Marketing and Whirlpool Essay

1.What is the nature of Whirlpool’s domestic and international business environments? What types of risk does the firm face? As far as Whirlpool domestic and international business and its environment are concerned, it resembles a complex nature. However, it would be prudent for the sake of this case and it analysis that domestic and international market of whirlpool is defined and analyzed uniquely, so as to drive home the idea in each one of it for a far reaching understanding. To be precise in that capacity we feel that the degree of whirlpool domestic market alone defines an altogether different nature from its international market. In the simplistic sense from assimilating the given case, it is relevant to ponder upon the fact that domestic market of whirlpool is rather marked with intensive competition and challenges when laid emphasis upon from a macro and micro-economic aspects. Whirlpool domestic market is also faced with intense demands of its buyers in the domestic arena. There is reason enough that buyers should be demanding, given the uproar and stiff competitions from rival manufacturers which makes it so. Moreover, for a firm with an international presence buyer’s expectation in the domestic market is also rather extreme to a certain degree, and their behavior based on whirlpool products and its allied appliances at the domestic front also presents an altogether diverse perception and wide array of choice selection, given the presence of other manufacturing competitors that offers similar products and appliances for buyers. Given these features, it is relevant and cautious to conclude that the nature of whirlpool domestic market is marked by competition, challenges and most notably buyer’s perception and choice, which at the end of the day decides the nature of any given market. Secondly, considering the nature of whirlpool international market, we are of the opinion that whirlpool international marketing is focused on the global arena to reaps and harness the benefits that international market offers. From the given case it is clear that international marketing of whirlpool is rather hyper-active in a sense. To cite an example, the case of its international marketing operation that focuses on innovations, internal expansion and most importantly acquisition and tie-ups plus partnership designate the point to note. Add to it, given the stiff competition on the domestic front, whirlpool is quick enough to shift and focused its marketing on international market. What we can drive home the idea from assimilating these crucial facts of whirlpool international market environment and its nature can be laid emphasis to the point that whirlpool presence thereof served a different and altogether greater purpose. To drive the idea in that regard we can reason finally that the nature and characteristics of its international market is more standardized, risky, and presents a great variations in the uncontrollable environmental forces, which is not the case with domestic environment. Consumer’s behavior is also different, which presents a different picture altogether. Nonetheless, to differentiate the nature of whirlpool domestic and international market the primary differences can be laid emphasis upon marketing strategy. After all, international market is more risky, given the added complexities. Yet returns and scope from international market is much higher and the opportunity cost is also huge, which is why we feel despite the environmental risks whirlpool radiantly prefers internationalization for an altogether different ball game 2. How can Whirlpool benefit from going international? What types of advantages can the firm obtain? What advantages acquired abroad can help management improve Whirlpool’s performance in its home market? Going international have many unseen extremes and benefits. Marketing internationally present a wide array of opportunities, variations, scope, operation and strategic purpose and most importantly potentialities and market cap. Hence, considering the case of whirlpool, we are of the opinion that by going international the firm can primarily benefit abundantly from the so-called international market. Hence, it would be practical enough to list some advantages that whirlpool can obtain, which is as follows: International presence, global identity, brand recognition, and most importantly greater market cap, and large consumer presence. Secondly, acquisitions of other organizations as a means to further channelize and harness the innovation both intrinsically and extrinsically. Such an instance also can be cited from the given case study in which whirlpool is involved in the acquisition and merger Maytang Corporation, which further boosts whirlpool global demands for its brands, and readily the influence factor that can be harnessed to reaps the advantages from such a developments. Third in the instance is advancement in technology, process and operation that is emphasized towards innovations, standardization and most importantly international marketing strategy that focused on the bigger picture. To cite an example, substantial advancement, development and standardization in operations can primarily be reached through marketing internationally. Comparative management also can be harnessed to its advantages. To top it all focus on research and development in the backdrop of international marketing research also has a greater efficiency and effectiveness factor which is one of the many advantages and crucial for innovations and creativity to take roots. From assimilating the crucial aspects of marketing internationally, and concerning the case of whirlpool, there is reason enough that strategy can differs, however; the principle of marketing is same. In that essence, comparative management process can bring a load of factors to improve domestic market of whirlpool. Take for instance operational strategy. Another example is identifying and understanding cultural aspects, environmental factors and the likes to progress the firm in its home market. Add to it, innovations, marketing and sales procedures also in all circumstances can be taken as an emulated advantage so as to directly initiate in the domestic and home market for that performance factor for growth and progress. 3. What actions has Whirlpool management taken to ensure that the firm succeeds in local markets throughout the world? To what extent is the appliance business local/regional rather than global? As the case study relates and from comprehending the same we can drive home the point that various measure were initiated by Whirlpool management to boosts its local marketing throughout the world. To cite an example of the reflective actions, the case of acquisition, merger and brand advertisement that attends to local factors is one important measure undertaken by the management to ensure that the firm succeeds in local market. What is pertinent to note though is the fact that marketing process of whirlpool represents a top notch and in tune with the trends that is fast catching up in various local markets around the world. Though marketing strategy differs accordingly in tune with global market environment, however, the basic marketing principle is hugely in practices in all aspects. The tie ups, merger, acquisition, knowledge sharing, innovation in practices and operational methodology all in between sums up the strategy integrated by the management to ensure that operational processes of the firm in the right course and smooth functionality in all instance. Through its internationalization expansion mode, Whirlpool has harnessed the opportunities to its advantages in all circumstances. Moreover, local preference of the firm also reflects a cross-regional approach to reap the potentialities of R&D as far as marketing research in the local market though out the world is concerned. To top it all, though it’s marketing reach research, whirlpool have been effective enough to trace certain and specific influential element in its favor. Take for instance understanding behavior perception, expectation and attending to their satisfaction have been the bigger course measure undertaken by Whirlpool management in ensuring that local though out the world get a boosts and drive to perform in all aspects. But we can further argue that there is a certain degree in which Whirlpool appliances business and that which accord to it is somewhat localized or regionalized in a sense. Take for example the integrated measure undertaken by the firm marketing towards initiating sensitive measures and commitment to its consumers in a vast array of diverse cultural settings which translate into huge business returns that can be emphasized towards its appliances business which is local and regional in a sense, given that marketing internationally for whirlpool have been confined within designated market areas with unique marketing that have had a huge impact to whirlpool operational process internationally as well. 4. How can Whirlpool effectively compete with new rivals originating from low-cost countries, such as Haier from China? Should Whirlpool’s response differ in its home and foreign markets? If so, how? There is reason enough o ponder the fact and to relate that competitions and challenges always make a part of the whole process on internationalization. To top it all, by going international, stiff competitions from local manufacturer is further imploded in a sense. As the case relates to, competitions from rival manufacturer, especially from lost cost countries such as china have been the biggest challenges. In order for Whirlpool to do away with such challenges, it is recommended that its internationalization process should take stiff measures to reflect the firm core commitments towards its consumers in delivering value added products and services. After all, ‘consumers are king’ this phrase should be the basis to initiate innovations and any necessary strategy to encounter challenges. Thus there is every possible pointer and case to augment that Whirlpool response should be constant and that which attends to situational scenarios as and when it matters. In that essence, by differentiating products as per consumer preference, plus facilitating a standardization of Whirlpool global brand and harnessing its marketing mix tools to its advantage as and when the situations demands can have a long way to go and can be mirrored as a direct recourse to effectively compete from emerging rivals and competitors such as Haier from China, which is having its market presence in Whirlpool domestic market given its low cost appliances and hyperactive business process that taps every possible opportunities available.

Describe and Explain Variations Between New and Old Social Movements Essay

Social movements are groups or organisations that focus on particular political or social issues. The two main types of social movement, Old Social Movements and New Social Movements, share similarities but also have noticeable differences. Bagguley argues that Old Social Movements are mainly influenced by class and economic factors. Many OSMs take the form of Trade Unions. For example, there are several teachers unions in the UK, such as NASUWT and NUT. Because of this the social base of OSMs is largely working or lower middle class. In comparison to this, Hallsworth describes New Social Movements as groups which challenge the established political and cultural order in society. NSMs deal with issues that have arisen in western society since the 60s, such as feminism, environmentalism, gay rights and anti-racist groups. And as these issues effect people from all walks of life, New Social Movements attract people from all classes. In addition to this, NSMs often have global appeal as they transcend not only social class but race and nationality too. For example, LGBT parades and protests happen across the world as the movement is one that can unite people globally. A further difference is that Old Social Movements tend to be insider groups whilst NSMs are considered outsider. OSMs are viewed as expert and professional, often having links with those in powerful positions. For instance, Trade Unions sometimes have links to Labour politics, with TULO (The Trade Union & Labour Party Liaison Organisation) coordinating the activities of trade unions that affiliate with the Labour party. This means that many Old Social Movements have the power to influence important decision and law makers. On the other hand, outsider groups are those that have little to no access to decision makers, and these tend to be New Social Movements. These movements have little access to powerful people as they’re viewed as too extreme or go against the aims of those in power. One extreme example of an outsider group is the IRA. The organisation seeks a united Ireland but has been considered an illegitimate organisation by the British government due to its violent methods that are unacceptable in a democratic country. However, the status of groups can alter. For example, in the 70s many environmental NMS were considered outsider groups and yet today political parties often seek their advice. Despite these differences, however, NSMs and OSMs do share some similarities. Both types of organisation aim to bring together and unite people with common goals and interests. In addition to this, the way in which they try to achieve their aims are often similar. Teachers Unions like NASUWT and NUT have staged several strikes over the last few years due to issues with teacher’s pensions, pay and working conditions. Their tactics are peaceful and civil and, with the exception of a few extreme cases, the same can be applied to New Social Movements. In conclusion, therefore, differences between Social Movements include their social base, their ability to influence those in power and their global appeal. However, it can often be difficult to pinpoint exact differences between the two kinds due to shifts and changes in public and political opinion over time. It is clear, however, that the majority of both NSMs and OSMs have one main goal: to unite people and bring about change to help increase equality in society.

CORPORATE FINANCE MINICASE 4 Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

CORPORATE FINANCE MINICASE 4 - Scholarship Essay Example 0 1 2 3 | | | | -1 2 FV = $1(1 + i)3 = $2. $1(1 + i)3 = $2. (1 + i)3 = $2/$1 = 2. 1 + i = (2)1/3 1 + i = 1.2599 i = 25.99%. e. What is the difference between an ordinary annuity and an annuity due What type of annuity is shown below How would you change it to the other type of annuity (Ehrhardt & Brigham, 2006) 0 1 2 3 | | | | 100 100 100 An ordinary annuity has payments at the end of the period, while an annuity due date has payments in the beginning of the period. The annuity shown above is an ordinary annuity. To change it, just shift each payment to the left. This way there would be a 100 under 0 but none under 3. 0 1 2 3 | | | | 100 100 100 f. (1) What is the future value of a 3-year ordinary annuity of $100 if the appropriate interest rate is 10% (Ehrhardt & Brigham, 2006)0 1 2 3 | | | | 100 100 100 110 121 $331 FVAn = $100(1) + $100(1.10) + $100(1.10)2 =... k. Suppose on January 1 you deposit $100 in an account that pays a nominal, or quoted, interest rate of 11.33463%, with interest added (compounded) daily. How much will you have in your account on October 1, or after 9 months (Ehrhardt & Brigham, 2006) It is an annuity in the sense that there are constant payments at regular intervals, but the intervals do not correspond with their compounding periods. In situation like these, we calculate the EAR and then treat it as an annuity. (4) An important rule is that you should never show a nominal rate on a time line or use it in calculations unless what condition holds (Hint: Think of annual compounding, when INOM= EFF%= IPER.) What would be wrong with your answer to Questions l-(1) and l-(2) if you used the nominal rate (10%) rather than the periodic rate (INOM/2= 10%/2 = 5%) (Ehrhardt & Brigham, 2006) m. Suppose someone offered to sell you a note calling for the payment of $1,000 fifteen months from today. They offer to sell it to you for $850. You have $850 in a bank time deposit that pays a 6.76649% nominal rate with daily compounding, which is a 7% effective annual interest rate, and you plan to leave the money in the bank unless you buy the note.

