What Is Community Work

What Is Community Work? Through this essay I will try to create a greater understanding of the term ‘community work’. I will begin with a short summary from two studies which help define the term on a broad basis. I will follow this by an explanation of the various approaches which can be used in community work. I will highlight the importance the community and voluntary sector have in social partnership in Ireland today. I will also discuss how funding, or a lack of it, impacts on essential services. Whether or not volunteers are an essential part of community work.I will also discuss the possible consequence of losing some of these organisations as a result of cuts in funding. Finally by looking at the work of ‘Community Platform’ I will show how, through a shared vision they hope to create a better Ireland through their work in the community. To understand what community work is it is first necessary to understand the various definitions of community. Whi le this may seem apparent initially, upon closer inspection one will discover that there is no clear consensus.What we do know is that as Hillery, a sociologist working in the 1950s pointed out, all 94 definitions of community referred to people (Mayo 1994). Varley (1988) defines these more concisely into three categories. ?Communities defined in purely special or geographical term. ?Communities defined as relationships that occur within a specific locality. ?Communities defined as relationships which may occur within or transcend conventional geographical boundaries. Working within these categories community workers seek to empower individuals and groups of people by providing them with the skills they need to effect change in their own communities.We will look at detailed examples of this later. I will first explain my understanding of the five main strands or approaches identified by David A Thomas (1993) in his study of community work in the early 1980s: Community Action: this r equires people from a community to come together, recognising the problems that their community faces and taking action to reduce these problems. This approach can have a range of benefits. It helps those individuals involved to develop skills and claim ownership of the outcome. An example of this is when residents come together to campaign for speed bumps or lower speed limits in the area.Community Development: this requires people coming together to develop a range of practices to help improve local conditions, especially for people in disadvantaged situations. It helps people to participate in public decision making and thus achieve greater control of their circumstances. An example of this is when residents turn an area that was once used for anti-social behaviour into a playground for children. This creates a safer environment for local people. Social Planning: this is a process that is carried out through identifying strengths and weaknesses in a community.This is done by desi gning and implementing programmes, which help to improve the quality of life in that community. It usually involves the action of a political, legal, or recognized voluntary body. An example of this is when an area is identified as having a very large increase in children. This information is acted on and a new school is built in the area. Community Organisation involves various community or welfare agencies working with or without the involvement of statutory authorities, supporting joint initiatives.An example of this is when organisations connect through managing, sponsoring and improving the work of various bodies. This may be carried out at a local, regional or national level. Community Care primarily focuses on the area of healthcare for the disabled, the elderly and the very young. It is a model that encourages members of the community to be active participants in helping themselves. In some cases community care may use professionals in conjunction with volunteers. In other c ases volunteers may manage projects with little or no involvement from professionals.Now that we have an understanding of the various definitions of community and have explored the different approaches of community work, we will now look at the how this work is structured in Ireland today with the help of social partnership. Social partnership was set up in Ireland in 1987. Its membership was initially limited to the government, businesses, trade unions and farmers. Organisations representing the unemployed and those experiencing poverty and inequality protested that their members did not benefit from the agreements and so began to lobby to be included in the 1996 negotiations.It was decided in 2000, by the Fianna Fail government, that inclusion of community and voluntary organisations was the way forward. Eight organisations were successful in their efforts when they were selected by the Government to become the Community & Voluntary Pillar – the fourth social partnership pi llar. It is now made up of seventeen representative organisations. This pillar represents huge progress for marginalised people. Although it is important to remember that in order to make a sustainable difference the voice these organisations have been give, must be listened to.While in theory social partners can be involved in both policy making and implementation of such policy, it is argued ( Meade 2005) that because community and voluntary organisations lack economic clout, they have been granted only marginal influence over the substance of policy decisions. Popples theory in â€Å"Analysing community Work† (1995) states â€Å"Most practitioners are employed in one way or another by the state therefore acting with particular instructions or authority, so that they could be considered to be a subordinate branch of the dominant ‘organic’ intellectuals.Whilst on the other hand the fact that they can be at odds with the dominant ideology and are encouraging ind ividuals and groups to articulate their own discourse means that they do not fully agree with the dominant system. † While it is important that the government is involved and provides subsidises to the voluntary and community sector at a national and community level, it is also fair to say that participation by volunteers in the local community is equally important as they understand what the community requires at a grass roots level.As the Mayfield Community Development Project in Cork advocates, it is fundamental to ask the local people what they need, to encourage as much participation as possible. Cullen (1989) observes that participative community development projects counterbalance the bigness and the bureaucracy of state run welfare agencies. In other words, if the recipients of these services are involved, these agencies become less intimidating and more user-friendly. This approach empowers people to be involved in identifying and meeting their own needs.Although part icipation from volunteers in the local community is vital, problems can surface when local communities come to rely heavily on the support provided by these volunteers. An example of this occurred when an introduction of community care policies led to reductions in the provision of state sponsored residential care and thus increased the demands on already pressured carers. This issue is particularly relevant today due to the current economic climate. The government is seeking to cut their expenditure in many areas, including the community and voluntary sectors.An Bord Snip Nua’s proposed cuts in funding for community and voluntary organisations will effectively amount to a huge reduction in funding for essential public services. The proposed cut of 64% in the allocation for community and voluntary sector supports, will weaken community and voluntary organisation's capacity to deliver essential services to the most vulnerable people in society. Which raises the following quest ions, ? Is the government relying on volunteers too heavily? ? Is lack of funding going to break down the fabric of the community work network in Ireland? ? What are the potential consequences of the proposed cuts?Only in time, will we discover the true answers to these questions but for now let us look at the evidence that is available to us today. Undoubtedly the Governments reliance on volunteers within the community is very apparent. It is important to remember that very often we would not have these volunteers, without the recruitment strategies that are put in place by professionals. It is also crucial volunteers are monitored and get the support they need to carry out their work effectively. Without the funded professional element in community work, it is possible that the quality of service may be compromised.This may result in volunteers becoming over worked by carrying out the duties of the paid professionals. This can lead to volunteers being under too much pressure to ca rry out their vital work. A consequence of this may be the closure of much needed services, which will impact greatly on society in general. This may lead to a more segregated community with an increased level of problems such as anti-social behaviour and mental health issues to name just two. This is why in my opinion, it is essential to have both professional and voluntary workers in the community for a cohesive approach to the various issues.It is important at this point to examine the vital community work that may be affected by these cuts. I am using the organisation Community Platform as an example. This is an organisation which facilitates both community and voluntary organisations to come together through one voice at a national level. Publishing its pre-budget submission (2010), the Community Platform said that making the poor poorer in order to try to balance the books made absolutely no sense and would have disastrous and costly social consequences.Community platform curr ently has 29 members that work together to address poverty, social exclusion and inequality. Funding is provided to the Community Platform by the Department of Community, Rural ; Gaeltacht Affairs. The vision of the Community Platform is an Ireland that is inclusive, sustainable and equal. Working closely with all of its members it aims to develop and promote this vision through shared analysis. The following groups are just a small example of the essential services that come under the community platform umbrella: ?Age Action Ireland. Rape Crises Network Ireland. ?Simon Communities of Ireland. ?Womens Aid. ?Community Workers’ Co-operative. By looking at some of the essential services that Community Platform facilitate we can see just how important this community work is and the key services that may suffer because of these cuts. As a result of my studies I have ascertained that community work appears to be many things to many people. It can be a rewarding experience to both t he facilitator and the beneficiary. It can bring people together in the hope of improving circumstances for themselves or others.It can help people to achieve their goals for their community by coming together through one voice. It may be a carried out by a paid professional or a volunteer. Both of which have their own merit. Government support and funding are imperative to sustain the level of help that is needed in the community. However it is evident that when both professionals and volunteers work together, greater results can be achieved. Community work is essential in society to help improve living conditions. With an emphasis on improving the conditions of marginalised, vulnerable people. Bibliography

Relationship of Race and Ethnicity Essay

Former President Jimmy Carter once said, â€Å"We have become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams† (â€Å"iCelebrateDiversity. com†). The United States has grown to be a country of immigrants filled with different beliefs, cultures, faiths, and heritages. Therefore, there is a diverse ethnic population among the people of America. Theories seek to explain why ethnic distinctions are made in the first place, why some ethnic groups discriminate against others†¦, why prejudice exists, why some ethnic groups remain identifiable, and why others melt into the dominant culture. Many different theories exist concerning ethnic relations (Aguirre and Turner 32). My racial and ethnic identity comes from what these theories or theoretical perspectives have to say. There are two theories that relate to my racial and ethnic identity. The first is called the assimilation theory. Milton Gordon (1964) emphasizes, it is to â€Å"the middle class cultural patterns of †¦ white, Anglo-Saxon† culture that immigrants to the United States have had to adapt (Aguirre and Turner 33). What he is saying was that every ethnic group that has immigrated to the United States has had to change their customs and ways to adapt to the white, Anglo-Saxon culture. There are different degrees in which the different ethnic subpopulations had to make progress in adjusting to the Anglo-Saxon culture. Cultural assimilation occurs when the values, beliefs, dogmas, ideologies, language, and other systems of symbols of the dominant culture are adopted (Aguirre and Turner 33). All the ethnic groups have been culturally assimilated to the Anglo-Saxon culture. Along with cultural assimilation comes structural assimilation. Structural assimilation occurs when migrant ethnic groups become members of the primary groups within dominant ethnic subpopulations like their families, close friends, cliques within clubs, and groups within organizations (Aguirre and Turner 33). It is harder to accomplish structural assimilation than cultural assimilation because it involves access into interacting and associating with the dominant ethnic groups. Members of ethnic groups may lack more primary and personal connections with members of dominant ethnic groups even when they enter more secondary and formal structures like schools, workplaces, and political arenas. The social identity theory, also known as the psychological theory, is the most prominent psychological approach to ethnic relations. One level of the psychological theory, called the role identity, is the identity that each human being has of themselves in certain roles like being a father, mother, worker, student, and so forth. The second level of identity is self-conception and involves emotions, cognitions, and evaluations that people make of their â€Å"whole self. † A third level, and the one most relevant to ethnic relation, is social identity and it emerges when people see themselves as members of a social category vis-a-vis other social categories (Aguirre and Turner 37). For example, one kind of social identity is being male or female or being African American or Latino. Once social identities are formed, they take on a life of their own. Individuals are born into families whose members carry these identities, with the result that the young are socialized in to the prototype of beliefs, norms, and behaviors appropriate to this identity (Aguirre and Turner 38). Socialization moves past the family to friends and organizations if they have a high rate of involvement with non-family members who hold this same identity. The race of my family is Asian and the ethnicity is Vietnamese. Since I am the first generation of my family in the United States, I would be Asian-American. These theories I have talked about explain a lot about what my racial and ethnic identity is. The assimilation theory talks about being absorbed into the middle-class Anglo-Saxon culture. I think that my family has done well into adopting and mixing the Anglo-Saxon culture with our own Vietnamese culture. I was born and raised in a middle-class rural area where the population is heavily filled with white Anglo-Saxon people. I went to grade, middle, and high school where everyone around me was white and I was the only or among a few Asian students. To get along with the society around us, my family and I had to change up some customs and beliefs in order to associate properly with the white Anglo-Saxon people. Some changes my parents have made was learning to speak and write English, learning how to cook and eat American food, and learning how to live and communicate freely since Vietnam has many restrictions. I have been very fortunate to have a wide range of diverse friends and been able to join sports teams and clubs during school. The psychological theory has created identities that make me unique from the people around me. Some role identities that make me who I am are being a student, son, brother, cousin, friend, and worker. Some self-conception roles I have attained are being grateful for what I have in front of me, being generous and considerate to others, having good manners, and standing up for myself when I’m disrespected. My social identities include being male, Asian-American, Vietnamese, Pennsylvanian, and Catholic. The psychological theory has helped me determine who I am and where I belong. It also has informed me that being Asian has made me look at both the differences and similarities between the Asian and Anglo-Saxon cultures. In conclusion, these theories have really helped me understand my racial and ethnic background spectrum. They have allowed me to recognize how my family and I transitioned to the American way of life. Since I’m Asian-American, I can have the best of both worlds: the Asian music and food and the American way of living and freedom. I am very fortunate to be living in a country with so many different people with different backgrounds, beliefs, and custom. Works Cited Aguirre, Jr. , Adalberto, and Jonathan H. Turner. American Ethnicity: The Dynamics and Consequences of Discrimination. Sixth. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. , 2009. Print. â€Å"Diversity Quotes. † iCelebrateDiversity. com. Web. 2 Oct 2009. .

