What Are Human Rights

How to write an office manager cover letter

How to write an office manager cover letter Are you looking to pursue a new job as an office manager? Perhaps you’re excited about making a career change into this challenging new field, or maybe you’re already an office manager but would like to transition to a new company.Whatever your reasons are for wanting to secure a new position as an office manager, the good news is that there are plenty of opportunities- most companies, both large and small and across industries, employ office managers. The not-so-good news is that you can expect to encounter some stiff competition from other job seekers who will undoubtedly possess a wide range of backgrounds and experience levels.So, what does this mean for you? Simple- if you want to be at the top of the competitive food chain when you’re applying for open office manager positions you’ll need to have a pitch-perfect resume and cover letter that will grab and hold the attention of hiring personnel and potential new employers.Your cover letter is going to serve as your first impression maker out in the job market, and you’re going to want to make it a good one. According to a recent article by CareerOne, when looking for a new job â€Å"many people believe that a strategically targeted cover letter is the most important weapon you need.† With all of this said, it’s clear that using a bland, lifeless, boilerplate cover letter just isn’t going to cut it. Let’s review some proven strategies for how to write an effective office manager cover letter.Make it clear you can deliver what the company wants and needs.The truth is, great office managers typically anticipate the needs of their offices and employers before they’re even asked. They just seem to have an almost psychic ability to know what’s needed before anyone else does. This is the same operating principle that you should use when crafting your cover letters (notice we didn’t say letter- every opportunity should get a customi zed letter!).Use the information in the job posting to help inform what should be included in your cover letter. If the posting includes detailed information regarding job responsibilities, make sure your cover letter addresses each of these responsibilities. Data-driven results are best. For example, if a position is looking for someone with shipping experience, make sure your cover letter demonstrates that you’re a shipping whiz with a proven track record. If you have any extra feathers in your shipping cap- perhaps you negotiated a great shipping rate for your office in a previous job- even better.Don’t overload your cover letter so it reads more like a novel, but do hit the highlights to make sure you’re putting your best foot forward. Remember, you can also include quantifiable results like cost-savings and process improvements in your resume.If the job posting is light on details, use your knowledge of typical responsibilities handled by office managers (a n Internet search can prove helpful here), and also be sure to do some research on the company you’re applying to. Get a sense of what they do and try and anticipate their needs in an office manager- and be sure that this factors into your cover letter.Highlight your skills and how they relate to the specific position.If you’re an experienced office manager, this will certainly be to your advantage- you likely have a good sense of what the position requires and how to be effective. Make sure your cover letter, in conjunction with your resume, highlights your past experience and key accomplishments, and hopefully they mesh with what your target company is looking for in their next office manager.If you’re new to the field, this just means that you’ll need to get a little more creative- after using the job posting and a search of what responsibilities office managers typically handle, try your best to translate how the skills and experience you do have can be utilized effectively in an office manger position. Do you have experiencing ordering and negotiating for example? If so, then great- most office managers need to be good at these tasks, so be sure to speak about this in your cover letter. Your cover letter should focus on transferable skills, those skills that you possess that effective office managers also have and use regularly.Paint yourself as the ideal office manager.Perhaps you’ve worked in offices that have had office managers in the past- if so, then use this to help guide your letter. What made them successful and what didn’t work so well? Do you have any friends, family, or trusted colleagues who work as office managers? If so, pick their brains and use this information to help you write a killer cover letter that will get you noticed.Here’s the bottom line- regardless of your background and experience, getting a job as an office manager might not be a cakewalk. You’ll need to use every resou rce at your disposal to get a leg up on the competition and succeed. Use the information and strategies here to write an effective office manager cover letter- your first step on the journey to your next great job.

