Capital budget

Introduction:In a recession, irrespective of where they work in your organisation, and apprehension of fiscal constructs to assist you make your occupation better and lend to the community ‘s attempts to remain in concern and go on to harvest the net incomes. And the concentration of companies are now more than of all time, the Numberss of those who are seeking to remain afloat, and you can go financially faster read and write and get down to lend to the negotiations on the bottom line, the faster will be able to assist the squad. Support is the scientific discipline of money direction. Areas of public finance, corporate finance and personal finance ( financing from the private sector ) , and public finance. This includes funding and salvage money and frequently include borrowing money. The field of fiscal minutess with the constructs of clip and money, hazard, and how they were connected. It besides looks at how to pass the money and the budget. One of the facets of support through persons and concerns, that money is deposited in the bank. Then the bank lends money to other persons or companies for the intent of ingestion or investing and involvement costs on loans. Loans have become progressively packaged for resale, which means that the investor purchases the loan ( debt ) from a bank or straight from the company. Chemical bonds and debt instruments sold to investors for organisations such as authoritiess, companies or charities. The investor can so press on the debt and cod involvement or sell the debt on the secondary market. The chief Bankss and agents for funding through the proviso of recognition, although private equity, investing financess, hedge financess, and other organisations are the importance of puting in assorted signifiers of faith. Managed fiscal assets, known as investings, with a focal point on fiscal hazard direction to command fiscal hazards. Fiscal instruments are traded that allows many signifiers of asset-backed securities in the securities markets, and stock exchanges, including debt such as bonds and portions in listed companies. Cardinal Bankss, such as Bankss, Federal Reserve System of the United States and the Bank of England in the United Kingdom, are strong participants in the field of public fundss, the loaner of last resort, every bit good as the strong influence of pecuniary and recognition conditions in the economic system.Capital budgetAnd capital outgo is passing money for the undertaking which is expected to bring forth hard currency flow for a period transcending one twelvemonth. Examples of undertakings include investings in belongings, works and equipment, research and development, and big advertisement runs, or any other undertaking requires capital outgo and generates a watercourse of future hard currency flows. Because the capital outgos could be rather big and have a important impact on the fiscal public presentation of the company, given great importance to the choice of undertakings. This procedure is called capital budgeting.Standards for capital budgeting determinationsPotentially, a broad scope of standards for the choice of undertakings. Some stockholders may be the company to place undertakings that demonstrate extremums immediate hard currency flow, and others may desire to stress the long-run growing with small importance on public presentation in the short term. Viewed in this manner, it would be really hard to run into the diverse involvements of all stockholders. Fortunately, there is a solution. The company ‘s end is to maximise current stockholder value. This end requires that the undertakings should be undertaken that lead to positive net nowadays value, ie the present value of expected hard currency flows, and net present value of capital disbursement required. Using the net nowadays value ( NPV ) as a step of the capital budget involves placing undertakings that increase the value of the company, because they have a positive net nowadays value. The timing and rate of growing of hard currency flows from the of import merely to the extent of their impact on the net present value. Using the net present value as the criterion by which to place undertakings presumed efficiency of capital markets so that the company has entree to all that is required capital undertakings to follow up positive net nowadays value. In instances where this is non the instance, there may be capital rationing and capital budgeting procedure becomes more complicated. Note that it is the duty of the company to make up one's mind whether to delight a certain group of stockholders who prefer more or less long-run consequences. Once the company had chosen these undertakings to maximise the net nowadays value, and it is up to single stockholders to utilize capital markets to borrow or impart in order to travel the exact day of the month of the hard currency flows of the forward or backward. This basic thought in chief agent relationship exists between stockholders and directors. Despite all the picks may be single, and the common end is to maximise the present value of the company.Alternate regulations for the capital budgetWhile the net present value is the regulation that maximizes value for stockholders, ever, and some companies use other standards to make up one's mind on the capital budget, such as:internal rate of return on ego )Profitability indexPayback periodBack to Book ValueIn some instances, investing determinations originating from the in ternal rate of return and profitableness index methods agree with those of the net present value. Decisions taken by the recovery period and return on book value methods are normally non optimum from the point of view of the value of portions to the maximal extent.Pay periodWhat is the sizeHow long does it take to retrieve the financess invested in the undertaking. Why is it of import On a consecutive line method, recovery period is the easiest manner to find the potency of investing in a big undertaking. The direction expressed in a timely mode, and will take several months or old ages to retrieve the initial cost of the undertaking hard currency consideration is ever critical, peculiarly for directors to measure undertakings at one clip. This appraisal becomes even more of import if you include the consideration of what the present value of grosss in the hereafter will be. How does it work in pattern Amortization period is the right expression is as follows: Payback period = cost of the undertaking ‘s one-year hard currency grosss & A ; divide ; Therefore, if a undertaking costs $ 100,000 and would bring forth $ 28,000 per twelvemonth, the payback period is: 100000 & A ; divide ; 28000 = 3.57 old ages If the expected grosss generated by the undertaking to change from twelvemonth to twelvemonth, every bit good as the jutting income for each twelvemonth up to an extra sum cost of the undertaking. For illustration, say that the expected grosss generated by the undertaking is $ 100,000YearGrossEntire1$ 19,000$ 19,0002$ 25,000$ 44,0003$ 30,000$ 74,0004$ 30,000$ 104,0005$ 30,000$ 134,000Therefore, the undertaking will be to the full paid for in 4 old ages, because in that twelvemonth that the entire income reaches the initial cost of $ 100,000. Complicated the image when you enter the clip value of money rule in the computations. Some experts insist this is necessary to find the recovery period more accurately. Consequently, should be used in the present value tabular arraies, or the computing machine ( now the norm ) , and should be discounted one-year income in the rate of involvement applied, and 10 % in this illustration. In this manner, give consequences significantly different:YearGrossPresent valueEntire1$ 19,000$ 17,271$ 17,2712$ 25,000$ 20,650$ 37,9213$ 30,000$ 22,530$ 60,4514$ 30,000$ 20,490$ 80,9415$ 30,000$ 18,630$ 99,571This method indicates that the recovery will non happen until after five old ages.Tricks of the tradeObviously, a major defect of the consecutive line recovery period is that it ignores the rule of clip value of money, which, in bend, can ensue in unrealistic outlooks.The 2nd drawback is that it ignores the benefits produced after a period of ingestion and, accordingly, a undertaking which has a million U.S. dollars will come back after, say, six old ages and can be classified as less of a undertaking with the recovery of three old ages which returns merely 100 thousand dollars at a ulterior clip.Another option to cipher the amortisation period is the position of internal rate of return.In most of the experiments and undertakings with shorter recovery times superior to those with more of the net incomes, even if that promise higher returns. Can be affected by factors such as the refund periods of market alterations, alterations in involvement rates, and economic transmutations. Cash dividend shorter besides enable companies to retrieve the initial investing and set to work elsewhere.In general, the recovery period for a period of three old ages or less desirable, if the period of recovery of the undertaking is less than a twelvemonth, and some believe that it should be considered to be indispensable.Internal rate of returnInternal rate of return ( IRR ) is a joint rating m etric used by fiscal analysts to cipher and measure the fiscal attraction / feasibleness undertakings or capital-intensive investings. The internal rate of return is normally easier to understand the consequence of the discounted hard currency flow analysis ( Internet Explorer, the net present value or net present value ) for directors of non-financial, is frequently used to explicate and warrant investing determinations ; Although the modeller good fiscal know that the internal rate of return is after all an estimated, particularly when calculated in Excel, and should be used in combination with other fiscal parametric quantities such as net present value and rating multiples compared to when the issue of supplying employment or investing. What precisely is the internal rate of return? The internal rate of return is the involvement rate that makes net present value of all hard currency flows equal to zero. In footings of fiscal analysis, and could be called the internal rate of return price reduction rate at which the current value of a series of investing peers the present value of investings. All undertakings or investings with an internal rate of return that is calculated in the procedure of fiscal mold to be superior to the leaden mean cost of capital should be ( or WACC ) is a financially feasible and technically acceptable. When taking between undertakings or investings where the benefits or services are wholly independent of each other in the modeller good fiscal should be considered in the undertaking or investing, harmonizing to the highest internal rate of return is calculated to be financially attractive, every bit long as we continue to maintain in head that it is non must be of the value of internal rate of return greater than WACC.Net nowadays valueI plan to compose the net present value of a small ‘After discoursing how to cipher the discounted hard currency flows and net nowadays value to cipher the value of this site. Not since I wrote about the fiscal at the minute, I thought that there may be a good alteration of gait. When we calculate the discounted hard currency flows, in kernel what we are seeking to make is cipher the value of all future hard currency flows at a certain clip, frequently more at this clip. As mentioned above, in order to make this, you need to cognize or expected future hard currency flows in each period, as happened in the head price reduction rate that reflects the earnestness of this undertaking or the events that led to hard currency flow. One manner to find if the undertaking is approved or non is to look at the net nowadays value ( NPV ) . High-level discounted hard currency flow cyberspace present value are really similar. Based on net present value to compare the present value of hard currency flows to hard currency flows, and cipher every individual can go complex depending on how the company is ( or borrowing unleveraged ) , to do a determination on what to include or except, and can interact with the revenue enhancement to acquire the wordss. Therefore, to simplify this treatment on the internal rate of return, and I use the experiences in the fiscal histories net present value of the grounds.PRESENT VALUEPresent value refers to today ‘s value of a future sum.Present Value Formula:S P = — — — — — — ( 1+rt )Alternatively of get downing with the principal which is invested, you could get down from what you want to roll up in the hereafter, and so work rearward to see the sum that you must put to make the needed sum.CALCULATING PRESENT VALUEFor illustration, if you wish to retire within a certain figure of old ages you can get down working in contrary to find what sum must be invested today to roll up the coveted sum at the clip of your retirement in the hereafter.ExampleAssume you need $ 20,000 in three old ages for a down payment on a house. If the simple involvement rate is 5 % , how much would you hold to put today to roll up the $ 20,000 in three old ages? In this illustration: S= $ 20,000 ( sum of adulthood value ) T = 3 old ages R = 0.05 The computation for chief is: Second P = — — — — — ( 1+rt ) $ 20,000 P = — — — — — — – [ 1 + ( 0.05 ) 3 ] $ 20,000 P = — — — — — — – 1.15 P = $ 17,391.30 Therefore, if you invest $ 17,391.30 today at 5 % simple involvement, you will hold $ 20,000 in three old ages.Let ‘s look into it out:nterest per twelvemonth = $ 17,391.30 x 0.05 = $ 869.57 Interest for three old ages = $ 869.57 x 3 = $ 2,608.70 Therefore, the sum available for down payment at the terminal of three old ages is $ 17.391.30 + $ 2,608.70 = $ 20,000Alternatively of 5 % simple involvement, see 5 % compound involvement collectible biyearly:Formula to be used: P = S ( 1+i ) ^-n S = 20,000 I = 0.05 / 2 = 0.025 n = 2 x 3 = 6 P = $ 20,000 ( 1+0.025 ) ^-6 = $ 20,000 ( 1.025 ) ^-6 = $ 20,000 x 1 — — — — – ( 1.025 ) ^6 = $ 20,000 / 1.16 = $ 17,241.38Let ‘s look into it out utilizing the compound involvement expression:S = P ( 1 + I ) ^n = $ 17,241.38 ( 1 + 0.025 ) ^6 = $ 17,241.38 ( 1.025 ) ^6 = $ 17,241.38 x 1.16 = $ 20,000