On the Job Training

Public Area It is composed of the Hotel lobby Area, Front Desk Reception Area, Restaurants including comfort rooms and Function Rooms, elevators, offices, hallways, and the like. Before we start cleaning the area, I pray for a while and give thanks to the Lord for the safety and travel every day. Then, I go to the 2nd floor to replenish the chemicals and materials needed. After that, we started to clean all the comfort rooms in Milieus Restaurant, employee's comfort rooms, the lobby restrooms and beside the pool's shower room.It took from 7 am to 9 am almost 2 hours of cleaning. Good for me that I'm not alone doing all of that. Sometimes I'm with Kayak Tony (our co- rained) from TESTED or Irvin and Koruna, my classmates. Next, sweep the hallways from third floor to first floor including the three exits, lobby and employees' rooms. Dust all the furniture, windows, glass and each door of the rooms. It was physically hard and sweaty. But it was fun doing that work because all the room a ttendants were funny and making us smile though we look so haggard.After that, we need to fold the linen and towels and place it inside the cabinet before the next task. Afterwards, we're required to ask permission to our supervisor if we can now go with our respective room attendant trainer. Room Attendant Room Attendants receive a briefing on the days activities headed by the supervisor. They collect equipped cart and work report to work in their respective sections. They follow a logical order to avoid guests from being disturbed. Check out rooms are serviced first, followed by make-up rooms or with request for early service and request for late service.Most of the work flow, regular cleaning is done if the guest has checked out so that the room can be occupied again. My trainer Kayak Eave taught me their standards in cleaning the room. Firstly, check room assignment sheet confirm room number, room status, note special requests). Secondly, knock door three times with knuckles not with keys. Wait for a moment and knock again if there's no answer. If DON sign, return later to check or night lock is on report it to the Front Office or call the supervisor if there's a problem.I announce myself as housekeeping as I enter. Turn on lights, check for luggage, remove dirty items or loaned items, dispose garbage carefully, disinfect garbage cans and put trash bag, make beds (queen-size), clean the bathroom, dust and check of room features like radio clock, Indo seat, refrigerator, coffee/tea making facilities, and so on. Disinfect telephones and ice bucket. Look for items left by guests, check for furniture damage; if furniture is missing report it immediately and note to your assignment sheet.Then check if everything is okay or in their proper places. Majority of the guests at the hotel were Japanese business travelers like companies so in the morning they're not inside of their rooms. So it's easier for me to clean up the room. In make-up room, we changed the linen every other day. Laundry Service Vive been in laundry for about one week and three days. My trainer was Mrs.. Liege, she's working with the hotel almost 8 years. She taught me how to work slowly but surely.She don't need to finish her work so fast because she told me that it's very delicate if you got wrong with the guest's clothes. Therefore, one by one, we put mark by sewing different color thread in each clothes by room number. Weigh and fill-up the laundry list sheet (description, brand name, color, room number and quantity). Compute the amount and fix your signature. As usual, separate white from colored loathes and so on. After drying, press/iron the clothes like long sleeves, pants, uniforms and hang it using hangers then put it in a huge plastic bag.Fold the other clothes and separate it according to their color type and room number. After lunch, we deliver the clothes inside the rooms or if DON sign, drop to the Front office. During my stay in Housekeeping Department, I ma intained good personal and professional working relationship. I was able to be more considerate, cheerful, flexible, pleasant, polite, positive, punctual, willing to learn, a good listener, rusticity, stay calm during periods of increased activities, initiative, and I avoid gossip, maintain company's standards and I work well even without supervision.We also had stay and learn in the hotel last July 9 & 10, 2014. We were given 50 hours lesser to our duty hours. Mr.. Marvin, the Sales Supervisor discussed the rules and regulations of the hotel, functions, and other concerns that we need to know about the establishment. Front Office Department My last remaining weeks of my training was in Front Office. My duty time was from 1 0†² clock in the afternoon to 9 0†² clock in the evening. Indeed, it was very tiring every duty.We're not allowed to sit for a long time. But, I had so much memories and knowledge that I'd acquired. Specifically, how to answer telephone calls politely a nd to listen attentively, how to attend other requests by guests, and to check-in and check-out procedures were taught. It was a good experience for me being a Front Office Agent for a while. So far by God's mercy and grace, I didn't encountered any problems during my training whether inside or outside of the hotel and throughout my travel every day. On the Job Training Public Area It is composed of the Hotel lobby Area, Front Desk Reception Area, Restaurants including comfort rooms and Function Rooms, elevators, offices, hallways, and the like. Before we start cleaning the area, I pray for a while and give thanks to the Lord for the safety and travel every day. Then, I go to the 2nd floor to replenish the chemicals and materials needed. After that, we started to clean all the comfort rooms in Milieus Restaurant, employee's comfort rooms, the lobby restrooms and beside the pool's shower room.It took from 7 am to 9 am almost 2 hours of cleaning. Good for me that I'm not alone doing all of that. Sometimes I'm with Kayak Tony (our co- rained) from TESTED or Irvin and Koruna, my classmates. Next, sweep the hallways from third floor to first floor including the three exits, lobby and employees' rooms. Dust all the furniture, windows, glass and each door of the rooms. It was physically hard and sweaty. But it was fun doing that work because all the room a ttendants were funny and making us smile though we look so haggard.After that, we need to fold the linen and towels and place it inside the cabinet before the next task. Afterwards, we're required to ask permission to our supervisor if we can now go with our respective room attendant trainer. Room Attendant Room Attendants receive a briefing on the days activities headed by the supervisor. They collect equipped cart and work report to work in their respective sections. They follow a logical order to avoid guests from being disturbed. Check out rooms are serviced first, followed by make-up rooms or with request for early service and request for late service.Most of the work flow, regular cleaning is done if the guest has checked out so that the room can be occupied again. My trainer Kayak Eave taught me their standards in cleaning the room. Firstly, check room assignment sheet confirm room number, room status, note special requests). Secondly, knock door three times with knuckles not with keys. Wait for a moment and knock again if there's no answer. If DON sign, return later to check or night lock is on report it to the Front Office or call the supervisor if there's a problem.I announce myself as housekeeping as I enter. Turn on lights, check for luggage, remove dirty items or loaned items, dispose garbage carefully, disinfect garbage cans and put trash bag, make beds (queen-size), clean the bathroom, dust and check of room features like radio clock, Indo seat, refrigerator, coffee/tea making facilities, and so on. Disinfect telephones and ice bucket. Look for items left by guests, check for furniture damage; if furniture is missing report it immediately and note to your assignment sheet.Then check if everything is okay or in their proper places. Majority of the guests at the hotel were Japanese business travelers like companies so in the morning they're not inside of their rooms. So it's easier for me to clean up the room. In make-up room, we changed the linen every other day. Laundry Service Vive been in laundry for about one week and three days. My trainer was Mrs.. Liege, she's working with the hotel almost 8 years. She taught me how to work slowly but surely.She don't need to finish her work so fast because she told me that it's very delicate if you got wrong with the guest's clothes. Therefore, one by one, we put mark by sewing different color thread in each clothes by room number. Weigh and fill-up the laundry list sheet (description, brand name, color, room number and quantity). Compute the amount and fix your signature. As usual, separate white from colored loathes and so on. After drying, press/iron the clothes like long sleeves, pants, uniforms and hang it using hangers then put it in a huge plastic bag.Fold the other clothes and separate it according to their color type and room number. After lunch, we deliver the clothes inside the rooms or if DON sign, drop to the Front office. During my stay in Housekeeping Department, I ma intained good personal and professional working relationship. I was able to be more considerate, cheerful, flexible, pleasant, polite, positive, punctual, willing to learn, a good listener, rusticity, stay calm during periods of increased activities, initiative, and I avoid gossip, maintain company's standards and I work well even without supervision.We also had stay and learn in the hotel last July 9 & 10, 2014. We were given 50 hours lesser to our duty hours. Mr.. Marvin, the Sales Supervisor discussed the rules and regulations of the hotel, functions, and other concerns that we need to know about the establishment. Front Office Department My last remaining weeks of my training was in Front Office. My duty time was from 1 0†² clock in the afternoon to 9 0†² clock in the evening. Indeed, it was very tiring every duty.We're not allowed to sit for a long time. But, I had so much memories and knowledge that I'd acquired. Specifically, how to answer telephone calls politely a nd to listen attentively, how to attend other requests by guests, and to check-in and check-out procedures were taught. It was a good experience for me being a Front Office Agent for a while. So far by God's mercy and grace, I didn't encountered any problems during my training whether inside or outside of the hotel and throughout my travel every day.

In your opinion, can a criminal trial be fair if witnesses are granted Essay

In your opinion, can a criminal trial be fair if witnesses are granted anonymity - Essay Example Anonymity is considered as one of the most sensitive and controversial issues related with the criminal justice. The laws related with the anonymity of the witnesses have been developed under the common law and there has been a large standing principal that the defendant to be confronted with his accuser in the court of law. (The Crown Prosecution Service) The case of R Davis however, brought forward new challenges when it was decided by the House of Lords that the anonymity of the witnesses may render the overall trial as unfair. This case is considered as one of the leading examples of ignoring the achievement of a delicate balance between the rights and responsibilities of different parties involved in any given case. (Kerrigan and Stockdale). This paper will attempt to discuss whether a trial can be fair if witnesses are given the choice of anonymity? The Case of R Davis In order to discuss the argument of whether a trial can be fair, it is important to discuss the case of R Davi s as this case is considered as one of the leading cases establishing the legal position for the anonymity of the witnesses and the fairness of the trial. R Davis was accused of committing double murders in London and after hiding for some time in US on false passport, he was extradited to UK. He maintained that he left the party before actual shooting took place and he has been fixed in this by his Ex- partner. The Crown’s investigation included witnesses in this case who were fearful about their security and therefore requested anonymity. After the due investigation, the claims of the witnesses were considered as true and trial judge, in order to ensure the safety of the witnesses as well as to obtain their evidence, allowed the anonymity under which witnesses were allowed to give their evidence against the false names, no information about them was provided to the defence and the natural voice of the witnesses was only heard by the Jury. Subsequently Davis was convicted by the Jury. (Rahman) The House of Lords however, overturned based on the Common Law Principle that the accused has the entitlement to confront with the accusers so that the accused could have cross examined them. Though exceptions were noted such as the case of hearsay however, based on the article 6 of the ECHR, the conviction was overthrown. Fairness of trial and Anonymity of witnesses Article 6 of the European convention deals with the right of having a fair trial and the article (6)(3)(d) outlines the rights of the defendants to examine the witnesses. In case of Davis, the court convicted him because of making a delicate balance between the rights of the accused and the rights of the witnesses can be a difficult task and commented that this may not always be incompatible with the Convention. Article 10 and 11 of the Universal declaration of Human Rights suggest that everyone has the right to fair trail and public hearing by and independent and impartial tribunal in case any crimi nal charges are levied against him. Further, anyone is presumed to be innocent until charges are proven as guilty. Viewed from the perspective of the above legislations and legal principles, it may be clear that the right of fair trial is of absolute importance however, competing interests also need to be taken into consideration when viewing the fairness of a trial and anonymity of the witnesses. In the