Modern Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Modern Law - Essay Example This paper seeks to give a detailed analysis and criticism of criminal and civil law. Just like any organization having its challenges, civil law is not an exception. Civil law has challenges that need to be addressed as well as the good areas that need to be retained. It is in this regard that this part of the paper presents the dimensions of civil law that both need to be retained and changed. Ownership is one area that needs to be revised in order for civil disputes to be resolved efficiently. Ownership is one of the key and central concepts of civil law (Dorfman 408). Ownership largely outlines and ensures people respect boundaries for the peaceful coexistence of community members. In cases where people do not know the extent of their properties, conflicts are likely to arise between adjacent possessions. The entrepreneurial nature of people moves them to great length of wanting to amass more property for themselves. Each and every property has a spark that will always attract either a person or people with the intentions of owning it. Therefore, without clear boundaries on the ownership of property, conflict is bound to arise regarding the ownership. Therefore, ownership being a key concept of the civil law, there should be clear boundaries stating how far an individual or a person owns a given property (King 339). Further, each civil case in courts should be ruled in its merit. Let no other similar cases be used as a guideline in ruling a current case in court. On the other hand, the judges in American civil law remain disempowered as compared to the lawyers. The judges cannot proclaim common sense control over the cases, as they are ongoing. To a larger extent, the judge is reduced to a referee to oversee the contributions of the lawyers. In addition, judges in American civil cases do not know what they are to judge. The American civil case

Textual Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Textual Analysis - Essay Example These myths are seen as the past of each gender, male and female. In her argument, she describes males as dominant over women. Men always try to be powerful than women by using some myths, while, in reality, this is not true. Beauvoir seeks to show that the myths that talk about women are indeed false and that in, reality, these women are different. These myths are developed because men are trying to be dominant over women, but in the modern world, this is not the case. Women are termed as equal to men. While the myths of men have indicated that males have control over females, this is not true today, and this is because things have changed and men no longer have control over women. Everything in today’s society is equal, and the myths that exist are no longer recognized, and they are far forgotten (Beauvoir 785). According to the version of Raines (72), men are powerful creatures in society, and they always see themselves as violent, virile and vital people. This is depicted in the character O’ Shaughnessy. This character sees him in front of a saloon with a gun, and as a frontier, he uses his skills of bullfighting to impress the blacks. In her argument, Raines says that the character is performing some rituals, by taking advantage of the blond Irish appearance. By so doing, he is revealing his strong place in society as that of a domineering male character. In the end, he is reduced to the status of a woman by his successful challenger who uses a knife to carve labium marjoram on his cheek. According to Raines the characters sex life has all the qualities of a fighter at war. This is further explained by the encounter O’ Shaughnessy has with Denise. The two are described as making love as fighters with physical violence and physical abuse. O’ Shaughnessy sees Denise as masculine in appearance and behavior. She is given the qualities of a kind lean force with muscles of a young boy who is aggressive (Raines 72). Raines further desc ribes the character as one who admires the qualities that Denise has like; pride, intelligence, one with the force of will and an independent individual. He further wishes to have these qualities because he believes by that he can acquire them by defeating Denise and turning her into a more passive and submissive woman. Raines further argues that O’Shaughnessy sees himself as a hero (73). He sees his sexual dominance as a force that is revitalizing and one which allows him to successfully, win in all the situations of life. He is seen quoting his penis as the avenger (73) because it serves as a symbol of weapon in the war. Raines continues her argument that, in a, sexiest society, the sexual power is the most valuable item in the social and cultural power. After the encounter with Denise, O’ Shaughnessy is portraying the quality of dominance. In that, he says he must make Denise dependent on him (73) by bringing her to her first orgasm. He believes this will make him s ure of victory at last. He is quite startled by Denise when she proves that she is a skillful opponent. Denise reveals to him that he has a feminine side that he does not know. This is because O’ Shaughnessy action in mouth love was passionate. He is wounded by these words, and he allows the female in him to betray his victory and finally Denise becomes a victor (Raines 73). However, O’Shaughnessy is quick to make excuses that would justify his failure to win. He states that Denise had won because she told the truth and

Comparison between Windows XP & the Linux operating system Essay

Comparison between Windows XP & the Linux operating system - Essay Example The world has been witnessing a revolution ever since the introduction of the windows operating system. This has been primarily due to the easy-to-use interface as also the user-friendly controls that it is equipped with. But, the advent of the 90s has seen the rise of another major operating system that was developed on a UNIX foundation. Linux, as this operating system is popularly known is a freely available version under the open source initiative. It was and continues to be a hit with hardcore software developers. Therefore, the present era is seeing a tug-of-war between the vendor-based Windows XP (the newest version of windows) and the Linux (open source) operating systems As such, the windows vs. Linux debate are a heated topic for discussion under the OS (operating systems) domain. As far as the current paper is concerned, the main aspects that will be discussed as part of the discussion include the following:The basic difference between Windows XP & Linux when it comes to t he issue of synchronization lies in the manner in which the different processes are related to the underlying kernel. 