had questions such as, Did you take this test today? Have you eaten anything recently? Have you brushed your teeth within the last thirsty minutes? Which cola product do you like best out of Pepsi and Coke? How confident are you in distinguishing between the two cola products? If any student reported that they had taken the report earlier that day, we eliminated them and selected someone else who hadnt to fill their position. After asking the fifteen students, we then went back to the lab to record our finding on a spreadsheet. RESULTS: For our Pepsi/Coke Challenge, there were two hundred and thirty six people who did the test. Of he two hundred and thirty six people, fifty six people who brushed and seventy people who didnt brush identified the Cola products correctly. Everyone in the people who brushed section correctly identified the product, but one hundred and ten people in the didnt brush section got the test wrong. This represents 100% of the people who did brush and 38% of the people who didnt brush. After performing a Chi Square test, we saw that there was a greater percentage of people who couldve identified the product were the ones who brushed (SD 64. 1, chi-square = 3. 841, 1 degree of freedom). Figurer: A greater percent of people who brushed correctly identified the products. DISCUSSION: A greater amount of people who brushed were able to correctly identify the cola products. From the values given from the chi- squared test, this implicates that there is a difference between brushing your teeth and not brushing your teeth, within the last thirty minutes, in their ability to distinguish between Pepsi and Coke. Knowing this, I know that my second hypothesis, There is no difference , is incorrect and can be eliminated. The differences found in this test may be that the people who brushed may eave a cleaner mouth so they were more capable to tell which product was Pepsi and which one was coke. Most participants were able to tell the difference between Coke and Pepsi because they probably drink these cola products frequently. There were other people who knew the difference because they only drank Coke since they did not like the taste of Pepsi and vice-versa. Other people were able to tell the difference just by smelling it because they said that Pepsi had a sweeter scent. Since we only tested VI students, the results may vary if we were to do this challenge on another set of individuals.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Ethical Decisions in the Medical Health Profession Essay

Ethical Decisions in the Medical Health Profession - Essay Example Any violation of these judgments and opinions characterizes unethical conduct and could lead to justification of disciplinary actions like censure, expulsion or suspension from the medical field society membership. Over the years medical practice has been evolving in ways that draw attention to the significance of ethical decisions and issues. Medical science has gotten involved in practices that were previously not possible such as stem cell and genetics research, the modern day patient is better informed, lawsuits are quite common which means medical practitioners have to be generally more aware of their medical decisions and cost implications of their services to society. They have a huge task of juggling their obligations to hospitals, the regional health and the government of the day. Ethics broadly deals with what is right or wrong, or basically what we are supposed to do and what we ought not to do. Medical ethics decisions therefore concerns how to make judgments on how to deal with moral issues arising out of caring for parents and such decisions therefore have to make a consideration of just more than the patient’s current medical condition. Ethics is just not just a medical field thing; there are also other disciplines that are concerned with these issues such as theology and law which also prescribe to certain behaviors set aside by their respective governing councils. Medical ethical decisions, values and laws are mostly closely related; however medical ethical responsibilities exceed legal obligations. In some instances, the law may allow unethical conduct. In several instances when medical practitioners hold the belief that a certain law is not just for their making critical decisions, they then ought to start working towards changing that law. In very unique cases regarding unjust laws, the prevailing ethical responsibilities

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Associate degree program in nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Associate degree program in nursing - Essay Example An individual must also possess clinical experience to function efficiently in teaching. A baccalaureate degree and two-year experience in nursing are also a requirement. Faculty is defined as individuals employed to teach nursing education programs. The qualifications and responsibilities in nursing or for medical assistant differ depending on the program type and degree offered. The faculty is followed by a description in educational obligations, responsibilities, and information about the faculty positions. The requirements for assuming nursing roles are mandated by several organizations. These organizations include Maryland Board of Nursing, national accrediting bodies and the policies of an individual college. The reference regulatory programs are based on the Maryland Nurse Practice Act. The minimum qualification for a faculty in nursing is a master’s degree in nursing and an RN license from Maryland (School of Nursing: Associate Degree, 2012). These qualifications might be waived with respect to an individual nursing program under certain circumstances. 7. Intended Approval/Accreditation Preferring an entry program to nursing career is a personal choice. Finances and age determine the choice and future career plans. Students who want to take nursing and have bachelor’s degrees in non-nursing fields need to take an accelerated BSN or second-degree BSN program. These programs are for students who have a bachelor’s degree in the non-nursing field. Accelerated programs are fast and intense; thus, students are required to have a 3.0 GPA or higher. These programs offer students an opportunity to earn BSN in less than 16 months (Gun, 2012). Associate degrees in nursing or for medical assistant are designed to give students skills and knowledge of becoming competent nurses in various settings. The program combines theory, clinical practices, and lab experiences. It is mandatory for students to complete general education courses and nursing c ore courses for attaining an associate degree in nursing (School of Nursing: Associate Degree, 2012). There are three-entry levels for students who want to take a nursing degree. Different types of schools offer these levels. The 4-year BSN is preferred by most schools for entry in nursing programs because it offers job opportunities to students. Many classifieds have BSN as a requirement for any position because it is the entry point for nursing practice. The second year associate degree concentrates more on technical skills than theory; thus, it is a steppingstone to BSN. This associate degree program allows students to become registered nurses and earn money faster than students in a 4-year BSN program (Gun, 2012). Therefore, it works better for students since they are able to make a livelihood for themselves. Second year associate degree is the entry level for nursing students taking technical nursing practice. 8. Student Selection and Requirements The associate degree program i n nursing or for medical assistant has a mission of preparing entry-level registered nurses for care of health issues across different parts of the world (Miller, 2009). This program respects the individuality of every student as it considers people coming from different cultures and having different educational backgrounds. The goal of the program is to provide a positive learning by instilling critical and

