Microsoft words Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Microsoft words - Essay Example The 5 year financial projection of the company on the basis of following growth estimates are shown below: The inflation is expected to decline gradually and by the second quarter of 2017 it is expected that inflation will turn negative. This will reduce lending and borrowing rates which will enable the manufacturing companies to leverage returns by employing debt capital. The population is expected to increase in a predictable linear trend pattern which is good for manufacturing industry. This is because higher population will create higher demand for goods and services. The graph depicted above forecasts Information Technology & Communications expenditure. The graph reveals as to why European telecommunication networks and services are the backbone of Europe’s developing technology sector. Increased expenditure in this sector will encourage manufacturing industry to use modern technology in the manufacturing process. This market size is an indication of developing political, legal and economic factors of the country. Increasing Operating cost is the most critical issue in any business and in order to increase profitability, this needs to be controlled. One can consider manufacturing in domestic market of UK because of the political factors that are currently aimed at reviving lost market demand after recession. For instance, the UK government has planned to strengthen the existing supply chain network in UK which would create and preserve over 15,000 jobs in manufacturing industry. The rationale is that by boosting manufacturing sector and creating more jobs, the economy will accelerate out of recession. A joint industry and government investment in form of public-private partnership aims to strengthen advanced supply chain in UK by investing over  £200 million (Schutte, 2013). When one conducts a cost-benefit analysis for setting up a manufacturing base in UK the company has to perceive the investment decision keeping in mind the

The Visual of a Religious Environment Essay Example for Free

The Visual of a Religious Environment Essay How should a religious environment be visualized? Perhaps it will depend upon one’s concept of a religious environment and based on a particular religion like Roman Catholicism for instance, or Christianity. A religious environment may mean also one’s general view of a particular religious movement in one milieu. Or, it may mean a general view of all religious movements in one setting. A religious environment in Roman Catholicism, for instance, may be depicted as community members preparing for Sunday mass and heading off to a huge church whose columns, ceilings and walls are filled with ornate designs. The interior of the church contains paintings and statues depicting saints with eyes outrageously rolled up towards heaven, and crucifixes that depict the excruciating pain Christ had to go through to save mankind. Church-goers are all kneeling down, and either listening or singing distinctly religious music, and after that everything is solemn and quiet. In Christianity, the religious environment may be illustrated as the picture of one big happy family praying and singing praise and worship songs together. There is abounding joy in every activity done whether it is in church, the home, or the park. Children are cherished as a blessing to families, and they are taught godliness and righteousness as they grow up. There are numerous religious movements operating in the world today and all claim to be the right one – either leading to enlightenment or one that saves a person from death and destruction. We can picture all the religious groups passionately calling out to other people to come and listen to their message because their message saves lives. We may also picture them calling out to Divine Providence for remedies and cures from afflictions, poverty, marital dysfunction, security, and daily provisions. And as all these happenings persists, life on earth continues to exist as it was – a hectic place of modern life, where most people are caught up in a rat race.

