Evaluate Articel Modern War Essay

Phillip Gervase is a Principal Lecturer in History at Manchester Metropolitan University.   He authored   The Anglo-Scots Wars 1513 – 1550. (33)   In his article, Was the American Civil War the first Modern War?, he refutes the commonly held belief that the American Civil War was the first modern war.   After the Second World War, many military historians concluded that the Confederacy’s crushing defeat at the hands of the Union   foretold the future of war. Phillips argues that the Civil war was more like the wars of the 19th century than those that followed it.   By the beginning of the war, the rifle could be fired as rapidly as a musket.   Many historians have used this observation to   prove that the rifle changed the way battles were fought. Artillery was now out ranged by infantry fire forcing gun crews to search for   cover in the field. (29) This argument for the rifle is dismissed by Phillips when he cites the research of Paddy Griffith and Brent Nosworthy.   These historians conclude that the rifle did not make an important change in war methodology   since many battle were fought at the close range of previous musket battles.   The entrenched fighting style, which many have compared to World War I, was also discussed as not being an earmark of a modern war.   Phillips notes that in 1815 Andrew Jackson defended New Orleans with this method. The technique was taught at West Point Military Academy where both Union and Confederate Generals were educated.   Phillips contends that the generals would use this technique to give their mostly volunteer force a sense of security on the battle field. (30) The fact that the horse was relied on more than the train is another draw back to the conclusion that this was a modern war. When Phillips compares the American Civil War to the Crimean War, the American Civil War lacks innovation.   The real change from previous wars is in the â€Å"apparent adoption of a new philosophy of conflict† the total war.(28) The American Civil War, Phillips decides , can be considered a total war because of the major changes in American society caused by its outcome.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first leg of his argument is that the technological advances of the age did not have a significant impact on the American Civil War.   He begins with a discussion of the rifle. He points out that the rifle could be loaded and fired more often than the musket and the rifle drove men out of the formation style fighting and into trenches. He down plays this change in battlefield behavior by pointing out that the firefights were often at close range and the American soldiers were â€Å"unlikely to take kindly to the rigid, coercive discipline that underpinned the close order tactics of European conscripts.†(29) He uses the example of the second battle of Bull Run, where the opposing forces came within 20 meters of each other, to substantiate this fact.   When he notes that the soldiers of this war were different from past conflicts in that they were mostly volunteers, he dismisses the importance of this new battle technique. Yet the discussion of these elements shows that the American Civil War was fought in a different manner from previous wars.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Phillips briefly acknowledges the use of the railroad for moving troops during the American Civil War, but points out that horses were more important. Again surmising that this makes the   American Civil War less of a modern war. He then goes on to mention the ironclads, the Virginia and the Monitor. Since neither was a great warship, they couldn’t go far from the coast, Phillips asserts they didn’t revolutionize naval combat. Next, he mentions the submarine C.S.S. Hunley which, even though it sunk an enemy ship, is deemed an unimportant technological advance. Finally, he mentions the use of a single machine gun used to guard a fort in Charleston. Phillips dismiss the notion of the American Civil War being the first modern war because the use of these advances pales in comparison to those of the Crimean War. Phillips contends that the American Civil War is not a modern war at all. Although it may be true that the American Civil War was not known for its use of these technological innovations, they did exist, they were used, and they did have an impact on the outcome of the war. The fact that U.S. Navy went on to improve armored ships and submarines shows that the vessels used during the American Civil War were thought to be important and useful.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second half of the article labels the American Civil War a Total War. A total war is â€Å"an unrestrained form of conflict †¦. and the enemy’s economic resources are targeted as readily as the military ones.† (28)   The argument is based on the Union’s war strategy. The Union shifted its concentration from the defeat of the rebel armies to the annihilation of the economic resources supporting the Southern war effort.   President Lincoln demanded the unconditional surrender of the Southern forces.   Union Generals Grant and Sherman threatened to slay Southern civilians.    General Sherman’s infamous march to the sea cut a sixty mile wide path of destruction through the South.   However, Phillips weakens his argument by cataloging   ways in which the American Civil War was not quite a total war.   He writes that enemies have always tried to cause each other economic hardships. President Lincoln’s demand for surrender was not as unconditional as presumed. The article makes the case that Lincoln was willing to negotiate nearly every issue except the continuation of the nation as a union. The strangest argument he makes is that the American Civil War was more cruel than other contemporary wars, but it is not as brutal when it is compared with later wars.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Phillips cites Arthur Marwick’s   idea that a total war acts as an agent of social change which the American Civil War definitely was.   It enlarged the federal government; allowing it to create national income tax, institute the draft, regulate the economy and suppress civil liberties.(33)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many 20th century   historians considered the American Civil War to be the first modern war. Phillips disagrees and argues that the Civil War was not a modern war. He admits that it foreshadowed future war methods but he maintains that it did not make use of   technological advances. Phillips writes that the debate whether the civil war is modern should focus on the technology of the time and the philosophy of the war. The technology was not as significant to the outcome of the war.   The philosophy of â€Å"Total War† changed the way the war was fought.  Ã‚   He states that the rifle, the railroad and the naval achievements of the time were ineffectual in changing the outcome of the war. Although he concedes that labeling of the American Civil War as a â€Å"Total War† is a break from past conflicts.

Dental hygienist Essay

The transition I read is called â€Å"I have eventually found what I wanted to be when I grew up. † It is a personal success narrative about Shelia S. Webster’s journey to going a registered nurse. This transition is really relatable to what I want to be when I grow up because I would wish to go a Pediatric Nurse. Bing a Pediatric Nurse means that you devote your cognition and accomplishments to caring for kids from babyhood to late adolescent old ages. and their households. In this transition Shelia writes about how much work and clip it took for her to go a nurse. Shelia foremost started in the medical field as a labour and bringing staff nurse in 1993. but a few factors of this occupation rapidly had Shelia 2nd thinking her calling ( Webster ) . One factor that made her occupation less appealing was the emphasis of working in a high hazard environment ( Webster ) . The 2nd factor was the late hours. between work and school she barely had any clip to herself ( Webster ) . The 3rd factor that made Shelia want to alter her calling was the restricting attention she could supply in her installation ( Webster ) . All of that emphasis was doing her range her breakage point ( Webster ) . While still in school. her first measure to her calling was subscribing up for the legal nurse consulting seminar and before the semester was over she knew that nursing was the occupation for her ( Webster ) . She was willing to make anything to acquire herself into the nursing plan. to accomplish this she became a claims analyst at a malpractice insurance bearer ( Webster ) . She was determined to larn every bit much as she could at the insurance company and put up an independent LNC ( Legal Nursing Consulting ) pattern in about two old ages ( Webster ) . Her 2nd measure was to take a pilot trial. and it was an oculus opener for her ( Webster ) . The pilot trial is like a pre-test to assist Shelia acquire an apprehension of what the concluding test will be like. Reality set in fast and she was determined to make the best she could on the concluding test. When it was clip for her to take the Legal Nursing Consulting test she did non waver to demo her strengths. She was prepared for the test due to the pattern she got from the pilot trial. and was wholly confident in herself ( Webster ) . In 1998 she got her Legal Nursing Consulting licence and said â€Å"I am really proud to hold those initials in forepart of my last name for the remainder of my life. † ( Webster ) There are a few grounds why Shelia’s narrative relates to my life. When I started my junior twelvemonth of high school I went to the calling centre for dental assisting. I was anticipating to travel to inscribe into Columbus State Community College. acquire a major in Dental Hygiene. and so acquire my Dental Hygienist licence in two old ages. However. after the last two old ages of being in the Dental Assisting plan. like Shelia. I knew I did non desire to be what I thought I wanted to be. I am traveling in a new way. to major in nursing. One ground is. since I was immature I ever took excess concern for people’s well-being and would wish to do a calling out of it. I would besides wish to spread out my nursing and go a Pediatrician. The 2nd ground why Shelia’s narrative is relatable to mine is that I am great with small childs and I think that being a Baby doctor would be a good calling for me. At 19 old ages old. looking for a topographic point to get down my calling. I applied at the local day care called â€Å"Bloom Latch Key. † It is a forenoon and afternoon plan for grade school kids to come to if they are excessively immature to remain place by themselves to wait for the coach. or for the coach to drop them off at their houses. Finally. the 3rd ground why Shelia’s narrative is relatable to my life is because I am acquiring a occupation as a kid attention supplier to acquire my calling started like Shelia worked as a labour and bringing staff member while traveling to school to go a nurse. While I am working for the Bloom Latch Key. I am fostering my communicating accomplishments with kids and going more sociable with them by assisting them with their prep and interacting with them on the resort area. To go a Pediatric Nurse I will necessitate an extra four to six old ages of schooling and take preparation categories throughout my calling. For illustration ; research workers find new diseases every twenty-four hours. so to maintain the parents up to day of the month with the proper cognition nurses take extra categories to larn about the freshly founded diseases. Once I become a Pediatric nurse I will be doing about 48. 000 dollars salary as a starting motor and work my manner up to 68. 000 dollars a twelvemonth. Similar to Shelia. I am working really hard to accomplish my end in life. to go a Pediatric Nurse. I will make so by go oning my occupation at the Bloom Latch Key and constructing societal accomplishments with the kids. I will besides go on to work hard in school and do whatever it takes to go a Pediatric Nurse. Work Citedâ€Å"Personal Success Stories – American Association of Legal Nurse Advisers( AALNC ) . † Personal Success Stories – American Association of Legal Nurse Consultants ( AALNC ) . N. p. . n. d. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.

Marginalization Needs An Insight English Literature Essay

Nor is this contained in a watertight compartment of economic sciences but affects every facet of civilization. When this onslaught takes topographic point, the communities in The Bluest Eye and Windflower find themselves anomic and uprooted in a land which is every bit much theirs as of anyone. Here, in the clang of traditions and the intangible ways of life with the more concrete and productive system of the white, English community, it is the latter who assumes the cardinal place. It adds to the female quandary and the turning realisation or the turning incomprehensibility that has a benumbing consequence which is the start of disaffection. Both Elsa and Pecola become alienated, and bit by bit, deranged. In her book Playing in the Dark: White and the Literary Imagination Toni Morrison inquiries the cannons of literary reading and apprehension of Africanism and says: As a disabling virus within literary discourse, Africanism has become, in the Eurocentric tradition favored by American instruction, both a manner of speaking about and a manner of patroling affairs of category, sexual licence and repression, the formation and exercising of power, moralss, and answerability. ( Morrison 1792 ) This misreading can is true even for the French-Canadian individuality represented by Gabrielle Roy and for the Eskimo civilization depicted by her in Windflower. This manner, these civilizations and their discourses are considered as peripheral or undistinguished. In instance of both Elsa neodymium Pecola, they are double marginalized, both as adult females and as members of marginalized communities. Pecola is of the black American community, with many privileges denied to her. Elsa ‘s status becomes clear with this remark by Allison Mitcham: Several outstanding modern-day Canadian novelists seem obsessed with the predicament of characters double isolated, characters who are isolated, foremost, from the two chief watercourses of Canadian civilization — the Gallic and the Englishaa‚ ¬ † because they have been born Indian, Eskimo or Jewish, and 2nd, isolated from their ain folk, group or race because, for assorted grounds, they reject their ain racial or tribal forms, or for some ground, can non conform to them. ( Mitcham 43 ) As such, corruption is inevitable to them. A precipitating point in this corruption is the sexual development of both. Before this point, the laterality of a system, an ordered societal hierarchy is already accepted by our supporters. In this, the two plants show non the out of ordinary, rebellious characters but an indictment of this order by demoing it as it is. The laterality of the system is such that the individualities of the two female supporters are already erased and when the sexual force occurs it leaves many ripplings in its aftermath. Rape is non an extraordinary occurrence in instance of both the communities. We know already in The Bluest Eye how Frieda and other misss are sexually harassed ; in Windflower excessively, colza is taken passively, philosophically, by the community. Of class in Pecola ‘s instance it is an incest-rape, by her ain male parent but the response of the community is rather indurate about Pecola, â€Å" Ought to be a jurisprudence: two ugly people duplicating up like that to do more ugly † ( Morrison 149 ) . Overtly, the society allows them to be, does non exorcize them, but covertly, has small agencies or desire to fault the perpetrators, allow entirely penalize them. In both Windflower and The Bluest Eye we find the pull of opposite forces in the hunt for individualities by the supporters from the Eskimo and the African communities. This consequences merely when a land becomes a battlefield of two postulating political orientations or of tradition with a strong capitalistic civilization. We find this capitalistic angle in both the novels. Dorothea Drummond Mbalia has really clearly done a Marxist reading of Morrison ‘s novels and contended that in her initial novels Morrison shows a turning consciousness of capitalist economy as the most powerful and destructive of Western forces that oppress the people of African heritage. Elsa ‘s love for her boy is unconditioned in malice of her colza by an American soldier and the divided consequence: her boy is half Caucasic, half ‘south ‘ . She wants to give him the benefits of the white, Western civilization and yet she wants to continue in him the North, Eskimo civilization. But this happy via media does non work. It is non merely something innate or familial in her boy that makes him portion off from her and her Eskimo civilization. The laterality of the ‘central ‘ white civilization with its attractive forces, cultural and economic artefacts and gear is such that Jimmy ‘s acceptance of the white civilization and rejection of the Eskimo ways is non surprising. In Pecola ‘s instance, the forms of laterality, non merely of the society, but besides through household, with a rummy for a male parent and an unloving female parent, are so overpowering that she can non afford to take or to reject. Pecola might hold been less unfortunate were she self-dependent in economic footings. She is in a worse status than Elsa, as her witting and subconscious have non become strong plenty to know apart or to judge. Unable to make up one's mind, take or fly, she takes resort in a fetish, which provides but a impermanent consolation and erodes her active cognitive module. The support of sympathetic but immature and powerless friends like her does non work as a strong physical or mental support system against the oppressive worlds at place and in society.