Teaching Method Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Teaching Method - Essay Example He does not experience but take inspirations. He does not try to understand but believe in what the teacher says. The student knows that density is mass per unit volume but he does not know what is density; what mass is indicated And what volume are they talking about. The present educational programs are not as good as they should be. Presently the teachers are not fulfilling their task of educating the students properly. Thus a proper system should be developed by the teachers which pave a way for the students to prosper. This article would further give a review about how the students should be taught in a proper manner. Nowadays the college in which I am studying does not focus on building up the students own views. Instead the teachers focus on the views portrayed by them only. For e.g. the teachers give their view in such a way that the students cannot put in their own thoughts into the subject. This type of educational system is ruining the student's future as in the future these students are not capable to put in their own thoughts if any future situation arises. As described by Paulo Friere the present teaching system does not enlighten the students about their studies. It just describes the teachers own feelings and views. The professors nowadays are not giving in different views on the subjects, instead they are just telling one side of the story. This therefore leads the students to have a particular belief derived from their teacher's views. While the teaching system which should be developed all over should include the overall concepts of teaching, it is the duty of the teachers to give i n both the perspective on a particular topic. They should focus on enlightening the students rather then making the students store the views of the teachers themselves. The teachers are using their designation wrongly and are posing the students a threat. This threat is very dangerous if seen from a student's perspective. The teachers are wrongly using their power to influence the students about one particular topic even if it is wrong or right. This clearly can be seen in a recent incident which happened in the University of Wisconsin when Kevin Barret a professor in the University gave his views on the 9/11 attacks. The views given in by the professors were not proved and rather one sided supported by his own thoughts and perspectives. As the professor had influence on some of the students of the University they took it as reality. This shows that how biased one teacher can be when presenting a topic. The students interviewed during this research clearly showed that their views an d perspectives were similar to that of the teachers. When interviewed they were not fully aware of the facts on one given thought. This shows that the teachers are not providing the students with both the ground facts on one topic, but are rather emphasizing on a one sided story. Thus it is necessary for the teaching system to improve in such a way that it is beneficial for the students. For the teaching system to enhance it is necessary that the teachers provide the students with adequate discussion in the class on a particular topic. Students should be allowed to put in their own personal views when addressing a topic. They should be provided with proper guidance by the teachers so they can pursue a topic. Nowadays the professors are indoctrinating their students rather than educating them. However this

Parables of a Violent World Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Parables of a Violent World - Article Example Writers such as William Vollmann and others help to accomplish this important goal. McMurphy, the hero of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, is a quintessential individualist. He marches to the beat of his own drum and follows his own direction in life. He refuses to follow orders and seeks out pleasure. He has an irrepressible charm that works on nearly everyone around him. He is also a natural leader in his own way. But McMurphy is not approved of. He is too individualistic and non-conformist. Although he seems American in his self-reliance, in the course of the novel he runs into serious problems from a new, more materialistic, mechanical, conformist America, represented by the institution. The job of the institution, of the anesthetizing culture that currently surrounds us in America, is to repress the irrepressible. Too many outbursts, too many adventures, are bad for business, the institution says. It locks away and neutralizes people like McMurphy who don't fit in properly and h ave no desire to do so (Kesey). This is important to understand in light of what we saw after September 11. After the terrorist attacks there was a call to arms, and also, subsequently, a call to uniformity and conformity. We were asked to march to the beat of the same drum. The president ordered us into Iraq and we were supposed to obey. Those who disagreed had their patriotism questioned. In the administration itself, we saw how people were fired for disagreeing with the president. Times have changed since then. A cultural lull has descended on the country as politics have begun to calm down. Now we have access to endless entertainment much of which is not unlike having a lobotomy. The rise of excessive celebrity culture has been representative of the last few years. Everywhere you look celebrities pose in photographs and behave outrageously on television. There is no content to their actions. In a sense, they are simply a culture anesthetic, designed to lull us into complacency, just as the drugs in Kesey's mental hospital lull the patients into a stupor. The question we must ask ourselves, faced with all of this, is how best to respond? From time immemorial, it has been writers who take a stand against injustice and cultural complacency. Through their work, they skilfully satirize and pick apart the wrongs of the status quo and show us a better way to live. They celebrate the best of what is America and condemn the worst. We can see this in action in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. What we need more than ever, is skillful writers to take on the twin challenges of today: terror and celebrity. One of the writers who is moving in this direction is clearly William Vollmann. This wholly original American writer has been as prolific as the culture in turning out new work. Every year he seems to publish a new book. One of his most stupendous achievements is Rising Up and Rising Down, a multi-volume set of books which studies the role of violence in our world. He re the novelist is leaving behind the fiction in order to pursue social and historical research (Vollmann). We need our writers in this day and age to be grounded in reality. As such, this set of books is a magnificent achievement. Vollmann's work is multifarious, but there are a few elements which can be explored in a simple manner.

Social and Emotional Aspects Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 9000 words

Social and Emotional Aspects - Dissertation Example p.29 Results †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. p.31 Discussion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. p.37 Recommendations †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. p.39 Bibliography †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. p.41 ABSTRACT A number of programs in American and the United Kingdom advocate a holistic approach to education reform that emphasizes community involvement and psychological support as a strategy to strengthen student ties with, and investment in the school and educational policy. These programs are compared in the light of psychological theories and given approval as equally valid roads to school reform. INTRODUCTION Most educational authorities agree upon the need for a broader, comprehensive approach towards the promotions of beneficial relationships and socially-conscious behavior. Most proposals to this end involve an active, holistic approach that engages the entire school in the interest of the most efficient, inclusive socialization possible. SEAL seeks to accomplish these goals by creating a more congenial environment that addresses several dimensions of the educational experience. SEAL engages the social, personal, and health dimensions of the school experience to achieve a more congenial experience for all involved, multifaceted approach towards an inclusive educational experience. ... side of the coin is the prevention of risky behavior that damages health and academic success; demand for problem prevention programs in most public schools has grown. (DeFriese et al. 1990), (Kolbe et al. 1997), (Gottfredson, 1986), (Connell et al. 1985), Errecart et al., 1991) The social and emotional aspects of learning are vital with respect to the way that they underscore the educational experience to contribute to the success of all students, and the promotion of a beneficial working environment for educators. The SEAL program facilitates a number of personal quality and emotional goals to make learning more efficient. Students must learn impulse control and the ability to govern their emotions, in addition to an internal motivational drive to invest in their own success. This requires a sense of awareness and critical reflection on the student's own goals and personal needs. And with an understanding of the self, empathy towards other students becomes a possibility. The progra m looks towards efficiency in learning, but also seeks to promote an emotionally safe environment. (Burns, 2010), (Bromley, 2012) These attitudes are advisable and beneficial even as benchmarks for higher education. (Burnard & Green, 2009) It is generally acknowledged that in order to achieve the goals of efficiency and efficacy in learning, the emotional dimension of child development, especially at the primary school level, must not be neglected. Children learn and perform when they feel emotionally secure. Without a certain degree of security, learning efforts will simply fail. (Breda, 2011), (Bromley, 2012) Positive activities promoting emotional security are needed within, and beyond class to foster learning in class. (Henderson & Mapp, 2002), (Pitman et al. 2001), (Perry, 1999) Most

Strategic Situation Analysis of ARM Holdings Coursework

Strategic Situation Analysis of ARM Holdings - Coursework Example Instead of their own cost associated manufacturing of semiconductor business, they licence their own designed technology to other semiconductor manufacturers across the world and they utilise the designs to make innovative low energy chips for modern hi-tech electronic devices (ARM Ltd, 2012). This business report contains an in-depth analysis of some important areas like the current strategic situation of ARM Holdings which includes analysis of the industry or sector which has the key findings of current scenario, opportunities, challenges, future growth etc. Analysis of the organization’s current business strategies like SWOT analysis, value chain analysis, market positioning, product differentiation etc; critical appraisal of these strategies which results the key findings of the important business characteristics like sustainability, competitive advantages and extent of outcome of these strategies with respect current industry scenario will also be discussed in this report. Industry or Business Environment Analysis Companies in the microprocessor industry make hi-tech chips which are the core or heart of many digital electronic products which include but are not limited to computers, mobile phones, calculators, digital cameras, video game consolers and PDAs. First microprocessor which was invented for commercial use was Intel 4004 (Roony, 2012). Some of the top blue chip companies can be found in this industry and they have been continuously producing innovative chips which have brought remarkable results in today’s advanced digital electronics world. ... Effective implementation of extended business model ARM can is innovating additional types of advanced technology, generating strong royalties to the brand from a single multipurpose hi-tech microprocessor. The company’s financial policies and objectives can balance the essential need for continuous investment inflow to generate long term sustainable growth for the company. The value to per consumer is increasing day by day with the spread of digital embedded of devices across the world.

The confidence of saudi consumer in the seasonal sale of the Literature review

The confidence of saudi consumer in the seasonal sale of the international brands - Literature review Example Secondary research was chosen as the method of research for this study. This involves using qualitative and quantitative data that has been gathered by other individuals for different purposes. This will be collected through examining the literature surrounding Saudi consumers, international brands and seasonal sales in detail, collating the information and using statistical analysis to look for patterns and trends. There are a number of advantages to secondary research. Firstly, it is cheaper and less time consuming than primary research. This is because the information has already been collected, it is a matter of finding, collating, interpreting and analysing it. Because of this, a larger data set can be examined than is able to be through primary research. Secondary, sometimes secondary research can give more accurate data than can be obtained through primary research. This is because a large amount of data is being collated, which gives a clearer picture than little data, and there may be government surveys or censuses that reach a large number of people that can be taken advantage of. However, it is important to take the original source and context of the data into account wherever possible to prevent accuracy being compromised. The disadvantages of secondary research are that the questions asked in the original research may not correspond to the questions that are being asked through secondary research.... dary research are that the questions asked in the original research may not correspond to the questions that are being asked through secondary research. This can make the results not relevant for the current question, or biased towards one particular part of the population. This problem is amplified by the fact that the context of the primary data is sometimes unavailable. This study has attempted to avoid this problem by incorporating data from a wide range of different sources, aiming for sufficient replication to avoid any bias from one or a few studies. One primary method of research that could be used for this study would be the questionnaires to directly determine the opinions of the consumer population. Questionnaires are a good method of primary data gathering, as they enable sampling of a wide range of people and do not intrude on the population . For this study in particular, there was difficulty obtaining permission to conduct either internet based, or mail based surveys o f the consumer population of Saudi Arabia, and there was concerns that not all of the survey responses would be legitimate, as the culture of Saudi Arabia is very private and the country has strict religious rules . For this reason, and the advantages cited above, secondary research was chosen as the method of data collection for this study. Finding Secondary Sources Once the focus of study and the questions being asked has been determined, the next step in secondary research is to find and collate data. A large amount of data is needed, and generally speaking, the more data is analysed, the more realistic the results will be. For this study secondary sources will be found primarily through the use of internet based search engines, primarily focusing on peer-reviewed items, as these are on

