Ias 11

IAS 11 International Accounting Standard 11 Construction Contracts In April 2001 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) adopted IAS 11 Construction Contracts, which had originally been issued by the International Accounting Standards Committee in December 1993. IAS 11 Construction Contracts replaced parts of IAS 11 Accounting for Construction Contracts (issued in March 1979). Other IFRSs have made minor consequential amendments to IAS 11. They include IAS 23 Borrowing Costs (as revised in March 2007) and IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements (as revised in September 2007). IFRS Foundation A613 IAS 11 CONTENTS from paragraph INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTING STANDARD 11 CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS OBJECTIVE SCOPE DEFINITIONS COMBINING AND SEGMENTING CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS CONTRACT REVENUE CONTRACT COSTS RECOGNITION OF CONTRACT REVENUE AND EXPENSES RECOGNITION OF EXPECTED LOSSES CHANGES IN ESTIMATES DISCLOSURE EFFECTIVE DATE 1 3 7 11 16 22 36 38 39 46 FOR THE ACCOMPANYING DOCUMENTS LISTED BELOW, SEE PART B OF THIS EDITION ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLES Disclosure of accounting policies The determination of contract revenue and expenses Contract disclosures A614 Â ©IFRS Foundation IAS 11 International Accounting Standard 11 Construction Contracts (IAS 11) is set out in paragraphs 1–46. All the paragraphs have equal authority but retain the IASC format of the Standard when it was adopted by the IASB. IAS 11 should be read in the context of its objective, the Preface to International Financial Reporting Standards and the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting. IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors provides a basis for selecting and applying accounting policies in the absence of explicit guidance. IFRS Foundation A615 IAS 11 International Accounting Standard 11 Construction Contracts Objective The objective of this Standard is to prescribe the accounting treatment of revenue and costs associated with construction contracts. Be cause of the nature of the activity undertaken in construction contracts, the date at which the contract activity is entered into and the date when the activity is completed usually fall into different accounting periods.Therefore, the primary issue in accounting for construction contracts is the allocation of contract revenue and contract costs to the accounting periods in which construction work is performed. This Standard uses the recognition criteria established in the Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements1 to determine when contract revenue and contract costs should be recognised as revenue and expenses in the statement of comprehensive income. It also provides practical guidance on the application of these criteria. Scope This Standard shall be applied in accounting for construction contracts in the financial statements of contractors. 2 This Standard supersedes IAS 11 Accounting for Construction Contracts approved in 1978. Definitions 3 The fo llowing terms are used in this Standard with the meanings specified: A construction contract is a contract specifically negotiated for the construction of an asset or a combination of assets that are closely interrelated or interdependent in terms of their design, technology and function or their ultimate purpose or use.A fixed price contract is a construction contract in which the contractor agrees to a fixed contract price, or a fixed rate per unit of output, which in some cases is subject to cost escalation clauses. A cost plus contract is a construction contract in which the contractor is reimbursed for allowable or otherwise defined costs, plus a percentage of these costs or a fixed fee. 4 A construction contract may be negotiated for the construction of a single asset such as a bridge, building, dam, pipeline, road, ship or tunnel.A construction contract may also deal with the construction of a number of assets which are closely interrelated or interdependent in terms of their design, technology and function or their ultimate purpose or use; examples of such contracts include those for the construction of refineries and other complex pieces of plant or equipment. 1 IASC’s Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements was adopted by the IASB in 2001.In September 2010 the IASB replaced the Framework with the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting. A616 Â © IFRS Foundation IAS 11 5 For the purposes of this Standard, construction contracts include: (a) contracts for the rendering of services which are directly related to the construction of the asset, for example, those for the services of project managers and architects; and contracts for the destruction or restoration of assets, and the restoration of the environment following the demolition of assets. (b) 6Construction contracts are formulated in a number of ways which, for the purposes of this Standard, are classified as fixed price contracts and cost plus contracts . Some construction contracts may contain characteristics of both a fixed price contract and a cost plus contract, for example in the case of a cost plus contract with an agreed maximum price. In such circumstances, a contractor needs to consider all the conditions in paragraphs 23 and 24 in order to determine when to recognise contract revenue and expenses.Combining and segmenting construction contracts 7 The requirements of this Standard are usually applied separately to each construction contract. However, in certain circumstances, it is necessary to apply the Standard to the separately identifiable components of a single contract or to a group of contracts together in order to reflect the substance of a contract or a group of contracts.When a contract covers a number of assets, the construction of each asset shall be treated as a separate construction contract when: (a) (b) separate proposals have been submitted for each asset; each asset has been subject to separate negotiation and the contractor and customer have been able to accept or reject that part of the contract relating to each asset; and the costs and revenues of each asset can be identified. (c) 9 A group of contracts, whether with a single customer or with several customers, shall be treated as a single construction contract when: (a) (b) the group of contracts is negotiated as a single package; the contracts are so closely interrelated that they are, in effect, part of a single project with an overall profit margin; and the contracts are performed concurrently or in a continuous sequence. (c) 10A contract may provide for the construction of an additional asset at the option of the customer or may be amended to include the construction of an additional asset. The construction of the additional asset shall be treated as a separate construction contract when: (a) the asset differs significantly in design, technology or function from the asset or assets covered by the original contract; or the pri ce of the asset is negotiated without regard to the original contract price. b) Â © IFRS Foundation A617 IAS 11 Contract revenue 11 Contract revenue shall comprise: (a) (b) the initial amount of revenue agreed in the contract; and variations in contract work, claims and incentive payments: (i) (ii) to the extent that it is probable that they will result in revenue; and they are capable of being reliably measured. 12Contract revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable. The measurement of contract revenue is affected by a variety of uncertainties that depend on the outcome of future events. The estimates often need to be revised as events occur and uncertainties are resolved. Therefore, the amount of contract revenue may increase or decrease from one period to the next.For example: (a) a contractor and a customer may agree variations or claims that increase or decrease contract revenue in a period subsequent to that in which the contract was init ially agreed; the amount of revenue agreed in a fixed price contract may increase as a result of cost escalation clauses; the amount of contract revenue may decrease as a result of penalties arising from delays caused by the contractor in the completion of the contract; or when a fixed price contract involves a fixed price per unit of output, contract revenue increases as the number of units is increased. b) (c) (d) 13 A variation is an instruction by the customer for a change in the scope of the work to be performed under the contract. A variation may lead to an increase or a decrease in contract revenue. Examples of variations are changes in the specifications or design of the asset and changes in the duration of the contract. A variation is included in contract revenue when: (a) (b) it is probable that the customer will approve the variation and the amount of revenue arising from the variation; and the amount of revenue can be reliably measured. 4 A claim is an amount that the co ntractor seeks to collect from the customer or another party as reimbursement for costs not included in the contract price. A claim may arise from, for example, customer caused delays, errors in specifications or design, and disputed variations in contract work. The measurement of the amounts of revenue arising from claims is subject to a high level of uncertainty and often depends on the outcome of negotiations.Therefore, claims are included in contract revenue only when: (a) (b) negotiations have reached an advanced stage such that it is probable that the customer will accept the claim; and the amount that it is probable will be accepted by the customer can be measured reliably. A618 Â © IFRS Foundation IAS 11 15 Incentive payments are additional amounts paid to the contractor if specified performance standards are met or exceeded. For example, a contract may allow for an incentive payment to the contractor for early completion of the contract.Incentive payments are included in c ontract revenue when: (a) (b) the contract is sufficiently advanced that it is probable that the specified performance standards will be met or exceeded; and the amount of the incentive payment can be measured reliably. Contract costs 16 Contract costs shall comprise: (a) (b) costs that relate directly to the specific contract; costs that are attributable to contract activity in general and can be allocated to the contract; and such other costs as are specifically chargeable to the customer under the terms of the contract. c) 17 Costs that relate directly to a specific contract include: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) site labour costs, including site supervision; costs of materials used in construction; depreciation of plant and equipment used on the contract; costs of moving plant, equipment and materials to and from the contract site; costs of hiring plant and equipment; costs of design and technical assistance that is directly related to the contract; the estimated costs of rect ification and guarantee work, including expected warranty costs; and claims from third parties.These costs may be reduced by any incidental income that is not included in contract revenue, for example income from the sale of surplus materials and the disposal of plant and equipment at the end of the contract. 18 Costs that may be attributable to contract activity in general and can be allocated to specific contracts include: (a) (b) (c) insurance; costs of design and technical assistance that are not directly related to a specific contract; and construction overheads. Â ©IFRS Foundation A619 IAS 11 Such costs are allocated using methods that are systematic and rational and are applied consistently to all costs having similar characteristics. The allocation is based on the normal level of construction activity. Construction overheads include costs such as the preparation and processing of construction personnel payroll. Costs that may be attributable to contract activity in general and can be allocated to specific contracts also include borrowing costs. 