Exam 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Exam 2 - Essay Example This theoretical model posits that all these forms of bias bear monetary cost that result in lowering the wage level for women even where women and men have the same productive capacity. Statistical discrimination theory refers to the use of statistics – real or assumed – by employers to predict the behavior of a particular group of people and therefore use it as a basis to judge their capabilities, worth, employability and so on. For example an employer could judge the individual woman on the basis of their beliefs about what women do on â€Å"average† (Blau, Ferber, and Winkler 218). The overcrowding model proposes that labor market discrimination results when particular groups â€Å"crowd† to particular jobs either as preference or out of lack of alternatives which results in an oversupply of labor for the few jobs available. Here, the market law of demand and supply makes that group disadvantaged in terms of wages. Finally, the institutional model states that discrimination arises from rigid, internal institutional structures and execution of normal everyday operations of the firm. The institutional model advances that organizations have primary / core jobs and secondary / non-core jobs which offer different levels of growth, benefits and so on. Thus the tract within which an individual starts her career, under the normal company policies, ends up affecting her career progression, wages and benefits and so on (Blau, Ferber, and Winkler 223). The major pieces of legislation enacted in the U.S. to tackle labor market discrimination are the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 focused on eliminating wage discrimination for the same job in the same firm and did not address discrimination in hiring, promotion, training programs, and so on. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was more

Filtration Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Filtration - Term Paper Example There are several methods through which the filtrate induced may flow through the filter medium. This may be by gravity (hydrostatic head), pressure being applied upstream of the filter medium, reduced pressure or vacuum being applied downstream the filter medium or through centrifugal sedimentation. (b) Filtration mechanism This may be through cake or clarifying filtration. Cake filtration is when the solid gets stopped at the surface of the filter medium where it piles upon one another to form a cake. Also known as depth or filter medium filtration, clarifying filtration is when the solids get trapped within the pores of the filter medium. (c) By objective The objective of the filtration process may be either dry solids or clarified liquid or both. The filtration process may be either intermittent or continuous. When classifying filters, they are first divided into either cake or clarifying filters. They are then classified depending on the driving force and then finally into eithe r batch or continuous classes. Continuous filtration testing and scale up In continuous filtration, it is first assumed that the resistance of both the filter cloth and the filter drainage is insignificant as compared to the resistance of the filter cake. It is also assumed that both specific cake resistance and pressure drop remain constant throughout the filtration process. ... Cake discharge A practical filter application is one which produces a cake that is thick enough to discharge. There are minimum acceptable cake thicknesses that are required for discharge for various types of filtration systems and discharge mechanisms. Therefore, when running small scale tests, the experimenter should decide early during the test program the applicable type of discharge then later tailor the data collected in a way that it will fit the physical requirements of that unit type. Feed slurry temperature An increase in the feed slurry temperature decreases the viscosity of the liquid phase. The overall result of this is an increase in the filtration rate and a decrease in the cake moisture content. Cake thickness control At times, the rate of cake formation with bottom feed type filters may be rapid enough in such a way that it creates a cake that is too thick for subsequent operations. The cake thickness can be adjusted by simply adjusting the bridge blocks found in the filter valve so as to decrease the effective submergence, through reduction of the slurry level in the vat, and also by reducing the vacuum level in the portion where the cake forms. Representative samples It is essential for the sample to be used as the representative of the slurry in full scale plants to be tested under the conditions prevailing in the process. If the slurry has a temperature that is different from the ambient temperature, subsequent heating or cooling may change the distribution of the particle size. The age of the sample may also influence the particle size significantly. If an effect is likely, the bench scale testing should be at the laboratory site or at the plant on

Law Enforcement U1IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Law Enforcement U1IP - Research Paper Example Why is the Command of Temper Important to the Demeanor of the Typical Police Officer? With regards to the principle i.e. â€Å"No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper; a quiet, determined manner has more effect than violent action†, it has often been viewed that police department, in the early 19th century, accepted violence as a norm for punishing wrong–doers, resulting in categorizing the department as large bureaucratic structure along the military lines. The increasing trend of treating the offenders violently resulted in criticizing the department concerning their theories and policies on ethical grounds. Scenario, since then, has apparently changed in the 21st century, where ethical conscience and responsibilities in every sphere of the society is considered as incomparable. Thus, it can be stated that the command of temper is very important in respect to the demeanor of a typical police officer, which restricts the policem an to conduct any aggressive behavior that might result in breach of his ethical commitments (Olsen, 2011). Again, the principle of â€Å"the securing and training of proper persons is at the root of efficiency†, it can be affirmed that rights availed to a policeman, holds significant influence on the law enforcement efficiencies of a society. Apparently, if the rights are availed to wrong person, who is observed as incompetent to understand and likewise, responds to their responsibilities, it might impose grave consequences on the societal health. Therefore, it was considered as quite vital that the selection and training of policemen made in accordance to a set standard to proper personnel who will be suitable for the department (Olsen, 2011). Do you feel that enough has been done in Law Enforcement to Develop the Proper Demeanor of Law Enforcement Officers? As per my understanding, in order to implement the principle of maintaining a perfect command of temper amidst the po licemen, enough law enforcements have been done. For instance, the ‘Law Enforcement Code of Ethics’ has been finalized and is implemented to generate adequate awareness and oblige policemen to maintain ethical conduct remaining calm and focused by controlling their temper. However, the change in the ethical and the cultural ways of living amidst the current periled may highlight the need of changes in some policies (Lawriter LLC, 2008). Again, the law provisions enacted under the ‘4973.17 Commissions for special police officers - term of office – training’, states the different criteria which are necessary requirements for becoming a police officer. However, there are certain factors that can improve the Demeanor of a police officer if implemented during their training session (Lawriter LLC, 2008). If you were the Chief of Police of a Local Law Enforcement Organization with the Opportunity to Establish Guidelines on Developing the Demeanour of Law En forcement Officers, What Methods Would you utilize? In relation to the stated principle of â€Å"no quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper; a quiet, determined manner has more effect than violent action†, it can be viewed that the main reason behind implementing the Code of Ethics in the police department is to generate moral awareness within the policemen

How drugs cause crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

How drugs cause crime - Essay Example Thesis There is no evidence suggesting that crime results from the direct effects of the drugs themselves, but drug addiction leads to deviant behavior, unemployment, lack of financial resources and poverty - the direct causes of crime. The most obvious and superficial way to define crime is to say that it is the violation of regulations of society. In advanced societies which have transcribed their rules of conduct into criminal law, crime is a violation of the code. The statement is intended to show that the rules of conduct in society define and make crime. Whether society is dealing with crime in an advanced society having a written criminal code or crime in an unadvanced society having unwritten mores, it is evident that criminal behavior is a violation of the rules of the social order. Every society, through the accumulation of its heritages and culture, possesses a body of social values that are conceived to be important to its welfare. The mores define the rules of conduct so as to protect and preserve these important values (Akers and Sellers 26). Repeated use of a psychoactive substance or substances, to the extent that the user (referred to as an addict) is periodically or chronically intoxicated, shows a compulsion to take the preferred substance (or substances), has great difficulty in voluntarily ceasing or modifying substance use, and exhibits determination to obtain psychoactive substances by almost any means† (). Taking into account the psychological theory, it is possible to say that the drug addict as a degenerate and vicious criminal much given to violent crimes and sex orgies. More and more people are coming to understand the nature of opiate drugs and the meaning of addiction. Such pain-killers are the drugs of choice of most persons who are fully addicted in the sense described below (Akers and Sellers 34). This is an important point, because the continued use of these opiate-type

Essay on Tar Baby-cl Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

On Tar Baby-cl - Essay Example In the book, â€Å"Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome†, the author came up with three patterns of behaviors where the community was highly affected. In the post slavery era, a majority of the Black Americans had developed vacant esteem, ever present anger and racist socialization. Toni Morrison uses some key characters to demonstrate the racist socialization behavior in the novel. (Morrison, T. 2014) In Toni Morrison’s novel, there are a number of instances where the issue of racist socialization emerges. However, the most captivating scenario involves the protagonist in the novel. Jadine faces an internal conflict involving her race. Jadine had already abandoned her culture and heritage and accepted a new one. It is the decision that haunts her as the lead character tries to wrestle the guilty consciences from her. Ghosts visit Jadine during the night that tried top pursued her to stick with her former heritage and culture. Toni Morrison uses some of the characters to bring out the issue of racial segregation between Black and White Americans. The author unearths some of the stereotypes held by both races in the society. In the American society, people have preconceived opinions about Blacks and Whites. The differences between Whites and Blacks emerge in the house occupied by both races. For instance, the Ondine Childs treat the Black community with a lot of contemptâ₠¬â„¢s. They despise them because they believe they are superior to them. Conversely, he boasts that he is the only real Negro in Philadelphia (Morrison, p.284).On the other hand, Childs believe that they are better than the rest of the people in the community. The class thinks it is the most powerful because of they are diligent and hard working. The Childs despise the Dominique Blacks whom they regard to be inundated. Their contempt and hatred make the unable to know the names of the servant. For instance, they refer to Thà ©rà ¨se as a thief. The act demonstrates that the Child

Effective Marketing Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Effective Marketing Planning - Assignment Example formation on step by step ideas and concepts required to achieve the results that are set monthly, weekly or quarterly and identifying the individuals that are responsible for each particular task; and implement, track and modify the marketing plan, this will give information on the implementation of the marketing plan and tracking all the results. The information on modification and change of the plan are derived from this step (Edwards, 2008). The effective marketing planning requires full research of the marketing environment. With an intense research on the marketing environment, effective marketing planning will obviously result. Through following the outlined market plan development above, a well thought marketing plan that have mechanisms of tracking required to modify and analyze the plan as may be needed is achieved. A market research will ensure that the company direction is identified. From a marketing environment, a marketing plan can be informal or formal, however, the r esearch identifies who the company clients are and where they access their information from, as well as how to deliver the company marketing message to the customer (Forth Sector Development 2007). As discussed earlier, an effective marketing planning requires research on marketing environment. There are therefore various considerations made in such research. Some of the things considered in marketing environment research include: insights on the reasons why potential customers may choose the company, this includes the core requirements that the company offering will meet; the target customers, this includes information that relates to the number of potential customers, market characteristics of the target clients; the company competitors, this includes the competitors that the company will... This essay stresses that the effective marketing planning requires full research of the marketing environment. With an intense research on the marketing environment, effective marketing planning will obviously result. Through following the outlined market plan development above, a well thought marketing plan that have mechanisms of tracking required to modify and analyze the plan as may be needed is achieved. A market research will ensure that the company direction is identified. From a marketing environment, a marketing plan can be informal or formal, however, the research identifies who the company clients are and where they access their information from, as well as how to deliver the company marketing message to the customer. As the discussion declares an effective marketing planning requires research on marketing environment. There are therefore various considerations made in such research. Some of the things considered in marketing environment research include: insights on the reasons why potential customers may choose the company, this includes the core requirements that the company offering will meet; the target customers, this includes information that relates to the number of potential customers, market characteristics of the target clients; the company competitors, this includes the competitors that the company will need to take the customers from; and statement of the company brand positioning for the target clients.