Life as a Teenager in 2014 Essay Example for Free

Life as a Teenager in 2014 Essay When I was younger, I always thought my parents knew everything and were never wrong. I believed that they never made mistakes, they were too old and wise. The same went for my teachers, older members of our extended family and just adults in general. I felt so safe, comforted by the fact that they knew and were in control, so I didn’t have to be. The older I became, the more I realized how faulty my ideas were. I never did become any wiser as I grew up; I had information and data that bombarded my brain and knowledge on how I must act to be socially accepted. I was told what I could do and what I mustn’t do. Perhaps I do know more about life and the world, but I don’t understand it; perhaps that is for the better. I remember when I first heard the song ‘Teenagers’ by My Chemical Romance, and I began to think about the meaning behind it. ‘Theyre gonna clean up your looks†¨With all the lies in the books†¨To make a citizen out of you†¨Because they sleep with a gun†¨And keep an eye on you, son†¨So they can watch all the things you do Because the drugs never work†¨Theyre gonna give you a smirk†¨Cause they’ve got methods of keeping you clean†¨Theyre gonna rip up your heads†¨Your aspirations to shreds†¨Another cog in the murder machine They say that teenagers scare the living s*** out of me†¨They could care less as long as someonell bleed†¨So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose†¨Maybe theyll leave you alone, but not me The boys and girls in the clique†¨The awful names that they stick†¨Youre never gonna fit in much, kid†¨But if youre troubled and hurt†¨What you got under your shirt†¨Well make them pay for the things that they did’ The song did change my view on how teenagers are seen by society, but not in a way that I expected. I think that the singer, Gerard Way, is exploring how society wants to change teenagers to make them do as they are told and fit in and do well at school. However, the more they do this, the more teenagers rebel. In the chorus, Way expresses his fear of teenagers, of their tendency to perhaps be unpredictable and violent. ‘So darken your clothes or strike a violent pose Maybe they’ll leave you alone, but not me’ I  think he is trying to put forward the idea that society might ignore them or leave them alone if they act threatening and imposing, but as he is an adult, he is expected to stay in line and meet the expectations of society. I think it’s difficult being a teenager. People don’t seem to realize or might have even forgotten. I am at the age where I am too old to rely on others and make mistakes but not old enough to take control of my life and look after myself. This time in my life that makes up my teenage years is important, and I want to make the most of that but I find myself overwhelmed by set backs and a severe lack of control. There are so many aspects of my life the government wants to control. They want to cram so many exams and so much work into these few short years of our lives that we find ourselves snowed under it all. It seems that these years of our lives are the most important. They define us and decide what our future holds. The pressure is on: if you fail your science G.C.S.E then you won’t be able to take it for A level. If you can’t take it for A level, you won’t be able to study it at university, or get a PHD, or ever become a doctor. The government has decided that exams mean everything. An A and an A* could mean the difference between your dream job and being unhappy for the rest of your life, stuck with a boring job that perhaps pays decently, becoming miserable and dying a failure. It’s too much. This has to be the reason why we find that more and more teenagers each year are turning to drugs, self harm, eating disorders and depression. Why does everyone question the rise in the number of these cases? Is it not obvious? Iâ€℠¢m sure it also has something to with the rise of the internet and everything that we are being exposed to. Quite frankly, we can’t cope with it. It seems that no one understands but teenagers themselves. Of course, it’s all quite a cliche to say that no one understands teenagers, but it does seem to be true. I wouldn’t say that all teenagers can’t cope and I realize that some cope better than others, but I know that our system isn’t working. Not the corrupt government with its exams and heavy pressure on students, and the not the corrupted internet with its social networking sites and pornographic images that seem to be everywhere. The adverts that tell us what a perfect person looks like are crushing and I find them insulting. There is a silent reminder that lingers in the air telling us to be normal, a clone of everyone else and to fit in. Some people come to a point in their life when they decide that enough  is enough and they wear what they want and act how they like. I have a theory that people are like sling shots: the more they are pulled back and restrained, the further they go when they are let go. They get to a point where they cannot be pulled back any further. This is when people pierce and tattoo their bodies or wear socially unacceptable clothing to show the world that they are not going to be told what to do. There are also the quiet ones who starve themselves to be in control, take drugs to take away the pain or self harm to prove that the pain they are feeling is not just in their heads, its real and they can control it. There are even people who work themselves sick to be in control of their future. What I find interesting is that every generation is different: each has its own pressures that differ from the last. Not long ago, I would have been expected to get married not too soon from now and raise a family, possibly with a man I didn’t even love. Only recently has homosexuality become socially and legally acceptable. So before, teenagers would have had trouble fitting in, or would have had to pretend to be heterosexual. We as teenagers never really have been in control and with a personality like mine, that can be extremely overwhelming. It seems now we are finding our voice and are able to express ourselves. I can see that there are positive aspects about being a teenager in this day and age: some of us turn to positive hobbies to take our minds off the stress of exams. More and more teenagers are relying on their great passion in life and developing it to take their mind off their diffic ulties. This might be music, cooking, writing, designing, drawing or sport. I still remember the first time I played the drums and I’ve never looked back. They made me love music even more and I started playing the guitar as well. I wrote songs and started to sing. Music became my obsession and it is one aspect of my life that I can control. I can do it myself without having to listen to the people who tell me what I should be listening to, what I should be playing or what I should be writing. I do believe that if nothing is going to change, then we all need something to turn to in life that reminds us we can cope. I know that it wouldn’t work for everyone, but perhaps people who take drugs could start drawing or painting. Instead of people focussing on their body weight they could start to cook their own food and be in control of that instead. People who self harm could write down their feelings or express it through music, or even go out and run off  their sadness. I think people need to remind themselves what makes them happy and if nothing does then they should find something. I know nothing will change for some time, but in the meantime we need to find a way to make the most of our teenage years.

3-Year Marketing Plan Essay Example for Free

3-Year Marketing Plan Essay Introduction Company G is a very well-known company in the electronics industry and is highly regarded by consumers for their high quality products and this new product line that is being introduced by Company G continues the excellence of quality for which they are known. The â€Å"Tub-Scrubbie† is an innovative new product that is a first in a new line of electronic home care products that is being introduced by Company G. The Tub-Scrubbie is an automatic bathtub scrubber that is designed to allow people the freedom to spend more time doing what’s important to them instead of working on household chores. Mission Statement â€Å"We enable consumers to improve the quality and convenience of their lives by providing innovative electronics solutions.† The Product The Tub-Scrubbie is an automatic bathtub scrubber that is completely self-contained and rechargeable. This product is designed to scrub the bathtub for those that are physically unable to do so themselves and for people whose lives are very busy and would rather be spending quality time with their family than spending extra time doing household chores. The Tub-Scrubbie is quick to set up and very simple to use. There are no complicated instructions, no small parts to lose or parts that easily break. The unit contains a cleanser and water reservoir that is easy to fill and holds 16 oz. of liquid which is enough for one use, an automatic timer which switches the unit off when the time has expired, replaceable bristle brushes that can be used on all surfaces and a metal tube frame set. To use, the metal tube frame is attached to the bathtub using spring tension rods, the  scrubber is filled with the no rinse cleaning solution and water mixture, the scrub unit is attached to the frame, turn on the unit and set the timer and let it go. The scrubber unit will spray the cleaning solution in 15 second intervals as it scrubs the tub. It will move along the metal frame and move up and down on the drop post to scrub the walls of the tub. Once it has completed two revolutions around the frame, the scrubber will detach from the drop tube and scrub the bottom of the tub until the timer shuts the unit off. Rinsing the tub is not required, the cleaning solution is designed to be â€Å"no rinse† and is non-toxic and will not damage surfaces with regular use. Consumer Product Classification After in-depth research, we have determined that the Tub-Scrubbie would be classified as a shopping item. Even though this item has several characteristics of being a convenience item, such as being low in price and being available in multiple sales outlets, and the purchase frequency is infrequent as a specialty item, it maintains the shopping item profile. The consumer factors that direct this product to the shopping item classification are a considerable planning time involved in making the purchase, the importance of a convenient location, the considerable comparison of price and quality. The marketing mix factors include a relatively short distribution channel, the sellers’ image is very important for the reliability and durability of the item and that this item can be sold and promoted by the producer and the seller of the item. Target Market The target market for the Tub-Scrubbie actually covers two different demographic groups. The first group type to target will be the elderly from the age of 55 and over and disabled people of any age that are living alone. The second group type to target for marketing are the people that are too busy to spend time doing household chores such as scrubbing the bathtub, this group will consist of parents with children that are enrolled in multiple after school activities and the overworked business professional. The elderly/disabled group will be in a very low income bracket, and may or may not have been educated, they will most likely be living on a pension,  retirement or collecting a monthly check from social security, their annual income will average $10,000 $25,000. This group will most likely be living alone in an apartment or single family home in the low income section of town that is situated close to strip mall type of shopping center, which may or may not have a major anchor store. The business professional group will be in the medium income bracket; this group will be highly educated, holding either a Bachelors or Master’s degree. They will be working hard and very long hours so that they can remain in their income bracket range. Their average income will be between $40,000 and $60,000, enough to cover their living expenses and small extravagances, but not enough that they can hire someone to do their housekeeping regularly. This group will be living in an apartment community or in a condominium that is located close to an upscale shopping center or mall. Competitive Situation Analysis Analysis of Competition using Porter’s 5 Forces Model The following is an overview of factors that may have an impact on the introduction and future sales of the Tub-Scrubbie. In the cleaning product market, consumers are always looking for a new and innovative way to take the work out of their daily house cleaning chores. Competitive Rivalry At this time there would be no direct competition for the Tub-Scrubbie. As the sales of this item rise, competitors will start to develop their version of this product, if we patent our item that will reduce exact replicas. With the introduction of the Tub-Scrubbie, the main competition would be the companies that produce the well-known tub and bathroom cleaners such as Clorox Co, Proctor Gamble and S.C. Johnson Son, Inc. Each of these companies holds at least 50% or more of the market share of the different cleaning products that customers have been using for years. Threat from New Entrants The home cleaning product market is extremely large and the competition is very high among the leaders of the industry, this makes entering this market very difficult. Due to the cost involved with entering the cleaning product  market, the threat from new entrants is relatively low. The internet can be used to monitor any new competition that may try to break into the market with similar products to ours. Threat from Buyers With the cleaning product market being as large as it is, the threat from individual consumers would be relatively low; they would have no effect on price or placement of the item. The threat from buyers would be greater, big box stores such as Wal-Mart and Target would be able to refuse to purchase the item unless they received a discount per number of units ordered, they would also have control of where the product would be placed in their stores. Internet sales would not be considered a threat from buyers; this would be set up as direct sales to consumers. Threat from Suppliers Since we would be producing the main product in our own factories, there is no threat from a manufacturing standpoint. We would partner with Clorox Inc to provide the cleaning solution for the Tub-Scrubbie. Since Clorox is a very large producer, the threat from this supplier would be very low. The only threat from supplies that we would face would be from the suppliers of the raw materials that we would use to create our products. The internet could be used to watch for disruption to the raw material chain. Threat from Substitutes In the beginning there will be very little threat from substitutes, at this time there is no product on the market that will directly compete with this item. After this item is introduced, other companies such as P G, 3M and Clorox will flood the market of their version of the Tub-Scrubbie, which will then introduce direct competition for our item. Most of the substitute products for the Tub-Scrubbie do not offer the convenience of the â€Å"automatic cleaning† feature of our product, there is only one product at this time that offers this feature which is the â€Å"Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner†. This product is designed to clean shower stalls, not bathtubs and therefore should not pose to be direct competition. The only alternatives that are available to our product would be the â€Å"old fashioned† way by using a scrub brush or sponge and liquid or powdered bathtub cleanser and water. The internet could be utilized to monitor similar products bei ng offered  worldwide. SWOT Analysis In this section, we have highlighted Company G’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the production and sales of the Tub-Scrubbie line of products. STRENGTHS *indicates core competency Well-known brand name Innovative products Outstanding product support WEAKNESSES New to cleaning product market Introducing a new concept in cleaning Dependent on partner companys cleaning product OPPORTUNITIES Online marketing Expanding into new market Partner with industry leader of cleaning products THREATS Replication by competitors Cleaning products already on the market Consumers unwilling to try a new product Strengths The first of our strengths which is also a core competency is that we have a very well-known brand name in the electronics market. We have a name that consumers know and trust for quality products and excellent customer service; consumers would be more likely to purchase our product. Our second strength, also one of our core competencies is that our company is known for its innovative new products. We have spearheaded many different markets with new products that consumers have not ever seen before and have done very well in sales with these products, capturing at least 10% of the market. Our third strength is our outstanding product support. We offer the most extensive and longest warranties on our products, combined with a money back guarantee if not satisfied. We also have an excellent customer service department that receives customer feedback and requests by email, phone or  instant chat and concentrates on resolving customer issues within 48 hours. Weaknesses The first weakness is that Company G is a new entrant to the cleaning product market. We will have many competitors that have been selling quality products in hundreds of different outlets for many years. Our next weakness is that we are introducing a new, modern concept in cleaning to an older market that is mainly reluctant to change. Many of the consumers in our target market are older people that are afraid of technology or just may feel that its just not clean if they dont scrub it themselves. Our third weakness would be Company Gs dependency on our partner company, Cloroxs’ name to sell our product. Since the Tub-Scrubbie will be sold with cleaning fluids provided by the Clorox Company, we are depending on their reputation and popularity in the industry to help sell our product, if their product doesnt sell, then ours wont either. Opportunities One of our first opportunities with this product is to expand on our internet sales opportunities. All of our products can be found online on hundreds of websites as well as direct sales, by offering this product online we can expand into new internet outlets that have not previously carried our electronics. Another opportunity that this product will give us is the advantage of expanding our company into an entirely new market. This will be Company Gs first venture into the cleaning product market which will give us the opportunity to introduce future cleaning products and expanding our sales into new territories. Our third opportunity is that we are going to partner with Clorox, which is one of the leaders in the cleaning industry. Their name is seminomas with clean and germ free and by partnering with Clorox, it will only boost initial sales as well as residual sales of the refill cleaning fluids. Threats One threat would be replication of our product by competitors. Once our Tub-Scubbie is introduced, there is a possibility of the market being flooded with similar products. Even though their design will be different, the concept will be the same, this will ultimately bring down our sales. Another threat would be the wide variety of cleaning products that are  already available on the market. Consumers are creatures of habit and have their favorite products that they buy repeatedly and they refuse to change, if they dont use Clorox products, they are not likely to purchase our product. A third threat is that many consumers are unwilling to try a new product that will change the method they use to clean their bathtub. Many people do not like change and are unwilling to buy something new, they may feel it wont clean as well as it should or that its just another electronic device that will break after a few months. Market Objectives Product Objective The main objective for the Tub-Scrubbie is to offer a quality product that is simple and ready to use, uses very little energy, is rechargeable and is covered by our 60 day money back guarantee and 1 year warranty. Price Objective The Tub-Scrubbie will be available at an introductory price of $29.99 and after 6 months the regular price will be $34.99. There will also be color varieties available at $39.99 and an upgraded model bundled with cleansers will be introduced after one year for $54.99. Place Objective The objective for placement of the Tub-Scrubbie will be to introduce the product in a partnership with the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club Corporations by Dec of 2013 and by Feb 2014, the Tub-Scrubbie will be available in most retail outlets. Promotion Objective The objective for promotion of the Tub-Scrubbie is to gradually introduce our product to the public through television and radio advertisements, newspapers and holiday circulars and free standing store displays by the end of January 2014. Marketing Strategies In order to make this product successful in the market place, we must ensure that the consumers receive the superior quality products that they have come to expect from Company G. This entails providing our customers a long lasting product that is energy efficient, available in a variety of colors at an affordable cost. We have created a three stage marketing strategy for  the Tub-Scrubbie by first placing the item in one of the largest retailers during the holiday shopping season, setting a pricing plan that will fit into the budget of most of our consumers and by offering price reduction in lower income areas. Product Strategies The Tub-Scrubbie will be sold with rechargeable batteries and AC adapter. The Tub-Scrubbie will be covered by our standard 60 day money back guarantee and 1 year warranty. The Tub-Scrubbie will be fully assembled and ready to use out of the box. Price Strategies The Tub-Scrubbie will have an introductory price of $29.99, after 6 months the price will increase to $34.99. The Tub-Scrubbie will be offered in a variety of colors for $39.99. The Tub-Scrubbie will be offered in a bundle with a larger cleanser reservoir and 2 bottles of cleanser in their choice of color for $54.99. Place Strategies The Tub-Scrubbie will be launched in December of 2013 in all Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. In January 2014, the Tub-Scrubbie will be released at all other major retailers such as Target, Raley’s, Bel Air and Nob Hill markets. By February 2014 the Tub-Scrubbie will be available at all smaller retailers and at online stores. Promotion Strategies In November of 2013, the Tub-Scrubbie will start to be featured in television and radio commercials sponsored by Wal-Mart. In December of 2013, the Tub-Scrubbie will be featured in holiday circulars and newspaper ads. In January of 2014, in stored displays will be set up at most retail outlets and $5.00 of coupons will be circulated as a â€Å"New Year cleanup special.† Tactics and Action Plan Shown below are the plans that have been put into place to carry out the objectives stated above. Each manager indicated will be responsible for completing the task by its due date. Product Action Plan Tactic Due Date Responsible Party Ensure that all packaging includes rechargeable batteries and AC cord Daily – As items are manufactured and packaged. Manufacturing Supervisor A copy of our guaranteed return policy and warranty are included with each unit. Daily – As items are manufactured and packaged. Manufacturing Supervisor Each unit is fully assembled and ready to operate out of the package. Daily – As items are manufactured and packaged. Quality Assurance Manager Price Action Plan Tactic Due Date Responsible Party Ensure that the packaging reflects the introductory price of $29.99 Daily through the first 6 months of production. Manufacturing Manager and Promotions Manager Ensure that the packaging with the color varieties indicate the correct color and the price of $39.99 Daily – As the items are manufactured and packaged. Manufacturing Manager Ensure that the packaging for the bundled enhanced product and cleaning fluids indicate the color of the unit as well as the price of $54.99 Daily – As the items are manufactured and packaged. Manufacturing Manager Place Action Plan Tactic Due Date Responsible Party Ensure that shipments have been received by all Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club distribution centers. November 1, 2013 Distribution Manager Ensure that shipments have been received by remaining large chain retailers. December 1, 2013 Distribution Manager Ensure that shipments have been received by all remaining retailers. January 15, 2013 Distribution Manager Promotion Action Plan Tactic Due Date Responsible Party Ensure that television and radio spots are ready to be aired. October 31, 2013 Promotion Manager Create and submit ads for circulars and newspapers. November 15, 2013 Promotion Manager Order POS merchandisers and distribute to retail outlets. November 30, 2013 Promotion Manager Monitoring Procedures In order to ensure that our marketing plan is achieving Company Gs desired goals, we must put into place and regularly review monitoring procedures. We will be using the following procedures from the first day that the product is introduced through the first 5 years of sales. Monitoring Activity Due Date/Frequency Responsible Party Overall Sales Volume Quarterly Distribution Manager Effectiveness of Advertisements End of each month Promotion Manager Accumulated Expenses Quarterly Accounting Manager Customer Satisfaction End of each month Customer Service Manager