Aspects of contract and business law Essay

Identify the legal criteria for offer and acceptance in a valid contract A contract is defined as a legally binding agreement and are very important in business. This is because: * it is risky to enter into a business arrangement without some form of contract * this is because, in the event of something not going as planned, a business contract is your safety net * without a business contract that stipulates the procedures, policies and expectations of the concerned parties, it is also likely that a dispute will arise in the course of the transactions * a broken contract can result in a law suit or an out of court settlement and the payment of damages caused by the breech of contract There are many different types of contracts. The main elements needed for a standard contract are: – Offer – Acceptance – Capacity – Consideration Offer And Acceptance Offer An offer is a definite promise made by an offeror to an offeree about the agreement made. They make this promise with the intention that it shall become binding or legally enforceable as soon as it accepted by the person receiving the offer (the offeree). Acceptance A valid offer must be accepted by the offeree to the contract. In normal circumstances, acceptance of the offer must be communicated to the person making the offer, (the offeror). Acceptance of an offer must be in the form specified in the offer. This can be both written or oral. An example of an offer and acceptance would be: A vending machine. The machine is offering you the items and you are choosing whether to accept the offer by putting your money into the machine to purchase the item. A person going into a shop to purchase an item, they would pick up the item and take it to the till to pay. When the customer, the offeror, hands the shop keeper the money they are making an offer, as soon as the shop keeper, the offeree, accepts the money they are showing acceptance. Sometimes the situation can just be as simple as this and no words have to be spoken. Invitation to treat There is a big difference between an offer and acceptance and an invitation to treat. An invitation to treat is an indication that a person is prepared to receive offers from another person. In this sense, ‘treat’ means to ‘trade’ or ‘to do business’. The person who is available to receive an invitation to treat can accept or reject the offer until the final moment of acceptance. An example of invitation to treat would be: – Goods displayed, with a price ticket attached, in a shop window or supermarket; the customer can make an offer to buy the product, this can then be accepted or rejected by the seller up to the point of sale. – Products advertised in catalog, brochures, Internet etc, even if the word offer is used by sellers to promote their goods. An offer must be distinguished from an invitation to treat. Carlill vs carbolic smoke ball company (1892) The carbolic smoke company placed an advertisement in newspaper to tell people of their new flu remedy. The advertisement stated that it would pay  £100 to anyone who took the remedy for 14 days but still got the flu. Mrs carlill used the remedy but unfortunately still got the flu, and made a claim against the company for the money. But the smoke ball company refused to pay the money. The company tried to claim that the advertisement was an attempt to make an offer to the whole world which meant communication of it was impossible. Normally an advertisement in the newspaper or on television etc, would be an invitation to treat, but in this case as the company had actually gone out of their way to put money into the bank they lost the argument, and it made it an offer and acceptance. The company had made an offer to the whole world and mrs carlill choose to accept their offer meaning they had to pay her as a contract had been made. Counter offers Counters offers are offers that are made and then gone back on and adjusted. As soon as a counter offer is made it voids the original contract. For example, if I want to buy a car and the offeror offers it to me for  £5000 and I choose not to accept as it is too high, but then to counter offer by offering them a lower price for it and then the original offeror chooses not to accept my offer, and I then say okay I will pay  £5000 and then they say no sorry, you can have it for  £5500. This is a counter offer, as I rejected the original offer and then by counter offering I made the original offer void, and then they can make a new offer. Task two (p2) Explain the law in relation to the formation of a contract in a given situation A contract comes in to existence when the offer that has been made by the offeror is accepted by the offeree. Contracts can be written or verbal/oral. A verbal contract is when two parties agree through the spoken word and therefore bound by a verbal agreement. This is often done between friends or business people that know each other well enough to agree to be bound legally on a spoken word or a hand shake. An example of this could be, ‘I will wash your car for ten pounds’, ‘okay thank you very much’. Written contracts are much more common in the work place. It is much easier and simpler for people to be bound by the terms of a written contract, where the details of the contract are included in a document signed by each party, (the offeree and the offeror). These can range from relatively simple agreements to much more formal contracts signed by the parties. Some examples of these could be, the sale of land, regulated credit and hi agreements and employment. Sometimes, a written contract can be much more beneficial and could be a lot safer to use, some examples why are: * A well written, clear, concise contract can avoid customer disputes and complaints. The contract should make clear both parties rights and regulations and obligations. * The subject matter can be easier to understand in a written contract. * Written contracts can specify delivery times, deadlines etc. * It is easier to put down the payments terms in a written document. * A written contract can provide alternative methods for the settlement of certain disputes. Also there is standard form contracts. Consideration Under contract law, the agreement between the parties will not in itself create a legally binding contract. There must be some degree of consideration between the parties for a valid contract to take place. Consideration is what one party to a contract will get from the other party in return for performing contract obligations. A contract is based on the exchange of promises. Each party to a contract must be both a promisor and a promisee. They must each receive a benefit and each suffer a detriment. This benefit or detriment is referred to as consideration. Consideration must be something of value in the eyes of the law. – This excludes promises of love and affection, gaming and betting etc. A one sided promise which is not supported by consideration is a gift. The law does not enforce gifts unless they are made by deed. An example of this would be, An event organiser promises to pay a band  £1000 if they sing at an event. The consideration for the event organisers promise would be to pay band if they promise to play at an event. The consideration for the bands promise to play at the event is the event organiser to pay the band  £1000. Consideration can take two forms: * executed consideration – an act in exchange for a promise, such as a reward case where the person making the offer promises to pay the reward upon the act of the act being completed. * executory consideration – the parties exchange promises to perform acts in the future, most contracts begin this way. For example, a seller promises to deliver to a buyer as a result of the buyers promise to buy at the agreed price. Consideration from the buyer is the promise to pay the price on completion. There are 5 rules of consideration, which are, 1) consideration must not be past 2) consideration must be sufficient but need not be adequate – there is no requirement that the consideration must be market value, providing some of value is given eg  £1 given in exchange for a house would be valid, the courts are not concerned with whether the parties have made a good or bad bargain 3) consideration must move from the promise – if a person other than the promisee is to provide the consideration, the promisee can not enforce the agreement Tweed one v Atkinson (1861) A couple were getting married and the father of the bride entered into an agreement with the father of the groom saying that they would each pay the couple a sum of money. Unfortunately both the father of the bride and the father of the groom died without paying any money. The groom then made a claim against the executor of the will. The claim failed as the groom was not party to the agreement and the consideration did not move from him. Therefore he was not entailed to enforce the contract. 4) an existing publics duty will not amount to a valid consideration – where a party has a public duty to act, this can not be used as consideration for a new promise 5) an existing contractual duty will not amount to valid consideration – if a party has an existing contractual duty to do an act, this act can not be used as consideration for a new promise Capacity Capacity is the legal power to enter into a contract. Who does not have the legal capacity? * minors – do have limited capacity * bankrupts * incapacitated persons – do have limited capacity For example, minors. Legal rules have been developed to protect minors from contractual liability and to allow them to also enter into agreements in limited circumstances. There are two types of contract that bind minor when dealing with adults, – supply of necessary goods – employment Also incapacitated persons are unable to enter into a contract. People suffering from a medically diagnosed mental health condition cannot enter into a valid contact as it is believed they do not have sufficient mental capacity to understand what it is they are doing. Also if the person is intoxicated and able to prove they were at the time the contract came into place they are seen as an incapacitated person and are unable to legally enter into a contract. Privity of a contract The doctrine of private means that a contract cannot confer rights or impose obligations arising under it on any person except the parties to it. Under common law only a promisee may enforce the promise meaning that if the third party is not a promisee they are not a privy to that certain contract. It is a legal concept denying third parties the right to sue on a contract. Price v Easton (1833) This case involved a three way argument. Basically Easton agreed with X that he would pay Price for the work that X had done. They completed the work and Easton refused to pay Price the money, Price tried to sue Easton but he failed. This was due to private of a contract. The contract was made between Easton and X therefore Price was not a privy to the contract. Task Three (p3) Describe the law with respect to misrepresentation in a given situation. Misrepresentation is a false statement of fact made by one party to other party before the contract is made with a view to inducing the other to enter it. For example, ‘one carful owner’ this statement is very misleading as you would expect that only one person has owner the product before and has been very careful with it, but this statement really could mean, it may have only had one careful owner but had ten bad owners. This statement is not lying it is just stating a fact and leaving out important detail therefore this is an example of misrepresentation. Once it has been established that a false statement has been made and that it induced the contract, it is necessary to determine the type of misrepresentation in order to determine the available remedy. There are different types of misrepresentation. For example, Fraudulent – A person will be liable for fraud if they make a statement which they know to be false or they have no belief in its truth or they are reckless or careless whether it is true or false. For example, Lapland new forest produced a website showing fantastic winter scenes. Unfortunately, the photos on the website were not taken at the park and customers were hugely disappointed when they arrived at the resort to find it is not at all like the website, many demanded their money back. In 2009 the owners of the park appeared in court and were charged with fraudulent misrepresentation. Innocent – a false statement made by a person who had reasonable grounds to believe that it was true, not only when the contract was made but also when the contact was entered into. Negligent – A person can be liable when they make a false statement and have no reasonable ground for believing the statement to be true. In the situation given I believe that it is negligent misrepresentation as Esso had no reason to believe that the statement given by their experienced representative was true at the time or the time the contract was entered into. I think the representative gave a false statement to get Martin to enter into the contract. I think Esso were inducing Martin into entering the contact, although, Martin would have expected the statement to be correct as it was an experienced representative for Esso who gave the statement he would have thought that they would be a reliable source so he probably did not do any checks on the land and just thought their word for it. Task Four (m1) Analyse the impact of the requirements for a valid contract in a given situation. 1) Mr Baron You have not entered into a valid contract as Mrs Anderson did not accept your offer. She informed you that she intends to sell her car at a certain price and you said you would like to buy it. There is o evidence that offer and acceptance has taken place here therefore no contact was made. 2) Mr Cunningham Although the seller offered you the product at  £900 as soon as you offered him  £800 the contract was broken. This is because of counter offer taking place. Even though you were prepared to pay the full price in the end, you had broken the contract by counter offering him therefore it is his choice whether to sell the product or not and whether to enter into another contract with you. 10) Mrs Lawrence (I wasn’t sure if the garage checks/services the car before they sell it on so I did two explanations) This is a case of fraudulent misrepresentation. Before the car was sold to you, the car sales showroom should have checked the car to make sure everything they were stating about the car was correct. Therefore they should have known that the mileage was significantly higher when you purchased it. This is a case of innocent misrepresentation. At the time when the car sales showroom sold the car to you they did not know that the mileage was significantly higher therefore it can not be seen as their fault as they were lead to believe that the statement they were giving was true.

Reflection paper on the experience of a student that visited a Native Essay

Reflection paper on the experience of a student that visited a Native American Sweat Logde - Essay Example Though I lacked a deep understanding of the Native American theology and religious beliefs, still the sweat lodge experience left me feeling cleansed and refreshed. To begin with, before I actually experienced the sweat lodge ritual, I felt a bit anxious and curious. I was really eager to be a part of a religious experience that is so important to the Native American culture. Yet, I also felt anxious and a bit afraid, doubting my ability to understand the larger meaning and relevance of a Native American sweat lodge ceremony. Irrespective of this, I decide to approach the whole experience with an open mind and to restrain myself from being judgmental of a theological tradition that was new to me. I am glad to say that I did not comes across any major hurdles in being a part of the sweat lodge ritual I attended. I realized that the theology marking the sweat lodge ritual happened to be profound, yet easy to grasp and relate to. I found that the people who belonged to the Native American tradition or those had attended a sweat lodge ceremony before had taken great care to prepare them self for this ceremony. Eager to know more about it, I questioned some of them as to how they prepared them self for the sweat lodge ceremony. I found out that they had resorted to fasting, prayer sessions and some cleansing rituals to prepare themselves well in advance. It was really moving to find out the sense of reverence and respect with which these individuals prepared them self for the sweat lodge ceremony. It clearly showed the kind of spiritual importance and relevance they associated with this ceremony. So I decided to pray with these people, to be able to relate to the whole experience with a sense of reverence and solemnity. The attitude of many of my partners there amply conveyed to me the fact that I was going to be a part of something really deep and sacred. I

Operations Management for Competitive Advantage Essay

Operations Management for Competitive Advantage - Essay Example Amongst the numerous concepts and tools that can come under application for the problem related to the facility location and layout, centroid method came under consideration as the best applicable tool for the company Eldora (EDC) who were leading manufacturers of bicycle in the U.S. The highlighting issue of EDC illustrates the information that the manufacturing plant units did not come under relocation to other locations such as in Asian countries as this market was becoming the leader in the manufacturing industry especially due to its cheap labor. Because of a domestic strategy allied to the production of the bicycles, all the business processes of EDC remained to one location only. As an outcome of this decision, they came across several issues associated to the facility location; centroid methodology was the finest solution if adopted by EDC would resolve the concerned issue. This tool proves to be fruitful for the organization as it has numerous benefits that can aid the compa ny. The expected results of this method will lead them to reduced costs in their production due to cheap labor, having the prospect to penetrate into new market segmentation, competitive advantage over others as being present into a global marketplace. In addition, the manufacturing enterprise will also have the advantage from the environmental regulations in the local plant and will also develop and persuade the relationships with the local residents of that area, and will help in removing the cultural barriers between them and there are many more benefits that the organization can have from it. Background Information The organization that is under discussion in the thesis paper is Eldora Company (EDC), which is considerably one of the dominant, well-known and most popular businesses that manufacture and supply bicycles in the United States of America (Chase, 2006). Eldora experienced a boom in its sales and recognition in the marketplace since the last decade, as their lower price of the bicycles for a very long time gave them an edge over their competitors. With the increasing reputation, EDC became the market leader as it contributed to more than twenty-five percent of the bicycle sales of the United States. Eldora Company’s business units were located at the same site and all the operational units and the corporate office shared one roof. EDC was a huge organization with numerous employees and workers; and they have come under division according to their capabilities, areas of expertise and skills (Chase, 2006). Through the joint venture with a company based in Europe, Eldora expanded its business into the European market as well. Eldora was an organization that encouraged and promoted the viewpoints, innovative ideas, and recommendations of their employees related to the mechanism of the bicycle that provides with additional features. The loyalty and dedication of the employees towards the company can come under limelight as information and awaren ess of most modern and recent fashion and approach was the key motive of the members of the staff (Chase, 2006). The principal motivation and influencing factor for the bicycle manufacturers’ repositioning of facility location to the Asian world was that this market was experiencing a boom of bicycle producers at a phenomenal and an unprecedented rate, which allowed them to have cheaper labor in comparison coupled with low distribution costs (Chase, 2006). Problem Description One of the primary and high-priority

Loose-leaf for Essentials of Life-Span Development Research Paper

Loose-leaf for Essentials of Life-Span Development - Research Paper Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the best way the Garcia parents can solve this impasse is by using authoritative parenting. The fact that authoritative parenting is more lenient compared to the authoritarian model of parenting necessities the consideration of the Garcia parents. This is because, the main beneficiaries of parenting, Kerry and Timothy are still young. Timothy, in this case, has a desire to copy his parents and to create gaming situations. Unlike the authoritarian model which is emphatic on the following of rules and regulations and the meting out of punishment, the authoritative model is more lenient and readily amenable to administrative and democratic styles of training and leadership. It is a fact that Timothy, in this case, is too young to appreciate the import of punishment and regulations. In a closely related wavelength, it is true that the authoritarian model of parenting may not auger well with Timothy’s emotional and intellectual develop ment. It is at this time that children become more inquisitive and ask many questions. At this stage, the leniency of the authoritative model will Timothy acquire more knowledge from Patricia and Michael Garcia. It is at Timothy’s stage that he is bound to resolve his struggle with the Oedipal complex with learning and accepting the social role identification which the society assigns. Should natural desires and goals overwhelm or frustrate timothy, Timothy will become predisposed to guilt feelings. Again, it is important to remember that it is at this stage where Timothy’s most important relationship is with the Garcias, his basic family. This may demand that Patricia and Michael make readjustments on their work schedules which will help them be present during Timothy’s development.