'Synchronization' is a term that is more often associated with an environment that comprises the execution of more than a single process concurrently. Under such situations, synchronization ensures that all the processes execute concurrently such that there is a sense of coordination between them for the purpose of getting a task to execute in perfect run-time order so as to prevent undesirable race conditions from occurring (A. Silberschatz, 2006). When it comes to the Linux operating system, there is a process scheduler that controls access to the processor. Therefore, the scheduler is assigned the task of governing the state of execution of the various processes present. The scheduler uses a set of timers to determine the various durations such as the amount of time that is supposed to be allocated to a particular process, the time for bringing out a process out o f the execution or waiting state etc. this governs the monitoring of the system for any occurrence of deadlocks that can be duly eliminated through efficient mechanisms (Gordon Fischer, Claudia Salzberg Rodriguez, Claudia Salzberg, Steven Smolski, 2005). As opposed to this, the various processes under Windows XP are directly attached to the kernel. This requires that the kernel (and thereby the scheduler as well) must keep track of all the various processes that are attached to the kernel, though they may not be in use. This increases the chances of a deadlock & in many cases there are serious aberrations in terms of proper execution sequence between the various processes that are connected to a particular task. This is the usual occurrence when one tries to open too many applications on a windows machine wherein the system fails to respond beyond a certain limit (system hang). Linux has been found to offer better performance in this regard, wherein a system hang-up occurs only when the system hardware can no longer maintain the pace. Process Management This is related to the synchronization problem in the sense that the discussion mainly revolves around the process. The process management deals with two aspects in particular. According to A. Tanenbaum (2001), the first case is the allocation of execution sate to various processes & the other one is the allocation of memory space to the programs (processes). While the first one is mainly concerned about deadlocks, the second one is aimed at the minimizing the time required to fetch a process from the memory to the waiting queue for the purpose of putting it under consideration for execution. Under Linux, very process is assigned a unique process number that is used to reference the particular process under all circumstances, be it to create child processes, execute it or for killing that particular

Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure on Toyota Motors

Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure on Toyota Motors The globalization phenomenon allows companies to internationally expand their sales and production activities. A consequence of this phenomenon, however, is the existence of foreign exchange rate exposure which can impact the companys profitability, net cash flow and market values. In the past years, several academic researches have been developed in order to explain and analyze how foreign exchange risk exposure fluctuations affect a multinational company or a purely domestic company value, and how this risk is influenced by the companys risk management strategy. Consequently, this dissertation aims to find some knowledge on these subjects for a specific company, Toyota Motor Corporation. By applying the capital market approach and analyzing three different periods, it is possible to conclude that Toyota Motor Corporation, in a crisis situation, was able to protect itself against some of the primary exchange rates fluctuations it is exposed to. Thus, the predictability of higher fluctuations allows the company to apply effective risk management strategies. Considering a ten year period, bilateral exchange rate fluctuations are more significant to the company stock returns than for other periods. However, being an exporting company, its coefficient for exposure is not consistent with the competitive advantage an exporter holds when its company home currency depreciates. It is consistent, however, when the broad currency index is considered. Additionally, the impact of foreign exchange risk fluctuations is small for company stock returns. This can thus indicate that exchange rate fluctuations dont have a significant impact on company stock price returns. INTRODUCTION The globalization phenomenon has allowed the integration of national economies into the international economy, giving them easier access to information, goods and services through trade and foreign direct investment around the world. This process has been encouraging an increasing number of companies to start operating on a global scale, expanding their networks worldwide. In recent years, the number of multinational companies has grown in order to respond to the competitiveness experienced in the domestic market and explore new markets to produce or sell new products and services. Multinational companies, or purely domestic companies with a broad network, are exposed to several risks. An important risk that has a significant impact on the management of a company is the foreign exchange risk, due to the fact that it may affect the companys cash flows, value and performance. Nevertheless, besides the foreign exchange risk, many other risks affect companies, such as the interest rate r isk. Several financial and operating instruments and techniques are being used and developed by multinational companies to handle these risks. However, in order to manage these risks, companies must know exactly what their risks are and how to measure them. With regard to foreign exchange rate exposure, several studies conducted in recent years have presented various risk management approaches in order to understand to what extent its fluctuations affect the companys value and performance. However, there is little consensus among the different studies, which indicates that exchange rates are complex and can affect and be affected by different factors. The most traditional approaches are the cash flow approach and the capital market approach. In this study, the capital market approach is used to assess, through quantitative methods, to what extent foreign exchange rate fluctuations affect the companys value. It is important to note that several studies using quantitative methods found no statistical significance when trying to understand the impacts of foreign exchange fluctuations on the companys value. Thus, an explanation given for this fact was that the company was able to protect itself against foreign exchange rate fluctuations by means of hedging instruments and techniques. The main