Healthcare Policy Making Stages

Healthcare Policy Making Stages Rebecah M. Deguit TASK 1: It is important to understand the policy development process so that as an advocate you can plan the type of input you need in order to have an impact on the final policy. There are five key stages in the health policy-making process. For each of the stages listed, explain what is included in the step and discuss the processes that are undertaken in the stage. THE POLICY-MAKING PROCESS INTRODUCTION: A policy is a set of rules governing a community to achieve a desired outcome. It directs actions and decisions towards certain goals to have the best results. A policy is important in order for individuals to live in harmony within the community. As nurses, it is our duty to be advocates not only for our patients, but also to the public in general. We must know and be familiarized that there are existing regulations or policies that may act as an obstruction or opposing our views. To be successful advocates, we should understand these factors so that we may be able to apply or use them properly. BODY: Being advocates, it is essential to have a clear understanding of how the policies are being developed. This is done in order for us to participate in the process. A policy undergoes different processes before it is carried out by the government. Each phase is equally significant as the next. These key stages include: Problem identification and agenda setting. This is the first step in making a policy. It involves recognizing existing problems, carefully examining those problems and its causes, and doing extensive research and brainstorming of different ideas to find the possible interventions or solutions. Once it has being identified, a list of prioritized plans will be done. This generally happens when a group of people require government action to an issue(s), or when the public do not agree on the processes in addressing certain problems. Policy formation. There are several potential ways to solve a certain problem so brainstorming is required in formulating a policy. In this process, policy makers come up with new methods of solving the identified problems. People from the legislature and bureaucracy are involved in the process. Among these processes are: Organize the policy process. In this process, policy makers decide how to manage the development process that will classify the policy’s structure, its major goals, and its priority components. In here, planning of people or groups involved in the process is also recognized. Identify the main problems. This step in policy-making requires skilled people from different departments to take part in the analysis and give suggestions on what actions to make in order for the problems to be addressed appropriately. After they have come up with a proposal, discussion is then made for them to have a unanimous recommendation to the government. Make a detailed situation analysis. In this process, there is a need to look at the identified problems more closely and its causes to pinpoint possible interventions, planning what are the things that need to be done first, selection of most appropriate strategies to the desired result is made, and sets a baseline for monitoring and evaluation. Set goals and objectives for a national health policy. After the existing problems have been identified, setting of attainable as well as realistic goals and objectives are done and planning of suitable approaches towards addressing the main problems is made. An example of this may be the need for accessible essential drugs for everyone in the community. Based on the given example, one possible objective would be to make the drugs affordable and increase the supply of medicines especially in remote areas. Draft the text of the policy. Once systematic analyses of the main objectives, goals and methods have been made, a draft of the text is arranged. It must contain the overall aim of the policy. Mostly, necessary drugs are guaranteed accessible, safe, and of high quality to the residents. The specific goals should also be discussed. With regards to healthcare, a draft outline of the plan of the national drug policy must be arranged. It must establish the broader purpose of the policy. In general, this is to make sure of the availability, dependability, efficiency, and of high quality of vital drugs for the individuals in the community. Circulate and revise the draft policy. After the text of the policies have been drafted, they must be disseminated to all the people concerned, primarily within the ministry of health, then in other departments, and lastly to significant organizations and institutions outside of the government in order for them to give their insights or critics. After an extensive discussion of the draft policies is done, they are then edited and finalized based on the suggestions or critics of the different organizations. Adoption. Following a variety of presented plans, one policy is acknowledged by the decision-makers. The adoption of a policy takes place when the Congress passes legislation. Policy adoption requires a lot of time in that a series of processes are made in order to come up with a complex policy. Policy implementation. In this stage, the policy is translated into action. It entails circulation of the facts about the adopted policy and implementing it. Checking of financial resources is important to correspond with the plans and interventions that will be implemented. This step also requires proper communication and cooperation to be successful in applying the policy. Policy monitoring and evaluation. This is the last step of policy-making wherein the policy is being examined and analyzed if it is really addressing the problem being identified and if the goals and objectives were met. In here, people scrutinize the process and the outcomes of the policy. This stage is an ongoing process and may be a basis for modification in the agenda, policy formation, or its implementation. CONCLUSION: Policy-making is then a cyclical and continuous process, with many people being involved in the course of action. The process of creating and adopting laws takes lots of time, and of course, budget. Everyone is influenced by policies in the health care system everyday thus it is important to review them daily so that public’s safety and well-being is assured. As nurses work hand in hand with the clients and their families, primarily they are the ones to assess if the health care system is effective or not in dealing with the needs of the clients. REFERENCES: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. (2014). The policymaking process. Retrieved from: http://www.cliffsnotes.com/more-subjects/american-government/public-policy/the-policymaking-process Medscape Multispecialty. (2007). Influencing health care in the legislative arena. Retrieved from: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/553404_4 UShistory.org. (2008-2014). Policy making: political interactions. Retrieved from: http://www.ushistory.org/gov/11.asp World Health Organization. (n.d.). Health service planning and policy-making: a toolkit for nurses and midwives. Retrieved from: http://www.wpro.who.int/publications/docs/hsp_mod4_1E08.pdf?ua=1 The Texas Politics Project. (n.d.). Policy making and policy implementation. Retrieved from: http://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/archive/html/bur/features/0303_01/policy.html Human Info NGO. (2014). The WHO essential medicines and health products information portal. Retrieved from: http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/en/d/Js2283e/4.2.2.html The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. (2007). Influencing health care in the legislative arena. Retrieved from: http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Volume122007/No1Jan07/tpc32_216091.html

Global Warming :: Environment Global Climate Change

Global warming is a matter of great concern that is unfortunately quite often overlooked in light of other problems that seem to be more immediately demanding. However, for all the attention that this issue does not draw, that is how dire it is growing to be. There are many problems that are causing global warming, and if they are not rectified, or at least prevented from here on out there are going to be some severe ramifications in the near future. Greenhouse gases, holes in the ozone layer and the decay of the atmosphere are just a few of the problems that need to be at the very least understood by the general populace. Greenhouse gases are chemical compounds that are found in the atmosphere. Because of their chemical make up, they allow energy from the sun to enter the atmosphere freely. â€Å"When sunlight strikes the Earth’s surface, some of it is reflected back towards space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap the heat in the atmosphere. Over time, the amount of energy sent from the sun to the Earth’s surface should be about the same as the amount of energy radiated back into space, leaving the temperature of the Earth’s surface roughly constant.† (Greenhouse gases, climate change, and energy) So this heat that is formed in these gases merely sits there and radiates more heat than it should. Another great concern to everyone on earth should be the hole in the ozone that is above Antarctica. Last recorded in September of 2000, the hole was 28.3 million square kilometers. (Antarctica’s Record-setting Ozone Hole) Such a hole in the ozone allow rays from the sun to enter undiluted into our atmosphere with their unhampered intensity. Since this hole is present in one of the coldest parts of the world, where there is so much ice, the potential for melting is extremely dangerous. Already, our world’s core temperature has risen 1 degrees. It is predicted that before the turn of the century, the core temperature will rise another 3 to 9 degrees. Such a great change would cause water levels to rise, coastal cities would start to flood, people who lived on the edge the beaches and coasts would have to move or lose everything they possessed to floods. This drastic change in temperature also effects the weather patterns.