An analysis of literature relating to illegitimate work and it's Essay

An analysis of literature relating to illegitimate work and it's contribution to the labour market - Essay Example In many societies the same people who financial support prostitution when encounter with other about the topic claim they are against it due to social taboos that force people to take a position which they truly do not support. This paper analyzes and examines the subterranean economy which includes the sexual marketplace. The underground economy involves the occurrence of economic activity that is not detected by the government and is not included as part of the official figures since they are not suppose to exist tax is not imposed upon them (Varian, 2003). This underground economy affects the flow of the economy since the flow derived from these activities ends up being laundered in the economy by using the illegal income to purchase goods and services in the economy. In the United States the size of the underground economy is approximately 13% to 14% the size of the legal economy (Gutmann, 1983). Among the many activities make up the composition of the subterranean economy are prostitution, drug trade, labor of illegal immigrants, trafficking of illegal precious metals, gambling activities of bookies, or any other form of labor such as a babysitting jig that does is not accounted for by the government as a form of income. It is estimated that the subterranean economy creates between 15 to 20 milli on jobs in the United States (Baird, 2007). This a positive consequence of this type of activity, but in general the jobs generated by this economy the workers such as prostitutes and drug sellers working on the spot are workers whose human rights are constantly abused by the gangster who controlled this marketplace. Prostitution is one of the segments of the underground economy. Worldwide the sex game is valued at over $12 billion a year a figure that does don’t account the revenues generated in the pornography industry which is a multibillion dollar industry that is legal activity which the considers in its official numbers, but there is a lot of

Polishing a Written Agreement Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10750 words

Polishing a Written Agreement - Thesis Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Chapter One Description of the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Chapter Two Literature Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Chapter Three The Proposed Intervention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Chapter Four The Intervention Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Chapter Five Data Collection Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Chapter Six Summary of Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Chapter One Description of the Problem Statement of the Purpose In presenting the purpose of the project, it is important to lay down the premises at the outset. As stated in the abstract, the thesis is about the Keyholder Agreement. It is a bilateral written covenant although there are actually three parties, GE Security, Inc., the key-holder and the Organization to where the key-holder belongs. Owing to concerns about the perception that the Keyholder Agreement has become lengthy or complicated or both after a considerable period of time, it is advisable to review this written contract. Apparently, the purpose of this project is to therefore see if there is a need to either (a) simplify and make clearer the Keyholder Agreement especially to the key-holders, (b) or shorten the Keyholder Agreement,...(Daly, David T. Five Ways to Make a Contract More Understandable: A Lesson from the Mackinac Bridge. Plain Language.[internet]). It is thus pragmatic to use the language and content structure which are best understood by the executing parties without sacrificing the substance of the instrument. In the present case, the subject is the so-called Keyholder Agreement which has to be studied and analyzed in order to arrive at the suggestion of whether or not to revise, modify or amend it. In presenting the purpose of the project, it is important to lay down the premises at the outset. As stated in the abstract, the thesis is about the Keyholder Agreement. It is a bilateral written covenant although there are actually three parties, GE Security, Inc., the key-holder and the Organization to where the key-holder belongs. Owing to concerns about the perception that the Keyholder Agreement has become lengthy or complicated or both after a considerable period of time, it is advisable to review this written contract. Apparently, the purpose of this project is to therefore see if there is a need to either (a) simplify and make clearer the Keyholder Agreement especially to the key-holders, (b) or shorten the Keyholder Agreement, (c) or simplify the Keyholder Agreement, make it clearer and shorten it. At this point, it is pertinent to stress that the subject contract, coming from GE Security, Inc., is on

No End in Sight Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

No End in Sight - Essay Example Bodine’s view of the reconstruction was to reach out to the Iraqis and identify government technocrats, as well as civil leaders who can effectively run the state (Shaikh 1). For a short period of time, she achieved a lot. What fascinated me about her was that, in such a demanding atmosphere, she managed to identify the best steps to be taken and how they would go about evaluating the steps. Richard Lee Armitage was an ex-deputy secretary of State Department. According to Armitage, the Iraq reconstruction was all about promoting world peace. He considered Iraq to be a threat to world peace (Shaikh 1). Armitage was also quite congenial during the interview, and that is fascinated me about him. The film covered the Iraq occupation mainly through interviews. The interviewees were mainly significant figures who were charged with managing the restriction. It dwelled on the mistakes that the Bush Administration during its occupation of Iraq (Shaikh 1). What shocked me was that the lack of security, rise of insurgency, lack of basic services and also, at one instance, the risk of a civil war, was caused by the mistakes made by Americans. If an outside power occupied my country and allowed widespread looting to take place and did not protect my country’s historical monuments, then I would consider them as taking us for granted. I would also think that their purpose for occupying our nation was for their own benefit. This will make me think of ways to remove them from my country. I will also make me despise the outside power. As depicted in the film, the daily lives of Iraqis were looting, fighting each other, killing each other and widespread demonstrations. Homes were burnt down, so people became homeless. Also, the country came to a standstill (Shaikh 1). In fact, during this period, Iraq could not be considered a country because even its leaders had exiled the nation and some killed. If I was in

Research Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Research Project - Essay Example The new start up retail organization is seeking for required funds from several effective funding bodies in order to start the new business in the potential industry. There are two major funding options for the organization, such as lending capital from renowned commercial banks and borrowing funds from the angel investors. However, it is important for the organization to develop an effective business plan so that the funding bodies can believe that the particular business has huge potentiality. The new kitchen appliances retail organization can propose different financial institutions and commercial banks in order to borrow the start up business capital. It is true that the commercial banks and several financial institutions generally offer both secured and unsecured landings for business start up in order to meet the working capital requirement. The commercial banks usually offer unsecured loans to the start up business organizations depending upon the management’s judgement (Leach and Melicher, 2011, p.110). On the other hand, the banks generally offer the secured loans against the organizations’ deposited collaterals and securities. However, the unsecured loans usually do not demand any kind of collateral or security from the start up business organizations against the lending of loans as start up business capital. The commercial banks or different financial institutions usually provide unsecured loans to the business organizations in the form of corporate credits and overdrafts. Several angel investors are also can be considered as the important funding bodies for the start up kitchen appliances Retail Company. The angel investors are also considered as informal investors or business angels. These angel investors used to have vast experience about several business forms. These investors generally belong to the wealthy and rich businessman segments. The rich and affluent angel investors or the business angel generally provide the

The Economic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Economic - Essay Example Aside from the education sector, the construction segment also suffered from a major cut due to the slowdown in public construction projects. Irwin also mentions Obama’s response to America’s unemployment problem, which is the $447 billion American Jobs Act. The Act aims to channel money to the state governments to avoid more job cuts (Irwin 2). This Act however is facing a lot of resistance from Congress who deem it unacceptable for the federal government to rescue the state and local governments. This article by Irwin presents a bird’s eye view of the current unemployment situation of the US. It is very informative, citing valuable data on the labor front. One thinks that even if the public sector does not create new jobs or cuts on its employment, the unemployment figure could still improve provided that the private sector is able to take in those who lost their jobs from the state and local governments. The question though that persists in one’s mind is whether the private sector is ready to hire more with the current state of the

Interpretation of The Rich Brother by Tobias Wolff Essay

Interpretation of The Rich Brother by Tobias Wolff - Essay Example Much as he behaves in the story, I conjured up the image of a selfish, mean, and rude guy with a lot of money for Pete. The facts of the story that led me to draw this image of Pete in my mind were his distaste for Donald’s act of giving away his $100 that he expressed by throwing Donald out of the car and not even realizing how bad he has behaved. Instead, Pete says to Donald, â€Å"you’d better go† (Wolff 12), thus deceiving himself that he does not need Donald. Pete has the audacity to nod to the music in his car after throwing his brother out of it. While the overall impression of Donald was that of a good guy without money, I missed out some of the most important underlying messages in the story like the real meaning of being rich unless I had discussion about this story with my friends. After discussing the story’s interpretation with my friends and listening to theirs, I reached the conclusion that the story contains some very important messages tha t make it more meaningful and sophisticated than I had presumed. My friends came up with their own opinions and conclusions they had drawn from the story, all of which sparked a number of questions in my mind; who of the two brothers is really rich; the one with more money or the one with the better character? Does Donald really need Pete to make a living or is Pete really in need of somebody with a high character like Donald? Is money so powerful that it deprives man of all sensitivity, sensibility, and humanity? Does money do that to everybody or there was something very wrong about Pete that it did that to him? These and many more questions were discussed with the peers. Comparison of the two interpretations has led me to the conclusion that when we read something and interpret it by ourselves without consulting anybody, we are likely to adopt a biased approach toward interpreting it so as to draw the meaning that we want out of it. We approach the reading in a certain way and th ings seem to make sense that way. While we definitely have a viewpoint, we tend to overlook, if not completely ignore, various other meanings that can be derived from the same reading. The state of mind in which we read a story plays a decisive role in what conclusions we draw from it. In order to get the most out of a reading, it is advisable to discuss the story with peers so as to get their opinion. While the best results can be achieved if all peers have personally read the story at least once, the reader should at least summarize the story to the peers so as to ensure that everybody gets to know about it even if he/she has not personally read it. When I discussed the story and my interpretation of it with my peers, not only that practice exposed me to a variety of themes, ideas, moral lessons, and conclusions hidden in the opinions of my peers, but I also noticed a widening of the horizon of my own thoughts. The practice opened my mind and I also came up with new conclusions th at I might not have been able to do alone. The strengths of personal interpretation include surfacing of a well-defined opinion of the reader that might be unique, sharpening of mind as one ponders over the facts of the story alone without anybody’s guidance or help, and maximization of learning as no other activity is as strong as building memory and interpretation skills as personal interpre

The Bad Little Boy by Mark Twain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Bad Little Boy by Mark Twain - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Twain’s purpose in the story is to present that not all the bad boys in stories have a change of heart in its conclusion and have a happy ending because they changed from being bad to good but that in real life, bad characters also succeed. Twain’s mention of Sunday school books a number of times to compare their bad boy James to his bad boy Jim emphasizes the difference between the two characters although they have a similar name. Sunday school stories, known for the moral lessons derived from the stories indicate that the character of James is round, developing from being a nuisance to the charming boy everyone wants while Twain aims to present his Jim as a challenge to face realities that there indeed are flat characters like Jim who are static, bad from the beginning to the end of the story. The frequent contradictions of James and Jim in the story establish a strong foundation for this theory. For instance, when Jim sn eaked into the pantry for some jam, it was mentioned that he did not do as the other bad boys do in other stories, feeling sorry for their bad actions, kneeling and praying then telling their mothers what bad things they did and asking for forgiveness. Instead, it mentions that the opposite happened to Jim which now puts him in a different category, that instead of becoming better, he became worst, even feeling happy for what he did and prepared for what spanking and discipline that would come from his mother. The story also presents the fact that bad things do not happen to bad people only and likewise, good things do not happen to good people only but that good and bad happen to everyone, contrary to what is usually taught in Sunday schools. This is exemplified by the mention of the main character stealing apples from a farmer’s apple tree and yet did not fall and break his limb, nor fallen in bed for weeks, grieved for what he did but that he successfully came down from the tree with lots of stolen fruits, overpowering the dog and escaping whatever danger there might have been. Drowning on a Sunday did not also happen to Jim while he was out boating when he was supposed to be in church or at home doing what was expected of a good little boy. That he did not blow his fingers off when he run with his father’s gun to go hunting on the Sabbath nor was he caught when he stole the teacher’s pen-knife instead, he broke his moral classmate’s reputation when the pen- knife fell from his cap where Jim placed the stolen item. All throughout the story, Twain presented the argument that there is more to what is written in Sunday stories which should be taught to the children and that would be the realities of life. The author also presents sarcasm in the few times he mentioned amazement about the luck of the main chara