Interior Design Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Interior Design Program - Essay Example That is what people want; to adjust with environment. Adjustment takes place in two basic steps: one is judgment where one tries to inspect the level of satisfaction by comparison and another is selection which comes into mind if first one directs to do so. Fashionable clothes, jewelries, rich food etc are common example of this. But what about shelter All these luxurious wants go to slum if you don't have place to take deep breath. After daily hard work when we return home, we look for peace, relaxation and happiness. It's a place which refreshes our mind and gives us energy to face daily problems. So home also needs designing and proper arrangements with all facilities within that in order to bring ease and comfort in our life. This work can be beautifully done with help of interior designer. Nowadays Interior designer has more responsibilities, as everybody has different needs and level of satisfaction; and he needs to satisfy customers' thinking after maintaining his own constrai nts (budget, profit, house area etc...). Design is a term related to creativity. Interior design is a process to improve human interaction with the living environment. An interior designer is a qualified person who works on interior spaces to improve its quality and with a vision to enhance the lifestyle of human being, making it healthier and safer (Znoy, Jason A, 2004). It's not about profession and revenues; but the art reflects to his personal life too as society is not a group of families rather individuals! One dominating factor comes and that is financial effort. One designer will do the work for mankind but a large class of people is not in a position to adopt it. Here comes the challenge. What's that contribution where all are not getting the chance to feel pleasure So, design must be flexible and easily acceptable. Nowadays People misunderstand with the meaning of renovation. Many historical structures are being demolished and replaced by modern efficient high-rise buildings. Renovation is part of designing, but doesn't mean removing ancient things. Destruction is not the ultimate way to resolve problem. A doctor never hurts patient but fights against his diseases. Removing these structures, means rubbing out all the histories associated with them. So solution to this conflict between new needs and old culture is restoring and recycling, which bring to sustainability. Renovation needs new resources to replace old ones, but available resource cannot meet wants. In order to get a green country we have to give our hands together forgetting about me but not us. We should remember that child is a father of man. Future is unpredictable, but not impossible to visualize. Doing is believing and we have to believe in what we are doing. As Designing combines all different perspectives to bring out an innovation, teaching interior design and spreading knowledge is very important. Today's challenges are inspiration for designer to come up with solutions that can help the world. Conclusion It's the time now to think higher and dream bigger. We are those drops of rain which can flood the whole world. Interior design gives us the awareness of what is happening in the real life. The only thing that is

Van Creveld. Fate of the State Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Van Creveld. Fate of the State - Essay Example This however, changed when in the rise of modernity; monarchs emerged and slowly took over power and authority from the local lords. The emergence of the monarchs therefore, laid a foundation for nation-states. In the 19th-Century, the modern nation-state, which is integrated, was established first in the European world. However, the 1648 peace of Westphalia is the most important aspect in the establishment of the nation-state, as it allowed for the sovereignty of the nation-state. The nation-state today is on the verge of decline, because of the forces of globalization and devolution, which have reduced its sovereignty. The nation-state was considered the dominant social entity in the world starting the mid-19th Century, as the state and society were virtually merged to become one entity. However, many changes happening in the world have led to changes in the dominance of the nation-state as the most influential social entity. The cultural revolution that began in the West had a gre at influence on the nature of the nation-state. Other important factors that affected the nation-state include the international communist movements, increased freedom of capital transfer across international borders, and political, social, and economic dysfunction in former colonies of Asia and Africa. By the beginning of the 1990’s, the role of the nation-state was reduced due to different global forces (Creveld, 1999). The future of the nation-state is uncertain today. There are different factors that have been responsible for the diminishing importance of the nation-state. These are globalization and transnationalism, and devolution. Globalization has led to the breaking down of national boundaries, as different countries can now interact economically, socially, and politically. Globalization has paved way for transnationalism, and it is anticipated that in future, there might be a transnational government. Transnationalism today occurs at the political level. Internation al organizations such as the World Trade Organization and the United Nations are responsible for transnationalism, as they provide economic security and military protection to a variety of vulnerable countries. On the other hand, the European Union has broken down all national boundaries in its member states, paving way for high levels of interaction (Creveld, 1999). Devolution has been adopted by various nations today. This grants power and authority to the local government and not the central government. This is why the process is called devolution, as power is taken away from the central government, and given back to the local government. When the central government, which is core of the state, loses power, the sovereignty of the state reduces. If these trends of globalization and devolution persist, there are possibilities that a transnational government will replace the nation-state. However, only time will tell what the future holds for the nation-state (Creveld, 1999). Accord ing to Creveld (1996), the capability of the state to fight others for self-defence is on the decline. This is a proof that the function of the nation-state is slowly fading. Initially, defence was among the main reasons for the formation of the nation-state. Failure to perform that today is a clear indication of its decline. The events of French Revolution in the 18th Century and industrial revolution sparked transnationalism, which is responsible today for the decline of the nation-st

GDP Growth of Apple Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

GDP Growth of Apple Company - Essay Example nd services are primarily a luxury good for individuals within relatively developed nations, the focus that Apple should take is upon representing the main focus of their strategy and advertising to those that can afford such products and services. Naturally, this will encourage Apple to take a broad overview of GDP and purchasing power parity that exists within many different economies as a means of understanding what socio-demographic sectors and regions will most likely represent their consumer base. Taking the case of Europe as an example, one might be inclined to understand that the established and powerful Western European economies are the main areas in which Apple should focus its marketing. However, this is not quite the case. Due to the resurgence of Eastern Europe over the past decade, the overall purchasing power of these individuals cannot and should not be discounted. As figure 1 denotes, counties such as Latvia , Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland have noted some of the most drastic GDP growth figures over the past few years. As such, Apple would be highly remiss if it did not recognize these emerging markets and seek to represent a strategic focus on selling products and services to individuals within them. However, with that being said, it should also be noted that the economies of Western Europe cannot and should not be ignored either. As figure 2 denotes, after the 2007/2008 financial collapse that saw most of the world’s economies slow down significantly, Western European nations have posted impressive numbers for overall GDP growth. As such, a dual strategy should be employed by the firm as can be engaged through a relevant understanding of the statistics that have thus far been represented. One such approach would be to offer lower price products and services within the Eastern European markets while offering higher priced goods and service offerings to those individuals within Western Europe. What is being described and defined is not

Academic Project Title Essay Example for Free

Academic Project Title Essay The purpose of this study is to study design of public toilets in shopping malls with high status. This study was conducted at the well-known shopping center in Kuala Lumpur at KLCC. KLCC is chosen as the place has always been a focus of people no matter domestically or internationally. KLCC can be said as a luxury place as for business that provides well-known store sales and items with high price and most of it is expensive. So, the main purpose of this study is to evaluate the design of public toilets have their own class, a literature review was based on the goals and objectives of the study. Many studies through secondary data methods obtained from a variety of different sources such as, books, journals, newspapers, articles, and even the internet. Most of the data collected from the library at UiTM Shah Alam. See more: The stages of consumer buying decision process essay Researcher also do a variety of research methods, including the four methods of research which is based on the observation, physical measurements at the site location, interviewing experts in the design of the toilet and also produce and distribute a questionnaire to obtain primary data. After getting the information from all methods of research, then all data will be collected and analyzed to be used to determine the objectives of the study. Data analysis will be separated into two sample case studies to be carried out to obtain the findings. Toilet with fee of RM 2 per entry in KLCC has been used to study the case. All research methods have been used for the review process for primary data based on research on selected toilet. Researcher has also managed to interview a designer who has been involved in the design of the toilet. Apart from distributing the questionnaire sheets to the toilet users, measuring and observing the restroom area also took place at the site location.

Rates of reaction experiments Essay Example for Free

Rates of reaction experiments Essay I was planning to observe each reaction for 10 minutes and was able to do so because the reactions started getting slow after a while I had a few problems during my experiment. The size of the chips was not exactly the same, each group was made up of chips of approximately equal sizes and this is not exactly accurate. In stirring the experiment we had to be careful of stirring it evenly and not aggravating the reaction. The experiment could have been improved in various ways. Using beads of limestone can solve the problem of unequal size of particles. Using a magnetic stirrer can be used solve the problem of uneven stirring of reactants. The use of a more accurate scale helps in solving the problem of reading off measurements from the measuring cylinder. Drawing the curves of best fit was an accurate step I took. My graphs helped in proving my aim, A distinctive trend is shown in the graph as clearly show that small particles react faster than large particles. I was interested in this experiment when I first started. I was interested in seeing changes in the reactants at the end of the reaction. I was very satisfied when I found out that my predictions were correct. The effect of concentration on Rate of Reaction Aim In this experiment my aim is to find out whether rate of reaction increases when concentration in a reaction is increased. Word equation Sodium Thiosulphate + Hydrochloric Acid Sodium Chloride + Sulphur Oxide + Water + Sulphur Chemical formula Na2S203(aq) + 2HCl(aq) 2NaCl(aq) + SO2(g) + H2O(l) + S(s) This reaction usually produces a white precipitate, which is the Sulphur and a putrid smell, which is the sodium chloride. Two main factors are needed in this reaction for it to succeed. The first, being that the reactant particles must meet and collide. If no collisions take place then the reaction cannot happen. Secondly the reaction must have enough energy to form a product. The activation energy is the most minimum amount of energy that is needed for a product to be formed. Once the solution has become totally opaque the reaction is complete. This means all the reactant has been used up and the reaction is complete. We can see this if a piece of card with a cross on it is placed under the conical flask. Once the cross is completely obscured from vision, if looking through the conical flask to the bottom, the reaction has taken place. The time it takes for this to happen is measured as the rate of reaction. Purpose of this experiment The purpose of this experiment is to record how long it takes for the cross under the conical flask to disappear under different concentrations. We have chosen sodium thiosulphate to use in different concentrations from a range of 10 ml to 40 ml. I believe 4 concentrations will be a sufficient amount although more can be taken to further the investigation Apparatus needed for this experiment are: Conical Flask stopwatch White tile marked With X . Chemical needed for the experiment are: 1) Sodium thiosulphate 2) Water (distilled) 3) Hydrochloric Acid Fair test I will need to keep in order to get correct results and to do this I need to keep in mind a list of variables, which are: The temperature of apparatus should not change Try to control the surface area of the reaction Try and judge accurately when the X mark is disappearing Fixed amount of Sodium thiosulphate and water should be added Prediction I predict that when the concentration of the acid is raised, the rate of the reaction will increase. This is because, when the concentration of acid is higher, more acid particles are present in a given volume of the solution, therefore, more acid particles are available to collide with HCl particles. This consequently increases the chances of successful collisions (those resulting in a reaction) occurring. As the collision theory states, the more collisions that occur in a period of time, the faster the rate of the reaction. This is because the reaction only occurs when Hydrochloric acid and Sodium thiosulphate particles collide each other Safety. As safety is the number one priority in this experiment, many safety precautions were taken to make it as safe as possible   Goggles were worn to make sure that eyes were protected.   Hair and loose jewelry were tied up.   A safe distant was kept in case of any spillages.   Any spillages on clothes and skin were rinsed thoroughly immediately. Any spillages on work surfaces and on the floor were mopped up with a damp paper towel. As Sulphur Dioxide can appear to be a hazardous gas, windows and doors were opened to keep maximum ventilation in the room. Method 40 ml of Sodium thiosulphate should be poured in the flask Then 10 ml of HCl should be poured into another flask 10 ml of distilled water should be poured onto another flask Put a tile containing an X mark under the sodium thiosulphate flask Then mix all these 3 chemicals into one such as pour the 10 ml of water and 10 ml of HCl onto the flask containing sodium thiosulphate. As soon as the reaction starts put the stopwatch on After we saw the reaction between started forming white precipitate which made the X mark look dimmer and dimmer to finally no X mark. As soon as the X mark is not seeable stop the stopwatch and record the time Everytime we finish a reaction we had to use another flask Everytime we start another reaction the concentration of sodium thiosulphate we decrease it by 10 ml and increase water by 10 ml During the experiments the amount of |Hydrochloric acid always remains the same at 10 ml The steps are the same for every new reaction on this experiment whether if the concentration even changes Preliminary work Before conducting a real experiment I will do a Preliminary test to check whether the experiment will work out. I have used the same method as shown above and theses are the results I obtained Volume of sodium thiosulphate (ml) water (ml) Hydrochloric acid (ml) Time it takes for X to vanish 3secs Experiment diagram Results The table below shows the results of my real experiment. The experiment was done for 3 times to get the average time taken which can make it even more accurate Na2S2O3 (Ml) H2O (Ml) Volume of HCl (Ml) Trial 1 Time taken (Seconds) Trial 2 Time taken (Seconds) Trial 3. Time taken (Seconds) Average Time taken (Seconds) 40 ml 10 ml 10 ml   000 Conclusion After conducting my experiment and while looking at my results I feel that my predictions were true because I predicted that when the concentration is high the reaction will be fast compared to the reaction with less concentration and same in my result I saw when sodium thiosulphate is 40 ml and water is 10ml the reaction takes 48. 83 seconds but when water is at 40 ml and sodium thiosulphate is at 10 ml the reaction takes 194. 00 seconds Analysis As you can see from the results in the section before, the graphs and recordings clearly show that the concentration does affect the rate of the reaction. As the concentration increases, the rate of reaction speeds up as well. The following graphs clearly state that where the sodium thiosulphate was most dilute, and was at the concentration of 10ml, the rate of reaction took the longest on average and in every experiment taken. The graphs also show that the rate of reaction happened the quickest when the Na2S203 was at its highest concentration. As you can see in the graph, the graph takes a negative correlation in form. The rate of reaction time starts off highest because of the low concentration. As the reactant particles are further apart and there are more spectator ions present, getting in the way of the reaction. These ions do not take part in the reaction but can slow it down as the do act as an obstruction. This makes it very hard fro collisions to take place. This prevents the reaction from happening quickly and stops the product from forming quickly. As the concentration slowly increases, the number of spectator ions decreases in the same given volume, which in the experiment is 10cm3. This makes it more likely and easier for collisions to actually occur. This being as it is, it means that the reaction happens quicker and so the products are formed quicker as well. Even though the rates of reaction for the different concentrations were all very different, the cross on the card eventually disappeared in every experiment. The cross did not really disappear though. This is just a phrase used. What really happened was that the solid Sulphur that is formed as a precipitate of the reactions, shields our view and it is an opaque substance. The Sulphur is a milky yellow colour and can be seen when emptying out the contents of the conical flask. It sometimes can leave a residue on the inside of the flask. The rate of reaction also depends on how quickly all the Sulphur is formed as an end product. This can be dependent on the concentration as well. If there are more particles in a given volume there are going to be more atoms that need to bond to make the product. Aim My aim for this coursework is see whether rate of a chemical reaction is affected by the addition of a catalyst in the reaction How a catalyst works There are many ways in which we are able to speed up the rate of reactions. A catalyst can either increase or decrease the rate of reaction. A positive catalyst lowers activation energy. The particles, therefore, need less energy to react and the process proceeds more quickly. A negative catalyst (an inhibitor) slows down the rate of a chemical reaction by doing the exact opposite. However, it is important to realize that the catalyst itself does not take place in the reaction and it is, therefore, not used up in the reaction. Below is an energy diagram showing the presence of a catalyst. The graph shows the effect of a positive catalyst on the activation energy. When you use a catalyst, there is as much catalyst at the end of the reaction as there was at the beginning. The catalyst is used over and over again. As catalysts work so fast and are used again and again, it is only necessary to have small quantities of catalyst present to make a chemical reaction go faster. Solid catalysts work by providing a surface onto which the reactant particles can attach, react, rearrange and then leave. Catalysts work in a very similar way to increasing surface area, when it comes to the rate of reaction. Catalysts are no different. If you want a solid catalyst to be as effective as possible, it should have the largest surface area possible. By putting holes in the catalyst, it will have a large surface area and be more effective at catalyzing a particular reaction than if it was just a solid lump. Apparatus needed for the experiment Delivery Tubes Test Tubes Test tube clamp Stop watch Stand Chemicals used in the experiment A) Hydrogen Peroxide B) Potato Chippings Fair Test: Fair test must be kept in mind to promote accurate results. For this reason I had to keep: The same mass for the catalyst The temperature during the experiment shouldnt change Concentration should remain the same Prediction I can predict that when the catalyst will be added to the reaction the reaction will be quicker and faster because of the collision moving faster. I predicted this because when I learnt about catalyst the fist thing that was taught to me was that catalyst increase any kind of reactions Formula Hydrogen Peroxide water + Oxygen 2H2O2 (aq) H20( l ) + O2 ( g ) Method For this experiment the catalyst we will be using is Potato. And it will be cut into pieces of 1cm The method we done our experiment is show below: 1) First we need to set up all the apparatus we need during the experiment 2) Put Hydrogen Peroxide inside the test tube and add Potato chippings (catalyst) 3) Heat the te.

