Ational Geographic photographers videos and responses Assignment

Ational Geographic photographers videos and responses - Assignment Example He has a specially improved camera Obscura helping him to reveal iconic landscapes from the unique perspective. He says his pictures are dreamlike and surreal, but are products of camera in recording, which is like a dream in the physical wake (National Geographic 1). He uses photography to reflect the influence of global warming. His time-lapse cameras have captured evidence of reducing glaciers and changing snow patterns across the world. He maintains that camera gives a language to communicate to the world because the pictorial language can penetrate people’s hearts and minds. He insists that the photographer’s highest calling is to challenge and alter the inherited wisdom (National Geographic 1). Professor Kashi describes the highs and the lows of the working as a photojournalist. During the interview, Kashi shares his beliefs that a photographer’s great work comes from the issues he or she genuinely cares. He maintains that a photojournalist has to examine the world and himself because of the challenges and risks involved to accomplish the mission (National Geographic 1). He gained access to North Korea where he stresses on seeing life from you because of the different passions possessed by various people. In his viewpoint, the lives of the photographers are not normal life. He expresses interest in the photos of people taking the bus, couple crying at the Pyongyang airport and kids throwing snowballs at each other (National Geographic 1). Brian Skerry has been diving with the camera for over 30 years capturing the unseen world below the water’s surface. The passion of protecting the planet for the future motivated his underwater photography. He says that photography is a discovery process as he spends time with different kinds of sea creatures underwater from the biggest to smallest (National Geographic 1). He photographed human rights abuses and conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He captured the lives of citizens in the

DEATH, DYING, & BEREAVEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DEATH, DYING, & BEREAVEMENT - Essay Example Infact children have an uncanny knack of imbibing more than we realise. They are tuned to picking up easily from what they hear and observe around them. It is just that when it come to expressing their feelings they are at a loss which is misunderstood and their actions are then misconstrued. Especially when a child is grieving we tend to make it more difficult by smothering them and making the situation even more complex than the experience itself. Ignorance of a Childs needs especially during the time of grief can make things worse not knowing how to react or help with the Childs emotional needs. We first need to realize that grieving is a normal process and not something to worry about. The grieving symptoms can be anything from loss of appetite to withdrawal and acute loneliness. The intensity can vary depending on the Childs attachment to the deceased person and how much the loss actually means to the child. In any case the parent’s role would be to support the child through the bad phase and not help them submerge their feelings. The child should be given the freedom to grieve in a way which they find comforting. Caring and listening can be the best tools to use when it comes to caring for a grieving child. The child might have questions which may seem irrelevant to an adult while in reality the answers we give them can go a long way in the recovery process and be a guide to their future as well. Children who are grieving usually tend to be aloof and withdrawn, giving them the assurance that it is normal and natural to feel sad would be the best way to start. It might be challenging for a widowed person to deal with the Childs trauma when he or she is grieving herself. The uncomfortable circumstances and our own denial can make it hard on children. Looking to the Childs needs in the stressful times and sharing their concerns with understanding

Trade Balances Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Trade Balances - Essay Example The treasury notes has also grown the economy of China through keeping the currency weaker, hence the products from China becomes cheaper. Also, selling debts to China have allowed the economy of U.S. to grow through funding the programs of the federal government. Other factors that have led to this increase in debt level include the China’s strategy of keeping its yaun lower in value so as to ensure its export prices are competitive. In case the dollar falls in value, the government of China buys Treasuries thus increases the dollar demands. These leads to more supply of dollars, hence increasing the debt. This debt level is significant to the United States economy in terms of its credit worthiness with other trading nations such as Canada and the European Union. It indicates the possibility of U.S trading with others comfortably showing that it pay its debt well as dictated by it financial rations such as current ratio, debt ratios among other profitability ratios. This debt level has an impact on the value of US dollar. The government takes advantage of the falling dollar value and buys more Treasuries which leads to more supply of dollars to the U.S. (Cavanaugh, 1996). A debt level significantly reduces the value of the dollar against the owed nation in the world

Analysis Soft Drink Essay Example for Free

Analysis Soft Drink Essay 1Analysis of the U. S. soft drink industry, based on the competitive forces model of Michael Porter. In the soft drink industry the entry of new competitors depends on the barriers to entry that are present, and also the reaction from existing competitors that the entrant can expect. I will now analyze the six major sources of barriers to entry the soft drink industry. Economies of scale deter entry by forcing the entrant to come in at large scale and risk strong reaction from existing firms or come in at a small scale and accept a cost disadvantage. If a company wants to decline its unit costs of their product, they will have to produce more to lower the cost. The more you produce, the lower the costs. In the soft drink industry establishing firms have brand identification and customer loyalties. The brand name can have differences. This is a high barrier to enter. Entrants are forced to spend a lot to overcome existing customer loyalties. The capital requirements within this industry are very high. Production, distribution and advertising are a must to compete with the industry leaders like coca cola and Pepsi. So if a new The aluminum cans, plastic and glass bottles are pretty much dependant on the soft drink industry to survive in the business. This makes suppliers to have little power over the soft drink industry. The access to distribution channels is a high barrier because the most successful soft drink companies are aggressively spending their distribution channels and buying full ownership of bottling plants. Supermarkets are at present the largest channels in the U. S. and there the competition is very high. Switching costs is also a barrier to entry this business. Switching costs by changing from one supplier to the other may happened. Also employee training, new equipment, testing new technology. This things are common in this industry. This are barriers for new entrants.