Intellectual property protection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Intellectual property protection - Essay Example The scope of the work will cover the conventions in design management and intellectual property rules and processes. In addition to this, relevant elements of international intellectual property law as regulated by the key stakeholders like the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) will be integrated into the study to form the parameters of the discussion Patents are rights to new or useful ideas (Motro, 2012). Thus, if a designer creates a new idea and a new concept, that individual can seek to register it as a patent. A patent is used for inventions and there is the individual who registers a patent has the general authority or license to confer rights for replication of the design or concept (Cannady, 2010). The fundamental requirement for a patent registration is that the idea being patented by a designer is new and useful (Dworkin and Taylor, 2011). Thus, in the world of design, as long as a design is useful and new, a designer can register it. The idea must be one that does not exist and it can be attained if a design can be applied in a scientific way or manner. The advantage of patents over other forms of registration of intellectual property is that it excludes others (Waller, 2011). This protects the legal rights and limits replications through licensing opportunity which brings the inventor royalties (Yu, 2007). This can be easily extended to different nations around the world (Yu, 2007). The disadvantage of patents on the other hand is that it lasts for only 20 y ears (Waller, 2011). It is expensive to register a patent and the requirements are extremely complicated. There is also a long time requirement for people registering patents. Another approach to the registration of a design is to use trademarks. Trademarks are however different from patents and might not be applicable to some forms of designs (Bowen, 1994). The essential role of trademarks is that it gives a commercial

Relationship between money supply and inflation in saudi arabia Essay

Relationship between money supply and inflation in saudi arabia - Essay Example This paper also label the author from whose books or journals ideas are taken and they are labeled according to APA format. The topic about inflation and money supply in the economy was very vast. To prepare a good and comprehensive report, I have not only relied on my textbooks and knowledge, but instead I have used various outside sources as well. In the beginning, I have used some of the data that was published in Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency Report. This was a good mean to examine the overall inflation rate and monetary supply in KSA. The report states that in order too keep the inflation rate in the country down; Saudi Arabian government keeps most of its wealth in the form of United States Dollars. This is to stop any unnecessary leakage or money being pumped into the economy. This shows that Saudi Arabian government knows about the fact that inflation in the economy will rise if they let the money flow into the economy. (SAMA 44th Annual Report, 2007) In another report it has also been suggested that Saudi Arabian government keeps the inflation rate down by offering various subsidies to their citizen. As a part of this policy, in 2006, a heavy subsidy was given to automobile gas sector to cut down the prices by 20%. (Country Profiles Report, 2006) My research was not only limited only to these reports, but I tried to crack down the trend of inflation in Saudi Arabia. It was when, I was researching about the inflation rates in Saudi Arabia, I found out that inflation hit Saudi Arabia in those periods, when oil-markets showed a boom or price of oil rose sharply in the international market. (Index Mundi) I also reviewed various text books to arrive at the correct definition of money supply. In the end, I found these definitions very appropriate. One writer stated that money supply is actually the amount of money that is cumulatively held by people and organization working in a country (Samuelson and Nordhaus, p.321) After finding the correct definition of money supply, I started looking for money-supply trends in Saudi Arabia. It was very surprising to see that in the last few years Saudi Arabia has increased the money supply in the economy and it is continuing its policy, although the fears about inflation are very high in the country. (Country Profile Reports: KSA,2008) In a report, it was stated that "For the last few years, Saudi Arabian government is increasing the money supply in the economy by around 24% annually". Talking in the more absolute terms, the report further stated that "M3 (broadest measure of money supply as it includes all the money that is circulating in the economy in the form of Cash or Bank Deposits) grew to 815.14 billion riyals ($217.4 billion), which in the preceding year was only lingering around 615

Human history Essay Example for Free

Human history Essay Human history has witnessed numerous examples of wars. Our history has taught us that wars are unique by nature. Different philosophers at different times were trying to generate solid philosophical understandings of what war and strategy were. As a result, we possess sufficient theoretical basis for discussing the philosophical foundations of war, yet we have not been able to predict our military failures. After the end of WWII the world has finally taken a deep breath, and people were confident that violence would never enter their lives again. However, we are still surrounded by constant risks of war, and continue witnessing the acts of violence, and murders. Certainly, contemporary wars are completely different from those at the beginning of the 20th century: the development of the new weaponry types and communication technologies, have turned the simplest military actions into highly sophisticated acts. The war in Iraq has critically impacted the military balance in the world, and it is interesting to see, how Iraqi war would be explained through the prism of various philosophic works. Clausewitz: On War Carl von Clausewitz has written a well grounded research on the philosophy of war. His theoretical assumptions make it possible to distinguish philosophic implications of military actions. Having evaluated what war is, Clausewitz was able to create a general structure of war, and I think that his ideas are easily applied to the issues of the war in Iraq. â€Å"War is nothing but a duel on an extreme scale. If we would conceive as a unit the countless number of duels which make up a war, we shall do so best by supposing to ourselves two wrestlers. Each strives by physical force to compel the other to submit his will to his will: each endeavours to throw his adversary, and thus render him incapable of further resistance† (Clausewitz 1989, p. 4). Although, this Clausewitz’ definition is very objective, grounded, and universally applicable (any war implies the fight of several opponents for power), there are some amendments which should be made in terms of war in Iraq. It is difficult to admit, but it is true, that the war in Iraq is nothing more than the fight for power: Clausewitz does not distinguish whether this might be economic, social, or military power, or some other different aspect of political superiority. Clausewitz risks applying limited perspectives to discussing what war is. In the fight between the two wrestlers, only one of them initially seeks superiority. As a result, at the initial stage of war, only one of the opponents fights for power and superiority. Clausewitz supports this line stating that â€Å"two motives lead men to war: instinctive hostility and hostile intention. In our definition of war, we have chosen as its characteristic the latter of these elements, because it is the most general†. Has the U. S. started the war in Iraq with hostile intentions? Probably, it has. Many of us argue the fact that the U. S. military actions in Iraq were primarily aimed at promoting democracy in the country. To be objective, hardly any democracy can survive in the whirl of blood, murders, terrorist acts and violence caused by military actions. However, in the fight between Iraq and the U. S. Clausewitz seems to have neglected one essential stage of developing military actions: the first stage is the military intervention, and it hardly looks as the fight of the two wrestlers. On the contrary, its image is similar to unexpected blow on the side of the opponent to which another wrestler cannot stand and falls. The situation described by Clausewitz is actually the next stage of war. Iraq required certain period of time to gather it strength and to enter the war as an equal. At the stage when we started to receive the reports on murders and terrorist acts against American soldiers, one could suggest that the war has turned into the discussed fight. However, in this fight one of the opponents was trying to prove his superiority, while the other tried his best to defend the integrity of his physical territory and peace in the country. We cannot but agree with Clausewitz that war is never an isolated act, and it is never a separated single military blow. â€Å"War does not spring up suddenly, it does not spread to the full in a moment; each of the two opponents can, therefore, form an opinion of the other, in a great measure, from what he is and what he does, instead of judging of him according to what he, strictly speaking, should be or should do† (Clausewitz 1989, 5) The war in Iraq had long prehistory. The United States were continuously trying to defend their position in this military conflict. It was evident that the war was inevitable. As a result it is difficult to argue the position of Clausewitz. Actually, the work of Clausewitz seems to be very close to what we currently witness in Iraq. Of course, we do not know much as none of us has fortunately participated in this campaign. All we have at our disposal are news reports and other secondary information, but this secondary information allows analyzing the events in Iraq from the viewpoints of several philosophers. Clausewitz creates a philosophic picture of war. He implies that war does not change its face, and the structure of military actions and interactions remains unchanged, no matter at what historical period of our development a war may occur. This does not really matter, whether we use nuclear weapons or fight in the open sea – the war is always the utmost use of force, which does not break out of sudden, and which is the means of proving one’s superiority. Jablonski: Roots of Strategy In his work, David Jablonski has evaluated the works of the four theorists, as applied to military actions and military strategies. It is surprising, that Jablonski was able to avoid bias in his discussion. It is even more surprising, that the works of philosophers written at the beginning of the 20th century seem to have predicted the exact course of events during the war in Iraq. This, on the one hand, continues the line found in the work of Clausewitz: the essence of military actions remains unchanged through the centuries. On the other hand, Jablonski’s selection helps us understand WHY the U. S. was involved into the war in Iraq, and has actually initiated it. â€Å"In the United States our people have been slow to realize the changed conditions. Isolated as we have been from possible enemies, the people could see little chance for aggression by others. Separated as we are from Europe by the Atlantic, and from Asia by the Pacific which form most certain and tremendously strong defensive barriers, we seemed to be protected by the design of the Almighty. [†¦] The vulnerability of the whole country to aircraft as distinguished from the old conditions that obtained when the frontiers or the coast had to be penetrated before an invasion of the country could be made, has greatly interested the people of the nation† (Jablonski 1999, 452) What facts do we have in the war against Iraq? First, the U. S. has for long been isolated from others’ aggression. Even during WWII the U. S. was not directly involved into military actions. The terrorist acts of 2001 have been a tremendous shocking therapy to the whole American nation. The continuous isolation from the direct aggression has made the U. S. senseless towards possible military and terrorist threats. The image of the almighty nation was rather exaggerated, and the events of 9/11 have proved this assumption. The terrorist attacks had to attract the attention of the U. S. to its vulnerability and to eliminate the discussed senselessness, but the country has misinterpreted these events. The senselessness has turned into aggression against the states which were suspected in promoting terrorism (Iraq is in the top list of such ‘promoters’). As far as the United States has not experienced any acts of continuous aggression, which it could not stand, it has not fully realized the continuous effects of military actions brought into Iraqi land. In the introduction to his book, David Jablonski puts emphases on the most critical elements of war. â€Å"Modern military forces normally work in an environment in which the major dilemma is that of properly matching continuity and change. [†¦] the core attribute to such thinking is to imagine the future as it may be when it becomes the past – a thing of complex continuity. † Thus, planning continuity and looking at military actions through the prism of the past is the crucial element in making this strategy reasonable and justified. What are continuous impacts that the U. S. has caused onto the Iraqi population? These are economic defeat, and the need to restore all social and political structures of the country. It is still unclear whether the U. S. was able to promote democratic ideals in Iraq, but it is evident that it has failed to apply the principles of â€Å"continuity through the past† to planning the Iraqi military strategy. Jablonski states that the significance of the theoretical works he discussed in his book is in that they are presented in a structured manner, and can be easily understood and applied in practice. It seems that both the U. S. in its war in Iraq, and the terrorists in their 9/11 attacks have applied the principles discussed by Jablonski: â€Å"sometimes implicitly, more often explicitly, they created images of how aerial destruction of ‘vital centers’, could bring a nation to its knees. After all, there were the examples of mass panic on the home fronts and mutiny in the trenches during the recent war. † Similar to Clausewitz, who creates parallels between military actions and wrestling, Jablonski also underlines the importance of the sudden effect. Consequentially, we come to understanding an interesting military controversy: military campaigns cannot be sudden, but the â€Å"sudden effect† of aerial or other destruction often determines the success of the planned military campaign. These two elements are integral to the U. S. intervention to Iraq, too. Liddell-Hart: Strategy There are the two crucial elements which make Liddell-Hart’s view applicable to the war in Iraq: first, the author extensively researches the historical implications of specific military actions, and second, he does not expand his research to broader notions, but is rather concentrated on the ‘cause-effect’ research. His book is in many instances similar to that of Clausewitz. This is why the author is initially biased. In both works the reader meets identical philosophical parallels: â€Å"To move along the line of natural expectation consolidates the opponent’s balance and thus increases his resisting power. In war, as in wrestling, the attempt to throw the opponent without loosening his foothold and upsetting the balance results in self-exhaustion, increasing in disproportionate ration to the effective strain upon him. Success by such method only becomes possible through an immense margin of superior strength in some form – and, even so, tends to lose decisiveness. † (Liddell-Hart 1991, 5) In this citation, we find many elements which have already been found in other philosophical works: loosening foothold may be paralleled to the sudden aerial attacks, while moving along the line of natural expectation is similar to complying with the principles of continuity and thorough planning. Simultaneously, it is difficult to apply this statement to the military actions in Iraq. If the U. S. used Liddell-Hart’s philosophical implications in developing its strategy in Iraq, it would never apply the means of sudden attack against the Iraqi nation. People in Iraq would not know what means being bombed. As a result, the U. S. would risk losing its powerful positions. The philosophic perspective created by Liddell-Hart is hardly applicable to the war in Iraq or to any other military campaign in contemporary world. In addition, when Liddell-Hart speaks about morale in war, he represents its too idealistic image: the violence of American soldiers against Iraqi people eliminates any possibility to link morale to the war in Iraq. Niccolo Machiavelli: The Prince â€Å"A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline; for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules, and it is of such force that it not only upholds those who are born princes, but it often enables men to rise from a private station to that rank. † This is another aspect of the war in Iraq, described in the terms of Niccolo Machiavelli’s â€Å"The Prince†. As Hitler used the war to prove his superiority and to create the nation of Aryans, the U. S. seems to be in constant need to prove its superiority to other nations. Several recent decades have turned into the years of constant fight, in which the U. S. always positioned itself as the leading and powerful nation: Vietnam, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Yugoslavia, and finally, Iraq; who is going to be the next? Machiavelli makes special emphasis on the importance for the prince to understand and to possess the art of war: â€Å"a prince who does not understand the art of war, over and above other misfortunes already mentioned, cannot be respected by his soldiers, nor can he rely on them. † (Machiavelli, 2006) The best information and intelligence resources have been employed to develop a sound military strategy towards Iraq, yet the U. S. was not able to display a skilful approach towards Iraqi intervention. Numerous deaths of the American soldiers and their inability to find common language with the native population, whom they had to protect, suggest that the United States did not possess any sound military skills. Expectation of easy victory usually leads to easy failure. The war in Iraq has displayed the U. S. inability to analyze the world military history, about which Machiavelli speaks. The author refers to the importance for the prince to study the actions of illustrious men and to see how they behaved themselves during war. Being powerful does not mean being non-educated; being powerful means being skillful, reasonable, and objective. Military failures in Vietnam and Yugoslavia have not taught the U. S. any meaningful lessons. In distinction from Clausewitz, Liddell-Hart, and Jablonski, Machiavelli did not apply any historical perspectives to evaluating military strategies, but he was wise enough to emphasize the importance of historical lessons, and of the ability to properly evaluate these lessons. Peter Paret: Makers of Modern Strategy While Clausewitz applied the painting parallels to researching war, Paret has performed a profound research of several philosophic writings related to the topic of war. All authors he discussed in his book sought to answer several crucial questions: whether it was possible to evaluate war, whether it was a viable tool of foreign policy, and how ethical war was. Paret’s views are directly connected with the understanding of nuclear threats as applied to military strategies. Paret’s book is actually the selection of the major philosophic works and their evaluation. It seems that modern philosophers try to distance themselves from creating their own ideas about war, but prefer analyzing the ideas of others as applied to contemporary political and military environment. In the introduction to his book, Paret writes that â€Å"strategy is the use of armed force to achieve the military objectives and, by extension, the political purpose of the war. To those engaged in the direction and conduct of war, strategy has often appeared more simply, in Moltke’s phrase, as a system of expedients† Thus, war is initially the conjunction of political and military ideas. The war in Iraq is also the combination of political and military aims, but which of them prevails? In his book, Paret often cannot make a case. He states that Machiavelli lived during the time when warfare was unregulated and thus the relevance of his assumptions could decrease. However, who says that our warfare is regulated? Paret suggests that while Clausewitz supported the idea of war to be limited in time, goals, and strategies, there was no place to global military campaigns. Does this mean that local military conflicts similar to those in Iraq cannot expand beyond the geographical borders of the Iraqi nation? They can, and the conflict in Iraq has already stretched itself across the world. The war in Iraq has already turned into the political fight between the two opposing political camps, and the perspective of the global war has never been so close since the end of WWII. This is why it is difficult to understand the aim of Paret’s analysis. For the aims of objective military research, one should rather read the original works of philosophers, than their subjective interpretations made by contemporary authors. Sun Tzu: The Art of War â€Å"Whoever is first in the field and awaits the coming of the enemy, will be fresh for the fight; whoever is second in the field and has to hasten to battle will arrive exhausted. Therefore the clever combatant imposes his will on the enemy, but does not allow the enemy’s will to be imposed on him. [†¦] If we do not wish to fight, we can prevent the enemy from engaging us even though the lines of our encampment be merely traced out on the ground. All we need do is to throw something odd and unaccountable in his way† (Sun Tzu 1971, 24) The ideas of war produced by Sun Tzu, partially seem as odd as the instruments he offers to use if one does not want to fight. On the one hand, being first to the field also implies using ‘sudden’ tactics. On the other hand, what odd instruments could Iraqi people use to openly claim their desire not to start war with the U. S.? One should not repeat its tactics which had been successful earlier, but it should be regulated according to the constantly changing military environments. Moreover, using the tactics which has already proved to be a failure is a guaranteed double failure. The U. S. has not taken into account numerous important elements of an effective military strategy: being sudden does not always mean being successful. Aerial attacks make people fall to their knees, but do not break them completely. The U. S. develops a sound strategy of removing its military from the Iraqi territory. The aim is to turn retreat into a victory, which is virtually impossible. Until the U. S. is able to re-evaluate its defeats and tactics in previous military campaigns, it will have to be prepared to new military failures. Conclusion I think that each of the analyzed philosophers has something to say about the war in Iraq. Each of them discussed interesting elements of military strategy which could be applied to Iraqi military campaigns. Although certain views are limited, some risk being biased, and some cannot make the case at all, all of them deserve attention at least for having researched the question which we will hardly ever answer: What is War? It is never stable, it is always changeable, it always has a different face, and sometimes we even fail to recognize it from the start. One thing is evident: no matter how difficult a war can be, no excuses can justify our inability to fight well. BIBLIOGRAPHY Clausewitz, C. On War. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989. Jablonski, D. Roots of Strategy. Book 4. Merchanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 1999. Liddel-Hart, Basil H. Strategy: Second Revised Edition. New York: Meridian Books, 1991. Machiavelli, N. The Prince. The Project Gutenberg, 2006. Available from http://www. gutenberg. org/files/1232/1232-h/1232-h. htm Paret, P. , G. A. Craig F. Gilbert. Makers of Modern Strategy: From Machiavelli to the Nuclear Age. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1986. Sun Tzu. The Art of War. Translated by Samueal B. Griffith. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971.

