Fan Milk Limited Annual Report 2009

FAN MILK LIMITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2009 FAN MILK LIMITED Year ended December 31, 2009 Contents Corporate information Pages 1 Report of the directors 2-3 Corporate governance 4-5 Report of the independent auditor 6-7 Financial statements: i. Statement of comprehensive income 8 ii. Statement of financial position 9 iii. Statement of changes in equity 10 iv. Statement of cash flows 11 v. Notes 12 – 30 0 FAN MILK LIMITED Year ended December 31, 2009 CORPORATE INFORMATION Directors Charles Mensa (Dr. ) Jesper Bjorn Jeppesen Kodjo Biamawu Aziagbe Einar Mark Christensen Jens Jorgen Kollerup George H.Okai Thompson Peace Ayisi-Okyere Lennap & Co. P. O. Box 37 Accra PricewaterhouseCoopers Chartered Accountants No. 12 Airport City Una Home, 3rd Floor PMB CT 42 Cantonments Accra No. 1 Dadeban Road North Industrial Area P. O. Box 6460 Accra-North Quist, Brown, Wontumi & Associates P. O. Box 7566 Accra National Trust Holding Company Limited Martco House P. O. Box 9563 Airport, Accra Barclays Bank of Ghana Limited Ecobank Ghana Limited SG-SSB Bank Limited Prudential Bank Limited Agricultural Development Bank Limited Ghana Commercial Bank Limited Standard Chartered Bank Ghana Limited (Chairman) (Managing Director)Secretary Auditor Registered Office Solicitor Registrar & Transfer Office Bankers 1 FAN MILK LIMITED Year ended December 31, 2009 REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS The directors submit their report together with the audited financial statements of Fan Milk Limited for the year ended December 31, 2009. Statement of directors’ responsibilities The directors are responsible for the preparation of financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company and of the profit or loss and cash flows for that period.In preparing these financial statements, the directors have selected suitable accounting policies and then applied them consistently, made judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent and followed International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The directors are responsible for ensuring that the company keeps proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company. The directors are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.Principal activity The principal activity of the company is the manufacturing and distribution of dairy products and fruit drinks. Financial results The financial results of the company are set out below: 2009 GH? ‘000 Profit before tax for the year is from which is deducted tax of giving a profit after tax for the year of to which is added balance brought forward on retained earnings of from which is deducted approved dividend of giving a balance carried forward on retained earnings of 20,175 (5,019) 15,156 15,410 (1,484) 29,082 The comp any’s net worth increased from GH? 1. 4 million as at January 1, 2009 to GH? 35. 1 million at December 31, 2009. 2 FAN MILK LIMITED Year ended December 31, 2009 REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS (continued) Dividends The directors recommend a dividend of GH? 0. 10 per share (2008: GH? 0. 0750 per share) in respect of the year ended December 31, 2009. Auditor The auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, has expressed willingness to continue in office in accordance with Section 134 (5) of the Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179). BY ORDER OF THE BOARD: Name of Director:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Name of Director:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..Signature:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Signature:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Date:†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 FAN MILK LIMITED Year ended December 31, 2009 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Introduction Fan Milk Limited is committed to the principles and implementation of good corporate governance. The Company recognises the valuable contribution that it makes to long-term business prosperity and to ensuring accountability to its shareholders. The Company is managed in a way that maximises long term shareholder value and takes into account the interests of all of its stakeholders.Fan Milk Limited believes that full disclosure and transparency in its operations are in the interests of good governance. As indicated in the statement of responsibilities of directors and notes to the accounts, the business adopts standard accounting practices and ensures sound internal control to facilitate the reliability of the financial statements. The Board of Directors The Board is resp onsible for setting the Company's strategic direction, for leading and controlling the Company and for monitoring activities of executive management. The Board presents a balanced and understandable assessment of the Company's progress and prospects.The Board consists of the Chairman, five non-executive directors and an executive director (the managing director). The non-executive directors are independent of management and free from any constraints, which could materially interfere with the exercise of their independent judgement. They have experience and knowledge of the industry, markets, financial and/or other business information to make a valuable contribution to the Company's progress. The managing director is a separate individual from the Chairman and he implements the management strategies and policies adopted by the Board.They meet at least four times a year. The Audit Committee The Audit Committee is made up of four directors of whom three are non-executive directors and they meet twice a year. The main Board determines its terms of reference and they report back to the Board. Its duties include keeping under review the scope and results of the external audit, as well as the independence and objectivity of the auditor. The Audit Committee also keeps under review internal financial controls, compliance with laws and regulations and the safeguarding of assets.It also reviews the adequacy of the plan of the internal audit and reviews its audit reports. 4 FAN MILK LIMITED Year ended December 31, 2009 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE (continued) Systems of Internal Control Fan Milk Limited has well-established internal control systems for identifying, managing and monitoring risks. These are designed to provide reasonable assurance that the risks facing the business are being controlled. The corporate internal audit function of the Company plays a key role in providing an objective view and continuing assessment of the effectiveness of the internal control systems in the business.The systems of internal control are implemented and monitored by appropriately trained personnel and their duties and reporting lines are clearly defined. Code of Business Ethics Management has communicated the principles in the Company’s Code of Conduct to its employees in the discharge of their duties. This code sets the professionalism and integrity required for business operations which covers compliance with the law, conflicts of interest, environmental issues, reliability of financial reporting, bribery and strict adherence to the principles so as to eliminate the potential for illegal practices. REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO THE MEMBERS OF FAN MILK LIMITED REPORT ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS We have audited the accompanying financial statements of Fan Milk Limited set out on pages 8 to 30. These financial statements comprise the statement of financial position at December 31, 2009, and the statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity and statement of cash flows for the year then ended, and a summary of significant accounting policies and other explanatory notes.Directors’ responsibility for the financial statements The directors are responsible for the preparation and fair presentation of these financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and with the requirements of the Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179). This responsibility includes: designing, implementing and maintaining internal control relevant to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error; selecting and applying appropriate accounting policies; and making accounting estimates that are reasonable in the circumstances.Auditor’s responsibility Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial statements based on our audit. We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing. T hose standards require that we comply with ethical requirements and plan and perform our audit to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement. An audit involves performing procedures to obtain audit evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements.The procedures selected depend on the auditor’s judgement, including the assessment of the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error. In making those risk assessments, the auditor considers internal control relevant to the entity’s preparation and fair presentation of the financial statements in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the company’s internal control.An audit also includes evaluating the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates ma de by the directors, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.Opinion In our opinion the accompanying financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the company’s financial affairs at December 31, 2009 and of its financial performance and cash flows for the year then ended in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards and the requirements of the Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179). 6 REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO THE MEMBERS OF FAN MILK LIMITED (continued) REPORT ON OTHER LEGAL REQUIREMENTS The Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179) requires that in carrying out our audit we consider and report to you on the following matters.We confirm that: i) ii) iii) we have obtained all the information and explanations which to the best of our knowledge and belief were necessary for the purposes of our audit; in our opinion proper books of account have been kept by the company, so far as appears from our examination of those books; and the company’s statement of financial position and statement of comprehensive income are in agreement with the books of account. Chartered Accountants †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 2010 Accra, Ghana Mark Appleby (101193) FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (All amounts are expressed in thousands of Ghana cedis) Year ended December 31 Note Revenue Cost of sales Gross profit Distribution costs Administrative expenses Operating profit Other income Finance costs Profit before tax Tax Net profit after tax Other comprehensive income Total comprehensive income Earnings per share Basic and diluted (GH? ) 11 0. 77 0. 