Examine and explain the connection, both political and social, between Essay

Examine and explain the connection, both political and social, between American territorial expansion and the issue of slavery - Essay Example On the other hand, slavery affected the social development of the Americans greatly, most individuals affected were Africans, and thus slavery brought up many consequences. Generally, slavery is one of the consequences of the territorial expansion that the Americans aimed at when wedging the war against France and Britain. The main intention of the America was to stop the two countries, France and Britain, from disrespecting their territory and rights. Therefore, the war against France and Britain has resulted in the political and social development of America. After Madison came into power, he decided to declare war against the Great Britain from France and Britain had refused to respect America’s rights. The American Revolution started 29 years before the United States of America wedged war with the Great Britain (DBQ #7, DOC. #7). The Americas leaders kept quiet for a long time but France and Britain kept on stopping and seizing Americans ships and cargos, and kidnapped the American sailors. This articulated the American leaders, especially Madison, who came later into power, to declare war against them because he wanted them to respect the rights on the high seas. The Foreign Relations Committee of the House of Representatives of the United States gave a report on the widening conflict of the United States against France and Britain (From Annals of the Congress of the United States, Twelfth Congress). The report indicated that the United States claimed their right to the use of the ocean for transporting their vessels, their product, and in the acquisition of the raw materials for their industry (DBQ #7. Doc.1). Following the speech presented by John Randolph of Virginia, one of the congressman, he stated that when the people go to war they do should not just go to fight for the maritime rights but for farmland since the Gentlemen from the North have been instructed to go to the land (DBQ #7. Doc.3). Therefore, president Madison had at last to declar e the war against France and Britain since they had complained but the two countries did not take any actions towards their complaints. President Madison declared that they behold the war against the Great Britain for withholding their vessels from lawful destinations and for not taking any actions on the victims of lawless violence (DBQ #7. Doc.4). On the other hand, slavery affected the social development of the Americans greatly, most individuals affected were Africans, and thus slavery brought up many consequences. Slavery in America started during the revolution of the America (Lord Dunmore’s proclamation, Virginia, 1775). Lord Dunmore continued to state that he requires people who are capable to bear arms to join his army or they will become the traitors to his government (DBQ #9. Doc.1). Most Africans became victims of slavery. Slavery resulted in deprivation of Africans to enjoy the profits of their labor and they were denied to inherit property from their parents as the white people did. The black people were denied the right to vote as the rest yet they were supposed to enter the defense force. The slaves had the determination to be free one day. According to the Letter to ministers from the Vermont Colonization Society, 1820, slaves had a right to be free and the society owned the colony of Liberia for harboring slaves (DBQ# 9. Doc.10). The African Americans also received harsh slavery treatment and as a result some of the African American citizen like Prince

The Fall of Richard Nixon Essay Example for Free

The Fall of Richard Nixon Essay Theodore White is one of the most sought after history writers about the inner details on presidential issues that covered the American history. The political background of different issues that covered the inner cases of the president’s life, during and after their administration in the US is something that is one of the most important features of the writings of this particular author. One of the most important written works of White is that of the book entitled Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon. This reading naturally focuses on the process on how Richard Nixon failed to bring the American society at the brim of its dreams. Summary and Content In his first State of the Union Message, the 37th president of the United States, Richard M. Nixon, placed â€Å"first priority† on world peace and a â€Å"just† settlement of the war in Vietnam. But his major preoccupation was the state of America. Commenting on his speech, the New York Times said: â€Å"His picture was of a nation robbed of its natural heritage by human and industrial carelessness, cheated of the dividends of economic growth by inflation, poorly served by a proliferating Federal apparatus, and threatened by crime and the growth in population. † Nixon’s theme was best expressed perhaps in a rhetorical question. â€Å"In the next ten years we shall increase our wealth by 50 percent,† he said. â€Å"The profound question is—does this mean that we will be 50 percent richer in a real sense, 50 percent better off, 50 percent happier? † Does the record of the past ten years provide a sound basis for answering, Yes? The majority of the nation’s peoples who live in metropolitan areas choked by traffic, suffocated by smog, poisoned by water, deafened by noise and terrorized by crime see little reason for great optimism. After reelection, American president Richard M. Nixon pledged to work to end â€Å"the whole era of permissiveness† in the United States. He declared: â€Å"We have passed through a very great spiritual crisis in this country,† and says that the Vietnam war was â€Å"only part of the problem. † It was also reported that Mr. Nixon intends to restructure the Federal government. Many believe that the moves the president intends to make could increase his power while diminishing that of the Cabinet. A domestic crisis exists in the United States. In 1968 Richard Nixon at the climax of his presidential campaign adopted the slogan, â€Å"Bring Us Together. † Now, a year and a half later, says a news report from Washington, D. C. , â€Å"Americans are so torn apart, so savage toward each other, that the president and Mrs. Nixon, obviously for safety reasons, were prevailed on to cancel trips around the country. † â€Å"The country,† said Mayor Lindsay of New York, â€Å"is virtually on the edge of a spiritual—and perhaps even a physical—breakdown. † Historian Arnold Toynbee commented: â€Å"The American people seem to be moving rapidly towards civil war: middle-aged noncombatants against young men subject to the draft; the affluent against the poor; white against black, students against the National Guard . .The decision on the American home-front is going to decide the fate of the world, and the rest of us can do nothing about it. We have no say, but we, too, are going to be victims of America’s domestic agony. † Overall Critique It could not be denied that with the written work of White, it could be observed that he was able to decipher the different elements of the Nixon administration that has placed it in a situation that has caused it to fail in giving America the rightful dream that they want to realize. It could be observed that through this written work, it is not that hard to understand how the Nixon administration set a sample to the coming administrations as to what needs to be done and what needs to be avoided to be able to come up with the most effective policies that are made to make the entire society succeed towards its realization of the future truth of it dreams’ fulfillments. Furthermore, this book also notes the implication of the Nixon administration towards the exploration of American politics as per noted and recognized as an important part of the American society. There’s a lot of hypocrisy . . . and so forth in political life,† said former U. S. President Richard Nixon in a recent TV interview. â€Å"It’s necessary in order to get into office and in order to retain office. † In speaking about political campaigning, he said: â€Å"As a candidate, you have to dissemble, you have to recognize that you can’t say what you think about an individual because you may have to use him or need him sometime in the future. † He felt that when a politician or a president says something he does not believe, it should not be viewed as lying; it is just a part of politics. References: Theodore H. White. (1975). Breach of Faith: The Fall of Richard Nixon. Scribner; 1st edition.

Reflective Analysis Time Management And Nursing Nursing Essay

Reflective Analysis Time Management And Nursing Nursing Essay An event that was meaningful to me as a nurse happened during my clinical time at St. Michaels Hospital when I did not wash my patient before 8:00 am in order to prepare her to go to a plastic surgery appointment later on that day. My patients 10:00 am Heparin administration was delayed by 45 minutes because she was being washed at that time. This event occurred because I did not prioritize the tasks I had to complete during the day properly, and therefore I learned the importance of time management while I work as a nurse on the clinical unit. Besides me, the people who were involved in the event were the registered nurse who I shadowed, my clinical instructor, and my student nurse buddy. At the beginning of the clinical day, while the events happened, I contacted my instructor, my nurse, and my student nurse buddy. The nurse and I sat down to look at the Kardex of patients and wrote down notes on our Personal Organizational Plan (P.O.P.). On the Kardex, my patients condition was the same as yesterday except she would have a plastic surgery appointment later on that day. Usually the patients husband would visit her daily around 9:30 am and provide care which including washing the patient and helping her to perform bowel elimination. My patient preferred that nurses leave them alone while her husband cares to her. On this particular day, the patients husband had an appointment and could not visit his wife in the morning, which meant it was my responsibility to wash my patient early so she could be ready for her appointment. I verbally informed my student nurse buddy that I would need her help to wash my patient but I thought my memory was good enough that I did not have to write down this specific task on my P.O.P. When I met with my patient, I concentrated on measuring her vital signs, completing the initial assessment, nursing activities, and interviewing my patient for the Roy Care Plan assignment as these tasks were originally listed on the P.O.P. I made sure I finished charting by 9:00 am. Once I finished charting, the nurse came up to me to see if I had bathed my patient and I replied no. From the nurses unsatisfied facial response, I realized I should have bathed my patient earlier in advance. My clinical instructor also asked my student nurse buddy and I the reason the patient had not been washed yet. I thought I could have washed my patient after I completed the charting as I knew the patient usually was washed around 10:00 am by her husband. I felt really bad and irresponsible because I did not wash my patient on time and prepare her for the appointment. My intuition told me there must be an essential task I had missed, but I just could not recall what it was since I did not write it down on the P.O.P. I thought my clinical instructor and the nurse must feel disappointed that I did not perform the task earlier as I remembered my clinical instructor stated clearly to check if any of our patients has special orders or tasks to be done at the beginning of the shift. I believe there are ethical and economic considerations to be taken into account about this event. If my patient was still in the process of getting ready while she received a call to go down to the plastic surgery unit, it would create unnecessary wait time for the plastic surgeon and other patients who would see the plastic surgeon later on. In order to compensate for the extra wait time, staffs at the plastic surgery unit may try to rush things and quality of treatment that patients receive may suffer. Staf fs may have to work overtime due to the delay and economic burden would be a result. In addition, delay of administering Heparin will increase patients risk of blood clotting and serious consequences such as pulmonary emboli, myocardial infarction, and deep vein thrombosis may be resulted. This will be considered as maleficence to the patient (Potter Perry, 2009). Moreover, I believe I should be accountable to my patient by providing safe and quality care to my patient which includes washing my patient on time. This belief arises from my nursing teachers constant reminders to us that it is very important to follow CNOs practice standards during practice. The key issue of the event is time management skills for clinical practice. If effective time management strategies were applied to my clinical practice, the chance of this event occurring would have been minimized and my performance of clinical practice will be improved. According to Chater and Litchfields study done on new graduate nurses who work in a neonatal unit at an Australian hospital (2007), five themes: knowing, planning, support, fulfillment, adapting and being flexible can be utilized to help student nurses and new graduate nurses to better manage their clinical time. Firstly, knowing is essential for nurses to manage time on the unit. The reason is if novice nurses do not know the condition of their patients, then they will not know what interventions they need to apply. More time will be spent looking up and learning about how to take care of the patients conditions. Therefore, obtaining nursing knowledge and familiarity with the daily routine care of the unit can help nurses handle their time on unit more efficiently. Having knowledge about the patients condition will also help novices feel less anxious, gain a sense of control, and raise their level of confidence (Chater Litchfield, 2007). Secondly, planning involves thinking about all the tasks which need to be completed as well as how much time each task requires. Proper planning can guide nurses through their day and ensure that important tasks will not be missed. Taking the time to think about required tasks also saves time because it allows the nurse to figure out what resources will be needed to complete a specific task and get everything ready in advance, rather than beginning a task and suddenly realizing something is missing and having to pause to figure it out. Thirdly, new nurses should not hesitate to obtain support from their preceptors and peers. Researching the right knowledge for a patients problem is time consuming but important, so nurses should not be afraid to ask for help since it is in the best interests of the patient. Also, talking to another new nurse peer will aid in continued development of time management skills. Moreover, when novice nurse are able to manage time and are able to complete all the routine care, they gain a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment (Chater Litchfield, 2007). Finally, adapting and being flexible is essential to mastering time management skills. There are always unexpected and unpredictable events that occur during clinical and being able to adapt and find alternative ways to deal with various situations will help nurses feel less stressed when managing their time on the unit (Chater Litchfield, 2007). Besides the five managing themes stated above, prioritizing is a necessary tool for effective time management. Nurses have to prioritize tasks on their route and finish tasks from high to low priority order. For example, when starting a shift, a nurse should decide which patient requires the most care. The nurse can do this by checking in with each patient briefly to say hello but at the same time to assess their needs. After an assessment is done, it can be explained to the patients who do not need immediate care that they will be taken care of shortly while the nurse attends to those with urgent needs (Waterworth, 2003). In addition, nurses should be careful of some priority setting traps. The first trap is whatever hits first which means a nurse responds to tasks that happen first instead of thinking twice and then responding. The second trap is the squeaky wheel, a patient who is able to gather the most attention from a nurse to hear his or her urgent request may not be the one w ho is the most in need. The last trap is waiting for inspiration, nurses should not be wait to be inspirited to complete a task and they should actively think about what tasks have to be done while on unit (Vaccaro, 2001). I learned effective time management strategies to handle my time on clinical and I will definitely utilize the time managing strategies step by step from knowing , planning , prioritizing tasks, gaining support from other nurses, and being flexible with my tasks. My thinking has changed after analyzing the key issue. It now makes more sense to me the reasons that our instructor requires us to finish all the paperwork on Tuesday night even when we feel tired after spending the whole day on unit. In fact, completing the Diagnostic Complications Sheet and Medication sheet correspond to the knowing phase by gaining knowledge about our patients so that we can provide specific care to our patients, feel less anxious, and better manage our time on unit. By filling the detailed P.O.P., this correspond to the planning theme which helps student nurses organize their day and ensure tasks to be performed will not be missed. In my point of view, I would preserve the action that the register nurse comes to check on me to see if I bathed my patient. With this action, she is being responsible to the patient and also she is offering me support to help me take care of the patient. On the other hand, I would definitely change the way I organize my P.O.P and I would follow my P.O.P. with flexibility and do not just focus on the original task I planned for my patient. For example, once I found out my patient has to be washed before 8:00 am, I will write it down immediately so that I will not forget to complete the task. If a similar situation arises again in my practice, I would inform my student nurse buddy that I require her help to wash my patient before a certain time and ask him or her to remind me to finish the specific task in case I forget or become occupied by some other tasks. In term of recommendations, I think there is no better way than to come to the unit with preparation. For example, student nurses can build their well of nursing knowledge by reading the nursing interventions related to a patients specific condition from the Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing and the Medical-surgical Nursing in Canada. Also, Pharmacology for Canadian Health Care Practice can help student nurses build up their knowledge in medication. The more a student nurse comes prepared for their clinical time, the less anxious he or she will be and can apply the five time managing strategies mentioned above to handle their time on unit more effectively.