Accuracy of Rectal Water Contrast Transvaginal Ultrasound

Accuracy of Rectal Water Contrast Transvaginal Ultrasound Abstract Objectives:  To compare the accuracy of rectal water contrast transvaginal ultrasound (RWC-TVS) and double-contrast barium enema (DCBE) in assessing the presence and extent of bowel endometriosis. Methods:  This prospective study included 198 patients of reproductive age with suspicion of bowel endometriosis. RWC-TVS and DCBE were performed before operative laparoscopy by two groups of physicians specialized in endometriosis, each blinded to the results of the other groups. Findings of RWC-TVS and DCBE were compared with histological results. The severity of pain experienced during RWC-TVS and DCBE was measured by a 10 cm visual analog scale. Results:  In total, 110 of the 198 women had bowel endometriosis nodules confirmed at laparoscopy and histopathology patients. For the diagnosis of bowel endometriosis DCBE and RWC-TVS had a sensitivity of 96.4% and 88.2%, specificity of 100% and 97.3%, positive predictive value of 100% and 98.0%, negative predictive value of 98.0% and 88.0% and accuracy of 98.0% and 92.4% respectively. DCBE was associated with more intense pain than was RWC-TVS. Conclusions: RWC-TVS and DCBE have similar accuracy in the diagnosis of bowel endometriosis, but patients tolerate RWC-TVS better than they do DCBE. Keywords: double-contrast barium enema; rectal water contrast transvaginal ultrasound; bowel endometriosis; diagnosis Introduction Bowel endometriosis affects between 4-37% of patients with endometriosis1. Intestinal endometriosis lesions may have variable size2. Small endometriosis nodules located on the serosal surface of the bowel rarely cause symptoms and, therefore, do not require treatment2. Larger endometriosis nodules infiltrate the bowel wall and may cause various gastrointestinal complaints such as dyschezia, diarrhea, constipation, abdominal bloating and intestinal cramping1, 3. These symptoms may mimic irritable bowel syndrome. Symptoms caused by bowel endometriosis are nonspecific, often resulting in misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis4. Physical examination may suggest the presence of rectovaginal endometriosis; however, it has poor accuracy in diagnosing rectosigmoid nodules5, 6. Until recently, the ultrasonic diagnosis of endometriosis was limited to patients with ovarian endometriomas and other imaging techniques were used for the assessment of bowel endometriosis including rectal endoscopic ultrasound, transvaginal ultrasound (TVS), double-contrast barium enema (DCBE), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), multidetector computerized tomography enema (MDCT-e) and virtual colonoscopy7-10. TVS is a reliable non-invasive method to assess the presence and the extent of bowel endometriosis11. Injecting saline through a catheter into the rectum during TVS (rectal-water contrast TVS, RWC-TVS) may facilitate the identification of rectosigmoid nodules, the assessment of the depth of infiltration of endometriosis in the intestinal wall and estimation of the degree of stenosis of the bowel lumen. However, no previous study compared the accuracy of DCBE and RWC-TVS in the diagnosis of rectosigmoid endometriosis4, 12, 13. A preoperative diagnosis of the presence and extent of bowel endometriosis is necessary to determine whether surgery is required and to plan the surgical procedure with the colorectal surgeon14. Knowing before surgery the size and number of intestinal endometriosis nodules, the depth of infiltration of the nodules in the intestinal wall and the degree of stenosis of the bowel lumen allows determining whether surgery is required and may allow the surgeons to choose between nodulectomy and bowel segmental resection15, 16. In addition, determining before surgery the extent of bowel endometriosis allows the surgeon to inform the patient about the potential benefits and complications of the surgical procedure that will be performed. In fact, postoperative complications and evolution of digestive symptoms after surgery may differ between patients undergoing nodulectomy and those undergoing segmental resection, with a higher incidence of bladder-voiding dysfunction and postoperative constipation in patients undergoing the latter procedure. In this study, we compared the accuracy of DCBE and RWC-TVS in assessing the presence and extent of bowel endometriosis. Methods Study population This prospective study was performed between May 2012 and Aug 2016. Participants were recruited among patients of reproductive age scheduled for laparoscopy with strong suspicion of intestinal endometriosis based on symptoms and clinical examination. During this period, the imaging workup required that both DCBE and RWC-TVS were performed in patients with suspicion of bowel endometriosis. Institutional review board approval was obtained before initiating the study. Patients participating in the study signed a written consent form. Inclusion criteria for the study were: reproductive age and suspicion of deep pelvic endometriosis; presence of gastrointestinal symptoms that might be caused by bowel endometriosis; and desire to undergo complete surgical excision of the endometriosis. Patients were excluded from the study if they had previous bilateral ovariectomy; previous barium radiological examination or radiological diagnosis of bowel endometriosis; previous colorectal surgery; previ ous episodes suggestive of intolerance to iodinated contrast medium; renal or hepatic failure; refusal to undergo DCBE and psychiatric disorders. Symptoms were systematically investigated during the study period and they were recorded in a database. The presence of dysmenorrheal, deep dyspareunia, non-menstrual pelvic pain and dyschezia was investigated and the intensity of their symptoms was assessed in all patients on a 10 cm visual analog scale (VAS), on which the left extremity represented absence of pain and the right extremity indicated maximum intensity of pain. The presence of the following gastrointestinal symptoms was assessed: diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome; constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome; passage of mucus in the stools; rectal bleeding; intestinal cramping; and abdominal bloating. A symptom analogue scale questionnaire was used to estimate the severity of each gastrointestinal symptom. DCBE and RWC-TVS results were compared with surgical and pathologic findings. The radiologists performing DCBE and the gynecologists performing TVS were each blinded to the others results. They were blinded to the clinical data and knew only that the presence of intestinal endometriosis was suspected. All patients underwent laparoscopy within 1 month from the completion of the diagnostic investigations. Intestinal endometriosis was defined as the disease infiltrating at least the muscularis propria. Endometriosis foci located on the bowel serosa were considered peritoneal and not bowel endometriosis. The present study determined the accuracy of DCBE and RWC-TVS in assessing the presence of bowel endometriosis, estimating the size and the number of bowel endometriosis nodules and determining the presence of peritoneal endometriosis infiltrating only the intestinal serosa. Rectal water contrast transvaginal ultrasound technique Two physicians performed all the examinations according to a standardized procedure. RWC-TVS was performed by using a Voluson E6 machine connected to a transvaginal transducer. After the transducer had been introduced into the vagina, an assistant inserted a 6-mm flexible catheter through the anus into the rectal lumen up to a 15 cm distance from the anus. A gel infused with lidocaine was used to facilitate passage of the catheter. A 50 mL syringe was connected to the catheter and warm sterile saline solution was injected inside the rectum and the sigmoid under ultrasonic control. The amount of saline solution needed to show the rectosigmoid ranged between 100 and 350 mL, depending on the distensibility of the intestinal wall. One hundred milliliters of saline solution were continuously and slowly infused at the beginning of the procedure; the rest of the solution was infused when requested by the ultrasound. During ultrasound, when saline solution was not being infused, backflow through the catheter was prevented by placing a Klemmer forceps on the catheter. There w as no significant leakage of saline solution into the space between the catheter and the anus. Images were obtained before, during and after saline injection. Bowel endometriosis appears ultrasonographically as a nodular, solid, hypoechoic lesion, adjacent to and/or penetrating the intestinal wall. Hyperechoic foci may sometimes be present within the lesion. Intestinal distension allows defining the limits of the intestinal nodules and in particular the various layers of the rectal wall in order to estimate the depth of infiltration. The intestinal serosa is hyperechoic; the two layers of the muscularis propria appear as hypoechoic strips separated by a fine hyperechoic line; the submucosa is hyperechoic; the muscularis mucosa is hypoechoic and the interface between the lumen and the mucosal layer is hyperechoic. Rectal endometriosis infiltration is demonstrated by the fact that the hypoechoic nodule penetrates the intestinal wall and, in general, it thickens the muscularis mucosa. Two different ultrasonic signs are commonly used to describe this condition. Double-contrast barium enema All DCBE procedures were carried out using a motorized tilting table for fluoroscopic and radiological examination. In preparation, patients maintained a low-residue diet for 1 day prior to the examination in order to keep the enteric content fluid. The examination was performed after intramuscular administration of 20 mg (1 ampoule) Scopolamine in order to induce colonic hypotonia. The presence of bowel endometriosis was diagnosed on DCBE when the bowel lumen was narrowed at any level from the sigmoid to the anus in association with crenulation of the mucosa and/or speculation of contour. Tolerability of the examinations Immediately after each examination patients were asked to rate the discomfort encountered during DCBE and RWC-TVS by means of a 10 cm visual analogue scale (VAS), mild pain was defined as a VAS score of 5. Surgery and histological evaluation The surgeons examined the reports and the images of DCBE and RWC-TVS prior to laparoscopy. Although the diagnosis of recto-sigmoid endometriosis and its treatment were based on laparoscopic findings. All surgical procedures were performed laparoscope by a team of gynecological and colorectal surgeons with extensive experience in the treatment of pelvic and bowel endometriosis. In all cases, after adequate adhesiolysis, the sigmoid colon and rectum were systematically examined to verify the presence of endometriosis lesions. Bowel endometriosis lesions were removed by intestinal resection in cases of a single lesion >3 cm in diameter, a single lesion infiltrating at least 50% of the circumference of the intestinal wall or three or more lesions infiltrating the muscular layer. In all other cases of bowel endometriosis partial- or full-thickness disk resection was performed. Intestinal lesions infiltrating only the serosal layer of the bowel wall were excised by shaving. All visible les ions suspected to be endometriosis were excised and sent for histological examination in agreement with our clinical protocol. The surgical specimens were evaluated by histological; the depth of infiltration of the endometriosis nodules in the bowel wall was assessed. In cases of nodulectomy the specimens were macroscopically oriented along the intestinal wall (from the serosa towards the mucosa) and cut into macro sections of 2 mm thickness. From each macrosection tissue blocks of 1.5 cm length were obtained in variable numbers according to the size of the lesion, and from each tissue block a 5  µm section was obtained for microscopically evaluation. In cases of bowel resection the specimen was opened longitudinally through its entire length and 2mm longitudinal bands of bowel wall, reaching the two resection margins and passing through all macroscopically visible lesions, were cut. These bands were sampled in tissue blocks and 5  µm sections were obtained for microscopic evaluation. Statistical analysis Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated for both DCBE and RWC-TVS. The diagnostic value of each test was also assessed using positive likelihood ratio (LR+) and negative likelihood ratio (LR-). Efficacy parameters were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). McNemars test with the Yates continuity correction was used to compare the accuracy of DCBE and RWC-TVS in the diagnosis of intestinal endometriosis. McNemars test was used to compare the number of patients in which the number of rectosigmoid nodules was correctly identified by DCBE and RWC-TVS. The accuracy of the measurement of nodule size by imaging techniques was estimated by subtracting the size of the nodule as measured by the techniques from the size of the nodules measured at histology. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the intensity of pain experienced by patients during DCBE and RWC-TVS, the chi-square test was used to co mpare the type of pain (mild, moderate or severe) and Spearmans rank correlation coefficient was used to determine whether there was a correlation between the intensity of pain experienced by patients during the two techniques. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software. p Results Study population A total of 198 patients were enrolled in the study and all underwent surgery were included in this study (Figure 1). The main demographic characteristics of the study are demonstrated in Table 1. The intensity of pain and gastrointestinal symptoms are presented in Table 2. Surgery and histology demonstrated that 110 patients (55.6%) had bowel endometriosis nodules. The endometriosis lesions infiltrating the intestinal serosa in 28 patients. The remaining 82 patients had only pelvic endometriosis with no evidence of intestinal lesions. The largest intestinal endometriosis nodule was found locate on the sigmoid colon in 53 patients, on the rectum in 30 patients, at the rectosigmoid junction in 20 patients, on the ileum in 5 patients and on the caecum in 2 patients. The endometriosis lesions infiltrating only the intestinal serosa were located on the sigmoid colon in 15 cases, on the rectum in 5cases and at the rectosigmoid junction in 3 cases. The mean ( ±SD) length of the resected bowel segment was 12.2  ± 3.6 cm. The diagnosis of endometriosis was confirmed in all the excised nodules by histological exam. Furthermore, it demonstrated that the deepest endometriosis nodule infiltrated the muscularis propria in 62 patients (56.4 %), the submucosa in 3 1 patients (28.2%) and the mucosa in 17 patients (15.5%). Accuracy of RWC-TVS and DCBE in the diagnosis of bowel endometriosis The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, LR+ and LR- of DCBE and RWC-TVS in the diagnosis of bowel endometriosis are described in Table 3. DCBE identified 106 of 110 patients with bowel endometriosis (96.4%). In 4 patients endometriosis nodules infiltrating the muscularis propria of the rectum were not identified, which were excised by partial-thickness nodulectomy. RWC-TVS identified 97 of 110 patients with intestinal endometriosis (88.2%). RWC-TVS did not identify 4 ileal lesions, 2 cecal lesions, 4 sigmoid nodules and 3 rectal nodules infiltrating the muscularis propria. Furthermore, we identified 4 of these patients had large bilateral endometriosis ovarian cysts, which may have hampered the identification of intestinal nodules. There was 2 false positive on RWC-TVS-a rectovaginal endometriosis nodule that was judged to infiltrate the muscularis of the rectum. Surgery confirmed the presence of the rectovaginal nodule but did not reveal infiltration of the rectal muscularis. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, LR+, LR- and accuracy of the two techniques in the diagnosis of intestinal endometriosis were shown in Table 3. McNemars test showed that there was no significant difference in the accuracy of the two techniques in the diagnosis of bowel endometriosis (P=0.109). Histology examination demonstrated that endometriosis infiltrated the submucosa or mucosa of the rectosigmoid colon in 53 patients. DCBE correctly identified the depth of infiltration in 27 of these patients (50.9%), while RWC-TVS correctly identified the depth of infiltration in 20 of them (37.7%) (P=0.126). All the other nodules that were seen to infiltrate the submucosa or mucosa at histology were judged to reach only the muscularis at DCBE and RWC-TVS. Both techniques had no cases of false-positive diagnosis of submucosal or mucosal infiltration. Both DCBE and RWC-TVS underestimated the size of the endometriosis nodules; however, the underestimation was greater for RWC-TVS than for DCBE (Table 4). In addition, in both imaging techniques the underestimation was greater for nodules with diameter≠¥30 mm. Tolerability of DCBE and RWC-TVS DCBE was safely performed in all the patients. During both the examinations all patients tolerated intestinal distension and in no patient was it necessary to interrupt the procedure. However, the intensity of pain experienced during DCBE was significantly higher than the intensity of pain experienced during RWC-TVS (Table 5). A positive correlation was observed between the intensity of pain experienced by the patients during the two examinations (Spearman correlation coefficient=0.575; p Discussion To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrated that DCBE and RWC-TVS have similar accuracy in the diagnosis of bowel endometriosis. Both RWC-TVS and DCBE underestimated the size of bowel endometriosis nodules, but under estimation was greater for RWC-TVS than for DCBE, particularly when the nodules had largest diameter ≠¥ 30 mm (Table 4). The choice of the ultrasonic technique is often based on the experience of the ultrasonographers rather than on evidence of superiority of one technique compared to the others. In fact, TVS must be performed by highly skilled, it has been recently estimated that the learning curve for an accurate diagnosis of deep pelvic endometriosis by TVS requires performing about 40 cases17. Therefore, it may be difficult to achieve such experience for ultrasonographers working in small hospital. The main advantage of DCBE could be that, with a retrograde distension of the entire colon, this technique may provide a complete overview of t he whole colon18. In the current study, the distension was targeted to the rectosigmoid because the aim of the study was the comparison with RWC-TVS and endometriosis lesions of the right colon are beyond the field of view of a transvaginal approach. Furthermore, we did not compare the accuracy of RWC-TVS with TVS alone, which was the objective of a previous study. RWC-TVS was chosen for the comparison with DCBE because of the personal experience of the authors and of the common criterion of bowel distension with fluid. The usefulness of this technique was subsequently confirmed by the same authors in larger series. Furthermore, other authors confirmed that intestinal distension and opacification using ultrasound gel helps to visualize rectosigmoid endometriosis nodules19, 20. Previous studies have suggested that TVS could reliably diagnose rectosigmoid endometriosis. The sensitivity of TVS for detecting rectosigmoid endometriosis is between 91 and 98%, the specificity between 97 and 100%, the PPV between 97 and 100% and the NPV between 87 and 98%21-24. Recently, RWC-TVS has been developed to facilitate identification of intestinal lesions in patients with rectovaginal endometriosis and to determine the depth of infiltration of endometriosis in the intestinal wall25. TVS has been extensively used in patients with bowel endometriosis; while only little data is available on the use of DCBE in these patients. This study demonstrated that DCBE and RWC-TVS have similar accuracy in the diagnosis of bowel endometriosis. Both techniques precisely estimated the length of the rectosigmoid nodules, but DCBE was more precise than RWC-TVS in assessing the distance between the endometriosis nodule and the anal verge9. Obviously, the extensive experience of the radiologi st and the gynecologist in DCBE and RWCTVS, respectively, may have influenced the accuracy of these techniques in diagnosing bowel endometriosis24, 26. The findings may be explained by the fact that when performing imaging techniques, particularly RWC-TVS, it might be difficult to choose the plane in which the irregular endometriosis nodule has the largest diameter. However, the difference between the estimated size of the nodule and the largest diameter as measured on histopathology was quite small and, in most cases, it seems unlikely that this difference would affect the choice of nodulectomy or bowel resection as treatment27. Importantly, patients tolerated RWC-TVS better than they did DCBE. These findings are in line with those of previous studies demonstrating the accuracy of TVS in the diagnosis of bowel endometriosis and comparing TVS with other techniques such as MRI and rectal endoscopic ultrasound11, 28-30. The potential benefits of introducing aqueous contrast medium into the rectum during TVS have been questioned. TVS is an operator-dependent procedure and it is possible that the differences observed in the accuracy of this technique are determined by the experience of the ultrasonographer carrying out the procedure31. However, adding intestinal aqueous contrast to TVS may facilitate the identification of rectosigmoid lesions. Other techniques have been proposed for improving the accuracy of TVS in the detection of deep endometriosis, such as sonovaginography or the use of large quantities of ultrasound transmission gel (12 mL) in the probe cover32. Up to now, no study has established whether any one of these ultrasonic techniques is superior to the others in the diagnosis of deep endometriosis. TVS should be considered the first-line investigation in patients with deep endometriosis, and allows the diagnosis of intestinal lesions24. Other investigations such as RWC-TVS, MDCT-e, MRI, rectal endoscopic ultrasound and DCBE may be used to determine the characteristics of intestinal endometriosis, such as the size and number of nodules, the depth of infiltration of the nodules in the intestinal wall and the degree of stenosis of the bowel lumen33-35. RWC-TVS has several advantages over the other techniques. It is less expensive than MDCT-e and MRI and the equipment required to perform the procedure is commonly available to gynecologists, who are usually involved in the management of patients with endometriosis. A recent study has shown that RWC-TVS allows estimation of the degree of stenosis of the intestinal lumen caused by endometriosis36. Unfortunately, this parameter was not examined in the current study- the major limitation of our investigation. Theoretically, RWC-TVS may also allow determination of the extent of the disease along the longitudinal intestinal axis. Obviously, RWC-TVS cannot determine the presence of intestinal nodules located proximally to the sigmoid because these lesions are beyond the field of TVS. This study had several limitations. First, the experience of the ultrasonographer in RWC-TVS may influence the accuracy of these techniques in diagnosing bowel endometriosis. Second, the surgeons were aware of the findings of DCBE and RWC-TVS. Although in an ideal prospective study the surgeons should be blinded to the findings of the preoperative investigations, this theoretical study design appears unethical in clinical practice because diagnostic imaging may facilitate the identification of intestinal endometriosis nodules during surgery. Furthermore, the knowledge of the findings of the preoperative investigations may only help the surgeons in identifying endometriosis nodules that were actually present. Third, RWC-TVS and DCBE did not estimate the percentage of the circumference of the intestinal wall infiltrated by endometriosis, a criterion used to choose between nodulectomy and bowel resection. Therefore, patients scheduled for nodulectomy on the basis of DCBE and RWC-TVS fin dings should be informed that bowel resection might be required for the complete excision of intestinal endometriosis. Future studies should examine whether DCBE and RWC-TVS can reliably estimate what percentage of intestinal circumference is infiltrated by endometriosis. DCBE may still have a role in the diagnostic workup of patients with suspected bowel endometriosis. When TVS or RWC-TVS demonstrates large intestinal nodules infiltrating the bowel muscularis, bowel resection can probably be performed without further investigation unless the surgeon wants to exclude intestinal lesions located proximally to the sigmoid. In contrast, when ultrasound demonstrates a single bowel nodule that may be excised by nodulectomy, DCBE should be used to exclude the presence of other intestinal nodules and, thus, to adequately plan the surgical procedure with the colorectal surgeon and the patient. Conclusions This study showed that RWC-TVS is a reliable technique for determining the presence and extent of bowel endometriosis and that it has an accuracy similar to that of DCBE. However, RWC-TVS may sometimes underestimate the presence of multiple bowel nodules and can be performed easily in an ambulatory setting and it is better tolerated by patients. It may be hypothesized to combine TVS and DCBE to achieve a complete preoperative assessment of the bowel in order to offer to the patients an adequate counseling and the most appropriate one-step surgical treatment.