6 9 7 8 5 6 3 4 2009 82,471 (38,460) 44,011 (18,628) (6,184) 19,199 1,177 (201) 20,175 (5,019) 15,156 15,156 2008 55,041 (28,599) 26,442 (12, 569) (4,873) 9,000 500 (113) 9,387 (2,333) 7,054 7,054 8 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION (All amounts are expressed in thousands of Ghana cedis) Assets Non-current assets Property, plant and equipment Prepaid operating lease land Note 12 13 At December 31 2008 2009 21,622 1,647 23,269 Current assets Inventories Trade and other receivables Bank and cash balances 13,383 1,701 15,084 4 15 22 9,656 2,318 15,871 27,845 6,811 2,129 8,834 17,774 32,858 Total assets Equity Capital and reserves attributable to Company’s equity holders Stated capital Retained earnings 51,114 20 6,000 29,082 35,082 6,000 15,410 21,410 Liabilities Non-current liabilities Finance lease obligation Deferred tax Current liabilities Trade and other payables Current tax Dividend payable 19 14 18 1,330 1,330 808 808 9,719 699 222 10,640 11,448 32,858 16 17 10 14,272 137 293 14,702 Total liabilities Total shareholders’ equity and l iabilities 6,032 51,114 The financial statements on pages 8 to 30 were approved by the Board of Directors on †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦2010 and signed on its behalf by: Director: Director: 9 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY (All amounts are expressed in thousands of Ghana cedis) Stated capital Year ended December 31, 2009 At the beginning of the year Total comprehensive income Dividend At the end of the year 6,000 6,000 15,410 15,156 (1,484) 29,082 21,410 15,156 (1,484) 35,082 Retained earningsTotal Year ended December 31, 2008 At the beginning of the year Total comprehensive income Dividend At the end of the year 6,000 6,000 9,494 7,054 (1,138) 15,410 15,494 7,054 (1,138) 21,410 10 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS (All amounts are expressed in thousands of Ghana cedis) Year ended December 31 2008 2009 25,191 (17) 418 17 (5,059) 20,533 13,198 (113) 239 (1,310) 12,014Note Cash flows from operating activities Cash generated from operations Interest paid Interest received Tax paid Net cash generated from operating activities Cash flows from investing activities Purchase of property, plant and equipment Purchase of land Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment Net cash used in investing activities Cash flows from financing activities Dividend paid Finance lease repaid Net cash used in financing activities Increase in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 22 10 12 13 12 21 12,181) (1) 296 (11,886) (6,429) (216) 112 (6,533) (1,413) (197) (1,610) 7,037 8,834 15,871 (1,048) (710) (1,758) 3,723 5,111 8,834 11 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 1. General informat ion Fan Milk Limited manufactures, distributes and sells dairy products and fruit drinks through a network of independent distributors and agents. The company is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in Ghana under the Companies Code, 1963 (Act 179) and listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.The registered office is located at No. 1 Dadeban Road, North Industrial Area, Accra-North. 2. Summary of significant accounting policies The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated. (a) Basis of accounting The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis. They have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).The management of Fan Milk Limited considers the following to be the most important accounting policies for the company. In applying these accounting polic ies, management makes certain judgements and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the year end date and the reported revenues and expenses during the financial year. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the company’s accounting policies described below. The Company has adopted the following new and amended IFRSs as of January 1, 2009: ?IFRS 7 â€Å"Financial instruments – Disclosures† (amendment) – effective January 1, 2009. The amendment requires enhanced disclosure about fair value measurement and liquidity risk. In particular, the amendment requires disclosure of fair value measurements by level of a fair value measurement hierarchy. As the change in accounting policy only results in additional disclosure, there is no impact on earnings per share. ? IAS 1 (revised) â€Å"Presentation of financial statements† – effective January 1, 2009. The revised standard prohibits the present ation of items of income and xpenses (that is, `non-owner changes in equity`) in the statement of changes in equity, requiring `non-owner changes in equity` to be presented separately from owner changes in equity in a statement of comprehensive income. Comparative information has been re-presented so that it also is in conformity with the revised standard. As the change in accounting policy only impacts presentation aspects, there is no impact on earnings per share. 12 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 2.Summary of significant accounting policies (continued) (b) Property, plant and equipment Property, plant and equipment held for use in the production or supply of goods, or for administrative purposes are stated in the statement of financial position at historical cost or deemed cost less depreciation. Historical cost includes the expend iture that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the items. Deemed cost includes surpluses arising on the revaluation of certain properties to their fair values prior to the date of transition to IFRS.Subsequent costs are included in the asset’s carrying amount or recognised as a separate asset, as appropriate, only when it is probable that future economic benefits associated with the item can be measured reliably. The carrying amount of the replaced part is derecognised. All other repairs and maintenance are charged to the statement of comprehensive income during the financial period in which they are incurred. Assets in the course of construction are carried at cost less any recognised impairment loss. Cost includes professional fees which are capitalised in accordance with the Company’s accounting policy.Depreciation of these assets commences when the assets are ready for their intended use. Land is not depreciated. Depreciation is calculated using the stra ight line method to write off the cost of each asset or revalued amounts over their estimated useful lives as follows: Buildings Plant and machinery Deep freezers and bicycles Distribution trucks Other motor vehicles Computer systems Furniture and fittings 10 – 20 years 10 years 5 years 8 years 5 years 3 years 5 years The assets’ residual values and useful lives are reviewed and adjusted if appropriate at each statement of financial position date.Any asset’s carrying amount is written down immediately to its recoverable amount if the asset’s carrying amount is greater than its estimated recoverable amount. Gains and losses on disposals are determined by comparing the proceeds with the carrying amount and are recognised within other gains/(losses) in the statement of comprehensive income. When revalued assets are sold, the amounts included in other reserves are transferred to retained earnings. 13 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended De cember 31, 2009NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 2. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued) (c) Impairments of assets At each statement of financial position date, the company reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).Where the asset does not generate cash flows that are independent from other assets, the Company estimates the recoverable amount of the cash generating unit (CGU) to which the asset belongs. Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value-in-use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a post-tax discount rate that reflects the cu rrent market assessment of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.If the recoverable amount of an asset (or CGU) is estimated to be less than the carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset (CGU) is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised as an expense immediately. (d) Inventories Inventories are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is determined using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method. The cost of finished goods and work in progress comprises raw materials, direct labour, other direct costs and related production overheads, based on normal operating capacity.It excludes borrowing costs. Net realisable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution. Spare parts are written off in the year of purchase. (e) Inve stments and other financial assets Financial assets are classified as either financial assets at fair value through profit or loss, loans and receivables, held to maturity investments, or available for sale financial assets, as appropriate.When financial assets are recognised initially, they are measured at fair value, (plus in the case of investments not at fair value through profit or loss, directly attributable costs). The Company determines the classification of its financial assets upon initial recognition and, where allowed and appropriate, re-evaluates this designation at each financial year end. All regular purchases and sales of financial assets are recognised on the trade date – the date on which the company commits to purchase or sell the asset. 14FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 2. Summary of significant accounting po licies (continued) (e) Investments and other financial assets (continued) Loans and receivables Loans and receivables are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. Such assets are carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method.Gains and losses are recognised in income when the loans and receivables are derecognised or impaired, as well as through the amortisation process. (f) Trade receivables Trade receivables are amounts due from customers for goods sold in the ordinary course of business. If collection is expected in one year or less (or in the normal operating cycle of the business if longer), they are classified as current assets. If not, they are presented as non-current assets. Trade receivables are recognised initially at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest ethod, less allowance for impairment. An allowance for impairment of receivables is estimat ed when there is objective evidence that the company will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables. (g) Cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents includes cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short term highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities on the statement of financial position. h) Trade payables Trade payables are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently measured at amortised cost. (i) Bank borrowings Interest bearing loans and overdrafts are recorded at the proceeds amount received net of direct issue costs. Finance charges payable on settlement or redemption and direct costs, are accounted for on an accrual basis in the statement of comprehensive income using the effective interest rate method and are added to the carrying amount of the instrument to the extent that they are not settled in the period in which they arise. 15FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 2. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued) (j) Current and deferred income tax Current tax Current tax assets and liabilities for the current and prior periods are measured at the amount expected to be recovered from or paid to the taxation authorities. The tax rate and tax laws used to compute the amount are those enacted or substantively enacted by the statement of financial position date.Deferred tax Deferred income tax is provided using the liability method on temporary differences at the statement of financial position date between the tax base of assets and liabilities and their carrying amount for financial reporting purposes. Deferred tax liabilities are recognised for all taxable temporary differences, except where the deferred tax liability arises from the initial recognition of goodwill or of an asset or liability in a transaction that is not a business combination and, at the time of the transaction, affects neither the accounting profit nor taxable profit or loss.Deferred income tax assets are recognised for all deductible temporary differences, carry-forward of unused tax credits and unused tax losses, to the extent that it is probable that taxable profit will be available against which the deductible temporary differences, and the carry-forward of unused tax credits and unused tax losses can be utilised except where the deferred tax assets relating to the deductible temporary differences arise from the initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction that is not a business combination and, at the time of the transaction, affects neither the accounting nor taxable profit or loss. k) Leases Leases are classified as finance leases whenever the terms of the lease involve the substantial tra nsfer of all the risks and rewards of ownership to the lessee. All other leases are classified as operating leases. Assets held under finance leases are recognised as assets of the Company at their fair value or, if lower, at the present value of the minimum lease payments, each determined at the inception of the lease. The corresponding liability to the lessor is included in the statement of financial position as a finance lease obligation.Lease payments are apportioned between financing charges and a reduction of the lease obligation so as to achieve a constant rate of interest on the remaining balance of the liability. Finance charges are charged directly against income, unless they are directly attributable to qualifying assets, in which case they are capitalised with the Company’s policy on borrowing costs. 