purpose of this study is to analyze the foreign exchange risk exposure of a multinational company using the capital market approach, and also to what extent the various assumptions underlying this approach produce different results. The choice of the multinational company was based on the following requirements: it had to be a public company operating in a competitive industry and could not be the subject of any other study in the same area. Accordingly, the Toyota Motor Corporation was chosen. Its main plants are located in Japan; it operates in the Automotive Industry and was the worlds largest manufacturer in 2009. Furthermore, 61.4% of total sales to external costumers are overseas, which indicates that the company is likely to face considerable impacts from foreign exchange risk exposure. In order to achieve the main purpose of this study, Toyotas foreign operations are analyzed in a first phase to understand to what extent the company is internationalized. Moreover, this initial analysis also envisages the foreign exchange rate fluctuations against the companys stock price returns and their direct impact on its report accounts, as well as the hedging instruments used to handle the foreign exchange risk. In a second phase, the capital market approach is used to suggest that foreign exchange risk exposure could be measured as the sensitivity of stock price returns to exchange rate movements. This approach requires the implementation of statistical regressions. For this purpose, market, stock price and foreign exchange rate data were collected from 1999 to 2009. Considering the studies developed by different authors, regressions involve several hypotheses for the exchange rate variables, such as a Nominal Broad Index that is like a basket of currencies and several bilateral exchange rates, in order to understand which variables affect stock price returns. In this second phase, the quantitative method is applied to three different periods in order to compare how the company handles the foreign exchange risk. As this dissertation takes into account the investors point of view, it can help to understand how investors determine and quantify the exposure of their portfolio to the foreign ex change risk. Moreover, this approach allows comparing the companys exposure to foreign exchange rate fluctuations with that of competitors in order to understand the effectiveness of the hedging activities. To complement this study, this dissertation is organized under the following sections: The first section is a thorough review of the literature on this subject. It explains why it is important that companies know how to handle the foreign exchange risk and presents the findings of past research. In the second section, the traditional categories of foreign exchange risk exposure are described, the effects of hedging the foreign exchange risks are shown and the most used analysis methods are discussed. The third section provides an overview of Toyota and an analysis of its foreign operations. The main purpose of this section is to support the interpretations that emerge from the regression results and this information is used as the basis for selecting the variables for the regression model. In the fourth section, relevant analyses are provided about the variables that may be a source of risk for Toyota and which were chosen for the regression model. In addition to this, it presents the hedging programs undertaken, the designated and undesignated financial instruments used and the reasons why the company does not need to have financial instruments to hedge translation and economic exposure. The fifth section describes the methodology used. The reasoning, as well as the issues of each variable included in the model, is expressed in this section. It also presents the study time periods and data sources. In addition to this, it provides an analysis of the descriptive statistics for the data and different periods used in the model. The sixth section contains the regression results and provides an analysis and explanation of the findings. It also presents the limitations of the software used for the regressions and a brief analysis of the foreign exchange risk exposure of Honda and Nissan Motor Corporation. The seventh and last section summarizes the main conclusions of this study and presents some suggestions for further research. LITERATURE REVIEW The goal of creating a global business has, in the past years, been the fundamental reason behind the growth of multinational companies. Such an example is the registered growth in Japanese companies exports. In 2000 and 2009, exports from Japanese companies amounted to 0.8%  [1]  and 10.8%1 of the GDP, respectively. An annual growth of 32.9% in foreign activity, for a nine year period, is one of many advantages that companies can obtain by opening themselves in many ways. Other advantages include the opportunity to diversify labor force, to enter new markets and sell more, to reduce transport costs and to benefit from economies of scale. This, however, also creates new problems, challenges and demands. A multinational company is either a company with operating subsidiaries, branches or affiliates in more than one country, or a purely domestic company engaged in international activities (imports and exports). Some of the new problems and challenges these companies face include an increased exposure to foreign risks, such as exchange rates, interest rates and commodity prices [Miller, 1998]. Moreover, the risks associated to exchange rates appear do to the contact with new currencies  [2]  . Exchange rates constitute one of the most important macroeconomic risks, which can potentially impact, positively or negatively, the companies profitability, cash-flows and market value, due to exchange rate fluctuations. Consequently, in order to handle exchange risk exposure, companies can adopt several hedging tools. In the past decades, thanks to the increasing number of international trade activities and multinational enterprises, as well as the large currency fluctuations registered, the volume of research that tries to measure and analyze the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in multinational companies and their vulnerability to it has grown. However, produced results/conclusions have a mixed nature due to the complexity of this subject. The main goal in this section is to understand, through previous researches, what types of companies are most affected by exchange risk exposure, the importance of hedging, several types of foreign exchange risk exposure, types of hedging activities depending on the foreign exchange risk exposure the company is facing and traditional approaches to measure exchange risk exposure. Exchange Risk Exposure of Multinational Companies vs. Domestic Companies