Examining Family Business Corporate Governance

Examining Family Business Corporate Governance This dissertation sets out a study of the family businesss corporate governance, addressing the relationship between the owners and the management. Family businesses constitute a wide spectrum of enterprises, from small family owned and managed companies to a large internationally operating family controlled corporations. There are several definitions illustrates the family owned businesses, however the majority agree that Nebauer Lank definition illustrate the family business in a simple way and puts it as A firm can be regarded as a family business if a given family holds the voting control of the firm (Nebauer Lank, 1998). This dissertation argues that, given the duality of the economic and non-economic goals family firms pursue and the complexity of the stakeholders structure, family firms need governance structure that matches the complexity of their constitutes stakeholders. According to that a better research and empirical understanding as how family firms are governed is needed. In this study the focus will be on assessing the level of understanding of the corporate governance concept overall and the codes provided by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the Capital Market Authority in Oman focusing on strengthen the family owned business by incentives them to go public. The CMA is just recently in the process to create a corporate governance to help the Family business to be prepared to do so. In this study, the focus will be to create an understating and help to create a better code to help the family business sustain in the future. On the other hand there will be an evaluation of the agency theo ry and how the family owners acceptance of this model. Furthermore a research by McKinsey quarterly shows that 95 per cent fails to succeed the generation due to the lacking of succession planning and roles defining, therefore the dissertation will be evaluating the practice and preparation if any on how the existing owner prepare companys succession planning rules and codes to handover their responsibilities to their successors. In this study the focus will be on the family businesses in Sultanate of Oman, a country in the Arabian Gulf with a fledgling capital market. Oman has made significant efforts to improves the level of corporate governance, particularly in the listed companies and now the capital market would like to expand its corporate governance codes to the family owned businesses to strengthen the chances of the sustainability of its growth. Aims And Objective This dissertation will focus on the unique corporate governance challenges that any family business faces and propose structures and practices that can mitigate these challenges and ensure the viability of the business. The detailed objectives that guide the dissertation process are: To review and analyze relevant theoretical, and other, streams of literature that focus on corporate governance and family business Analyzing the practice of the existing code of corporate governance that applied by the CMA and if it fit to be implemented in the family business companies. Asses the ownership structure and polices in the companies and testing the theory of the ownership and control separation. Asses the long term planning by the company owners and how the successor is been appointed. To assess the significance, reliability, and validity of the results; to discuss the theoretical, empirical, and practical implications of the findings; to assess the limitations The impact of corporate governance in family businesses performance. Scope of the dissertation The present study addresses the governance of family firms, focusing on the nature of various governance mechanisms and how they affect firm performance. Family businesses provide a fruitful research context to study corporate governance due to lack of governance research in the area and the distinctive characteristics of family firms. The family business context, especially, enables the study of how aspects of formal and social control vary according to characteristics of ownership structure. Research Approaches and method The methods to gather the required data will be a qualitative, where the participations will be selected based on their history and age of the company in practice. The research will be analyzing their policies and corporate governance practice. Interviews will be placed with the owners and senior managers of the companies to get all the data required for the findings and results. Structure of the dissertation Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter included the background of the study, the aim, purpose of the study, research questions and limitation of the study and it will present the structural framework of the study. Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter will review the historical perspective, theories and related studies of corporate governance, family business and related theories to corporate governance. This chapter will include the secondary data which will be used in discussing the findings. Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter describes the methodology and procedures that were used to carry out this study. Furthermore, this chapter will review the population and participants of the study, instruments and data collection procedures. Chapter 4: Results and Findings This chapter will present the data and findings related to the research questions Chapter 5: Data Analysis and Discussion This chapter presents the data analysis and the discussion of the finding. Chapter 6: Conclusion In this chapter, the researcher will present a summary of the study and the findings, conclusion and recommendation. The structural framework of the dissertation is illustrated in Figure 1. Figure Literature Review Introduction A growing number of studies have been done on the family business ownership and management separation or combination in the past few years and what is the linkage between the performance and these two elements. In this chapter we will be presenting the theories and the studies that are related to it and selecting a frame work that will be the base of the evolution of the practice we examine in the family businesses. Family Owned Business Family enterprises or family owned businesses represent the oldest form of businesses in the world. The family owned businesses constitutes more than 70 percent of all business in most of the third world countries and in some developed countries (IFC, 2009). In the IFC research Family Businesses Corporate Handbook shows that family owned businesses are the higher contributor in any country growth in terms of economic development and employment. In Spain, for example, about 75 percent of the businesses are family-owned and contribute to 65 percent of the countrys GNP on average. Correspondingly, family businesses contribute to about 60 percent of the cumulative GNP in Latin America (IFC, 2009). in addition to, accordingly to recent researches that 95% percent of employment in the Middle East and especially in the Arabian Gulf Peninsula is in the family owned businesses. There are several definitions that explains the family business corporations, the IFC define it as a company where the voting majority is in the hands of the controlling family; including the founder(s) who intend to pass the business on to their descendants, in another words is A business actively owned and/or managed by more than one member of the same family. There are two systems that control the family businesses; which are the family system, and the management system, the two system overlap due to the dual roles that any family member take, like a family member may be a manger or an employee in the business and here where the conflict arise. The family system is based on emotional, love and care. The family system is based on the relationship in the family and they take most of these values to the business. Where in the business system is the professional values are the edge of the decision. (Managment Resources, 2010) To define a family business need to understand the environment from one to another, here are list of family business definitions that made by researcher past the year that cover the family business from different view but reserving the concept. Table Family business Definitions A company is considered a family business when it has been closely identified with at least two generations of a family and when this link has had a mutual influence on company policy and on the interests and objectives of the family. (Donnelley, [1964] 1988: 428). Controlling ownership rested in the hands of an individual or of the members of a single family. (Barnes Hershon, 1976: 106). Organizations where one or more extended family members influence the direction of the business through the exercise on kinship ties, management roles, or ownership rights. (Tagiuri Davis, [1982] 1996: 199). It is the interaction between the two sets of organization, family and business, that establishes the basic character of the family business and defines its uniqueness. (Davis, 1983: 47). What is usually meant by .family business.is either the occurrence or the anticipation that a younger family member has or will assume control of the business from an elder. (Churchill Hatten, 1987: 52). We define a family business as one that will be passed on for the family.s next generation to manage and control. (Ward, 1987: 252). A business in which the members of a family have legal control over ownership. (Lansberg et al., 1988:2). A family business is defined here as an organization whose major operating decisions and plans for leadership succession are influenced by family members serving in management or on the board. (Handler,1989b: 262). Firms in which one family holds the majority of the shares and controls management. (Donckels FrÃÆ' ¶hlich,1991: 149). A business where a single family owns the majority of stock and has total control. Family members also form part of the management and make the most important decisions concerning the business. (Gallo Sveen, 1991: 181). A business firm may be considered a family business to the extent that its ownership and management are concentrated within a family unit, and to the extent its members strive to achieve, maintain, and/or increase intraorganizational family-based relatedness. (Litz, 1995: 78). A business governed and/or managed on a sustainable, potentially cross-generational, basis to shape and perhaps pursue the formal or implicit vision of the business held by members of the same family or a small number of families. (Sharma et al., 1997: 2). A family enterprise is a proprietorship, partnership, corporation or any form of business association where the voting control is in the hands of a given family. (Neubauer Lank, 1998: 8). Family businesses share some common characteristics, largely due to the interacting and overlapping domains of family, ownership and management (Tagiuri Davis, 1982). Family firms have a complex stakeholder structure that involves family members, top management, and a board of directors. Family members, who are often significant owners, usually play multiple roles in managing and governing the firm (Tagiuri Davis, 1982). This involvement promotes loyalty and also commitment to long-term value creation (Dyer Handler, 1994) and reduces problems that arise from separation of ownership and control, as experienced in large, public corporations (Jensen, 1989). Also, family businesses may enjoy a competitive advantage due, for example, to remaining entrepreneurial in character and having a strong sense of responsibility to society (Neubauer Lank, 1998), fast verbal and nonverbal communication, aided by a shared identity and common language of families (Gersick, Davis, McCollom Hampton Landsberg, 1997), family members. Business expertise gained during early childhood onward (Kets De Vries, 1996), and a strong organizational culture contributing to external adaptation and internal integration (Schein, 1983). However, the familys involvement in governing the firm may induce a focus on business and non-business goals, possibly leading to inefficiency (Schulze, Lubatkin, Dino Buchholtz, 2001). If the owner family is not regularly informed about the companys affairs, differing visions of the companys future may develop between management and the family. The resulting feuds between family factions may distract managements attention from value-creating activities and so reduce their commitment to strategic decisions. Owner-managers also may act opportunistically by satisfying their own needs at the expense of the companys performance and long-term survival. Entrenched owner-managers may not share their powers with others, especially not with the companys board. Furthermore the common characters of all family businesses are illustrated in the diagram below. Figure The individual represent the family members who are directly involved in daily bases with the operation, the family symbolizes the whole family where in some family businesses called the family counsel and the management dimension represents the family managers and non-family managers. McKinsey quarterly stated in the report keeping the family in business that only 5 percent will continue to create shareholders value after the third generation. Moreover; the IFC also mentioned in the family business hand book, while the third generation takes over; 95 percent of all family businesses will not survive the ownership around. These consequences might be a result to the lack of commitment and proper business education of handling the business demands. In addition, the survival of family firms is often challenged by dictatorial rule, resistance to change, lack of professionalism in management capabilities, confusion in family and business roles, rivalry and enlarged human emotions among family members, conflicts between interests of the family and the business, and a low rate of investment in business development (Donnelley, 1964; Gersick et al., 1997; Kets De Vries, 1993). All the definitions are focusing on the shareholders and their power in voting and management and these two points are actually the core strength and weaknesses of any family business. However there are other dimensions that a family business can be measured of its strength and weaknesses like: Culture Ownership and governance Succession planning Family involvement This dissertation will be reflected somehow in the culture dimension due to the strength of the factor here in the Arabian Gulf Countries and Oman. Different researcher came up with different definitions of the family business; however, the definitions imply six themes for clarifying the boundaries of the domain of family business: (1) ownership, (2) management, (3) generational transfer, (4) the familys intention to continue as a family business, (5) family goals, and (6) interaction between the family and business. These themes are similar to those found in the extant literature. For example, Handler (1989a) categorized family business definitions under four headings: ownership and management, interdependent subsystems, generational transfer, and multiple conditions. The extant literature on family business research has largely neglected the definition of the family itself. By modifying Winter.s, Fitzgerald, Heck, Haynes Danes (1998) definition of the family, the present study defines it as a kinship group of people related by blood or marriage or comparable relationship. This definition allows a multigenerational view of an extended family. Family Business in Oman According to the family firm institute (FFI) the around the 75% of Omans private companies are family owned, with their firms creating 70% of the country employment. There are 12 top families who are controlling around 75% of the contribution over all in Oman. The family owned business also control 90% of commercial activity according to Tharawat (Fortunes) Magazine. Oman is a part of the GCC Region where in the region is estimated that family businesses worth more than 1 trillion dollar, that is ready to be handled to the next generation. All family owned business share same characteristics as mentioned above, even the strengths and the weakness are similar to some extant in all family businesses. However, the family business can be categorized to two categories: Listed family businesses Non-listed family business The listed family businesses are set to fulfill the listed companies corporate governance code as per the CMA regulation, but the non-listed are not treated that way; whats so ever the size or the operations are. The CMA in Oman are concentrating nowadays to establish an attractive market and safe to all sizes of family businesses, the CMA is concentrating on converting the family closed family business to go public by Initial Public Offering(IPO) offering them a less strict rules and requirements to commence the IPO as the Head corporate governance Center declared. Furthermore there are different points that might affect the operation of any family businesses such as: family relations affect the assignment of the management family indirectly runs the company major family influence/dominance of the management (in terms of  strategic decisions) significant proportion of the enterprises senior management most important decision made by the family family control of the management of the enterprise at least 2 generations having had control over the enterprise These points might be strengthen the family business in the initial stages of the operations but there must be some kind of