Difference in the Health Care Systems of the USA and Germany Research Paper

Difference in the Health Care Systems of the USA and Germany - Research Paper Example The combined health care system is the basis of the US healthcare system where both the private and public sectors play a significant role to present a convenient and superlative health care system. In most of the cases, there can be found an apparent authority of public element over the private element. A report says that in 2010, more than 64% of the US population got the private health insurance which means nearly 195.9 million people were covered by this sector. In the year 2011, the percentage of privately insured people was 63.9%. However, in the USA, there are two health care programmes, Medicare and Medicaid, which are supervised by the US federal Department of Health and Human Services. People over 65 years and above get Medicare service whereas Medicaid is a system that offers financial help to the poor. These systems cover nearly 87 million Americans. On the other hand, the act, Health Care Reform Provisions, which is known as Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H. R. 3590)   was passed by the House of Representatives and signed by the U.S. President Barack Obama. The bill was passed on Sunday, March 21 and signed by the President on Tuesday, March 23. The bill, which is regarded as a comprehensive health care reform bill, was formally passed by the Senate on December 24, 2009.  Medicare benefits are provided through traditional fee-for-service handled by the federal government. In 2004, the US government spent $297 billion provided to support 42   million  Medicare beneficiaries. This system covers the people of 65 years of age and above. It includes payroll taxes, general revenue,   premium contributions and taxation of social safety benefits. Payroll taxes have been paid by most of the beneficiaries of standard Medicare during their working period to ensure their participation in Medicare  hospitalization programme.  

How Different People Behave in the Presence of Authority Essay Example for Free

How Different People Behave in the Presence of Authority Essay The survey and behavior study was conducted in a finance office branch of the United States military. The office is comprised of both military and civilian employees as well as several different races and nationalities. A short written survey was conducted in order to discover how the military versus civilian personnel behaved in the presence of authority as well as how different races and nationalities behaved in the presence of authority. These surveys were filled out voluntarily and participants were asked not to include their name on their survey in order to remove any identification or bias. However, they were asked to provide information about their military or civilian status. In addition, observations were also recorded after the survey as the employees went about their normal business activities while at least one authority figure was present. The questions asked are as followed: 1. Do you work harder when an authority figure is present? Why or why not? 2. How do you normally respond to authority while on the job? 3. What do authority figures do to motivate you to work harder? 4. What do authority figures do that causes you to not work as hard? 5. What can authority figures do in the future to motivate you? Combined with the observations this survey provided valuable insight into the differences in behavior among civilian and military employees as well as differences across races and nationalities. The most striking discovery was that military personnel appear to be more motivated when in the presence of authority. From a personal standpoint, this phenomenon may be due to the intense training and fear of punishment within the military. Military soldiers and officers are trained to respond immediately to authority and to refrain from questioning authority. At the same time, military personnel cannot be simply fired from a job as civilians are. In the majority of cases, military personnel sign up for a certain amount of time in the military and failing to meet these obligations is much more complicated than just being fired. This is one possible reason why the military employees within this particular finance office respond so positively to authority figures. Further, the written surveys provided additional support for this theory. The military employees overwhelmingly responded that they were more motivated when an authority figure was present. Similarly, the majority of military employees also answered that this was because they wanted to perform well for their immediate boss but that they also wanted to avoid the humiliation that comes with making unnecessary mistakes. The civilian employees also answered that they were more motivated to work harder in the presence of an authority figure. However, their reasoning was most often due to their fear of losing their job if they did not perform well enough. The questions and observations regarding behavior associated with not working as hard also provided some valuable insight into the differences between military and civilian personnel. The military employees reported that they often were much more at ease when an authority figure was not present but that they could never completely let down their guard. Several of those military employees who participated in the study reported that they felt as if someone was always watching them and that any unbecoming behavior would eventually make its way to their commanding officers which would put their rank and position in jeopardy. In contrast, the civilian employees reported being able to joke around and being a little less focused on their work when an authority figure was not present. However, two of those surveyed responded that they were hesitant to engage in this type of behavior in front of military personnel simply because the military employees did not behave in this way. There were also some important differences found among the different races and ethnicities within this particular finance office. For example, there is one Middle Eastern civilian employee who works in the office as well as one Indian civilian. These two employees are very dedicated to their jobs and work very hard to perform well. They are both very respectful of their white bosses and strive to please them at all times. These two employees were not observed engaging in any different types of behavior when authority figures were not present. Instead, they continued their work as if the authority figure was still in the room. Additionally, they were always careful to make eye contact with the person they were speaking with and were also careful to remain respectful at all times. While the white military and civilian officers were also observed to be respectful and dedicated to their work, they were also more likely to be more relaxed when interacting with authority figures. Further, they were also more likely to have relationships with their bosses in the form of questions about their families and activities when not on the clock. The hours that employees work in this particular finance office are from 0730 until 1600. The observations and survey took place within these hours. The written survey was conducted between 0800 and 0900 and the remainder of the day was filled with observations regarding behavior. The observations provided important insight about the differences in motivation in the morning versus towards the end of the work day. In the morning, the employees were observed sitting at their desks, booting up their computers and getting right to work. There was very little interaction among employees beyond casual greetings until lunchtime. As the lunch break approached the employees could be overheard discussing what to do with their time and generally looking forward to a short break. While the employees returned from lunch and returned right to work the atmosphere remained upbeat. The employees engaged in a little more chatter right after lunch and as the end of the work day approached they once again increased their amount of dialogue. However, it was also observed that the amount of talking was significantly less when an authority figure was present than when an authority figure was not present. Further, the white military and civilian employees engaged in more dialogue with each other than did the other races or nationalities. A final interesting and insightful bit of knowledge that was gained from the survey and observations was associated with the last question: â€Å"What can authority figures do in the future to motivate you? † The majority of participants responded that authority figures would motivate them to work harder through incentives. These incentives did not necessarily need to be tangible goods. Instead, most of the participants felt that praising them for a job well done or thanking them for their hard work was sufficient in making them feel valuable. Further, the participants felt that when their work was noticed it was easier to stay motivated because it helped them improve on their weaknesses by using their strengths. The participants responded that when their efforts were noticed and praised they were more willing and motivated to work on their weaknesses without feeling as if they were bad at their jobs. Overall, the employees within this particular finance office were hard working and dedicated to their jobs. They behaved appropriately in the presence of an authority figure and even though they were more relaxed when an authority figure was not present they were still performing their jobs satisfactorily. The military employees displayed more discipline, possibly because of their training. The Middle Eastern and Indian employees were more reserved and less relaxed than the white employees. The authority figures were not surveyed but were observed and it was noticed that they treated all the employees equally but there were slight differences as well. For example, the authority figures were much more reserved when interacting with the Middle Eastern and Indian employees than they were with the white employees, possibly because they were respecting individual differences. Ultimately, the surveys and observations provided information about the differences among military and civilian employees as well as across different races and ethnicities. While there were several differences, it was noted that each member of this office worked diligently and appropriately at all times.

Social Security Essay -- Welfare Politics Essays

Social Security "On a daily basis senior citizens face a choice between buying food, paying the rent, or buying medicine. Senior citizens slice pills into halves because they can't afford their full prescriptions." (Federal News Service Sept. 2002) Social Security is what keeps many elderly and disabled Americans from being stricken by poverty. Without Social Security in our society 15.3 million elderly would have incomes below the poverty line, however after Social Security was added to the equation only 3.8 million elderly have incomes below poverty. Three-fourths of those elderly people who would have been poor without Social Security were removed from below the poverty line by Social Security. Nearly 90 percent of America's elderly are lifted from poverty by Social Security. Currently nearly 44 million Americans receive benefits under Social Security, making it one of the nation's largest anti-poverty programs existing today. Although many Americans are also not helped by Social Security and linger at the fringes of society because the money is not enough to live in America today, even with Social Security adjusting to inflation. Today, the average Social Security benefit is less than $10,000 a year, and for women the average benefit is closer to $9,000. For most seniors, especially those who live in high-cost areas such as my home state of New Jersey, that's barely enough to maintain even a basic standard of living. Unfortunately 11.9% of Americans who receive Social Security are still below poverty level. It's shocking that over ten-percent of a country of 281 million people can have that much of its citizens in poverty. (http://www.cbpp.org/4-8-99socsec.htm) However c... ...ll. The biggest part of privatization is letting the person decide how to invest their Social Security since it is given to them to be invested, rather than put in a private account after being taken from the person's paycheck as is the current government policy. Americans could then invest in stocks, corporate bonds, government bonds, money market funds, and annuities. The Republican Party then goes further to say there is less risk and makes many more Americans feel "safer". Although there are risks in everything we do. Bibliography  · http://www.cbpp.org/4-8-99socsec.htm  · Socialsecuritychoice.org  · The New York Times Company, October 10, 2002; New York Section: Section A, Page 30, Column 1  · U.S. Newswire Inc., October 8, 2002 Section: National Desk  · Federal News Service Inc., September 24, 2002 Section: Press Conference or Speech

Sex Discrimination Is Non-Existentin the Workplace in Hong Kong

