Convergence-towards-ifrs-in-malaysia-issues-challenges-and-opportunities Essay

In the year 2008 the then Malaysian Accounting Standard Board’s (MASB) chairman, Dato’ Zainal Abidin Putih, announced that Malaysia will be converging with International Accounting Standard Board (IASB)’s International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS). From that point onwards many initiatives were lined up by MASB and the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) in order to educate, train and inform all the relevant stakeholders in tandem with fast approaching deadline to converge, which is for the earliest year-end financial reporting date, 31 December 2012. On 19 November 2011, MASB issued the third accounting framework to be applied in Malaysia and this new accounting framework that is IFRS-compliant is dubbed as Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards framework (MFRS). The issuance of MRFS is vital to show and prove the Malaysian commitment and also it becomes a solid guideline for all entities that are administered by Securities Commission of Malaysia and the convergence begin on or after 1 January 2012. Historically, Malaysian accounting standards have always closely followed the former International Accounting Standards (IAS) and the current IFRS. This is due to the colonisation effect on Malaysia, where Malaysia was a British colony up to the year 1957 and many of the accounting standards applied in the United Kingdom has always made its way to be adopted by the Malaysian standard setters authorities and regulators. As Mohammad Faiz Azmi stated in forums that the Malaysian story of convergence has been a ‘slow and steady’ approach and this phased-in approach even though slower is expected to put Malaysian entities in a better position as the problems and challenges faced by Malaysian companies are far much reduced compared to other countries that adopted the ‘big bang’ approach, for example the South Koreans, where the accounting standard setters and regulators in South Korea agreed on full adoption of IFRS (Nazatul Izma, 2009; Suh, 2011) ACCOUNTING FRAMEWORKS IN MALAYSIA Currently Malaysian entities are subject to three sets of accounting frameworks, the first accounting framework is the old Financial Reporting Standards framework (FRS), next is the Private Entity Reporting Standards framework (PERS) and finally the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards framework (MFRS). All these three frameworks are legally approved frameworks by MASB and can be applied by entities in Malaysia but subject to the type of entity. The three types of frameworks are outlined and discussed below. MFRS framework is to be applied by all entities other than private entities for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2012. Private entities are private companies which are incorporated under the Companies Act 1965, that are not itself required to prepare or lodge any financial statements under any law administered by the Securities Commission Malaysia or Bank Negara Malaysia. Private entities are also not subsidiaries or associates of or jointly controlled by an entity which is required to prepare or lodge any financial statements under any law administered by the securities Commission Malaysia or Bank Negara Malaysia. However ‘Transitioning Entities’ are excluded from applying MFRS and these ‘Transitioning Entities’ are entities that are in the scope of MFRS 141 for ‘Agriculture’ (equivalent to IAS 41) and IC Interpretation 15 for ‘Agreement for Construction of Real Estate’, (equivalent to International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) 15) including its parent, significant investor and venture. These ‘Transitioning Entities’ have an option to either apply the MFRS framework or the old FRS framework, but this leeway is only allowed for one year, as these ‘Transitioning Entities’ need to apply the MFRS framework by  Page 43 International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, Vol. 1 ISSN 2289-1552 2012 annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 at the latest (Nazatul Izma, 2009; KPMG, 2011; Accountants Today 2012; Ganespathy, 2012; Jebaratnam, 2012). PERS framework is to be applied only by private entities but these private entities have an option to apply MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2012. If the private entities choose to apply MFRS framework and these entities are in the scope of MFRS 141 for ‘Agriculture’ (equivalent to IAS 41) and IC Interpretation 15 for ‘Agreement for Construction of Real Estate’, (equivalent to IFRIC 15), therefore known as ‘Transitioning Entities’, they have the choice to either apply MFRS framework or FRS framework, but these freedom is applicable up to 31 December 2012, as these entities need to revert to MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 (Accountants Today, 2012; Jebaratnam, 2012). FRS framework which is the Malaysian version of IAS, which has been the main accounting standards framework for nonprivate entities before the introduction of MFRS framework can be applied only by ‘Transitioning Entities’, but as stated earlier, such entities need to revert to MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013 (Accountants Today, 2012; Jebaratnam, 2012) ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN FULL ADOPTION OF IFRS IN MALAYSIA MFRS 1 covers issues pertaining to ‘First-Time Adoption of Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards’ and the transition date stated in MFRS 1 is the beginning of the earliest period for which an entity presents a full comparative information under MFRSs in its first MFRS based statements. Following the requirement of MFRS 1, MFRS 101 on ‘Presentation of Financial Statements’ requires reporting entities to present three ‘Statements of Financial Position’ and two ‘Statement of Comprehensive Income’, ‘Statements of Changes in Equity’ and ‘Statement of Cash Flows’ each. MFRS also dictates that entities need to present statement of financial position as at the beginning of the comparative financial year, therefore reporting entities requires their financial statements to be prepared based on the requirement of MFRS from the financial year beginning on and after 1 January 2010, or otherwise be very cautious to make retrospective restatements and/or reclassify items in all the financial statements and notes to accounts and the transition date would be on or after 1 January 2011. The expectation is that the entities are able to present MFRS compliant financial statements come the year-end financial reporting on 31 December 2012, which may become an issue, if these entities are not MFRS ‘ready’ (Accountants Today, 2012). Another challenge for full adoption of IFRS in Malaysia is that under MFRS 1, whenever the cost of complying with MFRS exceeds the benefits to the users of financial statements and also if retrospective application would mean that judgement by management of a known transaction is required, IASB would grant exemptions and therefore this would create unlevel playing field amongst non-private entities in Malaysia that are supposed to apply MFRS framework as the criterion for full-adoption. To ensure that the reporting entities in Malaysia are MFRS compliant, these entities should perform a comprehensive, thorough and detailed examination of the readiness of their entity in becoming MFRS compliance to avoid any investigation by the authority due to non-compliance after the grace period for full adoption is over. If Malaysia ends up trimming its MFRS as a convergence framework that can be adapted to fit the local conditions and not a one size fits all set of standards, because a full adoption forces countries to surrender their sovereignty, then Malaysia will have serious issues and will face difficulties to be endorsed as a country that compliances to full IFRS adoption (Nazatul Izma, 2009). But as it is evident, MFRS 141 and IC 15 for ‘Transitioning Entities’ is an exception given to such entities to comply to full IFRS adoption by reverting to MFRS framework for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2013. Even though the IAS 41 assumption that fair value can be measured for biological assets was an issue, but this sort of issues should be communicated clearly to the practitioners and this is where the education and training of the practitioners is key for a successful full adoption of IFRS. For example MFRS 141 (IAS 41) disagreement with IASB need to be entirely made clear to the Malaysian practitioners, as IASB currently have agreed to recognise palm oil tree as a non current asset and not as an inventory (Nazatul Izma, 2009). One of the most common perceived advantages of convergence to IFRS is the possibility of increased foreign direct investment (FDI) (Gardiner, 2000; Christiansen, 2002), but as of 2010, report on the most attractive FDI destinations, the world’s highest FDI receivers are China, United States of America and India, of which none have converged to IFRS. Therefore, the notion that IFRS convergence will attract FDI is not valid, and this so called advantage cannot be applied to entice countries to adopt IFRS for financial reporting of their entities. IFRSs for SME is another reason to ponder on the real plausibility of full adoption of IFRS. If MASB chooses to adopt IFRS for SMEs to replace PERS, than we will have another version of ‘diluted’ IFRS as a framework within the Malaysia accounting scenario. Dr Paul Pacter, the board member and chairman of the SME implementation group, mentioned that some topics in the IFRS were omitted from the IFRS for SMEs, due to its irrelevance and also due to the fact that the ‘diluted’ version will be a simpler option for the SMEs to apply (Nazatul Izma, 2010). The IFRS for SMEs were simplified on the recognition and measurement and the disclosures were also reduced. Brian Blood, the Chief Executive of Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA) mentioned that the IFRS for SMEs were developed to assist SMEs to prepare and present high quality and timely financial statements and information. Other benefits of SMEs applying the IFRS for SMEs are that the financial reporting is done in a consistent manner and not too expensive to prepare (Nazatul Izma, 2010). Having said all that, the fact is that there is a different set of IFRS for SMEs, therefore, it does not allow for full adoption, but maybe just a mere convergence. James Sylph, the executive director, Professional Standards and External Relations of International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) in a forum in 2012, strongly advocated that national accounting standard setters’ authorities and regulators should move away from the mere concept of convergence to a more profound notion of full-adoption. Page 44 International Journal of Business, Economics and Law, Vol. 1 ISSN 2289-1552 2012 Mohammad Faiz Azmi, MASB chairman, indicated that Malaysia will not require the IFRS for SMEs to avoid an ‘underconverged’ version used by SMEs due to the lack of human resources to implement new IFRS based regulations; therefore MASB is still uncertain about how exactly they should deal with the issue related to SME and IFRS (Nazatul Izma, 2010) MASB together with MIA will have to look into the issue of the readiness of the Malaysian education system to deliver enough trained accountants that are IFRS savvy, as a full IFRS adoption can be burdensome and the human capital need to be created to fulfill this need. Mohammad Faiz Azmi mentioned that MASB is working with enforcers to amend the Financial Reporting Act (1997) to allow making amendments to accounting standards in Malaysia if there are any substantial issues that MASB disagrees with IASB (Nazatul Izma, 2009). This again will give some space for MASB for not to adopt the full adoption of IFRS as there will be some possible avenue to make changes in the IFRS provided by IASB. Companies Act 1965 and Financial reporting Act 1997 are the two most important acts pertaining financial statements reporting in Malaysia. The directors are supposed to be responsible for the preparation and presentation of a true and fair set of financial statements of reporting entities and these directors should be aware and be sure that their entities are IFRS ready.