Literature review of corporate social responsibility theories

Literature review of corporate social responsibility theories Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), also known as corporate citizenship, responsible business, or sustainable responsible business is all but a form of corporate self-regulation integrated into a business model where companies manage the business processes to produce an overall positive impact on society. Arguably, business and society are interwoven where society has certain expectations regarding business, thus, implying that firms have responsibilities towards society. Hence, being a steward of the needs of society is deemed to be a socially responsible, appropriate, and natural act. Corporate describes a business that aims to make a profit for its shareholders, hence this excludes, charities, foundations, NGOs and social enterprises. The first book acknowledging CSR is the Social Responsibilities of the Businessman (Howard R. Bowen) in the mid 1950s. But, the term CSR came in widespread use in the early 1970s. In fact, it owes its origin due to the globalisation which took place after many multinational corporations were formed, thus, bringing in force the corporate governance mechanisms to ascertain fairness and transparency as well as social responsibility in the corporate world. CSR is defined in various ways in different countries, of about being the capacity building for sustainable livelihoods from Ghana to about giving back to society from Philippines; and of being conventionally presented in a philanthropic model from the United States to being focused on operating the core business in a socially responsible way, complemented by investment in communities for solid business case reasons and voluntary interaction with the stakeholders from the European model. As such, according to Caroll (2003), The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical and discretionary (philanthropic) expectations that society has of organisations at a given point in time. Hence, ideally and broadly, the concept of CSR is a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. 2.1.1 CSR and CSP In todays competitive market environment, businesses are confronted with a new set of non economics-related challenges. To survive and prosper, firms must bridge economic and social systems. Maximising shareholder wealth is a necessary but is no longer a sufficient condition for financial prosperity. Despite the concept of CSR addresses such issue, a specific connotation of CSR and a new performance measure called the corporate social performance (abbreviated as CSP) needs to be unified to capture the performance of a business in the social realm, and also to be more precise in thinking about CSR. CSP defined as a business organizations configuration of principles of social responsibility, processes of social responsiveness, and policies, programs, and observable outcomes as they relate to the firms societal relationships (Wood, 1991), clearly shows that social performance is not limited to corporations only, but also applies to any firm and organisation. This comprehensive definition assumes that CSP is broader than CSR, which consists of three norms at different levels of analysis: institutional, organisational, and individual. Additionally, it includes organisational processes of environmental assessment, stakeholder management, and issues management, and also various measures of its external manifestations and societal effects, such as social impacts. Hence the CSP model expresses and articulates three stages, from less to more engage towards stakeholders: social obligation, social responsibility and social responsiveness (S.P. Sethi, 1975). 2.1.2 Views on CSR According to Hancock (2005), CSR can be viewed through 3 ways namely: Views on CSR Hancock (2005) Sceptic View Milton Friedman (1970) Utopian View Evan and Freeman (1988) Realist view Patricia Werhane (2009) Few trends would so thoroughly undermine the very foundations of free society as the acceptance by corporate officials of a social responsibility other than to make as much money for their stockholders as they possibly can. Notion of CSR is opposed to democracy and freedom where business focus is on wealth creation Went for Stakeholder Theory A corporation must recognise and respect the vital interests of each of its surrounding stakeholders. CSR reflects the idea that companies have a prior duty to anyone touched by their activity, their stakeholders rather than their shareholders, and especially the vulnerable that may be exploited by the companys operation. Gathers the greatest following of an alliance model CSR is also about the integrity with which a company governs itself, fulfils its mission, lives by its values, engages with its stakeholders, measures its impacts and reports on its activities. CSR is not simply about whatever funds and expertise companies choose to invest in communities to help resolve social problems 2.1.3 Key Drivers of CSR CSR is seen by Porter and Van Der Linde (2000, p. 131) as a competitive driver that requires appropriate resources. CSR programmes, however, on their own, have certain main drivers which are as follow: Bottom Line Effect This is the most relevant driver of CSR programmes as it incorporates a socially responsible element into corporate practice. As John Elkington (1997) rightly underlined that many companies exhibit corporate citizenship through charity or philanthropy. Nevertheless, a new perspective evolved over time for some corporate stakeholders. Success of a corporation is now weighted and defined by evaluating businesses using a Triple Bottom Line comprised of its social, environmental and financial performance. Managing Risk An endeavour to adopt CSR programme has been the gain