Migraine Headaches: Probable Causes and Effective Treatments :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Migraine Headaches: Probable Causes and Effective Treatments During my first year of High School, I began getting frequent headaches, about three or four each week, which included symptoms of nausea, increased sensitivity to light and an intense throbbing pain localized to one side of my head. Immediately, my parents and friends noticed a change in my behavior. Shortly after the onset of these headaches, my academic performance suffered as the intense symptoms became debilitating. With their enduring persistence, I visited a neurologist who diagnosed me as suffering from migraine headaches. The symptoms were clearly indicative of classic migraines, which the neurologist informed me were usually genetic. Therefore, upon questioning me about my family history of neurological disorders, he did not find it surprising that my maternal grandmother had been plagued with severe headaches since her early twenties. Later, he explained to me that the precise cause of migraines was yet unknown but that there were some very effective treatments available t hat would prevent the onset of the migraines. After trying several different medications, we found a successful preventative drug, called Norpramine. Six years later, still on the medication, I only suffer from an intense migraine about two or three times per month. However, searching for the correct medication was the most painful and helpless process of my life, an experience that I would never care to relive. Before I had settled on Norpramine, I was using medications that were only effective in relieving the symptoms after the onset of a headache, one of which was a painful injection that had a variety of uncomfortable side effects. Over the years, I have done some superficial research on migraines, finding it perplexing that a disorder that affects millions of individuals is so difficult for scientists to pinpoint. Thus, I decided to focus this paper on the probable causes of migraine headaches and examine some of the possible treatments that work well for many individuals, including me. Migraine headaches affect an estimated 11 to 23 million Americans, women more commonly than men, and include symptoms like throbbing or pulsating pain and nausea (1). The first documented records of migraines originate from 3,000 B.C, when a popular treatment involved drilling holes in the skull to release evil spirits (1). Several scientifically based theories about the cause of migraines have recently developed, although the exact mechanism is still unknown. One of the current, highly supported theories suggests that migraines occur when there is a specific chemical imbalance in the brain, which in turn results in changes in the blood vessels (2).

Early Christian Art Essay

The present state of Christianity is completely different to its past. During the early years of Christianity, Christians were persecuted for their faith. Due to heavy persecution, early Christians had to use some kind of secret communication. This had given way to the birth of Early Christian art. Due to the proximity in the timeline, Early Christian art had shown much influence from Byzantine art. However, Early Christian art had to undergo change during the Late Antiquity in the Roman Empire. Much of the early Christian Art in the Late Antiquity was influenced by the prevalence of wars and political instability (Spier 2007). Since there was no more need for secrecy, Early Christian art had become more focused on politics rather than the religion. During the early years of Christianity, storytelling was regarded as the most effective way of mass communication. Written language was still unavailable for the consumption of all, thus people had used Oral narratives to communicate and preserve cultural ideas. One of the propagated stories was that of Christianity. On the other hand, symbols were used to avoid persecution from those against Christianity. Through storytelling and symbols, early Christian artists were able to continue their faith and avoid persecution at the same time. Perhaps two of the most common symbols in Early Christian art are the dove, lamb, and the fish. The dove was used as a symbol for purity and peace, something of high value to Christians. On the other hand, the fish was used as a symbol for Christ. The fish had become an ingenious symbol for Christ as it symbolizes the last supper and the water used for Christian baptism. And lastly, the lamb had become another symbol for Christ, particularly when he had bled during the crucifixion. In addition to that, the lamb could also serve as a symbolism for Christians wherein Christ is the good shepherd. Reference Spier, Jeffrey. (2007). Picturing the Bible: the earliest Christian art. Connecticut: Yale University Press

A Leap from Art To Biology Essay

I have always been so sure that I wanted to earn a degree in the field of art. I believe that I posses the skills of a budding artist and the talent that will make a superb artist one day. I have imbibed the doctrines and have started sketching in my pad what I picture my colorful professional life would be while I was studying art in Korea. Little did I know that later, during my stint in the College of Arts, when I started studying at California State University, Northridge for my baccalaureate degree would pave the way for a new discovery about myself: there is a biologist in me! Thus, as much as I am thrilled about capturing the different colors in a butterfly’s wing on canvass, I am now more excited to study the molecular basis of this mosaic. Being enrolled at the California State University, Northridge was instrumental for my career revolution. CSUN has opened up various opportunities that have enticed me to change paths from art to science. It was truly a difficult decision, and a big leap from a totally different field, but it was well worth it. I discovered a different side of me and I realized that I have a knack for science and math, thus, I chose the field of biology to develop my newfound aptitude. Later, I have learned to be more analytical in solving problems and the concepts of nature, which I find enigmatic before, have offered exciting possibilities of solving practical problems. The curriculum of the Department of Biology and its design has unlocked learning opportunities for me. This is the reason why I would like to enroll in an advanced degree in Biology at CSUN. Of particular interest to me are the fields of functional anatomy, physiology, genetics, and embryology and I would be very willing to pursue a research on these topics for my Master’s degree. CSUN’s resolve to focus on the needs of its community as it continues to earn global appeal is moving students like me to continue to give back what I have learned here to my own community in Korea. In the future, I plant to return to my home and introduce them to the new person I have become, molded by the experiences this place, and learning science has burgeoned in me. I hope to share my knowledge, passion and expertise to solve our most pressing problems. The environment in CSUN and its friendly nature to international students has been a motivating factor to my desire to continue studying here. Outstanding mentors and professors who inspire students to increase their zest for learning biology highlight the department. I am also excited to witness and become part of this 50-year old institution’s growth. The artist in me continues to thrive and I believe that earning my Master’s degree in Biology at CSUN complements my aspirations to be a biologist with a heart and appreciation for the beauty of life.

Jonathan Edwards – Sinners in the hands of an Angry God!

Jonathan Edward’s most recognizable sermon was entitled â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God†. This was a very stimulating and reassuring speech containing religious instruction because as you read it you will be able to engage yourself easily. He used some statement that may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but it is rarely meant to be taken literally. Just like the sinners that he spoke of briefly was illustrated as one that stood or walked in slippery places. We will never know the instantaneous or abrupt devastation waiting ahead of us because of the things or situations that might happen.He never threatened anyone but he tried his best to imply the possible consequence or consequences. One more thing that he wanted to share with us was that the sinners that stood or walked on slippery ground needed nothing but their own weight to throw them down. They were liable to fall of themselves, without being thrown down by the hand of another. The sinners must decide on their own without being pushed or influenced by other. I never thought introducing fear gradually through sharing can be an effect means of bringing people to God. It was a matter of choosing the right strategy of convincing them.I admired Edwards because during his time he delivered the sermon effectively. In my opinion, he wasn’t constraint the people or the listener to believe him but he just showed them the reality of what might happen if the wrath of God would not be suspended. On Calvinistic doctrine of predestination, it accented that humans were unqualified of adding anything to obtain redemption and that God alone was the initiator at every stage of salvation, including the formation of faith and every decision to follow Christ. Calvinism stressed the sovereignty or rule of God in all things — in salvation but also in all of life.In this belief, the only choice that we have is to accept and have faith in God because he is t he one and only way for us to be saved from hell. Because of God’s love, he gave his only begotten son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Thus, we must believe and follow Christ because He is the only way for us not to go to hell. There was no contradiction between the concept of predestination, central to Calvinism and Edward’s Covenant of Grace because both of them signify that salvation was not bestowed to us upon any condition, but freely and for nothing.We were to do nothing for it; we were only to take it. This taking and receiving was faith. It is very improper to say that a covenant is made with men, any otherwise than in Christ; for there is an immeasurable difference between a free offer and a covenant. The promise was made with Christ, and in him with his mystical body; and the condition of the covenant is Christ’s perfect obedience and sufferings. The Covenant of Grace was described by Christâ€⠄¢s open and free offer of life, whereby he holds it out in his hand to sinners, and offers it without any condition.Faith cannot be called the condition of receiving, for it is the receiving itself: That’s why, the only reason why Christ died on the cross was for our salvation. God loved us so much that He won’t allow us to go to hell. He offered the salvation freely just believe and have faith. I think Calvinistic Doctrine is popular because in the history of America, two-thirds of the colonial population was trained in the school of Calvin. It means most of the individuals were fascinated and knew the teaching of Calvinism. Never in the world's history had a nation been founded by such people as these.Furthermore, these people came to America not primarily for commercial gain or advantage, but because of deep religious convictions. It seems that the religious persecutions in various European countries had been providentially used to select out the most progressive a nd enlightened people for the colonization of America. Until now, the Christianity that spreads in America was born through the existence also of Calvinism. That’s why I was convinced that Calvinism is not dead but accepted and widely practiced by many. Jonathan Edwards – Sinners in the hands of an Angry God! Jonathan Edward’s most recognizable sermon was entitled â€Å"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God†. This was a very stimulating and reassuring speech containing religious instruction because as you read it you will be able to engage yourself easily. He used some statement that may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but it is rarely meant to be taken literally. Just like the sinners that he spoke of briefly was illustrated as one that stood or walked in slippery places. We will never know the instantaneous or abrupt devastation waiting ahead of us because of the things or situations that might happen.He never threatened anyone but he tried his best to imply the possible consequence or consequences. One more thing that he wanted to share with us was that the sinners that stood or walked on slippery ground needed nothing but their own weight to throw them down. They were liable to fall of themselves, without being thrown down by the hand of another. The sinners must decide on their own without being pushed or influenced by other. I never thought introducing fear gradually through sharing can be an effect means of bringing people to God. It was a matter of choosing the right strategy of convincing them.I admired Edwards because during his time he delivered the sermon effectively. In my opinion, he wasn’t constraint the people or the listener to believe him but he just showed them the reality of what might happen if the wrath of God would not be suspended. On Calvinistic doctrine of predestination, it accented that humans were unqualified of adding anything to obtain redemption and that God alone was the initiator at every stage of salvation, including the formation of faith and every decision to follow Christ. Calvinism stressed the sovereignty or rule of God in all things — in salvation but also in all of life.In this belief, the only choice that we have is to accept and have faith in God because he is t he one and only way for us to be saved from hell. Because of God’s love, he gave his only begotten son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Thus, we must believe and follow Christ because He is the only way for us not to go to hell. There was no contradiction between the concept of predestination, central to Calvinism and Edward’s Covenant of Grace because both of them signify that salvation was not bestowed to us upon any condition, but freely and for nothing.We were to do nothing for it; we were only to take it. This taking and receiving was faith. It is very improper to say that a covenant is made with men, any otherwise than in Christ; for there is an immeasurable difference between a free offer and a covenant. The promise was made with Christ, and in him with his mystical body; and the condition of the covenant is Christ’s perfect obedience and sufferings. The Covenant of Grace was described by Christâ€⠄¢s open and free offer of life, whereby he holds it out in his hand to sinners, and offers it without any condition.Faith cannot be called the condition of receiving, for it is the receiving itself: That’s why, the only reason why Christ died on the cross was for our salvation. God loved us so much that He won’t allow us to go to hell. He offered the salvation freely just believe and have faith. I think Calvinistic Doctrine is popular because in the history of America, two-thirds of the colonial population was trained in the school of Calvin. It means most of the individuals were fascinated and knew the teaching of Calvinism. Never in the world's history had a nation been founded by such people as these.Furthermore, these people came to America not primarily for commercial gain or advantage, but because of deep religious convictions. It seems that the religious persecutions in various European countries had been providentially used to select out the most progressive a nd enlightened people for the colonization of America. Until now, the Christianity that spreads in America was born through the existence also of Calvinism. That’s why I was convinced that Calvinism is not dead but accepted and widely practiced by many.