Consumer Behaviour – Concept Used by Marketers

An award is something given to a person or a group of people to recognise excellence in a certain field, a certificate of excellence. Awards are often signified by trophies, titles, certificates, commemorative plaques, medals, badges, pins, or ribbons. Each person on this earth yearns for appreciation, recognition and affirmation. Some hanker for the recognition from their loved ones, some want to be recognised by their boss, organisation want to be recognised by consumers, some aim at appreciation from the masses or their peers in general and usually, organisations aim for affirmation (For example, ISO or Cast Trust awards). Marketers in this case had used the consumer-driven approach, consumer wants are the drivers of all strategic marketing decisions. Every aspect of a market offering, including the nature of the product itself, is driven by the needs of potential consumers. Concept There are some types of relationships a person may have with a product. Trophies, medals and awards have given the consumers relationships of self-concept attachment, nostalgic attachment and love. They help to establish the user’s identity, serve as a link with a self past and elicit emotional bonds of warmth, passion or other strong emotion. Our perception is an approximation of reality. Our brain attempts to make sense out of the stimuli to which we are exposed. Several sequential factors influence our perception. Trophies, medals and awards have given consumers the perception of vision and touch. Vision Marketers reply heavily on visual elements in advertising, store design, and packaging. They communicate meanings on the visual channel through a product’s colour, size and styling. Colours may even influence our emotions more directly. Evidence suggests that some colours create feelings of arousal and stimulate appetite, and others create more relaxing feelings. Others reactions are a result of biological and culture differences. We know that perceptions of colour depend on both its physical wavelength and how the mind responds to that stimulus. Touch This sensory channel is relatively important even though scientists have done little research on the effects of tactile stilulation on consumer behaviour. Sensation that reach our skin, whether from a luxurious massage or the bite of a winter wind, stimulate or relax. Researchers even have shown that touch can influence sales interactions, they are starting to identify the important role the haptic (touch) sense plays in consumer behaviour. Haptic senses appear to moderate the relationship between product experience and judgement confidence, confirming the common sense notion that we are more sure about what we have preceive when we touch it. Motivation Motivation refers to the process that lead people to behave as they do. It occurs when a need is aroused that the consumer wishes to satisfy. The need creates a state of tension that drives the consumer to attempt to reduce or eliminate. The desired end state is the consumers’s goal. Marketers try to create products and services that will provide the desired benefits and permit the consumer to reduce this tention. When trophies, medals or awards are given to people or organization, it acts as a form of appreciation, recognition and affirmation. It becomes a very strong motivating factor to do more and be better. On the other hand, the absence of timely appreciation acts as a powerful de-motivator, and sometimes even pushes people to destructive behavior. The use of awards trophies and awards plaques can be used as an exceptionally potent way to express appreciation, recognition and affirmation at all levels, at home, at the work place and even globally. Values Researchers had identified four dominant of values, freedom, belongingness, excellence and connection. Classifying Consumer Needs Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is one of the consumer needs theory. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel accepted and self-valued, be it in a profession or hobby. Maslow's concept of self-actualisation relates directly to the present day challenges and opportunities for people, employers and organisations to provide real meaning, purpose and true personal development. Self-Concept The self-concept is composed of relatively permanent self-assessments, such as personality attributes, knowledge of one's skills and abilities, one's occupation and hobbies, and awareness of one's physical attributes. The self-concept is not restricted to the present. It includes past selves and future selves. Future selves or â€Å"possible selves† represent individuals' ideas of what they might become, what they would like to become, and what they are afraid of becoming. They correspond to hopes, fears, standards, goals, and threats. Possible selves may function as incentives for future behavior and they also provide an evaluative and interpretive context for the current view of self. Self-Esteem Self-esteem reflects a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. People with high self-esteem expect that they will perform very well and people with low self-esteem will try to avoid embarrassment, failure or rejection. Marketers communication can influence a consumer’s self-esteem. A process of social comparison, where the person tries to evaluate himself/herself by comparing it to the person these artificial images depict. Examples The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognise excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is one of the most prominent film award ceremonies in the world. Generally, it has been seen that the award of such trophies can be powerful motivators for all people. This is basically because most people crave appreciation, recognition and affirmation for their efforts, whether they work at home or in an office. These awards need not be expensive or grand, as long as they are tailor made for the recipient. 1248 words References http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Trophy http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Medal https://www. amazines. com/article_detail. cfm/725101? articleid=725101 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Consumer_behaviour http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization http://www. consumerpsychologist. com/cb_Perception. html http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Self-concept http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Academy_Awards Michael R. Solomon,_ Consumer Behaviour_, 8e Pearson Education, Inc.

Heat Exchangers Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Heat Exchangers - Research Paper Example   At the center of the heat exchanger lies two plates that are pinned together by pressing them and welding them together. There is a module whose function is to carry fluids in and out of the whole system. This combination is very efficient in offering high operating temperatures, and high pressure a factor that is vital in the heat exchange process.   The heat exchanger is able to function well without any gaskets. This means that it is able to work under these extreme conditions without any risk of leaking the fluid during the heat exchange process. Normally different types of heat exchangers are combined to come up with a more effective, cost friendly and efficient unit of the heat exchanger and the plate and shell heat exchanger is just but one example. This means that the fluids enter at the opposite ends of the unit enabling them to flow into the center of the exchanger. As the fluids come close to each other, there is an exchange of heat between the fluids.   As the flu id passes through the exchanger it either lose or absorb heat due to latent heat.  According to the nature of the heat exchange process, plates and shell heat exchangers are classified as indirect contact heat exchangers. The exchange of heat takes place by direct mixing of hot and cold fluids allowing transfer of heat and mass to take place simultaneously in a direct contact heat exchanger and such a unit is applicable only where the two fluids are either harmless when in contact or are desirable.

Monopolies in the Media Buisness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Monopolies in the Media Buisness - Essay Example (Federal Communications Commission, 2008a) Under the Wireline Competition Burea and the Media Bureau of FCC, the researcher will discuss the regulation in terms of promoting free market competition in different markets of radio, television, wire, satellite and cable radio, TV and Internet. Eventually, the researcher will discuss how monopolies could negatively affect the media businesses in the United States. Prior to the main discussion, the researcher will determine whether Clear Channel is considered as a monopoly or not. The Wireline Competition Bureau is mainly responsible for developing rules and regulation as well as the future goals and objectives with regards to telephone companies that provides an interstate and intrastate telecommunications service to the people with the use of wire-based transmission facilities. (Federal Communications Commission, 2008a) have several choices and opportunity and fairness in the wireline telecommunications services. (Federal Communications Commission, 2008b) Through its implementation of a deregulatory initiatives under the Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Telecommunicatins Act of 1996, 1996a), the Bureau was able to promote market competition necessary in keeping the infrastructure and services of the local wireline telecommunications efficient and competitive. In line with the promotion of market competition to all telecommunications company, the Bureau could maintain a high economic growth in the local telecommunications industry by increasing the quality of services at a reasonable and affordable market prices. (Telecommunications Act of 1996, 1996b) In the end, the Bureau could easily make the telecommunications services available and accessible in all regions in the U.S. Considering the high-cost of telecommunications infrastructure, FCC encourages new operators or carriers for the telecommunications business by extending a high-cost universal support to qualified

Operational Management in Hospitality (A REPORT) Essay

Operational Management in Hospitality (A REPORT) - Essay Example These above mentioned value-added, important activities should always be aligned with the market opportunities in order to have an optimal performance†. (Jacobs, 2001) Operations management also focuses carefully on how to manage the different processes in order to distribute and produce different services and products. Generally, small businesses or enterprises dont usually talk about this term which is known as operations management, but on the other hand, they do carry out different activities that management schools associate with. There are many small businesses that generally follow some basic rules in order to make their business stable so that they can work well. They also know that there are many other companies who work well by following operation management rules and regulations. But no doubt they do use some basic principles in order to compete with all the other companies. All the different activities usually include development, production creation, distribution and production. Other related activities include inventory control, managing all the purchases, storage, quality control, evaluations and logistics. One of a great deal of fo cus is mainly on effectiveness and efficiency of all these above mentioned processes. Therefore, operations management also includes an analysis and substantial measurement of internal process. Restructuring is termed as an important process with the help of which any company can regain its profits and can work better. Restructuring can be classified into various steps. It can be done in any phase or in any process. All the departments of the company require restructuring because it is necessary in order to gain maximum potential. â€Å"With the help of restructuring, operation management can also work well because it is only with the help of it that a company can gain maximum shares†. (Jacobs, 2001) SSP are the leader in providing advice which helps a lot in designing the whole

English 101 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

English 101 - Essay Example This would mean that certain changes to the social processes associated with college life might need to be changed. For example, the same methods which are used to recruit young adults or adolescents coming out of high school may not be good enough for targeting more mature individuals. Colleges might have to change their approach in how they offer their classes and what services they provide on campus to their students (Back2College.com, 2007). Additionally, those who come to college with a few decades of real world experience with them may have quite a different opinion of how things operate in the real world as compared to those who have remained in college for most of their lives. For any given college, such a student can have a useful impact on class discussions and the resulting knowledge gained for other students in the same class. At the same time, there would a great impact on the workers who choose to go back to college since it is quite an adjustment going from a regular nine to five job to the college environment where class schedules and deadlines determine working hours rather than scheduled project plans (Back2College.com, 2007). Such workers may need time to adapt to the environment and would need help from the college itself. Some colleges have established specific offices to help adult learners but a lot more remains to be done in this respect since the growth in numbers of older college students shows a rising trend. Perhaps the most significant impact of the social change would be on the recruiting companies that use colleges as their hunting grounds for new members of the company. While these companies have traditionally used colleges to seek out entry level employees from the bachelor’s level programs and mid management from the master’s programs, they could now seek out employees to come into senior management positions right out of college simply because these employees have the experience, the maturity as well as the latest