in market share, key personnel and investment which pioneering companies enjoy when they seriously address labour and green issues. In fact, corporations implement such a programme to manage risks and ensure legal compliance as denoted by Levine Michael A. (2008). They try to avoid investigation, litigation, prosecution, regulation or legislation. Influence of the Corporate Disasters There has been an increased perception of greed amidst senior business officials in the corporate world following corporate scandals affecting Enron, WorldCom and the like. CSR is important in counteracting allegations of corporate greed. As a result, as described by Hancock (2005) in his book, corporations are now shifting away from the philanthropic approach towards CSR and are moving towards the greater alignment of CSR with business strategy and corporate governance. Lower Equity Risk Premium Reputation Management Corporations can face economic damage when their corporate reputations and brands are assailed or sales are affected by consumer boycotts. As argued by some rating agencies, a comprehensive CSR programme will lower a companys equity risk premium. A direct correlation between reputation and financial outcome measures share price and credit rating (Hancock, 2005) has been illustrated through a model designed by the global public relations company Bell Pottinger. In fact, companies may face a variety of legal and reputational risks if they do not have adequate social compliance or corporate social responsibility/sustainability programs in place. Customer Loyalty In todays markets, companies have to focus on building and maintaining customer loyalty. As proposed by Zhou Y. (2009), this can be done through a CSR programme which builds loyalty with customers by offering a competitive advantage in a marketplace where consumers find ethically delivered or produced goods and services. Stakeholder Activism Investment Incentives As perceived by Visser, W. (2008), CSR is encouraged through the activism of stakeholder or pressure groups which often address the alleged failure of the market and government policy. The trend of socially responsible investment gives CSR an incentive where funds are screened on ethical, social and environmental criteria. Thus, this proactively encourages businesses to inform shareholders of potential risks and issues and it helps them to better understand their stakeholders, including shareholders. According to Hill Knowltown (2006), surveys have indicated that analysts place as much importance on corporate reputation as they do on financial performance. 2.1.4 Theories for CSR There are several theories that emerged to explain the reasons behind environmental reporting over the time. These are: Operational Efficiency Theory Operational Efficiency occurs when the right combination of people, process, and technology to boost the productivity and value of any business operation, while reducing cost of routine operations to a desired level. In the context of CSR, operational efficiencies can be achieved through managing impending risks and liabilities more effectively and efficiently through CSR tools and perspectives by reducing costs; streaming information to stakeholders concerning the investment community for better transparency and by using corporate responsibility and sustainability approaches within business decision-making to result in new market opportunities, newly developed manufacturing processes that can be expanded to other plants, regions or markets as advocated by S. B. Banerjee (2007). Social Contract Theory The current practice of CSR by corporations was explained by O. O. Amao (2007) under the social contract theory. This theory dates from the classic period of history but took its modern form in the 16th and 18th centuries with best known philosophers like Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacques Rousseau who talk on social contract. Rousseau, in fact, conceptualised the individual-society relationship as a symbiotic situation whereby the two parties mutually confer some right to the state in order to maintain social order which makes human life and cohabitation better and to gain benefits of community and safety. In parallel to the social contract, the corporate social theory, pertaining to a firms indirect social obligations, is advanced where businesses are bound by the social contract to perform various socially desired actions in return for approval of their objectives and other rewards. Legitimacy Theory Similar to the social contract theory, the legacy theory was adopted by corporations to ensure that operations are within the limits and norms of their respective societies and the outside parties perceive their activities as being legitimate. Society grants legitimacy and power to business. In the long run, those who do not use power in a manner which society considers responsible will tend to lose it. This principle developed by Davis (1973) is commonly known as the Iron Law of Responsibility. It expresses legitimacy as a societal-level concept and describes the responsibility of business as a social institution that must avoid abusing its power. Thus, this principle expresses a prohibition rather than an affirmative duty, and it applies equally to all companies, regardless of their particular circumstances. According to A.K.H. Khor (2004), the legitimacy theory is fundamentally a system-oriented theory where organisations are viewed as components of the larger social environment within which they exist. Stakeholder Theory A key feature of CSR involves the way that a company engages, involves, and collaborates with its stakeholders including shareholders, employees, debt-holders, suppliers, customers, communities, non-governmental organisations, and governments. M. C. Branco