governance or policies on whom can make a decisions and how is not. Corporate Governance Corporate governance is a topic that has been a subject of significant debate since 2001 Enrons and other US companies crashed. Some analyst say lack of corporate governance was the main reason behind the crash (International Swaps and Derivatives Association, 2002). The international Swaps and Derivatives Association highlight that the failure was due to interests that extended certain managers at the expense of the shareholders. While the United States capital market where busy analyzing the reasons behind the crash of Enron and World Com, Sultanate of Oman has also experienced its share of corporate trouble affecting not only large companies such as Rice Mills SAOG and Oman National Investment Company Holding SOAG but also dozens of smaller companies, which have had to turn to the government for assistance (Dry, 2003). The year 2002 was the birth of the new corporate governance standards from the Capital Market Authority (CMA), but it was only covering the list companies in the Mu scat Security Market only. Since then the CMA focused on upgrading this standards and code and refine it to be in a worldwide acceptable standards and to include the best practice for the companies. The standards have been modernized since 2002 on the listed companies and the closed shared ones but nothing was mentioned on the family business side. In 2009 the CMA established the corporate governance center to help the companies implement the codes of corporate governance and to regulate the practice and monitor it, in addition to create a new standards to fit the family businesses practice. Till today the CMA and the Center did not establish a full concept on how they can produce a set of codes to be acceptable to the share holders of these businesses due to the lack of information on the family owned businesses in Oman. Theoretical framework related to Corporate Governance. The corporate governance model did not came from one framework or a certain theories, but I was built up on different practices and theories which results of different frameworks that today any economic system can customized to suit the needs to regulate the market. There are certain theories that been always associated with corporate governance practice which is set out the relation between the principle (shareholder) and the agent (management): The agency theory Stewardship Theory Stakeholder theory The agency Theory Agency theory having its roots in economic theory was exposited by Alchian and Demsetz (1972) and further developed by Jensen and Meckling (1976). Agency theory is defined as the relationship between the principals, such as shareholders and agents such as the company executives and managers. Agency theory argues that in the modern corporation, in which share ownership is widely held, managerial actions depart from those required to maximize shareholder returns (Berle and Means 1932; Pratt and Zeckhauser 1985). Since Jensen and Meckling (1976) proposed a theory of the firm (Agency Theory) based upon conflicts of interest between various contracting parties à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" shareholders, company managers and debt holders à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a vast literature has been developed in explaining both aspects of these conflicts. Jensen and Meckling (1976) further specified the existence of agency costs which arise owing to the conflicts either between managers and shareholders (agency costs of equity) or between shareholders and debtholders (agency costs of debt). Financial markets capture these agency costs as a value loss to shareholders. The agency theory argues that an agency relationship exists when shareholders (principals) hire managers (agents) as the decision makers of the corporations. The agency problems arise because managers will not solely act to maximize the shareholders wealth; they may protect their own interests or seek the goal of maximizing companies growth instead of earnings while making decisions. Jensen and Meckling (1976) suggested that the inefficiency may be reduced as managerial incentives to take value maximizing decisions increased. Agency costs are arising from divergence of interests between shareholders and company managers. Agency costs are defined by Jensen and Meckling as the sum of monitoring costs, bonding costs and residual loss. (1) Monitoring Costs Monitoring costs are expenditures paid by the principal to measure, observe and control an agents behavior. The economic impact of asymmetric information also results in various corporate agency problems. Firm managers (insiders) know more about their firm than shareholders and debt financiers (outsiders). When outsiders are unable to judge over the firms performance, they tend to qualify a firms performance as moderate. A result of this asymmetric information is that shares of a firm with a great performance are undervalued and vice versa. More specifically, information asymmetries between shareholders or bondholders and corporate executive management creates the necessity of monitoring (costs) and complications for the structuring of financial contracts. They may include the costs of preparing reliable accounting information and audits, writing executive compensation contracts and even ultimately the cost of replacing managers. Denis, Denis, and Sarin (1997) contended that effective monitoring is restricted to certain groups or individuals. Such monitors must have the necessary expertise and incentives to fully monitor manager. In addition, such monitors must provide a credible threat to managements control of the company. (2) Bonding Costs To minimize monitoring costs, managers tend to set up the principles or structures and try to act in shareholders best interests. The costs of establishing and adhering to these systems are known as bonding costs. They may include the costs of additional information disclosures to shareholders, but management will obviously also have the benefit of preparing these themselves. Agents will stop incurring bonding costs when the marginal reduction in monitoring equals the marginal increase in bonding costs. As suggested by the agency theory, the optimal bonding contract should aim to entice managers into making all decisions that are in the shareholders best interests. However, since managers cannot be made to do everything that shareholders would wish, bonding provides a means of making managers do some of the things that shareholders would like by writing a less than perfect contract. (3) Residual Loss Despite monitoring and bonding, the interest of managers and shareholders are still unlikely to be fully aligned. Therefore, there are still agency losses arising from conflicts of interest. These are known as residual loss, which represent a trade-off between overly constraining management and enforcing contractual mechanisms designed to reduce agency problems. There are some other types of agency costs as following: (4) Agency Costs of Debt There are three groups of participants in a firm, suppliers of equity, debt suppliers and firm managers. It is logical that they would try to achieve their goals with different measures. Suppliers of equity, or shareholders, are interested in high dividend ratios and high share prices. Debt suppliers, on the other hand, are interested in interest and debt repayments, whereas firm managers would be focused on their financial remuneration. These conflicts of interest give rise to opportunity costs (whereby best strategies are often not adopted) and real costs (e.g., inspection costs). These costs decrease the market value of a firm. Kim and Sorensen (1986) investigated the presence of agency costs and their relation to debt policies of corporations. It is found that firms with higher insiders (managers) ownership have greater debt ratios than firms with lower insider ownership, which may be explained by the agency costs of debt or the agency costs of equity. (5) Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow The free cash flow theory presumes that there are enormous conflicts of interest between shareholders and stakeholders. This implies that managers decisions do not always maximize the value of a firm (Jensen, 1986). Jensen (1986) also emphasized the continuous agency conflicts between top managers and shareholders. These conflicts are especially severe in firms with large free cash flows. A free cash flow is the balance of money a company is left with when all projects are financed. If top managers hold more cash than profitable investment opportunities, they may overspend money on organization inefficiencies or invest it in projects with net present value (NPV) less than zero. The logic has it that higher debt levels reduces free cash flows and consequently increases the value of the company. Examining Family Business Corporate Governance Examining Family Business Corporate Governance This dissertation sets out a study of the family businesss corporate governance, addressing the relationship between the owners and the management. Family businesses constitute a wide spectrum of enterprises, from small family owned and managed companies to a large internationally operating family controlled corporations. There are several definitions illustrates the family owned businesses, however the majority agree that Nebauer Lank definition illustrate the family business in a simple way and puts it as A firm can be regarded as a family business if a given family holds the voting control of the firm (Nebauer Lank, 1998). This dissertation argues that, given the duality of the economic and non-economic goals family firms pursue and the complexity of the stakeholders structure, family firms need governance structure that matches the complexity of their constitutes stakeholders. According to that a better research and empirical understanding as how family firms are governed is needed. In this study the focus will be on assessing the level of understanding of the corporate governance concept overall and the codes provided by the Capital Market Authority (CMA), the Capital Market Authority in Oman focusing on strengthen the family owned business by incentives them to go public. The CMA is just recently in the process to create a corporate governance to help the Family business to be prepared to do so. In this study, the focus will be to create an understating and help to create a better code to help the family business sustain in the future. On the other hand there will be an evaluation of the agency theo ry and how the family owners acceptance of this model. Furthermore a research by McKinsey quarterly shows that 95 per cent fails to succeed the generation due to the lacking of succession planning and roles defining, therefore the dissertation will be evaluating the practice and preparation if any on how the existing owner prepare companys succession planning rules and codes to handover their responsibilities to their successors. In this study the focus will be on the family businesses in Sultanate of Oman, a country in the Arabian Gulf with a fledgling capital market. Oman has made significant efforts to improves the level of corporate governance, particularly in the listed companies and now the capital market would like to expand its corporate governance codes to the family owned businesses to strengthen the chances of the sustainability of its growth. Aims And Objective This dissertation will focus on the unique corporate governance challenges that any family business faces and propose structures and practices that can mitigate these challenges and ensure the viability of the business. The detailed objectives that guide the dissertation process are: To review and analyze relevant theoretical, and other, streams of literature that focus on corporate governance and family business Analyzing the practice of the existing code of corporate governance that applied by the CMA and if it fit to be implemented in the family business companies. Asses the ownership structure and polices in the companies and testing the theory of the ownership and control separation. Asses the long term planning by the company owners and how the successor is been appointed. To assess the significance, reliability, and validity of the results; to discuss the theoretical, empirical, and practical implications of the findings; to assess the limitations The impact of corporate governance in family businesses performance. Scope of the dissertation The present study addresses the governance of family firms, focusing on the nature of various governance mechanisms and how they affect firm performance. Family businesses provide a fruitful research context to study corporate governance due to lack of governance research in the area and the distinctive characteristics of family firms. The family business context, especially, enables the study of how aspects of formal and social control vary according to characteristics of ownership structure. Research Approaches and method The methods to gather the required data will be a qualitative, where the participations will be selected based on their history and age of the company in practice. The research will be analyzing their policies and corporate governance practice. Interviews will be placed with the owners and senior managers of the companies to get all the data required for the findings and results. Structure of the dissertation Chapter 1: Introduction This chapter included the background of the study, the aim, purpose of the study, research questions and limitation of the study and it will present the structural framework of the study. Chapter 2: Literature Review This chapter will review the historical perspective, theories and related studies of corporate governance, family business and related theories to corporate governance. This chapter will include the secondary data which will be used in discussing the findings. Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter describes the methodology and procedures that were used to carry out this study. Furthermore, this chapter will review the population and participants of the study, instruments and data collection procedures. Chapter 4: Results and Findings This chapter will present the data and findings related to the research questions Chapter 5: Data Analysis and Discussion This chapter presents the data analysis and the discussion of the finding. Chapter 6: Conclusion In this chapter, the researcher will present a summary of the study and the findings, conclusion and recommendation. The structural framework of the dissertation is illustrated in Figure 1. Figure Literature Review Introduction A growing number of studies have been done on the family business ownership and management separation or combination in the past few years and what is the linkage between the performance and these two elements. In this chapter we will be presenting the theories and the studies that are related to it and selecting a frame work that will be the base of the evolution of the practice we examine in the family businesses. Family Owned Business Family enterprises or family owned businesses represent the oldest form of businesses in the world. The family owned businesses constitutes more than 70 percent of all business in most of the third world countries and in some developed countries (IFC, 2009). In the IFC research Family Businesses Corporate Handbook shows that family owned businesses are the higher contributor in any country growth in terms of economic development and employment. In Spain, for example, about 75 percent of the businesses are family-owned and contribute to 65 percent of the countrys GNP on average. Correspondingly, family businesses contribute to about 60 percent of the cumulative GNP in Latin America (IFC, 2009). in addition to, accordingly to recent researches that 95% percent of employment in the Middle East and especially in the Arabian Gulf Peninsula is in the family owned businesses. There are several definitions that explains the family business corporations, the IFC define it as a company where the voting majority is in the hands of the controlling family; including the founder(s) who intend to pass the business on to their descendants, in another words is A business actively owned and/or managed by more than one member of the same family. There are two systems that control the family businesses; which are the family system, and the management system, the two system overlap due to the dual roles that any family member take, like a family member may be a manger or an employee in the business and here where the conflict arise. The family system is based on emotional, love and care. The family system is based on the relationship in the family and they take most of these values to the business. Where in the business system is the professional values are the edge of the decision. (Managment Resources, 2010) To define a family business need to understand the environment from one to another, here are list of family business definitions that made by researcher past the year that cover the family business from different view but reserving the concept. Table Family business Definitions A company is considered a family business when it has been closely identified with at least two generations of a family and when this link has had a mutual influence on company policy and on the interests and objectives of the family. (Donnelley, [1964] 1988: 428). Controlling ownership rested in the hands of an individual or of the members of a single family. (Barnes Hershon, 1976: 106). Organizations where one or more extended family members influence the