Hemingways Hills Like White Elephants Essay -- Hemingway Hills White

Hemingway's Hills Like White Elephants   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Everyday people make decisions that affect their future lives. Do people make the right decisions? What makes a decision a right one? What may be right to some, may be wrong to others. There are no right or wrong decisions but those that people choose and believe to be right varying from each individual. In Hemingway's realistic story, Hills Like White Elephants, Jig attempts to make a crucial change in her life by making the right decision, but is unable to because of her weak characteristic flaws. Jig is indecisive about her decision. Even though she realizes the possibilities, she has difficulties letting go of old habits, has a low self-esteem that leads to her being submissive, and puts up a frail fight by hiding her feelings behind her sarcastic comments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jig faces an immense decision that will change her future. She must choose between the old and the new lifestyle. It is hard for her to let go of old habits that consists of taking no responsibility and the sole intention of seeking pleasure. She must go from a young worriedless rebel to a stable adult taking responsibility. It's a hard process since there are three steps to changing: realization, doing the deed, and committing to the change. She definitely realizes she needs to change, but only goes that far. She does walk to the end of the station and looks upon the fertile side of the valley and comments "and we could have all this," but she ...

Team Work Essay

What happened and why : Seagate is one of the largest digital content storage companies in the world and has business in about 15 countries around the world in Europe, Asia and the US ( ©2011 Seagate Technology LLC). To create the ultimate team-building experience, every year Seagate brings 250 high-performing employees to Queenstown, near Lake Wakatipu in New Zealand. This event tests all their physical and emotional boundaries of endurance (Max, 2006). This is a very popular program among Seagate employees and is known as â€Å"Eco Seagate†. The company spent a whopping sum of $9000 per person, and the goal of this exercise is to boost the employee morale, support office amity, and encourage teamwork (Max, 2006). Seagate’s CEO Watkins wanted participants to experience the intensity that distinguishes an informal group from a high performing team. He also wants to strengthen his company’s culture by reinforcing these norms and attitudes that encourage team work, perseverance and endurance. Why did I decide to write about this? I have been working for Seagate technology for about 10 years and have been witnessing this herculean effort of team building since 2001. I attended a scaled down version of Eco Seagate in early 2002, which was equally rigorous and challenging but gave me a new way of thinking about team dynamics. The current form of Eco Seagate is a week-long teambuilding program, which includes a 10-mile trek, 12-mile bike ride through mountain terrain, navigating about 3 miles in a kayak, rappelling down cliffs and more. The last day of the challenge combines these adventurous activities into one 25-mile (40 kilometers) race. On arrival in Queenstown, the 250 Seagate employees were divided into 50 teams of five people each; in most cases the team members had never met before and in some cases didn’t even speak the same language but were expected to work together to finish the Eco-challenge. This event, which some call a social experiment, is pet project of our CEO. Every year all 250 Eco Seagate participants learn a lifelong lesson about the importance of teamwork. He envisions Eco Seagate as a way to break down barriers, boost confidence and make company staffers’ better team players. â€Å"Some of you will learn about teamwork because you have a great team,† he says. Some of you will learn because your team is a disaster. † (Max, 2006). Were there outcomes positive or negative for the various parties in the situation? Certainly the outcome of this exercise is very positive for the company and Seagate’s staff. I would term this event as a mother of all team building exer cise ever executed by similar size company in the Silicon Valley. One must realize that this is an investment towards Social capital (McShane and Von Glinow, pp. 236). After this event Seagate not only achieves better team dynamics within their employees but would also get a stronger bonding between company and the employees. Mentoring and coaching, especially on an informal basis, help people build networks they need to work across corporate boundaries (Gratton & Erickson, 2007). I see one negative side of this elaborate team-building exercise. Two million dollar is a lot of money to be spent on a few individuals in a large company that has 45,000 employees worldwide. There are number of other ‘team building' programs that can achieve the same results if not better at a much lower cost. For me the main issue with this program is that you are going on a team building exercise without your immediate workgroup team. What would you do differently? Why? : As a manager, if I wanted to build a stronger team, I would take everyone in my team to such an exercise so that more cohesiveness and team skills development can be achieved across the board. Based on my own experience team building should be an ongoing process and programs of this kind only have a short-term impact. Rather than one massive/expensive exercise, I would suggest having more frequent low-cost programs that will help me to sustain my team over a long period of time. My learning related to this experience: Prior to going for Eco Seagate team building program, I had a feeling that I would work much better independently just like Scott commented. (Seagate Technology, 2007). My general feeling was that team work would be a burden to me and each person in the team would feel less responsible for contributing because others are present. Initially I suspected that people tend to slack off, or loaf, when they work in a group more than they do when working alone (McShane and Von Glinow, pp. 238). Later I concluded that I wouldn’t be able to complete that race by myself as the format of the race was very rigorous and everyone needs to perform multiple activities at the same time like treking, biking, navigating, map readings, searching for milestones and stretegic planning to overcome the obstacles faced during the race. I started this exercise with low levels of cohesiveness with other participants. That may be because we work in different locations and functional areas in Seagate, speaks different primary languages or we viewed the situation differently. Our five-person team size played a very important role to increase the cohesiveness in first four days of practice and familiarization phase (McShane & Von Glinow, pp. 242). Our diversity in knowledge and physical skills helped us to develop our team more effectively (McShane & Von Glinow, pp. 245). As a Manager I learned that I need to make sure that diversity is effectively managed in the team, because if it is not, it may lead to low cohesiveness. During four days of the acclimatization session we organized several informal team meetings and started with learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses. During practice sessions we challenged each other based on our weaknesses, which helped us to stretch ourselves beyond our normal physical capability. That was the first time I realized the power of Five â€Å"C† team member competency (McShane & Von Glinow, pp. 244). As part of our team building process we established several ground rules for the final day race and assigned team roles based on our strengths and willingness (McShane & Von Glinow, pp. 246-248). With the moral support of my team and several practice sessions of rock climbing and rappelling down the cliff, I could overcome my fear of heights and felt a little upbeat. When a group achieves noticeable and visible success, it contributes substantially to its feelings of cohesiveness and belongingness (McShane & Von Glinow, pp. 250). Since I know a few people who were coming from California, I expanded my network by leveraging them as brokers to â€Å"connect the separate team clusters† (Uzzi and Dunlap, pp. 56). Some of them actually became my social friends and one of them recently took me around for a quick sight-seeing tour of Amsterdam during my eight-hour layover at AMS Schiphol airport. Conclusion: Though we didn’t win the race, we successfully completed it about 50 minutes behind the first team that touched the finishing line. Overall experience was amazing and the skills that I learned at Eco Seagate are still contributing to my on-the-job effectiveness, including the ability to follow through on commitments to others, actively listen to team members, take responsibility for group successes or failures and give and accept the useful feedback that will help to improve the performance in next iteration. From the experiences at Eco Seagate, hopefully several Seagate managers are cultivated and now contributing effectively to form a high performing team by building trust within teams, sharing and communicating goals among team members, empowering team members, and encouraging them through positive expectations (McShane & Von Glinow, pp. 245-251). Works Cited *  ©2011 Seagate Technology LLC. (n. d. ). About Seagate. Retrieved from About Seagate: http://www. seagate. com/www/en-us/about/ * Gratton, L. , & Erickson, T. J. (2007). 8 Ways to Build Collaborative Teams. Harvard Business Review , 85 (11), 100-109. Max, S. (2006, April 3). Seagate's Morale-athon. Retrieved from Seagate's Morale-athon: http://www. businessweek. com/magazine/content/06_14/b3978085. htm * McShane, S. L. , & Von Glinow, M. A. (2010). Organizational Behavior: emerging knowledge and practice for the real world (5th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. * Seagate Technology. (2007, Sept 26). Eco Seagate 2007: The Bloggers (1, 2, 3). Retrieved from Eco Seagate 2007: The Bloggers (1, 2, 3): http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=4Gp7AYuZJN0 * Uzzi, B. , & Dunlap, S. (December, 2005). How to build your network. Harvard Business Review .

Night by elie weisel essays

Night by elie weisel essays The novel Night, by Elie Weisel, is a emotional-filled volume of a first person account of the horrors and unthinkable cruelty dealt to a innocent child during the holocaust. Critics throughout the world raved at this literary masterpiece calling it A Slim Volume Of Terrifying Power# and exclaiming To the best of my knowledge no one has left behind him so moving a record.# This truly horrific account is a must read for any young adult, and should be put onto reading lists worldwide indefinitely. This novel uses many accounts of symbolism to paint a vivid picture of death and to set a dreary atmosphere. Cold images of people being brutally beaten, towering chimneys used to burn family and friends symbolizing death and suffering, German SS officers symbolizing fear to all that succumbs to them. Right next to us the high chimney of the crematory oven rose up. It no longer made any impression on us. It scarcely attracted our attention, this line symbolizes the loss of hope and extremely low moral these refugees became to know as life. This book was written in a very descriptive style, taking full advantage of his first-person experience to write with gruesome detail. The writer uses descriptive sentences to immerse the reader in the experience. Another key aspect of technique in his writing is his use of rhetorical questions. Where is the divine mercy? Where is god? How can I believe, how can anyone believe, in this merciful god?, is a line containing three rhetorical questions used to work on a readers emotion. Major characters in the story are Eliser, Moshe the Beadle, and Elisers father. Eliser is the main charactor and author of the book. The novel follows young Eliser through the ups and downs of his visits through the concentration camps. He is a timid young man, not well educated and not emotionally equipped for this journey. Moshe the Beadle is a charac...

American Justice System essays

American Justice System essays The United States Federal government should significantly reform the legal proceedings of the justice system's criminal sentencing policy. This statement can be considered a proposition of policy because it suggests something should be done. The statement attempts to uncover a change in the conduct of the legal system. It describes a course of action that should be taken by the federal government to reform the justice system. A key term of the proposition describes the criminal sentencing policy. The policy is defined as the amendments that the justice system has created and enforces. The definition of legal proceeding is that a defendant was accused and an argument is made to obtain or secure a conviction or argument. The justice system is defined by the federal system from which the laws are enforced. The direction of change for the proposition identifies the agency for change, which is the Federal Judiciary Board. The type of change in the proposition is defining that the laws should be significantly reformed. The target of change is the criminal legal system and its sentencing policy. While punishment was an integral part of the American criminal justice and correctional system, rehabilitation of criminals was the primary goal from 1900 to the 1960s. Judges at that time practiced wide discretion on how to sentence offenders. Probation became used extensively as an alternative to incarceration of criminals. It was not until the end of the 1960's the idea of rehabilitation was starting to be seen by the public as a lost cause. After some time people started to think that it didn't work because of a number of factors, including a rising crime rate and social unrest. The system was too relaxed for the rehabilitation of criminals. The public opinion started to lean toward harsher and longer prison sentences. The sentencing model that was in use at the time had been used for the past 50 years. The model allowed...