9 Costs that are specifically chargeable to the customer under the terms of the contract may include some general administration costs and development costs for which reimbursement is specified in the terms of the contract. Costs that cannot be attributed to contract activity or cannot be allocated to a contract are excluded from the costs of a construction contract.Such costs include: (a) (b) (c) (d) 21 general administration costs for which reimbursement is not specified in the contract; selling costs; research and development costs for which reimbursement is not specified in the contract; and depreciation of idle plant and equipment that is not used on a particular contract. 20 Contract costs include the costs attributable to a contract for the period from the date of securing the contract to the final completion of the contract.However, costs that relate directly to a contract and are incurred in securing t he contract are also included as part of the contract costs if they can be separately identified and measured reliably and it is probable that the contract will be obtained. When costs incurred in securing a contract are recognised as an expense in the period in which they are incurred, they are not included in contract costs when the contract is obtained in a subsequent period.Recognition of contract revenue and expenses 22 When the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably, contract revenue and contract costs associated with the construction contract shall be recognised as revenue and expenses respectively by reference to the stage of completion of the contract activity at the end of the reporting period. An expected loss on the construction contract shall be recognised as an expense immediately in accordance with paragraph 36.In the case of a fixed price contract, the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably when all the following conditions are satisfied: (a) (b) total contract revenue can be measured reliably; it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the contract will flow to the entity; both the contract costs to complete the contract and the stage of contract completion at the end of the reporting period can be measured reliably; and 23 (c) A620 Â © IFRS Foundation IAS 11 (d) he contract costs attributable to the contract can be clearly identified and measured reliably so that actual contract costs incurred can be compared with prior estimates. 24 In the case of a cost plus contract, the outcome of a construction contract can be estimated reliably when all the following conditions are satisfied: (a) it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the contract will flow to the entity; and the contract costs attributable to the contract, whether or not specifically reimbursable, can be clearly identified and measured reliably. b) 25 The recognition of revenue and expenses by reference to t he stage of completion of a contract is often referred to as the percentage of completion method. Under this method, contract revenue is matched with the contract costs incurred in reaching the stage of completion, resulting in the reporting of revenue, expenses and profit which can be attributed to the proportion of work completed. This method provides useful information on the extent of contract activity and performance during a period.Under the percentage of completion method, contract revenue is recognised as revenue in profit or loss in the accounting periods in which the work is performed. Contract costs are usually recognised as an expense in profit or loss in the accounting periods in which the work to which they relate is performed. However, any expected excess of total contract costs over total contract revenue for the contract is recognised as an expense immediately in accordance with paragraph 36.A contractor may have incurred contract costs that relate to future activit y on the contract. Such contract costs are recognised as an asset provided it is probable that they will be recovered. Such costs represent an amount due from the customer and are often classified as contract work in progress. The outcome of a construction contract can only be estimated reliably when it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the contract will flow to the entity.However, when an uncertainty arises about the collectibility of an amount already included in contract revenue, and already recognised in profit or loss, the uncollectible amount or the amount in respect of which recovery has ceased to be probable is recognised as an expense rather than as an adjustment of the amount of contract revenue. An entity is generally able to make reliable estimates after it has agreed to a contract which establishes: (a) (b) (c) each party’s enforceable rights regarding the asset to be constructed; the consideration to be exchanged; and the manner and terms of settlement. 6 27 28 29 It is also usually necessary for the entity to have an effective internal financial budgeting and reporting system. The entity reviews and, when necessary, revises the estimates of contract revenue and contract costs as the contract progresses. The need for such revisions does not necessarily indicate that the outcome of the contract cannot be estimated reliably. Â © IFRS Foundation A621 IAS 11 30 The stage of completion of a contract may be determined in a variety of ways. The entity uses the method that measures reliably the work performed.Depending on the nature of the contract, the methods may include: (a) (b) (c) the proportion that contract costs incurred for work performed to date bear to the estimated total contract costs; surveys of work performed; or completion of a physical proportion of the contract work. Progress payments and advances received from customers often do not reflect the work performed. 31 When the stage of completion is determined b y reference to the contract costs incurred to date, only those contract costs that reflect work performed are included in costs incurred to date.Examples of contract costs which are excluded are: (a) contract costs that relate to future activity on the contract, such as costs of materials that have been delivered to a contract site or set aside for use in a contract but not yet installed, used or applied during contract performance, unless the materials have been made specially for the contract; and payments made to subcontractors in advance of work performed under the subcontract. (b) 32When the outcome of a construction contract cannot be estimated reliably: (a) revenue shall be recognised only to the extent of contract costs incurred that it is probable will be recoverable; and contract costs shall be recognised as an expense in the period in which they are incurred. (b) An expected loss on the construction contract shall be recognised as an expense immediately in accordance with paragraph 36. 33 During the early stages of a contract it is often the case that the outcome of the contract cannot be estimated reliably.Nevertheless, it may be probable that the entity will recover the contract costs incurred. Therefore, contract revenue is recognised only to the extent of costs incurred that are expected to be recoverable. As the outcome of the contract cannot be estimated reliably, no profit is recognised. However, even though the outcome of the contract cannot be estimated reliably, it may be probable that total contract costs will exceed total contract revenues.In such cases, any expected excess of total contract costs over total contract revenue for the contract is recognised as an expense immediately in accordance with paragraph 36. Contract costs that are not probable of being recovered are recognised as an expense immediately. Examples of circumstances in which the recoverability of contract costs incurred may not be probable and in which contract costs m ay need to be recognised as an expense immediately include contracts: (a) that are not fully enforceable, ie their validity is seriously in question; 34 A622 Â © IFRS Foundation IAS 11 (b) (c) (d) (e) 5 the completion of which is subject to the outcome of pending litigation or legislation; relating to properties that are likely to be condemned or expropriated; where the customer is unable to meet its obligations; or where the contractor is unable to complete the contract or otherwise meet its obligations under the contract. When the uncertainties that prevented the outcome of the contract being estimated reliably no longer exist, revenue and expenses associated with the construction contract shall be recognised in accordance with paragraph 22 rather than in accordance with paragraph 32.Recognition of expected losses 36 When it is probable that total contract costs will exceed total contract revenue, the expected loss shall be recognised as an expense immediately. 37 The amount of s uch a loss is determined irrespective of: (a) (b) (c) whether work has commenced on the contract; the stage of completion of contract activity; or the amount of profits expected to arise on other contracts which are not treated as a single construction contract in accordance with paragraph 9. Changes in estimates 8 The percentage of completion method is applied on a cumulative basis in each accounting period to the current estimates of contract revenue and contract costs. Therefore, the effect of a change in the estimate of contract revenue or contract costs, or the effect of a change in the estimate of the outcome of a contract, is accounted for as a change in accounting estimate (see IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors). The changed estimates are used in the determination of the amount of revenue and expenses recognised in profit or loss in the period in which the change is made and in subsequent periods.Disclosure 39 An entity shall disclose: (a) (b) the amount of contract revenue recognised as revenue in the period; the methods used to determine the contract revenue recognised in the period; and the methods used to determine the stage of completion of contracts in progress. (c) Â © IFRS Foundation A623 IAS 11 40 An entity shall disclose each of the following for contracts in progress at the end of the reporting period: (a) the aggregate amount of costs incurred and recognised profits (less recognised losses) to date; the amount of advances received; and the amount of retentions. b) (c) 41 Retentions are amounts of progress billings that are not paid until the satisfaction of conditions specified in the contract for the payment of such amounts or until defects have been rectified. Progress billings are amounts billed for work performed on a contract whether or not they have been paid by the customer. Advances are amounts received by the contractor before the related work is performed. An entity shall present: (a) (b) the g ross amount due from customers for contract work as an asset; and the gross amount due to customers for contract work as a liability. 2 43 The gross amount due from customers for contract work is the net amount of: (a) (b) costs incurred plus recognised profits; less the sum of recognised losses and progress billings for all contracts in progress for which costs incurred plus recognised profits (less recognised losses) exceeds progress billings. 44 The gross amount due to customers for contract work is the net amount of: (a) (b) costs incurred plus recognised profits; less the sum of recognised losses and progress billings or all contracts in progress for which progress billings exceed costs incurred plus recognised profits (less recognised losses). 45 An entity discloses any contingent liabilities and contingent assets in accordance with IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets. Contingent liabilities and contingent assets may arise from such items as warrant y costs, claims, penalties or possible losses. Effective date 46 This Standard becomes operative for financial statements covering periods beginning on or after 1 January 1995. A624 Â © IFRS Foundation