Importance of Strategic Human Resource Management in Tesco

Importance of Strategic Human Resource Management in Tesco The business that I have chosen to study as part of this assignment is TESCO. TESCO is a public limited company, which is very successful and renowned in all over the world. I am always interested about TESCO and do my shopping very regularly from there. So I chosen to do my study about this particular business and it will help me to get information quite effectively and efficiently than any other organisation or business. Definition: Human resource management is the organisational function which is focused on recruitment, management, and providing direction for the employees of an organization. Strategic human resource management is linking of human resources with objectives and strategic goal in order to develop business culture and performance with flexibly, innovative. In an organisation SHRM means involving the HR function and implementing companys strategies through recruiting, selecting, training and rewarding personnel. 1.1 Importance of strategic human resource management TESCO: Strategic human resource management is a part of Human resource management. SHRM focuses on human resource programs with long-term objectives. rather than focusing on internal issues of HR, its focus on addressing and solving problems what effect people management related issues in the long run globally. So the primary goal of strategic human resources is to increase employee skills by focusing on business problems that happens outside of human resources. The actions that needed to be taken at first for a strategic human resource manager is to identify key HR areas ,where strategies will be implemented in the future to improve employees productivity, motivation and skill. Human Resource Management professionals are facing with some issues such as performance management, employee participation, human resource flow , reward systems and high commitment work systems in the context of globalization. These are some of the major issues that HR professionals and top management involved in SHRM that implemented in the first decade of the 21st century: Internationalization of market integration. Significant technological change. New concepts of general management. Cross-cultural factors The economic trend transferring from developed to developing countries in the world. SHRM also reflects some of the contemporary challenges faced by Human Resource Management. Such as aligning HR with core business strategy, demographic trends on employment and the labour market, integrating soft skills in HRD and finally Knowledge Management. References Armstrong, M (ed.) 192a) Strategies for Human Resource Management: A Total Business Approach. London:Kogan Page Beer, M and Spector,B (eds) (1985) Readings in Human Resource Management. New York: Free Press Boxall, P (1992) Strategic Human Resource Management: Beginnings of a New Theoretical Sophistication? Human Resource Management Journal, Vol.2 No.3 Spring. Fombrun, C.J., Tichy, N,M, and Devanna, M.A. (1984) Strategic Human Resource Management. New York:Wiley Mintzberg, H, Quinn, J B, Ghoshal, S (198) The Strategy Process, Prentice Hall. Truss, C and Gratton, L (1994) Strategic Human Resource Management: A Conceptual Approach, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol.5 No.3 1.2- The purpose of strategic human resource management in TESCO: The purpose of SHRM is to stimulate interest in the field of Human Resources by inviting HR professionals to speak about different aspects of their job and other HR issues. SHRM was created to provide assistance for development of its members, to provide leadership opportunities, and establish and support standards of excellence in Human Resource Management. SHRM aims to provide a sense of direction in an often turbulent environment so that organizational and business needs can be translated into coherent and practical policies and programmes. SHRM should provide guidelines for successful action, and the ultimate test of the reality of strategic HRM is the extent to which it has stimulated such action. There is an overall corporate purpose and that the human resource dimensions of that purpose are evident. A process of developing strategy within the organization exists and is understood, and that there is explicit consideration of human resource dimensions. The organization at all levels establishes responsibility and accountability for human resource management. It includes the responsibility to identify and interact in the social, political, technological and economic environments in which the organization is and will be doing business. The need for a Concept Much of the literature provides evidence that strategic integration is not well developed and advances reasons why to achieve it would be beneficial to organizations. Organisation advocated an increase in the input of human resource considerations at strategic planning, an attitude of treating employees as assets, more participation and involvement for employees, effective and open communications, less rule-oriented policies and practices, better training and career development opportunities, reward and recognition tied to performance. 1.3 Contribution of SHRM to the achievement of TESCOs objectives: Strategic HRM typically helps to achieve strategic goals in many ways. The main aspect of using strategic approach is alignment of all the levels of the organization with the organizational goals. The strategic approach to HRM will lead to development of policies that align with the organizational strategies. The various HR policies will try to reward positive behaviors which are essential to achieve organizational strategy. The HRM functions help to achieve corporate goals like growth or expansion by recruiting people, training and orienting them, and put them in new job assignments. The growth plans of any organization will require employees and recruitment is the only function which ensures that people with required skill sets are acquired. The retention strategy used by the company can lead to differentiation by retaining best of the talent force. Retaining best of the employees will lead to quality work, higher efficiency, customer satisfaction, etc. The strategic approach when taken helps performance management as there will be measurement of correct parameters which affects the organization as whole. It also ensures that correct feedback is obtained so that measures are taken to bring above the improvement. The other practices like performance appraisal helps to assess employee performance and using suitable reward system the company can channelize employees efforts to achieve organizational objectives. The training and development function ensures that the employees have the skill sets required to perform their tasks. The training programs are organized to train the employees for specific skills which will help them to achieve required goals. The strategic approach will help in developing effective training programs. Due to this the organization is benefited as there will be proper utilization of financial resources available for training and development function. The training and development function also supports the growth of the organization through career development of employees. It will be interesting to see how companies have benefited through HRM practices. Take the example of Tesco which is UKs biggest supermarket. It has more than 240000 employees and has seen consistent profits over the years. The company over the years has used participative management which has helped the organization as a whole. The company made use of the competitive A company or an organization is an entity where two or more people come together to achieve specific goals. The basic aim of any organization is to earn profits. There is always a talk on ways by which a company can earn profits continuously. In this context the word strategy is often heard. It is also said that proper alignment of strategy with all the processes is extremely important. In the present essay I would like to focus on how strategies help to achieve competitive advantage. I have also tried to evaluate the effect of linking strategy to human resource management to improve employee performance. I have found t hat properly aligning organizational goals with different processes helps the firm to achieve competitive advantage. It can also be seen through many examples how strategy linked to HR practices helps to improve performance of employees.An organization is always in dilemma regarding use of financial, technological and human resources. According Porter (1985) an organization must use resources which are valuable, inimitable and rare. In this context there has been a shift in focus from financial aspect to human resources. An organization is said to have sustained competitive advantage when the strategies applied by it are not applied by any of its competitors and are hard to implement. Now it is necessary to understand what strategy is? And which aspect of strategy gives importance to human resources? Strategy can be defined as plans and methods deployed by a company to achieve competitive advantage and operate profitably. It is related to the long term plans of the company. The reso urce base view of strategy sees it as a way to create opportunities using the organizations internal resources and competences (Johnson, Scholes, Whittington, 2005). According to this theory employees are considered as resource with knowledge, skills and experience present with them as the core of organizational performance. Now, human resource management (HRM) is the branch of management which deals with managing employees in an organization and using their knowledge to gain effectiveness. The resource based view looks employees as valuable resource, which is rare, their knowledge is hard to imitate, which provides organization to get competitive advantage (Pfeffer, 1994). Strategic human resource management can be defined as predetermined steps of human resource development activities undertaken to achieve organizational goals (Jackson, Schuler, 2003). The strategic approach makes it necessary for organizations to focus on improvement of Human resource capability (H helps the organization to improve its competitive position by improving human skills, knowledge and experience. The strategic approach to various human resource practices like staffing, performance management, training and development, career planning, etc helps in improvement of human resource capabilities. Beer et al. (1984) stated that with rapidly change in environment the makes it essential to take strategic approach to human resource function. Strategic HRM can therefore be considered as overall process related to long term human resource issues which are part of strategic management of the firm. The SHRM approach need that the HR function of the firm must set new priorities which are more business and strategic oriented. These priorities have less orientation towards traditional HR practices like staffing, performance management and training. There is more emphasis laid on improvement of organization structure, quality, values, culture and performance of employees which are the pillars of an organization. The traditional HRM focused more on physical skills. It was more of functional nature and there was lot of concern of individual efforts. It gave more importance to tasks and there was less focus on people. The strategic HRM focus on overall contribution and efficiency of firm (C hang Huang, 2005). It promotes innovation, creative behavior and cross function integration. This approach helps to produce employee behavior that focuses on core business priorities. This in turn helps to drive the growth, profits and market value of the firm. The strategic HRM approach systematically brings about coordination of all HRM measures and implements it, so that it influences employee attitude and behavior which helps a business to gain competitive strategy. There is need for proper strategic human resource planning as it helps not only to retain the talent necessary to achieve organization goals but it also helps in penetration of strategy at all level of an organization. Proper strategic human resource planning helps an organization to find the gap between current position of a company and desired future position. It helps to stimulate creative thinking and promotes proactive behavior. It helps to identify causes of the problems and opportunities present. Now let us examine these aspects in more details. For any company its employees are the major assets. So as suggested by Hertzberg (1959) in his two factors theory, the hygiene and motivating factors should be made available to them so that it results in satisfaction of employees. These factors include good working conditions, status, rewards, incentives, communication, work culture, etc. So if the hygiene and motivating factors are provided the employees will be satisfied and they will work productively. The question is how strategic approach to HRM helps to achieve competitive advantage? Strategic HRM typically helps to achieve strategic goals in many ways. The main aspect of using strategic approach is alignment of all the levels of the organization with the organizational goals. The strategic approach to HRM will lead to development of policies that align with the organizational strategies. The various HR policies will try to reward positive behaviors which are essential to achieve organizational strategy. The HRM functions help to achieve corporate goals like growth or expansion by recruiting people, training and orienting them, and put them in new job assignments. The growth plans of any organization will require employees and recruitment is the only function which ensures that people with required skill sets are acquired. The retention strategy us ed by the company can lead to differentiation by retaining best of the talent force. Retaining best of the employees will lead to quality work, higher efficiency, customer satisfaction, etc. According to Jain (2005) the organizations which have ability to attract and retain employees which have skills to achieve the organizational goals gets sustainable competitive advantage. The strategic approach when taken helps performance management as there will be measurement of correct parameters which affects the organization as whole. It also ensures that correct feedback is obtained so that measures are taken to bring above the improvement. The other practices like performance appraisal helps to assess employee performance and using suitable reward system the company can channelize employees efforts to achieve organizational objectives. The training and development function ensures that the employees have the skill sets required to perform their tasks. The training programs are organized to train the employees for specific skills which will help them to achieve required goals. The strategic approach will help in developing effective training programs. Due to this the organization is benefited as there will be proper utilization of financial resources available for training and development function. The training and development function also supports the growth of the organization through career development of employees. It will be interesting to see how companies have benefited through HRM practices. Take the example of Tesco which is UKs biggest supermarket. It has more than 240000 employees and has seen consistent profits over the years. The company over the years has used participative management which has helped the organization as a whole. The company made use of the situation by improving the way in which they interact with the customers. Tesco used continuous innovation, welfare management, customer relation in conjunction with HRM strategies to gain respectable position in UK retail industry. It treats employees as champions and involves them in decision making. It has also resulted in increase in employee satisfaction, efficiency, high work morale, motivation and greater acceptance to any change. Total development of all the employees within the organization is the main strength of Tesco. It constantly focuses on effective implementation and utilization of HR strategies, which has helped it to perform well in the market. For Tesco the HR policies go along with marketing strategies which are then placed into operation. The participative management practices have helped in improvement of the employees as well as the whole company. These have made them to achieve required performance through employee engagement. It has used distinct employee man agement practices which have helped it to achieve competitive advantage (Strategic HRM: TESCO, n.d). The strategic HR practices help to produce competencies that differentiate products and service and thereby create competitiveness. The strategic approach is also important as in many cases the human resource is in direct contact with the customer. Finally to conclude it can be observed that HRM function manages various functions like human capital skills, work culture, employee commitment, teamwork, productivity, etc. which is likely to be source of sustained competitive advantage for any TESCO. The human resources are extremely important in a company from finance to sales to customer service. There is a significant relation between satisfied employees and customer satisfaction. It is therefore necessary for managers and supervisors to ensure that employees are motivated, productive and enthusiastic.