Marketing Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing Paper - Essay Example This is because as a potential customer, one desires to feel valued by the sender/company. An indicator of how much a company values its targeted clients is when it has exerted effort on getting correct details regarding the customer. Furthermore, addressing potential customers by their complete name adds the personal touch to the sales method that is often appreciated by the client. In line with rules of etiquette, getting customer details precisely signifies respect towards the recipient of the mail. In both cases, it is highly probable that I would purchase these products. Given my preference for convenience in handling my finances, I opt to use multiple credit cards for various purposes since I am pre-occupied with studies among other things. Thus, it is much easier for me to settle my bills through credit card and at the same time have funds on hand for my purchases. On the other hand, I have not come to the point of demanding pre-need plans and other insurance products. Probably in the near future I will realize the value of securing my future, my possession, and my loved-ones. For the meantime, I have not identified this product as a need. In this regard, I have not availed of life or medical insurance. The professional-looking promotional materials from the companies caught my attention since they, in a way, stand out from the rest of my mails. Apart from this, the catchy taglines printed on the elegantly designed envelopes have aroused my curiosity and persuaded me to open their solicitation. The mails looked promising and I felt that I might be mission on a perk or benefit that these companies offer if I failed to open the solicitation. 5. What differences or similarities do these companies use to try to make you buy the product Both companies offered tempting promos that go with purchasing their products. The difference lies in their approach. For instance, the credit card company was offering a chance to win a vacation package to a tropical paradise if I decide to avail of the credit card. On the other hand, the insurance company was granting substantial discount for the early birds who would purchase their insurance product package. Another difference is that the credit card company also had telemarketers to contact me shortly after I received the solicitation. In contrast, the insurance company provided an email address that I could write to in order to express my interest to have the brochure sent and its salesperson to get in touch with me. 6. What suggestions would you make to improve these direct mail pieces to have the consumer open them / have the consumer respond To have the consumer open the direct mails, these companies may consider offering freebies like small souvenir items or mailing the complete promotional kit that may perk up customer interest along with

International Investing-IP3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

International Investing-IP3 - Essay Example One way to diversify is to buy financial securities of the same asset class, but in different industry sectors that are directly affected by a different kind of variables (Yahoo, 2011). For example one can invest in stocks from the energy sector, while simultaneously investing in stocks of the computer technology related stocks. Since economic and market factors affect different industries differently, by investing in a variety of sectors, there is always a good chance of having one or more of your investments outperforming the market average. Diversification also focuses on investing in different classes of assets. For example since bonds historically have a tendency to perform better when stock performance is declining it serves well for a savvy investor to allocate a percentage of their investment portfolio in the bond market depending on the investors level of risk aversion. 2) As many investors already know the market value of a security is determined by a variety of financial, market and socio-political factors. The volatility of the market value of investments is a risk all investors have to accept and plan for. Since the world economies are becoming more interconnected and correlated changes in one market can spread like wildfire to other financial markets. Some argue that for U.S. investors the benefits of investing internationally might be less compared with other countries due to the wide variety of highly diversified multinational corporation stocks available to U.S. investors though local markets as a well developed and diversified economy. There is still a lot of room for the savvy investor to allocate part of its investment portfolio in the international markets especially in emerging markets or underdeveloped economies. Even when due to their degree of correlation, international markets and domestic markets move in the same direction the degree of response to the same situation might be completely different. There are more opportunities for abov e average returns between emerging economies and industrialized nations since the level of correlation between them is much less. Therefore opportunities abound for extraordinary returns in international markets, albeit at the expense of an increased level of overall investment risks and potential losses. 3) There are many reasons to invest in international markets: Maximum portfolio performance - many investors shy away from investing internationally since they view it as too risky or complex. As a matter of fact although most U.S. investors tend to focus their portfolio domestically, more than 75% of the global economic and over 50% of the total world’s equity market capitalization comes from the international markets (Ishares, 2011). As a matter of fact, international IPO’s now outnumber domestic IPO’s and while international investments are typically more volatile than their U.S. counterparts. They are forecasted to have higher rates of growth than their dom estic counterparts. Lower portfolio volatility-By investing in international securities investors can lower portfolio volatility and maximize their return on investment. The use of a single type of investment instrument increases the risk associated with the investment alternative. When investors invest in both the domestic and international markets they are opening the doors of opportunity due to the fact that the investor has the

Accounting Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Accounting - Research Paper Example Such expansion will entail the setting up of a store location to offer the pretzels and its new selection not only during annual state fairs, but whole year round. Its customer will no longer have to wait during annual state fairs to avail of the pretzels and its new selection but can now go to a permanent location where they can avail of the pretzels. Such expansion and setting up of store location however needs more capitalization. To this end, the present owner, son of the original owners Mr. and Mrs. Corey, will infuse a $ 50,000 capitalization to finance the expansion. The additional $50,000 loan with additional credit line will be used to cover the additional equipment to expand production and to cover additional overheads. To continue and expand the operation of Corey Pretzels and be able to cater to its unserved market by making Corey Pretzels available through a fixed store location creating and developing delicious, innovative, and a wider array of pretzels selection to the highest quality that will be appealing to different age groups and across different market segment and enhance the company’s market base and profitability. To become the leading provider of pretzel in the next two years through its distinct and delectable taste and by offering a wider array of Pretzels that is innovative and appealing while competitive in price. Pretzel is a unique knot like shape type of baked food made from dough and can be offered in a variety of soft and hard varieties and savory or sweet flavors. It originated from Europe and has a distinct symmetrical looped form. Corey Pretzels was a creation of Mr. and Mrs. John Corey who after years of participation in annual state fair has created a market following owing to the distinct taste and flavor of its pretzels. This was enhanced by the second generation of the Coreys who after experimenting for new flavors of the original

Need of Education Essay Example for Free

Need of Education Essay Examples: a) School qualifications no training semiskilling work b) School qualifications apprenticeship skilled worker/skilled employee c) Lower/intermediate secondary school qualifications apprenticeship master craftsman d) University entrance qualifications apprenticeship additional training occupation e) University entrance qualifications apprenticeship higher education executive position f) University entrance qualifications higher education executive position These examples illustrate that there are two ways of looking at the benefits of training. The first, which is marginal in one sense, answers the question of what benefits are to be obtained from adding a further stage to the training path already completed. The second is more typical and concerned with the incomes to be obtained from specific training routes. A comparison is made between the incomes attained at 30 years of age and those resulting from the next lower training path. This may be, for example, the benefits of an enterprise-based apprenticeship on the road to an academic qualification (path 6 compared with path 5). The additional income minus the costs of training produces (allowing for interest) the return on the training investment. From a macroeconomic viewpoint, investments in education and training are, to a certain degree, investments in the infrastructure, and the return on such investments becomes apparent only in the long term. The concept of benefits also includes other aspects which need to be kept apart. It is helpful in the first instance to distinguish between the benefits resulting from the efficiency of the education system and its quantitative performance, on the one hand, and the benefits in terms of subsequent yields (economic growth, low unemployment, tax revenues) on the other. The efficiency benefit is the ability of the education and training system to train the younger generation in suitable institutions so as to minimize the costs of students repeating classes or dropping out of higher education and thus reduce excessively long education and training periods. The benefits from vocational education and training are also associated with the allocative functions of the labour market. One function of vocational education and training is to ensure that the supply of labour matches demand. A training system should at least produce approximately those qualifications which are required on the labour market. There are therefore two sides to the benefits of investments in training. In formal terms, the benefit is the return on a long-term investment, but this return results from the allocative effects of the labour market. It would be an excessively narrow perspective if researchers were to look only at the return on investment in terms of human capital. And concentrating exclusively on the allocative aspects of the labour market would ignore the fact that education and training are an investment in themselves. There is also a third aspect to consider. Return on investment calculations can normally encompass only the direct costs and benefits, i. e. the returns of the first type. But investments in education and training also have effects on other areas. There may be positive or negative effects of a second type. Positive (synergy) effects occur when investments in education and training at one point raise productivity at another. These include in particular education and training investments which equip their recipients to work in research and development. Negative secondary effects occur in the form of redundancies when lesser qualified employees are replaced by their more qualified counterparts. There are numerous ways in which expenses may be refunded for training outside the workplace (refunding), e. g. by employers and employment offices. These refunds are deducted from individual expenses in the costs model (cf.Figure 6, p. 232). The survey aimed, first, to establish the direct costs, i. e. expenses directly associated with the continuing training measure as such (course and event fees, spending on learning materials, travelling expenses, board and lodging, cost of child care where applicable, and all other costs directly associated with participation in continuing training programmes). The survey also looked at indirect, or opportunity, costs. Unlike direct costs, indirect costs entail no expenses, but arise in the form of lost earnings (e. g.  unpaid leave or reduced working hours for continuing training purposes, but not the hypothetical earnings of someone who was previously unemployed) and the loss of leisure time. The leisure time lost consists of that time spent exploring the market, the time invested in the actual training programme, travelling time, preparation and follow-up and, in some cases, paid leave. However, the yardsticks used to convert the loss of leisure time into fictitious costs are ultimately based entirely on random decisions. Even the net income earned from employment, which would be a plausible choice, does not provide a suitable measure here. Either the individual may not consider taking paid employment during leisure time unless it is moonlighting or may regard it as a consumer good rather than a loss of leisure time. For this reason, the BIBB survey was limited to recording the amount of leisure time lost and no attempt was made to place a monetary value on it. Neither was it possible to apply any rules for evaluating the benefits. While it is quite clear that the profitability of continuing training is determined by the benefits, the input encompasses not only the time and money invested, but also the physical and mental exertion associated with learning. Private individuals, just like companies, are willing to subject themselves to continuing training only if it yields overall rewards. But these rewards depend on whether the training is a consumer good and the benefits are to be found in actual consumption, or whether it has been chosen for career, i. e. economic, reasons. Economic benefits may arise in many different ways: continuing training may serve to refresh knowledge, to adjust to new developments, to secure promotion and raise status, or else to avoid unemployment. Another consideration is that the benefits are normally not yet visible at the actual time of training. Those who opt for continuing training hope it will secure them promotion or save them from unemployment. Whether these objectives are actually attained emerges at a later stage. It is therefore objectively impossible to isolate the economic benefits of continuing training from other benefit factors. For this reason the survey was limited to presenting the respondents with a list of benefits and asking them to rate their importance in qualitative terms. http://www. cedefop. europa. eu/EN/Files/RR1_Kau. pdf.