Introduction: Hong Kong, known as†Pearl of the Orient† which enjoys the freedom of speech, the freedom of economy and the finest legal system. However, discrimination is everywhere. It is because people are not equally. It would always be inequality among people referring to physical and mental processes. Of course the two sexes are not equal, so that sex discrimination is always an issue in a society, especially in workplace. Background:It is a matter of fact that a employer will base on their education background, belief, own interest and preference to hire the staffs and even for the promotion, benefits, bonus. And women have the traditionally and historically been subjected to legal discrimination form their gender. Some of this mind set still on cultural stereotypes that treats women primarity in the roles of wives and mothers. Futher women have been bench-marked as the â€Å"weaker sex† than male which might need protection from the third party.Such beliefs w ere used in the job market, both in public and private sector. The situation In the past practice of government, for example, Anson Chan(Post Chief Secretary for Administration) had employed with a lower salary than male civil servant in the same position. It is because she is not a man and did not count on her ability to work. The other example is Bank of China group did not ever have a female as a CEO position which also is another kind of in-direct sex discrimination. Form Hong Kong already had Sex Discrimination Ordinance which passed in 1995.Discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status and pregnancy and sexual harassment are make to unlawful under this legal law. According to SDO which both is protecting of men and women. However, There is a law does not mean that sex discrimination is non-extistent. Employers still can get full control of the employment because they will not disclose the truth to the candidates due to the gender issue, like the secretary post is always a woman. In fact, the other kind of in-direct discrimination because some think woman will soon leave the osition to a house-wives or woman will get pregnancy, so that some of employers are not willing to promote a female as a top management to save the parental leave. The other common Sex discrimination is sexual harassment in workplace. Sexual harassment  is  intimidation,  bullying  or  coercion  of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Surely sexual harassment is illegal. Harassment can include â€Å"sexual harassment† or unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature.In many listed companies, most of staffs are male and always claim that woman is even cheap or criticize woman who is not wise enough.. In my workplace often would happen such issue. I have heard my boss said† Secretary should be a virgin† and I will make a promotion or raise salary only base on her appearance and good shape of body. This is a sexual harassment cannot easily valid. The other example is a Legislative  Councillor Mr Kam Nai Wai was suspected sexual harassment to a female assistant and also had fired her eventually. And this case even cannot make a charge at first stage.So that a lot of things cannot be protected by law. Limitations Sex discrimination not only will affect the economic growth but also will harm the organization image. First, human capital is a key source of a company if cannot let the capable people to the right position that would decrease the human capital. Corporate image also is another huge resource that goodwill can make the brand name growth. It is remind that enterprises do not under-estimate the consequence of sex discrimination because once involves on a lawsuit can be a huge loss.Recommendation Sex discrimination should be a key issue of an organization and should imply to all work force to ob ey. Many of organizations can gain form avoiding sex discrimination, like some international business, HSBC, Cheung Kong Holdings Limited It will definitely increase the productively and should put a effort like training program and re-enforcement on daily operation. Information form Hong Kong Labour department, there is still uneven distribution on job nature and income of male and female in 2010 as below: Leading Occupations for Women, in 2010 | |Occupation |Total Employed (Men and Women)|Percent Women |Ratio of Women's Earnings to Men's | | | | |Earnings | |source:  HK. Labor department, Women's Bureau, 20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women, 2010 | |Managers and administrators |8,018 |31. 0 |65. | |Secretaries |2,404 |98. 9 |N. A. | |Cashiers |2,974 |77. 9 |89. 4 | |Registered nurses |2,162 |93. 1 |88. 9 | |Sales supervisors and proprietors |4,836 |43. 3 |71. 5 | |Nursing aides, orderlies, and |2,081 |91. |90. 1 | |attendants | | | | |Elementary school teachers |2,216 |82. 5 |94. 9 | |Bookkeepers, accounting and auditing |1,621 |932 |93. 7 | |clerks | | | | ConclusionAlthough there is a big improvement in female employment, some of industries still focus in male or female work force only. Towards to Twenty-one century, there should be more and more equal job opportunities to both gender and also need to decrease the chance of sex harassment. Finally, people in Hong Kong will gain form the revolution. Bibliography Why market don’t stop discrimination by Cass R Sunstein HK Labour department information 2010 by GOVHK Sex discrimination ordinance by Equal Opportunities Commission Sex harassment by Wikipedia Total word(1050 words)

Media Industry

A REPORTSUBMITTED TOWARDS THE PARTIAL FULFILLMENTOF THE REQUIREMENTS OF TWO YEARS FULL-TIME POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN (BUSINESS) MANAGEMENT SUBMITTED BY: PUNIT GUPTA PROGRAMME: PGPM ROLLNO: 2K8/PGPM/B20 SESSION: 2007-09 ASIA PACIFIC INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES (NEW DELHI) ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The feeling of acknowledging something and expressing it in words are two different things altogether. It is our weakness, but we honestly admit that when we truly wish to express our warm gratitude and indebt ness towards somebody concerned, we are always at a loss of words. We gratefully take this opportunity to express our gratitude and indebtedness to our most able guide Mrs. NIDDHI TANDON for his active interest, timely encouragement, valuable suggestions and unceasing assistance and creative criticism at every stage of this project. We would like to thank our institute HT MEDIA LTD. for providing us with this opportunity to undertake this project. KRATIKA SINGH Table of Contents Chapter 1. Introduction 1. Backgound 2. Title of the Project 3. Rationale of Study Chapter II. Objectives & Scope of Study Chapter III. Review of Literature/Theoretical Perspectives Chapter IV. Research Methodology Chapters V, VI, —- Observations, Data Collection, Analysis, and Interpretation Chapter Findings Suggestions Conclusions Annextures Bibliography INTRODUCTION Mint is the business daily launched by HT Media Ltd. With the collaboration of the Wall Street Journal which is the most authoritative business daily in the world of newspaper for over 100 year. It is the world’s largest and most respected business news platform. The purpose behind mint was the robust growth of the Indian economy as is evident in the growing stock market. This long-term segment growth opened up an opportunity for a high quality daily newspaper. Although the business newspaper market was mainly dominated by economic times however there was a huge untapped potential for a high quality daily. And this is where HT, in collaboration with the Wall Street Journal, came out with HT Mint. Media Industry Media Industry comprises of newspaper, television, outdoor, magazine, radio, internet and cinema. Indian Media and Entertainment Industry have out performed the Indian Economy & is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. It is rising on the back of economic growth and rising income levels. The current size of the industry is estimated at $7. 7 billion and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19% for the next 5 years. |Industry |2006 ($ Bn) |% share |’05-10 CAGR |FDI Limit | |TELEVISION |3. 7 |42% |24% |49% | |FILMED ENTERTAINMENT |1. |20% |18% |100% | |RADIO |O. 1 |1% |32% |20% | |MUSIC |0. 2 |2% |1% |100% | |LIVE ENTERTAINMENT |0. 2 |2% |18% |100% | |PRINT MEDIA |2. |30% |12% |100% | |OUT-OF-HOME MEDIA |0. 2 |3% |14% |100% | |INTERNET ADVERTISING |0. 0 |0% |50% |100% | Total media advertising (ad-spend) in India in 2004 was estimated by TAM Adex India at Rs. 118 billion. Print advertising accounted for the largest share with 46. 0%, followed by television with 41. %, outdoor advertising with 7. 0%, radio with 2. 0%, cinema advertising with 3. 0% and internet with 1%. Although print media in India (newspapers, magazines and niche publications) dominates ad-spend, newspapers’ share of the ad -spend fell as television gained, rising from approximately 40% in 2001 to 41% in 2004 (source: TAM Adex India). In 2004, print media ad-spend grew by 15% and television ad-spend grew by 13%, respectively, compared with 2003 (Source: TAM Adex India). Print media’s share of the ad-spend in India vis-a-vis television may now have stabilized. The apprehension about the print media being adversely affected by the advent of the Internet as a medium of sharing information seems to have been settled. While newspapers and magazines may have experienced some cannibalization by their digital equivalents, ad-spend in the print media has stabilized over the past few years. Set forth below is a chart that shows the ad-spend by media category in Asia/Pacific in 2000 through 2003. [pic] Indian Print Media The Indian newspaper industry is intensely competitive, with multiple national and regional players vying for a larger share of the readership, circulation and advertising market. A strong national brand combined with multi-city operations and a high level of content and product quality are emerging as the key differentiators, because it gives an opportunity to larger non-retail advertisers to reach out to multiple markets and high quality audiences at a low cost, while local advertisers can concentrate on city-specific advertising. Given these inherent advantages associated with having multi-city, large scale operations, the industry has begun to witness a phase of consolidation. We expect this process of consolidation to continue. The domestic industry at this time does not have foreign or multinational players operating, although that could happen in the future if and when the Government of India changes its foreign investment regulations and restrictions applicable to the print media segment. In addition to intra-segment competition, the Indian newsprint industry is also faced with the competition posed by other forms of media including television broadcasters, magazines, radio broadcasters and websites. Trends indicate that unlike in the global markets, print-ad spend is growing faster than electronic in India. In the calendar year 2005, print media ad- spend grew by 15% against 12% television as per Industry estimates. Contrary to global trends, both readership and circulation of newspapers are also growing in India. This strong growth trend for the Indian newspaper industry appears sustainable from medium-term perspective. Continued economic growth and increasing literacy is expected to enable players such as HT Media to be bigger beneficiaries in the event of any reversal in newsprint price trends. Newspaper readership in 2005 was 190 million (Source: NRS 2005), up from 165 million in 2003 (Source: NRS 2003). We believe that daily newspapers are increasingly being bought for their analysis of the news and current affairs and in this context, newspapers are gradually taking on the role of a magazine, thereby adversely impacting the magazine segment. FORMAT OF NEWSPAPER Most modern newspapers are in one of three sizes: 1) Broadsheets: 600  mm by 380  mm (23? by 15 inches), generally associated with more intellectual newspapers, although a trend towards â€Å"compact† newspapers is changing this. ) Tabloids: half the size of broadsheets at 380  mm by 300  mm (15 by 11? inches) and often perceived as sensationalist in contrast to broadsheets. Examples: The Sun, The National Enquirer, The National Ledger, The Star Magazine, New York Post, The Globe. 