Salem Witch Trials Essay -- Witchcraft Salem Witch Trials History Essa

Salem Witch Trials Throughout history millions of people have been scorned, accused, arrested, tortured, put to trial and, persecuted as witches. One would think that by the time the United States was colonized, these injustices on humanity would have come to an end, but that was not so. In 1692 a major tragedy occurred in America, the Salem witch trials. It all began when a group of girls accused others, generally older women, of consorting with the devil. The witchcraft hysteria in Salem, Massachusetts resulted from the strict Puritan code which aroused the girls interest in superstition and magic and caused strange behavior. The Salem witch trials were based on the Puritans and their God versus Satan and his followers and their strict codes. Puritans had always thought that they were the new chosen people, abandoning a land of sin and oppression to establish the Promised Land (New England). Puritans beliefs were rooted in contrasts. (1) They believed that if there was something good there was something bad to contradict it, for instance since there was a God, there must be a devil. Since there was good, there must be evil, and since there were saints chosen to do God’s work on earth, there must be witches who were instruments of the Devil. (2) So if someone did not believe in witches it was considered heresy in Salem. A witch was regarded as a person who had made an actual, deliberate, formal pact with Satan and would do all in her in power to aid him in his rebellion against God. (3) The Puritans believed that they were living in a world of chaos and crime, and directed their efforts to constantly guard against sin. (4) Life in Salem Village was not easy at the best of times. Gaiety and merrymaking were regarded as irreligious, and the people of the village were somber and severe. Their lives were spent in hard work and religious observance. Even their relaxation was associated with the meeting house. On the Sabbath there was a long service in the morning and another in the afternoon. Village residents who came from outlying farms were not able to get home before the services, and it gradually became a regular practice for the time before the services to be spent in visiting and conversation. This was the time when gossip and news were spread from one to another. (5) Children would accompany their parent... ...irley, The Witchcraft of Salem Village, Random House, New York, 1956,p.5. 8.Robinson, Enders, A. Salem Witchcraft and Hawthrone’s House, Heritage Books, Browie, MD.,1992, p13. 9.Robinson, Enders, A. Salem Witchcraft and Hawthrone’s House, Heritage Books, Browie, MD., 1992, p.12. 10.Robinson, Enders, A. Salem Witchcraft and Hawthrone’s House, Heritage Books, Browie, MD., 1992, p.86. 11.Jackson, Shirley, The Witchcraft of Salem Village, Random House, New York, 1956,p.17-18. 12.Robinson, Enders, A. Salem Witchcraft and Hawthrone’s House, Heritage Books, Browie, MD., 1992, p.86. 13.Robinson, Enders, A. Salem Witchcraft and Hawthrone’s House, Heritage Books, Browie, MD.,1992, p.81. 14.Robinson, Enders, A. Salem Witchcraft and Hawthrone’s House, Heritage Books, Browie, MD.,1992, p110. 15.Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. â€Å"Witchcraft.† 1996 16.Robinson, Enders, A. Salem witchcraft and Hawthrone’s House, Heritage Books, Browie, MD., 1992, p.80. 17.Robinson, Enders, A. Salem Witchcraft and Hawthrone’s House, Heritage Books, Browie, MD, 1992, p.206.

Determinants of Bank Profitability in Nigeria

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1. 0BACKGROUND INFORMATION TO THE STUDY The study of profits is important not only because of the information it provides about the health of the economy in any given year, but also because profits are a key determinant of growth and employment in the medium-term. Changes in profitability are an important contributor to economic progress via the influence profits have on the investment and savings decisions of companies. This is because a rise in profits improves the cash flow position of companies and offers greater flexibility in the source of finance for corporate investment (i. . through retained earnings). Easier access to finance facilitates greater investment which boosts productivity, productive capacity, competitiveness and employment. The existence, growth and survival of a business organization mostly depend upon the profit which an organization is able to earn. It is true that when Profitability increases the value of shareholders may increase to considerable extent. The term profitability refers to the ability of the business organization to maintain its profit year after year.The profitability of the organization will definitely contribute to the economic development of the nation by way of providing additional employment and tax revenue to government exchequer. Moreover, it will contribute the income of the investors by having a higher dividend and thereby improve the standard of living of the people. In order for a business entity (whether public or privately owned) to continue to prosper, there is need for its earnings to be relatively stable for its expansion and growth over time.In addition to its level of earnings, its external environment must also be carefully understood and reliably anticipated (Burns and Mitchell, 1946). Earnings and business environments are so serious issues that a business must study and understand in order to face its opportunities and threats with vigor and determination. Where