Women oppressed religion of christianity

Women oppressed religion of christianity Women are oppressed by the religion of Christianity This essay will attempt to explain some of the most important points related to oppression of women in Christianity. Clearly we can say that women in the old testament for generations waited to see the distinctive child, whose birth well planned before creation began, would bring a change to their life. They sacrificed their own necessity hopping that the promised Saviour would bring them away from suffering. So when the Christ arrived, was everything that women hoped for? Was the world Christmas baby worth to wait for? What would His come mean for women? And how would the promised saviour treat women? Limitations themselves are always shifting, and so the arguments over teachings and opinion are used as a channel into the progression of a cultural construction which characterize both aspect religious and cultural. Definitely the dogma of submission has alleviated over time ,but for many Christians the long-established tradition , still have some issue; at one side we find those who regards male guidance in marriage as largely symbolic and who consent women to partake in church assembly and leadership .At the other side we find those who clearly underline the diversity between man and women in almost every aspect of life . Jesus himself never label women. A womans importance is never determined by her , motherly, domestic or femininity functions, but by her connection with God. On one occasion ; a woman shouted out, Blessed is the woman who gave you birth and look after you. Jesus replied, Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and follow it. Definitely Jesus in every day talking, dealing, treating and caring of women is not only a perfect example of loving and respectful attitudes toward women. He left behind a delicate statement of who women are and how they should be treated. In the Gospel we find more then twenty episode in witch Jesus interact with women ,and also many of His teachings regards women daily doings ,such as backing bread ,housekeeping, shopping, pregnancy, breast feeding, so He would not disregard women at all. (Rebecca Jones pp116,118.) Jesus consistently uses women as examples of virtue. He also permits a woman to stay and listen to His teaching sit by his feet (Luke 10:39)-place usually taken by disciples. We have to say that Jewish priest or teachers of the law did not permit women disciples; certainly, Jesus followers often did send women out on the preaching missions ( Mark 6:7—13)probably confirmed scandalous from the cultural society of those years ; nonetheless, the ministry of Jesus and his Gospel confirm that women were involved throughout His life .Mary, Elizabeth, and Anna had a major rule in His childhood, amongst the thirty miracles recorded in the Gospel , over ten had focal point on women .They journeyed with Him even out into the wildernesses (cf. Origen,Adv. Cel.3.10), and would participate at most of Jesus teachings and ministry events .Women were present at the fit of the Cross and again the first to the tomb (Mt 28.1) also the first that the angels spoke with at the tomb (Mt 28.5) And of course is coming on earth became possible through the acceptance of a virgin ,Mary was not forced to accept God will ,and yet God became a man thanks to a woman .Then we find the first public miracle of Jesus was through intercession of a woman (His mother) ,which for many Christians ,is the female doorway through whom they familiarise with the divine. A woman that can be looked at , as chief, since she was a compassionate woman, she was a devoted follower, she did put everything she had at risk , and of course a kind-hearted mother, she lost her own son, and for many people a model of a very strong human being, a woman to be admired and to identify with . So clearly Jesus did teach women liberally, and from time to time in Rabbinical manner ( Luke 10.38-42). His approach were very unique and different from the Jewish traditions. In the Talmud, is stated , there is no knowledge in a woman , it is better that the script of the Law should be on fire, than that they have to be passed to a women .Jesus clearly separate himself from those religious tradition when he talks and teach to women and integrated them ,among his followers. Then how can we say, that His teachings and ministry brought women to the verge of oppression? We can prove that sun after Jesus death ,all His teaching started having some changing, immediately, with Saint Paul only few years after, we find the first discrimination about women , Two passages in Pauls letters appear to disagree with an approval of women in ministry. First, Paul instruct women to be quiet and keep their questions concerning the faith ,for their husbands at home (1 Corinthians 14:34—36),and then in 1 Timothy 2:11—15, Paul forbade women to instruct or use influence over men ,of course Paul really thought ,that the . husband should be as head of his wife and that she should been submitted to him, So the apostle Paul would not consent a woman to teach or to employ authority over a man. And again we find Pauls argument about Eves deception witch is even more likely to fit this category. So the deception of Eva excludes all women from teaching, and have words of authority in the new born church He claims, that women are more easily mislead than men which are probably considered by Paul far more superior then women ,that is way most likely God created first Adam ,story well reported in the genesis . On the other hand, pattern from church account cannot resolve the matter; we should establish our position from Scripture. since the current discussion is to be found especially about Pauls teaching, so we should examine his letters and come to a true conclusion . Paul received both the Judaic traditions and Jesus understanding as Gods Word, we have to analyse womens ministry and position on those basis. The ancient close by Eastern world, of which Israel was a fraction, was a mans territory . Since God gave the blessing to Israel in a particular culture, nevertheless, the fact suggest that the society itself was holy. The way of life included divorce, polygamy, slavery , and many of other way we now identify as unholy. The obedience of the wife to the husband would go without problem as the centre of a social cultural environment in which was founded the family order. Without doubt The first Christians were blamed of starting a new ideology revolutionizing what for century was the rule and tradition, so probably Paul required to give a message and show that Christians were not anarchists. Regarding Paul himself, we should answer the above suppositions saying ; Are those the teaching of a man with problems? or Paul was simply a misogynist ?perhaps he was amongst those who would not permit woman to teach or to employ authority over a man because he could not stand the idea of it ?.But if we look at Pauls background we can understand that he was a Pharisee ,so a man educated an grown according to Jewish rules and traditions, were relations between men and women were subjected to the lows .for example If a man would only lay a hand on a woman in the wrong time of the month he could get ritually impure himself, or ,along with every day prayers performed by Jewish men were some phrase such as ; Blessed Thou hart , o God because you did not created me a woman. So Paul grew up in a certain way of concerning women, and some of the comments he makes about women are definitely according to the law which he grow up with and those supposition could be easily be ascribed to his own background. Definitely with Paul women were complete constituent of the ministry, fully involved in the life of the new church ,and in need of his advice, support , amendment, and spiritual help as the men. For example in the baptismal formula used by Paul in Galatians 3:27-8: For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. We could look at different aspect ,for instance ,Paul mostly depended on women to help him in his teaching, and he shows that trough words of gratitude to them in his letters, by name he refers to Phoebe, a deaconess, who â€Å"has been a helper of many and of myself as well† (Romans 16:2 ), Euodia and Syntyche in Philippians who, he says, â€Å"laboured side by side with me in the gospel.† If he really despised marriage, would he have spoken so warmly and repeatedly of the couple Prisca and Aquila, whom he referred to as â€Å"my fellow workers in Christ Jesus who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I, but also all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks.† (Romans 16:3-4) So is clearly showed that ,not only women are not the inferior gender when it comes to creation, but also in Christs church. Galatians 3:28 says.So in both, creation and church they are equally important .And no were we will find in the holy scripture, a phrase stating that women were inferior then man Genesis â€Å"So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them† Starting from the very begin ,we will find out that creation without women would have been terribly different , in the genesis ; The LORD God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. So immediately we find that the woman was necessary to improve the situation . She was in Gods plan ,deliberately created to be a co-worker with the Adam. The method of creation of Eve occupied a full involvement of the natureshe was formed from the same substance ( essentially and numerically) as the man, So the Woman was part of the original plan , was created at same image of God, was sovereign above the creation, with the man , was blessed by God, was given joint- accountability by God ,and was commanded rule and fill the earth with the man .If we take a look at historical passages to Christianity amazingly we will find a well-built picture of the women:They were essential to make the creation good (Gen 1.26-28) They shared joint liability with man to co-rule/fill the earth. (Gen 1.26-2) And more then fifty other episode in which women were prime part of Gods plan . regardless of the men status in ancient Israelite cultural society God occasionally called women as influential leader . When Josiah required to hear the word of God , he did send Hilkiah the cleric and others to someone who was certainly one of the main important prophet of his day: Huldah ( Kings 22:12—20). Deborah was a prophetess and a judge (Judges 4). She assumed a position of great influence in Israel . She was also amongst the few judges of whom the Bible reports no disappointment (Judges 4,5). The issue of a womans function in Christianity is a serious alarm for todays church. It is vital , in view of the fact that our necessity for the spiritual gifts of all the members that God has call to serve His Church. The alarm, nevertheless, is extending further than the Church itself progressively more ,year by year , and consequently material theorist attack Christianity as not in favour of women and as a result inappropriate to the modern world. So where democracy is established, and religion has separated from politics , some changing are needed ,and for sure some changing are taking place Bibliography Rebecca Jones, 2007- Does Christianity squash women ? published by Broadman and Holman,2005 -pp 116,118 Biblical resource .