Sports World Should Be Drug Free Essays - Drug Control Law

Sports World Should Be Drug Free Essays - Drug Control Law Sports World Should Be Drug Free Critique on The Sports World Should be Drug Free This article was derived on the question: Why the sports world should be drug free? Barry McCaffreys answer to this question is based on a simple assumption that drug usage in sports has a direct impact on children which will ultimately lead to downfall of sports. The essay takes on the belief that all or most kids look up to athletes. And if these athletes do drugs then kids will do drugs. It is directed to the athletes themselves, coaches, and the parents of all children. McCaffrey states that after the death of athlete Len Bias, youth cocaine use suddenly dropped (page 1). It seems that this is a safe assumption because after a death of a famous athlete, people as well as children learn the disastrous effect of drug use. He also believes that when athletes use drugs and are rewarded for their athleticism kids get the misimpression that drugs are not dangerous to their well being, dreams and aspirations (page 1). This essay is compelling and also logical. We as a culture know that children look up to all athletes. They are pictured on cereal boxes, sneaker ads, cartoons, etc. The author makes the natural assumption that if these athletes use drugs that kids will get the picture that it is alright for them to use them as well. His argument is very convincing especially for a parent. He gives evidence that professional organizations are know getting involved to take a stand against drug usage. McCaffrey states, Eighteen Major League Baseball teams are showing anti-drug public service announcements in their stadiums at home games. Major league soccer is sending strong anti-drug messages to its young fans. On October 23rd , as part of the Office of Drug Policys athletic initiative, the first ever National Coachathon Against Drugs will see coaches across the nationfrom pee wee to the big leaguesstarting practices with messages against drugs (page 2). The only thing about McCaffreys argument is that he didnt consider the other sides point of view. He must of thought they did not have a relevant case to even consider their view. He did a good job researching and making a firm strong point. Bibliography McCaffrey, Barry R. The Sports World Should Be Drug Free St. Petersburg Times. September 9, 1998. p. 12A

HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

HRM - Essay Example be followed by giving a brief outline of downsizing and reward management, rationale and outcomes of implementing the two concepts in the automobile industry today. A detailed explanation of these basic concepts will also be outlined in an attempt to give a definition for easier understanding of these two concepts. This section attempts to outline the rationale of implementing such strategies supported by empirical evidence from the automobile sector based on researches conducted before on the sector. Different researches will be analysed in order to ascertain the rationale of embarking on such practices. This section will then be followed by comments on the relation between HRM and performance, productivity as well as the importance of combining such practices to achieve greater outcomes in the operations of human resources management in the automobile industry. A critical analysis of the application of both concepts to the automobile industry will be drawn in conclusion to sum up t he effectiveness of implementing such kind of strategies in the automobile industry during the contemporary period. From the beginning of the year 2008, the automotive industry witnessed some major changes that affected the whole sector. Whilst South American as well as Asian countries witnessed a major increase in the sales of automotives, the markets in Japan and North America were stagnant (simplyglobal n.d). Research has also shown that the transport system based on the use of cars is highly unsustainable in the face of government bodies advocating the minimisation of the harmful effects of the increasing automobiles which emit dangerous greenhouse gasses that are detrimental to the environment. The year 2008 also witnessed a global downturn of the economy which saw a rapid increase in the prices of oil. This saw a shift in consumer buying behaviour where they in fact preferred to use public transport (Simplyglobal n.d). America was hard hit as the large trucks such as SUV

Why collaboration is so important in decision making in institutions Essay

Why collaboration is so important in decision making in institutions of higher learning - Essay Example It is interesting, for instance, to read Bennis (1959) from the late 1950s; he was speaking of a radical shift in thinking about leadership which we take for granted today. Likewise with Heifetz (1994); his earliest writings contain the seeds of ideas, the beginnings of investigation into a powerful theory on adaptive leadership. Interviews with these thinkers were sought out as primary sources for this essay in order to touch upon what they are saying outside the boundaries of their seminal works (Bielaszka-DuVerney, 2009; Brennan, 1998; Gary, 2005; Kezar, 2008). These two theorists’ ideas dovetail with each other to paint a picture of how leadership fits into the most collaborative â€Å"business† in existence: higher education. Stakeholders, decision makers, and leaders in higher education come from all walks of life and all kinds of experiences. The second part of this paper explores the concept of â€Å"diversity† in depth, and attempts to define what diversity should mean to collaborative groups at institutions of higher learning. Gloria Ladson-Billings’ framework (2006; 2005; 2001; 1996) informs the discussion along with a multitude of others who have opinions on the subject. Both the idea of diversity and the various ways a collaborative group should approach it are fuzzy; encouraging surface diversity is not as effective as demanding deep diversity. Finally, the role of new technologies in forming and maintaining collaborative groups is an important consideration. The third section of this essay touches upon ways Web 2.0 makes life easier (and harder) for groups, and defines some perhaps unfamiliar terms. Technology is automatically out of date when it is released, or a new cutting edge product comes along which seems like the answer to everyone’s prayers. I believe the current suites of collaborative tools are excellent in some ways

Chinas Consumption And Its National And International Consequences Case Study

Chinas Consumption And Its National And International Consequences - Case Study Example The overconsumption of energy and resources by China is a threat to the world as well as the Chinese society itself in many ways. This paper highlights some of the ways in which overconsumption of resources has had detrimental effects on the Chinese society as well as the world at large. On one hand, coal happens to be a fundamental reason of the economic growth of China; on the other hand, the consumption of coal has caused immense damage to the environment of China and the people of China at large. Today, at least 70 per cent of the energy needs of China are being met by coal. In the year 2006m China consumed about 2.4 billion tons of coal that was more than the combined consumption of three big countries of the world including America, Britain, and Japan. In the year 2000, China’s coal consumption was anticipated to double by the year 2020. One reason for the huge consumption in China is its inefficiency that reflects from this statement of a Chinese official; â€Å"TO PRO DUCE GOODS WORTH $10,000 WE NEED SEVEN TIMES THE RESOURCES USED BY JAPAN, ALMOST SIX TIMES THE RESOURCES USED BY THE U.S. AND--A PARTICULAR SOURCE OF EMBARRASSMENT--ALMOST THREE TIMES THE RESOURCES USED BY INDIA† (Elizabeth para. 7). ... E EMISSIONS, FALLS ON ONE-QUARTER OF CHINA'S TERRITORY AND ON ONE-THIRD OF ITS AGRICULTURAL LAND, DIMINISHING AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AND ERODING BUILDINGS† (Elizabeth para. 8). Coal consumption in China is also a cause of water shortage. Coal mining and coal processing both require intensive use of water. Since most of the coal resources of China are found in its arid regions, the operations of coal mining in China often get into a competition with its agriculture and residents in their access to the water resources that have thus become scarce. â€Å"AS MINING ACTIVITIES OFTEN DRAW HEAVILY FROM GROUNDWATER SOURCES, THEY HAVE DEPLETED GROUNDWATER LEVELS IN MANY COAL DISTRICTS. THIS HAS DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON LOCAL FLORA AND FAUNA, ESPECIALLY DURING INCREASINGLY MORE FREQUENT PERIODS OF DROUGHT† (Tu and Johnson-Reiser 7). The water pool China has seriously dried and decayed as a result of the incompetent management of the resources. This has not only led to the loss of grain s but has also caused increase in the social disruption in different forms including protests and conflicts, thus thwarting contemporary China’s supreme socio-economic goal. Most of the programs of conservancy of water in China have failed. China has not only affected its own people and the countries all over the world with its massive consumption of coal, but is also responsible for the rise in food prices because of its high consumption needs of grains. â€Å"FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS, GLOBAL FOOD PRICES HAVE SOARED BY 80 PERCENT, AND THE MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS CHINA’S GROWING DEMAND FOR GRAIN TO FEED ITS LIVESTOCK AS A MAJOR REASON FOR THE CURRENT GLOBAL FOOD CRISIS† (Kim 232). The US and China account for 40 per cent of the emissions of greenhouse gas across the globe. Success or failure of the efforts

Midterm - HIST Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Midterm - HIST - Essay Example The difference was seen on their idea on what was right for the citizens. One of the differences was on self-rule and determination. The conservative were of the idea that self-rule and determination were not suitable for Europe. The idea was that such ideas were responsible for chaos and constant wars in Europe. For example, they cited the revolutionary America and France. The conservative believed the ideas were to stop if untold suffering and bloodshed was to end. Moreover, the ideas were seen as affecting lower classes in which the conservatives believed they required nothing more than peace and stability. On the other hand, the liberals were of the idea that time was ripe for the establishment of national government. They believed the old order was responsible for suffering and inequality that was rampant in Europe, at the period. They were against the domination of various regions by a few group of rich and noble in the society. Therefore, they demanded representative governmen t. Secondly, there were differences based on the economic state of the region in the period. For example, the liberal idea was that there should be a free market in the region. As a result, they called for uncontrolled private enterprise and non-government interference in the economy. On the other hand, the conservatives were opposed to the idea. They believed that the government had to have a hand in the regulation of the market, as well as ownership of property. For example, they controlled the distribution of land. Third, there were significant political differences between the opposing sides. The differences occurred in terms of enjoyment of rights. The liberals spent most of their time fighting for rights. Moreover, the wanted a large portion of the middle class to be allowed to vote instead on concentrating it to few aristocratic individuals. This is because only those who owned property could vote at the period. Hence, only the noble who

Eat2Eat Case analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Eat2Eat Case analysis - Essay Example Indirectly therefore, there are two groups of clients that the company serves. The first of these are the restanrants to whom Eat2Eat.com gives buyers to. The second are the buyers or online users of the website who make the actual reservations. However, in the context of this case analysis, much of reference to clients shall refer to the latter. Eat2Eat.Com uses a business model that grinds on the whiles of promotion of fine dining in the Asia Pacific region through the use of internet-based portal. This business model requires that the company works directly with subscribers to their website, such that the more subscribers the company has, the more customers they have and thus the more profits the will make. Presently, this business model has been introduced in nine identical geographic markets, spanning around countries in the Asia Pacific region and abroad. As far as the Asia Pacific region is concerned, this business model could be described as unique as it is the first of its k ind in the region. Fortunately, Eat2Eat.Com has received positive results from a brand recognition that has been established in the region in the last five years, leading to increases in sales at a rate of 42% from 2004 - 2005 Specific strategy that the company is using to implement its business model The implementation of the said business model has revolved around the use of specific strategies, which are discussed in this section of the writing. Generally, the strategy used by the company was based on two major factors, which are market segmentation and approach to market (Browne and Cudeck, 1992). As far as market segmentation is concerned, there was a strategy to focus solely on what Aggawal referred to as first-tier restaurants. These are restaurants perceived to be of the higher class status that are moderately expensive, popular and accepts reservations (Wofford and Liska, 1993). Much of the strategy used on the market segment was personalized as Aggawal made personal approa ches to these restaurants to personally win their indulgence and approval to be supplied with reservations. Reviews on the restaurants were also undertaken on a personalized basis by Aggawal and his employees. As far as approach to market is concerned, Eat2Eat had a strategy o focusing mainly on corporate customers rather than personal customers. This is because most of these corporate institutions made reservations for diners for various programs and activities. However with time, personal customers would be included because within the various companies, about 15% of employees would register to be part of the service. Out of the 15%, 10% of registered employees would eventually become active members on the company’s website. The strategy has also fairly involved the incorporation of services whereby customers looking for online reservations are automatically redirected to the website of Eat2Eat.Com. Another important feature is when the company went mobile, operating on mobi le devices. In totality however, it would be noted that the company is currently operating a focused culture strategy that takes all its inspiration from the Asia Pacific region. Effectiveness of the management team and CEO are in implementing the business model Availability of company statistics, financial statements and research data makes it very easy to assess the effectiveness of th

Professional Portfolio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Professional Portfolio - Assignment Example With his history of asthma, he was also manifesting anxiety over possible asthma attacks. His anxiety also put him in danger of a possible asthma attack. (42 words) After discharge, he was set to be discharged back to his home with his wife as his primary care giver. His wife is 70 years old, arthritic and has severe memory problems. She has difficulty moving around the house, but is determined to provide care to her husband. (48 words) Patient needs a nebulizer (salbutamol) in order to ease his chest congestion and speed-up his recovery. He also needs to complete 7-days of antibiotics in order to ensure complete recovery and prevent any relapse of his lower respiratory tract infection. (40 words) The patient is concerned about his prolonged recovery and possible asthma attacks. The carer is concerned about the patient’s difficulty in breathing which may be difficult to manage without medical assistance. (31 words) Patient needs to be referred to a respiratory therapist for further assessment of his coughing. He also needs a social worker who can assist in arranging his care and his daily activities. A private nurse who can assist his wife in the administration of medications and in the nebulization process can also be retained. (54 words) The patient also needs to be referred to his general practitioner for follow-up check-up on the progress of his recovery. He also needs to be referred to a private nurse who can help in the nebulisation and monitor his condition during instances when breathing may be difficult. (47 words) The wife may not be the best care giver for the patient because she is also senile and can sometimes be forgetful in her duties as carer. The wife has also admitted that she is concerned about her husband’s condition and that she does not know how to handle her husband’s condition, especially where difficulties in breathing and asthma attacks would occur. (62 words) The

Midterm - HIST Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Midterm - HIST - Essay Example The difference was seen on their idea on what was right for the citizens. One of the differences was on self-rule and determination. The conservative were of the idea that self-rule and determination were not suitable for Europe. The idea was that such ideas were responsible for chaos and constant wars in Europe. For example, they cited the revolutionary America and France. The conservative believed the ideas were to stop if untold suffering and bloodshed was to end. Moreover, the ideas were seen as affecting lower classes in which the conservatives believed they required nothing more than peace and stability. On the other hand, the liberals were of the idea that time was ripe for the establishment of national government. They believed the old order was responsible for suffering and inequality that was rampant in Europe, at the period. They were against the domination of various regions by a few group of rich and noble in the society. Therefore, they demanded representative governmen t. Secondly, there were differences based on the economic state of the region in the period. For example, the liberal idea was that there should be a free market in the region. As a result, they called for uncontrolled private enterprise and non-government interference in the economy. On the other hand, the conservatives were opposed to the idea. They believed that the government had to have a hand in the regulation of the market, as well as ownership of property. For example, they controlled the distribution of land. Third, there were significant political differences between the opposing sides. The differences occurred in terms of enjoyment of rights. The liberals spent most of their time fighting for rights. Moreover, the wanted a large portion of the middle class to be allowed to vote instead on concentrating it to few aristocratic individuals. This is because only those who owned property could vote at the period. Hence, only the noble who