16 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 2. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued) (k) Leases (continued) Property, plant and equipment acquired under finance leases are depreciated over the shorter of the useful life of such assets or the lease period. Payments made under operating leases are charged to the statement of comprehensive income on a straight line basis over the period of the lease. l) Employee benefits Pension obligation The Company operates a defined contribution pension plan (provident fund). A defined contribution plan is a pension plan under which the Company pays fixed contributions into a separate entity. The Company has no legal or constructive obligations to pay further contributions if the fund does not hold sufficient assets to pay all employees the benefits relating to employee service. The contributions are recognised as employee benefit expense when they are due. m) Provisions Provisions are recognised when a present legal or constructive obligation exists as a r esult of past events, where it is more likely than not that an outflow of resources will be required to settle the obligation and the amount can be reliably measured. (n) Revenue recognition Sale of goods Sales are recognised when the risks and rewards of the products have been substantially transferred to the customer. Sales are shown net of returns and value added tax. o) Foreign currencies Transactions are recorded on initial recognition in Ghana cedis, being the currency of the primary economic environment in which the company operates (the functional currency). Transactions in foreign currencies during the year are converted into Ghana cedis at prevailing rates of exchange ruling at the transaction dates. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into Ghana cedis at the rates of exchange ruling at the statement of financial position date.The resulting gains and losses are dealt with in the statement of comprehensive income. 17 FAN MILK LIM ITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 2. Summary of significant accounting policies (continued) (p) Dividend Dividend distributed to the company’s shareholders is recognised as a liability in the financial statements in the period in which the dividends are approved by the Company’s shareholders. q) Post statement of financial position events Events subsequent to the statement of financial position date are reflected only to the extent that they relate directly to the financial statements and the effect is material. (r) Contingent liabilities Contingent liabilities are potential liabilities that arise from past events, the existence of which will be confirmed only on the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events which are not wholly within the control of the company.Provisions for liabilities are recorded when a l oss is considered probable and can be reasonably estimated. The determination of whether or not a provision should be recorded for any potential liabilities is based on management’s judgement. (s) Estimates Estimates are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Because of the inherent uncertainties in this evaluation process, actual losses may be different from the originally estimated provision.In addition, significant estimates are involved in the determination of provision related to taxes and litigation risks. These estimates are subject to change as new information becomes available and changes subsequent to these estimates may significantly affect future operating results. Accounting for property, plant and equipment, and intangible assets involves the use of estimates for determining the fair value at the acquisition date. Furthermo re, the expected useful lives of these assets must be estimated.The determination of the fair values of assets and liabilities, as well as of the useful lives of the assets is based on management’s judgement. (t) Segment reporting Operating segments are reported in a manner consistent with the internal reporting provided to the chief operating decision-maker. The chief operating decision-maker is responsible for the allocation of resources and assessing the performance of the operation segments. 18 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 3. Revenue Gross sales Value added tax Included in revenue are export sales of GH? 182,773 (2008: GH? Nil). 4. Cost of sales Cost of sales includes: Depreciation of factory buildings and plant and machinery Staff costs – Wages and salaries – Social security – Provident fund 5. Distri bution costs Selling and distribution costs include: Depreciation of buildings, vehicles and machinery Staff costs – Wages and salaries – Social security – Provident fund 6.Administrative expenses Administrative expenses include: Depreciation of buildings, vehicles and machinery Staff costs – Wages and salaries – Social security – Provident fund Auditor’s remuneration Directors’ remuneration Donations 346 1,457 105 41 33 529 55 244 813 75 29 26 357 4 1,902 2,249 186 69 1,646 1,695 141 54 1,534 3,187 240 85 1,094 2,292 180 65 2009 94,842 (12,371) 82,471 2008 63,297 (8,256) 55,041 Total number of staff employed by the company in year was 407 (2008: 401). 7.Other income Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment (Note 12) Interest on current accounts Sale of empty bags and scraps Provident fund refund Rent income Bad debts recovered Exchange gain 136 418 37 12 64 8 502 1,177 19 109 239 61 13 56 22 500 FAN MILK LIMITED Fin ancial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 8. Finance costs Interest payable on bank overdraft Interest payable on finance lease Interest payable on agents savings Finance costs on staff loans (Note 15) 2009 17 134 50 201 9.Income tax expense 2009 Current tax (Note 17) Deferred tax (Note 18) 4,497 522 5,019 2008 2,009 324 2,333 2008 4 109 113 The charge for the year can be reconciled to the profit per the statement of comprehensive income as follows: 2009 2008 Profit before tax Tax charged at 25% (2008: 25%) Expenses not deductible in determining taxable profit Other differences Capital allowances brought forward used in 2008 Export income at different tax rate 20,175 5,044 14 (31) (8) 5,019 10.Dividend payable Balance at January 1 Dividend declared and approved (GH? 0. 0750 per share; 2008: GH? 0. 0575 per share) Dividend paid Balance at December 31 222 1,484 (1,41 3) 293 132 1,138 (1,048) 222 9,387 2,347 1 4 (19) 2,333 Payment of dividend is subject to the deduction of withholding taxes at the appropriate rate. Proposed dividend for approval at AGM (not recognised as a liability as at December 31, 2009) amounted to GH? 1. 978 million (GH? 0. 10 per share). 20FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 11. Earnings per share Profit after tax Number of ordinary shares Basic and diluted earnings per share (GH? ) 2009 15,156 19,784,548 0. 77 2008 7,054 19,784,548 0. 36 There are no share options, potential rights issues or bonus issues, hence diluted earnings per share are the same as basic earnings per share. 12.Property, plant and equipment 2009 Buildings and roads Cost/deemed cost At January 1, 2009 Additions Transfers Disposals At December 31, 2009 Accumulated depreciation At January 1, 2009 Charge for the year Released on disposals At December 31, 2009 Net book value At December 31, 2009 2008 Buildings and roads Cost/deemed cost At January 1, 2008 Additions Transfers Disposals At December 31, 2008 Accumulated depreciation At January 1, 2008 Charge for the year Released on disposals At December 31, 2008 Net book value At December 31, 2008 2,829 125 3 (12) 2,945 1,069 154 (9) 1,214 1,731 Motor Plant and vehicles machinery 4,301 1,921 (431) 5,791 3,036 783 (431) 3,388 2,403 14,501 3,312 427 (174) 18,066 7,850 2,047 (174) 9,723 8,343 Capital WIP 265 1,071 (430) 906 906 Total 21,896 6,429 (617) 27,708 11,955 2,984 (614) 14,325 13,383 2,945 353 296 3,594 1,214 236 1,450 2,144 Motor Plant and vehicles machinery 5,791 4,602 72 (327) 10,138 3,388 1,159 (327) 4,220 5,918 18,066 5,740 78 (956) 22,928 9,723 2,387 (796) 11,314 11,614 Capital WIP 906 1,486 (446) 1,946 1,946 Total 27,708 12,181 (1,283) 38,606 14,325 3,782 (1,123) 16,984 21,622 Included in motor vehicles, plant and machinery are ass ets with a cost of GH? 2. 3 million (2008: GH? 2. 3 million) leased under a finance lease. 21 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 12.Property, plant and equipment (continued) 2009 Cost-capitalised finance lease Accumulated depreciation Net book value Profit on disposal of property, plant and equipment Cost of assets Accumulated depreciation Net book value Sale proceeds Profit on disposal 13. Prepaid operating lease-land Cost At January 1 Additions At December 31 Accumulated amortisation At January 1 Charge for the year At December 31 Net book value at December 31 14. Inventories Raw materials Finished goods Work in progress Goods in transit Other stocks 1,888 984 61 6,557 166 9,656 1,692 772 46 4,214 87 6,811 1,283 (1,123) 160 (296) (136) 617 (614) 3 (112) (109) 2,295 (2,295) 2008 2,295 (2,101) 194 1,910 1 1,911 ,694 216 1,910 209 55 264 1 ,647 154 55 209 1,701 During the year the cost of inventories charged to the statement of comprehensive income amounted to GH? 27. 7 million (2008: GH? 21. 1 million). 22 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 15. Trade and other receivables Trade receivables Other receivables Amounts due from staff Prepayments 2009 717 1,362 151 88 2,318 2008 419 1,551 127 32 2,129 The maximum amount of staff indebtedness during the year did not exceed GH? 0. 21 million (2008: GH? 0. 14 million).Amounts due from staff are recoverable as follows: Not later than 1 year Later than 1 year and no later than 5 years 2009 130 71 201 Future finance costs Present value of amounts due from staff The present value of the amounts due from staff is split as follows: Not later than 1 year Later than 1 year and no later than 5 years 105 46 151 108 19 127 (50) 151 2008 108 19 127 127 The fair value of amounts due from staff is based on cash flows discounted using a rate based on borrowing rate of 22. 53% (2008: Nil). The discount rate equals base rate minus appropriate credit rating from the company’s bankers. The directors consider that the carrying amount of trade and other receivables approximates to their fair value. 16.Trade and other payables Trade payables Other payables Finance lease obligation (Note 19) Accruals 2009 8,199 5,861 212 14,272 17. Current tax As at January 1 Charged to income Payments As at December 31 23 2008 6,375 2,934 197 213 9,719 699 4,497 (5,059) 137 2,009 (1,310) 699 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 18. Deferred tax Deferred tax is calculated in full on temporary differences under the liability method using a tax rate of 25% (2008: 25%). The charge for the year relates to accelerated tax allowances on property, plant and equipment. 