3) Berliner or Midi : 470  mm by 315  mm (18? by 12? inches) used by European papers such as Le Monde in France, La Stampa in Italy, El Pais in Spain and, since 12 September 2005, The Guardian in the United Kingdom. Newspapers are usually printed on inexpensive, off-white paper known as newsprint. Since the 1980s, the newspaper industry has largely moved away from lower-quality letterpress printing to higher-quality, four-color process, offset printing. In addition, desktop computers, word processing software, graphics software, digital cameras and digital prepress and typesetting technologies have revolutionized the newspaper production process. These technologies have enabled newspapers to publish color photographs and graphics, as well as innovative layouts and better design. To help their titles stand out on newsstands, some newspapers are printed on colored newsprint. For example, the Financial Times is printed on a distinctive salmon pink paper, and the Italian sports newspaper La Gazzetta Dello Sport is printed on pink paper. Sheffield’s weekly sports publication derives its name, the â€Å"Green ’Un†, from the traditional colour of its paper, while L'Equipe (formerly L’Auto) is printed on yellow paper. Both the latter promoted major cycling races and their newsprint colours were reflected in the colours of the jerseys used to denote the race leader; thus, the leader in the Giro d'Italia wears a pink jersey. Introduction to Indian Newspaper Industry Newspaper is the oldest and the most conventional method of giving news on a wide array of topics to the people at their doorstep. The newspaper industry at the global arena has come a long way from presenting news in black and white to adopting the most innovative of methods, including colored background and text, unique paper materials, etc to depict all kinds of news for readers. The Indian newspaper industry has the record of giving the most number of newspapers to the readers, both at the national as well as at the regional levels. One of the oldest newspapers of India, The Statesman was founded in 1818. It has been almost two centuries now since the inception of the oldest newspaper in the country. During this period, the Indian newspaper industry has achieved tremendous ground of success for various newspapers that are circulated throughout the country. The most unique fact of the Indian newspaper industry is that newspapers in various regional languages, Hindi, and English are published and circulated throughout the country. The Indian English newspaper sector is the most published and circulated lot in the Indian newspaper industry. With the newspaper industry as a viable platform for the proliferation of advertising and marketing of public relations, there has been witnessed an impressive explosion of newspapers at all levels. A typical Indian English newspaper serves as an ideal banner for companies who would look forward to advertise their products or services keeping in mind the strength of the readers nationwide. Since a newspaper is the first thing that most of the citizens of the country go through early in the morning, it stands at an advantage of making its stand in full view of the massive number of readers. The more the readers or viewers of the advertisements, the more impact the advertisements have made in the minds of the people. An Indian English newspaper being the most read newspaper in the country, most of the companies highlighting their services and products for the citizens, targets these newspapers for the showcase . Newspapers act as the ideal method of public relations due to its strength as the best way of communication. About Ht Media Ltd Founded in 1924 when its flagship newspaper Hindustan Times was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi, HT Media (BSE, NSE) has today become one of India's largest media companies. With a combined daily circulation of 2. 25 million copies and a readership base of 14. 49 million readers, Hindustan Times (English) and Hindustan (Hindi) enjoy strong brand recognition among readers and advertisers, and are produced by an editorial team known for its quality, innovation and integrity. HT Media operates 17 printing facilities across India with an installed capacity of 1. million copies per hour. HT's internet business, under the HindustanTimes. com portal, is primarily a news website with 2 million unique visitors and 100 million page views per month, with a significant share of the traffic coming from outside India. As part of its expansion into electronic media, HT Media, through its subsidiary HT Music and Entertainment Company Ltd. , has entered the FM radio market in key Ind ian cities through a consulting partnership with Virgin Radio. The channel, Fever 104, is one of the most vibrant on the airwaves and is currently available in Delhi and Mumbai. HT Media has also launched a national business newspaper, Mint, with an exclusive agreement with Wall Street Journal to publish Journal branded news and information in India. HT Media reported 2007 annual revenue of $245 million. For the fiscal third quarter ended December 31, 2007, the company reported a 13% increase in revenue to $82 million and a 10% increase of profit after tax (PAT) to $9 million from the year-ago quarter. History Hindustan Times was founded in 1924 by Master Sunder Singh Lyallpuri, founder-father of the Akali Movement and the Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab. S Mangal Singh Gill (Tesildar) and S. Chanchal Singh (Jandiala, Jullundur) were made in charge of the newspaper. Pt Madan Mohan Malayia and Master Tara Singh were among the members of the Managing Committee. The Managing Chairman and Chief Patron was Master Sunder Singh Lyallpuri himself. K. M. Panikkar was its first Editor with Devdas Gandhi (son of Mahatma Gandhi) also on the editor's panel. The opening ceremony was performed by Mahatma Gandhi on September 15, 1924. The first issue was published from Naya Bazar, Delhi (now Swami Sharda Nand Marg). It contained writings and articles from C. F. Andrews, St. Nihal Singh, Maulana Mohammad Ali, C. R. Reddy (Dr. Cattamanchi Ramalinga Reddy), T. L. Vaswani, Ruchi Ram Sahni, Bernard Haton, Harinder Nath Chattopadhyaya, Dr Kichlu and Rubi Waston etc. It has its roots in the independence movement of the first half of the twentieth century. It was edited at times by many important people in India, including Devdas Gandhi (the son of Mahatma Gandhi) and Khushwant Singh. Ownership The Delhi-based English newspaper, Hindustan Times, is part of the KK Birla group and managed by Shobhana Bhartia, granddaughter of GD Birla. It is owned by HT Media Ltd. The KK Birla group at present owns 69 per cent stake in HT Media, currently valued at Rs 834 crore. When Bhartia joined Hindustan Times in 1986, she was the first woman chief executive of a national newspaper. [pic] [pic] [pic] Various brand working under HT media ltd. Hindustan Times: Hindustan Times, the flagship publication from the group, was inaugurated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1924 and has established its presence as a newspaper with editorial excellence and integrity. Today, Hindustan Times has a circulation of over 1. million and is the fastest growing mainline English newspaper in terms of readership. Hindustan Times, Delhi, is India's largest single-edition daily. In July 2005, Hindustan Times made a successful entry into the commercial capital of India – Mumbai. Hindustan Times is printed in nine centres including Bhopal, Chandigarh, Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Patna and Ranchi. Hindustan Times believes in continuous improvement and providing greater value to its readers and advertisers. It has set many a standards for its competitors and will continue to do so in the years to come. It is the first smart-age newspaper in India to evolve into a new international size – sleeker and smarter – which ensures enhanced ease of reading and convenient handling. In its endeavour to provide its readers with greater value, Hindustan Times has revamped its existing supplements and added new ones to its portfolio, offering a daily supplement catering to specific target audience. Supplements like Brunch are the first of their kind. The enlarged operations and enhanced look have also paid off with a substantial increase in circulation across the country [pic] Hindustan: Started in 1936 and with a readership of over 10. million, HT Media Ltd. ‘s Hindi daily, Hindustan, ranks as the 3rd most-read Hindi newspaper all over India. Edited by Ms Mrinal Pande, a noted journalist, academician and writer, Hindustan is known for its fair, unbiased and secular news reporting and analyses. The width and depth of Hindustan's editorial, including the newspaper's acclaimed supplements, is quite unparalleled in the Hindi language newspaper market. Hindustan is also the first and only vernacular newspaper to go all-colour in Delhi and other key markets. This has given Hindustan an un-paralleled edge over competition. The newspaper has four editions namely Delhi, Lucknow, Patna and Ranchi and nine print locations namely, Delhi, Lucknow, Varanasi, Patna, Muzzaffarpur, Bhagalpur, Ranchi, Dhanbad and Jamshedpur , chandigarh catering to the reading habits of a cross- section of audiences in varying age groups. Hindustan is expanding rapidly in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which is the largest Hindi newspaper market, and where Hindustan was already the fastest growing Hindi daily. Three new editions have been launched (in Meerut, Agra, and Kanpur) in 2006, giving a further boost to its growth and reach within the state. Hindustan dominates in Bihar with an undisputed readership of over 6 million. Its reader base is twice the size of its nearest competitor in the Hindi daily market of Bihar and Jharkhand (NRS 2003 vs. 2005). With some very exciting expansion plans already underway, Hindustan is all set to become the leading Hindi newspaper in the country. Currently, the Delhi edition of Hindustan is also available online in epaper format. [pic] Consolidating presence in existing businesses Revenue growing regarding Hindustan is more than 30% every year Aggressive expansion of readership base Rapid expansion in UP, Punjab & bihar Successful new launches in UP †¦.. Meerut/Agra/Kanpur and chandigrah Encouraging consumer response to product Future plans Transferring Hindi business into a subsidiary Aggressive expansion strategy to market leader through UP, Uttranchal, MP and Punjab expansion HT NEXT: HT NEXT has everything that the youth ever wanted in a newspaper: sports news (great stories for English Premier League and Formula 1 nuts), nuggets on celebs (yes, even more colourful than Laloo Yadav), global and local news – in other words, Your world (which, incidentally, is Our version of the world too). There is even a political digest – Day In Politics- for those who want to go beyond the simpler, lighter matter, and seek to know which way the times are moving. Delhi, India and World are your dedicated pages for all the news that matters. Check out the daily science and nature section, Life, The Universe and Everything,or JLT for what's in these days. In case you are bitten by the writing bug, HT Next has the space and readership. Participate in daily debates if you like to lock horns on current affairs, post a message on Plug In if you wish to connect or simply dash off an original poem for My Space, if you have it in you. There are quizzes for those bent upon winning fabulous prizes, on e-mail or SMS! For the youth of India, this is Where It's At. Kadambini: With a long and celebrated history since its inception in 1960, this monthly Hindi magazine is a one-of-its-own-kind socio-cultural-literary journal. Kadambini is a monthly Hindi magazine published by HT Media Ltd. with a long and celebrated history of 44 years. It is a one-of-its-own-kind socio-cultural-literary magazine, which has survived the demise of many other Hindi magazines in the genre. Its first Editor was Late Shri Balkrishna Rao, a prominent Hindi writer. He was followed by Late Shri Ramanand Doshi, who was also a well-known literary figure, and during whose tenure Kadambini touched new heights. Its third Editor Shri Rajendra Awasthy was also a known literary figure. Mrs Mrinal Pande took charge as Editor in February 2003. Mrs Pande is a well-known and respected journalist and literary figure in Hindi, as well as English. Associate Editor Shri Vishnu Nagar is also a well-known figure in Hindi journalism and literature. Under Mrs Pande's able guidance and Associate Editor Shri Vishnu Nagar's leadership, Kadambini has scaled new heights of quality, readability and scientific approach. It is the only Hindi magazine which covers a wide range of subjects including literature, science, history, sociology, politics, films and sports with sincerity and popular appeal. Its every issue becomes a special issue as it focuses in-depth on one important and popular concern apart from its various regular features. It always prefers quality and readability over cheap, popular taste. Its new approach is widely appreciated by common readers as well as the enlightened sections of society. The magazine has created a new space for itself while retaining its old base. It is the only Hindi magazine, which guarantees that it will not compromise on family values. Kadambini is the only Hindi magazine which covers a wide range of subjects including literature, science, history, sociology, politics, films and sports with sincerity and popular appeal. Nandan: HT Media Ltd. ‘s children's magazine has a popular appeal both in India and abroad. Ever since its inception in 1964, Nandan has published more than ten thousand stories, three thousand poems, and thousands of other creative pieces during these 40 years. It has been very popular among children and their families in India and abroad. The magazine was started in November 1964 in the memory of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, with its first issue being dedicated to the late Prime Minister. Nandan triumphs over its contemporaries because its stories are a combination of the best in both our traditional and modern cultural ethos. Nandan believes in shaping the mind and behaviour of our children in a positive way, and to challenge their minds by exposing them to new ideas for the world of science and technology. From its very inception, Nandan has been privileged to publish the stories, memoirs, excerpts, biographies and poems of many of the greats from the fields of literature and politics, some of whom are Dr Rajendra Prasad, Indira Gandhi, Gyani Zail Singh, V P Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, A P J Abdul Kalam, Bhartendu Harishchandra, Premchand, Jaishankar Prasad, Bibhuti Bhushan Bandhopadhyaya, Mohan Rakesh, Kamleshwar, Amritlal Nagar, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Satyajit Ray, Bhishm Sahni, Ashapurna Devi, Vishnu Prabhakar, Harivansh Rai Bacchan, Shivani, Rajendra Yadav, Khushwant Singh, Krishna Sobti, Manohar Shyam Joshi, Mannu Bhandari, Mrinal pande, Mridula Garg, Taslima Nasrin, Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, Ramesh Dutt Sharma and Kuldeep Sharma. Nandan has published more than ten thousand stories, three thousand poems, and thousands of other creative pieces during these 40 years. It includes more than 400 world classics for children. Nandan has been conducting story-writing, painting, poetry and crossword contests regularly, which has encouraged lot of interest among children and helped to develop their creativity. Nandan gets more than 5000 responses monthly from all over India and abroad, which is in itself a record. Mint: A Business Daily From HT The purpose behind mint was the robust growth of the Indian economy as is evident in the growing stock market. This long-term segment growth opened up an opportunity for a high quality daily newspaper. Although the business newspaper market was mainly dominated by economic times however there was a huge untapped potential for a high quality daily. And this is where HT, in collaboration with the Wall Street Journal, came out with HT Mint. Our Promise International style Clarity : News to knowledge, knowledge to understanding Business of life Wall street Edge & world class editorial Exclusive column partners†¦Kellogg’s/Wharton/Jack Welch [pic] . ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF HT MEDIA LIMITED DELHI [pic] Product profile of mint Mint: A paper that delivers refreshing clarity in business news. a unique inviting and uncluttered layout ensures that you reach the right audience in right environment. Powerful Lineage Regarding Mint 1} The Wall Street Journal: In India Mint is the business daily launched by HT Media Ltd. With the collaboration of the Wall Street Journal which is the most authoritative business daily in the world of newspaper for over 100 year. It is the world’s largest and most respected business news platform Features of Mint 1} Available for six days a week gives you clear ,relevant and well analyzed Indian as well as international business news . 2} Quick Scan – Act as summary of the key stories of the day with the index of company and people 3} Leading the News – A detailed perspective on key news and policy decision affecting business. } Corporate News – Financial results mergers acquisitions and everything that buzzing around the corporate corridors. 5} Economy and Politics: Targeted at decision makers, policies and politics that impact business. 6} Market and Media: Best to know latest on consumer behaviors and trends, innovation in media space. 7} On Advertising: Must read for Advertising and market professionals 8} Commodities: Pictorially depicts impact of weather on 4 major commodities of the day. 9} Management: Carries a legal column by AZB and partners, advocates and solicitors, fortnightly column on career. 10} Venture Capital: Get to know the latest venture capital action also get latest on private equity deals with Thomson financial deal counter. 1} The Wall Street Journal: Global news from the largest business publication in the world. 12} Money Matters: Summary of Market & Financial news from India & world plus news and column explaining market movement. 13} 2 pages of views that gives us a complete perspective on issues that matter. Mint on Saturdays A} Last Week . Next Week : Update on what happened last week and what will make difference in the coming week. B} Lounge : Read exclusive columns by Vir Sanghvi and Shoba Narayan and all about book’s , trends , travel and technology , paintin g and health and every Saturday columns by Jared Sandberg . style pursuits , insider play ,business lounge ,cover ,travel ,books, flavors. C} Mint Market Watch : Pull out from Tuesday to Saturday with the largest listing of mutual fund in business daily. On Monday mint have campaign on strategy , marketing advertising and management and column by Jack and Suzy Welch. Articles from Kellog , Oxford and Wharton . Readership and Circulation Profile of Mint. Second largest business daily in Delhi and Mumbai on readership basis . On an average Mint have Circulation of 100000 copies per day in Delhi, Mumbai , Bangalore , Chandigarh and Pune. The Mint have exclusively its presence in all major airlines, airports and 5 star hotels in Mumbai , Delhi and all premium clubs, restaurants etc. Mint as an ideal platform for advertising : Benefits that an advertiser could derive from advertising there product in Mint are . A} Reaches the right target audience. B} The Berliner format and clean layout ensures that advertisement is get noticed in more better way. C} Innovative and flexible advertising options. Types of advertisement in Mint are. a. Corporate Advertisement. b. Lifestyle Brands . c. Airlines d. Mint is a great hit between consumer durables . e. A hit among the real estate and infrastructure advertisers. f. Hit in automobile industry. g. And also acts as a leading platform for financial announcements. TITLE OF THE PROJECT THE STUDY OF CHANGE IN COMSUMER PREFERENCE DUE TO PROMOTIONAL STRETAGIES FOR ENGLISH NEWS PAPER IN SOUTH DELHI WITH PREFERENCE TO HINDUSTAN TIMES RATIONALE OF STUDY ? To RESEARCH PLAN Source of Data : Primary data, Secondary data Research Approach: Survey Research Instrument: Questionnaire RESEARCH OBJECTIVE ? To know about the consumers of mint. ? To know about what influence a customer and what way they select a particular business newspaper. ? To study current market scenario of mint. ? To know there competitors and key challenges. ? To know about preferences of costumer. Research Design Research design is different from the method by which data are collected. Many research methods texts confuse research designs with methods. It is not uncommon to see research design treated as a mode of data collection rather than as a logical structure of the inquiry. But there is nothing intrinsic about any research design that requires a particular method of data collection. Although cross-sectional surveys are frequently equated with questionnaires and case studies are often equated with participant observation (e. g. Whyte's Street Corner Society, 1943), data for any design can be collected with any data collection method (Figure 1. 5). How the data are collected is irrelevant to the logic of the design. Failing to distinguish between design and method leads to poor evaluation of designs. Equating cross-sectional designs with questionnaires, or case studies with participant observation, means that the designs are often evaluated against the strengths and weaknesses of the method rather than their ability to draw relatively unambiguous conclusions or to select between rival plausible hypotheses. Types Of Research Design Descriptive research Although some people dismiss descriptive research as `mere description', good description is fundamental to the research enterprise and it has added immeasurably to our knowledge of the shape and nature of our society. Descriptive research encompasses much government sponsored research including the population census, the collection of a wide range of social indicators and economic information such as household expenditure patterns, time use studies, employment and crime statistics and the like. Descriptions can be concrete or abstract. A relatively concrete description might describe the ethnic mix of a community, the changing age pro ®le of a population or the gender mix of a workplace. Alternatively the description might ask more abstract questions such as `Is the level of social inequality increasing or declining? ‘, `How secular is society? ‘ or `How much poverty is there in this community? ‘ Accurate descriptions of the level of unemployment or poverty have historically played a key role in social policy reforms (Marsh, 1982). By demonstrating the existence of social problems, competent description can challenge accepted assumptions about the way things are and can provoke action. Good description provokes the `why' questions of explanatory research. If we detect greater social polarization over the last 20 years (i. e. the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer) we are forced to ask `Why is this happening? ‘ But before asking `why? ‘ we must be sure about the fact and dimensions of the phenomenon of increasing polarization. It is all very well to develop elaborate theories as to why society might be more polarized now than in the recent past, but if the basic premise is wrong (i. e. ociety is not becoming more polarized) then attempts to explain a non-existent phenomenon are silly. Of course description can degenerate to mindless fact gathering or what C. W. Mills (1959) called `abstracted empiricism'. There are plenty of examples of unfocused surveys and case studies that rep ort trivial information and fail to provoke any `why' questions or provide any basis for generalization. However, this is a function of inconsequential descriptions rather than an indictment of descriptive research itself. Explanatory research Explanatory research focuses on why questions. For example, it is one thing to describe the crime rate in a country, to examine trends over time or to compare the rates in different countries. It is quite a different thing to develop explanations about why the crime rate is as high as it is, why some types of crime are increasing or why the rate is higher in some countries than in others. The way in which researchers develop research designs is fundamentally affected by whether the research question is descriptive or explanatory. It affects what information is collected. For example, if we want to explain why some people are more likely to be apprehended and convicted of crimes we need to have hunches about why this is so. We may have many possibly incompatible hunches and will need to collect information that enables us to see which hunches work best empirically. Answering the `why' questions involves developing causal explanations. Causal explanations argue that phenomenon Y (e. g. income level) is affected by factor X (e. g. gender). Some causal explanations will be simple while others will be more complex. For example, we might argue that there is a direct effect of gender on income (i. e. simple gender discrimination) (Figure 1. 1a). We might argue for a causal chain, such as that gender affects choice of eld of training which in turn affects. Causal People often confuse correlation with causation. Simply because one event follows another, or two factors co-vary, does not mean that one causes the other. The link between two events may be coincidental rather than causal. There is a correlation between the number of  ®re engines at a  ®re and the amount of damage caused by the  ®re (the more  ®re engines the more damage). Is it therefore reasonable to conclude that the number of  ®re engines causes the amount of damage? Clearly the number of  ®re engines and the amount of damage will both be due to some third factor  ± such as the seriousness of the  ®re. Similarly, as the divorce rate changed over the twentieth century the crime rate increased a few years later. But this does not mean that divorce causes crime. Rather than divorce causing crime, divorce and crime rates might both be due to other social processes such as secularization, greater individualism or poverty. Why to select Descriptive Research Design? Descriptive studies are also called observational, because you observe the subjects without otherwise intervening. The simplest descriptive study is a case, which reports data on only one subject; examples are studies of an outstanding athlete or of an athlete with an unusual injury. Descriptive studies of a few cases are called case series. In cross-sectional studies variables of interest in a sample of subjects are assayed once and analyzed. In prospective or cohort studies, some variables are assayed at the start of a study (e. g. dietary habits), then after a period of time the outcomes are determined (e. g. incidence of heart disease). Another label for this kind of study is longitudinal, although this term also applies to experiments. Case-control studies compare cases (subjects with a particular attribute, such as an injury or ability) with controls (subjects without the attribute); comparison is made of the exposure to something suspected of causing the cases, for example volume of high intensity training, or number of cigarettes smoked per day. Case-control studies are also called retrospective, because they focus on conditions in the past that might cause subjects to become cases rather than controls. A common case-control design in the exercise science literature is a comparison of the behavioral, psychological or anthropometric characteristics of elite and sub-elite athletes: you are interested in what the elite athletes have been exposed to that makes them better than the sub-elites. Another type of study compares athletes with sedentary people on some outcome such as an injury, disease, or disease risk factor. Here you know the difference in exposure (training vs no training), so these studies are really cohort or prospective, even