Professional Portfolio Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Professional Portfolio - Assignment Example With his history of asthma, he was also manifesting anxiety over possible asthma attacks. His anxiety also put him in danger of a possible asthma attack. (42 words) After discharge, he was set to be discharged back to his home with his wife as his primary care giver. His wife is 70 years old, arthritic and has severe memory problems. She has difficulty moving around the house, but is determined to provide care to her husband. (48 words) Patient needs a nebulizer (salbutamol) in order to ease his chest congestion and speed-up his recovery. He also needs to complete 7-days of antibiotics in order to ensure complete recovery and prevent any relapse of his lower respiratory tract infection. (40 words) The patient is concerned about his prolonged recovery and possible asthma attacks. The carer is concerned about the patient’s difficulty in breathing which may be difficult to manage without medical assistance. (31 words) Patient needs to be referred to a respiratory therapist for further assessment of his coughing. He also needs a social worker who can assist in arranging his care and his daily activities. A private nurse who can assist his wife in the administration of medications and in the nebulization process can also be retained. (54 words) The patient also needs to be referred to his general practitioner for follow-up check-up on the progress of his recovery. He also needs to be referred to a private nurse who can help in the nebulisation and monitor his condition during instances when breathing may be difficult. (47 words) The wife may not be the best care giver for the patient because she is also senile and can sometimes be forgetful in her duties as carer. The wife has also admitted that she is concerned about her husband’s condition and that she does not know how to handle her husband’s condition, especially where difficulties in breathing and asthma attacks would occur. (62 words) The

Multiple Causes Downed The Challenger Essay Example for Free

Multiple Causes Downed The Challenger Essay The United States has always been proud of its space exploration endeavors.   NASA’s programs have always led the world in technology and performance.   All was going well for the space shuttle program until January of 1986 when the Challenger exploded 73 seconds into the flight, killing all the crew.   Since then, the shuttle program has been besieged by controversy, much of it stemming over the causes of the Challenger explosion.   Basically, reports and research now indicates that the explosion was caused by a deadly combination of mechanical failure and human miscalculation and poor decision-making.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Challenger liftoff was plagued with problems long before it actually was launched.   Delays in both scheduling and weather forecasts forced back the liftoff for a week.   During the last day of delays, a small closing fixture was malfunction, so it was replaced.   Additionally, a module which detects fire was found to be malfunctioning; the crew fixed it as well before the shuttle finally lifted off into space, and then exploded. Officially, the investigative report pointed to a faulty â€Å"O-ring† seal in the solid-fuel rocket as the cause of the crash.   This faulty seal combined with the very cold weather to allow hot gas to leak into the hole.   Rocket flames were then able to penetrate the fuel tank and catch fire causing the booster rocket to break off of the shuttle and pierce the fuel tank. The liquid hydrogen and oxygen then ignited, causing the Challenger to explode. However, this mechanical failure does not deserve all of the blame.   Several human factors were uncovered in this tragedy.   For years, NASA’s programs had, like many other agencies, been forced to cut manpower and money from its programs. Fewer men and less money meant more work for those that did remain with fewer resources.   Clearly, there was too much work and not enough manpower, resources, parts, or money to meet all of the objectives. Yet, despite these conditions, some engineers did warn NASA officials about the fateful launch.   Many engineers voiced concerns about the extremely cold temperatures and the possibility that the equipment could fail.   Apparently, two NASA officials were told of these concerns well before the flight but did nothing.   It seemed that the entire attitude of NASA had suffered a bit of egoism.   The men who knew the truth were asked to remain silent to preserve NASA’s reputation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is rare that one cause can be attributed to a disaster as horrible as the Challenger explosion.   Here, investigators did find a mechanical failure, but soon learned that this failure had been detected.   Instead, the decision-makers chose to ignore the advice of engineers in an effort to preserve the already late launch date.   Sadly, the entire tragedy had to be revisited with the 2003 explosion of the shuttle Columbia.   Hopefully, the lessons learned can be applied to future decisions in the NASA shuttle program.

Case Study Of Coca Cola India

Case Study Of Coca Cola India Coca-Cola Enterprise, founded in1892, by the standards of the Coca-Cola system it is a young company. Till now each of its franchises had a powerful heritage in the traditions of Coca-Cola that is the foundation for this organisation. The Coca-Cola Industris started to 1892;when an Atlanta pharmacist,Dr.John Stith Pemberton,began to produce Coca-Cola syrup for sales in function drinks. Though the bottling business begin in 1899 when tow businessmen, Benjamin F.Thomas and Joseph B.Whitehead,protecte the exclusive rights to bottle and sale Coca-Cola for most of the United States from The Coca-Cola Company. In December1991,a merger between Coca-Cola Enterprises and the Johnston coca-cola Enterprise and the Johnston coca-cola bottling group,Inc.(Johnston)created a larger, stronger company,again helping accelerate bottler consolidation. TYPE: PUBLIC (NYSE:KO) Dow jones Industrial Average Component INDUSTRY: Beverage FOUNDED: 1892 HEADQUARTER: Atlanta, Georgia, U.S AREA SERVED: Worldwide KEY PEOPLE: Muhtar Kent PRODUCT: Coca-Cola, Carbonated soft drinks, Other non-alcoholic beverage REVENUE: US $31.0 BILLION (FY 2009) OPERRATING INCOME: US $ 8.23BILLION NET INCOME: US $ 5.82 BILLION TOTAL ASSETS: US $ 48.7 BILLION TOTAL EQUITY: US $ 24.8 BILLION EMPLOYEE: 92800 JULY 2010 Coca Cola Indias Thirst for the Rural Market: Coca-Cola Goes Rural From first half of 2002, Coca-Cola India (CCI) started a new advertisement campaign with one of the best Bolliwood actor-Aamir Khan. The advertisement what they made with the tag line -Thamda Matlab Coca-Cola was focused at rural customer semi-urban customer. From to company sources, the main thought was to position Coca-Cola as a comprehensive brand for Thanda. To support the rural marketing CCI has launched many campaigns in rural areas. CCI started looking on the rural areas in the early 2000 to get a growth in the volumes. This decision was not at all surprising, for the huge size of the not yet exploited rural market in India. With authorization sales in the urban Market, it becomes clear that CCI would haave to move its attention to the rural market. Manotos Chattergy, said, The market in India is in rural areas. If you able to crack it, there is unimaginable potential. CCI Rural Marketing Strategy: CCIsrural marketing strategy was based on 3 As-Availability, Affordability Acceptancy. The first A refers to the Availability which emphasizes on the Stock of the product for the customer; the second A refers to the Affordability it is all about focusing on products price, the third A-Acceptability allocated on convincing the customer to buy the products. CCIs Rural Marketing Strategyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Avalability: When CCI entered in to the rural market; it allocated on giving strength to its distribution channel. It realized that the centralized distribution channel used by the organization in the urban market cannot ever be suitable for rural market. For the federal distribution channel, the product was taken directly from the manufacturing plants to the retailers. Though CCI understand that this distribution channel is not suitable in rural marks, as taking reserve straight from bottling plants to retailers becomes very costly due to the long distances. The corporation instead opted for a hub spoke sharing system. Under the distribution channel, reserve was transferred from the bottling plants to ware house then from house, the stock was carried to retailers, they were located in small towns. These were house feed the retailers catering to the demand in rural market. Here CCI not only altered its distribution model, it also altered the type of vehicles used for carrying. The organization used huge trucks for transporting reserve from bottling plants to warehouse average business vehicles transport the reserve from the warehouse to retailers. For transporting reserve from dealers to village retailers the company utilized small vans cycles. To make a statement on the transport of reserve in rural areas ,a company ware house person said, we use all possible means of transportation that starts from heavy trucks ;auto ;cycle rickshaws hand carts; even camel caarts in Rajasthan mules in late 2002 ,CCI made an added million from the organisation to meet up rural demand. Next to March 2003, the company had added 25 manufacture lines doubled its glass preferred bottle capacity. Additionally it also supplied around 210000 retreaters to its rural retailers; it also purchased 5100 new giant trucks auto rickshaw for boost its rural supply. Through its rural supply hackneyed, CCI was able to boost its presence in rural areas from a exposure of 80,383 villagers in 2001 to 154,342 villagers in august 2003.Apart from intensification distribution channel CCI also paying attention on price of products in rural market. AFFORDABILITY: A survey performs by CCI in 2001 discovered that 300 ml bottles were not popular in rural semi urban areas. Two persons sharing one 300 ml bottle; it was also seen that the price of Rs.10- per bottle was measured to high by rural consumers. Taking care of this CCI decided to make some changes both in the size of its bottles price to increase share in therural market. In the beginning of 2002, CCI launched 200 ml bottles mainly for rural areas, as the rural was very sensitive in case of price. It was sown that the 200 ml bottles priced at Rs 5 increased the rate of the consumption in rural areas of India. Annual Report for per capital consumption of coca-cola in rural areas at bottle as compared to 6 bottles in urban areas. AFFORDABILITY CANTED: The new brand price that is Rs.5-for 200 ml bottles would also make CCI competitive against local brands in the unorganized sector. According to the reports states like Rajasthan Gujarat the local cola brands such as choices tiller cost only half the existing offered price by CCI with their new brand chota coke .CCI ,which help them in gaining the major market share previous to CCI also came out with its marketing campaigns, which were focused at growing awareness of its brands in rural market. Acceptability: The initiatives taken by CCI in distribution strategy pricing all are powered by advertising .The organization put up of the residence in the villages. Again, the participative nature, Coca-cala India participates in the weekly matis by setting up momentary retail outlets, also took part in the annual hates also took part in the annual heats fairs major sauces of business activity entertainment in rural India. CCI also launch television targets at rural consumption in order to attain more rural demand .CCI improved its advertising spending .The organisation ensured that all the rural marketing initiatives were very much -supported buy them, when CCI launched in 2002 priced at 5, it bought out a commercial best bollywood actor Amir khan to be in touch the message of the picas cutt the launch of 200 ml bottles to the rural areas. By the summer of 2003, CCI rise up with a new bolliwood featuring Aamir khan, to give further power to the coca cola brand image among rural areas. The commercial aimed to give coke a standard name for thanda, of the reason for picking up the word thanda, prasoon josgi.National creative director_ mccann rickson, the creator of the commercial ,said thanda is a bevy north India _ centric phenomenon. Go to any restaurant in the North and East attendants would punctually ask, Thanda usally means Lassi or Nimbu pani, garam is including tea. Because the character, in its elf represented a culture of the socity , that we wanted to equate Cock with Thanda. Since Thanda too is the division of the popular dialect of the region including North. Thus Thanda belonging to a kind for Coca-Cola. With the long-playing potentiality of the Thanda thought becoming evident, Thanda became the leading idea. Suitability : In the primary commercial the relation of Cock with Thanda was create, in the second one there was a very small distinction, with the retailer asking consumers to ask for Thanda alternate of Cock, and the third commercial explained that when one asked for Thanda, one would get Cock. Analysis said that all the three commercial succeeded in the make rural consumer connect to Cock and increased awareness of the brand between them. Along with TVCs,CCI also lunched print advertisement in several regional newspaper. Future Anticipation: CCI claimable all its marketing legislative were very successful, and as a result increased from 9.1% in 2001 to 25.03% in 2003. CCI also said that volumes from rural markets had increased to 35% in 2003. The organization said that it would reflect on joining more villages to its dispensation network. For the year 2003, CCI had a target of streaching 0.1 million extra villages. Analysts pointed out that not flexible competition from archrival PepsiCo would create it increasingly tough for CCI to garner more market share. PepsiCo too had started notice on the rural market and due to the plain volumes in urban locality. Like CCI, Pepsico too lunched 200 ml bottles priced at Rs.4.80. Going single step in front; PepsiCo cut the price of its 300 ml bottles to Rs.6 to boost quantity in urban areas. In early 2003, CCI declared that it was dropping plans to venture into other beverage business. Organization sources said that increasing quantity of cola drinks had created company rethinks its contrivance of lunching juice and milk-based beverages. In 2002, CCI had declared map to lunch beverages like as nimbu paani (Lemon juice), fruit juice, cold coffee, and tea in co-operation with Nestle India. Though CCI was upbeat on account of its early success in its organize to arrest the rural area, the question was whether the organization would be able to take this success again. A main media setback happened in August 2003, when the Delhi-based Center for science and Environment declared that it had set up very high gorgeous content in soft drinks produced and sold by both cola majors. Around some time BBC radio in its programmed Face the facts alleged that cocks plant in Kerala was creating most use of groundwater resources in the region was also corrupt the ground water through reject of toxic elements, there by harming the land, water resources and it also the food chain in the region. Though CCI refuted these blame, the organization reportedly experienced a acceptable refuse in sells after August 2003. With huge social political team becoming active against the coca organization in rural place, it remains to be seen whether CCI will to be satisfy its thirst for the rural market.

Christianity & Paganism in Beowulf :: Epic of Beowulf Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beowulf was written in the time when the society was in the process of converting from Paganism to Christianity. In this epic poem, these two religions come through the actions of its characters. The acceptance of feuds and the courage of war are just a few examples of the Pagan tradition, while the Christian mortalities refrain from the two.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Beowulf is torn between his Christian heart to help the people as well as the selfish reward of Paganism. Though he wants the Christian’s respect he thrives for the satisfaction of fighting. Beowulf is known as a hero and in that aspect he believes he should be the one to defeat Grendel. Beowulf despises weapons but relies on his strength. This is just one of many battles that suggest Beowulf was a Pagonist. He also would drink and tended to kill people and creatures, which also leads to the speculations of Paganism.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Even though many Pagan influences appear in the poem, Christian influences override them. An example would be when Beowulf saved the Danes from Grendel. He also expressed a fair attitude towards battles when he refused to use a weapon. The idea of loyalty, a hero, and a giver are all signs of Christianity. Beowulf could be seen as Christ when trying to help the people as Grendel could be compared to Satan who tries to destroy happiness and well-doing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The last battle in Beowulf was against the fierce dragon that could also be saw as the power of Satan. During this battle Beowulf chooses to use a weapon because of the dragon’s deadly venom, it would only be fair. It was a hard fight but Beowulf wasn’t capable of defeating the dragon. This battle could be compared to the will of Christ, in which Christ gave his life for the people, while Beowulf did the same. The dragon now represents the evil a man must fight in order to preserve the good in life. Although Beowulf was defeated, it was not shamelessly, just like Christ he saved the people. Beowulf had a good heart but was sometimes overturned by the bad influences in life. He represents the fact that everyone makes mistakes, you can’t be perfect all the time, everyone’s bound to lose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Grendel was a very hateful and disturbed creature.