008 2009 As at January 1 Charged to income As at December 31 19. Finance lease obligation The Company entered into a finance lease agreement in 2006 for the lease of certain motor vehicles, push carts, bicycles and freezers. The capital cost of these assets amounted to â‚ ¬753,070 and US$525,864. 91. The Company has an option to purchase the items after the primary lease period for a consideration of 0. 25% of the capital on the assets. The lease obligation is as follows: Minimum lease payments: Not later than 1 year Later than 1 year and no later than 5 years 2009 Future finance charges on finance lease Present value of finance lease liabilities 2008 212 212 (15) 197 808 522 1,330 484 324 808The present value of the finance lease liabilities is as follows: Not later than 1 year (Note 16) Later than 1 year and no later than 5 years 197 197 24 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 20. Stated capital No. of shares Proceeds 2009 2009 Authorised Ordinary shares of no par value Issued For cash Capitalisation of surplus 40,000,000 No. of shares 2008 40,000,000 Proceeds 2008 19,784,548 19,784,548 19 5,981 6,000 19,784,548 19,784,548 19 5,981 6,000 There is no unpaid liability on shares. There are no treasury shares. There are no calls or instalments unpaid. 21.Cash generated from operations Reconciliation of net profit before tax to cash generated from operations: 2009 Profit before tax Depreciation Amortisation Interest expense Interest income Increase in inventories Increase in trade and other receivables Increase in trade and other payables Profit on disposal of plant and equipment Cash generated from operations 20,175 3,782 55 201 (418) (2,845) (189) 4,566 (136) 25,191 2008 9,387 2,984 55 113 (239) (1,289) (536) 2,832 (109) 13,198 25 FAN MILK LIMITED Fina ncial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 22. Cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash held and short term bank deposits with an original maturity of three months or less. The carrying amount of these assets approximates to their fair values.For the purpose of the statement of cash flows, the year end cash and cash equivalents comprise the following: 2008 2009 Bank and cash balances Bank overdrafts 15,871 15,871 8,834 8,834 At the statement of financial position date the Company had an approved unsecured overdraft facility with local banks not exceeding GH? 0. 5 million (2008: GH? 0. 5 million). 23. Related party disclosures The Company has a related party relationship with a major shareholder and with its directors. The major shareholder Fan Milk International A/S owns 55. 449% shares in Fan Milk Limited. Emidan A/S and Fan Milk Togo are su bsidiaries of Fan Milk International A/S and are therefore entities related through common control.In the normal course of business, the Company entered into the following transactions shown below: (i) Purchase of goods Emidan A/S Fan Milk Togo (ii) Sale of goods Fan Milk Togo Fan Milk Liberia (iii) Year end balances arising from purchase of goods Emidan A/S Fan Milk Togo 7,362 12 5,697 16 183 6 2009 23,602 28 2008 19,174 108 26 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 23. Related party disclosures (continued) (iv) Year end balances arising from sale of goods Fan Milk Liberia (v) Technical assistance fees Fan Milk International (vi) Year end balances arising from technical assistance fees Fan Milk International Transactions with key management personnel Key management personnel are considered to be the directors.Remuneration Executive director (short-term benefits) Non-executive directors (short-term benefits) Key management personnel have no post-employment benefits. 24. Contingent liabilities There were no contingent liabilities at the statement of financial position date (2008: GH? Nil). 25. Financial risk management Financial risk factors The Company’s activities expose it to a variety of financial risks, including the effects of changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. The Company’s overall risk management programme focuses on the unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to minimise the potential adverse effects on its financial performance.Risk management is carried out by the management of the company under policies approved by the board of directors. Management identifies, evaluates and hedges financial risks. 407 180 302 129 351 267 1,237 825 2009 56 2008 – 27 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 25. Financial risk management (continued) Sensitivity analysis – currency risk The Company seeks to reduce its foreign currency exposure through a policy of matching, as far as possible, assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies.The Company imports raw materials, spare parts and equipment from overseas and therefore is exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from Euro and USD exposures. Management is responsible for minimising the effect of the currency exposure by buying foreign currencies when rates are relatively low and using them to settle bills when due. The Company hedges the currency risk using the practice stated above in order to mitigate currency risk as a result of changes in foreign exchange rates. The company’s hedging strategy is effective and movement in foreign exchange rates would have no material impact on the Company’s result. Sensitivity analysis â⠂¬â€œ interest rate risk The Company’s exposure to the risk of changes in market interest rates relates primarily o the Company’s long-term obligations with a floating interest rate. To manage this risk, the Company’s policy is to contract for best interest rate borrowings when terms offered are attractive. The sensitivity analysis for interest rate risk shows how changes in the fair value or future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in market rates at the reporting date. The Company had no significant exposure to interest rate risk as at December 31, 2009. Total exposure to credit risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to credit risk are primarily cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. Account receivables are mainly derived from sales to customers.The Company maintains a provision for impairment of trade receivables based upon the expected collectibility of all trade receivables. Trade rec eivables consist of invoiced amounts from normal trading activities. The Company has customers throughout Ghana and Liberia. Strict credit control is exercised through monitoring of cash received from customers and, when necessary, provision is made for specific doubtful accounts. As at December 31, 2009, management was unaware of any significant unprovided credit risk. 28 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 25.Financial risk management (continued) The table below shows the maximum exposure to credit risk by class of financial instrument: 2009 Bank balances (excluding cash) Trade and other receivables (excluding prepayments) Total credit risk exposure Liquidity risk The Company has incurred indebtedness but also has significant cash balances. The Company evaluates its ability to meet its obligations on an ongoing basis. Based on these eval uations, the Company devises strategies to manage its liquidity risk. Prudent liquidity risk management implies that sufficient cash is maintained and that sufficient funding is available through an adequate amount of committed credit facilities.The Company has no limitation placed on its borrowing capability. The facilities expiring within one year are subject to renewal at various dates during the next year. The Company had the following unutilised banking facilities as at December 31, 2009: 2009 Expiring within one year 500 2008 500 15,073 2,230 17,303 2008 8,274 2,097 10,371 Cash of the Company is placed in interest bearing current accounts to provide sufficient funding to meet its debt financing plan. At the statement of financial position date cash held on the call account was GH? 5,946 (2008: GH? 3,788). This is expected to readily generate cash inflows for managing liquidity risk.Maturity analysis of financial liabilities The table below analyses the company’s financi al liabilities. All financial liabilities fall due for payment within six months. 2008 2009 Trade and other payables Finance lease liability 14, 272 14,272 9,522 197 9,719 29 FAN MILK LIMITED Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2009 + NOTES (continued) (All amounts in the notes are shown in thousands of Ghana cedis unless otherwise stated) 26. Capital commitments Capital expenditure contracted for at the statement of financial position date but not recognised in the financial statements is as follows: 2008 2009 Property, plant and equipment approved and contracted 27.Capital risk management The primary objectives of the company’s equity capital management are to ensure that the company is able to meet its debts as they fall due, to maximise shareholder value and benefits for other stakeholders and to maintain an optimal capital structure to reduce the cost of capital. No changes were made in the objectives, policies and processes from the previous years. 28. Segment information Management has determined the operating segments based on the reports reviewed by the head of department group that are used to make strategic decisions. The group considers the business from product perspective. The reportable operating segments derive their revenue from the manufacture and distribution of dairy products and fruit drink. Management considers the products to have similar economic characteristics and they have therefore been aggregated into a single operating segment. 593 2,031 30

Agriculture Insurance in India , Problems and Prospectus Essay

Agriculture production and farm incomes in India are frequently affected by natural disasters such as droughts, floods, cyclones, storms, landslides and earthquakes. Susceptibility of agriculture to these disasters is compounded by the outbreak of epidemics and man-made disasters such as fire, sale of spurious seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, price crashes etc. All these events severely affect farmers through loss in production and farm income, and they are beyond the control of the farmers. With the growing commercialization of agriculture, the magnitude of loss due to unfavorable eventualities is increasing. The question is how to protect farmers by minimizing such losses. For a section of farming community, the minimum support prices for certain crops provide a measure of income stability. But most of the crops and in most of the states MSP is not implemented. In recent times, mechanisms like contract farming and future? s trading have been established which are expected to provide some insurance against price fluctuations directly or indirectly. But, agricultural insurance is considered an important mechanism to effectively address the risk to output and income resulting from various natural and manmade events. Agricultural Insurance is a means of protecting the agriculturist against financial losses due to uncertainties that may arise agricultural losses arising from named or all unforeseen perils beyond their control (AIC, 2008). Unfortunately, agricultural insurance in the country has not made much headway even though the need to protect Indian farmers from agriculture variability has been a continuing concern of agriculture policy. According to the National Agriculture Policy 2000, â€Å"Despite technological and economic advancements, the condition of farmers continues to be unstable due to natural calamities and price fluctuations†. In some extreme cases, these unfavorable events become one of the factors leading to farmers? suicides which are now assuming serious proportions (Raju and Chand, 2007). Agricultural insurance is one method by which farmers can stabilize farm income and investment and guard against disastrous effect of losses due to natural hazards or low market prices. Crop insurance not only stabilizes