Monday, November 18, 2019

Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility Essay

Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example According to the research findings, business ethics is based on moral behavior and aims at conducting business activities in a just and fair manner. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the duty or obligation of a company towards the people, societies, communities, and environment that may be affected by the activities of the business. For example, reducing the environmental impacts of the operations of a business is one common aim of the business, especially in cases of companies whose operations affect the environment in a hazardous way like the automobile companies. In short, both terms are based on the social concepts of morality and responsibility. Business ethics involve the application of moral and ethical values in a business and CSR is extended form of business ethics in which these values are expressed and embedded in the organization through programmes and policies involving the stakeholder groups. CSR involves conducting ethical activities and business ethics involves conducting activities ethically. So, the underlying essence of the two remains similar. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a term related to the social responsibilities that a company has towards the community in which it operates. In contrast, business ethics is based on the factor of conscience. Business ethics is related to morality and differentiating between right and wrong and conducting the business operations by focusing on the rights and avoiding the wrongs. Using ethics in business implies that the company is obliged to set business policies, rules and conduct its activities in a just and right manner so that the activities of the company le ad to the good of every entity which is, directly and indirectly, related to the business. These entities include all the internal and external stakeholder groups of the company and the society as a whole. Business ethics, in the modern business environment, has emerged as a preliminary necessity that should be taken up by every company, irrespective of the industry or its level of operation in order to conduct its business in a legally and socially compliant manner. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), on the other hand, is the additional responsibilities that a business should take up in order to create sustainability and a positive brand image for itself.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Investment Appraisal Process: Objective, Inputs And Process