and L. L. Rodrigues (2007) argued that companies need to use stakeholder engagement to internalise societys needs, hopes, circumstances into their corporate views and decision-making. While there are many questions about how far a companys responsibilities extend into communities relative to the roles of governments and individual citizens, there is a strong argument that CSR can effectively improve a companys relations with communities and thereby produce some key features that will improve business prospects for its future. Agency Theory This theory comes to explain the relationship that exists between the owners/shareholders and the management. The latter is the agent appointed by the principal (owner/subsidiary). In such an agent-principal relationship, problems such as the potential moral hazard and conflict of interest are likely to occur. CSR comes as a middle way so that both parties can maximise their gains. As such, when CFP is strong, managers may reduce social expenditures in order to maximise their own short term private gains whereas when CFP weakens, managers will try to offset their disappointing results by engaging in conspicuous social programs, hence increasing their own wealth and that of shareholders as well, pursuant to the managerial opportunism hypothesis by Preston OBannon (1997). 2.2 2.2.1 Corporate Financial Performance (CFP) Most of the businesses operate with a view of yielding profits. The financial performance of a company is reflected through its policies and operations in monetary terms. These results are reflected through its return on investment, return on assets, value added, return on sale and growth in sales. Managers work in the best interest of shareholders to maximise profits. Financial performance is the most common, however, it cannot be considered as the only indicator used to measure a firms wealth. A broader definition of financial performance is accompanied by additional indicators such as short-term profits, long-term profits, market value, and other forms of competitive advantage, as noted by Jensen (2001). 2.2.2 Corporate Social Performance and CFP Many previous studies have indicated an unclear relationship between CSR and financial performance. Thus, literature has pointed out towards an innovation in bringing the concept of CSP to better explore its impact upon corporate financial performance (CFP). In todays world, for a firm to achieve a good and high level of CFP, it has to go beyond the limits of its own corporate strategies and adopt views of other stakeholders who may be directly or indirectly related to the company. Since over the three decades, the study of the correlation between CSP and CFP has gained much salience. Many studies conducted in this effect have yielded positive correlation, while others produced contradictory results with negative or non-significant different causal directions being found. In effect, there are several competing theoretical models which are proposed to explain three varying findings on the CSP-CFP link. Owing to these differing relationships, I.Y. Maroam (2006) proposes a unified theory of the CSP-CFP link that explain the different relationships that may be observed between CSR and CFP, thus basing itself on the parallels between the business and CSR domains. The concept of CSR instils in corporations the moral responsibility towards society that go beyond the goal of simply making profits for their owners and shareholders (Berman et al., 1999). As Freeman (1984) rightly pointed out that corporations should be socially responsible for both moral and practical (instrumental) reasons, by reflecting a socially responsible posture, a corporation can enhance its own performance. Thus, CSR activities can, inter-alia, be rewarded with more satisfied customers, better employee, improved reputation, and improved access to financial markets, all pertaining to improving financial performance and sustaining the business. However, social accomplishments may equally involve certain financial costs which can effectively reduce profits and comparative performance. Hence, Vance (1975) came up with the trade-off hypothesis to show negative linkage between CSP and CFP whereby corporations displaying strong social credentials experience declining stock price s relative to the market average. 2.2.3 CSP as a Business Strategy So far, it is clear that CSP can be used as a business strategy which can contribute to the competitive advantage of firms. A study by N. A. Dentchey (2004) on the effects of CSP on the competitiveness of organisations reveals that CSP should not be thought as an innocent adventure for executives. It is rather a strategy for achieving corporate strategies, which if not warily implemented, may harm the firms competitive advantage. Competitive advantage, as seen by Porter (1996), denotes the ability of a company to outperform others from successful differentiation from rivals actions. This strategic fit between the outside environment and companies internal resources and capabilities (Hoskissoon et al., 1999) results in superior financial results, as indicated by various measures of profitability. Hence, as per Burke and Logsdon (1996), a strategic implementation of social responsibility benefits all by resulting in strategic outcomes such as customer loyalty, future purchases, new products, new markets and productivity gains. Arguably, CSP can be a source of competitive disadvantage for firms which regard CSP as an additional cost. Business contributions to social prosperity (CSP) are seen by Keim (1978, p.33) as an investment in public good which is consumed or enjoyed by a number of individuals disregarding the cost sharing. Thus, investing in CSP is likely to bear negative effects for the firms which are in curring costs that might otherwise be avoided or that should be borne by others, for example, individuals or government (Aupperle et al., 1985). 