the farm income but also helps the farmers to initiate production activity after a bad agricultural year. It cushions the shock of crop losses by providing farmers with a minimum amount of protection. It spreads the crop losses over space and time and helps farmers make more investments in agriculture. It forms an important component of safety-net programmes as is being experienced in many developed countries like USA and Canada as well as in the European Union. However, one need to keep in mind that crop insurance should be part of overall risk management strategy. Insurance comes towards the end of risk management process. Insurance is redistribution of cost of losses of few among many, and cannot prevent economic loss. There are two major categories of agricultural insurance: single and multi-peril coverage. Single peril coverage offers protection from single hazard while multiple –peril provides protection from several hazards. In India, multi-peril crop insurance programme is being implemented, considering the overwhelming impact of nature on agricultural output and its disastrous consequences on the society, in general, and farmers, in particular. Agricultural Insurance market is on the threshold of a spectacular growth. The support measures proposed by the government in the horticulture sector; potential of organic farming; growing clout of aromatic and medicinal plants; Bio-diesel plants; contract farming; corporate farming and integrated insurance (supply chain and ware housing) etc are likely to put agricultural insurance on high pedestal. The government underlined its priorities for agriculture in 2004 by setting a target of doubling agricultural credit in next three years. A large chunk of credit for agriculture would be supported by insurance collateral. Considering consumers? preference for branded agricultural products; big corporate houses too have taken up corporate farming, increasing the demand for insurance. Agricultural insurance in future though is likely to be largely demand driven, the efforts of the government to support and finance insurance products and / or facilitate congenial environment as meaningful risk management tool would further enhance the potential and credibility of agricultural insurance. Despite progress of irrigation and improvement in infrastructure and communication the risk in agriculture production has increased in the country. The risk is much higher for farm income than production, as is evident from lower risk in area and higher risk in production. State wise results show that only in the states where irrigation is very reliable, it helped in reducing the risk. Those states where irrigation is not very dependable continue to face high risk. In some states farmers face twin problem of very low productivity accompanied by high risk of production. As, with the passage of time, neither technology nor any other variable helped in reducing production risk, particularly in low productivity states, there is strong need to devise and extend insurance products to agricultural production. Despite various schemes launched from time to time in the country agriculture insurance has served very limited purpose. The coverage in terms of area, number of farmers and value of agricultural output is very small, payment of indemnity based on area approach miss affected farmers outside the compensated area, and most of the schemes are not viable. Expanding the coverage of crop insurance would therefore increase government costs considerably. Unless the programme is restructured carefully to make it viable, the prospects of its future expansion to include and impact more farmers is remote. This requires renewed efforts by Government in terms of designing appropriate mechanisms and providing financial support for agricultural insurance. Providing similar help to private sector insurers would help in increasing insurance coverage and in improving viability of the insurance schemes over time. With the improved integration of rural countryside and communication network, the Unit area of insurance could be brought down to a village panchayat level. Insurance products for the rural areas should be simple in design and presentation so that they are easily understood. There is lot of interest in private sector to invest in general insurance business. This opportunity can be used to allot some target to various general insurance companies to cover agriculture. To begin with, this target could be equal to the share of agriculture in national income. Good governance is as important for various developmental programmes as for successful operation of an agriculture insurance scheme. Poor governance adversely affects development activities. With the improvement in governance, it is feasible to effectively operate and improve upon the performance of various programmes including agriculture insurance. Crop insurance program works as collateral security, therefore also benefit banks. When claims are paid, banks first adjust the claim against their outstanding dues, and balance if any is credited to the farmers. Therefore, the Crop Insurance Scheme also benefits the banks. In Philippines, banks are made to share a part of the premium burden. For rice where the premium is 10. 81 per cent, borrowing farmer pays only 2. 91 per cent, while the government pays is 5. 90 per cent and the lending institution, 2. 00 per cent. A similar arrangement can be recommended for participating banks in India. Such arrangement would also bring non-loanee farmers into the fold of banking network, thus institutional lending of crop loans. Remote sensing is the emerging technology with potential to offer plenty of supplementary, complimentary and value added functions for agricultural insurance. The present technology available shall not only provide the insurers with tools like crop health condition, area-sown confirmation, yield modeling which are very important, but also strengthen the position of insurers vis-a-vis re-insurance market. Some of the possible applications of for agricultural insurance could be as follows: 1. Estimating actual acreage – sown at insurance unit level to check the discrepancy of „over-insurance? (area insured being more than area sown). 2. Monitoring crop health through the crop season, and investigation on ground for advance intimation of yield reduction. 3. To check adequacy and reliability of CCE data. 4. Developing satellite based crop productivity models for cereals and other crops. There is a need to promote private sector participation in agriculture insurance. First license for the private sector, was issued in October 2000. As of today, there are ten private sector insurers in the general insurance business: Reliance, Tata-AIG, Royal Sundaram, IFFCO-Tokio, Bajaj-Allianze, ICICI-Lombard, HDFC- Chubb, Cholamandalam, ECGC and Star Health. The latter two, are limited to only a few lines of general insurance. The fact remains that these insurers have not yet undertaken agricultural insurance to a significant extent. Only two companies in the private sector have initiated crop insurance, albeit on a small scale. ICICI-Lombard was the first company to experiment with rainfall insurance in 2003. The concept is further extended to weather insurance since 2004. IFFCO-Tokio General Insurance (ITGI), the second company in private sector, started piloting rainfall insurance, since 2004. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has stipulated that every new insurer undertaking general insurance business, has to underwrite business in the rural sector to the extent of at least 2 per cent of the gross premium during the first financial year, which is to be increased to 5 per cent during the third financial year of its operation. Crop insurance is included in the rural sector insurance for this purpose. The business targets stipulated in rural insurance apparently are very small. Those who do not meet even these small targets, are getting away by paying penalties of nominal amounts. If private insurers are to be spurred to enter the rural insurance market in a significant manner, the business targets have to be raised substantially by IRDA. The experience of government supported and subsidized crop insurance and the recent entry of private insurers, raise questions about the co-existence of government and private agriculture insurance. One view is that the private sector will be unable to compete with government insurance, given the subsidies and access to the administrative machinery for delivering insurance. An alternative view is that given only 15 per cent coverage by government insurance, the private sector can carve out a reasonable market for itself based on improved efficiency, better design and superior services. Here one can even think of public-private partnership in providing agriculture insurance as against public-private competition. However, it is possible only when crop insurance can be run in a more professional manner with clear objectives. Providing Government help to private sector insurers would help in increasing insurance coverage and in improving viability of the insurance schemes over time. There should also be insurance provided by seed companies so that farmers who paid high prices for seeds such as GM crops did not suffer in case of crop failure. In order to promote public – private participation in agriculture insurance GOI should follow the USA model to work out premium rate through an exclusive technical agency, and offer the product to all insurers. Insurers can implement the product, enjoying the same level of support and subsidy. As a variation from the USA method, the government would not provide reinsurance support and reimbursement of administrative and operating expenses, as these costs would be loaded in the actuarial rates. The government can decide whether or not different insurers compete in the same area, or allocate specific crops and areas to a particular insurer (Planning Commission, 2007). With increased commercialization of agriculture price fluctuations have become highly significant in affecting farmers? income. Accordingly, market risk is now quite important in affecting farmers? income. We feel that implementation of market insurance to cover price risk is much easier than yield insurance. This can be done by requiring interested farmers to register their arketable surplus with insurance agency or market committee at the time of sowing of crop. The insurance agency should offer insurance cover to include price guarantee which could be minimum support price in some cases or market based price from the past. Farmers should pay premium for this kind of price insurance and initially government should share some burden of the premium. During harvest if price in the notified market falls below the guaranteed price then insurance agency should pay indemnity. Modalities to be worked out for implementation of this kind of model. The farming community in India consists of about 121 million farmers of which only about 20 per cent avail crop loans from financial institutions and only three fourth of those are insured. The remaining 80 per cent (96 millions) are either self-financing or depend upon informal sources for their financial requirements. Most of the farmers are illiterate and do not understand the procedural and other requirements of formal financial institutions and, therefore, shy away from them. Therefore, while the institutional loanees are insured compulsorily under the NAIS, only about 15 per cent of the non-loanee farmers avail insurance cover voluntarily. This is quite indicative of the enormous insurance potential that exists for addressing the needs of the farming community and enhancing the overall efficiencies as also the competitiveness of the agriculture sector. This also signifies the tremendous potential of agriculture insurance in the country as a concept, which can mitigate the adverse impacts that such uncertainties would have on the individual farmers.