Investment Appraisal Process: Objective, Inputs And Process Introduction Decisions related to investments are one of the most important and vital decisions for any organization. Making investments is the only way to increase, and maximize return on the shareholders wealth. However, taking the right investment decisions is the biggest challenge that management faces. Investment decisions are always characterized by risk and uncertainty. According to Lumby (2004) investment decision defined in simple terms, is one in which organizations make an initial cash outlay, with the aim of receiving, in return, the future cash inflows. Investments can be analyzed from several perspectives, like its suitability according to the companys objective, social cause, environmental concern etc. Yet, for the purpose of investment appraisal, it is analyzed from the point of view of cash flow only. Thus, the basic aim of investment appraisal is to check whether the initial outlay would result in enough future cash inflows, to be considered worthwhile. In order to achieve this objective, companies require certain inputs. These inputs are put through the process of investment appraisal, to reach the final outcome. Inputs Required For Investment Appraisal Investment appraisal in broad terms requires only two inputs – the estimated cash flows, and discount rate. The estimated cash flows includes all the cash outflows starting from the initial stage till much later, and inflows taking place during the lifetime of the project. This gives the final figure, which is positive or negative cash flows i.e. either inflows are more than outflows which is the acceptable case, or outflows are more than inflows which obviously leads to rejection of that project. Calculation of these cash flow figures, involves the treatment of a number of items. Cash Flows And Time Value Of Money For the investment appraisal process as discussed earlier, cash flow estimates are the primary input. Initial outlay is easy to estimate as compared to future cash inflows, and even outflows. This is because current requirements for any project, would be ascertained according to which the required finance, can be obtained. Whereas, in the case of future estimates, all the figures are estimated on the basis of some premise, which is always prone to uncertainty. Once these estimated figures are available, companies calculate these future cash flows, in terms of todays value. This is known as the time value of money, according to which, a pound today is not equivalent to a pound tomorrow. According to the time value of money, the investor needs to be compensated for certain factors. Firstly, the investment made has delayed the current consumption of the investor. Current consumption is preferred over future consumption for which, the investor needs to be compensated. This compensation i s the interest that is expected on the money invested, for that period. The second factor is inflation, the current inflation rate in UK, is 1.8% (for the month of July Bloomberg.com) Thus, what can be bought for one pound today, will be available for 1.018 GBP, the next year. Thus, future estimates must be converted in terms of present value, so as to find out its present worth. In order to compensate the investor for these two factors, the rate of return offered, is called the risk free rate. This is equivalent to the rate offered by reputed government bonds, or bills. Other Inputs There are some other factors which are required to be considered for the calculation of cash flows. The first is depreciation, which does not form a part of cash flows. For the purpose of calculating true cash flows, the precise time when the cash flow has occurred, is needed. However, depreciation does not involve any cash transaction. So, this is not included while calculating the cash flow. The second is working capital. According to Arnold (2008) besides the large and obvious depreciable assets, investment is also made in working capital. It includes the items like cash, debtors, stock which are part of companys assets and creditors which is the part of companys liabilities. Another important factor is interest. Treatment for interest is again, not straight forward. Interest can be viewed from two aspects. Firstly, if the company is employing its own funds. In that case it is losing the interest which it would have earned, by depositing money in the bank. This does not require an y treatment here, because this has been considered as the opportunity cost, and treated accordingly. Secondly, if the organization has borrowed funds from the financial market, then the interest is paid on it, which is a cash expense, and must be included in cash flow calculation. Yet, what is seen in most of the cases is that, organizations use combination of both debt and equity. Now, the same item i.e. interest cannot be treated in two separate ways. As a result, it is considered as an opportunity cost. Besides interest on capital, opportunity cost also includes a number of factors, like a building used in any project, would have earned rent otherwise, which is also the opportunity cost of the project. Other similar factors could be machinery, human resources, and other assets. The last factor is the taxation which also reduces the cash flow, by the amount of tax paid. In this case the notable factor is that debt capital gets the tax shield. However tax is to be paid on equity ca pital, making it costlier. Once all the inputs are gathered there are number of techniques available to evaluate the investment, in order to find out whether it would be profitable or not. Discount Rate Once the cash flow figures are derived for the entire period of the project, there are several methods using which we can perform the task of investment appraisal. There are some methods in which there is no allowance for the time value of money, like payback method, and accounting rate of return (ARR). In such methods, the discount rate is not required. However the more sophisticated and widely used methods use the discounted rate of cash flows like net present value (NPV), and internal rate of return (IRR). What is the discount rate and its components is discussed below. Definition The rate of return used for the purpose of finding the present value of future cash flows, is the discount rate. This rate includes the time value of money. Thus, as discussed above it is the risk free rate, plus risk premium. Risk premium depends upon the risk involved, in any particular project. Risk Free Rate Risk free rate includes the expected inflation rate, and the interest on capital which is treated as the opportunity cost of capital. As Arnold (2008) has mentioned â€Å"The risk free rate (RFR), forms the bedrock for the time value of money. Calculations such as the pure time value, and the expected inflation rate, affect all investments equally†. Risk Premium The discount rate is not the risk free rate. Rather, it is always more that that. The rate which is above the risk free rate is risk premium. Risk is the probability of not receiving the estimated return, owing to the uncertainty in any business. Higher the risk, higher is the return expected, and vice versa. However calculation of risk in itself is a difficult task. There are numerous methodologies available, for evaluating risk. The most famous among these are, sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis, and probability analysis. After getting the cash flows and discount rate, the next step is to evaluate the project. This is to determine whether the project is worth undertaking, or not. For this purpose, there are various methods. Some of the most popular ones, used across the globe, are discussed here. Investment Appraisal Techniques Payback Method This method is used to find out the period in which the future cash inflows would be sufficient, to cover the initial investment. Once this figure is obtained, it is then compared with any arbitrarily chosen time period, set as a threshold by the company. If the payback period is shorter or equal to this chosen time period, then the investment is acceptable else it is rejected. Accounting Rate Of Return It is more popularly known as return on capital employed (ROCE), or return on investment (ROI). The ARR is a ratio of the accounting profit to the investment, in the projects. It is notable that here, accounting profit is used, and not the final cash flow figure. Net Present Value This method uses the discounted cash flows. In this, the present value of outflows is subtracted from the present value of inflows. If the result, known as NPV, comes out to be positive or zero the project is accepted else not. Internal Rate Of Return This method also takes into account, the time value of money. This is used to find out the rate of return, at which net present value of an investment is zero. If this rate is higher or equal than the discount rate, then the project is acceptable else it is rejected. Issues To Be Addressed Research Question How an investment appraisal technique helps companies move in the right direction, regarding investment decisions? Other related questions are: What are the pre-requisites for this? What are the methods applied? What are the challenges faced by an organization? Why The Question Is Important? This holds a lot of importance for the organizations since the sizeable investments made by the companies, have long term consequences. The companys strategic position too, is determined by such large investments made in terms of tangible or intangible assets. It impacts the future cash flows. Thus, in order to ensure that every thing moves efficiently in future with any investment made by the company today, investment appraisal is not only necessary, but also inevitable. Research Objective The main objective of this research is to find out if there is any gap between the theoretical concepts studied and analyzed, and its implementation. In practice, matters are always little different, than what it is taught academically, or found in literature on any subject. However, to what extent there is a level of variance in case of investment appraisal, between theory and practice, is attempted to be determined, in this research. The previous research on investment appraisal discussed in broad terms, about changes in methodologies with time; factors to be considered for appropriate calculation of cash flows; and components of discount rate. Yet, none of these studies have shed much light on its practical