2.2.4 CSP, CFP and the Stakeholder Theory Following the above arguments, a new perspective of CSP, based on the stakeholder analysis, emerges to argue furthermore that there exists a positive relationship between CSP and CFP. As such, S.A. Waddock and S.B. Graves (1997) propose that a tension exists between the firms explicit costs (for instance, payments to bondholders) and its implicit costs to other stakeholders (for example, product quality costs, and environmental costs). Hence, a firm which tries to outweigh its explicit costs by increasing its socially responsible actions incurs higher implicit costs, resulting in competitive advantage. Thus, high levels of CSP are seen as indicators of superior management by Alexander and Buchholz (1982) which lead to lower explicit costs and enhanced financial performance. The stakeholder theory accompanies the concept of CSR by shedding more light on the issue of social responsibility. This theory is spread over three aspects (Donaldson and Preston, 1995) namely, descriptive, instrumental and normative. While the descriptive aspect describes and explains the theory, the instrumental aspect discloses the cause-effect relationships between stakeholder management practices and improving corporate performance. The normative aspect, on the other hand, as perceived by I.Y. Maroam (2006) emphasizes on the moral imperatives for practising stakeholder management, rather than the business benefits it may provide. A parallelism between the core business domain and the CSR domain will maximise a firms profitability. The stakeholder theory provides a framework for investigating the relationship between CSP and CFP by examining how a change in CSP is related to a change in financial accounting measures. In fact, the two concepts of CSR and stakeholder share the proposition that social responsibility affects financial performance in some way or other. This subject area has been so vastly explored that this trend is now seen as a natural progression which goes associatively with developments in the industrial and business world. There is an increasing concern and emphasize on humanity, environmental preservation and enlightened social consciousness. Thus, a new area of research began to pave its way within the field of business and society where the relationship between corporate social conduct, both toward the corporations stakeholders and the wider society, and the corporations financial performance was and is still being investigated across several countries. Over environmental issues, research h as revealed that businesses which are eco-friendly and demonstrate good CSR practices enjoy increased consumer purchase preference (Gildea, 1994; Zaman, 1996) and good economic performance (Al-Tuwaijiri, et al., 2004). A stakeholder group, as identified and defined by Freeman (1984), is one that that can affect or is affected by achievement of the organisations objectives, that is, which can be harmed as well as can help it to achieve its goals. Therefore, there is a growing need for firms to address the needs and expectations of the stakeholders to avoid negative outcomes and produce positive outcomes for themselves (Donaldson and Preston, 1995; Freeman, 1984; Frooman, 1997). Pursuant to the stakeholder theory perspective, CSP can be assessed in terms of a company meeting the demands of multiple stakeholders, ranging from cost minimisation to societal maximisation. Building on the previous mentioned definition of CSP, Wood and Jones (1995) propose that stakeholder theory is the key to understanding the structure and dimensions of the firms societal relationships thereby assuming that firms are responsible for honouring all the implicit and explicit contracts they hold with their various constituen ts. Therefore, the stakeholder theory provides a system-based perspective of the organisation and its stakeholders where it acknowledges the dynamic and complex nature of the interplay between them. The various stakeholders of the firms, such as the employees, shareholders, financers, environmentalists, government, communities, customers and even competitors should be convinced by the management that it is working harder to satisfy them. The more important the stakeholders to the firm, the more effort the firm needs to put to uphold its relationship with the former. According to Clarkson, Donaldson and Preston et al. (1995), the stakeholder theory must place shareholders as one of the multiple stakeholder groups which managers should consider in their decision-making process. However, like the shareholders, the other stakeholders may have a say upon the firm, bestowing societal legitimacy. Notably, Bernadette M. Ruf et al. (2001) asserted that firms must address these non-shareholder gro ups demands otherwise they might face negative confrontations which can ultimately result in diminished shareholder value, through boycotts, lawsuits, protests and so on. Hence, firms have a fiduciary duty relationship not only to the shareholders, but to all stakeholders (Hasnas, 1998, p.32). So far, recognising a companys contractual relationship with the various stakeholders has been instrumental in better comprehending the relationship that CSP and CFP share. Stakeholders have expectations from the organisation. Nevertheless, these expectations may conflict with the firms limited resources leading the firm to evaluate its costs and benefits tradeoffs. Firms must thus come with measures representative of the various factors of CSP and stakeholders interests. Unlike neo-classical stockholders who were only interested in financial performance (Grouf, 1994; Shapiro, 1992), the major stakeholders of today, that is, the stockholders are more interested in the firms current and future financial benefits and social performance. 