though the exposure data are gathered retrospectively at only one time point. They are therefore known as historical cohort studies. We are working in a very wide area so we need to observe the facts in their actual condition, so we are using Descriptive Research. Sampling You almost always have to work with a sample of subjects rather than the full population. But people are interested in the population, not your sample. To generalize from the sample to the population, the sample has to be representative of the population. The safest way to ensure that it is representative is to use a random selection procedure. You can also use a stratified random sampling procedure, to make sure that you have proportional representation of population subgroups (e. g. sexes, races, regions). Selection bias occurs when the sample is not representative of the population. More accurately, a sample statistic is biased if the expected value of the statistic is not equal to the value of the population statistic. (The expected value is the average value from many samples drawn using the same sampling method. A typical source of bias in population studies is age or socioeconomic status: people with extreme values for these variables tend not to take part in the studies. Thus a high compliance (the proportion of people approached who end up as subjects) is important in avoiding bias. Journal editors are usually happy with co mpliance rates of at least 70%. Failure to randomize subjects to control and treatment groups in experiments can also produce bias: if you let people select themselves into the groups, or if you select the groups in any way that makes one group different from another, then any result you get might reflect the group difference rather than an effect of the treatment. For this reason, it's important to randomly assign subjects in a way that ensures the groups are balanced in terms of important variables that could modify the effect of the treatment (e. g. age, gender, physical performance). Randomize subjects to groups as follows: rank-order the subjects on the basis of the variable you most want to keep balanced (e. g. physical performance); split the list up into pairs (or triplets for three treatments, etc. ); assign subjects in each pair to the treatments by flipping a coin; check the mean values of your other variables in the two groups, and reassign randomly chosen pairs to balance up these mean values. Human subjects may not be happy about being randomized, so you need to state clearly that it is a condition of taking part. Types Of Sampling Random sampling Random, or probability sampling, gives each member of the target population a known and equal probability of selection. The two basic procedures are: 1 the lottery method, e. g. picking numbers out of a hat or bag 2 the use of a table of random numbers. Systematic sampling Systematic sampling is a modification of random sampling. To arrive at a systematic sample we simply calculate the desired sampling fraction, e. g. if there are 100 distributors of a particular product in which we are interested and our budget allows us to sample say 20 of them then we divide 100 by 20 and get the sampling fraction 5. Thereafter we go through our sampling frame selecting every 5th distributor. In the purest sense this does not give rise to a true random sample since some systematic arrangement is used in listing and not every distributor has a chance of being selected once the sampling fraction is calculated. However, because there is no conscious control of precisely which distributors are selected, all but the most pedantic of practitioners would treat a systematic sample as though it were a true random sample. Systematic sampling as applied to a survey of retailers |Systematic sampling | |Population = 100 Food Stores | |Sample desired = 20 Food Stores | |a. Draw a random number 1-5. | |b. Sample every Xth store. | |Sample |Numbered Stores | |1 |1, |6, |11, |16, |21†¦ |96 | |2 |2 |7, |12 |17, |22†¦ |97 | 3 |3, |8, |13 |18, |23†¦ |98 | |4 |4, |9, |14 |19, |24†¦ |99 | |5 |5, |10, |15, |20, |25†¦ |100 | Stratified samples Stratification increases precision without increasing sample size. Stratification does not imply any departure from the principle s of randomness it merely denotes that before any selection takes place, the population is divided into a number of strata, then random samples taken within each stratum. It is only possible to do this if the distribution of the population with respect to a particular factor is known, and if it is also known to which stratum each member of the population belongs. Examples of characteristics which could be used in marketing to stratify a population include: income, age, sex, race, geographical region, possession of a particular commodity. Stratification can occur after selection of individuals, e. g. if one wanted to stratify a sample of individuals in a town by age, one could easily get figures of the age distribution, but if there is no general population list showing the age distribution, prior stratification would not be possible. What might have to be done in this case at the analysis stage is to correct proportional representation. Weighting can easily destroy the assumptions one is able to make when interpreting data gathered from a random sample and so stratification prior to selection is advisable. Random stratified sampling is more precise and more convenient than simple random sampling. When stratified sampling designs are to be employed, there are 3 key questions which have to be immediately addressed: 1 The bases of stratification, i. e. what characteristics should be used to subdivide the universe/population into strata? 2 The number of strata, i. e. how many strata should be constructed and what stratum boundaries should be used? 3 Sample sizes within strata, i. e. how many observations should be taken in each stratum? Bases of stratification Intuitively, it seems clear that the best basis would be the frequency distribution of the principal variable being studied. For example, in a study of coffee consumption we may believe that behavioural patterns will vary according to whether a particular respondent drinks a lot of coffee, only a moderate amount of coffee or drinks coffee very occasionally. Thus we may consider that to stratify according to â€Å"heavy users†, â€Å"moderate users† and â€Å"light users† would provide an optimum stratification. However, two difficulties may arise in attempting to proceed in this way. First, there is usually interest in many variables, not just one, and stratification on the basis of one may not provide the best stratification for the others. Secondly, even if one survey variable is of primary importance, current data on its frequency is unlikely to be available. However, the latter complaint can be attended to since it is possible to stratify after the data has been completed and before the analysis is undertaken. The only approach is to create strata on the basis of variables, for which information is, or can be made available, that are believed to be highly correlated with the principal survey characteristics of interest, e. g. age, socio-economic group, sex, farm size, firm size, etc. In general, it is desirable to make up strata in such a way that the sampling units within strata are as similar as possible. In this way a relatively limited sample within each stratum will provide a generally precise estimate of the mean of that stratum. Similarly it is important to maximise differences in stratum means for the key survey variables of interest. This is desirable since stratification has the effect of removing differences between stratum means from the sampling error. Total variance within a population has two types of natural variation: between-strata variance and within-strata variance. Stratification removes the second type of variance from the calculation of the standard error. Suppose, for example, we stratified students in a particular university by subject speciality – marketing, engineering, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, history, geography etc. and questioned them about the distinctions between training and education. The theory goes that without stratification we would expect variation in the views expressed by students from say within the marketing speciality and between the views of marketing students, as a whole, and engineering students as a whole. Stratification ensures that variation between strata does not enter into the standard error by taking account of this source in drawing the sample. Number of strata The next question is that of the number of strata and the construction of stratum boundaries. As regards number of strata, as many as possible should be used. If each stratum could be made as homogeneous as possible, its mean could be estimated with high reliability and, in turn, the population mean could be estimated with high precision. However, some practical problems limit the desirability of a large number of strata: 1 No stratification scheme will completely â€Å"explain† the variability among a set of observations. Past a certain point, the â€Å"residual† or â€Å"unexplained† variation will dominate, and little improvement will be effected by creating more strata. 2 Depending on the costs of stratification, a point may be reached quickly where creation of additional strata is economically unproductive. If a single overall estimate is to be made (e. g. the average per capita consumption of coffee) we would normally use no more than about 6 strata. If estimates are required for population subgroups (e. g. by region and/or age group), then more strata may be justified. Sample sizes within strata Proportional allocation: Once strata have been established, the question becomes, â€Å"How big a sample must be drawn from each? † Consider a situation where a survey of a two-stratum population is to be carried out: |Stratum |Number of Items in Stratum | |A |10,000 | |B |90,000 | If the budget is fixed at $3000 and we know the cost per observation is $6 in each stratum, so the available total sample size is 500. The most common approach would be to sample the same proportion of items in each stratum. This is termed proportional allocation. In this example, the overall sampling fraction is: [pic] Thus, this method of allocation would result in: Stratum A (10,000 ? 0. 5%) = 50 Stratum B (90,000 ? 0. 5%) = 450 The major practical advantage of proportional allocation is that it leads to estimates which are computationally simple. Where proportional sampling has been employed we do not need to weight the means of the individual stratum when calculating the overall mean. So: [pic]sr = W1[pic]1 + W2 [pic]2 + W3 [pic]3+ – – – Wk [pic]k Optimum allocation: Proportional allocation is advisable when all we know of the strata is their sizes. In situations where the standard deviations of the strata are known it may be advantageous to make a disproportionate allocation. Suppose that, once again, we had stratum A and stratum B, but we know that the individuals assigned to stratum A were more varied with respect to their opinions than those assigned to stratum B. Optimum allocation minimises the standard error of the estimated mean by ensuring that more respondents are assigned to the stratum within which there is greatest variation. Quota sampling Quota sampling is a method of stratified sampling in which the selection within strata is non-random. Selection is normally left to the discretion of the interviewer and it is this characteristic which destroys any pretensions towards randomness. Quota v random sampling The advantages and disadvantages of quota versus probability samples has been a subject of controversy for many years. Some practitioners hold the quota sample method to be so unreliable and prone to bias as to be almost worthless. Others think that although it is clearly less sound theoretically than probability sampling, it can be used safely in certain circumstances. Still others believe that with adequate safeguards quota sampling can be made highly reliable and that the extra cost of probability sampling is not worthwhile. Generally, statisticians criticise the method for its theoretical weakness while market researchers defend it for its cheapness and administrative convenience. Main arguments against: Quota sampling It is not possible to estimate sampling errors with quota sampling because of the absence of randomness. Some people argue that sampling errors are so small compared with all the other errors and biases that enter into a survey that not being able to estimate is no great disadvantage. One does not have the security, though, of being able to measure and control these errors. 2 The interviewer may fail to secure a representative sample of respondents in quota sampling. For example, are those in the over 65 age group spread over all the age range or clustered around 65 and 66? 3 Social class controls leave a lot to the interviewer's judgement. 4 Strict control of fieldwork is more difficult, i. e. id interviewers place respondents in groups where cases are needed rather than in those to which they belong. Main arguments for: quota sampling 1 Quota sampling is less costly. A quota interview on average costs only half or a third as much as a random interview, but we must remember that precision is lost. 2 It is easy administratively. The labour of random selection is avoided, and so are the headaches of non-contact and callbacks. 