Legal/Ethical Issues and the Solutions of a DNR

Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders are those given by a physician indication that in the event of a cardiac or respiratory arrest â€Å"no† resuscitative measures should be used to revive the patient (Pozgar, 2013, p. 153).Difficulties and confusion about do not resuscitate orders still exist, despite efforts to help patients, families, and surrogate decision-makers make informed choices. In this paper, issues will be addressed about the legal and ethical dilemmas about a DNR, how a DNR can affect while being used in a school system, the history of the issues of DNR, and how potential effects can be addressed to the issues for the future.Additionally, I will discuss the legal rights of the DNR to individuals as they interact with healthcare services, the implications of the patient’s bill of rights as it reflects to a DNR, and analyze selected ethical and legal case studies that have promulgated precedent-setting decisions. The majority of patients who die in hospital have a â€Å"Do Not Resuscitate† (DNR) order in place at the time of their death, yet we know very little about why some patients request or agree to a DNR order, why others don’t, and how they view discussions of resuscitation status.Some issues addressed with a study are the patients and families understanding the considerations of a typical request of full code (FC) or DNR orders. DNR patients reported a much greater familiarity with resuscitation discussions than FC patients. This was typically due to previous conversations with health care professionals, experiences with relatives, or self-realization prompted by other experiences. FC patients, on the other hand, typically reported no previous experience with this discussion, although a few had discussed it previously on admission to hospital.FC and DNR patients had very different understandings of resuscitation and DNR orders, and there were few common themes identified in their answers. DNR patients described resusc itation as violent or traumatic event, associated with â€Å"tubes† or â€Å"machines,† painful, and generally futile. FC patients, on the other hand, often described resuscitation in a more abstract way, the â€Å"restoration† of life. Finally, a small number admitted frankly that they had no clear idea of what resuscitation actually were (Downar, Luk, Sibbald, Santini, Mikhael, Berman, and Hawryluck, 2011).Although most patients are pleased with their physician’s approach to the conversation, many reported a negative emotional response overall. Both FC and DENR patients often reported being shocked or upset by the conversation, either because of the timing or the content, or simply being confronted with their own mortality. Advance Care Planning may help reduce this negative response; by normalizing the subject and raising it before an acute illness, physicians may help reduce anxiety and shock when it is raised during deterioration.Both FC and DNR pati ents emphasized the importance of honesty, clarity, and sensitivity when discussing this issue (Downar, Luk, Sibbald, Santini, Mikhael, Berman, and Hawryluck, 2011). Mr. H is an 81-year old veteran with a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and depression. His daughters went to visit their father at 10 am and found him awake, but unable to communicate or follow commands. Empty morphine bottles were strewn around the room where he was found. Mr. H’s daughters called an ambulance and had their father transported to the emergency department of the local VA hospital.In the emergency department, there was concern for either an accidental or intentional opioid overdose, and the toxicology screen was positive for opioids. Narcan was administered with some modest and brief improvement in mental status, but Mr. H never obtained a level of consciousness that would enable him to express his treatment preferences. Progress notes written during the weeks before the inc ident indicated that Mr. H had threatened to commit suicide if his respiratory disease progressed to the point that he could not breathe.Mr. H was admitted to the medical intensive care unit, where an arterial  blood gas showed him to have respiratory acidosis. Several hours after arrival in the MICU, Mr. H became hypotensive and bradycardic. The intensive care resident on duty advised the daughters of her concern that the patient would develop respiratory failure that was likely to lead to a cardiac arrest, requiring CPR. The daughters indicated their father’s longstanding wish to be DNR. A durable power of attorney for health care (DPOA) executed five years before, although not documenting any treatment preferences, did appoint the two daughters as health care agents.The intensive care resident explained to the daughters that it was standard clinical practice to utilize CPR, even if patients had clearly expressed wishes to be DNR, if the arrest of respiratory compromise w as secondary to a suicide attempt. The daughters informed the resident that they had had several extended conversations with their father over the last year, occasioned by his failing health, in which he had communicated to them his wish not to have any aggressive care when his quality of life declined.The daughters both professed to be devout Christians, but said their father had been an inveterate atheist, whose philosophy of life was that when an individual could no longer function at an acceptable level, he had the right to refuse all life-sustaining interventions. The resident and the intensive care attending, which had now arrived, did not feel they could ethically or legally enter a DNR order, precluding the use of a life-saving intervention that could potentially reverse Mr. H’s respiratory failure, because it was secondary to a suicide attempt.At this juncture, the MICU physicians requested an urgent ethics consultation to resolve the conflict. The decision to overri de the DNR request of an individual who has attempted suicide is often framed as a clear and classical conflict between the principles of autonomy and beneficence or nonmaleficence. The other situation occurs when an individual, having authorized an EMS DNR order, attempts suicide and is discovered before the attempt becomes successful; Both circumstances provoke the classic dilemma, where the ethical wishes of rescuers to act for the good of their patient i. e., beneficence, run counter to the individual’s autonomous wishes expressed in the EMS DNR order.The rescuer cannot satisfy both of these conflicting ethical principles (Geppert, 2010). A 2010, reviewed of the clinical, ethical, and legal dilemmas related to DNR orders in suicidal patients presents a case report of a patient hospitalized for severe depression, who overdoses on the psychiatric unit and is found unresponsive with a recently obtained DNR order in her hands, The review argues that contemporary law and polic y related to DNR orders are not formulated to encompass the situation of an individual with serious mental illness.They recommend that patients be screened for suicidal ideation before a DNR order is entered, and that states and institutions clarify their response to DNR status in the context of attempted suicide. â€Å"Passive assistance† occurs when a health care provider does nothing to prevent a patient’s suicide. In the health care context, however, passive assistance has been an ethical practice for many years. For example, DNR orders have been instrumental in forming the current awareness of rights and responsibilities in the area of death and dying.A physician who refrains from attempting CPR on a patient who has made a rational choice to commit suicide is within the acceptable guidelines of the practice of medicine. If there is disagreement, every reasonable effort should be made to communicate with the patient or family. In many cases, this will lead to resol ution of the conflict. In difficult cases, an ethics consultation can prove helpful. Nevertheless, CPR should generally be provided to such patients, even if judged futile.In some cases, the decision about CPR occurs at a time when the patient is unable to participate in decision making, and hence cannot voice a preference. There are two general approaches to this dilemma: Advance Directives and surrogate decision makers (University of Washington School of Medicine, 2008). Do Not Resuscitate Orders in Schools In recent years, legal trends have expanded educational opportunities, including access to adaptive, for children and adults with wide variety of disabilities or handicaps.The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has previously addressed the ethical and legal issues involved in decisions to either limit or withdraw life-sustaining medical treatment. Parents, who, after consultation with their pediatrician and other advisors, decide to forego CPR of their child, may want this de cision respected by school system personnel. These decisions challenge all persons involved in a situation in which SPR may be given to balance personal beliefs, strong feelings, legal concerns (especially those having to do with liability), educational considerations, and other issues (Pediatrics, 2000).In contrast, the school officials may be worried that a DNR order could be misinterpreted by medically untrained staff, resulting in harm to a child, or they may worry that personnel would feel bound not to respond to an easily reversible condition, such as a mucous plug in a child with a tracheotomy. Administrators have concerns about their personnel responding to circumstances not anticipated by a DNR order, such as when a child chokes on food or is injured. School officials may be rightfully concerned about the effect of a death in school on other students.The parents of healthy children may not want their children exposed to death in a classroom or other school setting (Pediatri cs, 2000). The AAP recommends that pediatricians and parents of children at increased risk of dying in school who desire a DNR order meet with school officials – including nursing personnel, teachers, administrators, and EMS personnel, and, when appropriate, the child. Individuals involved ideally will reach an agreement about the goals of in-school medical interventions and the best means to implement those goals. Concerted efforts to accommodate all points of view will help avoid confrontation and possible litigation.Pediatricians need to assist parents and schools to review, as needed when warranted by a change in the child’s condition, but at least every six months, plans for in-school care. Pediatricians need to review the plan with the board of education and its legal counsel. Pediatricians and their chapter and district members should work with local and state authorities responsible for EMS policies affecting out-of-hospital DNR orders to develop rational proce dures and legal understanding about what can be done that respects the rights and interests of dying children (Pediatrics, 2000).History of issues with a DNR The development of CPR in the early 1960s precipitated the need for DNR orders. However, it soon became evident that the routine application of resuscitation efforts to any patient who suffered a cardiopulmonary arrest led to new problems. Thus, even in the earliest stages of its development, resuscitative measures presented a basic ethical quandary that still underpins much of the controversy over DNR orders today: the potential conflict between prolongation of life itself and the quality of the life preserved. DNR orders arose out of the need to address such suffering.In 1974, the American Medical Association noted that â€Å"CPR is not indicated in certain situations, such as in cases of terminal irreversible illness where death is not unexpected. † DNR orders developed out of the general bioethics milieu of the last quarter of the twentieth century, concomitant to â€Å"the promotion of patient autonomy: (Goldberg, 2007, p. 60). While DNR orders have, by the present day, become a familiar if not regularly encountered phenomenon, â€Å"there is less legal certainty for providers regarding DNR orders for incompetent patients† (Goldberg, 2007, p. 60).The patient Self-Determination Act of 1990, the 1983 report of the President’s Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research, and the ruling in Cruzan, Quinlan and other landmark cases established the right of competent patients, through both advance directives and their surrogates, to refuse life-sustaining treatments, providing the ethical and legal basis of DNR orders. Currently, the Joint Commission standards require all health care institutions to have policies and procedures regarding advance directives and DNR orders.All 50 states have statutory requirements that uphold the autono my of competent patients to make health care decisions, including those regarding CPR, and to exercise this self-determination through authorized surrogates should they lose decision-making capacity (Geppert, 2010). A Patient’s Bill of Rights Reflected in a DNR DNR comfort care orders permit comfort care only, both before and during a cardiac or respiratory arrest. This kind of order is generally appropriate for a patient with a terminal illness, short life expectancy, or little chance of surviving CPR.DNR comfort care arrest orders permit the use of all resuscitative therapies before an arrest, but not during or after an arrest. A cardiac arrest is defined as an absence of palpable pulse. A respiratory arrest is defined as no spontaneous respirations or the presence of agonal breathing. Once an arrest is confirmed, all resuscitative efforts should be stopped and comfort care alone initiated. DNR specified orders allow the physician to â€Å"tailor† the DNR order to th e specific circumstances and wishes of the patient.For example, under this option the physician could specify â€Å"pharmacological code only,† or â€Å"no defibrillation,† or â€Å"do not intubate† (Department of Bioethics, n. d. ). If the patients’ preferences regarding resuscitation are clear, they should be respected. Patient preferences to refuse resuscitative efforts can be communicated directly by the patient, or by an advance directive, a valid Do Not Attempt Resuscitation (DNAR) order, or by the patient’s legal representative. Unofficial documentation may be considered when determining patient preferences (ACEP, 2008).It is appropriate for out-of-hospital providers to honor valid DNAR orders or out-of-hospital advance directives. Standardized guidelines and protocols should be developed to direct out-of-hospital personnel’s resuscitative efforts. When resuscitative efforts are not indicated, emergency physicians should provide appro priate medical and psychosocial care during the dying process. This may include the provision of comfort measures and psychosocial support for the patient and family.Recommendations to better DNRsFirst, to the extent permissible under individual state laws, propose that U. S. hospitals and journals begin to consider the term â€Å"do not resuscitate order† and the abbreviation â€Å"DNR† to be obsolete. These terms carry the implicit message that when interventions such as chest compressions and bag-mask ventilation are undertaken, resuscitation of the patient will result. Suggestion to use the phrase â€Å"do not attempt resuscitation† and the abbreviation â€Å"DNAR,† making clear that CPR is really only an attempt at resuscitation.Find that DNAR retains clarity about the interventions being discussed while reminding both patients and practitioners of the uncertainty of the outcome of resuscitative efforts. Second, to remind medical learners and practit ioners of the questions that must be answered at the time of admission to the hospital. Placing â€Å"attempt resuscitation† status immediately after diagnosis reminds the practitioner that the diagnosis of the patient should play a major role in determining whether resuscitation should be attempted.This modification in the admission orders also makes the specification of â€Å"attempt resuscitation† and â€Å"do not attempt resuscitation† explicit. While some policies will at first continue to presume consent for CPR, practitioners will be reminded that there is a decision to be made. Third, as a routine part of a discussion the physician should provide an explanation of how the patient’s prognosis would change should the patient experience cardiopulmonary arrest. A cardiopulmonary arrest is not a neutral event.It is thus not only indicative of the severity of illness, but also an indicator that the prognosis is worse than if the cardiopulmonary arrest h ad not happened. A discussion of these features can be of particular value to families of patients for whom an event of cardiopulmonary arrest would indicate a worsening of the underlying disease or result in irreversible damage. Fourth, physicians should help clarify prognosis by proposing a course of action to the family. In some instances, that will mean deferring to patient decision, where the medical evidence and judgment is not conclusive.In other situations, it will mean recommending that CPR not be attempted. Consistent with safeguards ensuring physician accountability and where individual state laws would permit broad physician discretion, it might even mean that some cases will necessitate reclassifying CPR as a pseudo-option that does not even warrant a mention. However, a failure to make a recommendation is more likely to cause families additional anxiety than it is to be perceived as coercion.In addition, making a proposal for a course of action can help a physician com municate the significance of a cardiopulmonary arrest given the patient’s underlying condition (Bishop, Brothers, Perry, and Ahmad, 2010, pp. 65-66). In conclusion, when patients’ and physicians’ understanding of the best decision, or of the preferred role of either party, diverge, conflict may ensue. In order to elicit and negotiate with patient preferences, flexibility is required during clinical interactions about decision making.A conventional formulation would contend that the origin of the respiratory depression from a suicide attempt was the ethically determinative factor. This perspective would logically have led to the recommendation to override the surrogates’ request for a DNR order. Yet this attribution gives more ethical weight to a choice the patient appeared to have made impulsively and proximately, with questionable decisional capacity, rather than the distal and deliberate preference of an individual with intact capacity to refuse life-su staining treatments (Geppert, 2010).The four recommendations are only the first steps along a process of a DNR change. The ultimate goal will be to reach a more balanced place where discussions about decisions can be made jointly, but with the acknowledgement that all decisions are laden with moral values inherent in the practice of medicine and life in a pluralistic society and that all judgments are themselves fallible.