Character of Curley’s wife in Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Character of Curley’s wife in Of Mice and Men Essay The novel Of Mice and Men was written in the 1930’s by a man named John Steinbeck. The book is set in America and at a time during the Great Depression. This was when the stock market had crashed some years prior, lots of companies went bankrupt, the banking systems failed and a massive soar in unemployment was witnessed. Also during this period of the Great Depression droughts were seen in the southern and western states of America with failed harvests in Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Texas. The fertile grassland that once was, became desert like and the area became known as the â€Å"dust bowl†. During this time the women fitted into this society as the home keepers, the men would go out to earn money whilst the woman stayed home to ensure things ran along smoothly there. The key terms that I will be evaluating in this essay, is how Steinbeck portrays Curley’s wife and how he attempts to make the reader either feel dislike or sympathy towards her. In chapter two Steinbeck describes Curley’s wife as a â€Å"tart†, this is a derogatory term used to describe a female who could possibly be â€Å"loose† or â€Å"promiscuous† even if they are not. Even before the reader is introduced to Curley’s wife, Steinbeck begins to tempt the reader to dislike her. Further on in the chapter when she is being introduced for the first time, Steinbeck uses imagery to describe Curley’s wife, he writes about her â€Å"full rouged lips†, her â€Å"red finger nails†, the â€Å"bouquets of red ostrich feathers† and the â€Å"red mules† she is wearing. Here the reader can see that Steinbeck is using connotations of the colour red. Red is seen as a provocative or seductive colour, it can also be seen as a colour of warning or danger. Here Steinbeck could possibly be trying to foreshadow future events to come. From this the reader may begin to already form a dislike towards Curley’s wife as it appears that she attempting to attract the attention of the workers on the farm, this would be an un-natural way for a married woman to behave. In chapter three Steinbeck continues to describe Curley’s wi fe in a negative manner. Steinbeck uses the term â€Å"jail bait† when she is being spoken about by the farm workers. The term jail bait is a metaphor as you cannot literally be a piece of bait that will end another up in jail. A woman who is described as jail bait is somebody who attempts to look older than they  actually are, and are possibly attempting to attract a suitor to take the bait, if this event comes to fruition the suitor could find himself serving a lengthy prison sentence. Further on in chapter three, Steinbeck writes about Curley’s wife as having â€Å"the eye† all the time, Steinbeck again is using a metaphor to descried Curley’s wife actions towards the farm workers. You cannot actually have the eye, what Steinbeck is doing is attempting to show the reader that she is always looking for attention and has to act in a provocative manner to obtain this. The reader may begin to feel strong dislike towards Curley’s wife now, as this is not the way any married woman should act. However it also begins to show the reader what a lonely existence it was for women during this era and possibly all that Curley’s wife actually craved was social interaction which is a basic need for any human being. Steinbeck again could possibly be foreshadowing future events to come. In chapter four Steinbeck begins to touch more on the lonely existence for a woman during this period of time. Curley’s wife speaks about wanting to â€Å"talk to somebody ever once in a while† this again represents the loneliness that she may be experiencing and again possibly the cause for her acting in the manner that she does around the workers. Steinbeck here uses imagery as the reader can imagine Curley’s wife being completely alone from female contact and only having Curley to speak to and the farm workers when Curley is not around. Steinbeck could also be possibly foreshadowing future events to come. Further on in the chapter Steinbeck also creates an element of fear towards Curley’s wife, this is seen when she is talking with Lennie and Candy. Curley’s wife states to Candy that she could get him â€Å"strung up† on a tree when she is challenged by him. Steinbeck a gain is using imagery and a metaphor to describe what will have. Being strung up is a referral to being hung, this would be done by making a noose at one end of a rope and hanging it over a branch and tying it to a tree, unfortunately a person then has the noose put over his head and then the rope is pulled tight and the person is effectively â€Å"strung up†. From this the reader may begin to feel a strong dislike to Curley’s wife even though she could possibly be lonely, the way she is going about getting the attention she craves is not the way to win people over. Making threats to a person who already may not get the best treatment, will only make them fear the consequences more if they are found out. In chapter five Steinbeck uses imagery to describe the way  Curley’s wife quietly approached Lennie in the stable, the reader could feel that this is a sneakily way to get close to Lennie and then before he can get away from her she is upon him. Steinbeck also describes Curley’s wife as having little â€Å"sausage curls†, Steinbeck is using personification to describe her hair, as in reality you would not have sausage as curls in someone’s hair, and again may be attempting to sway the reader to dislike her, also from this the reader may feel that Curley’s wife can be quite sly and cunning at times, the way that she approaches Lennie in the barn is not the norm if you are just strolling about, it must be a calculated act, knowing full well that she will catch Lennie alone. From this the reader may feel a strong dislike towards her, this is due to the fact that although she is married, she is still attempting to get one of the farm workers alone. It is almost like she cannot resist the temptation. And ultimately in the end if anything was to happen, the worker would move on and she would have knew victims to try and entice. Throughout the novella the readers opinions of Curley’s wife may slightly sway from dislike to sympathy, this is because the way Steinbeck uses imagery to describe her at the beginning it is that of a loose and easy woman, craving the attention of men on the farm in an almost sexual and provocative manner even though she is recently married. This theme continues throughout the majority of the story at different intervals. She enjoys to wear red, she is always asking if anyone have seen her husband, she seems to relax more if they have not and enjoys the attention she attracts. The reader may also feel sympathy for her as when Steinbeck describes her wanting company, this could possibly be a reason for her always hanging around the worker and looking for Curley. Ultimately I feel the reader will show great dislike towards her, the way she acts is not the correct way for a woman to act regardless of loneliness. I feel that Steinbeck is attempting to draw attention to how lonely life must have been for any person during that period of time. The struggles that they must have come over and lengths that some people would have gone to achieve that.

The Importance Of Biodiversity And Effects Environmental Sciences Essay

The Importance Of Biodiversity And Effects Environmental Sciences Essay The importance of biodiversity has lack know by peoples. Human is actually relying on the biodiversity to survive because biodiversity provide useful and necessary resources such as food and raw material of medicine. Besides, the biodiversity is important role that working on ecosystem. It is kind of transportation of ecosystem service. The ecosystem provides services such as protection of soil thus the biodiversity loss is related to the reduction of ecosystem services. One of the main causes of biodiversity is deforestation. Deforestation rate increase day by day, the species lose their habitat and lack of food to survive. Human hew the forests to get the resources and also develop the human activities such as agriculture and tourism. More than fifty percent of Asian land area use to develop the agriculture. Human being should find out the solution to improve the biodiversity loss and reduction of ecosystem services. Reforestation improves the rate of deforestation but do not have effects on biodiversity loss. Therefore, human being should understand the importance of biodiversity and the consequences of biodiversity loss to increase the awareness and consideration of human to biodiversity issues. The importance of biodiversity and effects of deforestation on biodiversity loss Biodiversity means the species of life on our mother earth and the ecological processes that support the diversity of ecosystems. The goal of this research paper is to understand the importance of biodiversity and the effects of deforestation on biodiversity. The biodiversity and ecosystem issues compare to other environmental issues, peoples have less consideration to biodiversity issues. As the point above mentioned, the biodiversity is related to the condition of global ecosystem. The species of organisms on earth are facing the threat of habitat loss and extinction. If human do not take any action to improve this situation, we would lose many precious species. There are different areas of species of life in the world such as mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, fish and plants. Each of the different species of life has few or more species already extinct. For examples, red colobus monkey, dodo, and phantom shiner. There have no scientists or study can tell us how many species of life are in the world because our mother earth is a complex world and the relevant organizations discover new species to science ceaselessly until now. Therefore, we do not know there is how many species we are losing exactly. There are some experts forecast that the speed of biodiversity loss nowadays is between thousand and ten thousand higher than the natural extinction rate. Human may not understand well the influence of biodiversity to the entire human race and global ecosystems. Human obtain many resources from biodiversity, such as food, timber, raw materials of medicine and souvenir. In addition of those basic provisions, the biodiversity play the important roles of maintaining the ecosystem of the world. It provides the important services, such as cleaning water resources, protection of soil, reduction of global diseases and dedication of maintain the stability of climate. Biodiversity also contributes social benefits to us like tourism and entertainment development. However, human pay attention to what and how many benefits they can get from the biodiversity and ecosystem, the value of biodiversity and ecosystem would neglected by human. Nowadays, science has better perceptive to the biodiversity effects and ecosystem services. There are several study of biodiversity effects show that the biodiversity loss is relevant with the reduction of ecosystem services (e.g., Balvanera et al.2006, Cardinale et al.2007, Thompson et al.2009 as cited in Thompson, Okabe, Tylianakis, Kumar, Brockerhoff, Schellhorn, Parrotta Nasi, 2011). Thompson and colleagues (2009) found that seventy six percent of twenty one studies states that there is direct relationship between the richness of species and the production of ecosystem services. Based on all these studies, the biodiversity play the role of transportation of ecosystem services. Therefore, the damage of biodiversity may influence the cycling of species, and the transportation of ecosystem services. When the ecosystem services reduce, the environmental issues such as climate change will be more serious. From the above points of view, we can understand how important the biodiversity are and human could not survive without biodiversity and ecosystem service. One of the main reasons that cause biodiversity loss is deforestation. The animals lose their habitat and the biodiversity of forests are damage when deforestation happens. The area which has the highest rate of deforestation is Southeast Asia. According to a study of land use change in Asia, fifty percent of the Asian land is under the development of agriculture or the development of human activities ( Zhao, Peng, Jiang, Tian, Lei Zhou, 2006) In South Asia, seventy three percent of the land area is used as the development of agriculture. Therefore, the animals have no habitats and enough food to survive. For example, Singapore has ninety five percent of deforestation rate over the past one hundred and eighty three thus there has more than twenty eight percent of species has eliminated. Another country that have high rate of biodiversity loss caused by deforestation is Thailand (Zhao et al., 2006). Brooks, Mittermeier, Fonseca, Rylands, Konstant, Flick, Pilgrim, Oldfield, Magin Taylor (2001) stated that Nearly half the worlds vascular plant species and one-third of terrestrial vertebrates are endemic to twenty five of hotspots of biodiversity, each of which has at least one thousand and five hundred endemic plant species. None of these hotspots have more than one-third of their pristine habitat remaining. Historically, they covered twelve percent of the lands surface, but today their intact habitat covers only one point four of the land. Based on this article, we can know that the endemic of hotspots are facing the problem of extinction because of the habitat loss. When the habitat areas decrease, the species have highest possibility of extinction problems. Discussion As we know that, the biodiversity loss is more and more serious nowadays. Human should find out the solution to reduce the biodiversity loss. To reduce the extinction of biodiversity, we should decrease the rate of deforestation of the world. One of the solutions of deforestation is reforestation. Although reforestation does improve the rate of deforestation, it does not fully renovate the species richness and ecosystem of a forest. There is a study about the value of plantation forests; it finds that the species richness of reforestation is not as abundant as the aboriginal forest (Gardner, Hernandez, Barlow Peres, 2008). In my opinion, the best way to decrease the rate of deforestation is improve the consideration and awareness of human being. Government and the relevant organization should encourage peoples to concern about this topic and let children have the concepts of biodiversity and deforestation. Peoples should know well about the seriousness and consequences of biodiversity loss and the reduction of ecosystem thus they will appreciate and conserve the nature. Besides, Government should be stricter in land management to prevent peoples or some companies over extract the forests to acquire self-benefits. In addition, we can use science to improve the biodiversity loss and reduction of ecosystem services. For example, Sustainable forest management (SFM) is ecosystem management that work on the conservation of environment, such as biodiversity issues. They try to use scientific method to find out the most effective way and translating it into policy to conserve and renovate the biodiversity loss and reduction of ecosystem services (Thompson et al., 2011). Finally, there are also simple solutions such as do not buy the souvenirs that made of animals, less use of air-conditioner and buy timber from the legal company. Although those simple ways look not as effective as scientific method, peoples should make contribution to environmental issues. Conclusion The biodiversity loss has facing the highest rate over the past years. The government and organization of environment should not be the only who responsible to the conservation of environment. Human should have more knowledge about the importance of biodiversity and ecosystem service thus the awareness of human to biodiversity will increase. Human being should be more intelligent to maintain and protect our mother earth. If the rate of biodiversity loss and reduction of ecosystem continue increase, none of us can endure the consequences. Therefore, human being must be more consideration to this issue. Not only the government, should parents play a good role of model to their children to make the better environment for our next generation.