Ownership Structure, Managerial Behavior and Corporate Value

Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645 – 660 www. elsevier. com/locate/econbase Ownership structure, managerial behavior and corporate value J. R. Daviesa, David Hillierb,T, Patrick McColganc a University of Strathclyde, UK b University of Leeds, UK c University of Aberdeen, UK Received 21 November 2002; accepted 6 July 2004 Available online 20 April 2005 Abstract The nonlinear relationship between corporate value and managerial ownership is well documented. This has been attributed to the onset of managerial entrenchment, which results in a decrease of corporate value for increasing levels of managerial holdings. We propose a new structure for this relationship that accounts for the effect of conflicting managerial incentives, and external and internal disciplinary monitoring mechanisms. Using this specification as the basis for our analysis, we provide evidence that the managerial ownership–corporate value relationship is co-deterministic. This finding is at odds with recent work which reports that corporate value determines managerial ownership but not vice-versa. D 2005 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved. JEL classification: G32 Keywords: Ownership structure; Capital expenditure; Corporate value; Tobin’s Q 1. Introduction In a market without agency problems, corporate managers will choose investments that maximise the wealth of shareholders. In practice, competing objectives which are incompatible with the shareholder wealth-maximising paradigm may also be pursued. T Corresponding author. Leeds University Business School, University of Leeds, Maurice Keyworth Building Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK. Tel. : +44 113 3434359; fax: +44 113 3434459. E-mail address: d. j. [email  protected] c. uk (D. Hillier). 0929-1199/$ – see front matter D 2005 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved. doi:10. 1016/j. jcorpfin. 2004. 07. 001 646 J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 Following Jensen and Meckling (1976), a large literature has developed that examines how managerial behavior impacts upon firm performance. A vibrant strand of this literature concerns the relationship between managerial ownership levels, the direct investment decisions made by management and the inherent value of the firm, as proxied by Tobin’s Q ratio. Morck et al. 1988), McConnell and Servaes (1990), and Hermalin and Weisbach (1991) provide evidence of a significant nonlinear relationship between corporate value and managerial ownership. Specifically, value increases with managerial holdings for low levels of ownership. At some level, managers become entrenched within the firm resulting in a decrease in firm value. However, whereas Morck et al. (1988) and Hermalin and Weisbach (1991) document further changes in the corporate value–managerial holdings relationship at high levels of equity ownership, McConnell and Servaes (1990) report no such change. Recent work has built upon the findings of Demsetz and Lehn (1985) who argue that levels of managerial ownership will be determined endogenously in equilibrium. Moreover, Cho (1998) and Himmelberg et al. (1999) have shed doubt upon the earlier findings of Morck et al. (1988) and McConnell and Servaes (1990) by controlling for the effects of endogeneity and unobservable (to the econometrician) firm characteristics in their analysis. After controlling for the effects of endogeneity in the corporate value– managerial holdings relationship, they showed that managerial ownership had little or no effect on corporate value and investment. Short and Keasey (1999) and Faccio and Lasfer (1999) utilize a cubic specification to model the corporate value–managerial holdings relationship and both report a significant nonlinear functional form, similar to Morck et al. (1988), for British companies. However, neither study fully examines the misspecifying impact of endogeneity on their results. In this paper, we propose a new structure to the managerial ownership–corporate value relationship which captures a more complex characterisation of the evolving behavior of managers. We argue that at high levels of managerial ownership when external market discipline becomes neffective, there will be a resurgence of entrenchment behavior. With equity holdings around 50%, managers will have implicit control of their company, but still do not have objectives completely aligned to external shareholders. Only at very high levels of managerial holdings are incentives akin to other shareholders. When this model is applied to a l arge sample of firms incorporated in the UK, managerial ownership is seen to have a significant impact on corporate value. This relationship is endogenous, and consistent with Cho (1998) and Himmelberg et al. (1999), corporate value has a corresponding effect on managerial holdings. We also find that although ownership levels are affected by firm level investment, there is no evidence of the reverse occurring. In the next section we outline our model of the managerial ownership–corporate value relationship. We present empirical results in Section 3 and conclude in Section 4. 2. The model In this section, we propose an alternative structure to the managerial holdings–corporate value relationship and argue that the cubic, or simpler representations, used in earlier J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 647 studies1 are unnecessarily restrictive and misspecified. The model that is presented here captures further nonlinearities in this relationship at high levels of managerial holdings and has a quintic specification. Management is faced with both negative and positive incentives to ensure that they follow objectives which maximise shareholder wealth. The effectiveness of these incentives is potentially a function of the level of managerial ownership in the firm. We view the propensity of management to maximise shareholder wealth to be a function of three unobserved factors: external market discipline, even if it is weak, internal controls and convergence of interests. Moreover, the strength of each factor can be viewed as a function of the level of managerial ownership in the firm. 2 2. 1. Low levels of managerial ownership For low levels of managerial ownership, external discipline and internal controls or incentives will dominate behavior (see Fama, 1980; Hart, 1983; Jensen and Ruback, 1983). Empirically, Morck et al. (1988), McConnell and Servaes (1990) and Hermalin and Weisbach (1991) report results consistent with this behavior for the relationship between managerial holdings and corporate value. However, there is also the possibility that lower levels of ownership within this range have endogenously arisen from performance related compensation packages, such as stock options and stock grants rather than increased ownership in itself leading to higher Q ratios. 2. 2. Intermediate levels of managerial ownership At intermediate levels of managerial ownership, management interests begin to converge with those of shareholders. However, with greater ownership comes greater power in the form of voting rights. Managers may, at this level of holdings, maximise their personal wealth through increasing perquisites and guaranteeing their employment at the expense of corporate value. In addition, while low managerial ownership levels may have arisen through the vesting of compensation plans, it is unlikely that such plans will provide management with a moderate ownership stake in the firm. Moreover, even though external market controls are still in place, these and the effect of convergence of interests are not strong enough to align the behavior of management to shareholders. Managerial labour markets operate on the principal that poorly performing 1 See Morck et al. (1988), McConnell and Servaes (1990), Hermalin and Weisbach (1991), Cho (1998) and Himmelberg et al. (1999) for US companies and Short and Keasey (1999) and Faccio and Lasfer (1999) for UK companies. 2 For example, since compensation packages such as stock options are a transfer of wealth from shareholders to management, their value will lessen as managerial ownership increases. External market discipline is also a function of managerial ownership. Large shareholdings by top management act as a deterrent for takeovers because of the greater ability to oppose a hostile bid or drive up premiums to the point where bidders no longer view the target company as a positive net present value investment Stulz (1988). Finally, internal controls in the form of monitoring from large shareholders and corporate boards should reduce the scope for managers to diverge greatly from the interests of shareholders. Again, however, such discipline is likely to be inversely related to managerial control Denis et al. (1997). 648 J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 anagers can be removed and appropriately disciplined. Studies by Denis et al. (1997) in the US and Dahya et al. (2002) in the UK both find an inverse relation between topmanagement turnover and managerial ownership. This lack of discipline provides evidence of a deficiency in incentives for managers to maximise shareholder value at this level of owners hip. Franks and Mayer (1996) also report that hostile takeover targets in the UK are not poorly performing firms, which is in contrast to the findings of a disciplinary role for corporate takeovers in the US by Martin and McConnell (1991). In this context, Franks and Mayer (1996) provide significant evidence that takeovers in the UK may not act to remove a self-serving board even when they are performing poorly. This lack of disciplinary control over poorly performing management may strengthen management’s ability to pursue sub-optimal corporate policies at intermediate ownership levels. 2. 3. High levels of managerial ownership (less than 50%) As levels of managerial equity ownership grow, objectives converge further to those of shareholders. At ownership levels, below 50% management do not have total control of the firm and external discipline still exists. While perhaps no longer being subject to any major discipline from external takeover markets, it is likely that even at these levels of ownership, managers are still subject to discipline from external block shareholders. This is particularly true in the UK, where because of strong informal ties between institutions (Short and Keasey, 1999), a lax regulatory environment concerning the ownership of listed companies (Roe, 1990) and low monitoring costs (Faccio and Lasfer, 1999), institutional activism is stronger than in the US. This view is also consistent with Franks et al. (2001) contention of strong minority protection laws in the UK, whereby large shareholders cannot transact with related companies without the consent of the firm’s minority shareholders. The UK regulatory framework stands in contrast to US corporate law which limits minorities to seeking redress after the related party transaction has taken place. Combined with monitoring from UK institutions, this may allo w external shareholders to impose some form of control on management even at elatively large levels of managerial ownership. 2. 4. High levels of managerial ownership (greater than 50%) At levels above 50% ownership, management has complete control of the company. Although atomistic shareholders are unlikely to have been able to in influence managers at far lower levels of ownership than this, there is always a possibility that a cartel of blockholders, allied with minority shareholder’s rights under UK company law, may be able to mount a challenge to management if they fail to make decisions in shareholders’ best interests. For a more in-depth discussion of the institutional differences and similarities between the United Kingdom and United States, see Short and Keasey (1999) and Faccio and Lasfer (1999). 3 J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 649 At greater than 50% managerial ownership, this is no longer likely to be a serious issue to management. Furthermore, with majority ownership, the probability of a hostile takeover effectively becomes zero. The failure of external discipline combined with a lack of blockholder incentives above 50% may result in a decrease in corporate value for a small window of managerial holdings above this level. This fall in corporate value is consistent with the theoretical predictions of Stulz (1988). 2. 5. Very high levels of managerial ownership Finally, as managerial shareholdings rise to very high levels, management effectively become sole owners of the company. This would lead to value-maximising behavior as predicted by Jensen and Meckling (1976). Consistent with Morck et al. 1988), Short and Keasey (1999) and Faccio and Lasfer (1999) at above a certain level of ownership, corporate managers are faced with such severe financial penalties for failing to maximise the value of their companies that they are forced to make decisions which will maximise firm value, regardless of how this affects their private benefits of control. 2. 6. Summary Our characterisation of a highly nonlinear relationshi p between managerial equity holdings and corporate value is in contrast to earlier studies (Morck et al. , 1988; McConnell and Servaes, 1990; Hermalin and Weisbach, 1991; Cho, 1998; Himmelberg et al. 1999)4, which posit fewer turning points in their analysis. There is little theoretical basis on which the individual turning points can be determined, and the findings of Kole (1995) suggest that these will be in influenced by the size of the firms in the sample. However, it is expected that the second local maximum will be in the region of 50% managerial ownership reflecting the stage at which management gain total control of the company. In the next section, the main tests of our hypotheses will be carried out. 3. Empirical results 3. 1. Description of the data We use data on managerial and external block ownership for 1995 from the MacMillan London Stock Exchange Yearbook for 1996 and 1997. The Yearbook provides summary accounting data including a consolidated balance sheet, information on company directors, legal information on the company’s lawyers, auditors and stockbrokers, principle activities, company history, capital and dividend payments, and industrial sector for the McConnell and Servaes (1990) modelled the corporate value–managerial ownership relationship as a quadratic function, which by construction has only one turning point. 650 J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 vast majority of all quoted companies and securities. 5 We restrict our attention to nonfinancial companies only and require that each firm has complete managerial and external ownership data for 1995, which leaves 802 industrial companies in our sample. 6 Data on capital expenditures, to tal assets employed, after tax profits, depreciation, leverage, equity market values, and research and development costs are collected from Datastream. We estimate Tobin’s Q ratio (our proxy for corporate value) using the formula below: Q? MVEQ ? PREF ? DEBT BV ASSETS ? 