for instance, the business does not recognize the effects of changes in external environment which may necessitate changes in business earnings, it may suffer some losses consequently.This perhaps explains why there has been continuing search by modern businesses to improve their methods of production necessary to cut down costs, and to develop new attributes or products, which may have wider appeal and satisfaction to their customers. On the other hand, the environmental and cyclical conditions are usually volatile and Dynamic (Sabo, 2003). This underscores the need for business firms to be able to reliably conduct forecast not only for their future demands or sales for their goods and services but also other variables that affect them directly such as their personnel and future profits.The volatility of the changes in the variables from the external environment in specific ways to the immediate factory level and to the remote industry and task environments can sometimes be very significant. Th ese calls for managers’ ability to appreciate and apply formal forecasting techniques to assist their banks achieve this veritable task. The determinants of profitability are empirically well explored although the definition of profitability varies among studies.Disregarding the profitability measures, most of the banking studies have noticed that the capital ratio, loan-loss provisions and expense control are important drivers of high profitability. In this study, the drivers that would be considered are in two categories namely endogenous (internal) and exogenous (external) drivers or factors of Profitability. Internal drivers of bank performance or profitability can be defined as factors that are influenced by a bank’s management decisions. Such management effects will definitely affect the operating results of banks.Although a quality management leads to a good bank performance, it is difficult, if not impossible, to assess management quality directly. In fact, it is implicitly assumed that such a quality will be reflected in the operating performance. As such, it is not uncommon to examine a bank’s performance in terms of those financial variables found in financial statements, such as the balance sheet and income statement (Krakah and Ameyaw, 2010). External determinants of bank profitability are factors that are beyond the control of a bank‘s management. They represent events outside the influence of the bank.However, the management can anticipate changes in the external environment and try to position the institution to take advantage of anticipated developments. The two major components of the external determinants are macroeconomic factors and financial structure factors (Krakah and Ameyaw, 2010). In summary, it appears previous empirical research has suggested a possible connection between bank profitability and various internal and external determinants like Bank Assets, Loan-Loss Provisions, Total Deposit and Inflation, but is far from definitive as ifferent authors have made use of the inclusion and exclusion of different variables in their studies. Hence, our study will try to shed more light on this controversial issue by reviewing more empirical literatures on opposing sides of the topic and finally drawing conclusions from our findings from the mode of data analysis we intend to carry out. 1. 1STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM The Federal Government of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have perennially sought permanent measures that would enhance the profitability and stability of banks operating in the Nigerian banking industry.Unfortunately, they have never completely succeeded in achieving this feat. For instance, from 1987 – 1991 financial sector reforms (intended to enhance competition in the sector, mobilize savings and lead to a more efficient allocation of resources) were implemented, encompassing elements of liberalization (such as the decontrolling of interest rate s) and measures to enhance prudential regulation and tackle bank distress (Oluranti, 1991).Also, between 1990 and 2004, bank regulators increased the minimum share capital requirement for banks operating in Nigeria five times, namely in 1991, 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2004 (Aburime and Uche, 2006). However, these measures were unsuccessful in curtailing the spate of bank distress and failures in the1990s and beyond (Oluranti, 1991; Beck et al. , 2005 and Brownbridge, 2005). Currently, a set of banking sector reforms have also been introduced to ensure inter alia a strong and reliable banking sector (Okagbue and Aliko, 2005).Unfortunately, if the historical antecedents of financial sector reforms in Nigeria are anything to go by, the current reforms may also not help to improve bank profitability and stability in Nigeria. Another major factor, which has often not been given appropriate attention, is the issue of strategic planning through forecasting and prediction of future performance i ndices of commercial banks (deposit money banks). To achieve this task, a bank must recognize and anticipate the important Variable affecting its profit determination.The works of Stevens (1999), Blyther (2000) and Naceur (2003) established the inability of the business firms to adequately anticipate and forecast several operating variables in them as a very critical factor in explaining their non-performance. They argued that it is dangerous for a firm to fail to anticipate its cash flow sales, profits and production under whatever situation it finds itself. Given the efforts stated above banks need to appreciate the role of other indicators in enhancing the profitability or performance for that matter.Indeed examining the determinants of corporate profits in the banking sector in Nigeria is crucial, if these banks are going to remain competitive, efficient, and viable taking into cognizance the challenges that befall competition in the industry. 