Entrepreneurship the purist most challenging application of the art and science of business. Essay

Corporate America repeatedly cites the ‘lack of entrepreneurial skills’ as the single biggest deficiency in MBAs – something that we fix in this course. Entrepreneurial skills and knowledge are mandatory for creating your own venture (for-profit or non-profit) , creating a new business unit within an existing enterprise, creating a new product or service offering and  launching it, or for just being a much more inventive and creative desk jockey in a lumbering, bureaucratic human cesspit of non-productive activity. The conception and start-up stage of a new organization is a critical stage of the company’s life-cycle. It is the time for the venture to pull itself together and get up and running in time for ‘opening day’. It is an extremely busy time in the venture’s life, requiring a thorough understanding, application, and execution of your MBA concepts skills. In this capstone course we examine the idea of entrepreneurship, its symbiotic existence with Corporate America, the origin of new (company) concepts, setting up the new legal entity, raising funding from outside investors or donors, developing and writing a comprehensive business plan, and pitching your concept to a panel of seasoned investors or potential donors. Some key topics include: (1) demographics for small businesses, (2) conceiving and understanding a sound ‘business model’, (3) financial forecasting and modeling for new start-ups, (4) cash flow management in start-ups, (5) term sheets, (6) the venture capital business, (7) multiple funding rounds, (8) start-up company valuations, (9) liquidation preferences, (10) leveraging strategic alliances, (11) the role of the Board of Directors, (12) restricted stock, stock options, and 83(b) elections, and (13) creating and leveragor) presentation that will be delivered to a panel of professional investor/donors at the conclusion of the course. CAP5802 will be delivered as a combination of lecture and discussion. The instructor demands active participation from the class members. COURSE OUTLINE Important note: The detailed descriptions of all assignments along with all exercises are found on the (new) Moodle course site. Session 1: Monday, 26 August 2013 Introduction and Orientation How the course will be conducted Classification of businesses Small business demographics What is entrepreneurship and why should you be highly interested in this subject? Major assignments and due dates †¢ Concept Description Abstract – Due on 23 September 2013 †¢ Business Plan Outline – Due on 7 October 2013 †¢ Interview with Entrepreneur Write-Up – Due on 14 October 2013 †¢ Prospectus – Due on WEDNESDAY by NOON, 4 December 2013 †¢ Final Business Plan – Due on MONDAY, 9 December (in class) 2013 †¢ Live PowerPoint Presentation – 9 December 2013 [No class on Monday, 2 September – Labor Day] Session 2: Monday, 9 September 2013 The Entrepreneurial Mind and Process Entrepreneurial Resilience during Challenging Times How Entrepreneurs Craft Strategies That Work Apple’s Core Case Study Iggy’s Bread of the World Case Study Session 3: Monday, 16 September 2013 Recognizing and Screening the Opportunity Background Note: Note on Business Analysis for the Entrepreneur ZOOTS: The Cleaner Cleaner Case Study Session 4: Monday, 23 September 2013 The Business Plan HBR Article: How to Write a Great Business Plan Business Plan for Room for Dessert Case Study Your Concept Description – Abstract Due Session 5: Monday, 30 September 2013 The Founder and the Team – HR Matters NanoGene Technologies, Inc. Case Study Session 6: Monday, 7 October 2013 Legal Matters & the Start-Up Ecosystem Background Note: Legal Matters and Entrepreneurship †¢ Corporate law firms †¢ Intellectual property (IP) law firms The Start-Up Ecosystem †¢ Certified public accountants (CPAs) †¢ The Board of Directors †¢ The Advisory Board †¢ Key business partners Smartix(A): Dancing with Elephants Case Study Smartix(B): The Last Dance Smartix(C): Rethinking the Negotiations Smartix(D): Reflections from the Other Side of the Table Business Plan Outline Due Tonight Session 7: Monday, 14 October 2013 Financing the Venture PunchTab Inc. Case Study Interview with Entrepreneur – Write-Ups Due Fall Break is 15 – 18 October 2013. Session 8: Monday, 21 October 2013 Capitalization of the Start-Up, Part 1 Session 9: Monday, 28 October 2013 Capitalization of the Start-Up, Part 2 Session 10: Monday, 4 November 2013 Capitalization of the Start-Up, Part 3 Session 11: Monday, 11 November 2013 Growing the Business What Entrepreneurs Get Wrong Facebook Case Study Gordon Biersch Case Study Gordon Biersch – New Challenges and Opportunities Case Study Session 12: Monday, 18 November 2013 Investment Decision Making Walnut Venture Associates (A): RBS Group Investment Memorandum Walnut Venture Associates (B): RBS Due Diligence – Customers Walnut Venture Associates (C): RBS Due Diligence – Market Size Walnut Venture Associates (D): RBS Deal Terms Thanksgiving Week break is 25 – 29 November 2013. No class on 25 November. Session 13: Monday, 2 December 2013 Documentary (movie): â€Å"Start-Up.com† Session 14: Monday, 9 December 2013 Final Presentations COMMENTS ON CAP5802 – ENTREPRENEURSHIP IMPORTANT: YOUR HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS ARE DUE IN HARD COPY IN CLASS ON THE SPECIFIED DUE DATE. LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL BE MARKED DOWN—SEE GRADING POLICY BELOW. Your workload in this course will be ‘above average.’ That we meet only one time per week for three hours implies that you will have a week’s worth of homework to do in between class meetings – unlike the homework load that you would receive in a course that meets multiple times per week. Specifically, †¢ I expect you to attend all of our classes. †¢ I expect you to arrive on time and remain in class until we are finished with the session. †¢ I expect you to arrive with your material fully prepared – this requirement is critical. †¢ I expect you to participate actively and effectively in class. †¢ I expect you to demand of yourself and your fellow class members complete fidelity to high personal ethical standards. †¢ I expect you to keep your cellular telephone out of our classroom – or with you, but powered off. †¢ I do not expect you to ever leave the classroom to accept or return a telephone call. †¢ I expect all team work and responsibilities to be evenly distributed among the team members. †¢ I expect all individual-specified exercises to be completed by you independently with no assistance received from anyone else. CAP5802 GRADES There is no final exam in CAP5802. Instead, we have the final presentations from each start-up concept. Four factors play into your grade computation in CAP5802: (1) your homework scores – watch those tricky computational problems, (2) your write-up of your interview with an entrepreneur, (3) your completed business plan – which should be sufficiently tantalizing to cause the general partners of Kleiner Perkins & Caulfield (who successfully funded Genentech, Amazon, and Google, among others) to salivate, and (4) a stunning live presentation during our final class meeting – which should convince even the most risk averse grandmother to allocate a chunk of her retirement stash to fund your promising venture. (1) CLASS PARTICIPATION We have 23 articles/case studies that we use to supply some of the vital content to this course. I expect you to give every one of them a thorough read and analysis. I encourage you to discuss them with your team members. I will call on you in class – whether or not you raise your hand – and ask you to answer questions or to explain concepts/situations in the assigned readings. I will score your response on a three-point scale as follows: 3: brilliant 2: adequate 1: needs improvement (2) HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENTS Your home work assignments are due in class in hard copy on the specified due date. I will penalize you for late homework assignments. That is how the real business world works. If you are going to be out of town, always complete and turn in your assignment EARLY. When you are LATE with your homework assignments, you lose points in the computation of your final grade. No appeals allowed. The point value for each homework question is noted in (*) next to the question. You will find all of the homework assignments on the course site. (3) INTERVIEW WITH ENTREPRENEUR Each team will find an authentic entrepreneur – someone who has started their own business/organization and currently is running the business or non-profit organization. The business/organization can be anything ranging from an ice cream truck to a non-profit social service organization that provides outplacement services to displaced investment bankers. I will provide you with the list of questions for the interview. You only need to find the willing entrepreneur (they generally love to talk about their businesses) and complete the interview – then write it up. (4) COMPLETED BUSINESS PLAN FOR YOUR VENTURE Each team will compose a comprehensive, professional-quality business plan for their business concept. There are two important milestones/due dates for the business plan assignment: (1) the brief plan outline due date, (2) the completed plan due date – the last class meeting. (5) CORPORATE OVERVIEW PRESENTATION OF YOUR VENTURE Your team will present your ‘corporate overview/launch plan’ during our final class meeting. You will be graded on the originality, content, and delivery of your concept. We expect to have a judging panel present – comprising demanding, unreasonable investor-types – to critique your concepts CAP5802 GRADE COMPUTATION There are five sources of points that are used in your final course grade computation: (1) Class participation points – as noted above. I will tally up your points, and normalize your grand total over 50 possible points. (2) Homework Assignment points – as noted with each HW assignment question. I will add up your total homework points, divide this total by the total possible homework points, and arrive at a final percentage score for your homework. (3) 50 points for your entrepreneur interview write-up (4) 100 possible points for your business plan, distributed as follows: Quality of idea = 10 pts Compelling market opportunity = 10 pts Organization of plan = 10 pts Clarity of plan = 10 pts Financial analysis = 10 pts Marketing plan = 10 pts Sales and distribution plan = 10 pts Competitive analysis = 10 pts Sales/revenue forecast = 10 pts Surviving CAP5802 = 10 pts (5) 100 possible points for you final presentation, distributed as follows: Originality and cleverness of the presentation = 20 pts Running within the allotted time = 20 pts Richness of content = 20 pts Presentation delivery = 40 pts Note that your presentation scores will be a compilation of our guest judges’ scoring. History indicates that the judges are rather severe scorers. I will assign final course grades based on your final total point tally: Total possible participation score (%): 50 points Total possible homework (%): 100 points Total possible interview with entrepreneur: 50 points Total possible written business plan: 100 points Total possible live presentation: 100 points A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