Working Capital Management And Profitability

Working Capital Management And Profitability Working capital management (WCM) refers to management of a firms current assets and current liabilities, which is also a primary function that support firm daily operation such as used to funds its stock, credit sales, and credit purchases. The management of working capital is important in order to maintain its liquidity in day-to-day operation; to ensure it operation is running smoothly and meets its obligation (Eljelly, 2004). A firm without sufficient cash flow will have difficulties to survive in the future as it will be unable to pay its obligations. Therefore, if a firm does not manage their liquidity position well, it will affect firms growth, survival and profitability (Shafii, 2010). The trade-off between profitability and liquidity are essential, however most of the firms ultimate objective is to maximise profit, while disregarding the dilemma of liquidity. One objective should not be cost of the other because both of them have their important (Raheman Nasr, 2007). Jose et al. (1996) also point out this fact saying firms with glowing long term prospects and healthy bottom lines do not remain solvent without good liquidity management. For these reason WCM should be given proper consideration. However, the management of working capital is complex as it needs to manage a number of different components which are inter-linked to each others. The management needs to concern on account receivables, account payables, inventories and cash, as altering one component will affect the others. Therefore, firms need to identify the optimal level of working capital that can maximise firms value (Afza and Nazir, 2007). According to Ganesan (2007), optimization of working capita l means minimisation of related costs and maximisation of related income. Efficient WCM will increase firms free cash flow, which in turn increases the firms growth opportunities and return to shareholders. Consequently, efficient WCM is crucial in order to maintaining firms survival, liquidity, solvency and profitability. Thus, WCM has enormous influence to firms performance. Research Question Does the past evidence showing a relationship between WCM and profitability hold true in Malaysian Listed Companies -manufacturing and services industries. 1.2 AIM The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between WCM and profitability in a sample of Malaysian listed companies by looking at the manufacturing and services industries. The cash conversion cycle (CCC) will be the indicator of firms liquidity which is a comprehensive measure, so that able to identify the most important variable that will affect CCC for two different industries. 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY Examine the relationship between the CCC and firm profitability. Examine the relationship between CCC components which are account receivables, account payable and inventory turnover period with firms profitability. Investigate whether the two industries have the same effect on the relations. 1.4 RATIONAL OF THIS STUDY Extensive empirical research on WCM has been carried out around the world widely and those researches had given different results on the relationship between WCM and profitability. As the studies on the data undertake from Ernst Young, 2010 reveals that WCM vary across different industries. The study also gives significant evidence that different firms or sectors adopt different approaches to WCM. So, different firms will use different approaches and strategy to manage their working capital, such as those firms that is less competitive will choose to minimise their receivable in order to increase their cash flow. While for those firms that depends on supplier will maximise their payable account. Therefore, the impact of various working capital mechanisms on firms performance from Malaysia perspective might be different due to divergence business environment and culture between other countries. Besides that, there are few factors that may influence firm working capital such as nature of business, production policy, production cycle, credit policy, and availability of supply (Rama, 2009). Nature of Business The nature of business between different industries or firms is different. Thus, working capital requirement needed, also different among different industries or firm. For example, manufacturing is the productions of the product where the inventory can be keep in the warehouse. While services are the services provided to customer which cannot be stored. It also does not have investment in either raw materials, work in progress (WIP) or finished goods. Besides that, it also involves in immediate realization of cash after the services are provided, which means there will be less accounts receivables is exists. In here, it can be believed that services will have lower working capital requirement. [low wc, more risk n return] This is further proven by John Louie Ramos Production Policy The management of hospitality capacity (inventory) is difficult as compared to manufacturing firm due to fluctuating demand pattern. For example, for service industry their inventory is room availability. The number of rooms in a hotel is fixed, once the room is vacant, they will lose the chances of earning money and the inventory during the period is wasted. Meanwhile, the services provided to customer cannot be store. Besides that, if the demand for the room is more than supply, they had to lose the income as they cannot produce the inventory based on demand. While for the manufacturing firm, they can produce their inventory based on the seasonal demand. They can produce more inventories during the peak demand and less during off-seasons. Then, the firm will have low working capital during off-season. While for those firm that have fixed inventory production policy which means produce the same quantity of inventory to meet the peak demand, then the firm will have large accumulation of inventory during the off-seasons. The large accumulation of inventory will increase the amount of working capital. Thus, the production policy will affect the firm and industry working capital requirement. Production Cycle The time and process involved in manufacture of goods will also affect firm working capital requirement as more fund is needed to invest, in order for the goods to be completed in time and in good quality. Credit Policy Credit policy also one of the factors that will affect firm or industry working capital requirements which it determine the firms receivables. For services industry, it will have low working capital as it involved cash sales while for manufacturing the working capital requirement will depend on the firms credit policy. If the firm offer short credit period, then it will only need low working capital and vice versa. Availability of supply The availability of inventory such as raw materials will affect firm working capital requirements. If the availability of raw materials is easily to obtain then firm can maintain low inventory which mean only need low working capital. However, if the level of supply is hard to predict or obtain then the firm had to keep a large amount of inventory in their warehouse in order to avoid the shortage of production. Thus, the firm need large amount of working capital. Therefore, this study is to examine the differences of the WCM between to the two industries and relationship between liquidity and profitability in Malaysia listed company. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT Working capital represents safety cushion for providers of short term funds of the firm. Without a proper management of working capital, it will have cash shortages and will result in difficulty in paying its obligations, especially in the competitive business worlds nowadays (FPR, 2010). Besides that nowadays, most companies normally do not think of improving liquidity management until them faces financial crisis or becoming on the edge of bankruptcy. In order to make sound decision and survive in the long term, firm must combine strategic planning with comprehensive data by using both financial and non-financial data. Working capital and liquidity management is important for all businesses either are small, medium or large firm. As cash is the most liquid asset in a firm, therefore efficient liquidity management involves planning and controlling firms current assets meets its current liabilities is essential so that firm will not excessive invest in short term finance and avoid risk of inability to meet its short term obligation. Furthermore an efficient WCM enable firm to minimise the need for external financing as the external financing comprises of financial risk. By referring to the risk and return theory (Pettengill et al, 1995), higher risk investments will result in higher returns and vice versa. Hence, firms with low liquidity of working capital may have higher risk then high profitability. Conversely, high liquidity of working capital may face low risk then low profitability. Therefore, firm must take into consideration all the current assets and current liabilities when making financial decision making and try to balance the risk and return. As a result, in addition to profitability, liquidity management is vital for ongoing concern. Working capital management comprises of inventory management, cash management and credit management. A detailed of those components will be discussed below: 2.1.1 INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Inventory management is essential for businesses, without proper control and management of the inventory will lead to serious issues facing by the firm. For example, if the inventory does not managed properly or in an efficient manner, it may delay firms production process, lost of important customer, customer dissatisfaction, and or result in working capital curtailment (Richard A, 1978). Inventory consists of raw material, WIP and finished goods (Adeyemi, 2010). By referring to (Marilyn, 2006) raw materials are used to make production scheduling easier, to take advantage of price changes and quantity discounts, and to hedge against supply shortages. If raw material inventories were not held, purchases would have to be made continuously at the rate of production. This would not only mean high ordering costs and less quantity discounts, but also production interruptions when raw materials cannot be procured in time. WIP serves to make the production process smoother and more efficien t. Besides that, it will provide a buffer between the various production processes. Finished goods have to be held to provide immediate services to customers and to stabilise production by separating production and sales activities. Firm can improve the inventory turnover or shortening the inventory turnover period by speeding up the WIP into finished goods, however it cannot be fully transformed. While for the raw material and finished goods is depend on management decision. Thus, it can be said every firms inventory turnover level is significantly different from each other. High inventory holding in a firm will reduce the risk of shortage and decrease the ordering cost. However, hold too much inventories on hand there may be a risk of inventory obsolesces (Van Horne, 1995). Therefore, firm must find a trade-off between those risks by discovery an optimal inventory level. An optimal inventory level can be measured using the economic order quantity (EOQ) as it minimise the annual ho lding costs and ordering costs (Adeyemi, 2010). The formula for EOQ is as below: A = Annual demand Cp = Cost to place an order Ch = Cost of holding an inventory in a year Besides that, EOQ can also be explained using graph in the Figure 1. The graph is plotted for total ordering cost, total holding cost and total cost for the quantities ordered. The point at which the line of total ordering cost intersects with the total holding cost is the EOQ. At the point of EOQ, it will show the minimum costs that will incurred when the firm placing the total amount of quantities. The graph also shows that the cost of ordering is decreased when the order quantity is increased. Then, the holding cost will increase when the order quantity is increased. In addition, when the order quantity is increased or decreased, the total cost will increased and decreased as well, where the total cost is the sum of total ordering cost and total holding cost. Hence, the optimal level of inventory cost is at the point of EOQ. According to Abraham (2005) inventory for services industries consists of two kinds of perishable inventory. One is room availability and the other is food beverages. The identification of fast and slowing moving of these inventories is within the total inventory is essential in order to avoid insufficient inventory. He also states that an optimal inventory is important in order to have a proper management of the inventory as those unused inventory will lead the firm suffer a lost. 2.1.2 CASH MANAGEMENT According to Van Horne (1995) cash management is involves managing the monies of the firm in order to maximize cash availability and interest income on any idle funds. Cash management also include the trade receivable of a firm which play an important role in managing working capital. By improving the trade receivable routine more efficient, firm can reached optimal receivables by having adequate credit policy and collection procedure. A credit policy specifies requirements to value the worthiness of customers and a collection procedure provides guidelines to collect unpaid invoices that will reduce delays in outstanding receivables (Richards Laughlin, 1980). An efficient cash management is essential as it can be an instrumental in preventing losing of cash, maintain sufficient cash to made payment and prevents unnecessary large amounts of cash from being held idle in banks account that produce little or no revenue. 2.1.3 CREDIT MANAGEMENT Lastly, the optimal payables can be achieved by extending its trade credit from supplier. Simona and Paul (2007) state that trade credit is a substitute financing choice of short term borrowing, where trade credit is free while short term borrowing is costly as it needs to incur interest cost. For example, when firm extends its credit period from suppliers it will save the cost of short term borrowings. This means that an increased in account payables, will lead to a decrease in the short term borrowing costs. However, by delaying the payments to supplier will damage the firms reputation and loss some of the cash discounts offered by supplier for early settlements. 2.2 LIQUIDITY MEASURES Corporate liquidity is examined from two distinctive dimensions either static or dynamic views (George, 1997; and Lancaster et al., 1999). 2.2.1 CURRENT AND QUICK RATIO The static view is normally based on traditional measure of current ratio and quick ratio which is calculated based on information at the balance sheet and incorporates no cash flow variables. The underlying behind why these two ratios are well-known in used is due to its simplicity. Current ratio is defined as the relationship between currents assets and current liabilities. It is calculated by dividing the total of the current assets by total of the current liabilities. The current ratio represent margin of safety to the firms creditor, an index to the firm stability. While for quick ratio is the ratio of liquid assets to current liabilities. Kamath (1989) argues that the information generated from the ratios is inadequate to measure the liquidity and future cash flow due to their static nature which measures liquidity at a given point of time. George (1997) assert that it will be more appropriate and accurate to evaluate effectiveness of WCM by CCC, rather than the traditional mea sures of liquidity current ratio and quick ratio. 