application, which is empirically investigated, in this research. In particular, three divisions of investment appraisal – objective, inputs and process, is examined. Introduction In this section research work already done on investment appraisal process and its various other aspects have been studied. It will also reveal some elements which are quite important but still not treated appropriately to achieve effective and unambiguous evaluation of capital investments like inflation and taxation. Companies have limited resources. In order to achieve the best utilization and maximum output from these resources companies require a mechanism to decide or analyze which investments are worth taking and which are not. It is a multifaceted and analytical process and many prior studies on this practice exist. A number of surveys scrutinizing the investment appraisal process have been conducted from time to time. These surveys shed light on the changes in the use of methodologies and other practices, which formed an integral part of investment appraisal. A review of the existing literature reveals that, there have been continuous changes in the techniques used for investment appraisal. Different models and methods have been developed for investment appraisal and risk analysis. Over the period of time these developments have been incorporated into corporate practice. What does this investment appraisal process involve as found in literature analyzed and secondary sources providing quantitative data regarding the same is discussed below. Estimation Of Future Cash Flow Investment appraisal requires detailed cash flow forecasts as inputs for sophisticated evaluation methods which have been discussed above. For an investment decision to be considered as successful, it must add value to the firm. Such a project would surely increase the cash flows of the firm, but how much? At this juncture, the firm confronts the problem of estimating the future cash flow, investment outlay and cash inflows emanating from any new project, and finding out whether it adds value to the firm or not. Considering the case of Alaska pipeline project setup by many oil majors, initially its cost was estimated to be $700 million. The final cost, however, came out to be $7 billion. This shows estimation of project cash flows is one of the most important and critical parts of investment appraisal, because in case these estimates turn out to be unreliable or biased, the project would lead to poor business decisions. There are many variables involved and numerous people participat e in this exercise. Capital outlays are estimated by engineering and product development departments; revenue projections are delivered by the marketing department; and operating costs is aggregate of estimates given by number of departments like production people, cost accountants, purchase managers, personnel executives, tax experts and others (Chandra, 2008: 304). To estimate the possible future values, past events are generally used in order to estimate what possibly could be the future outcome or results for the same, or similar kind of event. Earlier, the most conventional method was to find out the best estimate from the information available. This estimate is generally the single value derived, using the mode or average, or a similar likely outcome. However, evaluations based on the single value estimates, show that the estimated value is certain, with no possible margin of error or variance. As a result, instead of using a single value as the best estimate, a new methodology of using a range of outcomes, is used. These outcomes are based on the probabilities of occurrence or non occurrence of events, which affect the cash flows (Dayananda, 36: 2002). Stages In Cash Flow Estimation According to Dayananda (2002) cash flow estimation comprises of four stages: Forecasting the initial capital outlays and operating cash inflows and outflows. Tax factor, which is an important element to be adjusted against these cash flows. There are certain other variables apart from tax like inflation, opportunity cost and depreciation etc. which need to be checked in order to find out its impact on cash flows. Allocating any further resources in order to improve the accuracy and reliability of the variables which have greatest influence on cash flow estimate. This entire process requires close monitoring and early intervention, when required. Monitoring is required at all stages from data acquisition process to projects implementation (Dayananda, 2002: 37 39 – capital budgeting: financial appraisal of investment projects). Estimating Incremental Cash Flows For Investment Apraisal The fundamental principle for the inclusion of cash flows for the purpose of investment appraisal is to include only the incremental cash flows. This refers to the cash flow incepted after the implementation of the project. The time when the investment is made, is considered as time 0, and the cash flows generated after time 0 constitutes a part of the incremental cash flow. For ascertaining the firms incremental cash flow, it is required to identify the cash flow of the firm in two situations i.e. with the project and without the project. The difference between the two gives the incremental cash flows. In estimating incremental cash flow all incidental effects are also considered. Incidental effects lead to an enhancement in the value of some existing activities, such as a rise in the demand of an existing product. However, incidental effects may also turn out to be negative like product cannibalization i.e. with the introduction of a new product, the sale of some existing products may decline (Arnold, 2008: 99-100; Chandra, 2008: 307-308). Opportunity Costs And Sunk Costs There are also certain aspects which are not apparently detected and need to be treated in the valuation of cost of capital. Opportunity costs and sunk costs are the two types of costs which fall under this category. Opportunity cost is the revenue lost by using the resources forming part of the project, under consideration. These resources might be rented out or sold, or used elsewhere. The sunk cost is the cost which the firm has already incurred, and has no effect on present or future decisions. It is the previous cost which was incurred in the past, and is irrecoverable irrespective of the fact, whether the company accepts the project or not. Furthermore, Rustagi (2005) classified the cash flows associated with a project as original or initial cash outflow, subsequent cash inflows and outflows, and terminal cash flow. Initial Cash Outflows, Subsequent Cash Flows, And Terminal Cash Flows Original or initial cash outflow is the initial investment, occurring at the beginning of the project. This is required to get the project operational. Since the investment cost occurs in the beginning of the project, it is easy to identify the initial cash outflow. It includes the acquisition of assets like machinery, building, technology etc. Along with the cost of assets, other incidental costs must also be considered, like the cost of transportation and installation. Sunk costs and opportunity costs as discussed above are also a part of this. Subsequent cash inflows and outflows are generated after the initial outlay of capital. The investment is expected to generate a series of cash inflows, through the project that has been initiated. These inflows may be the same every year or may vary from one year to another throughout the lifespan of the project. In addition to inflows, capital budgeting decisions also consider the subsequent outflows, that might be required for periodic repairs or maintenance. The third classification is the terminal cash inflows. These are the cash inflows in the last year. Firstly, this would include the scrap value, or the salvage value of the project, which is realizable at the end of the economic life. The second, is the working capital which gets released at the completion of the project. This is again, made available to the firm. Estimation of cash flows as a measure of the cost and benefits of any project, includes these three forms of cash flows, and forms the part of any good technique to evaluate a proposal (Rustagi, 2005: 486 489). In addition to all these factors, cash flows also get affected by the factors which are unlikely to be precisely forecasted, and keeps changing with time, like inflation and taxes. Treatment Of Inflation Inflation has a direct impact on the final outcome of investment appraisals. It affects both the future cash flows, and cost of capital. If inflation is not properly adjusted, the future cash flows are increased, over and above, what they would be. For the adjustment of inflation, cash flows have to be either presented in the real terms or money (nominal) terms. Adjustment Of Future Cash Flows In Real And Money Terms In real terms, future cash flows are adjusted in terms of todays current purchasing power, and in money terms cash flow is adjusted, according to the purchasing power, at the time they occur. For applying the correct treatment, companies are required to discount the real cash flows at the real discount rate, and nominal cash flows at nominal discount rates (Drayery and Tayles, 1997). As per Carsberg and Hope (1976) in Arnold and Hatzopoulos (2000) the companies earlier, adjusted for inflation in a rather inappropriate manner. Companies have been either estimating the future cash flows in nominal terms. For the purpose of discounting, they have used real rate of return. Or, they have been estimating the future cash flows in real price terms, but discounted at the money discount rate. There is a significant change in this practice from the last two decades (Arnold and Hatzopoulos, 2000: 12). However in contrast to this, according to the data collected by Drayery and Tayles, 1997 There are still a majority of firms, treating the problem of inflation, incorrectly. The survey was conducted on 195 firms in UK,out of which only 53 or 27% are doing the correct treatment of inflation, with regard to future cash flows (Data attached in appendix 1). Common Mistakes In The Adjustment Of Inflation Thus, we can see that the adjustment for the treatment of inflation, regarding future cash flows and relative discount rates, is not a very uncommon mistake. The most common mistake is using the money discount rate of return for discounting the cash flow estimates, available in terms of real prices. This leads to the undervaluation of NPV, leading to the rejection