Regression Analysis :: essays research papers

Introduction Gunshot wounds; bullet caliber is increasing, a look of this increase from years 1998-2003. This data is derived from the use of larger caliber firearms in accidents, homicides and suicides. Data was collected from the measurements of bullets removed from trauma patients then submitted to a surgical pathology laboratory. This data was collected from the years of 1998 to 2002 with patient medical record number and the year obtained. Approximately 78 percent of all bullets were intact and sufficient for use in the study. Bullet fragments and pellets were excluded. â€Å"Among gun deaths in the United States, a very small fraction of all crimes are attributed to firearm accidents, firearm injuries of undetermined intent and legal intervention involving firearms. These deaths amount to 4.4 percent of the total numbers of gun deaths (25,663) in the United States during the most recent year (2000) such data are available. Of the remaining 95.6 percent of gun deaths, homicide accounted for 37.7 percent and suicide for 57.9 percent. This apparent increase in suicide by gun contrasts similar data from 1985, when homicide (44.1%) more closely paralleled suicide (51.8%) by gun.† (Caruso, RP, Swan, KG, 2003)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The article in this paper suggest that †mortality does not increase and even seemingly decreases because care for the trauma victims has become so increasingly innovative, efficient, and comprehensive that the trauma victims, including patients injured by missiles from guns, who would have died from their wounds in the past are now survivors. † (Caruso, RP, Swan, KG, 2003)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Caliber is defined as the diameter of a missile or of the barrel for the weapon (bore) through which the bullet passes. Caliber is expressed in hundredths (two digits) or thousandths (three digits) of an inch. Preceding â€Å"caliber† with a decimal point is actually incorrect because the decimal point is redundant. Caliber implies hundredths or thousandths of an inch. Caliber can also be expressed in millimeters, divided by 25.4 equals the caliber. Thus, 9 mm à · 25.4 = 35 caliber. Conversely, caliber times 25.4 equals diameter of bullet in millimeters. Thus, a 45 caliber bullet will measure 11.4 mm in diameter as will the bore or internal diameter of the barrel of the gun designed to fire the round or the cartridge containing the bullet. Bullet, plus powder, primer, casing, and so forth, constitutes the cartridge or round. Bullet, strictly speaking, consists only of the missile leaving the end of the weapons’ barrel.

Greek Mythology in Sun, Moon, and Talia

Sun, Moon and Talia is an Italian fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 book, Pentamerone. It is one of the earliest and more sophisticated versions of Sleeping Beauty, following adult themes of rape, sexuality, infidelity and murder – far different from the later and softer versions of the tale (Hallett & Karasek, 2009). In Sun, Moon, and Talia, Basile uses various references to figures in Greek mythology. These references offer sophisticated portrayals of his characters’ personalities. Through examining these Greek figures, their identity, history and position in Greek mythology, one can draw parallels between the characters and their plights in Basile’s tale. In Basile’s story, Scylla and Charybdis are mentioned by the Queen when she says to the King’s secretary, â€Å"Listen, my son, you are between Scylla and Charybdis, between doorpost and the door, between the poker and the grate† (Hallett & Karasek, 2009). Historically, Scylla and Charybdis were sea monsters situated across one another on the banks of the narrow Strait of Messina. Scylla lived in a cave facing the west and was a gruesome sight with twelve feet, six longs necks and heads with three rows of close-set teeth. She would capture sailors from every ship that passed by with each of her mouths. On the cliff opposite her resided Charybdis. Three times a day she would absorb and regurgitate the water of the passage creating a dangerous whirlpool (Keightley, 1838, p. 271). The Queen’s mention of Scylla and Charybdis is grouped with other harsh and narrow conditions. The phrase ‘between Scylla and Charybdis’ is a Greek idiom used to describe two equally perilous alternatives, neither of which can be passed without encountering and probably falling victim to the other. It is used similar to the English idiom ‘between a rock and a hard place’. The Queen uses the harsh words to compel the King’s secretary to give testimony to the activities of her husband. Another Greek figure mentioned in the tale is Medea, daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis. In 431 B. C. Euripides wrote the play Medea in which she is betrayed by her husband Jason when he decides to take another wife. In her depression over her husband’s actions, she takes the insane action of murdering her two children: And here I quit this theme; but I shudder at the deed I must do next; for I will slay the children I have bourne; there is none shall take them from my toils; and when I have utterly confounded Jason’s house I will leave the land, esca ping punishment for my dear children’s murder, after my most unholy deed. (Svarlien, 2008) The similarities between the Queen and Medea are subtle. While Medea killed her own children out of distress over Jason’s new marriage, the Queen ordered the cook to kill the children her husband had with Talia. The themes of jealousy, betrayal and infidelity are apparent and are shared between the two women. Finally, Basile mentions Charon, the ferryman of the dead. The souls of the deceased are passed on to him by Hermes, and Charon ferries them across the river Acheron into the underworld. In her fit of rage, the Queen ordered the secretary to bring Talia to her so that she may be killed by burning to death in a fire. When confronted with this state of affairs, Talia asked the Queen if she could take the time to remove her clothes first. The Queen agreed and Basile narrates, â€Å"they were just going to drag her away to reduce her to lye ashes, which they would throw into boiling water to wash Charon’s breeches with (Hallett & Karasek, 2009). † The mention of Charon at this climatic part of the story indicates the gravity of Talia’s situation. Basile alludes to the brutal end Talia was about to meet. Altogether, Basile’s tale offers an early version of the classic Sleeping Beauty fairy-tale that most readers would be astonished to read. The subtle comparisons to figures from Greek mythology and their relation to his characters’ personalities create an atmosphere of grave seriousness and complexity. The tale is mature and creates a sophisticated, yet dark atmosphere with its seemingly tragic plot. References Hallett, Martin & Karasek, Barbara (2009). Folk & Fairy Tales: 4Th Edition. Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press Keightly, Thomas. (1838). The Mythology of Ancient Greece and Italy. Whittaker and Co. Svarlien, Diane Arson. (2008). Medea. Hackett Publishing Charon. (n. d. ). In Encyclopaedia Mythica Online. Retrieved from http://pantheon. org/articles/c/charon. html