1? where: MVEQ=the year-end market value of the firm’s common stock; PREF=the yearend book value of the firmTs preference shares (preferred stock); DEBT=the year-end book value of the firmTs total debt; and BV ASSETS=the total assets employed by the firm, which is measured as total assets minus current liabilities. Our measure is consistent with the modified version of the formula as used by Chung and Pruitt (1994) who find that 96. 6% of the variability in the popular Lindenberg and Ross (1981) algorithm of Tobin’s Q is explained by their approximation. Our method also avoids the data availability problems which arise from using the more rigorous algorithms proposed by Lindenberg and Ross (1981) and Lewellen and Badrinath (1997) in order to estimate the replacement cost of assets. We use book values of preferred stock and long-term debt, rather than the market values proposed by Lindenberg and Ross (1981) and Lewellen and Badrinath (1997). In the UK, there is a far less active market for the trading of corporate debt than that which exists in the US, forcing us to rely on book values for these variables. In a final stratification of our sample, we mitigate the problem of potential outliers and trim 25 firms with the largest and smallest Tobin’s Q measure, leaving a final sample of 752 firms. 7 Table 1 presents descriptive statistics for our sample data. The mean managerial ownership stake of all board members is 13. 02%, which is similar to comparable US studies, but slightly lower than Faccio and Lasfer (1999) who report mean ownership of 16. 7%. Tobin’s Q is slightly higher than that reported for related US work with a mean value of 1. 96. The standard deviation of Tobin’s Q is 1. 21, which is also greater than other studies. However, it is substantially less than the mean of 2. 47 reported by Doukas et al. (2002) and is relatively similar to the mean value of 1. 86 that Short and Keasey (1999) report for their market valuation ratio. 8 The mean blockholder ownership is 37. 34% and is on a par with that reported for US firms by McConnell and Servaes (1990) (32. 4%) and 34. 57% reported by Faccio and Lasfer (1999) for UK firms. The full range of firm sizes is included in the sample with the 5 To establish the reliability of the summary ownership data, we carried out a correlation analysis of a subsample of 422 firms from he original data set of 802 companies (52. 62%) for which we were able to obtain company annual reports. The yearbook data and company accounts data exhibited a correlation of 0. 90, with a pvalue of 0. 00. We also establish the robustness of our data by re-estimating the model using data for 1997. This result is discussed later in this section. 6 Recently listed, merged or acquired firms are not included. 7 This is a larger sample than that used by Morck et al. (1988)—371 firms, Cho (1998)—326 firms and Himmelberg et al. (1999)—maximum 427 firms in any 1 year. Measured as the market value of equity divided by the book value of equity, minus any intangibles. J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 Table 1 Descriptive statistics Variable Management ownership Blockholder ownership Largest stakeholder Capital expenditures Total assets employed After tax profits less depreciation/assets employed Debt/assets employed Market value of equity Research and development Tobin’s Q Mean 13. 02% 37. 34% 18. 82% 21,221 255,642 0. 1425 0. 1411 335 2918 1. 9647 S. D. 18. 06% 23. 57% 21. 64% 75,317 1,583,274 0. 4763 0. 252 1399 44,108 1. 2092 Minimum 0. 00% 0. 00% 0. 00% 7 268 A10. 977 0. 0000 0. 68 0 0. 4502 651 Maximum 79. 90% 100. 00% 100. 00% 1,024,200 37,774,000 3. 4207 4. 8358 26,224 1,198,988 7. 0997 Managerial own ership data measures the total level of holdings held by company management that are greater than 0. 5% of a company’s equity. Blockholder data measures the total level of holdings by outside blockholders that are greater than 3% of a company’s equity. Largest stakeholder is the largest single outside blockholder that holds at least 3% of company’s outstanding equity. Capital expenditures (thousands), total assets employed (thousands), after tax profits, depreciation, leverage, equity market values (millions) and research and development costs (thousands) are collected from Datastream. Tobin’s Q is measured as the ratio of the market value of equity and book values of debt and preferred equity to the book value of assets in the firm minus current liabilities. Shareholdings data is taken from the London Stock Exchange Yearbook for 1996 and 1997. All data are for industrial companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange in 1995. mallest company having an equity market capitalization of o680,000 and the largest company’s equity valued at approximately o26 billion. The mean market capitalization of firms in the sample is o335 million. Table 2 provides the distribution of sample statistics grouped by managerial ownership. A very large proportion of the sample (62%) have managerial ownership levels less than or equal to 10%. However, a larg e fraction of companies (11%) also in the sample had boards Table 2 Breakdown of sample by managerial ownership Manager level Ownership Number of firms 464 87 75 41 34 26 21 4 Blockholder ownership, % 43. 34. 5 34. 4 24. 0 22. 7 13. 0 12. 7 5. 8 Tobin’s Q 1. 952 2. 033 1. 736 2. 109 2. 113 2. 257 1. 933 1. 808 Total assets employed 393,861 44,093 26,186 34,322 35,864 28,190 14,234 10,127 Capital expenditures/ assets employed 0. 106 0. 161 0. 124 0. 117 0. 114 0. 100 0. 099 0. 114 Liquidity 0. 130 0. 129 0. 157 0. 194 0. 194 0. 177 0. 169 0. 239 0VMOb10% 10VMOb20% 20VMOb30% 30VMOb40% 40VMOb50% 50VMOb60% 60VMOb70% 70VMOb100% Managerial ownership (MO) data measures the total level of holdings held by company management that are greater than 0. 5% of a company’s equity. Blockholder ownership measures the total level of holdings by outside blockholders that are greater than 3% of a company’s equity. Capital expenditure (thousands), total assets employed (thousands), after tax profits and equity market values (millions) are collected from Datastream. Liquidity is measured as cashflow divided by total assets employed. Tobin’s Q is measured as the ratio of the market value of equity and book values of debt and preferred equity to the book value of assets in the firm minus current liabilities. Shareholdings data is taken from the London Stock Exchange Yearbook for 1996 and 1997. All data are for industrial companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange in 1995. 652 J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 Table 3 Regression results for Tobin’s Q on managerial ownership Variable Coefficient t-Statistic Adj. R 2 Intercept 1. 85 28. 14 0. 017 MO 0. 12 3. 23 MO2 A0. 013 A3. 08 F MO3 4. 63A10 2. 82 2. 651 A4 MO4 A6. 73A10 A2. 53 A6 MO5 3. 36A10A8 2. 24 The following equation was estimated using data for 752 firms listed on the London Stock Exchange during 1995. Q ? a0 ? a1 MO ? a2 MO2 ? a3 MO3 ? a4 MO4 ? a5 MO5 ? e where Q is Tobin’s Q and MO is managerial ownership. Ownership data is taken from the London Stock Exchange Yearbook and Tobin’s Q is calculated from Datastream. which owned at least 40% of all outstanding equity. As would be expected, outside blockholder ownership decreases with managerial ownership. At managerial ownership levels of 30%, blockholder ownership is slightly less at 24%. It is probable that external discipline, as provided by blockholders, would still be strong at these levels of managerial holdings, particularly where informal coalitions among blockholders are more prominent (Short and Keasey, 1999). At higher levels of managerial holdings, blockholder ownership decreases sharply leading to a collapse in the power of blockholders. Managerial ownership is a decreasing function of company size, which is consistent with Demsetz and Lehn (1985). Although firm sizes in the UK are considerably smaller than US firms, the ratios in Table 2 are similar to summary statistics provided in Morck et al. (1988), McConnell and Servaes (1990), Cho (1998) and Himmelberg et al. (1999). Table 2 also illustrates the nonlinear relationship between Tobin’s Q and managerial holdings. Visual inspection indicates two maximum points in the region of 10% to 20% and 50% to 60%, respectively. The convergence of managerial interests to those of shareholders at very high levels of ownership is not apparent at this stage because of the small number of companies with managerial holdings above 70%. However, the statistics for all other groupings are consistent with our theoretical motivation. 3. 2. Estimation of ownership breakpoints In order to model the Tobin’s Q–managerial ownership (MO) function as having two maximum and two minimum turning points, we specify a quintic function, as follows: Q ? 0 ? a1 MO ? a2 MO2 ? a3 MO3 ? a4 MO4 ? a5 MO5 ? e ? 2? For the nonlinear relationship discussed in Section 2 to be valid, the coefficients in Eq. (2) must have the following signs: a 0N0; a 1N0; a 2b0; a 3N0; a 4b0; a 5N0. The estimated values of the coefficients in Eq. (2) are given in Table 3. 9 The intercept coefficient, which is an estimate of Tobin’s Q i n firms with no managerial holdings, is 1. 85. Each slope coefficient is of the correct sign and statistically significant at the 5% level. Although the It is clear that Tobin’s Q will be in influenced by more than just managerial ownership. However, the objective of this paper is to investigate whether the standard quadratic and cubic specifications used in previous studies are too simplistic. To maintain parsimony, we therefore omit other factors from this specific model. Other relevant factors are incorporated into the analysis in a later table. 9 J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 653 Estimated Relationship between Tobin's Q and Managerial Ownership 2. 40 2. 20 2. 00 1. 80 1. 60 1. 40 1. 20 0 0. 1 0. 2 0. 3 0. 4 0. 5 0. 6 0. 7 0. 8 0. 9 Tobin's Q Insider Ownership Fig. 1. Estimated relationship between Tobin’s Q and Managerial Ownership. Tobin’s Q was modelled as a quintic function of insider ownership using ordinary least squares regression. The estimated regression line is: Q=1. 85+0. 12IOA0. 013OI2+4. 63A10A4IO3A6. 73A10A6IO4+3. 36A10A8IO5. adjusted R 2 is low, it is similar to that found in comparable US studies. The use of this model as a basis to estimate managerial ownership turning points leads to four critical values: 7. 01%, 26. 0%, 51. 4%, 75. 7% and is illustrated in Fig. 1. To establish the robustness of our regression model, the spline approach as applied by Morck et al. (1988), Cho (1998) and Himmelberg et al. (1999) to estimate breakpoints was carried out using our generated turning points. Table 4 presents the coefficients resulting from the piecewise linear regression. Similar to Table 3, each coefficient has the expected sign and all but one variable is statistically significant at the 5% level. The only variable that is not significant, MOover 76% , has the correct sign. The probable cause for the lack of significance is the small number of firms in this managerial ownership grouping. An examination of these results suggests that Tobin’s Q increases in firms for managerial ownership levels up to 7% and then declines to ownership levels of 26%. This is almost identical to the turning points in Morck et al. (1988) and Himmelberg et al. (1999) (5% and 25%, respectively) and is comparable to Cho (1998), who uses breakpoints of 7% and 38%. However, it differs from the UK studies of Short and Keasey (1999) and Faccio and Lasfer (1999) who each reports two turning points of 12. 99% and 41. 99%, and 19. 68% and 54. 12%, respectively. Earlier studies limited the turning points to two but in our extension, it is clear that there are another two turning points at much higher levels of managerial ownership. It also appears that market discipline has an influence on managerial objectives up to the point where the board takes complete control (51%). Tobin’s Q then decreases until ownership levels reach 76%, after which Q increases. Denis and Sarin (1999) argue that cross-sectional studies may be subject to bias, whereby they fail to account for events with potentially large valuation consequences. 10 10 Examples of such events may include receiving a takeover bid, top management turnover, etc. 654 J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 Table 4 Spline regression results for Tobin’s Q on managerial ownership Variable Coefficient t-Statistic Adj. R 2 Intercept 1. 854 28. 38 0. 012 MOup 0. 056 2. 93 to 7% MO7% to 26% MO26% 0. 0187 2. 57 2. 769 to 51% MO51% A0. 053 A1. 99 to 76% MOover 0. 624 1. 12 76% A0. 020 A2. 62 F The following equation was estimated using data for 752 firms listed on the London Stock Exchange during 1995. Q ? a0 ? a1 MOup to 7% ? a2 MO7% to 26% a3 MO26% to 51% ? a4 MO51%to 76% ? a5 MOover 76% ?e where Q is Tobin’s Q and MOup to 7%=managerial ownership if managerial ownership b7%, =7% if managerial ownershipN7%. MO7% to 26%=0 if managerial ownership b7%, =managerial ownership minus 7% if 7%bmanagerial ownershipb26%, =26% if managerial ownershipN26%. MO26% to 51%=0 if managerial ownershipb26%, =managerial ownership m inus 26% if 26%bmanagerial ownershipb51%, =51% if managerial ownershipN51%. MO51% to 76%=0 if managerial ownership b51%, =managerial ownership minus 51% if 51%bmanagerial ownershipb76%, =76% if managerial ownership N26%. MOover 76%=0 if managerial ownershipb76%, =managerial ownership minus 76% if managerial ownershipN76%. Ownership data is taken from the London Stock Exchange Yearbook and Tobin’s Q is calculated from Datastream. As a further test of robustness, we carried out the quintic analysis for managerial ownership and Tobin’s Q for the same sample of available firms in 1997. 11 Again, each coefficient was significant with the correct signs and the turning points from the estimated model were relatively stable at 7. 9%, 26. 5%, 55. 2% and 86. 2%. . 3. Endogeneity of managerial equity ownership, investment and corporate value To analyse the effects of endogeneity in the managerial ownership, investment and corporate value relationship, we follow Cho (1998) and carry out a simultaneous equations analysis using two-stage least squares. Cho (1998) and Himmelberg et al. (1999) showed that once endogeneity was controlled, the perceived impact of managerial ownership on corporate value d isappeared. Moreover, corporate value was found to positively affect levels of managerial ownership. It is possible that if the model specification employed by these studies is wrong, what appears to be a lack of statistical significance in the endogenous variables in the simultaneous equations analysis may actually be due to errors in variables arising from the intermediate regressions. We re-run the two-stage least squares analysis of Cho (1998) using our more complex specification. 