2.3 Empirical Review This section reviews the works done and methods used by researchers on the relationship of CFP and CSP. Empirical results on the latters correlation are mixed whereby some yielded in positive, some in negative and some in non-significant relationships. Basing on the stakeholder theory approach, several models on the CFP-CSP relationship have been proposed, where the largest number of investigations found a positive CSP-CFP linkage. Notably, different methods to compute indexes for CFP and CSP have been used since data on both cannot be possibly obtained in absolute figures. As such, using aggregated weights assigned to K dimensions of social performance obtained through questionnaire for CSP and using change in return on equity (ROE), change in return on sales (ROS) and growth in sales as financial measures on a sample of 496 firms, Bernadette M. Ruf et al. (2001) came up with a positive relationship between CSP and CFP. They, in fact, regressed change in CSP on change in CFP. The results revealed a significant positive relationship between change in CSP and change in ROE and change in ROS in the long term but that with growth in sales was significantly positive only in year 0 and 1. The study suggests that improvements in CSP have both immediate and continuing financial impacts. The authors have furthermore suggested that since many financial performance measures follow a random walk or mean reversion  [1]  , it is important to use lead/lag studies to establish a causal sequence of CSP and CFP. Concerning time period, one year may be short in strat egic terms and could well be distorted by rogue figures, hence, it suggested to take two or five years data in analyses. A paper by S. A. Waddock and S. B. Graves (1997) also found positive linkage between CFP and CSP. An index for CSP was computed using eight attributes relating to shareholder concerns and were rated consistently across the entire Standards Poors 500 by a rating service. The firms profitability was measured using three accounting variables, namely, return on assets (ROA), ROE and ROS used to assess CFP by the investment community. Factors such as size, risk and industry which affect both CFP and CSP were taken as control variables. Used on a sample of 469 companies and using CSP as both dependent and independent variable, the results revealed that CFP does depend on CSP and vice-versa and also indicated the importance of controlling for industry in assessing such a relationship. Size has been suggested in previous studies, like that of Ullman (1985) and McWilliams, A., and D. Siegel (2000), to be a factor which affects both CFP and CSP. Size remains a relevant variable because there had been evidence that smaller firms may not demonstrate the same obvious socially responsible behaviours as larger firms. Authors like Pinkston and Carroll (1993), for instance, investigated the extent social responsibility orientations, organisational stakeholders, and social issues can differ among firms of differing sizes. P. A. Stanwick and S. D. Stanwick (1998), on the other hand, found a significant positive association between size (annual sales) and CFP at the 10% level for three of the six years of their study. Firm size is particularly the scale of operations in an organisation (Price and Mueller (1986, p. 233)). Previous literature has indicated a need to control not only for industry, and size (Ullman, 1985; Waddock and Graves, 1997), but also for risk (McWilliams and Siegel, 2000) to render research results more complete. The argument to use risk as a control variable is supported by the fact that the degree of risk is seen as the other important component of firm performance assumed by a firm in order to achieve a given level of financial performance as stated by Bettis and Hall (1982). Baird and Thomas (1985) also advocated risk as being both as a strategic variable (firms choose a given level of risk) and as an outcome variable (strategic choices lead to a level of risk) which ultimately leads to improved financial performance. As such, M. Brine, R. Brown and G. Hackett (2004) used risk alongside size as control variables to assess financial performance of 277 companies. Their preliminary results stated that the adoption of CSR does lead to increases in turnover and also an increase in equity, which in turn improve the CFP level. According to Mahoney L. and Roberts R.W. (2007), there is no significant relationship between a composite measure of firms CSP and CFP. Using four years panel data of Canadian firms, they calculated a composite measure of CSP score by summing all dimension strength ratings, such as, community relations, diversity, employee relations, environment, international, product safety, and amongst others and subtracting all dimension weaknesses ratings. Following Waddock and Graves (1997a), ROA and ROE were used separately to measure a firms CFP. As CFP was expected to be positively related to CSP, a one-year lag between CFP and all independent variables (CSP, firm size, debt level, and industry) was used. Inconsistent with their expectation, they found no significant relationship between the composite CSP measure and either ROA or ROE. However, the use of individual measures of firms CSP regarding environmental and international activities and CFP resulted in a significant relationship provi ding mixed support for the business case for CSP. A study, using the Granger causality approach, by Rim Makni et al. (2008) reaffirms Mahoney and Roberts (2007) works on the non-significant relationship. However, there may also be a simultaneous and interactive negative relation between CSP and CFP, forming a vicious circle.