3 If fieldwork has to be done quickly, perhaps to reduce memory errors, quota sampling may be the only possibility, e. g. to obtain immediate public reaction to some event. 4. Quota sampling is independent of the existence of sampling frames. Cluster and multistage sampling Cluster sampling: The process of sampling complete groups or units is called cluster sampling, situations where there is any sub-sampling within the clusters chosen at the first stage are covered by the term multistage sampling. For example, suppose that a survey is to be done in a large town and that the unit of inquiry (i. e. the unit from which data are to be gathered) is the individual household. Suppose further that the town contains 20,000 households, all of them listed on convenient records, and that a sample of 200 households is to be selected. One approach would be to pick the 200 by some random method. However, this would spread the sample over the whole town, with consequent high fieldwork costs and much inconvenience. (All the more so if the survey were to be conducted in rural areas, especially in developing countries where rural areas are sparsely populated and access difficult). One might decide therefore to concentrate the sample in a few parts of the town and it may be assumed for simplicity that the town is divided into 400 areas with 50 households in each. A simple course would be to select say 4 areas at random (i. e. 1 in 100) and include all the households within these areas in our sample. The overall probability of selection is unchanged, but by selecting clusters of households, one has materially simplified and made cheaper the fieldwork. A large number of small clusters is better, all other things being equal, than a small number of large clusters. Whether single stage cluster sampling proves to be as statistically efficient as a simple random sampling depends upon the degree of homogeneity within clusters. If respondents within clusters are homogeneous with respect to such things as income, socio-economic class etc. , they do not fully represent the population and will, therefore, provide larger standard errors. On the other hand, the lower cost of cluster sampling often outweighs the disadvantages of statistical inefficiency. In short, cluster sampling tends to offer greater reliability for a given cost rather than greater reliability for a given sample size. Multistage sampling The population is regarded as being composed of a number of first stage or primary sampling units (PSU's) each of them being made up of a number of second stage units in each selected PSU and so the procedure continues down to the final sampling unit, with the sampling ideally being random at each stage. The necessity of multistage sampling is easily established. PSU's for national surveys are often administrative districts, urban districts or parliamentary constituencies. Within the selected PSU one may go direct to the final sampling units, such as individuals, households or addresses, in which case we have a two-stage sample. It would be more usual to introduce intermediate sampling stages, i. e. administrative districts are sub-divided into wards, then polling districts. Area sampling Area sampling is basically multistage sampling in which maps, rather than lists or registers, serve as the sampling frame. This is the main method of sampling in developing countries where adequate population lists are rare. The area to be covered is divided into a number of smaller sub-areas from which a sample is selected at random within these areas; either a complete enumeration is taken or a further sub-sample. Aerial sampling [pic] A grid, such as that shown above, is drawn and superimposed on a map of the area of concern. Sampling points are selected on the basis of numbers drawn at random that equate to the numbered columns and rows of the grid. If the area is large, it can be subdivided into sub-areas and a grid overlayed on these. Figure 7. 4 depicts the procedures involved. As in figure 7. 3 the columns and rows are given numbers. Then, each square in the grid is allocated numbers to define grid lines. Using random numbers, sampling points are chosen within each square. Figure 7. 4 gives an impression of the pattern of sampling which emerges. Why to select Area Sampling? Since it is generally impossible to study an entire population (every individual in a country, all college students, every geographic area, etc. ), researchers typically rely on sampling to acquire a section of the population to perform an experiment or observational study. It is important that the group selected be representative of the population, and not biased in a systematic manner. For this reason, randomization is typically employed to achieve an unbiased sample. There may often be factors which divide up the population into sub-populations (groups / strata) and we may expect the measurement of interest to vary among the different sub-populations. This has to be accounted for when we select a sample from the population in order that we obtain a sample that is representative of the population. This is achieved by stratified sampling. A stratified sample is obtained by taking samples from each stratum or sub-group of a population. When we sample a population with several strata, we generally require that the proportion of each stratum in the sample should be the same as in the population. Stratified sampling techniques are generally used when the population is heterogeneous, or dissimilar, where certain homogeneous, or similar, sub-populations can be isolated (strata). Simple random sampling is most appropriate when the entire population from which the sample is taken is homogeneous. Some reasons for using stratified sampling over simple random sampling are: a) the cost per observation in the survey may be reduced; b) estimates of the population parameters may be wanted for each sub-population; c) increased accuracy at given cost. . Research Findings Q. 1. Do you read Newspaper? a) Yes (b) No Number of people reading news paper. [pic] Q. 2. Which newspaper do you read? (a) Yes (b)No [pic] APPENDICES Questionnaire 1) Do you read Newspaper? (a) Yes (b) No 2) Which newspaper do you read? (a) Yes (b)No 3) Which bu siness newspaper do you read? (a) MINT (b) ET (c) Business Express (d) Others i. Specify†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4) Please rate the Mint, ET and other on the basis of 1 to 5 scale a. MINT ET Other (specify)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ b. Quality†¦.. 9, a) Quality†¦.. 9, a) Quality†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ c. Price †¦.. , b) Price †¦.. 9, b) Price †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. d. Service †¦. 8, c) Service†¦. 8, c) Service†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ e. Offer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 9, d) Offer †¦.. 7, d) Offer †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5) Which type of news do you like most in the newspaper? (a) Political News (b) Business News (c) Page 3 (d) Others 6) Do you like the Promotional programs? (a)Yes (b)No 7) Which promotional program attracts you more? a) Related to monetary terms b) Giving more attention for changing quality of news according to you 8) Do you ever taken any newspaper by promotional offers? (a)Yes (b)No 9) Which promotional offer do you like most? a)Short term (b)Long term 10) Have you ever trie d a new newspaper due to promotional offer? (a)Yes (b)No 11) Does offer giving newspapers satisfies your news needs? (a)Yes (b)No 12) Would you like to continue the newspaper without offer? (a)Yes (b)No (c)Looking for further offers ———————– RESIDENT EDITOR BHAGALPUR RESIDENT EDITOR VARANASI RESIDENT EDITOR RANCHI RESIDENT EDITOR PATNA RESIDENT EDITOR LUCKNOW EXECUTIVE EDITOR KADAMBINI EXECUTIVE EDITOR NANDAN RESIDENT EDITOR HINDUSTAN DELHI V. P. -LEGAL, TAX & CO. SECRETARY BUSINESS HEAD -SOUTH AND WESST CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER BUSINESS HEAD-NORTH & STRATEGIC MARKETING BUSINESS HEAD, BUSINESS PAPER HEAD BUSINESS EXCELENCE CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER CHIEF EDITOR BUSINESS PAPER HEAD RADIO HEAD-KEY MARKETING SOLUTION & EVENT HEAD INTERNET BUSINESS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OPERATION & HUMAN RESOURCE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR MEDIA MARKETING & CIRCULATION GROUP EDITOR HINDUSTAN ADVISORY EDITORIAL DIRECTOR MANAGING EDITOR, HINDUSTAN TIMES CEO HT MEDIA LTD. VICE CHAIRPERSON & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR 125 Metro now JV with BCCL Delhi Mumbai Bangalore Kolkata Leadership Luxury Others Delhi Mumbai Bangalore Bihar Jharkhand UP Delhi Punjab Uttranchal Mumbai Chandigarh Bhopal Jalandar Varanasi Mujafarpur Bhagalpur Kanpur Dehradoon Noida Banglore Lucknow Patna Ranchi Kolkata Hindustanimes. com Hindustan. com HTCricket. com Livemint. com Shine. com Radio (Virgin) Events Mint (WSJ) Hindustan Hindustan Times Internet Print HT Media SR. EXECUTIVE (CENTER WISE) SR. EXECUTIVE (CENTER WISE) SR. EXECUTIVE (CENTER WISE) SR. EXECUTIVE (CENTER WISE) ASSISTANT MANAGER ASSISTANT MANAGER DEPUTY MANAGER AREA WISE CATEGORY WISE REPORTERS SUB- EDITOR CHIEF-EDITOR LOGISTICS WORKERS ASSISTANT MANAGER CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT MANAGER SALES SUBSCRIPTION DEPARTMENT PRODUCTION MANAGER EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT MEDIA MARKETING D G M SALES BUSINESS HEAD NORTH

How To Become A Writer

How To Become A Writer How To Become A Writer How To Become A Writer By Mark Nichol Write. In order to be able to call yourself a writer, all you have to do is write. But I have another piece of advice: Don’t go passing out business cards emblazoned with that word just yet. Malcolm Gladwell is a fascinating writer (one who deserves those business cards) who has an uncanny knack for extrapolating from mundane facts and ideas from an oblique and unique angle. In his book Outliers: The Story of Success, he describes an intriguing concept popularly known as the 10,000-Hour Rule. Simply stated, it points out that most people who become highly accomplished at one endeavor or another have at least one thing in common: They’ve worked at it for 10,000 hours. So, if you haven’t devoted an hour a day into writing for the last thirty years, or three hours a day for the past decade, or an equivalent total, don’t be surprised that you can’t find your name on the New York Times best seller list. Take heart, however, that you don’t need to log five figures’ worth of writing time to satisfying your desire to compose prose (or poetry, or nonfiction). But ignore James Brown’s advice to get up offa that thing sit down on that thing and write. It doesn’t matter what you write, but it matters that you write. It also matters that you read and, similarly, the what isn’t as important as the that: that you read. Read literary classics and airport novels and graphic novels. Read biographies and memoirs and as-told-tos. Read magazines and newspapers and blogs. Read about people and places and things real and imagined. But learn to distinguish between bad writing and good writing and great writing. Notice the style and tone and technique of the great stuff. Don’t try to imitate it, but recognize it and what it does for your reading experience. Think about what you want the experience to be like for your readers. Don’t forget, though, the most important reason to write: for your own enjoyment the joy of creation, the joy of reading the story you had to write because nobody else had done so until you came along. Don’t write with any goal in mind except this one: to complete a story a novel, a novella, a short story, a short short story so that you can read it. I’ll return to this topic with posts about elements of fiction writing and others about writing nonfiction, but I’ll sign off for now, because I don’t want to keep you from your writing. What are you waiting for? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:25 Subordinating Conjunctions50 Nautical Terms in General UseThe Two Sounds of G

The practice of budget in two entirely different businesses and working capital in a manufacturing company The WritePass Journal