of the project in some cases, which are worth undertaking, yet, are not. In case of the converse scenario, the result would be overvaluation of the NPV, leading to the failure of projects in the long run. Long term projects, are more prone to this kind of mismatch, because with a longer time period, the variation in cash flows, due to non inclusion of inflation, gets compounded. The cash flows accrued after many years, are valued in current terms, and that turns out to be highly distorted. In case of short term projects, even if inflation has not been included, the distortion in the values of future cash flows, is not very high (Drayery and Tayles, 1997: 3). Treatment Of Taxes Taxes have a direct and considerable impact, on the project viability. For a complete project appraisal, it is important to consider the complete taxation implications, over the cash flows. It is vital for the purpose of investment appraisal, to consider the cash flows after paying taxes, since only these are available to shareholders. There are many important aspects to be considered, regarding taxation. According to Arnold (2008) if the tax liabilities of the firm gets increased due to the project, then the increased tax effects must be incorporated in the analysis, to reach the actual cash flow figure. Secondly, taxes are not generally paid in the same year in which they occur. Companies pay a part of the current years taxes and part of the accrued taxes, which must be considered accordingly. The time factor must be correctly accounted for, while analyzing the cash outflow of taxes. According to Rohrich (2007), due to the investment, tax would arise and NPV must be calculated only after taxation. The implications of taxation would affect the NPV considerably. Firstly with taxes, cash flow will decline and so will the NPV calculated out of that cash flow. Secondly, the capital structure of the project also results in the decline in discount rate, with an increase in gearing ratio. Since the interest on debt is tax deductible, it reduces the cost of capital, and thus leads to fall in the discount rate. Besides these Lumby (1988) has also thrown light on one more important aspect. This is the system of writing down balances, which also provides tax relief on capital expenditure. Thus, the net effect of the taxation could be seen as a decline in NPV, due to a decrease in cash flows, on one hand. On the other hand there was an increase in NPV, due to a decrease in discount rates. Cost Of Capital â€Å"The cost of capital is the rate of return that a company has to offer finance providers to induce them to buy and hold a financial security. This rate is determined by the returns offered on alternative securities with the same risk† (Arnold, 2008: 717). The definition given shows that the rate of return on the capital, is what determines its cost. This rate of return is the discount rate used by the companies. If it is evaluated higher than what actually it should be, then it constrains the investments. Like Arnold (2008) has quoted Michael Haseltine, one time President of the Board of Trade â€Å"Businesses are not investing enough because of their excessive expectations of investment returns† (Arnold, 2008: 717). High Rate Of Return According to Ashford et al. (1988) companies use considerably high discount rate than required, as per the opportunity cost of capital. The reason for this, is the risk premium which companies apply, especially in case of investments made in the projects using new technology. Such projects are considered to be more uncertain, so the discount rate is higher than in other investments (Ashford et al., 1988: 2). Arnold and Hatzopoulos (2000) have quoted Antle and Appen (1985) and Antle and Fellingham (1990) that managers in order to keep a strict control over corporate resources and to reduce the tendency to over invest, keep high discount rates (Arnold and Hatzopoulos, 2000). Similarly according to Dimson and Marsh (1994) in Drury and Tayles (1996) firms in UK use excessively high discount rates, which in turn, have led to the under-investment in UK firms. In USA too, firms use hurdle rates for project evaluation, which are higher than their estimated cost of capital (Drury and Tayles, 1996: 12). Wacc In order to attract investors, companies have to provide returns, higher than the opportunity cost of capital. Companies use a standard means to express their cost of capital, using weighted average cost of capital (WACC). According to Bruner et al (1998) WACC is the method used by most of the companies, advisors and even textbooks, as a method to derive the discount rate used as the cost of capital. Bierman (1993) conducted survey in which 74 Fortune 100 companies participated. The results obtained showed that all the companies use some form of discounting in their capital budgeting, and 93% use a weighted-average cost of capital (Bruner et al, 1998: 2-3). Arnold and Hatzopoulos (2000) presented information given by Westwick and Shohet (1976) stating that companys bank overdraft rate was the most popular method among UK companies for selecting the rate of return to be used for evaluating capital investment. At the same time WACC was in practice by less than 10% of firms. However, th is trend changed substantially over the period of time and according to the data collected by Arnold and Hatzopoulos (2000) more than half of the firms use WACC to calculate the cost of capital (results attached in appendix 2). In addition to this, it is also notable that still significant minority firms use interest rate payable on debt as a measuring tool to calculate the cost of capital (Arnold and Hatzopoulos, 2000: 17). For calculating the WACC a company needs to acquire information about the cost of various sources of capital and their proportions in the capital structure. Considering that we have two sources of finances i.e. equity and debt, here cost of capital is determined by the formula: WACC = KEWE + KDWD Here, KE = cost of equity KD = cost of debt WE = proportion of equity finance to total finance WD = proportion of debt finance to total finance Cost Of Debt Debt entails to more or less fixed payments, so estimating the cost of debt is relatively easy. Arnold (2008) has covered three factors which determine the cost of debt, these are: 1. Existing rate of interest on debt capital. 2. The risk of default by the debtor and recovery rate or chances in case of default. 3. Benefit derived from debt capital due to the tax shield. Cost Of Equity While the estimation of cost of debt is easy, the cost of equity is rather difficult to estimate. This is due to the fact that companies do not have any commitment towards the shareholders to pay dividends. However, companies have been reaching some reasonably good estimates of the cost of equity using some prevalent methodologies like Capital asset pricing model. Although, some firms mention other models as well like arbitrage pricing theory but these are in small proportion. Another model which was most influential in 1960s was Gordon growth model. However, there was a problem of obtaining a reliable estimate of future growth rate of dividends in this model. This was obtained objectively using past data which was not considered to be a trustworthy estimate (Arnold, 2008: 726). According to Bruner et al. CAPM is the most popularly used model for estimating the cost of equity. In a wide survey conducted by Trahan and Gitman (1995) of 84 fortune 500 large firms and best small Forbes 200 companies it was found that 30% of respondents use the capital asset pricing model. Similarly, in a survey conducted in Australia, CAPM is the most commonly used method in estimating the cost of equity, with 72% of the companies under survey, using this model (Truong et al., 2006: 3). In contrast to this Arnold and Hatzopoulos (2000) has mentioned views from several sources stating that According to Bruner et al there are theoretical, practical and empirical doubts cast on the most heavily promoted method of calculating the equity component of WACC, that is, the CAPM (Lewellen, 1977; Mullins, 1982; Lowenstein, 1989; Tomkins, 1991; Fama and French, 1992; Rosenberg and Rudd, 1992; Mills et al., 1992; Strong and Xu, 1997; and Adedeji, 1997). The difficulty faced under this model is to determine a particular divisional beta and cost of capital. This problem has been discussed in quite an elaborate manner by Bruner et al. using different beta rates and expected market return. The result produced shows substantial variation in the cost of equity and in turn had a great variation on cost of capital (result attached in appendix 3). To conclude, what can be seen is the result drawn out of study on the corporate cost of capital and the return on corporate investment. This shows average corporate investment produced returns that exceed the cost of capital. This is analyzed for the period of 1950-96, the real cost of capital for non-financial firms is high, 5.95 percent. The real return on cost is higher, 7.38 percent as a result on average investment seems to be profitable (Fama and French, 1999). Analysing The Level Of Usage Of Appraisal Techniques Since decades companies have been in continuous search of reliable investment appraisal techniques. These techniques helps to rank the multiple competing projects on the basis of benefits that can be derived out of each one as against the costs incurred over the same. Conventional Methods The first analysis studied here is the survey conducted by Arnold and Hatzopoulos in the year 1997. The survey examines the level of usage of four main conventional appraisal techniques – payback method, accounting rate of return (ARR), internal rate of return (IRR) and net present value (NPV). 300 companies are surveyed which are ranked in the Times 1000 companies according to capital employed (results attached in appendix 4). This survey is also compared with two previous surveys one is by Pike covering the period from 1975 to 1992; and Alkaraan and Northcott for the year 2002. These are chosen for comparison because of similar characteristics in all the three surveys. According to the results, it is quite clear that payback method has been the most widely used technique till early 1990s as compared to discounted cash flow methods – IRR and NPV. However, thereafter rise in the usage of NPV can be seen and as for now it became the most popular appraisal technique. Yet, this was not at the expense of a decline in the usage of the payback method. Even payb