Thanks to the phenomenon of globalization, as well as the increase in companies foreign activities, several researches have been developed in order to give some input on what type of companies show a higher exchange risk exposure: multinational or domestic companies. The results of previous empirical studies suggest that only certain industries and/or companies are exposed to foreign exchange risk  [5]  . In the other hand, even a purely domestic company with importing or exporting activities is impacted by fluctuations in exchange rates. This idea is connected with competitive advantage; for instance, the products an exporting company sells abroad can still affect the companys value due to the effect of exchange rate fluctuations in competitors, suppliers and in customers demands. Muller and Verschoor (2006) concluded in their study that a companys size is also an indicator of its foreign exposure. They found that a companys lower dividend payout ratio results in a stronger short-term liquidity position and, consequently, a smaller hedging motivation and a higher exchange risk exposure. Other authors however, such as Choi and Jiang (2009), defend that multinationality is important for a companys exchange exposure, but not in the popular notion that was mentioned. Some authors found evidences that foreign exchange risk exposure is actually higher and more significant in absolute magnitude for domestic companies, when compared to multinational companies. The existing explanation for this finding is the fact that multinational enterprises are more capable to effectively and easily use financial hedging and operational hedging in order to reduce their position against foreign exchange risk, and also to increase their stock returns. Additionally, these companies are more aware of foreign exchange risks. Dominguez and Tesar (2006) agree with this finding and they also found that small companies, rather than large and medium-sized companies, show a higher exposure due to the same reasons. As a result, companies that dont engage directly in international business but compet e against foreign companies can be affected by exchange rate fluctuations [Dominguez, Tesar, 2006]. Dominguez and Tesar (2006) also found that the industry level may influence exposure. They suggest that exposure increases in highly competitive industries. In more competitive industries, however, an almost perfect pass-through can be expected since they are more aware of their vulnerability and are consequently better motivated to hedge foreign exchange risks, when compared with less competitive industries  [6]  . Regarding purely domestic companies, Pritamani, Some and Singal (2005) found that importing companies are more affected by fluctuations in exchange rates than exporting companies. Therefore, companies with importing activities should have more reasons to hedge exchange risk exposure. The Importance of Hedging Exchange Risk Exposure Hedging means taking a position when acquiring a cash-flow, an asset or a contract in order to protect the owner from losses and to eliminate any gain in the position hedged. Several researches indicate that currency risk management is very important to manage earnings and unexpected losses. Consequently, this should be done in order to reduce any impacts on the stockholders equity and to prevent value declines for the equity holder due to cash flow changes and unfavorable exchange rate fluctuations, respectively. Hedging currency exposure can therefore reduce some of the expected fluctuations in future cash flows and increase their predictability [Smith and Stulz, 1985]. It is believed that foreign exchange rate fluctuations impact financial decision-making in production, marketing, planning and strategy [Moffett and Karlsen, 1994]. It is therefore necessary to make contingent investments or develop long-term strategic plans and management perspectives in order to understand the volatility of foreign exchange. Companies can implement hedging tools based on policies that define when and how to hedge against foreign exchange risks. Hedging tools are not static mechanisms, companies are able to dynamically adjust their behavior in response to foreign exchange risks; for instance, a company can decide to hedge only part of their foreign transactions. To undertake these policies, the company needs to determine its risk tolerance and needs to understand the direction that the currency to which it is exposed is likely to take. A value maximization corporation that hedges its exposure to exchange risks can reduce the costs connected to financial distresses and taxes, as well as agency problems existing between shareholders and bondholders [Martin and Mauer, 2005]  [7]  . A possible reduction of financial distress costs allows investors to require lower risk premiums. Consequently, the company value increases [Smith and Stulz, 1985]. Therefore, as mentioned by Smith and Stulz (1985), hedging is part of the overall corporate financing policy. Moreover, Dumas and Solnik (1995) concluded that part of the return rate of an assets price is influenced by the foreign exchange risk premium. Thus, when a company implements risk management activities that decrease its foreign exchange risk exposure, the cost of capital is reduced. Some authors sustain that exposure management may not reduce total risk. Copeland and Joshi (1996) argued that anticipating hedging strategies is difficult given that so many other economic factors change when foreign exchange rates fluctuate. This is confirmed by Moffett and Karlsen (1994), who argue that the uncertain nature of future cash-flows hinders the implementation of long-term strategic plans and better investment decisions. It is also argued that risks connected to an inefficient hedging activity can increase exposure [Hagelin and Pramborg, 2004]. Additionally, currency risk management usually consumes some of the companys resources, consequently lowering its expected cash-flow [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. Therefore, companies need to know whether their hedging strategies are successful or not, and if they are relevant to shareholders [Hagelin and Pramborg, 2004]. Findings regarding the Vulnerability of Multinational Companies to Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure Hedging tools that handle exposure to foreign exchange risks are not simple and they dont hold only a few complexities, since the companys exchange risk exposure correlates with its size, multinational status, foreign sales, international assets and competitiveness and trade at the industry [Dominguez, Tesar, 2006]. Adler and Dumas (1984) suggested that a companys foreign exchange risk exposure can be measured by the stock prices sensitivity to unexpected foreign exchange rate fluctuations. On the other