Agency Costs and Corporate Governance Mechanisms

Agency costs and corporate governance mechanisms: Evidence for UK firms Chrisostomos Florackis and Aydin Ozkan* University of York, UK Abstract In this paper, we aim to extend the empirical literature on the determinants of agency costs by using a large sample of UK listed firms. To do so, we employ two alternative proxies for agency costs: the ratio of total sales to total assets (asset turnover) and the ratio of selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) to total sales. In our analysis, we control for the influence of several internal governance mechanisms or devices that were ignored by previous studies.Also, we examine the potential interactions between these mechanisms and firm growth opportunities in determining agency costs. Our results reveal that the capital structure characteristics of firms, namely bank debt and debt maturity, constitute two of the most important corporate governance devices for UK companies. Also, managerial ownership, managerial compensation and ownership concentration seem to play an important role in mitigating agency costs. Finally, our results suggest that the impact exerted by internal governance mechanisms on agency costs varies with firms’ growth opportunities.JEL classification: G3; G32 Keywords: Agency costs; Growth opportunities; Internal Corporate Governance Mechanisms. * Corresponding author. Department of Economics and Related Studies, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK. Tel. : + 44 (1904) 434672. Fax: + 44 (1904) 433759. E-mail: [email  protected] ac. uk. We thank seminar participants at University of York, and the 2004 European Finance Association Meetings for helpful comments and suggestions. 1 1. Introduction Following Jensen and Meckling (1976), agency relations within the firm and costs associated with them have been extensively investigated in the corporate finance literature.There is a great deal of empirical work providing evidence that financial decisions, investment decision s and, hence, firm value are significantly affected by the presence of agency conflicts and the extent of agency costs. The focus of these studies has been the impact of the expected agency costs on the performance of firms. 1 Moreover, the implicit assumption is that, in imperfect capital markets, agency costs arising from conflicts between firms’ claimholders exist and the value of firms decreases if the market expects that these costs are likely to be realised.It is also assumed that there are internal and external corporate governance mechanisms that can help reduce the expected costs and their negative impact on firm value. For example, much of prior work on the ownership and performance relationship relies on the view that managerial ownership can align the interests of managers and shareholders and hence one would observe a positive impact exerted by managerial shareholdings on the performance of firms. The positive impact is argued to be due to the decrease in the exp ected costs of the agency conflict between managers and shareholders.Despite much valuable insights provided by this strand of literature, however, only very few studies directly tackle the measurement issue of the principal variable of interest, namely agency costs. Notable exceptions are Ang et al. (2000) and Sign and Davidson (2003), which investigate the empirical determinants of agency costs and focus on the role of debt and ownership structure in mitigating agency problems for the US firms. In doing so, they use two alternative proxies for agency costs: the ratio of total sales to total assets (asset turnover) and the ratio of selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) to total sales.In line with the findings of prior research they provide evidence for the view that managerial ownership aligns the interests of managers and shareholders and, hence, reduces agency costs in general. However, there is no consensus on the role of debt in mitigating such problems and associ ated costs. Ang et al. (2000) point out that debt has an alleviating role whereas Sign and Davidson (2003) an aggravating one. The objective of this paper is to extend the investigation of these studies by analysing empirically the determinants of agency costs in the UK for a large sample of 1See, for example, Morck et al. (1988); McConnell and Servaes (1990); and Agrawal and Knoeber (1996) among others. 2 listed firms. Following the works of Ang et al. (2000) and, Sign and Davidson (2003), we model both proxies of agency costs: asset turnover and the (SG&A) ratio. More specifically, we empirically examine the impact of capital structure, ownership, board composition and managerial compensation on the costs likely to arise from agency conflicts between managers and shareholders. In doing so, we also pay particular attention to the role of growth opportunities in influencing the effectiveness of internal governance mechanisms in reducing agency costs. In carrying out the analysis in this paper, we aim to provide insights at least in three important areas of the empirical research on agency costs. First, in investigating the determinants of agency costs, the analysis of this paper incorporates important firmspecific characteristics (internal corporate governance devices) that possibly affect agency costs but were ignored by previous studies.For example, we explore the role the debt maturity structure of firms can play in controlling agency costs. It is widely acknowledged that short-term debt may be more effective than long-term debt in reducing the expected costs of the underinvestment problem of Myers (1977). 3 Accordingly, in our analysis, we consider the maturity structure of debt as a potential governance device that is effective in reducing the expected costs of the agency conflict between shareholders and debtholders. Similar to Ang et al. 2000) that investigate if bank debt creates a positive externality in the form of lower agency costs, we also check i f the source of debt financing matters in mitigating agency problems. Another potentially effective corporate governance mechanism we consider relates to managerial compensation. Recent studies suggest that compensation contracts can motivate managers to take actions that maximize shareholders’ wealth (see, e. g. , Core et al. , 2001; Murphy, 1999 among others). This is based on the view that financial â€Å"carrots† motivate managers to maximize firm value.That is, a manager will presumably be less likely, ceteris paribus, to exert insufficient effort and risk the loss of his job the greater the level of his compensation. Several empirical studies provide evidence for the effectiveness of managerial compensation as a corporate governance mechanism. For instance, 2 As explained later in the paper, the two proxies for agency costs that are used in our analysis are more likely to capture the agency problems between managers and shareholders. However, we do not rule out t he possibility that they may also capture the agency problems between shareholders and debtholders. It is argued that firm with greater growth opportunities should have more short-term debt because shortening debt maturity would make it more likely that debt will mature before any opportunity to exercise the growth options. Consistent with this prediction, there are several empirical debt maturity studies that find a negative relation between maturity and growth opportunities (see, e. g. , Barclay and Smith, 1995; Guedes and Opler, 1996; and Ozkan, 2000 among others). 3 Hutchinson and Gul (2004) find that managers’ compensation can moderate the negative association between growth opportunities and firm value.In this paper, we examine the effectiveness of managerial compensation as a corporate governance mechanism by including the salary of managers in our empirical model. We also acknowledge that there have been concerns about excessive compensation packages and their negativ e impact on corporate performance. Accordingly, we investigate the possibility of a non-monotonic impact the managerial compensation may exert on agency costs. Second, our empirical model captures potential interactions between corporate governance mechanisms and growth opportunities.Following McConnell and Servaes (1995) and Lasfer (2002), we expect the effectiveness of governance mechanisms in reducing agency problems to be dependent on firm’s growth opportunities. In particular, if agency problems are associated with greater information asymmetry (a common problem in high-growth firms), we expect the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms in mitigating asymmetric information problems to increase in high-growth firms (Smith and Watts, 1992 and Gaver and Gaver, 1993).However, if, as argued by Jensen (1986), agency problems are associated with conflicts over the use of free cash flow (a common problem in low-growth firms), we expect governance mechanisms that are li kely to mitigate such problems to play a more important role in low-growth firms (Jensen, 1986). Last but not least, in contrast to previous studies that focus on the US market, we provide evidence for UK firms. Although the UK and the US are usually characterized as having a similar â€Å"common law† regulatory system (see, e. g. , La Porta et al. 1998), the UK market bears significant distinguishing characteristics. 4 It is argued that several of these characteristics may contribute to a more significant degree of managerial discretion and, hence, higher level of managerial agency costs. For example, despite the relatively high proportion of shares held by financial institutions, there is a great deal of evidence that financial investors do not take an active role in corporate governance. Similarly, UK boards are usually characterized as corporate devices that provide weak disciplinary function.More specifically, weak fiduciary obligations on directors have resulted in none xecutives playing more an advisory than a monitoring role. 5 Consequently, the investigation of agency issues and the effectiveness of the alternative governance 4 For a more detailed discussion about the characteristics of the prevailing UK corporate governance system see Short and Keasey (1999); Faccio and Lasfer (2000); Franks et al. (2001); and Ozkan and Ozkan (2004). 5 Empirical studies by Faccio and Lasfer (2000), Goergen and Rennebog (2001), Franks et al. 2001) and Short and Keasey (1999) provide evidence on the weak role of institutions and board of directors in reducing agency problems in the UK. 4 mechanisms in the UK, in a period that witnesses an intensive discussion of corporate governance issues, would be of significant importance. Our results strongly suggest that managerial ownership constitutes a strong corporate governance mechanism for the UK firms. This result is consistent with the findings provided by Ang et al. (2000) and Sign and Davidson (2003) for the US fi rms.Ownership concentration and salary also seem to play a significant role in mitigating agency related problems. The results concerning the role of capital structure variables on agency costs are striking. It seems that both the source and the maturity structure of corporate debt have a significant effect on agency costs. Finally, there is strong evidence that specific governance mechanisms are not homogeneous but vary with growth opportunities. For instance, we find that executive ownership is more effective as a governance mechanism for high-growth firms.This result is complementary to the results obtained by Smith and Watts (1992), Gaver and Gaver (1993) and Lasfer (2002), which support the view that high-growth firms are likely to prefer incentive mechanisms (e. g. managerial ownership) whereas low-growth firms focus more on monitoring mechanisms (e. g. short-term debt). The remainder of the paper is organized as follows. In section 2 we discuss the related theory and formulat e our empirical hypotheses. Section 3 describes the way in which we have constructed our sample and presents several descriptive statistics of that.Section 4 presents the results of our univariate, multivariate and sensitivity analysis. Finally, section 5 concludes. 2. Agency costs and Governance Mechanisms In what follows, we will discuss the potential interactions between agency costs and internal corporate governance mechanisms available to firms. Also, we will analyze how firm growth opportunities affect agency costs and the relationship between governance mechanism and agency costs. 2. 1 Debt Financing Agency problems within a firm are usually related to free cash-flow and asymmetric information problems (see, for example, Jensen, 1986 and Myers and Majluf, 1984).It is widely acknowledged that debt servicing obligations help reduce of agency problems of this sort. This is particularly true for the case of privately held debt. For example, bank 5 debt incorporates significant si gnalling characteristics that can mitigate informational asymmetry conflicts between managers and outside investors (Jensen, 1986; Stulz, 1990; and Ross, 1977). In particular, the announcement of a bank credit agreement conveys positive news to the stock market about creditor’s worthiness.Bank debt also bears important renegotiation characteristics. As Berlin and Mester (1992) argue, because banks are well informed and typically small in number, renegotiation of a loan is easier. A bank’s willingness to renegotiate and renew a loan indicates the existence of a good relationship between the borrower and the creditor and that is a further good signal about the quality of the firm. Moreover, it is argued that bank debt has an advantage in comparison to publicly traded debt in monitoring firm’s activities and in collecting and processing information.For example, Fama (1985) argues that bank lenders have a comparative advantage in minimizing information costs and get ting access to information not otherwise publicly available. Therefore, banks can be viewed as performing a screening role employing private information that allows them to evaluate and monitor borrowers more effectively than other lenders. In addition to debt source, the maturity structure of debt may matter. For example, short-term debt may be more useful than long-term debt in reducing free cash flow problems and in signalling high quality to outsiders.For example, as Myers (1977) suggests, agency conflicts between managers and shareholders such as the underinvestment problem can be curtailed with short-term debt. Flannery (1986) argues that firms with large potential information asymmetries are likely to issue short-term debt because of the larger information costs associated with long-term debt. Also, short-term debt can be advantageous especially for high-quality companies due to its low refinancing risk (Diamond, 1991). Finally, if yield curve is downward sloping, issuing sho rt-term debt increases firm value (Brick and Ravid, 1985).Consequently, bank debt and short-term debt are expected to constitute two important corporate governance devices. We include the ratio of bank debt to total debt and the ratio of short-term debt to total debt to our empirical model so as to approximate the lender’s ability to mitigate agency problems. Also, we include the ratio of total debt to total assets (leverage) to approximate lender’s incentive to monitor. In general, as leverage increases, so does the risk of default by the firm, hence the incentive for the lender to monitor the firm6. 6 Ang et al. 2000) focus on sample of small firms, which have do not have easy access to public debt, and examine the impact of bank debt on agency costs. On the contrary, Sign and Davidson (2003) focus on a sample of large firms, which have easy access to public debt, and examine the impact of public debt on 6 2. 2 Managerial Ownership The conflicts of interest between m anagers and shareholders arise mainly from the separation between ownership and control. Corporate governance deals with finding ways to reduce the magnitude of these conflicts and their adverse effects on firm value.For instance, Jensen and Meckling (1976) suggest that managerial ownership can align the interest between these two different groups of claimholders and, therefore, reduce the total agency costs within the firm. According to their model, the relationship between managerial ownership and agency costs is linear and the optimal point for the firm is achieved when the managers acquires all of the shares of the firm. However, the relationship between managerial ownership and agency costs can be non-monotonic (see, for example, Morck et al. , 1988; McConnel and Servaes, 1990,1995 and, Short and Keasey, 1999).It has been shown that, at low levels of managerial ownership, managerial ownership aligns managers’ and outside shareholders’ interests by reducing manager ial incentives for perk consumption, utilization of insufficient effort and engagement in nonmaximizing projects (alignment effect). After some level of managerial ownership, though, managers exert insufficient effort (e. g focus on external activities), collect private benefits (e. g. build empires or enjoy perks) and entrench themselves (e. g. undertake high risk projects or bend over backwards to resist a takeover) at the expense of other investors (entrenchment effect).Therefore the relationship between the two is non-linear. The ultimate effect of managerial ownership on agency costs depends upon the trade-off between the alignment and entrenchment effects. In the context of our analysis we propose a non-linear relationship between managerial ownership and managerial agency costs. However, theory does not shed much light on the exact nature of the relationship between the two and, hence, we do not know which of the effects will dominate the other and at what levels of manageria l ownership.We, therefore, carry out a preliminary investigation about the pattern of the relationship between managerial ownership and agency costs. Figure 1 presents the way in which the two variables are associated. [Insert Figure 1 here] agency costs. Our study is more similar to that of Ang et al (2000) given that UK firms use significant amounts of bank debt financing (see Corbett and Jenkinson, 1997). 7 Clearly, at low levels of managerial ownership, asset turnover and managerial ownership are positively related. However, after managerial ownership exceeds the 10 per cent level, the relationship turns from positive to negative.A third turning point is that of 30 percent after which the relationship seems to turn to positive again. Consequently, there is evidence both for the alignment and the entrenchment effects in the case of our sample. In order to capture both of them in our empirical specification, we include the level, the square and the square of managerial ownership i n our model as predictors of agency costs. 2. 3 Ownership Concentration A third alternative for alleviating agency problems is through concentrated ownership.Theoretically, shareholders could take themselves an active role in monitoring management. However, given that the monitoring benefits for shareholders are proportionate to their equity stakes (see, for example, Grossman and Hart, 1988), a small or average shareholder has little or no incentives to exert monitoring behaviour. In contrast, shareholders with substantial stakes have more incentives to supervise management and can do so more effectively (see Shleifer and Vishny, 1986; Shleifer and Vishny, 1997 and Friend and Lang, 1988).In general, the higher the amount of shares that investors hold, the stronger their incentives to monitor and, hence, protect their investment. Although large shareholders may help in the reduction of agency problems associated with managers, they may also harm the firm by causing conflicts between large and minority shareholders. The problem usually arises when large shareholders gain nearly full control of a corporation and engage themselves in self-dealing expropriation procedures at the expense of minority shareholders (Shleifer and Vishny, 1997).Also, as Gomez (2000) points out, these expropriation incentives are stronger when corporate governance of public companies insulates large shareholders from takeover threats or monitoring and the legal system does not protect minority shareholders because either of poor laws or poor enforcement of laws. Furthermore, the existence of concentrated holdings may decrease diversification, market liquidation and stock’s ability to grow and, therefore, increase the incentives of large shareholders to expropriate firm’s resources.Several empirical studies provide evidence consistent with that view (see, for example, Beiner et al, 2003). In order to test the impact of ownership concentration on agency costs, we include a var iable that refers to the sum of stakes of shareholders with equity stake greater than 3 8 per cent in our regression equation. The results remain robust when the threshold value changes from 3 per cent to 5 per cent or 10 per cent. 2. 