Business Ethics in Bangladesh Essay Example for Free

Business Ethics in Bangladesh Essay Morality (706) , Business ethics (133) Social responsibility requires individuals engaging in business endeavors to behave in an ethical manner. Ethics are principles of behavior that distinguish between right and wrong. Ethical conduct conforms to what a group or society as a whole considers right behavior. People working in business frequently face ethical questions. Business ethics is the evaluation of business activities and behavior as right or wrong. Ethical standards in business are based on commonly accepted principles of behavior established by the expectations of society, the firm, the industry, and an individual’s personal values. Critically, â€Å"Business Ethics† can be defined as the critical, structured examination of how people & institutions should behave in the world of commerce. In particular, it involves examining appropriate constraints on the pursuit of self-interest, or (for firms) profits, when the actions of individuals or firms affects others. (9) With unethical business practices often receiving publicity, the public sometimes believe that people in business are less ethical than others in society. But ethical problems challenge all segments of our society, including government, churches, and higher education. Most business leaders realize their firms cannot succeed without the trust of customers and the goodwill of society. A violation of ethics makes trust and goodwill difficult to maintain. In thousands of companies, executives and employees act according to the highest ethical standards. Unfortunately managers in some firms behave unethically, and these instances are often highly publicized. Personnel executive say the major reason managers behave unethically is to obtain power and money. Business ethics is a wider term that includes many other sub ethics that are relevant to the respective field. For example there is marketing ethics for marketing, ethics in HR for Human Resource Department and the like. Business ethics itself is a part of applied ethics; the latter takes care of ethical questions in the technical, social, legal and business ethics. When we trace the origin of business ethics we start with a period where profit maximization was seen as the only purpose of existence for a business. There was no consideration whatsoever for non-economic values, be  it the people who worked with organizations or the society that allowed the business to flourish. It was only in late 1980’s and 1990’s that both intelligentsia and the academics as well as the corporate began to show interest in the same. Nowadays almost all organizations lay due emphasis on their responsibilities towards the society and the nature and they call it by different names like corporate social responsibility, corporate governance or social responsibility charter. Primary and Important Sources of Business ethics Ethics in general refers to a system of good and bad, moral and immoral, fair and unfair. It is a code of conduct that is supposed to align behaviors within an organization and the social framework. But the question that remains is, where and when did business ethics come into being? Primarily ethics in business is affected by the following sources – family, religion, culture, legal system, codes of conduct, and personal experience. It is for this reason we do not have uniform or completely similar standards across the globe. These factors exert influences to varying degrees on humans which ultimately get reflected in the ethics of the organization. For example, ethics followed by Grameen Phone Ltd. are different from those followed by Square Group or Unilever for that matter. Again ethical procedures vary across geographic boundaries. A person’s values is the source of their ethics, and it is their philosophy, spiritual or religious beliefs that usually help mold and shape those values, but most of all it is how a person is raised by his family that sets the foundation for his ethics in later life. It’s the basic source of business ethics. It is one of the oldest foundations of ethical standards. Religion wields varying influences across various sects of people. It is believed that ethics is a manifestation of the divine and so it draws a line between the good and the bad in the society. Depending upon the degree of religious influence we have different sects of people; we have sects, those who are referred to as orthodox or fundamentalists and those who are called as moderates. Needless to mention, religion exerts itself to a greater degree among the orthodox and to lesser extent in case of moderates. Fundamentally however all the religions operate on the principle of reciprocity towards ones fellow beings! Culture is a pattern of behaviors and values that are transferred from one generation to another, those that are considered as ideal or within the acceptable limits. No wonder therefore that it is the culture that predominantly determines what is wrong and what is right. It is the culture that defines certain behavior as acceptable and others as unacceptable. Human civilization is fact has passed through various cultures, wherein the moral code was redrafted depending upon the epoch that was. What was immortal or unacceptable in certain culture became acceptable later on and vice versa. During the early years of human development where ones who were the strongest were the ones who survived! Violence, hostility and ferocity were thus the acceptable. Approximately 10,000 year ago when human civilization entered the settlement phase, hard work, patience and peace were seen as virtues and the earlier ones were considered otherwise. These values are still in practice by the managers of to day. Still further, when human civilization witnessed the industrial revolution, the ethics of agrarian economy was replaced by the law pertaining to technology, property rights etc. Ever since a tussle has ensued between the values of the agrarian and the industrial economy! Laws are procedures and code of conduct that are laid down by the legal system of the state. They are meant to guide human behavior within the social fabric. The major problem with the law is that all the ethical expectations cannot be covered by the law and specially with ever changing outer environment the law and specially with ever changing outer environment the law keeps on changing but often fails to keep pace. In business, complying with the rule of law is taken as ethical behavior, but organizations often break laws by evading taxes, compromising on quality,  service norms etc. A business code of ethics is a series of established principles an organization uses when operating in business or society. Organizations often develop these codes to ensure that all individuals working in the company operate according to the same standards. Most individuals have an internal code of ethics or moral principles they follow in life. A situation one individual finds ethically reprehensible may not seem so to another individual. Using a code of ethics in business attempts to create a basic understanding of acceptable ethical behavior to be used when handling situations involving the company, government agencies and the general public. If an individual is rewarded or is not punished for behaving unethically, the behavior will probably be repeated. This type of experience encourages other to do unethical things in future. Likewise the threat of punishment and the lack of reward for unethical activities encourage that particular person and all others to behave ethically. Factors Influencing Ethical Behavior To encourage ethical behavior, executives, managers, and owners of firms must understand what influences behavior in the first place. The several factors that affect individuals’ behavior in business: the business environment, organizational factors, and an individual’s personal moral philosophy. Almost daily, business managers face ethical dilemmas resulting from the pressure of the business environment. They are challenged to meet sales quotas, cut costs, increase efficiency, or overtake competitors. Managers and employees may sometimes think the only way to survive in the competitive world of business is by deception or cheating. In some instances, an organization may use someone else’s successful work without the permission of the owner or originator. Conflict of interest is another common ethical problem stemming from the business environment. Often an individual has a  chance to further selfish interests rather than the interests of the organization or society. To gain favor with people who make purchasing decisions for their companies, a seller may offer special favors or gifts, ranging from a metal to clothing to trips. Some offer cash-a kickback-for putting through a contract or placing orders with a company. Others offer bribes. Such illegal conduct will damage the organization in the long run. In order to limit unethical behavior, business firms must begin by expecting their employees to obey all laws and regulations. The international business environment presents further ethical dilemmas. Business people and government officials in different countries and cultures often operate according to different ethical standards. The organization itself also influences ethical behavior. Individuals often learn ethical or unethical behaviors by interacting with others in the organization. An employee who sees a superior or co-worker behaving unethically may follow suit. An organization can also use rewards to influence the behavior of its members. If an individual is rewarded or is not punished for behaving unethically, the behavior will probably be repeated. Likewise the threat of punishment and the lack of reward for unethical activities encourage ethical behavior. The severity of punishment also sends a message to other individuals who might be considering similar activities. A person’s own moral philosophy also influences his or her ethical behavior. A moral philosophy is the set of principles that dictate acceptable behavior. These principles are learned from family, friends, co-workers, and other social groups and through formal education. In developing a moral philosophy, individuals can follow two approaches: The Humanistic Philosophy focuses on individual rights and values. Individuals and organizations adopting this philosophy would honor their moral duties to customers and workers. Individuals and organizations following the Utilitarian Philosophy seek the greatest good for the largest number of people. Most of us would agree that it is ethics in practice that makes sense; just having it carefully drafted and redrafted in books may not serve the purpose. Of course all of us want to be fair, clean and beneficial to the society. For that to happen, organizations need to abide by ethics or rule of law, engage themselves in fair practices and competition; all of which will benefit the consumer, the society and organization. Primarily it is the individual, the consumer, the employee or the human social unit of the society who benefits from ethics. In addition ethics is important because of the following: 1. Satisfying Basic Human Needs: Being fair, honest and ethical is one of the basic human needs.   Every employee desires to be such himself and to work for an organization that is fair and ethical in its practices. 2. Creating Credibility: An organization that is believed to be driven by moral values is respected in the society even by those who may have no information about the working and businesses of that organization. British American Tobacco, for example is perceived as an organization for good corporate governance and social responsibility initiatives. This perception is held far and wide even by those who do not even know what business the organization is into. 3. Uniting People and Leadership: An organization driven by values is revered by its employees also. They are the common thread that brings the employees and the decision makers on a common platform. This goes a long way in aligning behaviors within the organization towards achievement of one common goal or mission. 