hand, it could also be measured as the companys cash flows sensitivity to foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Considering that the main goal of this dissertation is to analyze economic exposure, it is important to note that several authors have developed researches that try to measure and analyze unexpected impacts of exchange rate fluctuations on companies performances, portfolios and Industries. Nevertheless, these researches have produced mixed empirical results. Jorion (1990) found that only 15 of 287 US multinational companies were statistically significant concerning the impacts of exchange rate fluctuations in companies stock returns. Additionally, the author detected that higher company foreign operations reflected higher exposure to exchange risks. Nevertheless, Bartov and Bodnar (1994) found that 208 of the companies with foreign operations that composed their sample were not statistically significant to the effect of US exchange rate fluctuations on companies stock price returns. Additionally, other researchers have reached mixed conclusions using different methodologies, samples and alternatives for the main variables. The inconsistency in these results, therefore, doesnt allow a sustainable conclusion on this subject. Recent studies, however, found evidences that exchange rate fluctuations do have an impact in companies performances. Such an example is the research developed by Dominguez and Teaser (2006), who found exposure to be statistically significant due to the effect of exchange rate movements on stock returns at Industry and country level. Some explanations have been pointed out by several authors for these mixed results. The registered contradiction can be explained by limitations concerning data, variables and methodologies used. Different researches develop different alternatives in order to determine foreign exchange risk factors and company values, which include different samples, the use of companies with less opened economies (USA) or more opened economies and different periods; all of these affect research. Bartram (2008) also explains that the use of stock returns to measure company value reflects the hedging position of companies, and the analysis is thus considering a lower level of risk exposure. Crabb (2002) also suggests that these mixed results can reflect different financial hedging strategies on data or simply reflect noisy data. Additionally, Bartram and Bodnar (2007) found that operational hedging activities help companies reduce their exposure and, consequently, have no statistical significance over the impact of foreign exchange rate fluctuations on companies returns. Therefore, as suggested by Crabb (2002), a statistically non significant exposure to exchange rates can result from an efficient hedging strategy set in place by the company. Types of Foreign Exchange Risk Exposure The hedging decision depends essentially on the level of risk exposure, its magnitude and the magnitude of hedging that companies deem necessary. Companies should essentially hedge activities that put them in a position with a high level of uncertainty, i.e., risk exposure in the strategy field (competitive, input supply, market demand and technological risk) and fields of interest to finance and international business scholars (foreign exchange risk), [Miller, 1998]. Before initiating the hedging process, the company has to decide what exchange risk exposure to hedge and how. There are three traditional foreign exchange rate exposure categories  [8]  that impact companies and that have a specific managing method: the transaction exposure, the operating exposure and the translation exposure. Generally, these exchange risk exposures can be hedged through the use of derivatives and financial instruments, such as commodities, futures and forward contracts, options and swaps [Miller, 1998]. The main goal of this dissertation is to measure and to analyze how unexpected foreign exchange rate fluctuations affect a multinational company. Notwithstanding it is also important to understand how the other two types of exposure impact companies and the types of hedging mechanisms available to handle exposure, in order to reach a deeper analysis and optimal conclusions. Economic Exposure Economic exposure, also known as operating exposure, is an unexpected change in exchange rates that affects the present value of the company by changing future operating cash flows, arising from inter-company and intra-company activities [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. The unexpected exchange rate fluctuations affect the expected future operating cash-flows changing the volume, price and/or costs of future sales [Moffett and Karlsen, 1994]. Economic exposure approaches the impact of long-term currency exposure and analyzes the health of a companys business in the long run. The changes registered in the expected future cash flows depend of the change in the position the company holds in international competition  [10]  . Managing economic exposure involves all aspects of a company. Before establishing hedging policies, a company needs to measure its economic exposure. In order to do that a company should invest some resources in assessing its exposure, i.e., identifying the set of environmental contingencies affecting and relevant to the creation of shareholder value [Miller, 1998]. This identification allows the assessment of alternative environmental scenarios and consequent adoption of improved strategic decisions by the company. This is the reason why identifying and measuring economic exposure can be complex and difficult, bearing in mind that environmental contingencies vary across industries and across companies within those industries. Moreover, some authors mention economic exposure as being subjective, since it is based in estimates of future cash flows. Hedging Strategies The main goal of economic exposure management is to anticipate and influence unexpected and unpredictable effects in exchange rates. This can be accomplished if a company diversifies and changes its international operating and/or financing policies. This diversity allows the company to react in an active or passive way. The company can diversify operations through sales, location of production facilities and raw material sources or inputs [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. A company can expand its sales through subsidiaries distributed across different countries, bringing its products or services to new markets and taking advantage of economies of scale, being also capable of diversifying its exposure to foreign exchange risks. Flexible management policies allowing a faster sourcing of raw materials and components can easily mitigate this exposure if this adaptation considers the impact of exchange