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Comparing Sexy versus A Temporary Matter in Interpreter of Maladies Ess

Readers are often baffled by the openness of some stories where the ending can go either way they are put into situation where they must imagine or assume how the story does end. Open-ended stories can be found in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, where few stories of open-endings have an immense impact on the reader by creating a hunger to know what happens next. There is always one very noticeable advantage open-ended stories have over close-ended stories, that is the impact on the reader. The impact that makes the reader think, imagine and creates immaculate suspense as the reader is following the life of the protagonist with utmost anticipation, but all of sudden the story ends and the reader’s first question would be ,â€Å"what becomes of the protagonist?†. Close ended stories have very limited scope for imagination and very little suspense towards the end. There is not as big an impact but the can be a sense of completeness and also the reader may feel relieved that he knows what the protagonist has gone through from the beginning to the end. A story with an open-ending that may be discovered from the book is â€Å"A Temporary Matter†, where the ending is so open that there is a colossal sense of incompleteness, having followed the ordeals of the protagonist and knowing what may be a valid reason for a married couple to fall out of love. The ending does not specify the fate of the marriage which seems to be on the path of falling apart, but the words of the protagonist which is either the saviour of the marriage or the final attempt to keep the marriage together remains unknown in the end. The story with a considerably closed ending that can be found is â€Å"Sexy† where the protagonist has an affair with a married Indian ... ...rves the way for the plot, the theme is the central idea around which a literary piece revolves. Without the theme the plot would be meaningless and there would be nothing for the readers to derive from the literary piece. Without the plot, the theme would be meaningless as there would be nowhere to consign the message the writer intends to give the reader. It can be said that the plot and theme are the two most important literary elements of a literary piece and are inter-dependant. In conclusion, I would like to say that an open-ended story has much more impact and imagery than a close-ended story. An open-ended story lingers about the reader’s thoughts and to some extent dominates the reader’s imagination. The plot and theme are the two most important literary elements in a literary piece and the piece would fail heavily without a good theme or a good plot.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Arthur Miller Essay