Mitch Alboms Tuesdays with Morrie :: Essays Papers

Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie Tuesdays with Morrie, written by Mitch Albom is a story of the love between a man and his college professor, Morrie Schwartz. This true story captures the compassion and wisdom of a man who only knew good in his heart. A man who lived his life to the fullest up until the very last breath of his happily fulfilled life. It is a story of a special bond of friendship that was lost for many years, but never forgotten and simply picked up again at a crucial time of both Morrie’s and Mitch’s lives. When Morrie learned that he had only a few months to live with the deadly disease of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, Morrie began the last class of his life with Mitch – life’s greatest lesson. Throughout the last fourteen weeks of Morrie’s life, Mitch met with him every Tuesday to learn and understand all of the wisdom and lessons of life that were within Morrie. The weekly routine consisted of lunch and lecture. These meetings included discussions on everything from the world when you enter it to the world when you say goodbye. From the relationship that these men had with each, a love is revealed like no other love resembles. This is a love of friendship and of respect. Such a bond between people is difficult to achieve. Their relationship consists of an â€Å"unembarrassed love† that is constantly present. Morrie Schwartz was a man of great wisdom who loved and enjoyed to see and experience a simplicity of life, something beyond life’s most challenging and unanswered mysteries. From Morrie, we learn that life is most happily experienced when enjoyed and fulfilled to its highest ability. Morrie shares this with Mitch in the last days of his life and these great lessons will be carried and practiced throughout Mitch’s life. After reading Tuesdays with Morrie I felt a sense of discovery. Morrie Schwartz was a man that touched the lives of many. He will always be remembered for his sincerity and his compassion for life and for love. The lessons that Morrie loved to teach were of his own experience with life. These great lessons were full of wisdom and love and they came deep from within Morrie. I enjoyed reading this book by

The Infection of Rabies :: Disease Virus

Rabies: The Infection Rabies is an infectious disease that is hard to survive through. Although rabies is mostly found in animals, humans can also carry the virus and spread it amongst others. This virus is well known as the slow virus because it will slowly kill you. There are many symptoms of rabies, in both animals and humans, that reveal themselves only after they have been bitten. This part of the essay will give you the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the rabies infection. The infectious disease known as rabies is a virus that spreads from the wound to the central nervous system, causing the body to malfunction until finally crashing down. This virus is a transmittable disease that that runs in both humans and animals. In order for the virus to be transmitted, the saliva from the rabid animal needs to enter the open wound. There are many symptoms that prove that the bitten victim has rabies, one of them being death. This virus is really tricky because not only will you get the virus but you won’t really know if you have rabies until the symptoms reveal themselves. At the time of the bite, saliva may enter the wound. The only way for the virus to be transmitted is if the saliva is in or close to the nerve tissue. From the nerve tissue, it travels until reaching the central nervous which then spreads to the spinal cord and brain. The virus incubates in the victim for approximately 1 to 3 months. The victim has no symptoms at this time. When it reaches the brain, the virus multiplies rapidly, passes to the salivary glands, and the victim begins to show symptoms. The infected victim usually dies within 7 days of being sick (â€Å"Transmission† 2). We all hear stories about a rabid dog biting a human but we have to consider that not all rabies infections are transmitted by bites; the virus can also be transmitted by non-bites. The non-bites can be scratches, abrasions, open wounds, or mucus membranes contaminated with saliva or other potentially, infections material such as brain tissue from the rabid animal (Coye10). Mammals are the only species that can transmit rabies to one another. Although humans are mammals, they can’t transmit the disease the same way that animals transmit it. One way, which is the only recorded evidence where a human transmitted the virus to other humans, is by organ transplant (â€Å"Investigation† 2). The Infection of Rabies :: Disease Virus Rabies: The Infection Rabies is an infectious disease that is hard to survive through. Although rabies is mostly found in animals, humans can also carry the virus and spread it amongst others. This virus is well known as the slow virus because it will slowly kill you. There are many symptoms of rabies, in both animals and humans, that reveal themselves only after they have been bitten. This part of the essay will give you the who, what, when, where, why, and how of the rabies infection. The infectious disease known as rabies is a virus that spreads from the wound to the central nervous system, causing the body to malfunction until finally crashing down. This virus is a transmittable disease that that runs in both humans and animals. In order for the virus to be transmitted, the saliva from the rabid animal needs to enter the open wound. There are many symptoms that prove that the bitten victim has rabies, one of them being death. This virus is really tricky because not only will you get the virus but you won’t really know if you have rabies until the symptoms reveal themselves. At the time of the bite, saliva may enter the wound. The only way for the virus to be transmitted is if the saliva is in or close to the nerve tissue. From the nerve tissue, it travels until reaching the central nervous which then spreads to the spinal cord and brain. The virus incubates in the victim for approximately 1 to 3 months. The victim has no symptoms at this time. When it reaches the brain, the virus multiplies rapidly, passes to the salivary glands, and the victim begins to show symptoms. The infected victim usually dies within 7 days of being sick (â€Å"Transmission† 2). We all hear stories about a rabid dog biting a human but we have to consider that not all rabies infections are transmitted by bites; the virus can also be transmitted by non-bites. The non-bites can be scratches, abrasions, open wounds, or mucus membranes contaminated with saliva or other potentially, infections material such as brain tissue from the rabid animal (Coye10). Mammals are the only species that can transmit rabies to one another. Although humans are mammals, they can’t transmit the disease the same way that animals transmit it. One way, which is the only recorded evidence where a human transmitted the virus to other humans, is by organ transplant (â€Å"Investigation† 2).