rate fluctuations in the company costs and revenues. Additionally, RD can also mitigate this exposure, allowing the cutting back of costs and enhancing productivity as well as product differentiation. Choi (1989)  [11]  pointed out that international investment is one of the major instruments in managing economic exposure. In the same line, Miller and Reuer (1998) developed a study that showed this exposure is considerably reduced with a higher and direct foreign investment by the company (foreign market entry mode). Additionally, Smith and Stulz (1985) found that mergers achieve results that are similar to hedging results. Consequently, a company may wish to diversify the location of its production facilities internationally in order to mitigate the effect of exchange rate movements. This mitigation is possible because the company measures its cash flows in different currencies. Thus, exchange rate fluctuations in all currencies the company is exposed to can be naturally offset as can, consequently, the gains or losses while the company still reacts competitively. Diversification in financing is achieved by raising funds in more than one capital market and in more than one currency  [12]  . This method allows the company to reduce future cash-flow variability, to increase capital availability and to reduce costs, as well several risks, such as political risks. Allayannis et. al. (2001) observed that companies with geographical dispersion are more likely to use financial hedging strategies to lower their foreign exchange risk exposure. Accordingly, the use of exclusively operational hedging does not increase the companys value. However, if companies combine operational and financial hedging they will improve their value and, consequently, reduce exposure to foreign exchange risks. Companies can also adopt proactive policies (including operating and financing policies) to offset anticipated foreign exchange risk exposures. These policies allow a partial management of this exposure. The most generally employed are  [13]  : matching currency cash flows, risk-sharing agreements, back-to-back loans, currency swaps, leads and lags and reinvoicing centers. [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett (2010)]. Transaction Exposure Transaction exposure measures gains or losses resulting from unexpected changes in future cash flows already contracted in a currency-denominated transaction [Martin and Mauer, 2005]. The uncertainty stems from the impact of exchange rate changes on the consolidated financial reports [Friberg and Ganslandt, 2007] and the fact that it is not anticipated in any line item of a financial statement [Eitman, Stonehil and Moffett, 2010]. Thus, the uncertainty can be the specific quantity of foreign currency or the timing of cash-flow [Moffet and Karlsen, 1994]. Transaction exposure approaches foreign exchange risk exposure in the short-term. It is therefore easier to identify and to measure, allowing a greater effectiveness of hedging strategies to be expected. Hedging Strategies The exposure to foreign exchange transactions can be hedged by contractual, natural, operating and financial hedges. The company, however, needs to determine its own risk tolerance and its expectations concerning the direction the exchange rates will assume. Contractual techniques include hedges in forward  [17]  , policies that imply proportional hedging. A natural hedge is basically an unhedged position where the transaction is left uncovered. Crabb (2004) suggests that this is not a very good hedge because it doesnt control variation over time and, consequently, companies cannot perfectly hedge their exchange rate exposure. An operating hedge means that the company will simply create an off-setting operating cash-flow (account payables, for instance). This hedge can also be implemented through several techniques, such as invoice currency, leads and lags in payment terms and exposure netting [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. Hedging through invoice currency allows the company to shift its foreign exchange risk exposure, invoicing foreign sales in home currency, or share foreign exchange risk exposure  [18]  , pro-rating the invoice currency between foreign and home currencies. Additionally, a company can also diversify its exposure to foreign exchange risks by invoicing sales in a market basket index [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. By hedging with leads and lags companies can accelerate or decelerate the timing of payments (receipts) made (received) in foreign currencies. This hedging strategy is efficient if a currency is expected to appreciate or depreciate against another [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. Finally, the technique of exposure netting suggests that a multinational company should not consider its deals in isolation, focusing rather on hedging the company in a portfolio of currency positions. This means that companies should consider overall payments (receipts) that must be done (received) after taking in account the opposite operations that naturally hedge each other. To use this technique some companies have re-invoicing centers, separate corporate subsidiaries that serve the parent or related unit in one location and all foreign subsidiaries. The reinvoicing center receives the invoice between the subsidiaries, taking legal title of the good that manufacturing plants sells to distribution subsidiaries of the same company, managing all foreign exchange transaction exposure for intracompany sales [Eun and Resnick, 2004]. Additionally, the reinvoicing centers can guarantee the exchange rate for future orders  and also manage intra-subsidiary cash flows [Eitman, Stone hil and Moffett (2010)]. Financial hedging refers to the creation of an off-setting financial cash flow by either borrowing or lending in the currency the company is exposed to. The company can use some type of proactive policies such as back-to-back loans and currency swaps. A back-to-back loan occurs when two companies in different countries coordinate themselves to borrow each others currency for a specific period of time. They then return the borrowed currencies at an agreed terminal date. By hedging via currency swap, the company and a swap dealer agree to exchange an equivalent amount in two different currencies (for instance, a company enters a swap paying yens and receiving dollars) for a specified period of time. The swap dealer assumes the role of a middleman. A matching currency cash flow proactive policy can act like a financial hedge or an operational hedge. The first alternative to offset a long-anticipated and continuous exposure to a particular currency (i.e., the Japanese Yen) is to acquire debt in that currency (in Yens). Suppose the following exposure: A US Corporation exports goods to a Japanese corporation. The inflow of the Japanese Yen creates a foreign currency exposure. An hedging technique requires that the debt payments in Japanese Yens, which consist of the principal and the interests paid by the US Corporation