4. Improving Decision Making: A man’s destiny is the sum totals of all the decisions that he/she takes in course of his life. The same holds true for organizations. Decisions are driven by values. For example, an organization that does not value competition will be fierce in its operations aiming to wipe out its competitors and establish a monopoly in the market. 5. Long Term gains: Organizations guided by ethics and values are profitable in the long run, though in the short run they may seem to lose money. For Example, Tata group, one of the largest business conglomerates in India was  seen on the verge of decline at the beginning of 1990’s, which soon turned out to be otherwise. The same company’s Tata NANO car was predicted as a failure, and failed to do well but the same is picking up fast now. 6. Securing the Society: Often ethics succeeds law in safeguarding the society. The law machinery is often found acting as a mute spectator, unable to save the society and the environment. Technology, for example is growing at such a fast pace that the by the time law comes up with a regulation we have a newer technology with new threats replacing the older one. Lawyers and public interest litigations may not help a great deal but ethics can. Business Ethics- Practice in Bangladesh In Bangladesh, though practice of Business ethics is still not so commendable in public sector and small companies, but business ethics has been an increasing concern among larger companies, at least since the 1990s. Major corporations increasingly fear the damage to their image associated with press revelations of unethical practices. The following information about the functions relating ethics and social responsibility of 2 reputed companies of our country will give a brief idea about the practice of Business Ethics in Bangladesh. Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Limited is one of the leading conglomerates in Bangladesh, with a multinational heritage. They have a mission to achieve business excellence through quality by understanding, accepting, meeting and exceeding customer expectations. They follow International Standards on Quality Management System to ensure consistent quality of products and services to achieve customer satisfaction. They are focusing on improving the food habit of consumers through providing more ready to cook products and ready to eat as well. Their visions are to establish harmonious relationship with the community and promote greater environmental responsibility within its sphere of influence. Their Values are Quality, Customer Focus, Fairness, Transparency, Continuous Improvement, and Innovation. Societal Development through Educational Programs: ACI’s guiding principle in all its operations is to be a responsible corporate citizen. Thus Social Responsibility is a top priority for every individual at ACI. Their Initiatives and significant contribution to societal development is Continued Medical Education (CME) for medical professionals and Children’s Education Programs. ACI has also undertaken an English Education program in Faridpur, one of the remotest districts of Bangladesh. This provides support to teach English Language to school going children. Doctors in Bangladesh who are not living in the metropolitan cities have very limited access to the Internet or any other sources of information. In order to keep them updated on the developments in the medical practices regularly, the CME program has been proven highly effective. ACI believes that by promoting education of children, they are contributing to societal development by shaping the minds of their futur e leaders. Environment Friendly Practices: ACI has undertaken extensive programs to educate crop farmers all over rural Bangladesh in Good Agricultural Practices. They have a team of agricultural experts working at the field level all across the country, holding a range of technical trainings and field demonstrations. ACI also has similar education programs for animal and poultry farmers. These include, Technical trainings on diverse aspects of farming, and on application of new technologies, Farmers‘ group meeting for sharing of learning and experience, Free visits to farms by veterinarians, to identify problems and give advices to individual farmers. Most importantly, making the farmers aware of ways to protect the environment from hazardous uses of chemicals on their farms, allowing them the opportunity for informed decision-making. ACI hopes to continue to play a leading role in promoting greater environmental responsibility among farmers in Bangladesh. ACI Company produces some products which do not work properly, like ACI Aerosol. It is mainly produced for killing mosquitoes, but that’s not true. Most of the mosquitoes go away for sometimes but not killed. Sometimes some  products like ACI Atta, ACI Maida, etc contains 1975 grams instead of 2000 grams but they fix their prices for 2kg of the products. These are unethical for their marketing practices. Over the last four decades, Unilever Bangladesh has been constantly bringing new and world class products for the Bangladeshi people to remove the daily drudgery of life. Over 90% of the country’s households use one or more of Unilever products. They aim to give everybody a little something to celebrate about themselves every day. They believe that to succeed in business, it is essential to maintain the highest standards of corporate behavior towards everyone they work with, the communities they touch, and the environment on which they have an impact. Effective Code of business principles: Their code of business principles describes the operational standards that everyone at Unilever follows, wherever they are in the world. It also supports their approach to governance and corporate responsibility. Code of business principles are- Standard of conduct, Obey the law, employees, consumers, shareholders, business partners, community involvement, public activities, the environment, innovation, competition, business integrity, conflict of interest, compliance, reporting, monitor. Women Development and Women Empowerment: Unilever strongly believes in the importance of empowering women in Bangladesh, because the progress of any society will be constrained if a significant part of its population is neglected and excluded from the benefits of development. They believe, with economic and educational empowerment, women can become more vocal about their rights and become stronger in withstanding repression in any form. So they have established â€Å"Fair & Lovely Foundation†. The mission of this foundation is to encourage economic empowerment of Bangladeshi women through information and resources in the areas of Education, Career and Enterprise. It is this realization that has brought about the Fair & Lovely Foundation Scholarship Program. Under this scholarship scheme, women who have passed their HSC each receives a Taka 25,000 scholarship to support her tertiary level education. Unilever produces Fair & lovely fairness cream, lotion, etc and they claim that skin color will be white after using this product. But that it is not true. There are no scientific values about whiteness. This is totally unethical performance in marketing activities of this company. Comparative Customer Evaluation on Ethical Performances of 3 Reputed Companies of Bangladesh Figure – Customer Response on Maintenance of Ethical Procedure by the Companies (1) Figure – Customer Response on Deceptive Practices Used by the Companies (1) Figure – Customer Response on Significant Contribution toward Ethical Marketing (1) Figure – Customer Response on Satisfaction through Using Products of the Companies (1) Figure – Customer Response on Changing of Defective Products by the Companies (1) Bribery & Nepotism- A Curse against Ethical Practice Corruption is a very strong example of unethical behavior and it is still prevailing in different business sectors of our country in the form of Bribery and Nepotism. Nepotism is the way in which someone approaches and compels a person of power and authority to take necessary steps to get his work done by capitalizing kinship, friendship or political lobbying. Bribery means offering gifts, money etc. to get a work done in unethical way. Often public officers are infamously alleged for taking bribes to award public contracts using their power. Bribery and Nepotism also exist in the corporate world, which is very harmful for ethical practices and creates hindrances in building proper and ethical business environment. Managing or Encouraging Ethical Behavior Managing the financial operations of a company can be a complex effort. Companies need to balance their desire to grow with the realities of maintaining their financial relationships, satisfying their investors and making a profit. Government Regulations: The government can do so by legislating more stringent regulations. But, rules require enforcement and when in many cases there is evidence of lack of enforcement even the ethical business person will tend to â€Å"slip something by† without getting caught. Increased regulation may help, but it surely cannot solve the entire business ethics problems. Trade Associations Setting Guidelines: Trade associations can and often do provide ethical guidelines for their members. These organizations within particular industries are in an excellent position to exert pressures on members that stoop to questionable business practices. Companies Providing Code of Ethics: Employees can more easily determine and adopt acceptable behavior when companies provide them with a â€Å"code of ethics.† Such codes are perhaps the most effective way to encourage ethical behavior. A code of ethics is a written guide to acceptable and ethical behavior that outlines uniform policies, standards and punishments for violations. Because employees know what is expected of them and what will happen if they violate the rules, a code of ethics goes a long way towards encouraging ethical behavior. However, codes cannot possibly cover every situation. Companies must also create an environment in which employees recognize the importance of complying with the written code. Managers must provide direction by fostering communication, actively modeling and encouraging ethical decision making, apart from investing in training employees to make ethical decisions. Whistle Blowing Technique: Sometimes, even employees who want to act ethically may find it difficult to do so. Unethical practices can become ingrained in an organization. Employees with high personal ethics may then take a controversial step called â€Å"whistle blowing.† Whistle blowing is informing the press or government officials about unethical practices in an organization. Whistle blowing could have averted disaster and prevented  needless deaths in the Challenger space shuttle disaster, for example. How could employees have known about life-threatening problems and let them pass? Whistle blowing on the other hand, can have serious repercussions for employees; those who make waves sometimes lose their jobs. The main objective of business is to serve people with their every need for the well-being of human being and to ensure that, there is no alternative of following business ethics. Since the practice of business ethics in our country is still not ubiquitous, we are not getting the proper environment for the business, and thus often we are facing some crisis situation and it is hampering our total economic development. Our policy makers and the top executives of the organizations should give more concern in making ethical policies and take proper steps to encourage business executives and service holders to follow them. 1) â€Å"Ethics In Marketing On Bangladesh Perspective: Study on Few Companies of Bangladesh†- collected from â€Å"World Journal of Management Volume 2. Number 2. September 2010†, the direct link- http://wbiaus.org/10.%20Tajmeela-FINAL.pdf 2) â€Å"Business for the 21st Century†- Skinner & Ivancevich 3) â€Å"An Integrated Approach to Business Studies† (4th edition)- Bruce R Jewell 4) â€Å"Business Studies† (4th edition)- Dave Hall-Rob Jones-Carlo Raffo- Alain Anderton 8) www.sagepub.com/upm-data/10923_Chapter1.pdf 9) www.businessethics.ca/definitions/business-ethics.html Business Ethics in Bangladesh. (2016, Apr 12). We have essays on the following topics that may be of interest to you