Personal Finance Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Finance - Case Study Example This would have the effect of reducing payments for the renters insurance. The personal life insurance and disability insurance would also have the effect of reducing Mark’s motor vehicle insurance. As a result of economic cycles, the value for their shares investment might fluctuate and it would be best if they invested in fixed income investment as it involves less risk. This is one of the best ways to cater for any speculative risk such as investment risk (Dalton et al, 2015). Mark and Ava should consider having an emergency fund as a form of self-insurance. This can also assist them manage their risks. It is very evident that the emergency fund has to be created from funds that can be shrank or by cutting their expenditure. The Lanes can create an emergency fund by reducing their expenditure on entertainment and vacation. They can also reduce their expenditure on clothing and channel the money to a bank account which will be used as an emergency fund. This kind of fund should be easily accessible due to its nature thus the need for it to be either in liquid cash or cash equivalent instrument. The Lanes can also consider paying their credit card debts on time so as to avoid unnecessary cash outflows in the form of interests and fines. Part of the couple’s income from investments can be channeled to the emergency fund and the rest be reinvested for future incomes and to grow the investment (Dalton et al, 2015). A debt management and pay down plan for he Lanes would involve identifying all their debts which are paid monthly quarterly, half yearly and annually. The next step would be to prioritize the debts in order from the smallest to the largest debts they have. This order should consider the debt magnitude and not the interest rates involved. The reason for this is that it is easier and quicker to clear smaller debts and this will give them motivation to be clear even the larger debts. The next step in the pay down plan

Analyzing Your Own Work Setting Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing Your Own Work Setting - Coursework Example In spite of the specific method applied to set standards, the fundamental process involves the establishment of a standard-setting team (Grohar-Murray, & DiCroce, 2003). In addition, supporting this team to work together to create a vision of an austerely proficient person and motivating the members of the team to agree on personal responsibility of undertaking assessment. On equal measure, the role of managing standard setting activities and making closure of such matters within a defined period is fundamental and should be taken into consideration with intense caution (Melissa, 2012). Culture and setting of work place In a school set up, the teachers, students and non-teaching staff make up of the fundamental components of the milieu. The culture in this place of work is different from other similar settings. The criterion of standard setting has filed to work on numerous attempts to initiation. Setting of standards is a fundamental component that is required to be adhered in any w orking setting to ensure improved performance levels (Grohar-Murray, & DiCroce, 2003). Inexistence of the standard setting characterizes the culture of this working setting. Political effects of standard setting Standard setting targets teachers’ performance. ... The political dynamism forms a barrier for full implementation of standard setting. This influences the performance levels of education. Emotional effects of standard setting Standard setting on the performance of teachers is a tool for checking the output in terms of human resource. It is a tricky and dynamic setting because it involves only professionals who may be emotionally charged if they feel their rights and privileges are infringed in any manner (Grohar-Murray, & DiCroce, 2003). Disseminating setting of standards up to optimal without rising persons’ feelings is impractical in a school set up, because there anticipated political resistance and dynamism charges the feelings that results to derailment of the full implementation of the instrument of standard setting. Educational effects of standard settings The fundamental intention of standard setting is to produce a hypothetical minimally competent person. The teachers can think that, the development of exams for stude nts is one way of meeting the standards. This is not the case. The teachers should ensure that, the students improve in fact absorption and ability to interpret. Meeting the set educational standards is a challenging issue for most teachers (Melissa, 2012). Hence, the standard setting tunes the teachers to up their teaching skills to ensure that, the students’ needs are met in an appropriate manner. Standard setting makes the teachers to stretch up their potential and maximize time utilization in a bid to offer standardized learning services. In addition, standard setting facilitates the general performance of students. The performance can be measured on the ability to absorb facts and passing of exams. Notably, the teachers are motivated to perform well because their services

Post conflict establishments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Post conflict establishments - Essay Example Historically, there were conquests and wars geared towards constructing territories that were subject to a supreme ruler. A good example is the Roman Empire that used fierce battles to expand its territory, and everyone was subject to the emperor in Rome. With modernity that has been pushed from the time of capitalists such as Karl Marx and other proponents of economic independence, there has been a shift in how nation building has to be approached (Fukuyama, 1991). With revolutions being witnessed in several nations in the world even in the recent years, the challenge of achieving a national unity has been a major headache to the government authorities as well as the international community. The world’s superpowers such as the United States together with other international bodies including the United Nations have been in quest of promoting democracy, but several attempts by such external parties have often made the situations worse. A good example is that of two countries â €“ Somalia and East Timor – where use of brutal force and captivity made the countries even more ungovernable and with the recent developments in East Timor, it has been evident that the approach to be taken in solving issues of nation building should be more inclusive. This paper tries to examine the challenges that the external aggressors, as they are sometimes referred to, have faced in their quest to help nations come out of conflict and develop. It further explores the possible means of eliminating those challenges so that the goal of creating stable and progressive nations is attained. Nation Building and Its Challenges As discussed below, there are various challenges that will have to be resolved to be able to achieve the intent for making nations more united and focused on attaining cultural, ideological and political diversity as proposed by Forman (2002). To begin with, the question of different cultural influence in the post-war nations has taken a great toll i n how the issue of nation building is to be handled. Finding a compromise for often sharply divided tribal groups has not been an easy task as will be discussed in the following section. Socio-Cultural Beliefs and Identity Many of the conflicts in countries have been as a result of conflicts from different groups that may present a religious, ethnic, class or any other social identity. Resolving disputes among a sharply divided people who are historically enemies is a heavy task for external organizations which might not be able to understand the very basic reasons why the people are in constant conflict. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict provides an insight into how religious teachings and ideological differences caused by historical misrepresentations have resulted in a deeply rooted conflict. In some cases such as this conflict, nation building between the two states through conflict resolution and even the constant use of force has not helped in solving the conflicts. However, so me nations did succeed in resolving conflict through arbitration even though it was not easy. A good example is South Africa during and after Apartheid. Whereas Bishop Desmond Tutu and President Nelson Mandela immediately set up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with a sole purpose of restoring peace and justice, their main objective was to grant amnesty to those perpetrators who committed abuses during the Apartheid era. This however was done under stipulated

Economy of Venezuela Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Economy of Venezuela - Essay Example Venezuela is situated in the Northern Hemisphere, to the North of the South American plate, very close to the Equator. It shares borders with Colombia to the West, Brazil to the South, Guyana to the East and the Caribbean Sea to the North. Venezuela has 2,800 km of coast line and a number of islands can be observed off its coast: Barbados, Aruba, Curaà §ao, Bonaire, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Leeward Antilles. Venezuela shows a great diversity of landscapes: the Andes stretch towards the northwest of the country, where its highest peak Pico Bolà ­var (4,979 m) is located; the middle part of the country, which stretches from the Orinoco river to Colombia, is flat; and to the south, the Guiana Highlands are located in the fringes of the Amazon Basin. It is in this latter area where the highest waterfall in the world, the Angel Falls, is situated. The USA, Mexico, Colombia and Brazil are the main trade partners of Venezuela. The economy of the country is dominated by the petroleum sector, which accounts for approximately one third of the gross domestic product (GDP). The oil trade, controlled by the state-owned company Petrà ³leos de Venezuela (PDVSA), represents more than a half of the government revenues and 80% of the country’s exports. Other major exports are aluminum, steel and agricultural produce. Within the agricultural sector, which the country is highly dependent on, the main products are coffee and cocoa. The growth in the production of these two crops is dictated by the export market. While Venezuela had been world leading in terms of coffee production, the petroleum market of the 1960s and 1970s converted the country into the richest of South America and the coffee trade was relegated to a secondary position.