machiavelli :: essays research papers fc

Philip Habib  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Nov.1, 2003 Block D Machiavelli Bibliography James Burnham The Machiavellians : Defenders of Freedom Gateway Editions, Washington D.C., 1987   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A political theorist named James Burnham states that in order to be scientific, its method and goals must not be transcendentally based, and its outcome must be realistic. Dante de Monarchia and Machiavelli were considered two of the best political theorists in the time of the renaissance; however, they both had a different way in writing and stating their political theories. For Machiavelli’s way of writing consisted of stating the truth of what was going around, the reality and the exact description of politics, unlike Dante, who was using imagination in writing his political theories, and for that he was criticized by Machiavelli, where Machiavelli stated that a true political theorist should not be transcendentally based, and his methods, goals, and overall should be based on reality. One of Machiavelli’s was to unify Italy. He did not accomplish his goal, although he tried to in his writings, specifically in one of his books called â€Å"The Pr ince†. In this book, Machiavelli tried to call for a hero who could save Italy and unify it. But Italy, back then, was facing problems. Italy had to do a wise decision, whether to unify or to remain in the political structure it was in. If Italy remained in the same political structure then it would suffer from a huge economic and cultural loss, but if Italy decided to unify and become a whole country, then it would become the most important country in the modern world. Machiavelli was surely aware of the situation, and gave Italy his ideas for the unification, but Italy refused it. Later on, Italy regretted not accepting Machiavelli’s ideas, but by then it was too late, and Italy paid the consequences of being ignorant to a wise idea that could have changed history. Machiavelli’s writings were so important and wise during the renaissance. He was the first person who separated politics from ethics, as well as, science from ethics, considering that politics and sc ience are based on facts and reality. Machiavelli always had a way to look for the truth, and this influenced many people, and in fact, looking for the truth is moral that he taught to every person who knew him, not even personally. In conclusion, Machiavelli was considered the best political theorist during the renaissance times, as important as he is today, and his way of writing was way much better than Dante’s.

Gene Therapy :: Genetics Genetic Engineering

Gene Therapy Gene therapy is the term used for the process of curing various diseases on the genetic level by injecting patients with a healthy gene so their bodies will continue to produce healthy copies of the gene rather than destructive ones. The term gene therapy and the basic notions that it entailed weren't even in researchers' vocabulary until the mid 1960's. Early endeavors to cure people via a genetic approach began in 1970 with a disease called argininemia, but proved ineffective. An actual effective transfer of a gene didn’t occur until nine years later in 1979. Early attempts to examine the ethical nature of the future of gene therapy stemmed from this initial successful experiment and ones immediately following it.2 Throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s development of gene therapy continued. It wasn’t until 1993 that the first clinical trial of gene therapy using the adenovirus, which was the vector that Jesse Gelsinger was administered, took place.2 A vector is the method by which the healthy gene is inserted into the DNA of the patient. 18 year-old Jesse Gelsinger died September 17, 1999 from a gene therapy experiment targeting the gene for the disease ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC), a rare genetic disorder that affects the liver and its ability to clear ammonia from the body’s bloodstream. The illness occurs in 1 out of every 40,000 births and 50% of infants die within a month of birth. Jesse had a relatively mild form of the disease and was controlling it with drugs. He entered the study to help further OTC research with the hopes of finding a treatment for others with the condition.1 The study was performed by the University of Pennsylvania’s gene therapy researchers. Researchers injected Jesse’s liver with a vector including both the adenovirus and a normal OTC gene. He was the 18th subject to undergo the treatment, but received a higher dose of the adenovirus than all of the other subjects. Gene Therapy :: Genetics Genetic Engineering Gene Therapy Gene therapy is the term used for the process of curing various diseases on the genetic level by injecting patients with a healthy gene so their bodies will continue to produce healthy copies of the gene rather than destructive ones. The term gene therapy and the basic notions that it entailed weren't even in researchers' vocabulary until the mid 1960's. Early endeavors to cure people via a genetic approach began in 1970 with a disease called argininemia, but proved ineffective. An actual effective transfer of a gene didn’t occur until nine years later in 1979. Early attempts to examine the ethical nature of the future of gene therapy stemmed from this initial successful experiment and ones immediately following it.2 Throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s development of gene therapy continued. It wasn’t until 1993 that the first clinical trial of gene therapy using the adenovirus, which was the vector that Jesse Gelsinger was administered, took place.2 A vector is the method by which the healthy gene is inserted into the DNA of the patient. 18 year-old Jesse Gelsinger died September 17, 1999 from a gene therapy experiment targeting the gene for the disease ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC), a rare genetic disorder that affects the liver and its ability to clear ammonia from the body’s bloodstream. The illness occurs in 1 out of every 40,000 births and 50% of infants die within a month of birth. Jesse had a relatively mild form of the disease and was controlling it with drugs. He entered the study to help further OTC research with the hopes of finding a treatment for others with the condition.1 The study was performed by the University of Pennsylvania’s gene therapy researchers. Researchers injected Jesse’s liver with a vector including both the adenovirus and a normal OTC gene. He was the 18th subject to undergo the treatment, but received a higher dose of the adenovirus than all of the other subjects.

A Proposal to Research the Liquid Remains After Resomation Essay

Resomation is an alternative to cremation that helps the funeral industry and cuts down mercury emissions. The new technique of disposing a corpse is still not welcomed into potential clients mind frame do to the lack of information on the left over liquid once resomation is completed. I propose more research to be done on the liquid left behind and that the data collected to be shared with the general public. The research will be conducted within two years and six months with the result being a press release of our findings. I am asking for 1,388,800 dollars to fund this research and two years and six months to complete the project. With our findings clientele will be more aware of resomation and the components of the liquid that remains after completion. Introduction Cremation accounts for 34.34 percent of all corpse disposal in the United States in 2006 and is expected to rise to 58.85 percent by 2025 (CANA, 2008). Unfortunately, in the process of cremation, there are considerable amounts of mercury emissions into the atmosphere. Approximately 320 pounds of mercury is released by U.S. crematoriums each year (Reindl, 2008). Because of the high levels of mercury dispersed by U.S. crematoriums it is necessary for more research to be done on resomation as an alternative to cremation. This document is proposing more research to be done on resomation’s environmental aspects after the resomation process. This proposal will include the following information. The background on cremation, mercury and resomation will be covered, followed by my qualifications and project description. Background Since the 1870’s cremation has been a means of disposing a human body in the United States. However, cremation only accounted for 5 percent of all dispositions until 1972 when the market started to gain popularity (Davis and Mates, Page 102). As stated in the introduction, in 2006 cremation accounted for 34.34 percent of all dispositions and is expected to increase to 58.85 percent by 2025 (CANA, 2008). With the interest in cremation growing, so is the concern of mercury emissions due to the dental fillings of the deceased during cremation. The dental work has been accounting for approximately 320 pounds of mercury into the atmosphere. The amount of mercury emitted is estimated to rise even higher as more families are choosing cremation (Reindle, 2008). There are many questions regarding how to handle the mercury situation respectfully, safely and environmentally. Resomation is a new technique being used in 6 states in the U.S.(ABC News, 2011). The new process is beneficial to the funeral industry because of its fuel efficiency (Resomation LTD). This new technique can help the funeral industry make more profit along with reducing mercury emissions, that is if potential consumers choose resomation. Resomation still sets potential consumers ill at ease. The potential clientele are still hesitant to use the new method of disposition because of the liquids leftover after the process is finished (NYTimes). Some fear that the liquids are harmful for the environment because there have been few studies on the topic. The problem is potential clientele are reluctant to use resomation for fear that the liquid could be detrimental to the environment and to themselves (TIME). Research needs to be done so that there is more information for the general public about resomation. With this information available potential consumers will choose resomation over cremation. Qualifications I am a junior in the College of Public Health and Human Sciences at Oregon state University, majoring in Human Development and Family Sciences with a minor in Biology. I have taken several classes related to chemical compounds, environmental studies and the human body. These courses will aid me in gathering research along with other scientists on my team. Leadership and organization are traits I posses and have shown in my previous work experiences. In my experience as a funeral directors assistant I was able to converse with families about the reasons they decided to not choose resomation. From my conversations with them I found that the overall concern was due to the liquefying process. Because of this experience in my life I feel like I can understand the concern of the general public. Project Description The purpose of this proposal is to conduct research revolving around the remaining liquid after the resomation process is completed. The results found in the research will give us information on whether the remaining liquid is environmentally safe or unsafe. Objectives In our research I will achieve the following goals: * Determine the exact chemical makeup of the remaining liquid left after resomation has taken place. * Determine if the liquid is environmentally safe. * Complete a press release on the findings. Methodology My plan for achieving the goals discussed in the previous section is by testing the liquid of donated human corpses after resomation has taken place. We plan on using 150 donated corpses to conduct the research study. Once the bodies have been resomated we will collect five samples of the liquid remains to be tested later on in the study. Testing the liquid will be done by using mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance. Mass spectrometry is a technique used for separating and identifying molecules based on mass. This technique will help determine the molecules in the liquid and will be able to identify if any of the deceased DNA is present (Genetics, 2003). Nuclear magnetic resonance is used to determine the structure of new natural and synthetic compounds, the purity of send compounds and its chemical reaction with the other compounds in the solution (Medical Discoveries, 1997). These two tools are able to determine chemical structures so that an accurate description of the liquids makeup can be found. With these instruments at hand we can determine the chemical compounds of the liquid down to its basic chemical elements. Once we have the chemical make-up of the liquid, we will begin to start looking at their reactions to the environment and if it is harmful. When it is determined that the material contained in the liquid is harmful or not harmful, we will begin work on a journal article that states our findings. After the journal article is finished we will create a press release so that our findings can be made known to the media. To respect the families of those who donated their bodies, we wish to return the ashes to them. This will not be a great cost to the project for it is just sending the remains to their family’s homes. Evaluation Tracking the experiments progress will be done by having the scientists and graduate students participating in the study keep journals of their progress each day. This way of tracking will help determine if we are moving at a slower or faster pace than what we are scheduled. Check points throughout the study will also be a way to evaluate our progress. An example of a check point would be to have all the samples of the remaining liquid collected by October of 2012. These check points will help the study stay on track and also give us small goals to achieve throughout the process. Determining if the project is successful or unsuccessful relies on if we can determine the chemicals present in the liquid. The success is not necessarily determined by if the liquids are environmentally safe. Whether our findings say it safe or unsafe we will be learning more about resomation which is a success because little is known about the process. Schedule The set schedule for the entire project is two years and six months, starting January of 2012. I will need seven months to find a location for the project to take place and for the equipment to be installed. Also within those seven months I intend to employ six graduate students and three scientists to work alongside me. After the completion of the seven months we will begin on the process of disposing of the donated bodies and taking samples of the remaining liquid. The course of disposing of the 150 human bodies will be given three months for completion, October of 2012. After all the samples are collected we will begin on using mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance to determine the chemical compounds of the liquid. This part of the study must be completed by March of 2013. Once the data is collect from the samples we will need two months to determine if the compounds are environmentally friendly, May 2013. By the June of 2013 we will begin work on a journal article and have it completed by July of 2014. After the article is finished we will have a press release on our findings. The press release should be completed by August of 2014 and sent into the public. Budget The budget for this project is broken down as follows. * 400,000 dollars for a resomation chamber (Resomation Ltd.) * 68,800 dollars for a mass spectrometer (Labx) * 20,000 dollars for a nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometer (Labx) * 800,000 dollars for employment of workers * 150,000 dollars for facility coverage for two years and six months * 100,000 for lab equipment I need 1,388,800 dollars to complete this project. I will need 538,800 dollars immediately to begin purchasing the equipment and securing a location. The rest of the 850,000 can be given in increments throughout the course of the project. Conclusion More research needs to be done on resomation so that more information is available to potential clientele. With this research I plan to determine the exact chemical makeup of the remaining liquid left after resomation has taken place and its environmental risks. After the project is complete, a press release will be created to inform the general public of our findings. With this association’s involvement in our research we can increase the use of resomation by the potential clientele. Resomation will financially benefit the funeral industry overtime more so than cremation (Rindle, 2008). The process of resomation is more cost effective for the funeral industry than cremation because it uses fewer resources, such as fuel. Not only does resomation help this association, but it also helps cut down on mercury emissions caused by cremation. With your financing of my project, potential clientele will begin to choose resomation over cremation. This new process will be benefitting both the National Funeral Directors Association and the environment. Works Cited â€Å"Aquamation, a Form of Cremation: Better for the Environment? – TIME.† Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews – TIME.com. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. . â€Å"About CANA.† Cremation Association of North America (CANA). Cremation Association of North America, 2000. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. . Davies, Douglas James., and Lewis H. Mates. â€Å"CANA.† Encyclopedia of Cremation. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2005. Print. Klotz, Irene. â€Å"‘Resomation’ Green Alternative to Cremation or Burial After Funeral, to Be Offered in Florida – ABC News.† ABCNews.com: Daily News, Breaking News and Video Broadcasts – ABC News. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. . Konigsberg, Ruth Davis. â€Å"Resomation – NYTimes.com.† The New York Times – Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 13 Dec. 2009. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. . â€Å"NMR Systems, New and Used NMR Spectrometers For Sale.† LabX – New and Used Laboratory Equipment For Sale, Auctions, Wanted. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. . Reindl, John. Summary of References on Mercury Emissions from Crematoria. Tech. 2008. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. . Robinson, Richard. â€Å"Mass Spectrometry.† Genetics. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 2 Dec. 2011 . â€Å"The Resomation Process.† Resomation Home. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. . â€Å"X-ray Crystallography.† Medical Discoveries. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 2 Dec. 2011 . Bibliography â€Å"About CANA.† Cremation Association of North America (CANA). Cremation Association of North America, 2000. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. . â€Å"Age Data.† Census Bureau Home Page. 2010. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. . â€Å"Ashes to Ashes: Comparative Law regarding Survivors’ Disputes concerning Cremation and Cremated Remains.† Oregon State University Libraries. Web. 07 Nov. 2011. . â€Å"Aquamation, a Form of Cremation: Better for the Environment? – TIME.† Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews – TIME.com. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. . Davies, Douglas James., and Lewis H. Mates. â€Å"CANA.† Encyclopedia of Cremation. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2005. Print. â€Å"Exit Strategies; Green Funerals.† The Economist (US) 18 Sept. 2010. Print. Klotz, Irene. â€Å"‘Resomation’ Green Alternative to Cremation or Burial After Funeral, to Be Offered in Florida – ABC News.† ABCNews.com: Daily N ews, Breaking News and Video Broadcasts – ABC News. Web. 02 Dec. 2011. .