2.2.2 CASH CONVERSION CYCLE (CCC) Whereas dynamic CCC measures ongoing liquidity from the firms operation is define as more comprehensive measure of working capital and as a supplement to current ratio and quick ratio (Richards and Laughlin, 1980). CCC shows the time lag between expenditure for the purchases of raw materials and the collection of sales of finished goods (Schilling, 1996). This CCC measures also has been highly recommended by Kamath (1989), and others. CCC is a measure for the efficiency of WCM as it indicates how quickly the current assets are converting into cash. CCC comprise three components of days inventory outstanding (DIO), days sales outstanding (DSO) and days payables outstanding (DPO) [CCC = DIO+DSO-DPO]. DIO is a key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its inventory. It is calculated by inventory/cost of sales x 365 days. A decrease in the DIO represent an improvement, increase is deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). DSO is the key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its account receivables. It formula to calculate is account receivables/sales x 365days. A decrease in DSO represents an improvement, whereas increase represents deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). DPO is the key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its trade payables. It is calculated by trade payable/cost of sales x 365days. For DPO, an increase in days represents an improvement, whereas decrease indicates deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). The traditional view on CCC and profitability highlight that the shorter the CCC, the superior the firm profitability. The firm can shorten their CCC by improving the inventory turnover, collects cash from receivables more quickly and slowing down the payments to suppliers. This will increase the efficiency of firm internal operation and result in greater profitability (Mohammad, 2010). This can be seen in the case of Dell manufacturer in American, which it mainly business is sales of its own brand (Dell) computer and computer accessories through internet and open door sales. Their primary focus is on student market and home user. Richard (2003) had analyse on the Dells working capital showing that the increase in inventory turnover and receivable turnover days were affect Dells overall profitability. Later in the year 1997, Dell had made some changes on its business operation by only producing those computers when the order is placing by customers and thus, the company able to reduc e its CCC to negative working capital due to low inventory turnover. The negative CCC show that Dell able to collect payments from customers before they made payment to their supplier. On the other hand, shortening the CCC could harm firms profitability as reducing the inventory conversion period could increase the shortage cost, reducing the receivable collection periods could makes the companys lousing its good credit customers, and lengthening the payable period could damage the firms credit reputation. Therefore, shorter cash conversion cycle associated with high opportunity cost, and longer cash conversion cycle associated with high carrying cost. By achieving the optimal levels of inventory, receivable, and payable will minimize both carrying cost and opportunity cost of inventory, receivable, and payable and maximises sales, and profitability of firms. In this regards, an optimal cash conversion cycle as more accurate and comprehensive measure of working capital management. Schilling (1996) mentions optimum liquidity position, which is minimum level of liquidity necessary to support a given level of business activity. Briefly, he says it is critical to deplo y resources between working capital and capital investment, because the return on investment is usually less than the return on capital investment. Therefore, deploying resources on working capital as much as to maintain optimum liquidity position is necessary. Then he sets up the relationship between CCC and minimum liquidity required such that if the CCC lengthens, the minimum liquidity required increases; conversely, that if the CCC shortens, the minimum liquidity required decreases. 2.3 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE There are numerous empirical research had done on the relationship between WCM and profitability in different countries and industries by using different variable selection for analysis. Some of the research prove that there is a positive relationship between profitability and CCC such as Dell, however there also had research shows that there are negatively related. Richards and Laughlin (1980) concluded that there is a positive relationship between the current and quick ratios and the cash conversion cycle. Besides that, Chowdhury and Amin (2007) also had found positive correlation between working capital and profitability which examine on the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh. The study done by Lazaridis and Tryfonidis (2006) using the sample of listed company from Athens Stock Exchange for the period 2001-2004 showed that there is a significant relationship between CCC and profitability, which use gross operating profit as a measure of profitability. It same apply for Ganesan (2007), analysis on the WCM efficiency in telecommunication equipment industry, found that there is negative relationship between working capital and profitability. It can be said that management of working capital have significant impact on profitability and liquidity in different countries and industries. Besides that, an empirical research on Pakistani firms done by Raheman and Nasr, (2007) with a sample of 94 firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange from period 1999-2004, shows that there is a negative relationship between variables of WCM and debt with profitability of the firm. In addition, a study in Indias hospital for the period 2005-2006 by Christopher and Kamalavalli, (2010) the correlations and regression analysis signifying that working capital component namely current ratio, cash turnover ratio, current assets to operating income and leverage negatively influence profitability of the firms. Lastly, the recent study in 2009 by Uyar (2009), he used the ANOVA and Pearson correlation to analyse the relationship between CCC and return on asset for the firm listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange for the year 2007. The research showed that there is a significant negative correlation between those two variables. Belt (1985) examined for US companies the trends of cash conversion cycle and its components during the period 1950-1983, for those lines of businesses for which Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining and Trade Corporations (QFR) . He found that retailing and wholesaling firms both had cash conversion cycles shorter than those of manufacturing firms. Mining firms had the shortest cash conversion cycle because this type of industry has the longest payment deferral period of all the major business types. Besley and Meyer (1987) evaluated empirically the interrelationships among the working capital accounts and cash conversion cycle, the firms industry classification and the rate of inflation for US companies for the period 1969-1983. Using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient they found that the cash conversion cycle was most correlated with the average age of inventory and least correlated with the age of spontaneous credit. The conclusion suggests that inventory ac tivity is the most important input to the cash conversion cycle. The age of inventory, the average collection period and the age of spontaneous credit proved to be highly correlated. The cash conversion cycle and its components for the examination period differed from industry to industry, but did not vary from year to year. By looking at the empirical literature on WCM, there is limited research study on the consequences of WCM from Malaysias firm perspectives. Irene Lee (2007) research results show that the Malaysian public listed firms have positive relationship between profitability and working capital to a certain extent. Besides that, the recent study by Mohammad (2010) explores the relation between WCM and firms performance. He measures the relationship by selecting 172 listed companies in Bursa Malaysia for the period 2003-2007. Using the Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis, he found significant negative associations between working capital variables with firms market value and profitability. Therefore, he highlights the importance of managing working capital requirements to ensure an improvement in firms market value and profitability and must consider the working capital when making companys strategic. It can be seen from the above that many studies have done on the WCM, its component and profitability by using different variable to test those relationship. From those studies, different countries, industries and strategies gives different results, some are positively related between WCM and profitability while some are negatively related. Since the previous studies of WCM in Malaysia, is focusing on the relationship between WCM and profitability. Therefore, in studies will further study on the relation of the both variables by making comparison on the two listed industries of manufacturing and services industries in Malaysia. 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The objective of this study is to look at one parts of financial management which known as WCM with reference to Malaysia. Here, will see the relationship between WCM practices and its effects on profitability of two industries in Malaysia; 16 firms listed on main board of Bursa Malaysia for the period of three years from 2007 to 2009. This section of the study will discuss on the sample selection, variables, and statistical techniques that will be used to examine the relationship between firms WCM and profitability. 3.1 DATA SET SAMPLE In this study secondary data; firms financial statements will be used to examine the research question. Those secondary data will be collected from Bursa Malaysia. A sample of eight companies will be randomly select for both manufacturing and services industries for the period of three years from 2007-2009. The reason for selecting this period was that latest data that will be available for investigation. Manufacturing and services industries are selected for this study because they reveal district difference in term of nature and management of the business. The services industries have a seasonal period and profit as they unable to predict the sales and demand from customers as services industries are people-oriented and people-driven, it is more difficult to effectively automate and control the service costs than in other non-services business sectors. Whereas the inventory for the manufacturing can be stored in the warehouse in order to avoid shortage but for the services industri es unable to stored their capacity (inventory) as it will affect their firms profitability. Therefore, a comparison of the WCM between the two industries will be look at in this study. Primary data will not be used as the data that has not been gathered before and the collection of data is time consuming, and high cost. Besides that, the primary data is not able to measure the firms financial strength and weaknesses. The measurement of firms financial wealth can only be measures and compare by using quantitative data. In addition, this study is to examine the relationship between WCM and profitability which required the quantitative information. 3.2 VARIABES This study had identified key variables that will influence Malaysia firms WCM. Choice of variables is influenced by previous study on WCM and also to further study on the previous study on Belgians WCM by Deloof. CCC will be used as a comprehensive measure of WCM which also used as independent variables. CCC is simply DSO plus DIO  less  DPO. Profitability is measured by gross operating income (GOI), which is defined as sales minus cost of sales, and divided by total assets minus financial assets. Why it was divided by total assets minus financial assets? As from the list of companies that are randomly selected from Bursa Malaysia, their financial asset is a significant part of its total assets, where financial asset include cash and bank balances, stock and securities that can be readily converted into cash. This also the reason why return on assets is not considered as a measure of profitability in this research, as if firm has mainly financial assets in its balance sheet; its operating activities will contribute little to the overall return on its assets. Besides that, sales growth ([this years sales previous years sales]/previous years sales) will be used as control variable in the regression analysis. 3.3 HYPOTHESIS TESTING As the objectives of this study are: Examine the relationship between WCM and profitability. Examine relationship between the DSO, DIO, DPO and firms profitability. Investigate whether the two industries have the same effect on the relations. The following hypothesis will be formulated and attempt to find statistical evidence for the two industries to support those hypothesis. Hypothesis H1: The CCC is negatively related to firms profitability (ROA) higher CCC, lower the firm profitability and vice versa. Hypothesis H2: Shortening the DSO will increased firms profitability. Hypothesis H3: Shortening the DIO will increased firms profitability. Hypothesis H4: Lengthening the DPO will increased firms profitability. 3.4 ANALYSIS USED IN STUDY In this study, two types of analysis are performed; there are descriptive and quantitative analyses. 3.4.1 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS The initial analysis in this study is descriptive statistic, which will provide detailed information of each relevant variable and describe the relevant aspects of cash conversion cycle. All the relevant variables were calculated using balance sheet value, rather than using market value, it is because the firms financial statement did not provided market value on the variables that is required in this study. Besides that, the measurement of profitability GOI could only be based on value in income statement values as there is no way to measure it at so-called market values. In addition, if the market values are used, there will a question on which date the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"market values are referred to. Thus, in this study the book values of the variables in the firms financial statement will be used. 3.4.2 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS Two methods had been applied in quantitative analysis. Firstly, correlation analysis is carried out, which specifically to measure the possible linear relationship between different variables under consideration. Secondly, is regression analysis, which is to estimate the relationship between liquidity, profitability and other selected variables. We have used Pooled Ordinary Least Squares and Generalized Least Squares (cross section weights) methods for analysis. We used panel data in a pooled regression, where time-series and cross-sectional observations were combined and estimated. In other words, several cross-sectional units were observed over a period of time in a panel data setting. For this purpose of analysis the E views software was used to analyze financial data and especially in case of pooled data. 4. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION The results of the two types of analysis will be discussed below. 