International Law & Humanitarian Issues Assignment

International Law & Humanitarian Issues - Assignment Example Some of the laws like the Antarctic treaty have so far been abided to by different nations. But the biggest challenge has been turning these international agreements, protocols into legally bidding laws has been difficult (Doyle,  2004). The reason behind the lukewarm reception of these laws if because invasive state of these agreements and approach towards a respectable common heritage. Issues like environmental protection through laws have been approached by conventions or declarations. These conventions have not been effective since they deal with establishment of framework on dealing with many of these pertinent issues. Conventions are not aimed coming up with substantive goals. Therefore, they have not been able to come up with results that could lead to formation of legal agreements. As a result, some countries have been hesitant in agreeing to the convention and protocols (Dunoff,  2010). Question 2 It is a known fact that the world belongs to mankind and it is this reason that the people argue that international laws interfere with. However, it is not right for international law to trump all property claims all over the world. This is because each nation is recognized in International laws on their sovereignty. The UN charter which forms the basis for all international laws respects peace and human rights. Therefore, the right to ownership of property forms part of the human rights. Moreover, the recognition of sovereignty of any state by the UN charter affirms the right to ownership of property by any person (Westra, 2007). It is only in rare cases that the UN charter and international laws trump up ownership of property by individuals or states. Conflicts over ownership of land, islands or territorial boundaries in the sea are resolved by use of international laws. These laws are supposed to protect and restore human rights and therefore these laws should not trump up ownership of land. For instance, the conflict over ownership of Abyei region in Sudan or the Mindanao Islands between Japan and China are being solved using international laws (Martin, 2006). Question 3 The regime of innocent passage tends to benefit countries which use the routes through shallows regions like straits. In most cases it is the coastal nation that tends to benefit from the regime of innocent passage. This is because this state or nation has the right to decide on the issue of regime of innocent passage. While on the other hand nations or people with interests in different sections tend to be harmed from the regime of safe passage (Dunoff,  2010). For instance, the long standing conflict over the Gibraltar islands as clearly shown the benefit of regime of passage to nations where their internal waters are also locations for passage. Nations with commercial or political interests can be harmed by the law of regime passage. For instance, trading or war vessels with intentions of conducting work in regions where other nations determine passage are usually harmed. The UN article 2(4) does apply in the case of regime of passage especially in regions like straits where other nations have jurisdiction other than passage (Westra, 2007). This is because unlike the high seas where sovereignty cannot be applied as is the case of regime of passage. Question 4 The question of who should be vested with governance due to the conflicts and problem facing the world is quite difficult. However, in my view I think that political leaders are best suited for making decisions in consultations with experts. Political

Adolescent Dating Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Adolescent Dating - Essay Example Emotional needs are a part and parcel of a person’s life and right from the adolescent age, most people begin to find their interests in other people and begin to date them in order to rest the curiosity that they contain in their minds regarding the opposite sex and dealing with the idea of a relationship. Adolescent dating is one major life stage in human development. The stage predisposes the adolescents to several challenges which have been explained further within the purview of the paper. These major challenges at this stage are mainly emotional. The main aspects to be considered in adolescent stage may include, accepting that adolescence is a normal transitional stage; parental and peer influence during adolescent stage; the dating anxiety and social distress among adolescents and lastly dating violence among adolescents, to name a few. The main objective of this paper is to understand the emotional needs of adolescents with respect to their personal habits and desire t o have someone in their life to share their experiences with. Dating is a very normal part of adolescence stage where most young adults try and get to know one another in order to form a possible relationship with them. This occurs because of reasons like familial or peer pressure, as well as a friend as an outlet for one’s feelings. Furthermore, at this age, dating is seemingly impossible to eradicate or even prevent because almost everyone goes through it and children that don’t are considered to be left out in groups. This kind of dating is normally done in response to the growing emotional, physical and social needs of adolescents. Furthermore, it must be understood that the motives and perspective of adolescents toward dating are different from those of adults due to different levels of maturity. Dating has various effects on adolescents because it ends up having young people get mixed up

Fair-value accounting change Essay Example for Free

Fair-value accounting change Essay The role played by the financial market in determining the levels of performance that can be recorded by the economy is not in doubt.   The 2008 economic crisis is a vivid reminder to all policy makers and even governments to ensure that issues that affect the economy are objectively addressed. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) which is a key player in the financial sector appears to be oblivious of its role in the economy and has once again used its mandate to develop a standard that is not relevant to business let alone accounting.    The move to adopt the mark-to-market accounting standard is a dark mark in American accounting history that may in fact lead to poor practices within the financial systems that have proven to be potent to the economy. It took America nearly 15 years to develop its constitutions; strategic management specialist have time and again pointed to the close relationship that exists between rapid change and failure and the FASB has for years taken months in seeking suggestions and deliberating upon them before making any proclamation that may affect the nature of the business environment[1].     All these are events or standards that the business world and America as a whole has come to accepted as being reflective of factors that affect the business environment. The speed with which the mark-market standards moved from proposal to being a standard brings about questions on objectivity[2].   A look at the last two times that America has found itself in crisis it has been the financial systems that duped to investors by inflating their performance or potential.   It is unlikely that such a hurried process which eliminates systems that have protected American investors will be of any good. FASBs modification of its rules is often waited upon with anticipation by all players in the business world.   The change in the fair value rules or standards is the main area of controversy in FASBs changes.   While the banking and financial institutions have praised the move as an effort to reduce the negative effect that previous standards had on developing a clear picture of their performance[3], investors are worried stiff on the effect that it will have on disclosures by banking and financial institutions that are traditionally known for overvaluing their assets and even performance. The fair value accounting rules had been blamed by a number of financial institutions that are notably under pressure from the 2008 economic crisis for being irrelevant to inactive markets. The mark-to-market accounting system that has been presented by FASB allows companies to use their judgment to gauge prices of some investments and backed securities.   Analysts were quick to note that the measures could in fact impact on the net income and affect bank write downs.   Pro mark-to-market standard institutions have hailed the changes with statements like the mortgage and market was not working and something had to change.   This is reflective of the true objective behind the move.   Investors who have been defrauded by American institutions in a number of occasions are wary of the changes that place them in a position where they are susceptible to exploitation by the financial community. The integrity of a development is largely dependent on the process that culminated in its existence.   Under this consideration, investors are innocent of unnecessary suspicion developed from poor past experiences.   The series of event that culminated into the existence of the mark-to-market standard is a reflection of the negative effect that the congress can have on effective decision making.   In his presentation on March 12th the chair of FASB did not mince his words in pointing out the faults that are inherent of the mark-to-market standards that the financial community was pushing for. The definition presented by Herz which should be presumed of FASBs definition of fair value is that it is the worth of an asset being exchanged between two informed parties[4].   In ending his statement the chair stated that America is in a challenging time that requires improvements in nearly all sectors and by trying to suppress financial information offered to investors there is little that will have been done to change the conditions.   His statement is a pointer to the misinformed objective that the change may affect the position that America currently is in and the existence of fair value system within financial practices. Whatever happened between 12th March and April 2nd is best left to Americans imagination.   The congress pressure has especially been cited by the media and being central to the changes that FASB made in fair accounting standards.   The same rule which had been dimmed lacking in objectivity became relevant to the American dilemma in a space of three weeks.   The hurried implementation of the change is the unspoken variables that belie its objectives. A pro derived from the development is the awareness that America is in a desperate position which needs to be addressed with immediate effect.   Moreover, the negative effect that bad performance within financial institutions had on the stock market may soon be historical events as financial agencies have been given a leeway to confuse investors and hide poor performance.   Profits that have not been evidenced since the likes of Enron went down may soon be usual and the same can be said of the pain that investors underwent in the turn of the century. The cons are clear especially sidelining of the effects that the operational environment has on operations.   The development allows for businesses to operate in a manner suggestive of independence from the operational environment while investors who may be aware of the prevailing environment are subjected to these daydreams.   The results may be increased wrangles within management boards, unethical practices within financial institutions and reduced confidence on financial disclosures which goes against their objectives. If any one thought that the FASB is perturbed by the controversies surrounding the development then they are in for a big surprise.   The FASB has practically done nothing and has sat back with some postulating that the next step they take may involve providing organizations with an environment where they can alter the value of all their assets at will. The standards used by investors and   financial players under the environment developed by the mark-to-market standards is non-uniform and may lead to a number of upheavals and even miscommunication that negatively affect value generation. It is evident from Herz’s speech on March 12th that the mark-to-market standard is a non-objective measure to curb the effects of the 2008 crisis.   The pressure placed on the FASB by the congress whose affiliation to financial heavyweight is not a mystery is central to the change.   This is not the first time such a development is being recorded for the French President played a pivotal role in some controversial changes made by the GAAP[5]. Investors should only worry for the short term for such subjective developments have historically proven to be uneventful.   It is only a matter of time before the follies in the mark-to-market standard that are actually known to all parties in the business fraternity manifests in the practical environment with dire results.   Changes that are appreciative of the operational environment will then be the only way out.