Effects of Social Networking Sites on Academic Performanc

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1. Background to the study Social networking is a growing field in this contemporary world. Social networking sites make it possible for people to interact with absent others in the society. Social networking sites also allow people or users to share ideas, activities, events, and interests within their individual network. In fact, different social networking sites are used today and these, to a large extent, have increased social relationships among people as we can now interact with absent others without their physical presence.Social networking sites such as Facebook, 2go, Twitter, MySpace, Whatsapp and other instant messaging applications have helped people to share interests and also, dating online has become a growing issue in this contemporary world. The importance of social network cannot be over-emphasized in people’s life as many people are now able to maintain long-distance relationships without physical contact and this, to a large extent, has increased the social bond among people. For instance, one can decide to chat online, through social networking site, with one’s relative abroad.Also, the presence of social networking site has helped many students to acquire knowledge from one another over internet without necessarily have to meet physically. In fact, one wonders how it would be possible if there is no instant messaging and other social networking sites to perform this operation. On the other hand, social networking sites have caused many problems. For instance many students have lost their lives and property to thieves and got exposed to incurable diseases directly or indirectly through social networking sites.Likewise, many people are using these sites to commit atrocities such as defrauding or swindling people of their money and other properties. Therefore, social networking sites have brought both good and bad to the present generation and it is also meaningful to say that the good and bad consequence s of using social networking sites depend on the usage by the people and what they want to achieve with it. 2. Statement of the problem In this contemporary world, there are growing uses of different social networking sites which have contributed to people’s life positively and negatively.What people, especially students use social networking sites for make it seem that social networking is detrimental to students life. Many have assumed that social networking sites are socially injurious as it has affected the social life of people in terms of its contribution to moral decadence manifesting in indecent dressing, crimes and prostitution. Therefore, it will be meaningful to look at the effects of social networking sites on students’ social life so as to know the social impact of social networking sites.A similar study about the effects of social networking sites on students’ academic performance was carried out in Malaysia, United States of America, and United Ki ngdom where it was found out that students’ academic performance was not affected by social networking sites. A study carried out on the students of the University of Hampshire also showed that social networking is being integrated with rather than interfering with students’ academic performance (Martin. C. 2009).This is the first time an evaluation of the effects of social networking sites on the academic performance of Obafemi Awolowo University students. Most research that had been done on the effects of social networking sites on academic performance of students is not on Nigerian students so making a generalization to this effect could be erroneous. Therefore, due to little or lack of cogent literature on the effects of social networking sites on the academic performance of Nigerian student, hence, this study.This study, when concluded will contribute immensely to literature on effects of social networking sites on academic performance of Obafemi Awolowo Universit y students and Nigerian students at large. However, the assumptions by many people that social networking sites have made students lose focus because of the temptation to abandon their homework, reading times in preference for chatting online with their friends on their preferred social networking sites and thus reduce academic performance of student using it as a vague one because social networking sites have helped in a number of ways.In other word, this is a vague or an incorrect assumption as there is no practical evidence to underpin or support this beyond a reasonable doubt. In fact, social networking sites have made many students to be socially informed as against the times when social networking sites were not operational. Moreover, many students indulged in using social networking sites and yet, performing well in school or organization. So, it would be wrong to assume that social networking sites would affect the performance of students in school because social networking site has its own importance.On this note, it will be reasonable to look at the social networking sites and students’ academic performance so as to reach a conclusion whether social networking sites have affected the performance of students in school or not. Also, students are different in terms of the social networking sites and preference for each social networking site because of the purpose that each of these networking sites serves them.This is the reason why it would be necessary to look at the preference students have for each social networking site in order to understand the mostly preferred social networking site among OAU students. 3. Research questions In line with the aforementioned problems, the following research questions are raised: What is the extent of use of social networking sites among OAU students? How does sex of the students determine the preferred site? III. What are the impacts of social networking sites on OAU students’ social life?IV. What is the relationship between social networking and students’ academic performance in OAU? V. Which social networking site is the most preferred among OAU students? 4. Research objectives This study is designed to investigate the impact of social networking sites on the social life and academic performance among OAU students. Specifically, the objectives of this study are to i. determine the extent of use of networking sites by OAU students; ii. examine the influence of sex differences on preferred sites; iii. nvestigate the impacts of social networking sites on students’ social life in OAU; iv. discover the relationship between social networking sites and students’ academic performance and; v. investigate the mostly preferred social networking sites among OAU students. 1. 5. Significance of the study The study is significant in that it attempts to investigate the impacts of social networking sites on academic performance of Obafemi Awolowo University students. In t his, the study will examine some salient issues such as the relationship between sex of students and preference of social etworking sites, the relationship between social networking sites and student academic performance, and the investigation of the mostly preferred social networking site among Obafemi Awolowo University students. Firstly, by examining these previously stated objectives, those in active service or workers in various organizations stand a greater chance of benefiting from this study because they will be sensitized on the impacts of social networking sites on students’ social life and subsequently sensitize students on how to make a rightful use of social networking sites.Secondly, the study will increase the body of knowledge in the literature in the sense that all areas that are not fully touched or explored in the literature will be extensively explored and this process will subsequently help to increase the body of knowledge in the literature so that users of the literature on social networking will be able to use the results of this study and set a ground for new research in this area. Finally, all upcoming researchers will benefit immensely from the results of this study in the sense that the results of this study will further help to set or a foothold to conduct their own study in this area. . 6. Scope of the study This study is a case study of Obafemi Awolowo University students on the use of social networking sites. This study will examine the effects of social networking sites on student social life, the relationship between social networking sites and student’s academic performance, and the investigation of mostly preferred social networking site among Obafemi Awolowo University students. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter presents the review of literature of the research that has been conducted in this field of study.Therefore, the review is woven around social networking sites and social life, social networkin g sites and students’ academic performance, and the most preferred social networking site. 2. 1. SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES Social networking site is a type of virtual communication that allows people to connect with each other. This concept arises from basic need of human beings to stay together in groups forming a community. Michael Wesch, cultural anthropologist at Kansas State University, compared the tribal societies to online social networking.Like the tribal culture, in Facebook people project their identity by demonstrating their relationships to each other. You define yourself in terms of who your friends are (Wright, 2007). Wikipedia defines social network service as online platform that focus on building and reflecting social networks or social relations among people who share interests and activities. Social networking sites, email, instant messaging, video- and photo- sharing sites and comment posting are all tools that help people to communicate and socialize with each other (Mooney, 2009). The first social networking site SixDegrees. om was launched in 1997. It allowed users to create profiles, list their friends and surf the friends list (Boyd D. M, & Ellison N. B, 2007). Starting from 1997 to 2010 there are some 1. 5 billion users of social networking websites (Kreutz, 2009). People join social networking sites because it gives them an opportunity to express their views, a feel of independency and self esteem. It takes a few seconds to create a virtual profile and connect with millions of users across the world, becomes more interesting because you can stay connected with old friends and family members.But now, using social media or networking sites like Facebook and Twitter have become part and parcel of modern adolescence or students in many schools or homes. In fact, this generation is the first to have gone through their entire teen years with Facebook and other social networking sites at their fingertips. However, communications media whether pen and paper, phone calls, Facebook, or Twitter can worsen or alleviate the students’ social life or even do both at the same time.According to a survey, 90% of all American teens have used social media, three-quarters of them have a social networking profile, and nearly one in three teens visits their social networking profile several times a day or more. Given how pervasive social media are today, many parents, educators, and other adults are deeply interested in the role of these media in students’ or teens’ lives. Some are optimistic about the potential benefits of social media for learning, development, and creativity; others are concerned about the negative impact these media may have, especially when it comes to teens’ social and emotional well-being.An emerging set of survey research helps document and quantify young people’s use of social network sites and looks at the tone of their online communications (Lenhardt A, 2011). And a growing body of in-depth qualitative research helps capture the complexities and nuances of the way social media use plays out in teens’ lives (Boyd D. M, 2009; Turkle S, 2011; Ito, 2010). These in-depth ethnographies of young people paint a detailed portrait of how social media can affect an individual teen’s life, offering the nuances that a large-scale survey cannot.Some of these researches have focused on young people whose social media use had led to anxiety or estrangement from family and friends (Turkle S, 2011), while other researches have highlighted those teens for whom social media use has facilitated important connections and amazing accomplishments (Ito M, 2010). Allen, J. P, Evans, M. A, Hare, A. L, & Mikami, A. Y. (2010) hypothesized that the young people who participated in online social networking would be more socially adjusted. They also examined how adult communication was affected, which will be discussed later in this review.The researchers condu cted a longitudinal study on 172 participants. First, they surveyed and interviewed preteens on their peer sociometric status, positive and negative peer interaction, and symptoms of depression. The mothers of these preteens were surveyed about their children’s deviant behaviors. When participants reached young adulthood, the researchers asked for access to their facebook pages if they possessed one. Allen et al. coded 92 Facebook pages for number of friends, connection with friends, friend displays of support, hostile profile biographies, and inappropriate pictures.They also surveyed these 92 young adults on the quality of their friendships and symptoms of depression. Finally, they asked friends of the participants to complete the Young Adult Behavior Checklist. After performing an ordinary least squares hierarchical multiple regressions on each variable, these Online Social Networking’s Effect on Adolescent Social Development researchers found preteens who had displa yed negativity in friendships and reported symptoms of depression were less likely to possess a social networking profile.In contrast, early adolescents who reported more positive intimate friendships were more liable to possess a webpage. This article also supports the rich get richer theory. Kramer N. C and Winter S (2008) did a study on how self? esteem, extraversion, self? efficacy, and self? presentation are affected by online social networking. Their first hypothesis explored the relationship between presenting oneself on social networking sites and extraversion. They conducted their study on 58 young people who were members of studiVZ, which is a German social networking website much like Facebook.These youths completed a survey on their level of extraversion, self? esteem, and ability to effectively present themselves. Then the participant’s profiles were assessed based on numbers of friends, groups, photos, biographical fields completed, and words. They also checked profiles for real names, political leanings, and relationship status. The researchers conducted a multivariate analysis of variance using extroversion as the stable factor. They discovered a positive correlation existed between extraverted individuals and a more creative profile picture.However, no other significant relationships showed up in their analysis. These research findings were inconclusive and support neither the rich get richer nor the social compensation hypothesizes. DeGroot, J. M. , Ledbetter, A. M. , Mao, Y. , Meyer, K. R. , & Swafford, B. (2011) conducted an extensive study on young people’s feelings towards socially connecting online and self? disclosure as predictors of communication on facebook as well as the level of intimacy in relationships. Their study included nine hypotheses, two of which are relevant to this examination of findings on the two motive hypotheses.The researchers ask if online social connection (OSC) has a positive relationship Online So cial Networking’s Effect on Adolescent Social Development with the frequency of face? to? face communication with Facebook friends and if communicating on Facebook is positively correlated with personal interactions with Facebook friends. There were 325 Facebook users who participated in this study. They were surveyed on their attitude towards online communication and then asked questions about a randomly selected facebook friend.These questions included where the friend lived, amount of facebook communication with this friend, non? Internet communication with this friend, and how close they were to this friend. After analysis, the results showed that OSC has a positive relationship with communication via Facebook when online self-disclosure is low. They also found that personal interaction with a friend made it very probable for Facebook communication to occur. Evidence for the rich get richer hypothesis is shown in this study.Regan P and Seeves V (2010) analyzed research an d discussed the way online social networking could empower young people. The authors explained that adolescents have been the first to use social networking sites because their age group is predisposed to focus on peer interactions and social relations. They also discussed the social capital model and describe the way in which social networking websites allow young people to maintain existing friendships, make new friends, and search for past friends in order to renew old relationships.Thus online social networks are able to both bridge and bond social capital by Online Social Networking’s Effect on Adolescent Social Development 10connecting large groups of people in loose networks and allowing for communication that fosters relationship closeness. In their final comments on relationships the authors suggest that self? esteem may be boosted by the relationships and feelings of connection and integration these social networks provide. These relationships in networks might even help socially isolated youths feel more included.People spent hours chatting with their friends and browsing profiles on social networking sites. It becomes a compulsive habit to visit own profile several times in a day for checking friends’ updates, changing status, and commenting on others photos and videos. Finally it diverts employee’ attention from the office work. A study conducted by Nucleus Research with 237 corporate employees shows 77 percent of them use Facebook during work hours. And it results in 1. 