Monitoring Human Rights Essay

Human rights have had a major impact on international human life and constitute a very important test for national institutions. Moreover, they constitute a standard for reforming society and evaluating the policies and practices of international economic and political platforms[1]. The Human Rights Committee closely monitors the proper implementation of the International Covenant by state parties. Therefore all the state parties are under an obligation to submit periodic reports to the Committee. These reports should contain the details of the implementation of human rights in their respective states. In the first instance, these states are required to submit their report within one year after having ratified the Covenant. These states are also required to submit these reports whenever the Committee insists upon their submission. Upon receipt of these reports, the Committee reviews them and suggests its recommendations to the states. These recommendations are generally in the form of concluding observations. In order to ratify international human rights treaties, there is a need for state parties to work in compliance with international monitoring frameworks. These frameworks require the provision of periodic reports on the status of implementation of the requirement of these treaties[2]. The act of issuing general observations by a treaty body depends on the process of reviewing the reports submitted by state parties. Observations are the collective assessment of these reports and the governments are enabled to determine the steps to be undertaken by them in order to promote and effectively implement human rights. The importance of the dialogue is to receive advice on the measures to be adopted in order to implement treaty provisions in a better fashion. Hence the state parties are required to implement the concluding observations made by the treaty bodies and address these observations in their subsequent reports[3]. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights or OHCHR plays an important role in promoting efforts to obtain global ratification by undertaking campaigns for ratification. This initiative would act as a catalyst and stimulate state governments, civilians, intergovernmental organizations and other organizations. The OHCHR promotes the integration of targets for ratification of the international treaties on human rights. It is an instrument that has been designed by the Common Country Assessments and UN Development Assistance Frameworks[4]. The OHCHR is a technical cooperation device, which is aimed at assisting state parties in implementing and promoting human rights. Technical assistance programs are provided upon requests from governments and should be utilized by them. There should be a transparent process with the consultation of civil society to be adopted with regard to nominating state representatives to the treaty. This could further enhance the effectiveness in finding a suitable candidate for the purpose. State parties have to advertise vacancies in the treaty bodies in the national press and other media. This would improve the chances of obtaining better candidates and also facilitates assessment of the candidate’s expertise. Subsequent to the nomination, the state governments should exhibit the list of applicants to the public at large[5]. Article 18 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women requires the state parties to submit a report on the legislative, judicial and administrative measures that a state had to initiate in order to promote the provisions of the Convention. It also stipulates that the state has to furnish the progress report with regard to the status of human rights, within one year after entering the Convention. Subsequently, this report had to be submitted every four years and whenever the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women requires it[6].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In this respect and in order to fulfill the obligations laid down by Article 18, the Committee suggested that the state parties should invariably follow the general guidelines with regard to the form, content and date of reports. These guidelines were designed in order to assist state parties to submit the reports in a uniform manner so that the state parties and the Committee would be in a position to have knowledge about the implementation of those provisions[7]. Under Article 14 of the Convention on all Forms of Racial Discrimination a state can recognize the competence of the committee to receive and consider representations from its citizens who allege violation of rights granted by the convention. The state is required to change its laws if the committee discovers a violation of the convention.   Moreover, the state parties have to furnish details of the convention measures adopted by them as a report, once in two years and the committee, in turn, reports to the UN General Assembly once a year in this regard.[8] The Human Rights Committee or the HRC was formed in order to monitor state compliance with the ICCPR. Article 40(3) of the HRC, stipulates that the HRC’s members have to serve in their personal capacity. Moreover, Article 38 states that newly elected members should work in an impartial and conscientious manner[9]. The ICCPR consists of eighteen experts in human rights, who have a good moral conduct. The monitoring measures of the ICCPR are first, state parties are required to submit periodic reports to the HRC that must describe their efforts to promote the Covenant provided human rights and the developments in the provision of these rights. On receiving this report, the HRC would evaluate the facts and make the necessary observations. Second, state parties have to accept the HRC’s authority to entertain complaints from other state parties regarding non – compliances with ICCPR obligations[10]. General Comments, which are adopted by the HRC, address articles or issues of the ICCPR and indicate the ability of the HRC to examine worldwide reports in respect of the diversified political, legal and social systems[11]. Article 41 of the Covenant authorizes the Committee to hear complaints among the states and the First Optional Protocol enables the latter to entertain complaints from individuals in respect of violations of rights guaranteed by the Covenant by the State Parties. There would be three sessions per year of the Committee and it has to publish its interpretation of the Covenant of human rights provisions. Moreover, the Committee’s power covers the Second Optional Protocol, which deals with the elimination of the death penalty[12]. The report E/CN.4/1997/74 of the United Nations, which is based on previous reports that had been, submitted to World Conference on Human Rights, concerns the ratification of some of the treaties. This report assumes that the existing supervisory system is sound and valid. In addition, it also assumes that adequate reporting has taken place. Moreover, it assumes that the progress in the quality of reporting procedures is by its very nature very slow. Further, this report is based on the premise that the extant system is not viable and that the overall objectives cannot be achieved in the absence of drastic remedial measures being adopted[13]. This report makes several assumptions. Some of these assumptions are that the treaty’s supervisory system are sound and remain legitimate; despite difficulties, considerable progress has been registered by the treaty bodies; progress has to be based on an effective monitoring system, which beneficially modifies the relevant procedures and institutions and the extant system is untenable and the achievement of the various objectives requires significant changes to the reporting system[14]. International efforts to promote human rights require the universal ratification of the essential treaties.   The rate of ratification of these treaties has shown a remarkable increase after the Vienna Conference. The reasons responsible for the increase in the number of such ratifications are described in the sequel. The first reason is that several new states succeeded to these treaties. The second reason is that the Fourth World Conference on Women resulted in the ratification of the CEDAW by a large number of states. The third factor is that of the unimaginable success that was attendant upon the efforts to enhance the number of countries that were in favour of ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Despite the success of this convention on the rights of the child, it has come to light that there is a need to take further steps against countries that have failed to ratify this convention[15]. In addition, these treaty bodies are available only in two languages and translations take quite a bit of time for completion. Some of these treaty bodies have laid a great emphasis on upon what have been termed as special reports[16]. It was contended by Tomuschat that the submission of reports pertaining to the International Convention on the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid was inadequate to the extent that the whole system could be deemed to be a failure[17]. Some of the recommendations of this report are that there should be consultations with the major international organizations in respect of efforts to promote ratification. In addition, special advisers should be appointed in order to ratify and report. Moreover, there should be an adoption of special measures in order to streamline the reporting system for the less populated nations[18]. Article 28 of the ICCPR requires the Human Rights Committee to consist of eighteen members. These members should possess and exemplary moral character and should be bestowed with acclaimed expertise in the human rights[19]. Article 40 of the ICCPR requires the States Parties to inform the Secretary General of the UN regarding the measures adopted by them in respect of this Covenant[20]. In a meeting conducted in Geneva on the 27th and 28th of July 1996, the committee discussed the possibility modifications to its reporting procedures. The decisions arrived at in this meeting were transformed into an official document at the sixtieth session of this committee. In this meeting discussions were conducted regarding the format and focus of periodic reports, the methodology to be adopted by the committee in dealing with state reports, the standards that had to be established in respect of state reports and the procedure to be adopted in the case of delinquent reports[21]. Although the working of the committee can be influenced by the work of the more specialized treaty bodies it is empowered only to interpret and apply the ICCPR. The standards that are applicable to the protection of human rights differ from one treaty provision to another and the committee may choose the most appropriate of such standards in any particular situation. Moreover, the committee should, wherever and to the extent possible, avoid a conflict with the provisions of other treaty bodies[22]. During the 1626th and 1627th meetings the Committee thoroughly examined the fourth periodic report submitted by Iraq[23] on 27th October 1997 and on 5th November 1997 in the 1640th meeting, and the Committee declared its observations. It condemned the apathy of the state in dealing with the implementation of domestic laws and the provisions of the Covenant. The Iraqi delegation interacted with the Committee and submitted its answers to the Committee, furthermore this delegation made detailed clarifications regarding the prevailing conditions in the state[24].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In its examination, the Committee acknowledged that Iraq’s war with Iran and the aftermath of its invasion of Kuwait had resulted in a substantial destruction of the nation’s infrastructure. However, the Committee was of the view that despite these difficulties, the government of Iraq had been responsible for the implementation of the provisions under the Covenant and that it could not evade its responsibility in this regard[25].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Committee further suggested that reasonable steps should be taken in order to ensure equal rights for people of all religious groups, in addition to the ethnic minorities. Further, the government of Iraq was directed to furnish this information in its next periodic report and to give sufficient details regarding the implementation of Articles 26 and 27 of the Covenant[26].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Committee further directed that there should be submission of reports with regard to the difficulties encountered by non – governmental organizations in respect of establishment and operability. The Committee acknowledges that the necessary initiatives should be undertaken immediately so as to facilitate the establishment and smooth operation of independent non – governmental organizations working in the area of human rights[27].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Committee furnished these guidelines to the government of Iraq along with reports submitted by other state parties to be referred to as a model. Moreover, it requested the government of Iraq to submit in its next periodic report full particulars of the steps taken by it in this regard[28].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   During its 1628th and 1629th meetings held on the 28th of October 1997, and during its 1642nd meeting held on the 5th of November 1997, the Committee reviewed the second periodic report of Sudan[29]. The reports submitted by Sudan were helpful in assessing the prevailing conditions in the state. The Committee recognized the fact that the implementation of the Covenant was hindered due to the armed conflicts in the southern regions of Sudan. These differences were causing difficulties in the implementation of the Covenant and the Committee advised the government of Sudan to include the provisions of periodic reports of the other state parties in its next periodic report[30].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the 1675th to 1677th meetings, the Committee reviewed the initial report of Israel[31]. The Committee recognized the fact that the reasons for non implementation of the Covenant could be attributed to the frequent attacks on the population, the other problems that related to its occupation of territory and its war with bordering states. Nevertheless, the Committee instructed the government of Israel that according to Article 4 of the Covenant, the state should not fail to provide fundamental rights even under such emergency conditions[32].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Committee was satisfied with the steps initiated by Israel like establishing several ministries that dealt with the status of women. It was also satisfied with the functions of the Knesset Committee for the Advancement of the Status of Women. Another measure that the government had taken was the establishment of a national level authority on the advancement of women in the state by bestowing several responsibilities on it. The government’s amendment of the Equal Employment Opportunities Law made employers liable in sexual harassment cases and the government also enacted legislation to bring about the Equal Pay (Male and Female Employees) Law[33].   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Committee reviewed the second periodic report of Algeria[34] in its 1681st to 1684th sessions and complimented the state party for having resolved some of the issues pointed out in the Committee’s concluding observations,[35]which had been made in the initial report on Algeria in 1992. The factors that had contributed to the inadequate implementation of the Covenant were the extensive and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, which resulted in great loss of human life and the violent activities in the state. These issues made it imperative to maintain law and order in the state in order to protect fundamental rights in Algeria[36]. As such the states have been provided with insufficient support in putting into practice their duty to ensure human rights and in modifying their domestic laws, policies and practices in order to be more effective in establishing human rights. There is little guidance in respect of the manner in which the laws are to be sustained and construed by the states with the result that states have to face an even greater problem while carrying out their human rights obligations[37]. Bibliography Tomuschat, â€Å"Human Rights, States Reports†, in R. Wolfrum and C. Philip (eds.), United Nations: Law, Policies and Practice (Munich, Beck and Dordrecht, Martinus Nijhoff, 1995), vol. 1, p. 631. Charles R. Beitz. Human Rights as a Common Concern, The American Political Science Review, Vol. 95, No. 2. (Jun., 2001), pp. 269-282. 26 August 2007. Christian Tomuschat, Human Rights: Between Idealism and Realism. (2003). Oxford University Press. P. 140. CCPR/C/133. December 22nd, 1997. Report on the informal meeting on procedures. ICCPR. United Nations. CCPR/C/103/Add.2 CCPR/C/75/Add.2 CCPR/C/81/Add.13 CCPR/C/101/Add.1 CCPR/C/79/Add.1 Document E/CN/4/1997/74, dated March 27, 1996. United Nations Economic and Social Council. Effective Functioning of Bodies Established Pursuant to United Nations Human Rights Instruments. Final Report on Enhancing the Long Term Effectiveness of the United Nations Human Rights Treaty System. E/CN. 4/ 1997/74. March 27, 1997. Commission on Human Rights, Fifty – third Session. Human Rights Committee. Monitoring civil and political rights. Retrieved 2 September 2007. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, G.A. res. 2200A (XXI), 21 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force 23, 1976. Michael Banton, The Future of UN Human Rights Treaty Monitoring. Chapter 3, Decision – Taking in the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Philip Alston and James Crawford (Eds). 2000. Cambridge University Press. P. 55. Monitoring State Obligations on International Human Rights: United Nations Human Rights Treaty Bodies/Committees. 26 August 2007 Report of the Human Rights Committee. Volume I. General Assembly Official Records †¢ Fifty-third Session Supplement No. 40 (A/53/40). Retrieved September 2, 2007 Thynne, Kelisiana. ANZSIL CONFERENCE 2007 REFORM OF UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS: CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS Enhancing the rule of law in international human rights treaty bodies. United Nations Proposals to Strengthen the Human Rights Treaty Bodies