Financial Analysis of BLD Plantation Bhd

Financial Analysis of BLD Plantation Bhd 1.1 Sime Darby Plantation Bhd According to Sime Darby (2013), the Sime Darby Plantation is the plantation and agribusiness arm of Sime Darby Berhad, at which has incorporated over 15 countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and so on. It was founded in 1910 and growth to become the largest conglomerate in Malaysia. However, it is the one of largest palm oil producer in the world which produce 2.47 million tones of Crude Palm Oil (CPO) output annually. Bloomberg (n.d) states that Sime Darby Plantation Bhd was mainly engages in upstream activities such as oil palm and rubber plantation development, cultivation, and downstream activities. The company was involved in the manufacturing of oils and fats products, and other fast moving consumer goods. The company was incorporated in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia during 2004 with other offices in Indonesia and India (Bloomberg, n.d). Besides, its downstream operations are divided into 2 sectors, that is food and nonfood. For food sector, CPO was manufactured into different types of oils and fat products such as cooking oil, margarine and cooking fats. The company also produces the customized products to meet their customers need and satisfaction. In nonfood sector, it was involved in the manufacturing of oleochemicals and biodiesel. In 2016, the company has commenced the first large scale planting of Genome Select high yielding oil palms, which allow themselves to produce mire oil in existing land. 1.2 BLD Plantation Bhd The BLD Plantation Bhd (BLDP) was incorporated in Malaysia as a public limited company under the Companies Act 1965 in October 2001. It was listed on main market of Bursa Malaysia under plantation sector on 2003 and served as parent company to Bintulu Lumber Development Sdn Bhd, Grand Mutual Sdn Bhd, and so on. According to Worldwide Company Profile (2011), the company was principally engaged in investing holding and provision of management services whereas the principal activities of group are cultivation of oil palm, processing of fresh fruit bunches and sales of related products. The Sarawak based BLD Plantation Group was mainly involved in cultivation of oil palm, processing of fresh fruit bunches into CPO and related products. The company was also involved in cattle farming and timber business but it has gradually declined and phased out in 2004. However, the company has produces the CPO and palm kernel (PK) and only sold to Bintulu Edible Oils Sdn Bhd (BEO), which is the major palm oil refinery in Sarawak. 1.3 Riverview Rubber Estates Bhd Riverview Rubber Estates Bhd is a publicly traded company which operates in the agricultural sector in Malaysia (Worldwide Company Profile, 2012). It was mainly involved in the cultivation of oil palm. However, it was incorporated in 1936 and has registered Headquarter in Ipoh, Malaysia. In 2006, the company had produced approximately 43,651 tons of fresh fruit bunches. Moreover, it was interested in two associated companies, that is Narborough Plantations company which is interests in the operation of oil palm plantations and Rivaknar Holdings Sdn Bhd which principally involved in investment holding. Riverview Rubber Estates is listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad and London Stock Exchange (Worldwide Company Profile, 2012). 1.4 IJM Plantation Bhd IJM is one of Malaysias leading conglomerates which was listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad. The company has embraced the theme Nurturing Sustainability for its long-term success in agribusiness that are related to oil palm supply chain. However, they have their own vision and mission statements. Their vision statement is To be a leading regional plantation group while the mission statements is To uphold the highest standards of performance in our plantation and agribusiness. The companys theme Nurturing sustainability remain their long term success in oil palm business venture. As the group progresses, it has adopted and implemented strategies to embrace the pillar of performance, the productivity and innovations, and the care for environment. IJM Plantation Berhad was also listed on Bursa Malaysia in 2003. However, it represents one of the 5 main division of IJM group. 1.5 Innoprise Plantation Berhad The Innoprise Plantation Berhad is a Sabah based company listed on main board of Bursa Malaysia (RSPO, n.d). The company was undertaking planting and development at which have approximately 22,763 hectares of forest reserves land in Tawau, Sabah. However, the company has disposed the downstream wood product assets and start to refocus on oil palm. The company was planning to complete planting at which estimated 13,929 hectares of planted oil palm in 2013. In 2006, the company was entered into contract with its major shareholder, Rakyat Berjaya Sdn Bhd to log over 30,000 hectares of Kuamut Forest Reserve over 10 years. This operation is to provide medium term revenue and partial funding for companys oil palm development project. Besides, Innoprise Group was highly emphasized on Corporate Social Responsibility as it recognizes the community, employees and the environment as stakeholders. With the limited resources, the company will continue to make contribution towards development of t he community especially education, sports and poverty alleviation. No. Company Name Data 1 Sime Darby Plantation 0.00221000 2 BLD Plantation 0.00893000 3 Riverview Rubber Estate 0.00599135 4 IJM Plantation 0.00552490 5 Innoprise Plantation BHD 0.01047740 6 KLCI 0.00289210 3.1 Expected Return Based on the expected return table above, we can know that the highest expected return among few companies from 2007 to 2016 is Innoprise Plantation Bhd. On the other hand, the lowest expected return among few companies from 2007 to 2016 is Sime Darby Plantation. Expected return is the amount of profit or loss that an investor expected on the investment that has various known or called as expected rates of return. Expected return is important to be calculate. This is because it can predict the future value of a portfolio and provide guidance from which to measure actual returns. Expected return is always calculate based on the historical data and is not guaranteed. (Investopedia, 2017) Expected return is also known as a process of determining the average expected probability of different types of rates of return that are possible on a given assets. There are some factors to determine the expected return which are different market conditions and an assets beta. (BusinessDictionary.com, 2017). The most important factor that affect the expected return is the stock price. The formula that calculate expected return is as below: Expected return, E(r)= 1/ TÆ ©t=1 r(i,j) Innoprise Plantation Bhd has a highest expected return from 2007 to 2016 compared to these companies. High expected return indicates that the higher risk, the higher the volatility and return potential. (Chirantan Basu, 1995). Based on the historical data, we can know that the highest price among these few year was RM1.85546 on July 2012 while the lowest was RM0.28545 on Dec 2008. Moreover, we can know that the stock price for each month has changed drastically especially the stock price has increased from RM0.46624 per share to RM0.942 per share on April 2010 according to the historical data. It increased by RM0.47576 per share on that time. On 12 April 2010, according to the Capital Reconstruction Exercise, the existing issued and paid-up share capital of the company of RM112,500,000 comprising 112,500,000 ordinary shares which are RM1 per share was reduced to RM 56,250,000 comprising 112,500,000 ordinary share of the company. Therefore, the entire paid-up share capital of 112,500,000 ordinary shares of RM0.50 per share were consolidated into 56,250,000 ordinary shares which are RM1 per share. (Annual Report of Innoprise Plantation Bhd, 2010) Subsequent to the Capital Reconstruction Exercise, the issued and paid up ordinary share capital of the company was increased from RM56,250,000 to RM188,611,300 by the way of the issuance of 132,361,300 ordinary shares which are RM1 per share for cash based on the Rights Issue Exercies for working capital purposes. The new ordinary shares have the same right in all respects with the existing shares of the company. (Annual Report of Innoprise Plantation Bhd, 2010) On the other hand, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd has lowest expected return from 2007 to 2016 compared to these few companies. Based on the historical data, we can know that the highest price among these few year was RM11.90 on January 2016 while the lowest price was RM5.20 on January 2015. Based on the graph of stock price from 2007 to 2016 in Sime Darby Plantation Bhd in appendix, we can know that the stock price among these few year were moved stability from 2007 to 2014. Start from 2015 to 2016, it was dramatically changed. The highest expected return in Sime Darby was 0.24064 on November 2015. The stock price was increased from RM9.35 per share to RM11.60 per share suddenly at that period. During the financial year 2015, the company increased its issued and paid-up ordinary share capital from RM3,032,053,404 to RM3,105,579,143 by the way of issuance of 147,051,477 new ordinary shares of RM0.50 per share at an issue price of RM8.94 per share amounting to RM1,314.6 million, according to the Dividend Reinvestment Plan of the company. The new ordinary shares have the same right in all respects with the existing shares of the company. (Annual Report of Sime Darby Plantation Bhd, 2015) No. Company Name Data 1 Sime Darby Plantation 0.05695000 2 BLD Plantation 0.06363000 3 Riverview Rubber Estate 0.00709225 4 IJM Plantation 0.00681400 5 Innoprise Plantation BHD 0.00938350 6 KLCI 0.03652390 3.2 Standard Deviation In finance, standard deviation is commonly explained as the annual rate of return of an investment to measure the investments volatility. We calculate the standard deviation of different company by using the formula below.    Standard Deviation = [1/n * (ri rave)2] ½   Ã‚   Where:ri = actual rate of returnrave = average rate of returnn = number of time periods Standard deviation is important for an investor to make investment decision. Why do we say so? Because standard deviation measure the dispersion about an average, illustrating how widely a return may varied over time. Therefore, investor tend to predict the range of rate of return by using the standard deviation of historical performance. For an example, a fund or stock with high standard deviation of rate of return, the predicted range of performance is vast, resulting in higher volatility. Without standard deviation, you cannot define or evaluate whether a data given is to the average or the data is spread out over a wide range. On the other hand, by using standard deviation, investor can have a much clear expectation of an investment before doing any investment decision. If a funds return follow the normal distribution, approximately 68% of the time will fall within one standard deviation of the mean return and approximately 98% of the time within two standard deviation. (Morningstar Investing Glossary) Lets say if fund A have an expected annual return of 20% and its standard deviation is 4%, then investor would expect a return between 16% and 24% about 68% of the time and between 12% and 28% about 98% of the time. From the table above, we can see that BLD Plantation has the highest standard deviation compare to the other four company. As we know that, higher standard deviation means that the investment will differ a lot from the average return. In other word, you can make high return from the investment but also make big loss in the investment as the return is high the risk is also high. BLD Plantation have the highest standard deviation, therefore the company may provide higher return but the level of variation is high which mean the investment return is not consistent. Investment in this company may have higher risk compare to the other 4 company. With a standard deviation of 6.36%, which mean the investment return may differ from the mean about 6.36% lower or higher. In the other hand, we can see that IJM Plantation has the lowest standard deviation compare to the other four company. It means that IJM Plantation may be generating lower investment return but the volatility is low which large variation are unlikely to occur. An investor who do not want to take higher risk will invest in this company as the lower standard deviation can prevent the investor to lose too much as it doesnt deviate from the mean value too much. Although BLD Plantation has the highest standard deviation, but looking at the standard deviation as a whole, these five companies still consider as company with low standard deviation in generating investment return. No. Company Name Data 1 SD vs BLD -0.000166 2 SD vs RV -0.000272 3 SD vs IJM -0.000168 4 SD vs Inno -0.000533 5 SD vs KLCI -0.000201 6 BLD vs RV 0.001854 7 BLD vs IJM 0.002451 8 BLD vs Inno 0.003689 9 BLD vs KLCI 0.001275 10 RV vs IJM 0.001862 11 RV vs Inno 0.001465 12 RV vs KLCI 0.000785 13 IJM vs Inno 0.001725 14 IJM vs KLCI 0.001340 15 Inno vs KLCI 0.002270 3.3 Covariance SD Sime Darby BLD BLD RV Riverview IJM IJM Inno Innoprise KLCI KLCI Based on the covariance table above, we can know that the highest covariance from 2007 to 2016 among these few companies is BLD Plantation Bhd versus