5% drop in employee productivity for those companies allowing full access to Facebook (Gaudin, S 2009). Another study y Robert Half Technology, an IT staffing firm, says â€Å"54% of U. S. companies have banned workers from using social networking sites while on the job† (Gaudin, 2009). This was further affirmed by a survey of 3500 UK companies, it says 233 million hours are lost every month as a result of employees wasting time on social networking sit es (â€Å"Facebook costs business,† 2007). Mike Huss, director of employment law at Peninsula says â€Å"All firms should block access to sites such as Facebook. Why should employers allow their workers to waste two hours a day on Facebook when they are being paid to do a job†.Portsmouth City Council blocked access to Facebook after it found its 4,500 staff logged on for 270,000 times a month, and they collectively waste 572 hours (71 working days) in just one month (Kisiel, 2009). This problem is much intense in developed countries and, in extreme cases, the employees are sacked because of this. After all it is a waste of public money because of social networking sites. According to a report from a Common Sense Media Research Study, many more teens reported a positive impact of social media use on their emotional well-being than a negative one.Most teens don’t think their use of social media affects their social and emotional well-being one way or the other. Bu t there are some teens who think that using social media does affect how they feel about themselves and their social situation. More than one in four teens say that using their social networking site makes them feel less shy (29%) and more outgoing (28%); one in five says it makes them feel more confident (20%), more popular (19%), and more sympathetic to others (19%); and 15% say it makes them feel better about themselves.By comparison, only 5% say social networking makes them feel less outgoing; 4% feel worse about themselves, less confident, and less popular after using their social networking site; and 3% feel shyer. Very few teens think that using their social network site makes them more depressed. Among all teen social network users, only 5% say using their social networking site makes them feel more depressed, compared to 10% who say it makes them feel less depressed.Even among the least happy teens in this study (the 10% of all teens who say they are often sad or depressed and aren’t very happy with their lives), 18% say using their social networking site makes them feel more depressed, while 13% say it lessens their depression. In particular, teens think that using social media has helped their relationships. Half (52%) of all teen social media users say using such media has mainly helped their relationships with friends, compared to just 4% who say social media use has mainly hurt their relationships.Similarly, more than a third (37%) says social media use has mainly helped their relationships with family members, compared to 2% who say it has mainly hurt them. In addition, a majority of teens say social media help them keep in touch with friends they cannot see regularly (88%), get to know other students at their school better (69%), and connect with new people who share a common interest (57%). Finally, social networking site that was once thought to be helping people across the world to unite and making new relationship can also damage the relationship and make life miserable.Imagine one day you find, your spouse updated his marital status to single on Facebook. And people posting comments about your sad break up. How cheap has our relationships in the age of social networking become? A survey by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) reveals Facebook is the main reason behind one out of five divorces in the US. It also says 80 percent of divorce lawyers use social networking site to gather evidence. Flirty messages, photographs and other personal information that you share on Facebook can be used as proof of infidelity.Mark Keenan, managing director of Divorce Online says: â€Å"The most common reason is people having inappropriate sexual chats with people they were not supposed to† (â€Å"Facebook causes one,† 2010). Facebook is fuelling divorce rate because it easily reunites old lovers and acts as a secret platform for dating. A research conducted on 308 Facebook users found majority of participants (74. 6%) are likely to add previous romantic or sexual partner as friends on Facebook. John, M (2009). It also shows time spent on Facebook increasing jealousy related feelings. Some people’s lirting comment on your profile can make your partner feeling aggressive and jealousy. And this starts the beginning of a break up. Dr. Marlene Maheu, author of the book â€Å"Infidelity on the Internet and a Psychologist†, says â€Å"Cyber Infidelity occurs when a partner in a committed relationship uses the computer or the internet to violate promises concerning sexual exclusiveness (Maheu, 2002)†. Today social networking sites make it easier, with situations whereby your spouse does not feel good to have sex with you but seeks sexual solicitation from a facebook friend.In fact, there are sites dedicated to facebook cheating; ‘facebookcheating. com’ providing tips on how to catch a cheating spouse in the social networking sites. 2. 2. SOCIAL NETW ORKING SITES AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE The impact of the social networking site on education is an important issue that has caught both educators’ and practitioners’ attention in recent years. There is a growing body of studies emphasizing that individuals are embedded in their societies.Thus, the related social structure, though sometimes invisible, is often associated with instrumental outcomes, including power, innovation, learning outcomes, and job performance. Haythornthwaite examined the distance learners’ interactions in class and profiled students’ roles and information exchange among distance learners’ social networks. In a university course, Guldner and Stone-Winestock empirically demonstrated that appropriate arrangement of groups according to each student’s position in a social network might increase the student’s learning satisfaction and academic performance.Students are paying more attention towards thes e social networking activities rather than utilizing this time for their studies and this surely affects their academic performance as Thomas (1987) stated that activities of students are associated with grade-related differences among them. Several studies have been done regarding social networking and grades. Whittemore School of Business and Economics recently conducted a survey of over 1,000 students. They asked questions regarding which social network sites were used, how much time they spent on a site, what their grade point average (GPA) was, and what they were going to school for.It was concluded that there is no correlation between how much time is spent on a social networking site and grades (Martin, 2009). The University of New Hampshire agrees, and believes that current college students grew up in the technology era and social networking is now just a part of a student's daily routine. Their research show that â€Å"63% of heavy users received high grades, compared to 6 5% of light users† (U of NH, 2009). The University of New Hampshire said that a majority of students use social networking for social connections and entertainment, but are also using it for education and professional reasons.Northwestern University recently published research stating that social networking sites are not affecting students' GPAs. In fact, ethnic background, and parental education appears to have more of an influence than the amount of time used on social networking sites. Northwestern researchers believe that â€Å"social networking use didn't affect the difference in GPAs between male and female or white and African American students. However, social network use did eliminate the difference in GPAs between students whose parents had differing levels of higher education† Cheng, J. 2010). When researchers controlled the demographic of parental education, there seemed to be a positive relationship between internet use and GPA. However, there are always tw o sides to every story. Karpinski focused on the relationship between time spent on Facebook and the academic performance of students (San Miguel, 2009). The overall finding indicated â€Å"more time on Facebook equals slightly lower grades† San Miguel, (2009). In Karpinski's study the average Facebook user had a GPA of 3. 0 to 3. 5, while the non-Facebook user had a GPA of 3. 5-4. 0.Also, the average Facebook user studied for 1-5 hours per week, while the non-Facebook user would student 11-15 hours per week. Many researchers are aware that Facebook is not the only thing that could possibly be taking away study time. However, 55% of those surveyed â€Å"access their pages several times a day or at least once a day for a long period of time† (San Miguel, 2009). Kirschnera revealed that students who multi-task between social networking sites and homework are likely to have 20% lower grades than a student who does not have a social networking site in visual range.Kirschne ra believes that even running a social networking site on the background on a student's PC while studying or doing homework could lower a student's grade. He believes that â€Å"the problem is that most people have Facebook or other social networking sites, their e-mails and maybe instant messaging constantly running in the background while they are carrying out their tasks† (Enriquez, J. G. 2010). Users of Facebook have an average â€Å"GPA of 3. 06, while non-users have an average GAP of 3. 82† (Choney, 2010). Facebook, and other social media websites, are beginning to take up more time due to our society's increasing reliance on computers.At the American Educational Research Association 2009 annual conference a presentation stated that United States college students who use social networking sites tend to have lower grades. Again, researchers found the same findings as Karpinski. Students who work tends to use social networking sites less than those students who are more activities based within campus. However, researchers indicated that they could not be certain that Facebook use was the direct link to lower grades because of less studying† but they felt that it was an obvious connection to make (Schneider, 2009).Englander (2010) proclaimed that internet usage is negatively associated with academic performance of student users and destructive impact of internet usage is far more momentous than its advantages. Internet addiction has come forth as a result of striking boost in internet usage over the past few decades. Nalwa. K. , Anand. A. P (2003) proposed that addicted users prefer using internet setting back their personal and professional responsibilities and this ultimately leads to poor academic performance. Kubey, R. W. , Lavin, M. J. , and Barrows, J. R. 2001) proposed that impairment of academic performance and internet dependency are correlated with the use of synchronous communication applications including social networking si tes and chat rooms. Similarly, Banquil and Burce (2009) found a continuing drop of grades among student users of social networking sites. Also, Boogart and Robert (2006) declared that use of social networking sites and Facebook detrimental impacts on academic performance of student users. Then, Grabmeier (2009) observed lower GPAs among students who log in any social networking sites.Internet abuses are increasing at an alarming rate and putting forward a serious need to promote usage regulations among student users. While using social networking sites, issues of privacy, identity protection, and e-professionalism must be paid attention. Students, using internet more, scored higher on reading skills test and had higher grades as well (Linda 2006). Also it has been found that Facebook usage is helpful for cure in case of some psychological problems including low life-satisfaction and low self-esteem (Ellison et al. , 2007).Social networking sites also provide a rich mean of interacti on between teachers and students as stated by Roblyer (2010). Shah (2001) proposed that informational use of internet is positively correlated with civic indicators of social capital such as civic engagement, interpersonal trust, and life contentment. Pasek, J. , Kenski K. , Romer D. , Jamieson K. H. (2006) stated that a site-specific culture can both positive and negatively affect the building of social capital and found that Facebook usage is not positively associated with lower grades of the students rather found Facebook users scoring higher grades.No association was found between GPAs of student users and Facebook usage in a study conducted by Kolek, E. A and Saunders, D (2008). Social networking sites promote interactivity among students and teachers. In a research Lovitts, B. E and Nelson, C. (2000) found that strong integration of students into their professional and social life is sturdily correlated to the successful completion of their degree. In view of the contrasting f indings mentioned above, Current study specifically aims at exploring the relationship between social networking sites usage and educational performance of the student users.CHAPTER THREE THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK In this study, two theoretical orientations in sociology shall be employed to explain the impact of social networking sites on the academic performance of students. These sociological approaches are Uses and Gratification Theory, a perspective that places more focus on the consumer or audience instead of the actual message itself and Media Dependency Theory which posits that media influence is determined by the interrelations between the media, its audience, and society.The study is anchored on both theories. 3. 1Uses and Gratification Theory According to Katz (1959), gratification theory is concerned with what people do with media rather than what media does to people. Sociologists such as Louis Wirth (1897-1952) and Talcott Parsons (1902–1979) have emphasized the impo rtance of mass media as instruments of social control. What mass communication scholars today refer to as the uses and gratifications approach is generally recognized to be a sub-tradition of media effects research (McQuail, 1994).Early in the history of communications research, an approach was developed to study the gratifications that attract and hold audiences to the kinds of media and the types of content that satisfy their social and psychological needs (Cantril, 1942). Much early effects research adopted the experimental or quasi-experimental approach, in which communication conditions were manipulated in search of general lessons about how better to communicate, or about the unintended consequences of messages (Klapper, 1960). Assumption of Uses and Gratifications Theory The assumptions of uses and gratifications theory are as follow: . There is not merely one way that people use media but there are many ways and reasons for using it (Blumer, 1979). 