Female Genital Mutilation: Long Term Psychological Effects Essay

Female Genital Mutilation, or Female Circumcision as sometimes called, is the partial or complete removal of the female clitoris immediately after birth, few years after birth (early childhood), or several years after birth (adolescence). Originally, female genital mutilation was practiced to ensure female virginity until marriage; as it was discovered that by the partial or complete removal of the clitoris, a female's sexual urge is minimized and, therefore, a girl could have more control over her sexual desires. Because virginity was and remains a very crucial factor in almost every society, circumcision was invented way in the past before any of the Heavenly Religions appeared. In fact, the most traditional and conservative type of circumcision is the Pharoanic type (Infibulation), where the complete removal of the clitoris occurs and the vulva walls are stitched together leaving a small opening for urination and menstrual discharge. Nowadays, however, it continues to be practiced in Africa and the Middle East mostly due to social forces. New reasoning developed through the years to keep the ritual going on. The many reasons given for the practice are bewildering and unfounded in any scientific or medical fact. They fall into four main categories: psycho-sexual, religious, sociological and hygienic. Among the psycho-sexual reasons is a belief that the clitoris is an aggressive organ that threatens the male organ and even endangers babies during delivery. It is believed that if a baby's head touches the mother's clitoris during birth, the child will be born with a low IQ. Hence, a girl who is not circumcised, is considered 'unclean' by local villagers and thus unmarriageable. A girl who does not have here clitoris removed is considered a great danger and ultimately fatal to a man if her clitoris touches his penis. Also, the circumcision issue is seen as a form of beauty. It is seen as aesthetically beautiful, as genitals are disfiguring and ugly in their natural state (Real Net, 2). In short, nowadays the practice isn't done to explicitly mean that girls are untrustable, but because, presently, the woman's clitoris is considered to be an ugly part in a woman's body and perceived to be harmful in many ways. And not long ago, Sigmund Freud wrote 'The elimination of clitorial sexuality is a necessary precondition for the developm... ...found in the understandably screwed up countries of northern and western Africa. And if you come to the west and do this, they'll throw your ass in jail (hopefully) forever.† In defense for such an offensive article came out an article from an Arabic Doctor, who refused to reveal his identity, saying that of course he approved of that girl being circumcised. And here are some of the things that he wrote where the girl gains from being circumcised: â€Å"* It raises her status in her community, both because of the added purity that circumcision brings and the bravery that initiates are called upon to show. * It confers maturity and inculates positive character traits, including the ability to endure pain and a submissive nature. * The circumcision ritual is an enjoyable one, in which the girl is the center of attention and receives presents and moral instructions from her elders. * All impure tissue is removed and the girl is sewn up until her wedding night.† This is how significant the psychological part of it is. No matter how much descent education people get, if they have routed traditions they will always find ways to approve of them even if they are clear disasters.