direction of the business through the exercise on kinship ties, management roles, or ownership rights. (Tagiuri Davis, [1982] 1996: 199). It is the interaction between the two sets of organization, family and business, that establishes the basic character of the family business and defines its uniqueness. (Davis, 1983: 47). What is usually meant by .family business.is either the occurrence or the anticipation that a younger family member has or will assume control of the business from an elder. (Churchill Hatten, 1987: 52). We define a family business as one that will be passed on for the family.s next generation to manage and control. (Ward, 1987: 252). A business in which the members of a family have legal control over ownership. (Lansberg et al., 1988:2). A family business is defined here as an organization whose major operating decisions and plans for leadership succession are influenced by family members serving in management or on the board. (Handler,1989b: 262). Firms in which one family holds the majority of the shares and controls management. (Donckels FrÃÆ' ¶hlich,1991: 149). A business where a single family owns the majority of stock and has total control. Family members also form part of the management and make the most important decisions concerning the business. (Gallo Sveen, 1991: 181). A business firm may be considered a family business to the extent that its ownership and management are concentrated within a family unit, and to the extent its members strive to achieve, maintain, and/or increase intraorganizational family-based relatedness. (Litz, 1995: 78). A business governed and/or managed on a sustainable, potentially cross-generational, basis to shape and perhaps pursue the formal or implicit vision of the business held by members of the same family or a small number of families. (Sharma et al., 1997: 2). A family enterprise is a proprietorship, partnership, corporation or any form of business association where the voting control is in the hands of a given family. (Neubauer Lank, 1998: 8). Family businesses share some common characteristics, largely due to the interacting and overlapping domains of family, ownership and management (Tagiuri Davis, 1982). Family firms have a complex stakeholder structure that involves family members, top management, and a board of directors. Family members, who are often significant owners, usually play multiple roles in managing and governing the firm (Tagiuri Davis, 1982). This involvement promotes loyalty and also commitment to long-term value creation (Dyer Handler, 1994) and reduces problems that arise from separation of ownership and control, as experienced in large, public corporations (Jensen, 1989). Also, family businesses may enjoy a competitive advantage due, for example, to remaining entrepreneurial in character and having a strong sense of responsibility to society (Neubauer Lank, 1998), fast verbal and nonverbal communication, aided by a shared identity and common language of families (Gersick, Davis, McCollom Hampton Landsberg, 1997), family members. Business expertise gained during early childhood onward (Kets De Vries, 1996), and a strong organizational culture contributing to external adaptation and internal integration (Schein, 1983). However, the familys involvement in governing the firm may induce a focus on business and non-business goals, possibly leading to inefficiency (Schulze, Lubatkin, Dino Buchholtz, 2001). If the owner family is not regularly informed about the companys affairs, differing visions of the companys future may develop between management and the family. The resulting feuds between family factions may distract managements attention from value-creating activities and so reduce their commitment to strategic decisions. Owner-managers also may act opportunistically by satisfying their own needs at the expense of the companys performance and long-term survival. Entrenched owner-managers may not share their powers with others, especially not with the companys board. Furthermore the common characters of all family businesses are illustrated in the diagram below. Figure The individual represent the family members who are directly involved in daily bases with the operation, the family symbolizes the whole family where in some family businesses called the family counsel and the management dimension represents the family managers and non-family managers. McKinsey quarterly stated in the report keeping the family in business that only 5 percent will continue to create shareholders value after the third generation. Moreover; the IFC also mentioned in the family business hand book, while the third generation takes over; 95 percent of all family businesses will not survive the ownership around. These consequences might be a result to the lack of commitment and proper business education of handling the business demands. In addition, the survival of family firms is often challenged by dictatorial rule, resistance to change, lack of professionalism in management capabilities, confusion in family and business roles, rivalry and enlarged human emotions among family members, conflicts between interests of the family and the business, and a low rate of investment in business development (Donnelley, 1964; Gersick et al., 1997; Kets De Vries, 1993). All the definitions are focusing on the shareholders and their power in voting and management and these two points are actually the core strength and weaknesses of any family business. However there are other dimensions that a family business can be measured of its strength and weaknesses like: Culture Ownership and governance Succession planning Family involvement This dissertation will be reflected somehow in the culture dimension due to the strength of the factor here in the Arabian Gulf Countries and Oman. Different researcher came up with different definitions of the family business; however, the definitions imply six themes for clarifying the boundaries of the domain of family business: (1) ownership, (2) management, (3) generational transfer, (4) the familys intention to continue as a family business, (5) family goals, and (6) interaction between the family and business. These themes are similar to those found in the extant literature. For example, Handler (1989a) categorized family business definitions under four headings: ownership and management, interdependent subsystems, generational transfer, and multiple conditions. The extant literature on family business research has largely neglected the definition of the family itself. By modifying Winter.s, Fitzgerald, Heck, Haynes Danes (1998) definition of the family, the present study defines it as a kinship group of people related by blood or marriage or comparable relationship. This definition allows a multigenerational view of an extended family. Family Business in Oman According to the family firm institute (FFI) the around the 75% of Omans private companies are family owned, with their firms creating 70% of the country employment. There are 12 top families who are controlling around 75% of the contribution over all in Oman. The family owned business also control 90% of commercial activity according to Tharawat (Fortunes) Magazine. Oman is a part of the GCC Region where in the region is estimated that family businesses worth more than 1 trillion dollar, that is ready to be handled to the next generation. All family owned business share same characteristics as mentioned above, even the strengths and the weakness are similar to some extant in all family businesses. However, the family business can be categorized to two categories: Listed family businesses Non-listed family business The listed family businesses are set to fulfill the listed companies corporate governance code as per the CMA regulation, but the non-listed are not treated that way; whats so ever the size or the operations are. The CMA in Oman are concentrating nowadays to establish an attractive market and safe to all sizes of family businesses, the CMA is concentrating on converting the family closed family business to go public by Initial Public Offering(IPO) offering them a less strict rules and requirements to commence the IPO as the Head corporate governance Center declared. Furthermore there are different points that might affect the operation of any family businesses such as: family relations affect the assignment of the management family indirectly runs the company major family influence/dominance of the management (in terms of  strategic decisions) significant proportion of the enterprises senior management most important decision made by the family family control of the management of the enterprise at least 2 generations having had control over the enterprise These points might be strengthen the family business in the initial stages of the operations but there must be some kind of governance or policies on whom can make a decisions and how is not. Corporate Governance Corporate governance is a topic that has been a subject of significant debate since 2001 Enrons and other US companies crashed. Some analyst say lack of corporate governance was the main reason behind the crash (International Swaps and Derivatives Association, 2002). The international Swaps and Derivatives Association highlight that the failure was due to interests that extended certain managers at the expense of the shareholders. While the United States capital market where busy analyzing the reasons behind the crash of Enron and World Com, Sultanate of Oman has also experienced its share of corporate trouble affecting not only large companies such as Rice Mills SAOG and Oman National Investment Company Holding SOAG but also dozens of smaller companies, which have had to turn to the government for assistance (Dry, 2003). The year 2002 was the birth of the new corporate governance standards from the Capital Market Authority (CMA), but it was only covering the list companies in the Mu scat Security Market only. Since then the CMA focused on upgrading this standards and code and refine it to be in a worldwide acceptable standards and to include the best practice for the companies. The standards have been modernized since 2002 on the listed companies and the closed shared ones but nothing was mentioned on the family business side. In 2009 the CMA established the corporate governance center to help the companies implement the codes of corporate governance and to regulate the practice and monitor it, in addition to create a new standards to fit the family businesses practice. Till today the CMA and the Center did not establish a full concept on how they can produce a set of codes to be acceptable to the share holders of these businesses due to the lack of information on the family owned businesses in Oman. Theoretical framework related to Corporate Governance. The corporate governance model did not came from one framework or a certain theories, but I was built up on different practices and theories which results of different frameworks that today any economic system can customized to suit the needs to regulate the market. There are certain theories that been always associated with corporate governance practice which is set out the relation between the principle (shareholder) and the agent (management): The agency theory Stewardship Theory Stakeholder theory The agency Theory Agency theory having its roots in economic theory was exposited by Alchian and Demsetz (1972) and further developed by Jensen and Meckling (1976). Agency theory is defined as the relationship between the principals, such as shareholders and agents such as the company executives and managers. Agency theory argues that in the modern corporation, in which share ownership is widely held, managerial actions depart from those required to maximize shareholder returns (Berle and Means 1932; Pratt and Zeckhauser 1985). Since Jensen and Meckling (1976) proposed a theory of the firm (Agency Theory) based upon conflicts of interest between various contracting parties à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" shareholders, company managers and debt holders à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a vast literature has been developed in explaining both aspects of these conflicts. Jensen and Meckling (1976) further specified the existence of agency costs which arise owing to the conflicts either between managers and shareholders (agency costs of equity) or between shareholders and debtholders (agency costs of debt). Financial markets capture these agency costs as a value loss to shareholders. The agency theory argues that an agency relationship exists when shareholders (principals) hire managers (agents) as the decision makers of the corporations. The agency problems arise because managers will not solely act to maximize the shareholders wealth; they may protect their own interests or seek the goal of maximizing companies growth instead of earnings while making decisions. Jensen and Meckling (1976) suggested that the inefficiency may be reduced as managerial incentives to take value maximizing decisions increased. Agency costs are arising from divergence of interests between shareholders and company managers. Agency costs are defined by Jensen and Meckling as the sum of monitoring costs, bonding costs and residual loss. (1) Monitoring Costs Monitoring costs are expenditures paid by the principal to measure, observe and control an agents behavior. The economic impact of asymmetric information also results in various corporate agency problems. Firm managers (insiders) know more about their firm than shareholders and debt financiers (outsiders). When outsiders are unable to judge over the firms performance, they tend to qualify a firms performance as moderate. A result of this asymmetric information is that shares of a firm with a great performance are undervalued and vice versa. More specifically, information asymmetries between shareholders or bondholders and corporate executive management creates the necessity of monitoring (costs) and complications for the structuring of financial contracts. They may include the costs of preparing reliable accounting information and audits, writing executive compensation contracts and even ultimately the cost of replacing managers. Denis, Denis, and Sarin (1997) contended that effective monitoring is restricted to certain groups or individuals. Such monitors must have the necessary expertise and incentives to fully monitor manager. In addition, such monitors must provide a credible threat to managements control of the company. (2) Bonding Costs To minimize monitoring costs, managers tend to set up the principles or structures and try to act in shareholders best interests. The costs of establishing and adhering to these systems are known as bonding costs. They may include the costs of additional information disclosures to shareholders, but management will obviously also have the benefit of preparing these themselves. Agents will stop incurring bonding costs when the marginal reduction in monitoring equals the marginal increase in bonding costs. As suggested by the agency theory, the optimal bonding contract should aim to entice managers into making all decisions that are in the shareholders best interests. However, since managers cannot be made to do everything that shareholders would wish, bonding provides a means of making managers do some of the things that shareholders would like by writing a less than perfect contract. (3) Residual Loss Despite monitoring and bonding, the interest of managers and shareholders are still unlikely to be fully aligned. Therefore, there are still agency losses arising from conflicts of interest. These are known as residual loss, which represent a trade-off between overly constraining management and enforcing contractual mechanisms designed to reduce agency problems. There are some other types of agency costs as following: (4) Agency Costs of Debt There are three groups of participants in a firm, suppliers of equity, debt suppliers and firm managers. It is logical that they would try to achieve their goals with different measures. Suppliers of equity, or shareholders, are interested in high dividend ratios and high share prices. Debt suppliers, on the other hand, are interested in interest and debt repayments, whereas firm managers would be focused on their financial remuneration. These conflicts of interest give rise to opportunity costs (whereby best strategies are often not adopted) and real costs (e.g., inspection costs). These costs decrease the market value of a firm. Kim and Sorensen (1986) investigated the presence of agency costs and their relation to debt policies of corporations. It is found that firms with higher insiders (managers) ownership have greater debt ratios than firms with lower insider ownership, which may be explained by the agency costs of debt or the agency costs of equity. (5) Agency Costs of Free Cash Flow The free cash flow theory presumes that there are enormous conflicts of interest between shareholders and stakeholders. This implies that managers decisions do not always maximize the value of a firm (Jensen, 1986). Jensen (1986) also emphasized the continuous agency conflicts between top managers and shareholders. These conflicts are especially severe in firms with large free cash flows. A free cash flow is the balance of money a company is left with when all projects are financed. If top managers hold more cash than profitable investment opportunities, they may overspend money on organization inefficiencies or invest it in projects with net present value (NPV) less than zero. The logic has it that higher debt levels reduces free cash flows and consequently increases the value of the company.