4.1 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS Initially, descriptive statistics is the first step analysis in this research. It will provide a useful summary of central tendency; mean and median, and variability such as standard deviation, minimum and maximum. Table 1 and Table 2 presents descriptive statistics for the components of working capital efficiency for eight manufacturing firms and s Working Capital Management And Profitability Working Capital Management And Profitability Working capital management (WCM) refers to management of a firms current assets and current liabilities, which is also a primary function that support firm daily operation such as used to funds its stock, credit sales, and credit purchases. The management of working capital is important in order to maintain its liquidity in day-to-day operation; to ensure it operation is running smoothly and meets its obligation (Eljelly, 2004). A firm without sufficient cash flow will have difficulties to survive in the future as it will be unable to pay its obligations. Therefore, if a firm does not manage their liquidity position well, it will affect firms growth, survival and profitability (Shafii, 2010). The trade-off between profitability and liquidity are essential, however most of the firms ultimate objective is to maximise profit, while disregarding the dilemma of liquidity. One objective should not be cost of the other because both of them have their important (Raheman Nasr, 2007). Jose et al. (1996) also point out this fact saying firms with glowing long term prospects and healthy bottom lines do not remain solvent without good liquidity management. For these reason WCM should be given proper consideration. However, the management of working capital is complex as it needs to manage a number of different components which are inter-linked to each others. The management needs to concern on account receivables, account payables, inventories and cash, as altering one component will affect the others. Therefore, firms need to identify the optimal level of working capital that can maximise firms value (Afza and Nazir, 2007). According to Ganesan (2007), optimization of working capita l means minimisation of related costs and maximisation of related income. Efficient WCM will increase firms free cash flow, which in turn increases the firms growth opportunities and return to shareholders. Consequently, efficient WCM is crucial in order to maintaining firms survival, liquidity, solvency and profitability. Thus, WCM has enormous influence to firms performance. Research Question Does the past evidence showing a relationship between WCM and profitability hold true in Malaysian Listed Companies -manufacturing and services industries. 1.2 AIM The aim of this study is to provide empirical evidence of the relationship between WCM and profitability in a sample of Malaysian listed companies by looking at the manufacturing and services industries. The cash conversion cycle (CCC) will be the indicator of firms liquidity which is a comprehensive measure, so that able to identify the most important variable that will affect CCC for two different industries. 1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THIS STUDY Examine the relationship between the CCC and firm profitability. Examine the relationship between CCC components which are account receivables, account payable and inventory turnover period with firms profitability. Investigate whether the two industries have the same effect on the relations. 1.4 RATIONAL OF THIS STUDY Extensive empirical research on WCM has been carried out around the world widely and those researches had given different results on the relationship between WCM and profitability. As the studies on the data undertake from Ernst Young, 2010 reveals that WCM vary across different industries. The study also gives significant evidence that different firms or sectors adopt different approaches to WCM. So, different firms will use different approaches and strategy to manage their working capital, such as those firms that is less competitive will choose to minimise their receivable in order to increase their cash flow. While for those firms that depends on supplier will maximise their payable account. Therefore, the impact of various working capital mechanisms on firms performance from Malaysia perspective might be different due to divergence business environment and culture between other countries. Besides that, there are few factors that may influence firm working capital such as nature of business, production policy, production cycle, credit policy, and availability of supply (Rama, 2009). Nature of Business The nature of business between different industries or firms is different. Thus, working capital requirement needed, also different among different industries or firm. For example, manufacturing is the productions of the product where the inventory can be keep in the warehouse. While services are the services provided to customer which cannot be stored. It also does not have investment in either raw materials, work in progress (WIP) or finished goods. Besides that, it also involves in immediate realization of cash after the services are provided, which means there will be less accounts receivables is exists. In here, it can be believed that services will have lower working capital requirement. [low wc, more risk n return] This is further proven by John Louie Ramos Production Policy The management of hospitality capacity (inventory) is difficult as compared to manufacturing firm due to fluctuating demand pattern. For example, for service industry their inventory is room availability. The number of rooms in a hotel is fixed, once the room is vacant, they will lose the chances of earning money and the inventory during the period is wasted. Meanwhile, the services provided to customer cannot be store. Besides that, if the demand for the room is more than supply, they had to lose the income as they cannot produce the inventory based on demand. While for the manufacturing firm, they can produce their inventory based on the seasonal demand. They can produce more inventories during the peak demand and less during off-seasons. Then, the firm will have low working capital during off-season. While for those firm that have fixed inventory production policy which means produce the same quantity of inventory to meet the peak demand, then the firm will have large accumulation of inventory during the off-seasons. The large accumulation of inventory will increase the amount of working capital. Thus, the production policy will affect the firm and industry working capital requirement. Production Cycle The time and process involved in manufacture of goods will also affect firm working capital requirement as more fund is needed to invest, in order for the goods to be completed in time and in good quality. Credit Policy Credit policy also one of the factors that will affect firm or industry working capital requirements which it determine the firms receivables. For services industry, it will have low working capital as it involved cash sales while for manufacturing the working capital requirement will depend on the firms credit policy. If the firm offer short credit period, then it will only need low working capital and vice versa. Availability of supply The availability of inventory such as raw materials will affect firm working capital requirements. If the availability of raw materials is easily to obtain then firm can maintain low inventory which mean only need low working capital. However, if the level of supply is hard to predict or obtain then the firm had to keep a large amount of inventory in their warehouse in order to avoid the shortage of production. Thus, the firm need large amount of working capital. Therefore, this study is to examine the differences of the WCM between to the two industries and relationship between liquidity and profitability in Malaysia listed company. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 WORKING CAPITAL MANAGEMENT Working capital represents safety cushion for providers of short term funds of the firm. Without a proper management of working capital, it will have cash shortages and will result in difficulty in paying its obligations, especially in the competitive business worlds nowadays (FPR, 2010). Besides that nowadays, most companies normally do not think of improving liquidity management until them faces financial crisis or becoming on the edge of bankruptcy. In order to make sound decision and survive in the long term, firm must combine strategic planning with comprehensive data by using both financial and non-financial data. Working capital and liquidity management is important for all businesses either are small, medium or large firm. As cash is the most liquid asset in a firm, therefore efficient liquidity management involves planning and controlling firms current assets meets its current liabilities is essential so that firm will not excessive invest in short term finance and avoid risk of inability to meet its short term obligation. Furthermore an efficient WCM enable firm to minimise the need for external financing as the external financing comprises of financial risk. By referring to the risk and return theory (Pettengill et al, 1995), higher risk investments will result in higher returns and vice versa. Hence, firms with low liquidity of working capital may have higher risk then high profitability. Conversely, high liquidity of working capital may face low risk then low profitability. Therefore, firm must take into consideration all the current assets and current liabilities when making financial decision making and try to balance the risk and return. As a result, in addition to profitability, liquidity management is vital for ongoing concern. Working capital management comprises of inventory management, cash management and credit management. A detailed of those components will be discussed below: 2.1.1 INVENTORY MANAGEMENT Inventory management is essential for businesses, without proper control and management of the inventory will lead to serious issues facing by the firm. For example, if the inventory does not managed properly or in an efficient manner, it may delay firms production process, lost of important customer, customer dissatisfaction, and or result in working capital curtailment (Richard A, 1978). Inventory consists of raw material, WIP and finished goods (Adeyemi, 2010). By referring to (Marilyn, 2006) raw materials are used to make production scheduling easier, to take advantage of price changes and quantity discounts, and to hedge against supply shortages. If raw material inventories were not held, purchases would have to be made continuously at the rate of production. This would not only mean high ordering costs and less quantity discounts, but also production interruptions when raw materials cannot be procured in time. WIP serves to make the production process smoother and more efficien t. Besides that, it will provide a buffer between the various production processes. Finished goods have to be held to provide immediate services to customers and to stabilise production by separating production and sales activities. Firm can improve the inventory turnover or shortening the inventory turnover period by speeding up the WIP into finished goods, however it cannot be fully transformed. While for the raw material and finished goods is depend on management decision. Thus, it can be said every firms inventory turnover level is significantly different from each other. High inventory holding in a firm will reduce the risk of shortage and decrease the ordering cost. However, hold too much inventories on hand there may be a risk of inventory obsolesces (Van Horne, 1995). Therefore, firm must find a trade-off between those risks by discovery an optimal inventory level. An optimal inventory level can be measured using the economic order quantity (EOQ) as it minimise the annual ho lding costs and ordering costs (Adeyemi, 2010). The formula for EOQ is as below: A = Annual demand Cp = Cost to place an order Ch = Cost of holding an inventory in a year Besides that, EOQ can also be explained using graph in the Figure 1. The graph is plotted for total ordering cost, total holding cost and total cost for the quantities ordered. The point at which the line of total ordering cost intersects with the total holding cost is the EOQ. At the point of EOQ, it will show the minimum costs that will incurred when the firm placing the total amount of quantities. The graph also shows that the cost of ordering is decreased when the order quantity is increased. Then, the holding cost will increase when the order quantity is increased. In addition, when the order quantity is increased or decreased, the total cost will increased and decreased as well, where the total cost is the sum of total ordering cost and total holding cost. Hence, the optimal level of inventory cost is at the point of EOQ. According to Abraham (2005) inventory for services industries consists of two kinds of perishable inventory. One is room availability and the other is food beverages. The identification of fast and slowing moving of these inventories is within the total inventory is essential in order to avoid insufficient inventory. He also states that an optimal inventory is important in order to have a proper management of the inventory as those unused inventory will lead the firm suffer a lost. 2.1.2 CASH MANAGEMENT According to Van Horne (1995) cash management is involves managing the monies of the firm in order to maximize cash availability and interest income on any idle funds. Cash management also include the trade receivable of a firm which play an important role in managing working capital. By improving the trade receivable routine more efficient, firm can reached optimal receivables by having adequate credit policy and collection procedure. A credit policy specifies requirements to value the worthiness of customers and a collection procedure provides guidelines to collect unpaid invoices that will reduce delays in outstanding receivables (Richards Laughlin, 1980). An efficient cash management is essential as it can be an instrumental in preventing losing of cash, maintain sufficient cash to made payment and prevents unnecessary large amounts of cash from being held idle in banks account that produce little or no revenue. 2.1.3 CREDIT MANAGEMENT Lastly, the optimal payables can be achieved by extending its trade credit from supplier. Simona and Paul (2007) state that trade credit is a substitute financing choice of short term borrowing, where trade credit is free while short term borrowing is costly as it needs to incur interest cost. For example, when firm extends its credit period from suppliers it will save the cost of short term borrowings. This means that an increased in account payables, will lead to a decrease in the short term borrowing costs. However, by delaying the payments to supplier will damage the firms reputation and loss some of the cash discounts offered by supplier for early settlements. 2.2 LIQUIDITY MEASURES Corporate liquidity is examined from two distinctive dimensions either static or dynamic views (George, 1997; and Lancaster et al., 1999). 2.2.1 CURRENT AND QUICK RATIO The static view is normally based on traditional measure of current ratio and quick ratio which is calculated based on information at the balance sheet and incorporates no cash flow variables. The underlying behind why these two ratios are well-known in used is due to its simplicity. Current ratio is defined as the relationship between currents assets and current liabilities. It is calculated by dividing the total of the current assets by total of the current liabilities. The current ratio represent margin of safety to the firms creditor, an index to the firm stability. While for quick ratio is the ratio of liquid assets to current liabilities. Kamath (1989) argues that the information generated from the ratios is inadequate to measure the liquidity and future cash flow due to their static nature which measures liquidity at a given point of time. George (1997) assert that it will be more appropriate and accurate to evaluate effectiveness of WCM by CCC, rather than the traditional mea sures of liquidity current ratio and quick ratio. 