1. 2RESEARCH QUESTIONS The motivati on behind this study stems from the fact that in the past decade or so, a lot of tremendeous changes has been witnessed in the Nigerian banking industry thereby leading to a number of reforms that has seen players in the banking industry transform from one level to another.Hence, this study will sought to answer the following research questions: 1. Is there a long run and short run relationship between bank profitability and its determinants? 2. To  what  extent  are  discrepancies  in  First Bank’s  profitability  due  to  variations in endogenous factors  Ã‚  under  Ã‚  the  Ã‚  control  Ã‚  of  Ã‚  bank  Ã‚  management as well as exogeneous factors under the control of the macroeconomy? 3. Given previous empirical studies on this topic, can it be deduced that First of Nigeria actually makes sustainable profits in the last three decades? . 3OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY The sole objective of this study is to provide a framework to investigate the f actors or indicators intrinsic in the bank’s asset structure that had impacted on their profitability, and performance for that matter, and make policy recommendation that could be used by bank managers in their policy decisions in the future. Specifically the study seeks to achieve the following Objectives: 1. Examine  the  profitability  of  First  Bank Nigeria Plc during  the  last  three  decades. 2.Study  Ã‚  the  Ã‚  key  Ã‚  endogenous or company-level  value  Ã‚  drivers  Ã‚  of  Ã‚  performance  Ã‚  or profitability  Ã‚  of  Ã‚  the commercial  bank  in  Nigeria using FBN Plc 3. Study  Ã‚  the  Ã‚  key  Ã‚  exogenous  or macroeconomicvalue  Ã‚  drivers  Ã‚  of  Ã‚  performanceor profitability  Ã‚  of  Ã‚  the commercial  bank  in  Nigeria using FBN Plc 4. To find out if any long-run or short-run relationship exists between Profitability variables and its determinants using FBN Plc. 5. Make  policyà ‚  recommendations  regarding  the  key  drivers  of  profitability  at First Bank of Nigeria as well as other commercial  banks  in the country based on  the empirical  findings. 1. 4SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDYGiven the relation between the well-being of the banking sector and the growth of the economy (Rajan and Zingales, 1998; Levine, 1998), knowledge of the underlying factors that influence the financial sector's profitability is therefore essential not only for the managers of the banks, but also for numerous stakeholders such as the central banks, bankers associations, governments, and other financial authorities. Knowledge of these factors would be useful in helping the regulatory authorities and bank managers formulate future policies aimed at improving the profitability of the Nigerian banking sector.Furthermore, at the present time, the type of analysis to be employed in this study is completely missing in the literature concerning profitability in the banking sector in Nigeria. 1. 5SCOPE OF THE STUDY Even though there is an existence of numerous empirical studies on the determinants of corporate profitability in the banking sector almost none exists regarding banks case studies in Nigeria, with one exception though in a study by Krakah and Ameyaw (2010) who found a significant correlations between Bank’s Financial Statement and Macroeconomic variables with Profitability given case studies of two banks in Ghana.However, since their study relied more on a cross-sectional approaches from two different banks, this study collects a broad array of profitability determinant indicators, specifically, using data solely from First Bank of Nigeria from 1980 to 2010, we will be examining different measures and linkages of endogenous and exogenous variables like total  assets, interest  income, total  overhead expenses, money  supply, annual  inflation  rate and Return on Assets (ROA).Furthermore, since the determinants of profitability are a complex and multi-faceted concept, as such no single measure will capture all aspects of the internal and external determinants in the Financial Statements of First Bank to be used in this study. 1. 6PLAN OF THE STUDY For the purpose of simplification and clarification, this study will be drafted in the following manner: Chapter one will begin with a brief introduction on the topic of our study assessing a few opinions on what some authors have to say relating to the topic of our study.This chapter continues by analyzing some of the problems in the Nigerian economy as it relates to the banking industry as a catalyst for economic growth, then followed by the research questions. The statement of objectives to the study follows afterwards then the significance of the study comes next. An historical overview detailing various facets of developments in the Nigerian banking industry from pre-independence to date is also examined in this chapter. This chapter will be co ncluded by giving the scope of study.Chapter two of this study, which is the Literature Review and Theoretical Framework, will begin with a brief introduction of what the chapter aims to achieve