Arthur Miller is a renowned play- writer who was born on October 17th 1915, in New York City. His parent’s originally had came from Italy but soon migrated to America perhaps searching for the American dream. His family lived in prosperity due to the success of his fathers clothing manufacturing business however, as a result of the Wall Street crash the business sadly collapsed therefore; Arthur Miller was forced to work as a warehouseman. The play AVFTB was set in the 20th century as this is when illegal immigration was probably at its most. He possibly got his inspiration for writing this astonishing, sensational and breathtaking play from his parents as they were immigrants searching for the American dream and Alfieri (a lawyer in the play) expresses the themes of immigration and the American dream. However, his main inspiration was almost certainly when his lawyer friend showed him a case which has a similar context to AVFTB. Despite writing the play AVFTB, Arthur Miller is also recognized for his several other plays, such as: The Crucible; The Man Who Had All the Luck; All My Sons and Death of a Salesman. Unfortunately, Arthur Miller died in 2005. Alfieri first introduces himself to the audience when he is telling us the prologue, which sets the mood and scene of the play, ‘This is Red Hook, not Sicily†¦ I’m a lawyer. ‘ In the play he introduces all the characters, ‘This one’s name was Eddie Carbone’ and gives the audience a brief description of the character introduced, ‘a longshoreman. ‘ However, the audience instantly get the impression that Eddie is going to be the tragic hero in the play as when Alfieri first introduces Eddie he says that he has to, ‘let it run it’s bloody course’ then immediately after that he says, ‘This one’s name was Eddie Carbone. ‘ Giving the audience the impression that Eddie is going to be the tragic hero in the play. Furthermore, the audience also immediately get the impression that Eddie is the tragic hero as he tells the story about Vinnie Bonzola and when the family hear the story they are all shocked that someone could betray one of their family members like that. Eddie is especially shocked about this particular scenario and this is very ironic as little does he know that as the play progresses he would be doing the same thing. This makes Eddie’s behaviour even more outrageous and appalling as firstly he is being a hypocrite and secondly, he was probably the most shocked out of his whole family. Therefore, Arthur Miller portrays Eddie’s action through the technique of dramatic irony throughout the play as the audience know that Eddie is going to be the tragic hero near the beginning of the play. Alfieri is also immediately established as being an omniscient narrator/ commentator in the prologue. We know this as he narrates the story in a flashback therefore, he already knows what is going to unravel, Eddie’s inevitable death, and we get reminded of this at various intervals. He tells us about the suspicious little nods the longshoremen give him. This shows the audience how the community perceive lawyers, ‘they’d rather not get too close. ‘ Suspicion and lack of trust is one of the main themes of the play and it shows the audience that the Italian immigrants still stick to the same old social codes of revenge and lack of trust. The Italian immigrants pour into Brooklyn looking for their share of the American dream, ‘gullet of New- York, swallowing the tonnage of the world’. The definition of the American dream is that anyone can come to America and get to the top as there are many opportunities. They may also come here to get away from poverty; lack of employment and mafia vendettas. However, Arthur Miller perhaps chose this setting, ‘the slum that faces the seaward side of the bay’ as Miller was aware that many immigrants came here when he was working in the army in World War 2 in particular longshoremen as they helped put immigrants on ships so they could arrive to America. He must have seen a lot of despicable, horrific and appaling things when he was there so that is why he probably describes Brooklyn like this. Therefore, he might have exaggerated the description to emphasise this point to the audience and also to give an image in the audiences mind. Therefore, Arthur Miller uses the linguistic devices known as hyperboles and imagery to emphasise the point that he is trying to make and also to make the story more entertaining for the audience, ‘His eyes were like tunnels’. Alfieri is a successful example of the American dream as he initially migrated from Italy to America. Alfieri is living the American dream and is now civilised but his practice is entirely unromantic. Alfieri has been a witness to the times when he used to keep a pistol in his filing cabinet however, now as he is civilised he no longer needs to keep a pistol in his filing cabinet. Therefore, Alfieri is following the American way of life and the American social codes. i. e. The law and not revenge. In addition, we know that Alfieri has changed his social code as he speaks differently compared to all the other characters in the play. His language is less rougher than everyone else’s and this is illustrated through the fact that he no longer carries the Sicilian code of conduct. He says that his practice is entirely unromantic as he gets similar cases over and over again, ‘the petty poor troubles of the poor’. Nevertheless, every once in a while there is case that always brings life to his job, ‘the dust in this air is blown away’. The cases perhaps bring life to his office as it reminds him of how he used to be and that is probably why he is so fond of Eddie as it reminds him of his former self. The cases perhaps excite him as they are a dramatic change and the cases are probably more interesting. Arthur Miller perhaps does this to maintain the audiences involvement and too show the audience that the story is going to be exciting so that they stay glued to their seats.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Glossary of Organic Chemistry Terms