4 Board of Directors Corporate governance research recognizes the essential role performed by the board of directors in monitoring management (Fama and Jensen, 1983; Weisbach, 1988 and Jensen, 1993).The effectiveness of a board as a corporate governance mechanism depends on its size and composition. Large boards are usually more powerful than small boards and, hence, considered necessary for organizational effectiveness. For instance, as Pearce and Zahra (1991) point out, large powerful boards help in strengthening the link between corporations and their environments, provide counsel and advice regarding strategic options for the firm and play crucial role in creating corporate identity. Other studies, though, suggest that large boards are less effecti ve than large boards.The underlying notion is that large boards make coordination, communication and decision-making more cumbersome than it is in smaller groups. Recent studies by Yermack, 1996; Eisenberg et al. , 1998 and Beiner et al, 2004 support such a view empirically. The composition of a board is also important. There are two components that characterize the independence of a board, the proportion of non-executive directors and the separated or not roles of chief executive officer (CEO) and chairman of the board (COB).Boards with a significant proportion of non-executive directors can limit the exercise of managerial discretion by exploiting their monitoring ability and protecting their reputations as effective and independent decision makers. Consistent with that view, Byrd and Hickman (1992) and Rosenstein and Wyatt (1990) propose a positive relationship between the percentage of non-executive directors on the board and corporate performance. Lin et al. (2003) also propose a positive share price reaction to the appointment of outside directors, especially when board ownership is low and the appointee possesses strong ex ante monitoring incentives.Along a slightly different dimension, Dahya et al. (2002) find that top-manager turnover increases as the fraction of outside directors increases. Other studies find exactly the opposite results. They argue that non-executive directors are usually characterized by lack of information about the firm, do not bring the requisite skills to the job and, hence, prefer to play a less confrontational role rather than a more critical monitoring one (see, for example, Agrawal and Knoeker, 1996; Hermalin 9 nd Weisbach, 1991, and Franks et al. , 2001)7. As far as the separation between the role of CEO and COB is concerned, it is believed that separated roles can lead to better board performance and, hence, less agency conflicts. The Cadbury (1992) report on corporate governance stretches that issue and recommends that C EO and COB should be two distinct jobs. Firms should comply with the recommendation of the report for their own benefit. A decision not to combine these roles should be publicly explained.Empirical studies by Vafeas and Theodorou (1998), and Weir et al. (2002), though, which study that issue for the case of the UK market, provide results that do not support Cadbury’s stance that the CEO – COB duality is undesirable. In the context of the UK market, UK boards are believed to be less effective than the US ones. For instance,. To test the effectiveness of the board of directors in mitigating agency problems we include three variables in our empirical model: a) the ratio of the number of non-executive directors to he number of total directors, b) the total number of directors (board size) and c) a dummy variable which takes the value of 1 when the roles of CEO and COB are not separated and 0 otherwise. 2. 5 Managerial Compensation Another important component of corporate g overnance is the compensation package that is provided to firm management. Recent studies by Core et al. (2001) and Murphy (1999) suggest, among others, that compensation contracts, whose use has been increased dramatically during the 90’s, can motivate managers to take actions that maximize shareholders’ wealth.In particular, as Core et al. (2001) point out, if shareholders could directly observe the firm’s growth opportunities and executives’ actions no incentives would be necessary. However, due to asymmetric information between managers and shareholders, both equity and compensation related incentives are required. For example, an increase in managerial compensation may reduce managerial agency costs in the sense that satisfied managers will be less likely, ceteris paribus, to utilize insufficient effort, perform expropriation behaviour and, hence, risk the loss of their job.Despite the central importance of the issue, only a few empirical studies exa mine the impact of managerial compensation components on corporate performance. For example, Jensen and Murthy 7 Such a result may be consistent with the governance system prevailing in the UK market given the fact that UK legislation encourages non-executive directors to be inactive since it does not impose fiduciary obligations on them. Also, UK boards are dominated by executive directors, which have less monitoring power.Franks et al. (2001) confirm this view by providing evidence on a non-disciplinary role of nonexecutive directors in the UK. 10 (1990) find a statistically significant relationship between the level of pay and performance. Murphy (1995), finds that the form, rather than the level, of compensation is what motivates managers to increase firm value. In particulars, he argues that firm performance is positively related to the percentage of executive compensation that is equity based.More recently, Hutchinson and Gul (2004) analyze whether or not managers’ comp ensation can moderate the negative association between growth opportunities and firm value8. The results of this study indicate that corporate governance mechanisms such as managerial remuneration, managerial ownership and non-executive directors possibly affect the linkages between organizational environmental factors (e. g. growth opportunities) and firm performance.Finally, Chen (2003) analyzes the relationship between equity value and employees’ bonus. He finds that the annual stock bonus is strongly associated with the firm’s contemporaneous but not future performance. Managerial compensation, though, is considered to be a debated component of corporate governance. Despite its potentially positive impact on firm value, compensation may also work as an â€Å"infectious greed† which creates an environment ripe for abuse, especially at significantly high levels.For instance, remuneration packages usually include extreme benefits for managers such as the use of private jet, golf club membership, entertainment and other expenses, apartment purchase etc. Benefits of this sort usually cause severe agency conflicts between managers and shareholders. 9 Therefore, it is possible that the relationship between compensation and agency costs is non-monotonic. Similar to the case of managerial ownership, we carry out a preliminary investigation about the pattern of the relationship between salary and agency costs.As shown in figure 2, the relationship between salary and agency costs is likely to be non-linear10. In our empirical model, we include the ratio of the total salary paid to executive directors to total assets as a determinant of agency costs. Also, in order to capture potential 8 Rather, the majority of the studies in that strand of literature reverse the causation and examine the impact of performance changes on executive or CEO compensation (see, for example, Rayton, 2003 among others). Concerns about excessive compensation packages and their negative impact on corporate performance have lead to the establishment of basic recommendations in the form of â€Å"best practises† in which firms should comply so as the problem with excessive compensation to be diminished. In the case of the UK market, for example, one of the basic recommendations of the Cadbury (1992) report was the establishment of an independent compensation committee. Also, in a posterior report, the Greenbury (1995) report, specific propositions about remuneration issues were made.For example, an issue that was stretched was the rate of increase in managerial compensation. In the case of the US market, the set of â€Å"best practises† includes, among others, the establishment of a compensation committee so as transparency and disclosure to be guaranteed (same practise an in the UK) and the substitution of stock options as compensation components with other tools that promote the long-term value of the company 10 A similar preliminary ana lysis is carried out so as to check potential non-linearities concerning the relationship between the rest of internal governance mechanisms and agency costs.Our results (not reported) indicate that none of them is related to agency costs in a non-linear way. 11 non-linearities, we include higher ordered salary terms in the regression equation. Finally, we include a dummy variable, which takes the value of 1 when a firm pays options or bonuses to managers and 0 otherwise. Including that dummy variable in our analysis enables us to test whether or not options and bonuses themselves provide incentives to managers.As Zhou (2001) points out, ignoring options is likely to incur serious problems unless managerial options are either negligible compared to ownership or almost perfectly correlated with ownership. [Insert Figure 2 here] 2. 6 Growth Opportunities The magnitude of agency costs related to underinvestment, asset substitution and free cash flow differ significantly across high-gro wth and low-growth firms. In the underinvestment problem, managers may decide to pass up positive net present value projects since the benefits would mainly accrue to debt-holders.This is more severe for firms with more growth-options (Myers, 1977). Asset substitution problems, which occur when managers opportunistically substitute higher variance assets for low variance assets, are also more prevalent in high-growth firms due to information asymmetry between investors and borrowers (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). High-growth firms, though, face lower free cashlow problems, which occur when firms have substantial cash reserves and a tendency to undertake risky and usually negative NPV investment projects (Jensen, 1986).Given the different magnitude and types of agency costs between high-growth and low-growth firms, we expect the effectiveness of corporate governance mechanisms to vary with growth opportunities. In particular, if agency problems are associated with greater underinvestme nt or information asymmetry (a common problem in high-growth firms), we expect corporate governance mechanisms that mitigate these kinds of problems to be more effective in high-growth firms (Smith and Watts, 1992 and Gaver and Gaver, 1993).However, if, as argued by Jensen (1986), agency problems are associated with conflicts over the use of free cash flow (a common problem in low-growth firms), we expect governance mechanisms that mitigate such problems to play a more important role in low-growth firms (Jensen, 1986). Several empirical studies that model company performance confirm the existence of potential interactions between internal governance mechanism and growth opportunities. For example, McConnell and Servaes (1995) find that the relationship between firm value and leverage is negative for high-growth firms and positive for low12 growth firms.Their results also indicate that equity ownership matters, and the way in which it matters depends upon investment opportunities. Sp ecifically, they provide weak evidence that on the view that the allocation of equity ownership between corporate insiders and other types of investors is more important in low-growth firms. Also, Lasfer (2002) points out that high-growth firm (low-growth firms) rely more on managerial ownership (board structure) to mitigate agency problems. Finally, Chen (2003) finds that the positive relationship between annual stock bonus and equity value is stronger for firms with greater growth opportunities.In order to capture potential interaction effects, we include interaction terms between proxies for growth opportunities and governance mechanisms in our empirical model and, also, employ sample-splitting methods (see, for example, McConnell and Servaes, 1995 and Lasfer, 2002). Based on previous empirical evidence the prediction we make is that mechanisms that are used to mitigate asymmetric information problems (free cash flow problems) are stronger in high-growth firms (low-growth firms). 3. Data and Methodology 3. 1 Data For our empirical analysis of agency costs we use a large sample of ublicly traded UK firms over the period 1999-2003. We use two data sources for the compilation of our sample. Accounting data and data on the market value of equity are collected from Datastream database. Specifically, we use Datastream to collect information for firm size, market value of equity, annual sales, selling general and administrative expenses, level of bank debt, short-term debt and total debt. Information on firm’s ownership, board and managerial compensation structure is derived from the Hemscott Guru Academic Database.This database provides financial data for the UK’s top 300,000 companies, detailed data on all directors of UK listed companies, live regulatory and AFX News feeds and share price charts and trades. Specifically, we get detailed information on the level of managerial ownership, ownership concentration, size and composition of the board, ma nagerial salary, bonus, options and other benefits. Despite the fact that data on directors are provided in a spreadsheet format, information for each item is given in a separate file. This makes data collection for the required variables fairly complicated.For example, in order to get information about the amount of shares held by executive directors we have to combine two different files: a) the 13 file that contains data on the amount of shares held by each director and b) the file that provides information about the type of each directorship (e. g. executive director vs. nonexecutive director). Also, we have to take into account the fact that several directors in the UK hold positions in more than one company. Complications also arise when we attempt to collect information about the composition of the board and the remuneration package that is provided to executive directors.The way in which our final sample is compiled is the following: we start with a total of 1672 UK listed f irms derived from Datastream. This number reduces to 1450 firms after excluding financial firms from the sample. After matching Datastream data with the data provided by Hemscott, the number of firms further decreases to 1150. Missing firmyear observations for any variable in the model during the sample period are also dropped. Finally, we exclude outliers so as to avoid the problem with extreme values. We end up with 897 firms for our empirical analysis. 3. Dependent Variable In our analysis we use two alternative proxies to measure agency costs. Firstly, we use the ratio of annual sales to total assets (Asset Turnover) as an inverse proxy for agency costs. This ratio can be interpreted as an asset utilization ratio that shows how effectively management deploys the firm’s assets. For instance, a low asset turnover ratio may indicate poor investment decisions, insufficient effort, consumption of perquisites and purchase of unproductive products (e. g. office space). Firms wit h low asset turnover ratios are expected to experience high agency costs between managers and shareholders11.A similar proxy for agency costs is also used in the studies of Ang et al. (2000) and Sign and Davidson (2003). However, Ang et al. (2000), instead of using the ratio directly, they use the difference in the ratios of the firm with a certain ownership and management structure and the no-agency-cost base case firm. Secondly, following Sign and Davidson (2003), we use the ratio of selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses to sales (expense ratio). In contrast to asset turnover, expense ratio is a direct proxy of agency costs.SG&A expenses include salaries, commissions charged by agents to facilitate transactions, travel expenses for executives, advertising and marketing costs, rents and other utilities. Therefore, expense ratio should 11 The asset turnover ratio may also capture (to some extent) agency costs of debt. For instance, the sales ratio provides a good signa l for the lender about how effectively the borrower (firm) employs its assets and, therefore, affects the cost of capital 14 reflect to a significant extent managerial discretion in spending company resources.For example, as Sign and Davidson (2003) point out, â€Å"management may use advertising and selling expenses to camouflage expenditures on perquisites† p. 7. Firms with high expense ratios are expected to experience high agency costs between managers and shareholders12. 3. 3 Independent Variables Our empirical model includes a set of corporate governance variables related to firm’s ownership, board, compensation and capital structure. Several control variables are also incorporated. For example, we use the logarithm of total assets in 1999 prices as a proxy for firm size (SIZE).Also, we include the market-to-book value (MKTBOOK) as a proxy for growth opportunities. Finally, we divide firms into 15 sectors and include 14 dummy variables accordingly so as to contro l for sector specific effects. Analytical definitions for all these variables are given in Table 1. [Insert Table 1 here] 3. 4 Methodology We examine the determinants of agency costs by employing a cross sectional regression approach. Following Rajan and Zingales (1995) and Ozkan and Ozkan (2004), the dependent variable is measured at some time t, while for the independent variables we use average-past values.Using averages in the way we construct our explanatory variables helps in mitigating potential problems that may arise due to short-term fluctuations and extreme values in our data. Also, using past values reduces the likelihood of observed relations reflecting the effects of asset turnover on firm specific factors. Specifically, the dependent variable is measured in year 2003. For accounting variables and the market-tobook ratio we use average values for the period 1999-2002. Ownership, board and compensation structure variables are measured in year 2002.Given that equity owne rship characteristics in a country are relatively stable over a certain period of time, we do not expect that measuring them in a single year would yield a significant bias in our results (see also La Porta et al. , 2002, among others). 12 An alternative proxy for agency costs between managers and shareholders, which is not used in our paper though, is the interaction of company’s growth opportunities with its free cash flow (see Doukas et al. , 2002). 15 Our approach captures potential interaction effects that may be present.For example, as explained analytically in section 2. 6, the nature of the relationship between the alternative governance mechanisms or devices and agency costs may vary with firm’s growth opportunities. To explore that possibility, we firstly interact our proxy for growth opportunities (MKTBOOK) with the alternative corporate governance mechanisms. In this way, we test for the existence of both main effects (the impact governance variables on age ncy costs) and conditional effects (the impact of growth opportunities on the relationship between governance variables and agency costs).Additionally, we split the sample into high-growth and low-growth firms and estimate our empirical models for each sample separately. Then we check whether the coefficients of governance variables retain their sign and their significance across the two sub-samples. 3. 5 Sample Characteristics Table 2 presents descriptive statistics for the main variables used in our analysis. It reveals that the average values of asset turnover ratio and SG&A ratio are 1. 24 and 0. 45 respectively. The mean value for managerial ownership is 14. 