Innoprise Plantation Bhd. On the other hand, the lowest covariance from 2007 to 2016 among these few companies is Sime Darby Plantation Bhd versus Innoprise Plantation Bhd. Covariance is a measurement of how much two random variables vary together. It is almost like variance but variance only give the information about the single variable varies while covariance give the information about the two variables vary together. A large covariance indicates that a strong relationship between variables while a weak covariance indicates that a strong relationship between variables in a different data set with different scales. (Statistics How To, 2017) We calculate the covariance to measure the linear relationship between two variables and understand the direction of the relationship between variables. Covariance figures are not standardized. Hence, the covariance figure can range from negative figure until infinity to positive figure until infinity. (Minitab Express, 2016). In a simply words, the positive covariance indicate that the two variables are moving together or varying directly while the negative covariance indicate that the two variables are moving in the opposite direction or varying inversely. (BusinessDictionary.com, 2017) Based on the table above, we can know that BLD plantation Bhd and Innoprise Plantation Bhd have positive covariance which is 0.003689. It indicates that both companies tend to increase together. By looking the graph of stock price from 2007 to 2016 in BLD Plantation Bhd and Innoprise Plantation Bhd in appendix, we can see that both companies has increased and decreased at the same direction. When BLD Plantation Bhd has increased the stock price which from RM8.38 per share to RM8.64 per share on July 2012, Innoprise Plantation Bhd has also increased the stock price which from RM1.42728 per share to RM1.85546 per share on July 2012. This shows that both companies had moving together and grow at the same direction. By the calculation of covariance among these two companies, we can know that these companies have strong relationship between each other. In contrast, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd and Innoprise Plantation Bhd have negative covariance which is -0.000533. It indicates that one of these companies tend to increase as the other companies decrease. By looking the graph of stock price from 2007 to 2016 among Sime Darby Plantation and Innoprise Plantation Bhd, we can know that Sime Darbys stock price remained slightly from 2007 to 2014 and had fluctuated from 2015 to 2016. On the other hand, stock price in Innoprise Plantation Bhd has fluctuated from 2007 to 2016. This indicates that both of the companies did not have increase or decrease at the same direction. Hence, Sime Darby Plantation Bhd and Innoprise Plantation Bhd have negative covariance. When Sime Darby Plantation Bhd has increased from RM9.35 per share to RM11.60 per share on November 2015, Innoprise Plantation Bhd has decreased from RM1.40824 per share to RM1.3226 per share on November 2015. This shows that both companies had moving in the opposite direction. No. Company Name Data 1 Sime Darby Plantation -0.15067000 2 BLD Plantation 0.95540000 3 Riverview Rubber Estate 0.58830585 4 IJM Plantation 1.00599700 5 Innoprise Plantation BHD 1.70142429 3.4 Beta Beta is commonly defined as a measure of the volatility or the systematic risk of a portfolio or securities comparing with the market as a whole. In other word, beta values are also considering as a tool used to compare each individual stock to the market performance by evaluating the relationship of a stock movement with the market itself. Beta values are one of the several values that investor use to analyse the companys risk profile. Different companies have different beta value due to different industry, different customer or different function. All these may affect the beta values of a company. Company with beta value close to 1 or equal to one are commonly found in the large companies with numerous operating segment. The demand of the product of these companies usually increase and decrease proportional to the aggregate to the economic expansion or contraction. However, companies that are related to pharmaceutical or healthcare usually have beta value less than 1. The demand of suck companys products is inelastic. This causes people hard to stop buying them or find a substitute for such product. This makes the company always have a steadily earnings and lead to low volatility in stock price. Companies with beta value have the highest volatility in stock price. These companies tend to react better than the market or worse than the market. We can take companies in cyclical industries such as airline company as an example with high beta values. When the economy contract or slow down, people will have no money to demand for travel and stock price will decrease dramatically, an d vice versa. This result in higher volatile earnings and the movement of share price. According to the data above, we can say that the beta is categorized in three groups which are higher than 1, between 0 and 1, and below 0. Beta is known as a measurement of a stocks volatility in relation to the market. There are two company that come with beta higher than 1 which are the IJM Plantation and Innoprise Plantation BHD. Innoprise Plantation has the highest beta value which is 1.70 follow by IJM Plantation with beta value of 1.006. Based on this value, we can say that Innoprise Plantation BHD stock is theoretically 70.14% more volatile than the market and IJM Plantation stocks is 0.6% more volatile than the market. This indicate that when there is a 10% increase in the stock market, stocks price for Innoprise Plantation BHD will increase by approximately 17% and also approximately 10.06% for IJM Plantation. This concept applies to the condition when market goes down too. These two company with beta value higher than 1 tends to perform better than the market when the mark et goes up and when the market slow down, the company will perform even worse compare to the market. With the beta value between 0 and 1 is BLD Plantation and Riverview Rubber Estate. Beta value for BLD plantation is 0.96 and 0.59 for Riverview Rubber Estate. These two companies are the companies with volatilities lower than the market, which means that BLD Plantation and Riverview Rubber Estate are theoretically less volatile than the market. If the market increase by 10%, BLD Plantation stocks price will increase only 9.6% and for Riverview Rubber Estate, the stock price will only increase by 5.9%. This also means that the company have a steadily earnings stream and lower volatility of the stock. The last company is the Sime Darby Plantation with a beta value lower than 0 which is a negative beta value. The beta value for Sime Darby Plantation is -0.15. A negative beta correlation indicates that the stock price will go in the opposite direction with the market situation. When the market rise about 10%, the stock price for Sime Darby will decrease about 1.5%, and vice versa. Conservative or safe playing investor will consider about BLD Plantation and Riverview Rubber Estate as the lower betas limit the volatility. Beta value of companies are one of the important element in the formula of capital asset pricing model which is known as CAPM. As how much diversify our investment is, there will be still some risk within it. So, as an investor, they claim that by taking the risk there must deserve a rate of return. By using CAPM, we can calculate the investment risk and what rate of return are we expecting from the investment. 3.5 Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a model that describes the relationship between systematic risk and expected return for assets, particularly stocks. (Investopedia, 2017) CAPM is used to calculate the required rate of return for any risky assets. Required rate of return is a rate of total return needed to be compensated for the risk taken which is made up of a risk-free rate and risk premium. (Finance, 2009) The required rate of return is also an increase in value that should be expect to see based on the risk level of the assets. (InvestingAnswer, 2017) CAPM is an idealized portrayal of how financial markets fix the price of the securities and determine expected returns on capital investments. By using CAPM, it provides a methodology for quantifying risk and translating the risk into the estimated of expected return on equity. (David W.Muslim,Jr, 1982). The model says that the only reason that an investor should earn more on average by investing in one stock rather than another stock is that the stock is riskier. By the CAPM calculation, we can know that the required rate of return among these five companies is 0.0235305. We have use the beta information to calculate the required rate of return. The weight of these five companies are the same which are 0.1. According the CAPM, the beta is the only relevant measurement of a stocks risk. By knowing the beta, then we can get the required rate of return. In this case, required rate of return which is 2.35% is greater than risk-free which is 2.33% that stated. Hence, we should not invest in this portfolio. This is because we need to have higher rate to get back the return. To conclude all the information and analysis, the highest expected return among the few companies from 2007 to 2016 is Innoprise Plantation Bhd and the lowest expected return among few companies from 2007 to 2016 is Sime Darby Plantation. With the higher expected return, higher risk, the higher the volatility and return potential. Means Innoprise Plantation Bhd has the highest risk and highest volatility and return potential and Sime Darby Plantation has the lowest risk and lowest volatility and return potential. The highest Standard deviation among the few companies from 2007 to 2016 is BLD Plantation and the lowest standard deviation is IJM Plantation. The higher standard deviation means that the investment will differ a lot from the average return. Which means the BLD Plantation can provide higher return but the level of variation and risk is higher compare to other 4 companies. The IJM Plantation has lowest standard deviation means the company generating lower return but the level of variation and risk is lower to prevent too much loss. The highest covariance from 2007 to 2016 among these few companies is BLD Plantation Bhd versus Innoprise Plantation Bhd. On the other hand, the lowest covariance from 2007 to 2016 among these few companies is Sime Darby Plantation Bhd versus Innoprise Plantation Bhd. . A large covariance indicates that a strong relationship between variables while a weak covariance indicates that a strong relationship between variables in a different data set with different scales. Beta values are considering as a tool used to compare each individual stock to the market performance by evaluating the relationship of a stock movement with the market itself. Beta values are one of the several values that investor use to analyse the companys risk profile. The beta value can be categorized into three group, higher than 1, between 0 and 1, and less than 1. There are two company that come with beta higher than 1 which are the IJM Plantation and Innoprise Plantation BHD. Innoprise Plantation has the highest beta value which is 1.70 follow by IJM Plantation with beta value of 1.0. With the beta value between 0 and 1 is BLD Plantation and Riverview Rubber Estate. Beta value for BLD plantation is 0.96 and 0.59 for Riverview Rubber Estate The last company is the Sime Darby Plantation with a beta value lower than 0 which is a negative beta value and the beta value is -0.15. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) is a model that describes the relationship between systematic risk and expected return for assets, particularly stocks. By using the CAPM calculation, we can know that the required rate of return among these five companies is 0.0235305. Based on the evaluation of each company from (c), the lowest expected rate of return was Sime Darby Plantation, given by 0.00221000. The highest expected rate of return was Innoprise Plantation BHD, 0.01047740. The average expected rate of return of these five companies was 0.00662673 whereas the required rate of return was 0.0235305. For a good investment, the expected rate of return has to be higher than the required rate of return. To improve the situation, there are a few strategies taken by each of the companies to drive their operational efficiency, seek out investment while maintaining their capital discipline. Sime Darby Plantation planned to extend sustainable supply chain to include small producers since year 2016. Under the partnership, the supply of small producers will be secured. Sime Darby Plantation collaborate with Wild Asia to assist the rest of the small producers to achieve RSPO certification. As one of the worlds largest plantation company, Sime Darby manufactures, sales and marketing activities of oils and fats products, oleochemicals, palm oil-based biodiesel and other palm oil derivatives (Sime Darby News, 2016). The variety involvement of Sime Darby Plantation helps to improve the companys performance whether in short-term or long-term. Besides that, BLD Plantation had entered into a share sale agreement in year 2016 to acquire the entire 1.1 million shares of RM 1.00 each in the share capital of Pekan for RM 155.22 million. Since the agreement, BLD Plantation has conducted due diligence and it is still