2.2.2 CASH CONVERSION CYCLE (CCC) Whereas dynamic CCC measures ongoing liquidity from the firms operation is define as more comprehensive measure of working capital and as a supplement to current ratio and quick ratio (Richards and Laughlin, 1980). CCC shows the time lag between expenditure for the purchases of raw materials and the collection of sales of finished goods (Schilling, 1996). This CCC measures also has been highly recommended by Kamath (1989), and others. CCC is a measure for the efficiency of WCM as it indicates how quickly the current assets are converting into cash. CCC comprise three components of days inventory outstanding (DIO), days sales outstanding (DSO) and days payables outstanding (DPO) [CCC = DIO+DSO-DPO]. DIO is a key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its inventory. It is calculated by inventory/cost of sales x 365 days. A decrease in the DIO represent an improvement, increase is deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). DSO is the key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its account receivables. It formula to calculate is account receivables/sales x 365days. A decrease in DSO represents an improvement, whereas increase represents deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). DPO is the key figure that measures the average amount of time that a firm hold its trade payables. It is calculated by trade payable/cost of sales x 365days. For DPO, an increase in days represents an improvement, whereas decrease indicates deterioration (Ross et al, 2005). The traditional view on CCC and profitability highlight that the shorter the CCC, the superior the firm profitability. The firm can shorten their CCC by improving the inventory turnover, collects cash from receivables more quickly and slowing down the payments to suppliers. This will increase the efficiency of firm internal operation and result in greater profitability (Mohammad, 2010). This can be seen in the case of Dell manufacturer in American, which it mainly business is sales of its own brand (Dell) computer and computer accessories through internet and open door sales. Their primary focus is on student market and home user. Richard (2003) had analyse on the Dells working capital showing that the increase in inventory turnover and receivable turnover days were affect Dells overall profitability. Later in the year 1997, Dell had made some changes on its business operation by only producing those computers when the order is placing by customers and thus, the company able to reduc e its CCC to negative working capital due to low inventory turnover. The negative CCC show that Dell able to collect payments from customers before they made payment to their supplier. On the other hand, shortening the CCC could harm firms profitability as reducing the inventory conversion period could increase the shortage cost, reducing the receivable collection periods could makes the companys lousing its good credit customers, and lengthening the payable period could damage the firms credit reputation. Therefore, shorter cash conversion cycle associated with high opportunity cost, and longer cash conversion cycle associated with high carrying cost. By achieving the optimal levels of inventory, receivable, and payable will minimize both carrying cost and opportunity cost of inventory, receivable, and payable and maximises sales, and profitability of firms. In this regards, an optimal cash conversion cycle as more accurate and comprehensive measure of working capital management. Schilling (1996) mentions optimum liquidity position, which is minimum level of liquidity necessary to support a given level of business activity. Briefly, he says it is critical to deplo y resources between working capital and capital investment, because the return on investment is usually less than the return on capital investment. Therefore, deploying resources on working capital as much as to maintain optimum liquidity position is necessary. Then he sets up the relationship between CCC and minimum liquidity required such that if the CCC lengthens, the minimum liquidity required increases; conversely, that if the CCC shortens, the minimum liquidity required decreases. 2.3 EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE There are numerous empirical research had done on the relationship between WCM and profitability in different countries and industries by using different variable selection for analysis. Some of the research prove that there is a positive relationship between profitability and CCC such as Dell, however there also had research shows that there are negatively related. Richards and Laughlin (1980) concluded that there is a positive relationship between the current and quick ratios and the cash conversion cycle. Besides that, Chowdhury and Amin (2007) also had found positive correlation between working capital and profitability which examine on the pharmaceutical industry in Bangladesh. The study done by Lazaridis and Tryfonidis (2006) using the sample of listed company from Athens Stock Exchange for the period 2001-2004 showed that there is a significant relationship between CCC and profitability, which use gross operating profit as a measure of profitability. It same apply for Ganesan (2007), analysis on the WCM efficiency in telecommunication equipment industry, found that there is negative relationship between working capital and profitability. It can be said that management of working capital have significant impact on profitability and liquidity in different countries and industries. Besides that, an empirical research on Pakistani firms done by Raheman and Nasr, (2007) with a sample of 94 firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange from period 1999-2004, shows that there is a negative relationship between variables of WCM and debt with profitability of the firm. In addition, a study in Indias hospital for the period 2005-2006 by Christopher and Kamalavalli, (2010) the correlations and regression analysis signifying that working capital component namely current ratio, cash turnover ratio, current assets to operating income and leverage negatively influence profitability of the firms. Lastly, the recent study in 2009 by Uyar (2009), he used the ANOVA and Pearson correlation to analyse the relationship between CCC and return on asset for the firm listed in the Istanbul Stock Exchange for the year 2007. The research showed that there is a significant negative correlation between those two variables. Belt (1985) examined for US companies the trends of cash conversion cycle and its components during the period 1950-1983, for those lines of businesses for which Quarterly Financial Report for Manufacturing, Mining and Trade Corporations (QFR) . He found that retailing and wholesaling firms both had cash conversion cycles shorter than those of manufacturing firms. Mining firms had the shortest cash conversion cycle because this type of industry has the longest payment deferral period of all the major business types. Besley and Meyer (1987) evaluated empirically the interrelationships among the working capital accounts and cash conversion cycle, the firms industry classification and the rate of inflation for US companies for the period 1969-1983. Using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient they found that the cash conversion cycle was most correlated with the average age of inventory and least correlated with the age of spontaneous credit. The conclusion suggests that inventory ac tivity is the most important input to the cash conversion cycle. The age of inventory, the average collection period and the age of spontaneous credit proved to be highly correlated. The cash conversion cycle and its components for the examination period differed from industry to industry, but did not vary from year to year. By looking at the empirical literature on WCM, there is limited research study on the consequences of WCM from Malaysias firm perspectives. Irene Lee (2007) research results show that the Malaysian public listed firms have positive relationship between profitability and working capital to a certain extent. Besides that, the recent study by Mohammad (2010) explores the relation between WCM and firms performance. He measures the relationship by selecting 172 listed companies in Bursa Malaysia for the period 2003-2007. Using the Pearson correlation and multiple regression analysis, he found significant negative associations between working capital variables with firms market value and profitability. Therefore, he highlights the importance of managing working capital requirements to ensure an improvement in firms market value and profitability and must consider the working capital when making companys strategic. It can be seen from the above that many studies have done on the WCM, its component and profitability by using different variable to test those relationship. From those studies, different countries, industries and strategies gives different results, some are positively related between WCM and profitability while some are negatively related. Since the previous studies of WCM in Malaysia, is focusing on the relationship between WCM and profitability. Therefore, in studies will further study on the relation of the both variables by making comparison on the two listed industries of manufacturing and services industries in Malaysia. 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The objective of this study is to look at one parts of financial management which known as WCM with reference to Malaysia. Here, will see the relationship between WCM practices and its effects on profitability of two industries in Malaysia; 16 firms listed on main board of Bursa Malaysia for the period of three years from 2007 to 2009. This section of the study will discuss on the sample selection, variables, and statistical techniques that will be used to examine the relationship between firms WCM and profitability. 3.1 DATA SET SAMPLE In this study secondary data; firms financial statements will be used to examine the research question. Those secondary data will be collected from Bursa Malaysia. A sample of eight companies will be randomly select for both manufacturing and services industries for the period of three years from 2007-2009. The reason for selecting this period was that latest data that will be available for investigation. Manufacturing and services industries are selected for this study because they reveal district difference in term of nature and management of the business. The services industries have a seasonal period and profit as they unable to predict the sales and demand from customers as services industries are people-oriented and people-driven, it is more difficult to effectively automate and control the service costs than in other non-services business sectors. Whereas the inventory for the manufacturing can be stored in the warehouse in order to avoid shortage but for the services industri es unable to stored their capacity (inventory) as it will affect their firms profitability. Therefore, a comparison of the WCM between the two industries will be look at in this study. Primary data will not be used as the data that has not been gathered before and the collection of data is time consuming, and high cost. Besides that, the primary data is not able to measure the firms financial strength and weaknesses. The measurement of firms financial wealth can only be measures and compare by using quantitative data. In addition, this study is to examine the relationship between WCM and profitability which required the quantitative information. 3.2 VARIABES This study had identified key variables that will influence Malaysia firms WCM. Choice of variables is influenced by previous study on WCM and also to further study on the previous study on Belgians WCM by Deloof. CCC will be used as a comprehensive measure of WCM which also used as independent variables. CCC is simply DSO plus DIO  less  DPO. Profitability is measured by gross operating income (GOI), which is defined as sales minus cost of sales, and divided by total assets minus financial assets. Why it was divided by total assets minus financial assets? As from the list of companies that are randomly selected from Bursa Malaysia, their financial asset is a significant part of its total assets, where financial asset include cash and bank balances, stock and securities that can be readily converted into cash. This also the reason why return on assets is not considered as a measure of profitability in this research, as if firm has mainly financial assets in its balance sheet; its operating activities will contribute little to the overall return on its assets. Besides that, sales growth ([this years sales previous years sales]/previous years sales) will be used as control variable in the regression analysis. 3.3 HYPOTHESIS TESTING As the objectives of this study are: Examine the relationship between WCM and profitability. Examine relationship between the DSO, DIO, DPO and firms profitability. Investigate whether the two industries have the same effect on the relations. The following hypothesis will be formulated and attempt to find statistical evidence for the two industries to support those hypothesis. Hypothesis H1: The CCC is negatively related to firms profitability (ROA) higher CCC, lower the firm profitability and vice versa. Hypothesis H2: Shortening the DSO will increased firms profitability. Hypothesis H3: Shortening the DIO will increased firms profitability. Hypothesis H4: Lengthening the DPO will increased firms profitability. 3.4 ANALYSIS USED IN STUDY In this study, two types of analysis are performed; there are descriptive and quantitative analyses. 3.4.1 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS The initial analysis in this study is descriptive statistic, which will provide detailed information of each relevant variable and describe the relevant aspects of cash conversion cycle. All the relevant variables were calculated using balance sheet value, rather than using market value, it is because the firms financial statement did not provided market value on the variables that is required in this study. Besides that, the measurement of profitability GOI could only be based on value in income statement values as there is no way to measure it at so-called market values. In addition, if the market values are used, there will a question on which date the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"market values are referred to. Thus, in this study the book values of the variables in the firms financial statement will be used. 3.4.2 QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS Two methods had been applied in quantitative analysis. Firstly, correlation analysis is carried out, which specifically to measure the possible linear relationship between different variables under consideration. Secondly, is regression analysis, which is to estimate the relationship between liquidity, profitability and other selected variables. We have used Pooled Ordinary Least Squares and Generalized Least Squares (cross section weights) methods for analysis. We used panel data in a pooled regression, where time-series and cross-sectional observations were combined and estimated. In other words, several cross-sectional units were observed over a period of time in a panel data setting. For this purpose of analysis the E views software was used to analyze financial data and especially in case of pooled data. 4. DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION The results of the two types of analysis will be discussed below. 4.1 DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS Initially, descriptive statistics is the first step analysis in this research. It will provide a useful summary of central tendency; mean and median, and variability such as standard deviation, minimum and maximum. Table 1 and Table 2 presents descriptive statistics for the components of working capital efficiency for eight manufacturing firms and s