Glossary of Organic Chemistry Terms This is an organic chemistry glossary. Look up definitions of common and important organic chemistry terms. ab initio abrasive absolute alcohol absolute error absolute temperature absolute uncertainty absorbance absorption absorption cross section absorption spectroscopy absorption spectrum absorptivity accuracy acetal acid acid anhydride acid-base indicator acid-base titration acid catalysis acid dissociation constant - Ka acidic solution activated complex activation energy - Ea activity series actual yield acute health effect acylation acyl group acyl halide adsorption aerosol alcohol alcoholate aliphatic amino acid aliphatic compound aliphatic hydrocarbon alkali metal alkaline alkalinity alkanoylation alkene alkenyl group alkoxide alkoxy group alkylate alkylation allotrope alloy alpha decay alpha radiation amide amine amine functional group amino acid ammonium amorphous amphoteric oxide amu angular momentum quantum number anion androgen anhydrous anode antibonding orbital anti-Markovnikov addition anti-periplanar aqueous aqueous solution aromatic compound Arrhenius acid Arrhenius base aryl atom atomic mass atomic mass unit (amu) atomic number atomic radius atomic weight autoionization Avogadros Law Avogadros number azeotrope azimuthal quantum number azo compound

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Ulysses S. Grant essays

Ulysses S. Grant essays Ulysses S. Grant rose to command all the Federal armies in the Civil War and lead them to victory. He was respected so much that he went on to be president of the United States for two terms. His time of glory didn't last forever though, he developed cancer and died bankrupt. Ulysses Hiram Grant was born April 27, 1822, in a two room frame house at Point Pleasant, Ohio. His father, Jesse Root Grant, was foreman in a tannery and a farmer. His mother, Hannah Simpson Grant, was a hard working frontier woman. When Ulysses was a year old, the family moved to Georgetown. There his father bought a farm, built a house, and set up his own tannery. Jesse and Hannah had five more children there, two boys and three girls. Grant love horses and learned to manage them at an early age. When he was seven or eight he could drive a team and began hauling all the wood used in the house and shops. From that point on until he reached seventeen, Grant did all the work done with horses; such as breaking up the land, furrowing, plowing corn, bringing in the crops when harvested, and hauling wood. Three months each winter when work was minimized Grant went to a one room schoolhouse, and that's how he was educated until he went to West Point at age seventeen. When Grant turned seventeen, his father got him an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. The congressman who made the appointment did not know Grants' full name, so he left out Hiram and added Simpson. Simpson, was Grants', mothers' maiden name. He was pleased with his new name because he disliked his old initials H.U.G. ...

Monday, November 4, 2019

Where's My Hand and The Weak Leg Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Where's My Hand and The Weak Leg - Essay Example The doctors settled on gluco-corticoids to ease inflammation and edema. Robert never got an administration of tPA because the treatment worsens hemorrhage. This revealed that Robert’s CVA stemmed from his hypertension disorder, whereby it weakened blood arteries that later ruptured and culminated to a hemorrhage (Monks, 2003). The first CVA encounter interfered with Robert’s left-brain, evidenced by an inability to speak. In addition, the hemorrhage also impaired adjacent motor neurons present in the right side, thereby causing left flaccidity. Flaccidity meant that his left side lacked turgidity, thereby appearing saggy or demonstrating a deficit in muscle tone. However, this flaccidity usually never stays for long but rather vanishes within sometime despite having mobility problems. The immediate efforts accompanying Robert’s medication would be engaging him in rehabilitation. The team in the rehabilitation would entail the motive of evading inactivity that triggers muscle contractures and fixation inabilities or paralysis in acute conditions (A.D.A.M., 2011). A physical therapist would aid in regaining motion abilities that constitute of balancing and coordination among others. The physical therapist will aid prevent contractures in Robert via such activities like stretching alongside splinting. Secondly, he will help him regain alignment by engaging him in using such appliances as braces meant for support in the arms together with tennis shoes to evade foot drops. Thirdly, he may also engage Robert in sitting exercises to strengthen muscles in the trunk. An occupational therapist serves obligatory in ascertaining that Robert gains independence. For instance, he would assist in things like hygiene together with easy motion practices. A speech pathologis t ascertains that he regains his talking achieved through tongue strengthening (A.D.A.M., 2011). He would also aid Robert in restoring any cognitive disorders experienced, which include

Friday, November 1, 2019

Outsourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Outsourcing - Essay Example Subsequently, organizations attempting to compete globally in the 1970s and 1980s were handicapped by a lack of agility that resulted from bloated management structures (Corbett, 1996). However, most organisations were not totally self sufficient; they outsourced those functions for which they had no competency internally. Publishers, for example, have often purchased composition, printing, and fulfillment services. The use of external suppliers for these essential but ancillary services might be termed the baseline stage in the evolution of outsourcing. The main business purpose for outsourcing is to enhance the value of an organization's offerings to its customers (Earl, 1996). In the electronics industry, increased market competition identifies continuous adjustment and improvement in the production lines, outsourcing and supply chain management of companies. Interdependence and participation of suppliers and manufacturers in product design, innovation, as well as research and development characterize the current international business environment resulting to market volatility (Sobrero & Roberts, 2001; Appleyard, 2003). These organizations usually share proprietary corporate data with external suppliers and partners while ensuring maximum security to enhance efficiency across the product lifecycle by streamlining procurement, production, fulfilment, and distribution processes (Katsikeas, Schlegelmilch & Skarmeas, 2002) which requires integration of applications and data across multiple geographically dispersed supply chain partners, as well as internal integration with legacy systems (Katsikeas, Schlegelmilch & Skarmeas, 2002; Appleyard, 2003). Benefits Outsourcing manufacturing is one of vital business and supply chain strategies which are one way companies are revolutionising business operations to deliver better products faster at lowest cost possible (Domberger, 1998). It is a kind of supply chain collaboration model and strategic alliance approach, which allows the OEMs to concentrate on product development, sales and marketing (Bounfour, 2003). It eventually helps business organisations to gain competitive advantage of increased product availability, reduced inventory; minimized total logistics cost and rapidly introduce their product to market without a significant investment in plans for capital equipment (Arnold, 2000). Normally, there are two types of outsourced services, technology and business process. Each can be inert partial to the subsequent areas. The first type of outsourcing is the technology services. This type covers the electronic commerce (e-commerce), infrastructure (networks), software (applications), telecommunications and website development and hosting. The second type of outsourcing is the business process outsourcing. Under this type of outsourcing are customer contacts (customer relations management), equipment, finance/accounting, human resources, logistics, procurement/supply chain management and security. Lee et al (2002) stated that there have three major outsourcing drivers: (a) economic - expense reductions, cost control and