and how it will be structured. This will be followed by stating various theoretical frameworks to be used in the study. Furthermore, an empirical review of related literatures on the determinants of banking industry profitability as seen by different authors who have written widely on the topic published their findings on this issue would be discussed.This chapter continues by reviewing the Nigerian banking industry performance over the year with a comparative analysis of all the major banks making up the industry. This will be achieved through the use of charts and graphs. Finally, this chapter will be rounded-off by the historical existence of First Bank of Nigeria Plc as well as the corporate profile of the bank. Chapter three, which is the research methodology chapter of this study, will also begin with a brief introduction to the chapter.This will be followed by the method of data collection section as well as method of data analysis section where we will explain the various methods of analysis like Multiple Correlation Matrix, Cointegration Regression Model as well as the Error Correction Mechanism of time series econometric analysis intended to analyze our data is explained. Also in this chapter, we shall state the various regression models to be estimated for this study as well as an explanation of the justification of the variables to be included in the model.This chapter will also explain the how the data gotten for this study will be formatted in Ratio forms to suit need of our intentions for this study. In addition, the statement of hypothesis and assumptions behind our model will be stated in this chapter and the various reasons behind the sampling procedure of arriving at FBN Plc for this study will be explained. Finally, this chapter will be concluded by explaining ‘A Priori’ Expectations of each variable within the model and the yardsticks in econometric measurement to be used in acceptance or rejection of the various hypothesis stated for this study.Chapter four, which is the data Presentation, Analysis and Interpretation chapter, will be introduced stating what should be expected as the chapter moves from section to section. Here, the data used for this study will be presented in a tabular format then followed by the analysis and estimation of the explicit model already stated in chapter three of this study. Finally, this chapter is concluded by interpreting the models estimated via different methods of econometric analysis.Chapter five is the Summary, Policy Recommendations and Conclusion chapter of this study. This chapter, like the previous ones before it also begins with an introduction of what to expect, this is followed by a summary of our study thus far. Hence, policy recommendations would be made under a dif ferent section and finally, the conclusions of our finding on the study as it relates to the analysis made in chapter four of the study would be highlighted in this study.

History of Badminton Essay

Badminton is one of the most enjoyable racket games that can be played by males and females or any age or skill level. The games can be played by single or doubles. Badminton is played over the net using a shuttlecock and a racket. The shuttlecock is being struck before it lands on your court, back to the opponent’s court. You need quick reflex and a physically fit body in order to cope with the game. HISTORY OF BADMINTON Badminton first originated in India centuries ago where it was known as Poona. The British army officers were very much fascinated by the game, and so they introduced in England sometime between 1870 and 1880. Badminton was invented in the 1860s by the daughters of the Duke of Beaufort, who entertained themselves with a version of the children’s game known as battledore and shuttlecock. The game they derived for themselves soon became for the house in the which they played it, the duke’s Badminton House in Gloustershire, England. Before long, badminton societies and clubs were sprouting throughout England. In 1893, the first Badminton Association was formed. Six years later, the All-England Badminton Championship was played. Eventually, the sport igrated to continental Europe. From there it reached India via British military officers and Indonesia by way of Dutch colonists. The far-flung expansion necessitated the formation of the International Badminton Federation (IBF) in 1934. The International Badminton Federation (IBF) is the governing body for international events. In the Philippines, the Badminton Association of the Philippines (BAP) governs the game. It is responsible for the promotion and he development of the game in the country. The BAP is also te body that provides Filipino players competing in international competitions representing the country. The Association is also conducting or sponsoring seminars and clinic to those who are aspiring to become players, coaches, referees and umpires. In playing badminton, it is very necessary to learn the different terms used in order to understand the game. DEFINITION OF TERMS: Player- any person playing badminton Match- the game proper between two opposing sides on a 2 out of 3 games or 3 out of 5 games. Singles- a match where there is only one player on each of the opposing sides. Doubles- a match where there is only one player on each of the opposing sides. Serving side- the side having the right to serve Receiving side- the side opposite the serving side Rally- a sequence of one or more strokes starting with the service, until the shuttle ceases to be in play.