12 The control variables in our regression are the same as in Cho (1998). Namely, managerial ownership, investment and corporate value are Some firms fell out of the sample because of mergers, delisting, and being taken over. Cho (1998) also attempts to control for specification error by re-estimating his simultaneous regression analysis using managerial ownership as a linear variable and again finds no relationship between managerial ownership and corporate value. However, if indeed there is a nonlinear relationship between ownership and corporate value, such an approach would fail to capture this. 12 11 J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 655 defined to be endogenously determined by each other as well as some additional relevant exogenous variables. That is: Managerial Ownership ? ? market value of firm0s common equity; corporate value; investment; volatility of earnings; liquidity; industry? Corporate Value ? g? managerial ownership; investment; leverage; asset size; industry; block ownership; largest stakeholder? Investment ? h? managerial ownership; corporate value; volatility of earnings; liquidity; industry? For comparability, we define each of the above vari ables as in Cho (1998). For each company, industry dummy variables are set equal to one for each Financial Times Industry Classification (FTIC) grouping that sample firms lie within, and zero otherwise. In addition to the variables used by Cho (1998), we include blockholder ownership and largest stakeholder in the corporate value regressions to reflect the potential impact of blockholder discipline in the UK and the role of a founding or dominant individual on corporate value. All accounting and market variables are taken at the financial year-end from Datastream. In Table 5, we report results from the simultaneous equations analysis. Taking the managerial ownership regression first, all variables with the exception of investment have coefficients with the expected sign. Managerial ownership is negatively related to the market value of equity, which reflects the fact that wealth constraints and risk-aversion will prevent managers from holding substantial stakes in large firms. Firm level liquidity is shown to be positively related to managerial ownership, which is a stronger result than Cho (1998) who reported no significance for this variable. Importantly, Tobin’s Q is found to be significant and positively related to the level of managerial ownership. This is consistent with Cho (1998) but is opposed to Demsetz and Villalonga (2001), who find the opposite effect. This result suggests that managers tend to hold larger stakes in firms that are successful or have higher corporate value. This may also be indicative of successful managers benefiting from equity-related compensation policies. The investment variable, which has a negative impact on managerial ownership is surprising as theory predicts that firm level investment will be positively related to managerial ownership. Himmelberg et al. (1999) contend that firms with high investment spending will have high managerial ownership to alleviate the monitoring problem caused by discretionary managerial spending. However, Jensen (1986) argued that firms may overinvest as a result of an earnings retention conflict, rather than underinvest as Jensen and Meckling’s (1976) moral hazard theory would predict. When a firm is in this situation, managers may be able to maximise their size-related compensation by overinvesting, but are aware that this may ultimately reduce the value of their shareholdings. Although tentative, this could in part explain the negative relation between investment and ownership. Cho (1998) also finds a negative (but insignificant) coefficient on the investment variable using both capital and research and development expenditures. 56 J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 Table 5 Simultaneous equations analysis of managerial ownership, corporate value and investment Variable MVEQ Tobin’s Q Volatility Liquidity Investment Leverage Asset size Largest stakeholder Blockholder ownership MO MO2 MO3 MO4 MO5 Industry dummies Adj. R 2 F Managerial ownership A1. 8A10 (A3. 74) 0. 127 (4. 63) A1. 0A10A6 (A0. 74) 0. 035 (2. 24) A1. 314 (A2. 67) A5 Corporate value Investment 0. 073 (2. 35) 3. 89A10A6 (A2. 86) 0. 013 (1. 01) Yes 0. 045 8. 014 5. 136 (2. 23) 1. 088 (4. 36) 3. 33A10A8 (1. 17) A0. 20 (A0. 06) A0. 837 (A2. 60) 1. 588 (3. 07) A0. 395 (A2. 22) 0. 037 (1. 64) A0. 001 (A1. 14) 1. 9A10A5 (0. 76) Yes 0. 033 3. 497 A0. 035 (A0. 46) 0. 018 (0. 72) A0. 003 (A0. 92) 1. 72A10A4 (1. 03) A3. 12A10A7 (A1. 07) Yes 0. 009 2. 497 Results from a simultaneous equations analysis of managerial ownership, corporate value and investment for 752 firms, using the two-stage least squares method to estimate the following equations: Managerial Ownership ? f ? market value of firm0s common equity; corporate value; investment; volatility of earnings; liquidity; industry? CorporateValue ? g? anagerial ownership; investment; financial leverage; asset size; industry; block ownership; largest stakeholder? Investment ? h? managerial owner ship; corporate value; volatility of earnings; liquidity; industry? In the above equations, managerial ownership measures the total level of holdings held by company management that are greater than 0. 5% of a company’s equity. Blockholder data measures the total level of holdings by outside blockholders that are greater than 3% of a company’s equity. Largest stakeholder is the largest single outside blockholder that holds at least 3% of company’s outstanding equity. Investment is defined as capital expenditure divided by total assets employed, leverage is the ratio of total debt to total assets employed and liquidity is measured as cashflow divided by total assets employed. Capital expenditure, total assets employed, after tax profits, depreciation, leverage, equity market values and profit volatilities are collected from Datastream. Tobin’s Q is measured as the ratio of the market value of equity and book values of debt and preferred equity to the book value of assets in the firm minus current liabilities. Shareholdings data is taken from the London Stock Exchange Yearbook for 1996 and 1997. All data are for industrial companies quoted on the London Stock Exchange in 1995. t-Statistics are in parenthesis. The estimated coefficients from the corporate value regression are given in the second column of Table 5. Corporate value is shown to be positively related to investment and leverage. While the investment coefficient is as expected, the sign of the leverage variable requires more discussion. Morck et al. 1988) find that leverage has a negative but insignificant impact on corporate value and attribute this to the possibility of managers in highly levered firms holding a higher than average level of ownership. However consistent with our results, McConnell and Servaes (1990) report a positive significant coefficient for leverage. Leverage can have various effects on firm value. The notion that high debt levels lead to greater corporate value has been argued by Modigliani and Miller (196 3) with respect J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 57 to valuable tax shields, Ross (1977) and Myers (1977) with respect to a signalling hypothesis and Jensen’s (1986) free cashflow hypothesis. Ultimately, leverage is one way of imposing external discipline on management and if it is effective, will lead to increased corporate value. Alternatively, Demsetz and Villalonga (2001) interpret a negative association between leverage and firm value as being due to relative inflation between the current time period and the earlier time period where companies had issued much of their debt. We view the most important result from the corporate value regression as being the significance of the managerial ownership variables. Our results indicate that although managerial ownership levels are determined by corporate value, corporate value itself is determined in part by managerial ownership. This finding is at odds with Cho (1998) and Himmelberg et al. (1999) but consistent with the classical view of Jensen and Meckling (1976) and empirical work by Morck et al. (1988) and McConnell and Servaes (1990). An interesting result is that blockholder ownership is shown to negatively impact Tobin’s Q. This result is consistent with Faccio and Lasfer (1999, 2000). McConnell and Servaes (1990) suggest that this could be due to a conflict of interests, which results from blockholders being forced into aligning themselves with managers so as not to jeopardize their other dealings with the firm. Alternatively, the negative coefficient may be explained by the strategic alignment hypothesis, which argues that blockholders and managers find it mutually beneficial to cooperate with each other. Finally, such findings may be consistent with the arguments of Burkart et al. 1997) in that too much block ownership will overly constrain management and reduce their ability to take value-maximising investment decisions. The investment regression coefficients presented in column three of Table 5 show a significant positive effect of corporate value on investment and a negative effect of profit volatility on investment. The finding that corporate value has a positive effect on investment is consisten t with the arguments of Cho (1998) that highly valued firms will have large investment opportunities. Also, firms with variable earnings will be reluctant to invest if future income is uncertain. Managerial ownership is found to have no impact on firm level investment. However, this may reflect optimality in that investment policy may be one way in which managers affect value, but not the only means. Ultimately we view our findings of a causal relation between ownership and firm value as being of greater significance than the lack of a relation between ownership and investment. These results are consistent with Cho (1998) but slightly stronger, in that volatility of earnings is significant in our regressions but insignificant in Cho (1998). . Conclusions Debate as to the relationship between corporate value and managerial ownership in the US is still unresolved. Studies such as Morck et al. (1988), McConnell and Servaes (1990), and Hermalin and Weisbach (1991) document a nonlinear relation between these two variables. More recent work by Cho (1998), Himmelberg et al. (1999), and Demsetz and Villalonga (2001) shows that when controlling for endogeneity, managerial ownership is determined by corporate value but not vice-versa. 658 J. R. Davies et al. Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 We argue that even accepting that corporate value and managerial ownership are endogenously related to each other, misspecification of the managerial holding–corporate value relationship may lead to spurious conclusions concerning the direction of causality. Applying a quintic structure, we present results which suggest that the correct form of this relationship is a double humped curve. This is in contrast to other studies that have assumed a cubic or quadratic specification and by construction only one hump. The second hump or local maximum is attributed to a collapse in external market discipline at or around the point where managers take overall control of their firm. At this point, which is around 50% ownership, the management is not sufficiently akin to owners but have sufficient power to disregard any form of external monitoring or discipline. This has a detrimental affect on corporate value for a short window of managerial holdings. At high levels of managerial ownership, managers are effectively majority owners of their firm leading to a convergence of interests with other outside shareholders. Utilizing the quintic specification for managerial ownership, we show that even when controlling for endogeneity, not only is corporate value a determinant of managerial ownership but managerial ownership is also a determinant of corporate value. This finding is consistent with the classical work of Jensen and Meckling (1976), as well as the early empirical work of Morck et al. (1988) and McConnell and Servaes (1990) who do not control for endogeneity in their analysis of corporate value and managerial ownership. We believe our analysis to have several important contributions to the literature on the relationship between managerial ownership and corporate value. First, our quintic specification extends previous work in this area and successfully captures the complex nonlinear relationship between corporate value and managerial ownership. Second, by analysing a completely different market which is similar in structure to the United States, we strengthen the power and insights gained from earlier comparable US studies. Third, we provide evidence that corporate value, firm level investment and managerial holdings are interdependent with each other. This has implications for the debate on the effectiveness of compensation policies involving stock options for top managers. Moreover, our findings suggest that some levels of managerial ownership may not be beneficial to outside shareholders even when these levels are high. At the very least, this paper has served to add to the debate concerning the importance of managerial ownership on corporate value by providing evidence that even controlling for endogenous effects, managerial ownership and stock compensation schemes do have a significant influence on corporate value. Our research has provided an initial step towards a more accurate characterisation of the corporate value–managerial ownership relationship. While we do not posit that our specification can be applied to every given data set, we argue that previous research may be misspecified where it has failed to fully explore alternative specifications of the managerial ownership–corporate value relationship. Future work in this area may focus on other structural forms, which more effectively reflect the interdependence of managerial ownership and corporate prospects. The nonlinear endogenous impact of blockholders on corporate value and managerial ownership would also provide interesting insights on the external discipline that is faced by firm managers and the impact this has on corporate value. J. R. Davies et al. / Journal of Corporate Finance 11 (2005) 645–660 659 Acknowledgements The authors would like to thank John Capstaff, Scott Linn, Andrew Marshall, James Wansley and seminar participants at the Financial Management Association International (2001), European Financial Management Association (2002), Dublin Economics Workshop, the University of Strathclyde and an anonymous referee for their valuable comments on earlier versions of the paper. The normal caveat applies. References Burkart, M. , Gromb, D. , Panunzi, F. , 1997. Large shareholders, monitoring, and the value of the firm. Quarterly Journal of Economics 112, 693 – 728. Cho, M. H. , 1998. Ownership structure, investment, and the corporate value: an empirical analysis. 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