The practice of budget in two entirely different businesses and working capital in a manufacturing company Introduction The practice of budget in two entirely different businesses and working capital in a manufacturing company IntroductionTraditional Budgeting in Static BusinessRelated Introduction This paper outlines the practice of budget in two entirely different businesses and working capital in a manufacturing company. The first part of this paper describes how budget exercised in these two companies, which are one in a static condition and another in a dynamic driven. Traditional approach of budgeting and budgetary control is still commonly used by most companies in the world despite of its limitations. In current rapidly changing environment, traditional budgeting no longer the only budgeting approach to be exercised in a company. There are some alternatives such as beyond budgeting, Zero-Based Budgeting, Activity-Based Budgeting, etc. which would be explained further in this paper. The second part of this paper describes how working capital holds major role in a company and how to improve each element in it. Working capital which generally consists of trade debtors, trade creditors, cash and stock can be improved individually to achieve optimal profit for the company.  Ã‚  Ã‚   Part A â€Å"A budget is a plan, expressed in financial and/or more generally quantitative terms, which extends forward for a period into the future† ((Gowthorpe, 2003) Cited from DocShare.com). The traditional budgeting typically developed from the review of past years budget with addition of extra value of changing factors, such as growth and inflation, from assumptions by the business. It is basically a fixed annual plan and tie managers to predetermined actions. It is based on hierarchy and centralized leadership (Stewart, 2004). It has offered many contributions over the years, but it seems unsuitable for the modern business (DocShare.com, 2009). Serven (cited in Banham, 2000) argued, â€Å"The customary system of trying to accurately predict what will happen in 12 months and budgeting accordingly is an exercise in futility†. It is nonflexible to utilize the traditional budgeting in today business environment. â€Å"The business budget today generally used as a tool to formulate intelligent decisions on the management and growth of a business venture, enabling business to set priorities monitor progress toward both financial and non-financial goals.† (Hyperion, 1998) Most budget processes are inefficient and costly. It is complicated and it takes too long to be completed, by the time its finished the business environment has changed and the budget prepared no longer applied. According to Stewart (2004), there are ten reasons why budget cause problem, as it summarized in the next figure. Though traditional budgeting have such crucial weaknesses, but most companies still rely on it because its history and their un challenged position in the top division of accepted management practices (Hope Fraser, 1999). Source: www.BusinessSculptors.com Therefore many companies now seek to find alternatives of traditional budgeting, even some attempt to abandon it. However, some analysts estimate that as many as half the companies that attempt the overhaul become so exhausted they give up and go back to traditional approach (Banham, 2000). Traditional Budgeting in Dynamic Business In a business that operates in a very dynamic, rapidly changing, and innovative environment, traditional budgeting is inappropriate to exercise. Budget is a barrier for the business because the vibrant market demands flexibility, fast response, innovation, process improvement, customer focus, and shareholder value (Daum, 2001). And it is the limitation of the traditional budgeting not to be able to fulfil these demands. The dynamic driven business should keep up with the change and adaptive to recent development to achieve success. Hence Beyond Budgeting approach introduced. Daum (2001) argued that, â€Å"The Beyond Budgeting Model is designed to overcome traditional barriers and to create a flexible, adaptable organization that gives your local managers the self-confidence and freedom to think differently, make decisions rapidly, and collaborate on innovative projects with colleagues in multifunctional teams both within your company and across its borders.†Ã‚   Exercising beyond budgeting may have become the turnaround for many companies of their budgeting problems. Beyond budgeting is about a performance management system, made up of a series of interdependent and interlocking process (Verlag, 2005). The objective is to create an adaptive system to the real world that ideally develops the business plan from the environment, i.e. growth of markets, performance of competitors, etc. Then, instead of trying to meet a negotiated number in the budget, business should try to beat this performance standard (Verlag, 2005). Thus it would not make managers feel undervalued. The process of beyond budgeting is portrayed in 12 principles of Beyond Budgeting (BBRT, 2005). The first six ‘process’ principles is concerning performance management systems that allows employees to response faster to customer needs and competitive environment. The second six ‘leadership’ principles provide a decentralization framework of responsibility to employees to facilitate them adapting quickly to potential events and improves their relative performance. Beyond budgeting can be exercised successfully by applying these principles and the business can be adaptive to the rapidly changing environment. 12 principles of Beyond Budgeting Beyond Budgeting Process Principles 1. Targets   Set aspirational goals based on continuous relative improvement not fixed targets 2. Rewards   Base rewards on relative performance with hindsight not on meeting fixed targets 3. Planning Make planning an inclusive and continuous process not an annual event 4. Resources Make resources available on demand not through annual budget allocations 5. Coordination   Coordinate cross company actions dynamically not though annual plans and budgets 6. Controls   Base controls on KPIs, trends and relative indicators not variances against plan Beyond Budgeting Leadership Principles 1. Governance Base governance on clear values and boundaries not on detailed rules and budgets 2. Performance    Build a high performance culture based on relative success not on meeting targets 3. Freedom to act   Devolve decision making authority to frontline teams don’t micro-manage them 4. Accountability   Create a network of small units accountable for results not centralized hierarchies 5. Customer focus Focus everyone on improving customer outcomes not on meeting internal targets 6. Information    Promote open and shared information don’t restrict it to those who ‘need to know’ The benefits of beyond budgeting is it will examine targets, strategies, action plans, forecasts and management reports. Comparisons might also be made against competitors and past-year performance. It will concentrate on the key drivers of business performance. The purpose is to be alert and take advantage of new opportunities and respond to potential threats by using an advanced information system to make decisions early. Speed of action and good decisions are the result of beyond budgeting. (Hope Fraser, 1999) The major change required by beyond budgeting will raise some resistance to change (Verlag, 2005). Organisations will differ in scale, culture and business context. It would be challenging to demonstrate to key stakeholders that control can still be achieved without a budget (Max, 2005). Beyond budgeting may raise issues such as doubt of loosening control, giving front-line people decision-making authority, and trusting people to act in the best interest of the business that is not easy change to contemplate (Hope Fraser, 1999). However if these issues can be handled, the business may gain success in long term. For example, the companies that have successfully practised beyond budgeting and abandoned the traditional budgeting system are Volvo (one of Europes most profitable car manufacturers), IKEA (the worlds largest furniture manufacturer and retailer), etc. (Hope Fraser, 1999). Many organizations that have gone beyond budgeting found that their performance has improved once the budgeting process was abandoned in favour of more relative and adaptive means of planning, evaluating performance and control (Stewart, 2004). Although beyond budgeting is the most updated method, but not all companies can adapt to it. Thus the other alternative for the dynamic driven business is Activity-Based Budgeting (ABB). It focuses on generating a budget explicitly from activities and resources (Hansen, Otley, et all., 2003). It creates an operationally feasible budget before generating a financial budget. Advantages of ABB approach is it allows better product, process, or activity costing and decision making, and better resource allocation to support organizational priorities. It identifies capacity issues and makes adjustment earlier in the budgeting process than under traditional budgeting which does not track resource consumption patterns. It enriches managers ability to respond to contingencies and also improves performance measurement, evaluation, and decision making (Hansen, Otley, et all., 2003). ABB can be a proper alternative for the dynamic company since it will provide more accurate analysis to quickly forecast the next budget compared to the traditional budgeting. However, ABB is not without problems. According to Barret (2003), ABB can be difficult to understand about the rules relating outputs to resources and costs. Consequently business managers tend to be doubtful of the approach. Although ABB directly relates increase in the volume of an output with increases in certain activities, it does not help in linking activities with resources. Thus any application of one of these alternatives, whether it is beyond budgeting or ABB, must be considered thoroughly subject to the business current condition. Traditional Budgeting in Static Business In a business that operates in a very stable and static market place, where there is slight change in either products or demand every year, traditional budgeting still can be appropriate (Daum, 2001). Static business would not need to take a risk to change their invariable budgetary plan as it would cost higher and consume more time than usual. However if this condition continuously persisted, the business will never develop more than its current position. It could lead to boredom for the employees who seek for challenge. As it is argued by Hope Fraser (1999), â€Å"Budgets are well known for reinforcing the command and control culture, constraining freedom and autonomy, and stifling the very challenges that excite prospective managers†. As an alternative to the static business, Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) is introduced. ZBB refers to proposals by Pyhrr (1973); Cheek (1977) et al. to modify the traditional budgeting process in organizations in which budgeting is an incremental process in relation to the prior years actual expenditures. The proposed ZBB process requires each manager to justify the budget request approximating the organizational functions were starting from â€Å"ground zero†. It entails clarifying the goals of an organizational unit as well as identifying the functions and projects it proposes to perform in order to achieve its goals. These activities are then ranked in order of importance (Flamholtz, 1983). Basically it is a systematic logical approach to allocate limited resources where they will be best used. Benefits of ZBB are cost saving, improving services, increase self-discipline in developing budget, reduce the entitlement mentality with respect to cost increases and make budget discussions more meaningful during review sessions (LaFaive, 2003). On the contrary ZBB also can cause problems for example, may increase the time and expense of preparing budget, may be too radical a solution for the task at hand, and can make matters worse if not conducted accordingly. Moreover a substantial commitment must be made by all sectors involved to ensure that the change is followed through (LaFaive, 2003). ZBB is recommended for the static businesses in order to improve performance. It can be useful for shaking up a process that may have grown stale and counterproductive over time (LaFaive, 2003). Variance analysis is still the most common tools to calculate the mismatch between the planned budget and the actual performance. Based on the survey by Sulaiman, Ahmad Alwi (2005), the common practice among local Japanese (about 71%) and local Malaysian companies (about 64%) is to investigate variances only when the variance exceeds a certain percentage. This is a typical characteristic of traditional budgeting. However it is inadequate to be used in today modern business. Thus Ramsey (1999) introduced diagnostic variance analysis, where budget variances are analysed in terms of the activity-based components that make up the variance, and evaluated in light of overall business performance. As a result of this analysis, the underlying cause of the variance is revealed, providing the necessary business insight to support strategic decisions. In conclusion, traditional approach cannot be abandoned completely. Budgeting is still very important in the company and need serious attention in the organization in spite of its complication (France, 2006). Zero-Based Budgeting and Activity-Based Budgeting are only improvement of traditional approach. In a dynamic driven business that evolve in rapidly changing environment like today modern business ambience, beyond budgeting can be the suitable alternative with proper handling in the organization. As for the static business, ZZB can assist the breakthrough in the organization so that the business will develop more and achieve success in the future. Part B Working capital management is important for XYZ Limited as a medium sized manufacturing business. XYZ Limited has most of their assets in the form of current assets and also current liabilities for their one of main external finances (Teruel Solano, 2007). Working capital components of XYZ are cash, debtors, stocks of raw materials, work in progress and finished goods and creditors. Each of these components can be improved as it will be discussed together with its implication to others. Working capital is the amount available in liquid that invested to build the business. In general, a company with surplus working capital