Hotel Repositioning

{draw:frame} University of Derby/Buxton Hospitality Management MA Hotel Renovation A Tool For Repositioning In the Hotel Industry Submission Date: 7th May 2009 Business Analysis and Decision Making Student: Nana Yaa Addo Module Leader: Norman Dindsdale Introduction The hospitality industry has grown phenomenally since 2001 and has been driven by both leisure and business demand (kloppers 2005). The needs of the consumer have now become dynamic rather than static. Consumers today have a strong desire for luxury in every sense of the word be it travel, goods or even a night stay in a hotel, thereby creating a competitive environment among business owners and organisations to come up with innovative ways to increase and also retain their business. Altstiel and Grow (2005 p. 28) similarly states that â€Å"people do not buy things but rather a satisfaction of their wants and needs. Therefore the hospitality industry being a service sector is not an exception as the industry must also meet challenges by formulating and implementing strategies that will meet today’s economic conditions and also satisfy customer needs. This report focuses on how hotel renovation can be used as a tool for repositioning in hotel operations. It will explore the theory behind repositioning and test the theory by looking at some case studies within the industry, it will also try to identify its challenges and successes and see how it could be undertaken in the fu ture. Main body The term repositioning has been used side by side with positioning, branding or new product development and has a wide range of definition, as a result it has no exclusive accepted definition. For example, the work of Hassien and Baum (2002p146) give the following definitions of the term which perceives a greater understanding. (Lovelock,1996;Lewis et al;1995) define the term as the changing of the existing position without referring to its implementation (Hart and Stapleton, 1987; Collin, 1989; Jefkins, 1987; Ries and Trout,1986) define it as an advertising trategy by which the company can change the image of its product and the perception of people about it. Booz, Allen and Hamilton (1982) define the term as one of the six categories of new products in terms of their newness to the company and to the marketplace, as being the process of targeting the existing products to new markets or market segment. In addition the business dictionary also defines it as changing a brands status i n comparison to that of the competing brands. Furthermore Hassien and Baum go on to say that â€Å"an in-depth review of its literature identifies that there is a general agreement in most of these definitions, that repositioning involves a change to the image of a product in the market through changing the perception of the customer†(p. 146) and finally define the term as â€Å"the marketing management process of changing, partially or totally, the perception of the public about a firm through any modification or addition to one or more of its controllable variables (eg. Customer, competition, technology, coporate, etc. ) in order to retain, expand or change its target markets†(p. 147) From the above definitions it is obvious that repositioning involves the modification of a product to make it more appealing in order to attract existing customers or new market segments The Concept Of Repositioning. Due to intensifying global competition, a constantly changing environment, current consumer trends and modern technology, repositioning like any other marketing tool adopts a strategy in order to be successful. For instance Macmillan (2000, p45) states that ‘conditions in the global business environment demands that established firms adopt entrepreneurial strategies’. Johnson and Scholes(2002 p10) have defined strategy as â€Å" the direction and scope of an organisation over the long term which achieves advantage for the organisation through its configuration of resources within a changing environment and to fulfil stakeholder expectations. † Bowie and Butler (2004 p. 06) state the following reasons as to why a company may be forced to reposition; Falling sales (often a symptom of customer dissatisfaction) An opportunity to service an emerging market segment The threat of competing for market share. As a result Jobber in the book of Enew and Waite (2007 p. 165), identifies four basic repositioning strategies and they are listed as follows Image repositioning- This means keeping the product and target market the same but changing the image of the product. Product repositioning –This means that the product has been modified to meet more fully the expectations of the target group. Intangible repositioning-An organisation targets a new market segment with existing products but places the emphasis on a different ,less tangible aspect of the product. Tangible repositioning-In some market sectors there is the need to change both product and target market moving upmarket or downmarket through the introduction of a new range of products often demands a comprehensive repositioning strategy. Similarly a study by Kotler et al 1993 cited in Crompton 2000 pp70-72) offers three strategies that can also be used to achieve repositioning and they are as follows; Real repositiong: which means that an agency changes what it does so that desired community priority needs are met through its offerings Competitive repositioning which means altering stakeholders’ beliefs about what an agency’s competitors do. Psychogical repositioning which means altering stakeholders beliefs about what an agency currently does From the above, it can be deduced that; Repositioning is used to alter perceptions of the consumer It is used by organisations to ensure they exceed the expectations of the consumer in order to retain themselves in the business environment It is used to identify growth and opportunities. It must however be noted that whatever strategy that is employed ,must be realistic, achievable, results focused and must also take into account which strategy best fits the needs of the business as well as that of the consumer. However for the purpose of this report the attention is on renovation as a tool for repositioning in the hotel industry in other words the focus is on the use of renovation to develop or improve existing and new product lines. Renovation Definition According to Hassien and Baum (2001p. 148), renovation may be defined as â€Å"the process of retaining or improving the hotel image by modifying the tangible product, due to a variety of reasons, through any changes in the hotel layout (e. g. Property structure-new extension) and/or any additions or replacement of materials and furniture, fixture and equipment†. It may also be defined as â€Å"a facility for which a substantial amount of the equipment, structure or other components is replaced or modified and which may expand capacity and/improve the process of the facility† (CII 2006, P1) From the above it can be noted that renovation as a process involves a lot of activity which can either be upgrading of the design, decor etc of the property layout or the development of an entirely new product. Types of renovation Renovations may be classed as major or minor depending on the amount of work involved in each type. For instance a renovation that involves the renewal or replacement of all equipment, furnishings and finishes in order to improve or change the image of the physical layout of the hotel may be termed as a major renovation, whiles a renovation that involves the upgrading or replacement of soft goods such as carpets, drapes, beddings etc without changing the physical layout of the property. The property must be in a market not sustaining the desired level of operation There must be an alternate market not being served Change in the market they serve Furthermore Hassien and Baum (2002p. 148) cite these reasons; To keep up with the competition To maintain or increase market share by satisfying current or potential customers To improve the operational efficiency of the hotel that will lead to an increase in both productivity and long term savings in operational expenses To maintain corporate image and standards To upgrade the hotel to a higher category (eg. From 4 to 5) To comply with the new trends and technology in the market The process of renovation while its clear a renovation or brand conversion is intended as an improvement on your investment, managing a long list of decisions will make for a shortfall in revenue without the right plan in place†(sansone et al 2009 p. 20). It must be noted that renovation is constantly an ongoing process in hotels and it employs certain decision making factors to ensure its success. These decisions if undermined can cost hoteliers a great deal of money and if taken seriously can reap re wards in other words renovation can either pose a financial challenge if not planned well or reflect profitability if planned well. There is nothing worse than being in a hotel when these processes are on going, the noise, the uncertainty and the feeling that you are experiencing ‘second best’. The following decisions have been identified through research that renovation undergoes the following processes. Planning In the planning process, elements such as team, budget, timing and marketing are taken into consideration. Team: It has been argued that the very first step when the decision on renovation has been taken is the selection of a team usually comprising experts and project managers. Rowe and Megan1995,Hassien and Baum 2002). These people are usually charged with the responsibility of providing expertise in the accomplishment of budgets, contingencies and scheduling from the start till finish of the project and can be a complete waste of time and money if they are not involved in the renovation project(Sansone et al 2009 ). Budget: This usually involves taking into consideration a realistic amou nt of money that is believed to be enough to finance the project. It is also the most important and critical aspect pertaining to the project. It is usually based on criteria such as the time value of money, wealth maximisation and risk accommodation. Timing: Recognising when to undertake a renovation is also very important in the decision making process. This is because hoteliers must carry out such projects when occupancy is low so that renovation can be carried out with less disruptions and minimise risk in terms of safety Bowe and Megan 1995 ) It is also interesting to note that there aside the above decisions taken during the renovation process, key areas of long term decision making is that of investment. The decision to carry out these important changes must, of course, involve a much more complex set of criteria. The key concept of finance being the first that is reviewed and factored in terms of risk. It is assumed that the objective of any financial investment is to maximise economic benefits. Hence â€Å"projects which pass through the preliminary screening phase become candidates for rigorous financial appraisal to ascertain if they would add value to the firm (Dayananda et al 2002 p. 7). Four investment appraisal techniques namely, ARR(average rate of return, Payback, NPV(Net present value)and IRR(Internal rate of return)are usually considered in the decision making process in large companies with Payback and NPV proving to be the most popular(Lamminmaki et al cited in Guilding 2005 p. 205) To touch briefly on the above; ARR- measures the incremental operating income that will be generated per dollar of investment in other words it measures profitability by comparing the required investment to future annual earnings(Oliver& Amacom 1999p. 11, Dayananda et al 2002 p43) Payback-It attempts to forecast how long it will take for the expected net cash inflows to payback the investment outlays (Glautier and Underdown 2001 p. 448) NPV- The excess of the present value (PV) of cash inflows generated by the project over the amount of the initial investment (Shim&Siegel 2007 p. 209) IRR- It represents the true interest rate earned on an investment over the course of its economic life (Colin Drury 2004 p. 501. For the following the NPV and IRR are used as being the most important in the individual case studies. This does not mean the others would not work, simply these were the most appropriate. Informed assumptions are made within the case studies as only outline information was available from the companies Case study 1 January 18-24, 2004 Crown Plaza Owners of the hotel invested 7 million dollars to renovate the crown plaza in Philadelphia to restore the hotels reputation which owners believed have suffered as a place for corporate meetings and stays as well as well as to target the SMERF market(social, military, educational, religious, fraternal bookings). Hotel owners updated rooms ,with a redone lobby, restaurant, common areas and meeting rooms. The hotel is located on city avenue and is a walking distance from the new target store, that brought with it a host of smaller retailers including chipotle grill, sandwich works and California pizza. â€Å"I’m not sure how it affects business, but guests like to walk to a restaurant which is definitely a convenience for guests†. Calculating IRR IRR=A+(Na/Na-Nb)*(B-A) Where A =Lower DF (10%), B = Higher DF (20%), Na=NPV at 10% Nb= NPV at 20%. Therefore; IRR= 10+ (0. 