The Principles of Sustainable Development Research Paper

The Principles of Sustainable Development - Research Paper Example Based on this definition, we are able to see sustainable development as a system that is able to connect time and space. By thinking of the world as a system that affects space, we are able to understand that air pollution in North Africa, has the capability of affecting the quality of air found in Asia, etc. Furthermore, by thinking of the world as a system that affects time, we are able to understand that our present activities will definitely have an impact on how the future generations live (Watts, 2013). The principles of sustainable development are therefore rooted in these concepts of system thinking. Sustainable development helps us to understand the world we live in, its environment, and how our activities are able to affect the environment, and how we can handle these activities for purposes of conserving the environment (Nemeth, 2012). Based on these facts, there are seven major principles of sustainable development. One important principle is the integration of economic and environmental decisions. According to this principle, the economic decisions that are made must reflect the consequences that these decisions would have, on the environment, health and social well being of the society. This, therefore, means that any economic decision that the government enacts should not have the capability of affecting the environment. For example, there is a debate on whether the United States should drill oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Proponents argue that oil drilling would improve the economy of United States, while those against oil drilling denote that, drilling of oil would destroy the environment (Scherer, 2009).  Ã‚  

Teacher Professional Learning and Development Assignment

Teacher Professional Learning and Development - Assignment Example This should be useful particularly to those who are involved in helping teachers develop the professional skills they need to teach challenging curricula to diverse students, including students who typically have not achieved well in some of our educational systems. There are four out ten important understandings that arise from the evidence base. These include notwithstanding the influence of factors such as socio-economic status, home, and community, student learning is strongly influenced by what and how teachers teach. Teaching is complex and teachers’ moment-by-moment decisions about lesson content and process are shaped by multiple factors, not just the agendas of those looking for changes in practice. Such factors include teachers’ knowledge and their beliefs about what is important to teach, how students learn, and how to manage student behavior and meet external demands. It is important to create conditions that are responsive to the ways in which teachers lear n. A recent overview of the research identified the following as important for encouraging learning: engaging learners’ prior conceptions about how the world works; developing deep factual and conceptual knowledge, organized into frameworks that facilitate retrieval and application; and promoting met cognitive and self-regulatory processes that help learners define goals and then monitor their progress towards them. Professional learning is strongly determined by the context in which the teacher practices. This is usually the classroom, which, in turn, is strongly influenced by the wider school culture and the community, and society in which the school is located. Teachers’ daily experiences in their practice context determine their understandings, and their understandings determine their experiences. The focus of this particular research is on the conditions for professional learning and development that impact positively on valued student outcomes (Sleezer, 2002). 1. Focus on valued student outcomes Professional learning experiences that focus on the relationship between particular teaching activities and valued student outcomes are associated with positive impacts on those outcomes. Research findings The major factor influencing whether professional learning activities have a positive impact on outcomes for students is the extent to which those outcomes form the rationale for, and ongoing focus of, teacher engagement. Such focus requires teachers to understand the links between particular teaching activities, the ways different groups of students respond, and what their students actually learn. In addition, success needs to be defined not in terms of teacher mastery of new strategies but in terms of the impact that changed practice has on valued outcomes. Because teachers work in such varied contexts, there is no guarantee that any specific approach to teaching will have the desired outcomes for students. Therefore, it is important to keep pro gress towards

Measuring performance of Hospitals at Qatar Research Paper

Measuring performance of Hospitals at Qatar - Research Paper Example Two modes of analysis have been performed namely quantitative and qualitative. A total of 40 respondents have been selected to review the performance of hospitals. The overall performance of hospitals located at Qatar is fair according to the views of patients having different country origin. The service quality of these hospitals have been measured on 8 dimensions, therefore, there are many areas for improvement for these hospitals. The important recommendation includes that hospitals should hire expert medical staff that could better treat their patients and care for them. Medical staff is a critical factor in the success of hospitals as they provide the core services to its customers. Introduction Background of the Project The aim of the project is to review the performance of hospitals located at Qatar, and to measure its performance on the basis of 8 dimensions. ... arch Question Following are the research question which will be answered through the research conducted: Are patients satisfied with overall performance and services provided by hospitals? What is the impact of reputation of hospitals and medical staffs have on patients and their experience? Does the communication matter between patients and medical and non-medical staff and how is the statement true? Are patients getting value for their money? Research Design Methods for Analysis Qualitative The study will use thematic analysis to analyze responses of descriptive questions. The keywords that are considered for evaluation include price, customer service, staff, and location. The frequency of appearance of these keywords are presented in a tabular format indicating the ranking of keywords related to additional suggestions that respondents have made for further improving patient service. Quantitative The study examines each of 8 dimensions of patient service at hospitals in Qatar on th e basis of responses collected from individuals belonging to different origins which includes Qatari, Bahraini, Omani, Pakistani, and Indians etc. The study makes the use of cross tabulation to provide the number of responses and their types for each statement under different dimensions of assessments of patient service. In this way, grouping of responses has been possible on the basis of differences in respondents’ background and origin of their country. The results from this analysis have been attached in this report as ‘Appendix B’. Appendix A is the survey questionnaire. Logic for Data Collection Medium Questionnaires have been used as the data collection medium which is relatively quicker to gather information from respondents than the other modes of data collection. The data can

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Martin Luther King and Malcolm X - Essay Example Political philosophy: The deep differences in their political philosophy are an example of the extent to which their formative years impacted their adult life: King drew inspiration from the champion nonpareil of nonviolence, Mahatma Gandhi, who, without so much as lifting his little finger, had brought the behemoth of British imperialism crumbling down. Apart from an unswerving commitment in theory and practice to nonviolence, both Gandhi and King drew from the core ideals of their respective religions. If the Mahatma embodied the tolerance and spiritual expansiveness of Hinduism in all its depth, King was the practitioner of the quintessential Christian virtues of inclusiveness, compassion, and forgiveness. (Lischer 53) On the other hand, Malcolm despised the religion he was born into, frequently abused and cursed the Book of God, deserted Christianity, (Malcolm X) and was vehemently committed to the policy of racial exclusiveness and separatism. His beliefs were based on the †˜eye for an eye’ doctrine. (Adams) Legacy: Another area that characterized the sharp difference between the two related to their legacies. If King was to leave behind a legacy as a champion of nonviolence, a principle to which he swore till the end, the finest culmination of which was the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, a year after winning the Time’s ‘Man of the Year’ award, (Cone 86) Malcolm left behind a legacy that was totally dissimilar to King’s, and was as tormented as his life and principles.

Mass Spectrometry and HPLC of peptides Lab Report

Mass Spectrometry and HPLC of peptides - Lab Report Example The mass of the protonated and solvated molecules pass through the mass analyzer that establishes the mass of the analyte. Reversed phase high pressure liquid chromatography relies on the reversible water-hating associations between the molecules of the solute present in a polar mobile phase and the immobilised hydrophobic ligand in the solid support to effect separation (David 2001). The dispersal of the solute between the two phases is a function of the binding attributes of the medium, the polarity of the solute and the constituents of the mobile phase. The polarity of the mobile phase is lowered by the addition of organic solvents, which minimize the hydrophobic associations between the solute and the stationary phase hence causing desorption. Hydrophobic molecules end up spending more time on the solid support hence requiring a high solvent concentration to promote desorption. The mass to charge ratio (m/z) is the proportion of the mass of a substance to the number of ions present in a substance. This value is obtained sing the formula m/z = (MW + nH+)/n where m/z = the mass-to-charge ratio, which is indicated on the axis of the spectrum; MW is the molecular mass of the sample; n is the integer number of charges on the ions and H is the mass of a proton, which is equivalent to 1.008 Da. The above equation can be used to find the molecular weight of a sample provided that the sum of charges on an ion is established. The m/z value is read from the spectrum and substituted into the equation. Usually, during the calculation of charge, it is assumed that any two adjacent members in the sequence of multiplied charged ions differ by one charge. The mass of charge ratio (m/z) of large molecules such as ionised proteins, for example, lysozyme and bovine serum albumin is obtained in the same manner as described. The charge of the ion is found by monitoring adjacent charge states and substituted into the above equation alongside the m/z ratio that