4 per cent of which the average proportion of stakes held by executive (non-executive) directors is 10. 68 per cent (4. 06 per cent). The ownership concentration reaches the level of 37. 19 per cent, on average, in the UK firms. Also, the average proportion of non-executive directors is 49. 5 per cent and the average board size consists of 6. 97 directors. Finally, we were able to identify only 73 firms out of the final 897 (8. 1 per cent) in which the same person held the positions of CEO and COB. As far as the capital structure variables are concerned, the average proportion of bank debt on firm’s capital structure is 55. 5 per cent and that of short-term debt is 49. 53 per cent. Finally, the average market-to-book value is 2. 09. In general, these values are in line with those reported in other studies for UK firms (see, for example, Ozkan and Ozkan, 2004 and Short and Keasey, 1999). [Insert Table 2 here] The results of the Pearson’s Correlation of our variables are reported in Table 3. Our inverse proxy for agency costs, asset turnover, is clearly positively correlated to managerial ownership, executive ownership, salary, bank debt and short-term debt.Ownership concentration is also positively related to asset turnover but the correlation coefficient is not statistically significant. On the contrary, board size and non-executive 16 directors are found to be negatively correlated with asset turnover. Finally, as expected, asset turnover is found to be negatively correlated with both growth opportunities and firm size. The results for our second proxy for agency costs, SG&A, are qualitatively similar with a few exceptions (e. g. short-term debt) but with opposite signs given that SG&A is a direct and not an inverse proxy for agency costs. Insert Table 3 here] 4. Empirical Results 4. 1 Univariate analysis In Table 4 we report univariate mean-comparison test results of the sample firm subgroups categorized on the basis of above and below median values for managerial ownership, ownership concentration, board size, proportion of non-executives, bank debt, short-term debt, total debt, salary, firm size and growth opportunities. Firms with above median managerial ownership (ownership concentration) have asset turnover of 1. 34 (1. 31) whereas those with below median ma nagerial ownership (ownership concentration) have asset turnover of 1. 5 (1. 17). These differences are statistically significant at the 1 per cent (5 per cent) level. The results for executive ownership, salary, bank debt and short-term debt are also found to be statistically significant and are in the hypothesized direction. Specifically, we find that firms with above median values for all the above mentioned variables have relatively higher asset utilization ratios. On the contrary, there is evidence that firms with larger board sizes indicate significantly lower asset utilization ratios. Insert Table 4 here] In panel B of the same table we report the results using SG&A expense ratio as a proxy for agency costs. Results are in general not in line with the hypothesized signs with notable exceptions those of ownership concentration and growth opportunities. For example, firms with above median ownership concentration (MKTBOOK) have an SG&A expense ratio of 0. 41 (0. 55) whereas fir ms with below median ownership concentration (MKTBOOK) have an SG&A expense ratio of 0. 49 (0. 36).However, the results for managerial ownership, salary and short-term debt suggest that these governance mechanisms or devices are not effective in protecting firms from excessive SG&A 17 expenses. Sign and Davidson (2003) obtains a set of similar results, for the case when agency costs are approximated with the SG&A ratio. Overall, the univariate analysis indicates several corporate governance mechanisms or devices, such as managerial ownership, ownership concentration, salary, bank debt and short-term debt, which can help mitigate agency problems between managers and shareholders.Also, consistent with previous studies, we find that the relation between governance variables and agency costs is stronger for the asset turnover ratio than the SG&A expense ratio. The analysis that follows allows us to test the validity of these results in a multivariate framework. 4. 2 Multivariate analysi s In this section we present our results that are based on a cross sectional regression approach. We start with a linear specification model, where we include only total debt from our set of capital structure variables (model 1).In general, the estimated coefficients are in line with the hypothesized signs. Specifically, consistent with the results of Ang et al. (2000) and Sign and Davidson (2003), we find both managerial ownership and ownership concentration to be positively related to asset-turnover. The coefficients are statistically significant at the 5 per cent and 1 per cent significance level respectively. On the contrary, the coefficient for board size is negative, which probably indicates that firms with larger board size are less efficient in their asset utilization.Also, the results for our proxy for growth opportunities (MKTBOOK) support the view that high-growth firms suffer from higher agency costs than low-growth firms. Finally, there is strong evidence that manageria l salary can work as an effective incentive mechanism that helps aligning the interests of managers with those of shareholders. Specifically, the coefficient for salary is positive and statistically significant to the 1 per cent level. Therefore, compared to previous studies, our empirical model provides evidence on the existence of an additional potential corporate governance mechanism available to firms. Insert Table 5 here] In model 2 we incorporate two additional capital structure variables, the ratio of bank debt to total debt and the ratio of short-term debt to total debt, in order to test whether debtsource and debt-maturity impacts agency costs. Also, we split managerial ownership into executive ownership (the amount of shares held by executive directors) and non-executive 18 ownership (the amount of shares held by non-executive directors). We do this because we expect that equity ownership works as a better incentive mechanism in the hands of executive directors rather in t he hands of non-executive directors.According to our results, bank debt is positively related to asset turnover. Also, in addition to debt source, the maturity structure of debt seems to have a significant effect on agency costs. The coefficient of short-term debt is positive and statistically significant at the 1 per cent significance level. Furthermore, there is evidence that from total managerial ownership, only the amount of shares held by executive directors can enhance asset utilization and, hence, align the interest of managers with those of shareholders.In model 3 we estimate a non-linear model by adding the square of salary. As explained earlier in the paper, a priori expectations, which are supported by preliminary graphical investigation, suggest that the relationship between asset turnover and salary can be non-monotonic. Our results provide strong evidence that the relationship between salary and asset turnover is non-linear. In particular, at low levels of salary, the relationship between salary and asset turnover is positive. However, at higher levels of salary, the relationship becomes negative.This result is consistent with studies that suggest that extremely high levels of salary usually work as an â€Å"infectious greed† and create agency conflicts between managers and shareholders. The coefficients of the remaining variables are similar to those reported in models 1 and 2. Finally, in model 4 we allow for a non-linear relationship between executive ownership and agency costs. However, our results do not support such a relationship and, therefore, the square term in our following models13.To sum up, the results of Table 5 indicate that managerial ownership (executive ownership), ownership concentration, salary (when it is at low levels), bank debt and short-term debt can help in mitigating agency problems by enhancing asset utilization. Also, the coefficients for the control variables market to book and firm size, negative and positiv e respectively, suggest that smaller and non- growth firms are associated with reduced asset utilization ratio and, hence, more severe agency problems between managers and shareholders.As discussed earlier in the paper, there is a possibility that the nature of the relationship between the alternative governance mechanisms or devices and agency costs varies with firm’s growth opportunities. In Panel A of Table 6, we explore such a In trial regressions, which are not reported, the cubic term of executive ownership is also included in our model. Once more, the results do not support the existence of a non-monotonic relationship. 13 19 possibility by interacting those governance mechanisms found significant in models 1-4 with growth opportunities, proxied by market-to-book ratio.Our empirical results support the existence of two interaction effects. We find that executive ownership is an effective governance mechanism especially for high-growth firms (the coefficient EXECOWNER* MKTBOOK is positive and statistically significant). This result is consistent with the study of Lasfer (2002), which suggests that the positive relationship between managerial ownership and firm value is stronger in high-growth firms. On the contrary, the coefficient SHORT_DEBT*MKTBOOK is found to be negative and statistically significant.This means that the efficiency of short-term debt in mitigating agency problems is lower for high-growth firms. A possible explanation may be that short-term debt basically mitigates agency problems related to free cash flow. Given that high-growth firms do not suffer from severe free cash-flow problems (but mainly from asymmetric information problems), the efficiency of short-term debt as governance device decreases for these firms. One could argue, though, that short-term debt should be more important for the case of highgrowth firms since it helps reduce underinvestment problems.However, it seems that this effect is not very strong for the case in our sample. A similar result is obtained in McConnell and Servaes (1995) who find that the relationship between corporate value and leverage is positive (negative) for low-growth (high-growth) firms14. [Insert Table 6 here] Secondly, we use the variable MKTBOOK so as two split the sample into two subsamples. We label the upper 45 per cent in terms of MKTBOOK as â€Å"high-growth firms† and the lower 45 per cent as â€Å"low-growth firms†. Then, we re-estimate our basic model for the two sub-samples separately (Table 6, panel B).The results of this exercise confirm the existence of an interaction effect between executive ownership and asset turnover. In particular, the coefficient of EXECOWNER is positive and statistically significant only in the case of the sample that includes only high-growth firms. As far as short-term debt is concerned, it is found to be positive and statistically significant in both samples. 14 The idea in McConnell and Servaes (1995) is that d ebt has both a positive and a negative impact on the value of the firm because of its influence on corporate investment decisions.What possibly happens is that the negative effect of debt dominates the positive effect in firms with more positive net present value projects (i. e. , high-growth firms) and that the positive effect will dominate the negative effect for firms with fewer positive net present value projects (i. e. , low-growth firms). 20 To summarize, the results of our multivariate analysis suggest, among others, that executive ownership and ownership concentration can work as effective governance mechanisms for the case of the UK market.These results are in line with the ones reported by the studies Ang et al. (2000) and sign and Davidson (2003). Also, we find that, in addition to the source of debt, the maturity structure of debt can help to reduce agency conflicts between managers and shareholders. The fact that previous studies have ignored the maturity structure of d ebt may partly explain their contradicting results concerning the relationship between capital structure and agency costs. Furthermore, we find that salary can work as an additional mechanism that provides incentives to managers to take valuemaximizing actions.However, its impact on asset turnover is not always positive i. e. the relationship between asset turnover and salary is non-monotonic. Finally, there is strong evidence that the relationship between several governance mechanisms and agency costs varies with growth opportunities. Specifically, our results support the view that the positive relationship between executive ownership (short-term debt) is stronger for the case of high growth (low growth) firms. 4. Robustness checks Given the significant impact of growth opportunities on agency costs (main impact) and on the impact of other corporate governance mechanisms (conditional impact), we further investigate the relationship between growth opportunities, governance mechanism s and agency costs. At first, we substitute the variable MKTBOOK with an alternative proxy for growth opportunities. The new proxy is derived after employing common factor analysis, a statistical technique that uses the correlations between observed variables to estimate common factors and the structural relationships linking factors to observed variables.The variables which are used in order to isolate latent factors that account for the patterns of colinearity are following variables: MKTBOOK = Book value of total assets minus the book value of equity plus the market value of equity to book value of assets; MTBE = Market value of equity to book value of equity; METBA = Market value of equity to the book value of assets; METD = Market value of equity plus the book value of debt to the book value of assets. 21 These variables have been extensively used in the literature as alternative proxies for growth opportunities and Tobin’s Q.As shown in Table 7 (panel A) all these varia bles are highly correlated to each other. In order to make sure that principal component analysis can provide valid results for the case of our sample, we perform two tests in our sample, the Barlett’s test and the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin test. The first test examines whether or not the intercorrelation matrix comes from a population in which the variables are noncollinear (i. e. an identity matrix). The second test is a test for sampling adequacy.The results from these tests, which are reported in panel B, are encouraging and suggest that common factor analysis can be employed in our sample since all the four proxies are likely to measure the same â€Å"thing† i. e. growth opportunities. Panel C presents the eigenvalues of the reduced correlation matrix of our four proxies for growth opportunities. Each factor whose eigenvalue is greater than 1 explains more variance than a single variable. Given that only one eigenvalue is greater than 1, our common factor analysis provid es us with one factor that can explain firm growth opportunities.Clearly, as shown in panel D, the factor is highly correlated with all MKTBOOK, MTBE, METBA and METD. We name the new variable GROWTH and use it as an alternative proxy for growth opportunities. Descriptive statistics for the variable GROWTH are presented in panel D. [Insert Table 7 here] Table 8 presents the results of cross-section analysis after using the variable GROWTH as proxy for agency costs. In general, the results of such a task are similar to the ones reported previously.For instance, there is strong evidence that executive ownership, ownership concentration, salary, short-term debt and, to some extent, bank debt are positively related to asset turnover. Also, there is some evidence supporting a non-linear relationship between salary and asset turnover. Finally, our results clearly indicate that agency costs differ significantly across high-growth and low-growth firms and, most importantly, there is a signif icant interaction effect between growth opportunities and executive ownership.However, we can not provide any evidence on the existence of an interaction between asset turnover and short-term debt. [Insert Table 8 here] 22 In panel B of table 8, we split our sample into high-growth and low-growth firms on the basis of high and low values for the variable GROWTH. Specifically, we label the upper 45 per cent in terms of GROWTH as â€Å"high-growth firms† and the lower 45 per cent as â€Å"low-growth firms†. Then we estimate our basic model for each sub-sample separately. The results are very similar to the ones reported in Table 6 (panel B), where we apply a similar methodology.As an additional robustness check, we use a third proxy for growth opportunities, a dummy variable that takes the value of 1 if the firm is a high-growth firm and 0 otherwise, and re-estimate the models 6 and 7 of Table 8. The definition used in order to distinguish between high-growth and low-gro wth firms is the following: Firms above the 55th percentile in terms of the variable GROWTH are called high-growth firms. Firms below the 45th percentile in terms of the variable GROWTH are called low-growth firms.Finally, firms between the 45th and 55th percentile are excluded from the sample. The results (not reported) are qualitatively similar to the ones reported in Table 8. For example, there is evidence for the existence of an interaction effect between executive ownership and growth opportunities but not for the one between short-term debt and growth opportunities. Also, we re-estimate the models reported in Table 8 after substituting the total salary paid to executive directors for the total remuneration package paid to executive directors.We are doing so given that the total remuneration package that is paid to managers includes several other components. For instance, the components of compensation structure have been increased in number during the last decade and may inclu de annual performance bonus, fringe benefits, stock (e. g. preference shares), stock options, stock appreciation rights, phantom shares and other deferred compensation mechanisms like qualified retirement plans (see Lynch and Perry, 2003 for an analytical discussion). Once more, the results do not change substantially.Finally, in Table 9 we substitute the annual sales to total assets with the ratio of SG&A expenses to total sales. As already mentioned earlier in the paper, this ratio can be used as a direct proxy for agency costs. Our results, as presented in Table 9, indicate that executive ownership, ownership concentration and total debt help reduce discretionary spending and, therefore, the agency conflicts between managers and shareholders. Sign and Davidson (2003) do not find any evidence to support these results. Also, we find that agency costs and growth opportunities are positively related i. . the coefficient of the variable GROWTH is positive and statistically significant to the 5 per cent statistical level. 23 Finally, our results support the existence of an interaction effect between growth opportunities and executive ownership. However, once more, our analysis does not indicate the existence of an interaction effect between short-term debt and growth opportunities. [Insert Table 9 here] 5. Conclusion In this paper we have examined the effectiveness of the alternative corporate governance mechanisms and devices in mitigating managerial agency problems in the UK market.In particular, we have investigated the impact of capital structure, corporate ownership structure, board structure and managerial compensation structure on the costs arising from agency conflicts mainly between managers and shareholders. The interactions among them and growth opportunities in determining the magnitude of these conflicts have also been tested. Our results strongly suggest managerial ownership, ownership concentration, executive compensation, short-term debt and, to s ome extent, bank debt are important governance mechanisms for the UK companies.Moreover, â€Å"growth opportunities† is a significant determinant of the magnitude of agency costs. Our results suggest that highgrowth firms face more serious agency problems than low-growth firms, possibly because of information asymmetries between managers, shareholders and debtholders. Finally, there is strong evidence that some governance mechanisms are not homogeneous but vary with growth oppo