662/0. 662-1. 02) * (20-10) IRR= 10+ (-O. 2) *(10) IRR=9. 98 Case study 2 The Grand Hyatt (New York) July 15, 2004 To reaffirm the brand as a leader in the multi purpose hotels, the Grand Hyatt under took a 55million dollar renovation project. The project touched every area of the hotel with more emphasis on guest room and meeting spaces. The guest rooms were designed to give them a more international look with desig n elements including a colour palette of golds and taupe with blue accents. Roman shades dug in into the window wells to replace traditional draperies, an all new cabling and wired smoke detection and emergency communication system. Work and play amenities include a 27- inch flat screen T. V, a standard workstation with ergonomic chair, CD- clock radio. Bathrooms were upgraded with porcelain tiles, black granite pedestal sinks, stone flooring and curved shower rods. An entire floor was upgraded into a high tech conference centre targeting financial companies that needed the latest technology as well as privacy to do their business. Therefore calculating the NPV for case study 1 is illustrated below In evaluating both studies it is obvious that the main reasons for undertaking these renovation projects was to: Compete against other hotels Satisfy their customers Increase profitability by attracting customers. The basic rule underlying NPV is that if the present value of the returns exceed the present value of costs then the project should go ahead since it will increase profits. (Atkinson and Miller p. 315). In other words the project should be carried out if the NPV is positive. In case study 1 an initial investment of 7million dollars in year 0 is assumed to give rise to inflows of 2million dollars for each of years 1 to 5 So in this case an NPV of 0. 662 and 1. 02 respectively are both positive figures and hence the project will be profitable. However this same projects could be risky because of it’s IRR. For instance Finnerty(2005 p. 157) is of the view that ifthe IRR exceeds the project’s cost of capital then the projects should be undertaken but in this case an IRR of 9. 98 is less than both the lower and higher discount factors of 10% and 20% respectively and therefore will be in the interest of decision makers to forgo the project. In case study 2 an initial investment of 55million dollars in year 0 is assumed to give rise to inflows of 12million dollars for each of years 1 to 5. In this case an NPV of 9. 52 also indicates a positive figure hence a profitable project. This suggest that higher is better for both NPV and IRR in other words investments with higher rates of return are more profitable than investments with lower rates of return but it can be argued that â€Å"since the economic environment is dynamic the cost of capital can be influenced by such changes,(Watson &Head 2007) rather it will be better if business owners sought to maximise shareholders wealth through considering their investment value in monetary terms rather than focusing so much on it’s immediate return. Moreover both the NPV and IRR have its merits as well as its demerits. Atkinson and Miller(1998 p. 18)give the following merits for the NPV; Gives a clear quantitative result Emphasises the time value of money and makes it superior to methods which do not involve discounting. Involves maximisation of present values of future cash flows thereby maximising shareholder wealth. Despite its merits ,Siddiqui (2005 p. 325,Rashid, Raj & Walters 2008p. 194) of the view tha t ; It is not helpful in comparing two projects with different cash flows It may be misleading in comparing projects of unequal lives It is complicated to estimate the values of cash inflows and outflows over the life of a project. Alternatively, (Capon& Disbury 2004 p. 224) state that the IRR has the following merits; It results in a clear percentage return required on investment since emphasis is placed on liquidity in calculation. It’s the measure of the intensity of capital use and also gives a return for risks Takes into consideration the time value of money and deals with discount cash flows. Several authors strongly oppose and cite reasons as to why the IRR may not be the best financial appraisal. For example ( Dyson 2004, Mclaney& Atrill 2007) give the following reasons It does not maximise shareholders’ wealth There is difficulty in handling projects with unconventional cash flows It gives only an approximate rate of return It can be misleading especially where there are negative net cash flows in subsequent years and when one project has to be opted for in favour of another i. e. mutually exclusive project. Conclusion Hotel renovation is an inevitable process especially if hoteliers wish to secure their positions in the marketplace and also keep up with the constantly changing needs of the consumer. The two investment appraisal methods i. e the NPV and IRR usually used by decision makers Moreover the customer be it a business traveller or holiday maker is the most important element to the hospitality industry, to such a customer, the most important criteria are an appealing image, safety and security, standard of service and most of all value for money. Leaders in the industry must in no uncertain terms ensure that they meet expectations. So regardless of the financial appraisal techniques considered in the decision making process, hotel renovations are a must unless hoteliers are looking to reposition further down the market for instance choosing to go two star(2) or three(3) then they could be justified if they chose not to renovate otherwise they should be aware that they stand the chance of loosing market share if they do not renovate when required. Reccommendations Although investment decisions are carried out in the hope of generating future returns, the most important question hoteliers should be concerned with is whether they will be in business if they compromised their standards and quality of service by not repositioning as a result of lack of funds. The following suggestions have been given to serve as a guide to hoteliers wishing to renovate in the near future. Due to the costly nature of renovation, hoteliers could consider alternative sources of capital such as loans that offer low interest rates and low down payments that are unlikely to change during the period of the loan. Also hoteliers must endeavour to give priority to areas that need immediate attention, they can achieve this by segmenting the market in order to identify the needs of the market that way they are able to know what to accomplish in the shortest possible time without breaking the bank. Again in the present downturn, hoteliers must find ways to cut down on renovation expenses. For example if there is a choice of choosing between minor renovations such as the changing of bedding, drapes, curtains etc to major renovations that deal with heavy equipments, hoteliers will be better off going for minor renovations. Moreover they could also seek advice (in terms of selecting contractors and experts that are willing to offer reasonable rates) from hoteliers that may have undertaken a similar project. In addition, Harris & Joanne (2003) advice that the best time to undertaken renovations should be less busy periods. Executive Summary The concept of repositioning was looked at in terms of two hotels. It looked at the repositioning and renovation concept. It was realised that the main reasons for carrying out these renovations was to satisfy the customer in order to ensure repeat business, differentiate form other competitors to maintain a leading position, open new markets, and also increase profitability. In order to achieve this certain decisions had to be carried out, emphasis was placed on two investment appraisal methods i. e the NPV (Net present value) and IRR (Internal rate of return) since hotel renovation involved a great deal of budgeting. It was realised that regardless of the investment appraisal methods, hotel renovations was inevitable. The conclusion was hoteliers had to renovate if they wanted secure the business in the constantly changing environment and also if they wanted to meet the changing needs of the consumer. It may be that they repositioned by default? Journals Ahmed Hassien, Tom Baum(2002) Hotel repositioning through property renovation. Tourism and hospitality research Vol. 4 p. 144 Beirne, Mike(2004) Crown plaza’s bed time story Brand week Vol. 45 ,pp. 12-12 Brennan, Kate(2001) Lodging hospitality Vol. 57, p. 36 Construction industry institute(2006), ‘definition for renovation’. Available from: http://www. Construction institute . org/ script content/cfm. Assessed [April 1 2009] Crompton, John L. (2009) Strategies for implementing repositioning of leisure services Vol. 14, pp. 87-111 Foong, Keat(2009) Multi- housing news Vol. 44 pp. 14-15 Harris ,Joanne (2003) Motel management Vol. 218 p. 36 Hermann, Daniel (2008) Repositioning for the future. Long term living for the continuing care. Vol 57 p. 3 John W. O’Neill, Anna S. Mattila (2006) Strategic hotel development and positioning: The effects of revenue drivers on profitability. Cornell hotel and restaurant administration quarterly pp. 7; 146 Jonathan C. Nehmer, Donald A. Noveau(2005) Renovate or Reposition know the difference. Us international journal pp1-3 Patel, Ashwen ‘Ash’(2008)Credit crunch may disrupt renovation plans. Hotel and motel management, Vol. 223 p10-10 Rowe, Megan. (1995)Renovation has it’s risk. Lodging hospitality. Vol 51 p. 40 Watkins, Ed(2004) New York dresses up. Lodging hospitality Vol. 60 p. 36 Books Bowie D. & Butler F. (2004) Hospitality marketing. Butterworth-Heinemann Capon C. & Disbury A. (2004) Understanding organisational context. 2 nd edition. Pearson education. p. 224 Enew C. Waite N. (2007) Financial services marketing: an international guide to principles and practice. Butterworth-Heinemann Drury C. (Management cost accounting). 6 th edition. Engage learning Glautier M. W. E & Underdown B. (2001) Accounting theory and practice. 7 th edition. Pearson education. Gruen R. & Howarth A. (2005) Financial management in health services. Mcgraw- Hill international Guilding C. (2002) Financial management for hospitality. Butterworth-Heinemann Jain P. K. &Khan M. Y. (2005) Basic financial management. 2 nd edition. Tata Mcgraw pp. 61-63 Mclaney E. J. & Atrill P. 2007) Accounting: An introduction. 4 th edition. Pearson education. Schim J. & Siegel J. G. (2007) Schaum’s outline of financial management. 3 rd edition. Mcgraw-Hill Stevens R. E et al Marketing opp ortunity analysis. Harworth press p. 105 Watson D. & Head A. (2007) Corporate finance: Principles and practice. {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change} {text:change}