2. People have freewill to decide how they will use media and how it will affect them. 3. People using media can choose the influence media has on them as well as the idea that users choose media alternatives merely as a means to an end (Katz, 1959). Uses and gratifications researchers produced multiple responses. Katz, Gurevitch, and Haas (1973) assembled a comprehensive list of social and psychological needs said to be satisfied by exposure to mass media.Rosengren (1974), attempting to theoretically refine uses and gratifications, suggested that certain basic needs interact with personal characteristics and the social environment of the individual to produce perceived problems and perceived solutions. Those problems and solutions constitute different motives for gratification behavior that can come from using the media or other activities. Together media use or other behaviors produce gratification (or non-gratification) that has an impact on the individual or society, thereby starting the process anew. Ap plication of Uses and Gratifications Theory to this studySocial networking sites are numerous and effective in disseminating information quickly. The rate at which information is moving around the world is very high that in a twinkling of an eye a piece of information can travel from one end of the world to another. Social networking sites available in Nigeria include Facebook, Twitter and Yahoo chat among others. There are many ways and reasons for using these social networking sites. The most common reason for using them by students is to meet and relate with friends both within country and around the world.In reality, there is no law as to which of the sites people and especially students can visit and when and how they can visit them. In Nigeria both young and old are free to join any of these social networks at will and in essence many young people have been engrossed in using them. The proliferation of Global System Mobile (GSM) in the country has really put the utility of the se social networks on the hands of people most especially students. As a result of this, students’ environment is charged with nothing but shouting of pinging and chatting both day and night. Negative effect of social networking sites cannot be underemphasized.The focus of this study is the effect of these social networking sites among Obafemi Awolowo University students. The effect can be seen mostly on the academic performance of the students and their social life. This can be linked to the number of hours pinging and chatting is taking out of their time. Many students prefer securing phones that can browse to buying textbooks and lecture materials needed for their academics. It has been the habit of many students to be chatting while lectures are on and some even take it into examination hall to perpetrate examination malpractice.The failure of uses and gratifications theory to underscore the relationship between social network, its audience and society necessitated the us e of a complimentary theory. Media Dependency Theory Media dependency theory is a theoretical approach which establishes that media influence is determined by the interrelations among the media, the audience, and society (DeFleurand Ball-Rokeach, 1982). The individual’s desire for information from the media is the primary variable in explaining why media messages have cognitive, affective, or variable effects.Media dependency is high when an individual’s goal satisfaction relies on information from the media system (Ball-Rokeach, 1985). Rubin and Windahl (1986) augmented the dependency model to include the gratifications sought by the audiences an interactive component with media dependency. For Rubin and Windahl, the combination of gratifications sought and socially determined dependency produced media effects. They argued that dependency on a medium or a message results when individuals either intentionally seek out information or ritualistically use specific communi cation media channels or messages.For example, McIlwraith (1998) found that self-labeled â€Å"TV addicts† often used television to distract themselves from unpleasant thoughts, to regulate moods, and to fill time. Application of Media dependency Theory to this study The failure of uses and gratifications theory to consider the relationship among the social network, the users and the society necessitates the use of media dependency theory. The characteristics of the users will determine the level and volume of interaction between the users and the social network.The type of information sought will also have effect on the dependency of the users on the network. Population under study is students who are mostly unmarried youths. The large population of interest has increased the intensity of use of social network among the students. The satisfaction derived from using the social network has turned thousands of students â€Å"social network addicts. † Society at large see ms not to be helping the trend. Family and parents’ contribution is overwhelming in the sense that they are the ones procuring the handsets to their wards.Government, schools and religious organizations are yet to have influence over how people, especially students, are using these social networking sites. Conceptual framework Variables are set out in this part. These variables include independent variable, dependent variable(s) and intervening variable(s). Independent variable is the variable that is systematically manipulated so that the effect on the dependent variable can be observed. Dependent variable is the outcome variable which is hypothesized to vary under an influence. Figure 3. : Conceptual framework of the effect of social networking sites on the academic performance. Independent Variable Dependent Variable Intervening Variables | | |Good academic performance | It is my assumption that students who use social networking sites get addicted to it, they use the site s during classes and experience reduction in their study time. These would lead to poor academic performance. However, a reduction in time spent on social networking sites would result in good academic performance. HypothesesBased on the assumptions, the following hypotheses can be derived; Hypothesis 1; there is no relationship between social networking sites and student’s academic performance. Hypothesis 2; there is no relationship between the sex of a students and preference of social networking sites. CHAPTER FOUR METHODOLOGY The aim of this section is to present in detail the method that was used in carrying out this study. It deals with the process taken in carrying out the study under investigation. Quantitative technique was and involving the administration of questionnaire.This chapter thus discusses research design, the area of the study or population of interest, sample size and sampling procedures, data collection method, validation of research instrument and test ing, and method of data analysis. 4. 1 RESEARCH DESIGN This study is a survey design research as it gears towards understanding the effect of social networking sites on academic performance. However, for the purpose of this study, cross-sectional design was used since the idea was to measure some variables at a single time and besides, most surveys are cross-sectional. . 2AREA OF THE STUDY AND POPULATION OF INTEREST This study was conducted among students of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife. Ile-Ife is a town in Osun State, South-Western Nigeria. Osun State was carved out of Oyo Sate on August 27, 1991 during the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. Its capital is Osogbo. Osun State is landlocked and occupies 9251 kilometers. The university was founded in 1962. the university was formerly called university of Ife and was later changed to Obafemi Awolowo University in 1987 following the death of one of its co-founder.The university is situated on a large expanse of land totaling 11 ,861 hectares in Ile-Ife. The university has many structures and human resources. The university comprises of over 25,000 students, central campus, residential area for students, staff quarters, teaching and non-teaching staff as well as teaching hospital and a research farm. 3. SAMPLING SIZE AND SAMPLING PROCEDURE The population of interest for this study is Obafemi Awolowo University students. The sampling method that will be used for this study is accidental sampling which falls under non-probability sampling.Therefore, people will be selected based on their availability. Overall, the sample of hundred people will be investigated with the instrument, questionnaire. From the sample selected, the data as regards the previously stated objectives will be collected from the selected respondents and the data will be used to prove the hypothesis right or wrong. 4. 4 METHOD OF DATA COLLECTION The research methodology used for this study was quantitative research methodology and it comman ded the use of questionnaire as an instrument for collecting data in this study.This questionnaire was self administered to the respondents in other to gather data relevant to the issues under discussion. However, for good understanding of the impact of social networking sites on student’s academic performance, primary data was used because data from the source is preferably to data that has been collected previously in which little is known whether it is correct or not and based on the fact that change is constant as things can change at anytime and it will be bad to rely on false information.Therefore, the primary source of data was used for this study as it provided basic reliable and concrete information from the respondents. Primary data refers to data obtained from the originator of the data (Fagboungbe 1993). The questionnaire was the major source of my data collection. For the purpose of this study, interview cannot be used because not many students have much time to spend with the interviewer because of other activities they may want to attend to and for this reason, interview method would be time consuming because moving from ne person to another with interview guide with a view of collecting data from them would be difficult. Hence, the questionnaire in this case was divided into four sections: Section A solicited for information on the socio-economic data of the students, Section B was concerned with the questions on the impacts of socio-networking sites on student’s social life. Section C inquired more information on the effects of social networking sites on student’s academic performance. Finally, section D asked information on the commonly used social networking site and the reason for the preference. 4. VALIDATION OF RESEARCH INSTRUMENT The instrument was validated using face validity. The questions asked in this questionnaire totally reflected what was needed to understand the view of respondents on the impact of social ne tworking sites on student’s academic performance. In short, the questions asked in this questionnaire are germane to the issue of social networking sites and student’s academic performance. METHOD OF DATA ANALYSIS The data was collected from the participants and was subjected to statistical analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software for windows.The responses of the participants were subjected to analysis using descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages. The analysis of the data was done in stages. Firstly, the data was pre-coded for easy entry of the data into spreadsheet. Secondly, the coded data was carefully entered into a spreadsheet and therefore, proper verification of the data entered into the spreadsheet was made. Thirdly, the analysis of the data was done and tables showing the frequencies and percentages of the results of analysis were derived.The fourth and last stage showed the interpretation of the results of the analysis. Lastly, the basis of decision is making inferences on result of analysis of the responses that were given by the respondents and consequently, the result of analysis of the responses supplied by the respondents was compared with the literature review and the theories used. After these, decisions were drawn from the students’ responses. CHAPTER FIVE DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS Frequency distribution of respondents by socio demographic characteristicsThe table shows the distribution of respondents by their socio demographic characteristics: the distribution by sex shows that 68% of the respondents were males while 32% of them were female. As regards the age of the respondents 26% of the respondents were in the age range 15-20, 55% were in the age group 21-25, 17% of them were in the age group 26-30 while 2% were in the age group 30 and above. Also, the religious affiliation also shows that 79% were of the Christian faith while 21% of the respondents were Muslims.More so, the distribution by ethnicity also shows that 70% were Yoruba, 8% of them were Hausa, and 16% were Igbo while the remaining 6% were from other tribes. The distribution by marital status also shows that 87% of them were singles while 13% of the respondents were also married. |Socio demographic characteristic |Frequency |% | |Sex: | | | |Male |68 |68. 0 | |Female |32 |32. 00 | |Total |100 |100. 00 | |Age: | | | |15-20 |26 |26. 0 | |21-25 |55 |55. 00 | |26-30 |17 |17. 00 | |30 and above |2 |2. 00 | |Total |100 |100. 0 | |Religious affiliation: | | | |Christianity |79 |79. 00 | |Islam |21 |21. 00 | |Total |100 |100. 0 | |Ethnicity: | | | |Yoruba |70 |70. 00 | |Hausa |8 |8. 00 | |Igbo |16 |16. 00 | |Others |6 |6. 0 | |Total |100 |100. 00 | |Marital status: | | | |Single |87 |87. 00 | |Married |13 |13. 0 | |Total |100 |100. 00 | SOURCE: FIELD SURVEY 2013 Frequency distribution of respondents by the social networking sites and social life. The table shows the il lustration of respondents by their social networking sites and social life: as regards using my social networking site has helped connect me with new people who share a common interest, hobby or active of mine shows that 83% strongly agree,12% strongly disagree while 5% said there is no comment.Also, regarding using my social networking site often distract me when I should be paying attention to the people I’m with showed that 37% of them strongly agree, 46% strongly disagree while 17% had no comment. More so, the distribution by using my social networking site has helped me stay in touch with friends I can’t see on a regular basis indicated that 90% strongly agree, 9% strongly disagree while 1% had no comment. Social networking sites and social life |Frequency |% | |Using my social networking site has helped me stay in touch with | | | |friends I can’t see on a regular basis: | | | |Strongly agree | | | |Strongly disagree |90 |90. 0 | |No comment |9 |9. 00 | |T otal |1 |1. 00 | | |100 |100. 0 | |Using my social networking site has helped connect me with new people| | | |who share a common interest, hobby, or activity of mine: | | | |Strongly agree | | | |Strongly disagree |83 |83. 00 | |No comment |12 |12. 0 | |Total |5 |5. 00 | | |100 |100. 00 | |Using my social networking site often distract me when I should be | | | |paying attention to the people I’m with: | | | |Strongly agree |37 |37. 0 | |Strongly disagree |46 |46. 00 | |No comment |17 |17. 00 | |Total |100 |100. 0 | |Using my social networking site has helped me be more aware of | | | |current events: | | | |Strongly agree |90 |90. 00 | |Strongly disagree |8 |8. 00 | |No comment |2 |2. 0 | |Total |100 |100. 00 | SOURCE: FIELD SURVEY 2013 Frequency distribution of respondents by social networking sites and academic performance The table shows the distribution of respondents by social networking sites and academic performance; those who said they currently have a profile on a social networking site 95% of them has while 5% does not have. Also, with those who often visit the site 76% of them visit there very often, 9% rarely visits there while 15% visits the site sometimes.Regarding those who visit the site to text or message people while in class 73% of the respondents sometimes use the site while 43% said no. regarding changes in your grade in class 35% said they noticed it while 65% said they did not notice any change in their grade. |Social networking sites and academic performance |Frequency |% | |Do you currently have a profile on a social networking site such as | | | |Facebook, Myspace, or some other site? | | |Yes | | | |No |95 |95. 00 | |Total |5 |5. 00 | | |100 |100. 00 | |How often do you visit this site? | | |Very often |76 |76. 00 | |Rarely |9 |9. 00 | |Sometimes |15 |15. 00 | |Total |100 |100. 0 | |Do you sometimes use this site to text or messaging people while in | | | |class? | | | |Yes |57 |57. 00 | |No |43 |43. 00 | |Total |100 |100. 0 | |Have you noticed any change in your grade in class? | | | |Yes | | | |No |35 |35. 00 | |Total |65 |65. 00 | | |100 |100. 0 | SOURCE: FIELD SURVEY 2013 Frequency distribution of respondents by commonly used social networking site The table shows the distribution of respondents by commonly used social networking site; those who said they were using the social networking 54% shows that they were using Facebook, 3% of them were using 2go, 27% of them were using Twitter, 4% were using Myspace while 12% of them were using other social networking sites. With those who said they cannot do in a day without visiting the site shows that 61% said yes while 39% said no. ith the main way you check your social networking site 61% shows that from my cell phone or other mobile device, 17% were checking from a laptop or desktop computer while 22% were using both equally. |Commonly used social networking site |Frequency |% | |Which social networking do you mainly use? | | | |Facebook |54 |54. 0 | |2go |3 |3. 00 | |Twitter |27 |27. 00 | |Myspace |4 |4. 00 | |Others |12 |12. 0 | |Total |100 |100. 00 | |Can you do in a day without visiting this site? | | | |Yes |61 |61. 00 | |No |39 |39. 0 | |Total |100 |100. 00 | |What is the main way you check your social networking site? | | | |From my cell phone or other mobile device | | | |From a laptop or desktop computer |61 |61. 0 | |Both equally |17 |17. 00 | |Total |22 |22. 00 | | |100 |100. 00 | SOURCE: FIELD SURVEY 2013 5. 5Test of hypotheses 1. There is no relationship between the sex of student and preference of social networking sites. 2.There is no relationship between social networking sites and student’s academic performance. Hypothesis 1 Ho: there exist no relationships between the sex of students and preference of social networking sites H1: there exists a relationship between the sex of students and preference of social networking sites. | |Value |Degree of freedom |p-value | |Pearson chi-square |0. 4417 |2 |0. 802 | Critical region: reject Ho if p-value