The Essential Element to Be a Financial Planner

â€Å"Describe the essential element to be a successful financial planner in Hong Kong and China. Explain the challenges of practicing ethical financial planning in Hong Kong and China. † Successful financial planning Successful financial planning Establishing trusting relationships with clients Establishing trusting relationships with clients Strong reputation Strong reputation Professional and ethical behavior Professional and ethical behavior Strong financial planning knowledge Strong financial planning knowledge Strong interpersonal skills Strong interpersonal skillsFinancial planning has become much more important over the decade in Hong Kong and China. Many graduates and other people with professional financial planning knowledge engage into the field of financial planning. Being a successful financial planner, certain conditions should be fulfilled to respond the demand of clients and general public. Figure1 Conditions of successful financial planning As figure1 stated, a successful financial planner should establish trusting relationships with their clients which require strong reputation of those financial planners.There are three main elements to construct the strong reputation to the clients, including strong financial planning knowledge, strong interpersonal skills and professional and ethical behavior. Financial planners are required to have the all-round knowledge. They are expected to evaluate all aspects of the clients’ financial needs including consumption, income and wealth analysis, insurance, retirement life, tax and estate planning. They should provide value-added services to fulfill the needs of the clients accordingly. Also, there are some microeconomic and acroeconomic factors would affect the performance of the investment portfolio. A professional financial planner should have related knowledge for clients’ best interest. In Hong Kong, the financial market is well-developed . It is easy to find a large range of fina ncial products to invest. Plenty of choices imply that financial planners should understand the nature of each product to suit the client’s need. To increase public confidence in the financial planning, many banks and insurance companies require their staff to take the CFP examination.As for China, Chinese government has opened the financial market over the years which lead to the changes of the Chinese circumstance frequently. So financial planners in China are required to receive related education to enhance the public confident on financial planning. Taking the example of China taxation system, there were several changes in tax incentive for foreign business and individual income tax. Financial planners in China should aware these changes and modify their tax planning quickly for their clients.Interpersonal skills are essential to financial planners. Because they have to collect the data from their clients to make recommendations to their clients. When collecting data from their clients, financial planners should show their integrity and competence to convince the clients. It can be better to set the financial goal for their clients. Chinese people would not disclose their private information to the stranger easily. It hampers financial planners to help their clients to pursue their financial goals.Financial planners who serve for Chinese people should use their interpersonal skills to get close with their clients and collect more information. Many successful salespeople suggest making friend with the customers and clients. Caring with client’s needs help financial planners to make a close relationship with their clients. For example, one child policy in China makes the citizens to concern more about their retirement life. A financial planner can gain client’s trust by sharing their knowledge on retirement planning and making suggestions.Professional and ethical behavior is the third important element for financial planners to gain repu tation. Nowadays, more people concern about the ethical practice in financial sector, especially after the financial tsunami. Integrity can build trust with the clients and gain reputation. CFP Board set the â€Å"Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility† which includes several principles – integrity, objectivity, competence, fairness, confidentiality, professionalism and diligence. Without these principles, a financial planner cannot establish a well relationship with their clients.To fulfill these three elements, a financial planner can gain good reputation among their clients and establish trusting relationships with them which make him or her to be a successful financial planner. CFP mark is the qualification recognized by Financial Planning Standards Board (FPSB). A financial planner needs to fulfill certain conditions – education, examination, experience and ethics. Every financial planner would face ethical challenges when practicing financial plann ing. There are some examples for challenges of practicing ethical financial planning in Hong Kong and China.There are complex financial products in Hong Kong and China. It is hard to compare these new and complex products with the traditional one. The aim of financing planning is to provide professional services to suit the needs of their clients. Ethical practice means doing the right thing. A structured product can generate higher cash flow than treasury bonds in the blooming economic. However, it incurs higher risk for the client’s investment at the time. For the financial planner, it is difficult to say for certain that those new and complex products are better than the tradition investment tools.And it makes the decision-making to become harder. Another ethical challenge is the method of compensation. In US, most financial planners are compensated via a combination of fees and commissions. Comparing with the financial planners in Hong Kong and China, many of them are com pensated by commission and low basic salary. Commission is a motivation which drives financial planners to maximize the asset value of their clients. Higher growth rate of the asset value implies higher commission that planners can earn. However, commission-based compensation would bias financial planners to perform a risky portfolio.Instead of concerning clients’ interest, planners would pursue his or her own benefit for survival. Because the basic salary might not be enough for living. In Hong Kong and China, financial planners may face the pressure from their employers or supervisors. They have to meet the monthly quota of some â€Å"recommended† products. In general, they receive high commission by selling these products. Different from the salespeople, financial planners are advising their financial planning to their clients but not selling it. Those â€Å"recommended† products may not be suitable for their clients’ situation and needs.It goes agains t the principle that a financial planner should put client’s interest in the first priority. In conclusion, financial planners have to deal with many ethical dilemmas in reality. When a professional financial planner is facing the difficulty at work, he or she can still put their client’s interest on first and avoid the trap from those unethical practices. In the future, it is expected that the field of financial planning will grow extensively in Hong Kong and China. And there will be more professional financial planners to engage into this field.