will be more successful since they can expand and improve their operations (WebFinance Inc., 1999). Meanwhile companies with negative working capital may find difficulties to grow the business due to lack of funds. To improve working capital, XYZ Limited can choose between the relative benefits of two basic types of strategies for working capital management; to minimize working capital investment or to adopt working capital policies designed to increase sales. However, the management of XYZ has to evaluate the trade-off between expected profitability and risk before deciding the optimal level of investment in current assets (Teruel Solano, 2007). Profitability and risk have positive relationship. When company make decision that involve high risk, the expected profitability company will also increased. So does when company make decision that involve risk reduction, potential profitability of the company decreased as well. Minimizing working capital investment would increase company’s profitability by cutting the proportion of its total assets in the form of net current assets. However, if the inventory levels are reduced sigificantly, the firm risks losing increases in sales (Wang,2002). Moreover a significant cutback for trade credit granted may trigger sales decline from customers requiring credit. On the other hand, investing heavily in working capital may also result in higher profitability. Specifically maintaining high inventory levels cut down the cost of possible disturbance in the production process and loss of business due to the scarcity of products, reduces supply costs, and protects against price fluctuations, etc. (Teruel Solano, 2007) In addition, granting trade credit promote the company’s sales in various ways. Trade credit can perform as an effective price reduction, enhance customers order to acquire goods at times of low demand, allows customers to check that the goods they receive is as agreed (quantity and quality) and to ensure that the services contracted are carried out, and helps company to intensify long-term relationships with their customers. However, these benefits have to offset the reduction in profitability due to the increase of investment in current assets. (Smith, 1987; Ng et al., 1999) Basically if the company can obtain cash to move faster around the working capital cycle as it shown in figure 1 (e.g. by collecting payment due from debtors faster) or reduce the amount of cash tied up (e.g. reduce inventory levels relative to sales), the business will generate more cash or it will need less to fund working capital. (http://tutor2u.net/business/images/working_capital_cycle.gif) As a consequence, the company could reduce the cost of bank interest or it will have additional money available to support supplementary sales growth or investment. Likewise, if the company can negotiate improved terms with suppliers e.g. get longer credit or an increased credit limit; it will effectively create extra finance to help fund future sales. (PlanWare, 2009) The first component of XYZ working capital is cash. The cash conversion cycle was a key factor in working capital management (Gitman, 1974). It is a reflection of decisions about amount to invest in the customer and inventory accounts, and quantity of credit to accept from suppliers which represents the average number of days between the date when the company must start paying its suppliers and the date when it begins to collect payments from its customers (Teruel Solano, 2007). The only way to improve this component is to shorten the cash conversion cycle which lead to better operating performance based on research by Wang (2002). The second element is debtors. The objective is to obtain payment from debtors as fast as possible improving cash flow and minimising the risk of bad debts and not being paid at all (Cartwright, 2008). All staff in the company that dealing with the debtors should clearly understand the payment terms offered and ensure that debtors comprehend it as well. A cash discount system can be considered to encourage sales invoice to be paid faster. New debtors should go through a strict credit check to avoid incapibility to fulfill the payment. However, the company should not be too agressive to pursue the debtors because it may lead to antagonized debtors and loss of customers. (Boisjoly, 2009) The third component is stock or inventory, which divided to raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods. Managing inventory is about timing and organizing performance. Excessive stocks can place a heavy burden on the cash resources of a business. Insufficient stocks can result in lost sales, delays for customers etc. The key is to know how fast the overall stock is moving or how long each item of stock need to be kept before being sold. Obviously, average stock-holding periods will be influenced by the nature of the business. (PlanWare, 2009) Meanwhile the work-in-progress is the stocks of unfinished goods. Work-in-progress can be sold out to customers as they will use it in their own production process or kept for XYZ’s production line. Keeping stocks of unfinished goods can be a useful way to protect production if there are problems down the line with other suppliers. As for the finished goods, the company may consider to stock up the finished goods when the demand is certain, goods are produced in batches and the company completing a large order. (Boisjoly, 2009) The quantity of overall stocks the business keep will affect the cash conversion cycle, thus there are several factors the company should consider to determined the quantity to keep. There are the realibility of supply and availability of alternative sources; the production and delivery terms (whether it is in batches or singles); demand; the stability of price; and the availibility of discount if the company purchase in bulk. (Boisjoly, 2009) These are the factors the company need to consider because the longer material kept in inventory before they moved to production process, the higher cost it will charge to the company. If XYZ can shift inventory faster, then company can cut unnecessary costs and allocate the available cash to other process. (PlanWare, 2009) In order to determine the quantity to keep in the business, nowadays, many large manufacturers operate on a just-in-time (JIT) basis whereby all the components to be assembled on a particular day, arrive at the factory early that morning. (Boisjoly, 2009) This helps to minimize manufacturing costs as JIT stocks take up minor space, minimize stock-holding and virtually eliminate the risks of obsolete stock. Company are able to conserve substantial cash because JIT manufacturers hold stock for a very short time. (PlanWare, 2009) It is the most common method to be used in certain industries if the business is in fast-moving environment. This method might suitable for XYZ if the company produce products with rapid development, where the stock is expensive to buy and store, and the goods are fragile or restocking goods is fast and effortless. The last factor is creditors. The idea is to extend the time allowed for payment of expenses the business incurs (Cartwright, 2008). If company get better credit in terms of duration or amount from suppliers, then they are able to increase the cash resources. However, slow payment may signal inefficiency of the company. Therefore it is important to look after the creditors. Working capital often assumed to be well improved by squeezing the suppliers. However, this approach might impair sales and damage relations. Thus trade credit is offered as alternative to solve this issue.   However it would depend on the industries involved. Some industries may need to improve their working capital by trade credit; some may not, because there are risks of competitive pressure, price discrimination and transaction pulling. Furthermore trade credit should not be done aggressively since it might damage the supply chain. When supply chain disrupted, the share price will drop. Applying the right mi x of trade credit strategies will improve working capital of the company. (Seifert Seifert, 2008) In conclusion, working capital is playing a major role in XYZ Limited as a medium manufacturing company. It is important to improve working capital to enhance the liquidity and profitability of the company with the existence of risk. The key to improve working capital is to shorten the cash conversion cycle. Therefore fasten collection payment from debtors, proper inventory management and squeezing creditors can be effective to boost the cash flow. Nevertheless too aggressive persuasion of payment and extending the time of credit may decline sales, break the supply chain, and lead to antagonized customers. Hence improvement approach should be done in order. Figure 1 The Working Capital Cycle Taken from http://tutor2u.net/business/images/working_capital_cycle.gif Word Count: 3,212 words References    Banham, Russ. (2000). Better Budget. Journal of Accountancy. Vol. 189. No. 2. Research Library   Ã‚   Barret, Richard. (2003). How Incorporating Drivers Can Revolutionize Budgeting and Re-forecasting. The Journal of Bank Cost Management Accounting. Vol.16. No. 1.   ProQuest Central    Beyond Budgeting Round Table. (2005). The Principles of Beyond Budgeting. [Internet] Available from:   [25 Mar 2010]    Cheek, L. M. (1977). Zero-Base Budgeting Comes of Age. AMACOM: New York.    DocShare.com. (2009). The Strengths and Weaknesses of Traditional Budgeting. [Internet] Available from:   [25 Mar 2010] Flamholtz, Eric G. (1983). Accounting, Budgeting and Control Systems in Their Organizational Context: Theoritical and Empirical Perspectives. Accounting, Organizations and Society Journal. Vol. 8. No. 2/3. Great Britain. France, Adrian. (2006). An Alternative Approach to Surveying Management Accounting Practices. [Internet] Available from:   [10 Mar 2010] Hansen, Stephen C., Otley, David T., Van der Stede, Wim A. (2003). Practice Developments in Budgeting: An Overview and Research Perspective. Journal of Management Accounting Research. Vol. 15. Research Library. Hope, Jeremy Fraser, Robin. (1999). Beyond Budgeting: Building a New Management Model for The Information Age. Management Accounting Articles. Hyperion Solution Corporation. (1998). Does Budgeting Have to Be So Problematic [Internet] Available from:  Ã‚   [25 Mar 2010] LaFaive, Michael. (2003). The Pros and Cons of Zero-Base Budgeting. Testimony by Director of Fiscal Policy. Mackinac Center for Public Policy.    Nolan, Gregory J. (1999). The End of Traditional Budgeting. The Journal of Bank Cost Management Accounting. Vol. 12. No. 2. ProQuest Central. Pyhrr, P. A. (1973). Zero-Base Budgeting. John Wiley Sons: New York. Verlag, Martin M. (2005). Life Beyond Budgets? An Implementation Story – Beyond Budgeting at Unilever. [Internet] Available from:   [10 Mar 2010]    Ramsey, Timothy L. (1999). Diagnostic Variance Analysis. The Journal of Bank Cost Management Accounting. Vol. 12. No. 3. ProQuest Central.    Sulaiman, M., Ahmad, N. N., Alwi, N. M. (2005). Is Standard Costing Obsolete? Empirical Evidence from Malaysia. Managerial Auditing Journal. Vol. 25. No. 2. ProQuest Central. [Internet] Available from:   [12 Mar 2010] List of references for Part B:   Ã‚   Boisjoly, Russell P. (2009) The Cash Flow Implications of Managing Working Capital and Capital Investment. Journal of Business Economic Studies. Vol. 15. No. 1.    Cartwright, Terry. (2008). Manage Debtors and Creditors to Improve Liquidity. Icthus.Net Communication. [Internet] Available from:  Ã‚   [30 Mar 2010]    Dunn, Paul Cheatham, Leo. (1993). Fundamentals of Small Business Financial Management for Start up, Survival, Growth, and Changing Economic Circumstances. Managerial Finance. Vol.19. No. 8. ProQuest Central.    Gitman, L.J. (1974). Estimating Corporate Liquidity Requirements: A Simplified Approach. The Financial Review. Vol. 9. pp. 79-88. Ng, C.K., Smith, J.K. and Smith, R.L. (1999), Evidence on The Determinants of Credit Terms Used in Interfirm Trade. Journal of Finance. Vol. 54. pp. 1109-29. PlanWare. (2009). Business Planning Papers: Managing Working Capital. Invest-Tech Limited. Dublin. [Internet] Available from:   [28 Mar 2010] Shukla, Arun. (2009). Working Capital Management’s Role in the Turnaround Engagement. American Bankruptcy Institute Journal. Edition: June 2009. Vol. 28. No.5. Research Library. Seifert, Daniel Seifert, Ralph W. (2008). Working Capital in Times of Financial Crisis: Three Trade Credit Strategies. Perspective for Managers Journal. No. 166. [Internet] Available from:   [25 Mar 2010] Smith, J.K. (1987). Trade Credit and Informational Asymmetry. Journal of Finance. Vol. 42, pp. 863-72.    Teruel, Pedro J. G. Solano, Pedro M. (2007). Effects of Working Capital Management on SME Profitability. International Journal of Managerial Finance. Vol. 3. No. 2. Emerald Group Publishing Limited.    Wang, Y.J. (2002). Liquidity Management, Operating Performance, and Coroporate Value: Evidence from Japan and Taiwan. Journal of Multinational Financial Management. Vol. 12. WebFinance Inc. (1999). Definition of Working Capital. WebFinance Inc. [Internet] Available from:   [25 Mar 2010] WebFinance Inc. (1999). Definition of Working Capital. WebFinance Inc. [Internet] Available from:   [25 Mar 2010]    Working Capital Model. (Unknown) [Internet] Available from: http://tutor2u.net/business/images/working_capital_cycle.gif [25 Mar 2010]