Essay --

Have you ever seen commercials on television advertising allergy medications? The advertisement explains that taking the medication can cause abnormal sleep patterns, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, itching, watery eyes, rashes, and headaches. A conclusion could be made that the side effects of the product would be much worse than the allergy problem. However, people still buy the product. The lengths an average person will go in order to get a quick fix is amazing. It is this way of thinking that makes tanning beds so popular. Over the last decade, cancer causing tanning beds have given self-image issues to people across the world. For, example a self proclaimed â€Å"child of the 70’s†, Donna Moncivaiz soaked in the sun whenever possible. As an adult she graduated to tanning beds and allowed her teenaged children use them also. Two years ago 51 year old Donna was diagnosed with melanoma. She had lost her gallbladder. Her daughter has also been diagnosed with an early stag e of melanoma. Donna states â€Å"If I had known what I know now, it never would have happened.† Many people will do things that will make you think that tanning is something they need to survive like spending millions of dollars in a life time for tanning beds, ending up becoming addicted to it, as well as they could get many types of skin cancers later on in life. All these things just for something that can hurt you in your life time and can kill you as well. So why even start? So why do people go tanning? Many people go tanning to get the feeling of beauty. In society today, having a tan is thought to be one of the most attractive and appealing senses to the opposite sex. Unfortunately, tanning beds are used most frequently among teenagers. This is especially harmful bec... ... cause death to someone. Skin cancers are separated into two categories. First one is malignant melanomas and non melanoma. The first is basal cell carcinoma; basal cell carcinoma begins in the lowest layer of the epidermis, the basal cell layer. Basal cell cancer accounts for 75% of all skin cancers. This type of skin cancer tends to be slow growing and is usually is found in areas that are highly exposed to sunlight, such as the head or neck. People with lighter skin are more likely to get basal cell cancer than are dark skinned people. The second type is called squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma accounts for 20% of all skin cancers, and penetrates the skin more than basal cell would, therefore, is considered to be more harmful. The growth of a squamous cell is more quicker than a basal cell. It can spread to the lymph nodes, arms, neck, and the head.

Art and Politics

Art and Politics have gone hand in hand since the first cave paintings had been drawn on cave walls. As the cavemen may have found out through other fellow cave wall artists as well as their respective audiences, art is not just restricted to those who fancy themselves as artists. The fact that artwork – regardless of intent and purpose – may be viewed in various manner is enough to permit even the most amateur of artists into creating an artwork that someone somewhere may really like.Hence the conclusion that art or visual aesthetics, more particularly in this case, is subjective, giving truth to the adage â€Å"beauty is in the eye of the beholder†. Popularity, however, and the power it holds over the masses, has a commanding way of dictating which the consumers â€Å"should† support. This control is then used for further manipulation of consumer-affective decisions of which the powers that be profit from. This is why there tends to be a trend of â€Å" Art politics† that seemingly commands the taste of people, resulting in the belief that great art comes from the production of the elite.One would be quick to dismiss Annie Leonard’s conclusion of American culture and practices affecting those of the cultures and practices of the southern hemisphere as ridiculous but there are certain points wherein there findings are seen to be true, most especially with the less than developed countries of which the United States of America hold key influential powers on consumption and culture. The other major players, on the other hand tend to have a rather stunted cultural and commercial development as the American trends continue to affect them.This however does not just hold true to the southern hemisphere, as the United States of America’s influence holds strong in many other countries north of the equator. Poet James Oppenheim’s composition Bread and Roses, for example, portrays the struggle for the ideal (roses) and the real (bread), of which the countries under the influence of the United States suffer from. Rather than pursuing the development of their culture, they are left to prioritize self-preservation.

ACT Score Decrease How Much Can It Drop and Why

ACT Score Decrease How Much Can It Drop and Why SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips How much can an ACT score drop by? How likely is it your ACT score will decrease if you retake the test? Or are you wondering why your ACT score went down on a recent retake? Find out how likely an ACT decrease is, how big that ACT score decrease could be, and how to make sure your score goes up, not down! Read on if you have a retake in store. How Likely Is an ACT Score Decrease? The ACT has provided some data about how likely score decreases are when you retake the test. Of the students who took the ACT more than once: 57% increased their Composite score 21% had no change in their Composite score 22% decreased their Composite score Stats via the ACT Student website. So the odds are your ACT score will go up, but that is far from a guarantee. In fact, the odds are roughly 55/45 between your score going up or your score staying the same or decreasing. So if you retake the ACT, it’s almost as likely your score will stay the same or decrease rather than increase. This means you absolutely can’t slack when studying for a retake! Reasons for an ACT Composite Score Decrease The reasons your ACT score could decrease will depend on how much it decreases by. There is, after all, a big difference between going from a 28 to a 27 than a 28 to a 23. We'll discuss the reasons behind different ACT score drops. Statistically Likely Drops (Up to 3 Composite Points Down) A small step down for your score, a giant step down for your ego. Although you’re probably eager to discover the reason your score went down on your retake, it may be that you got lucky the first time you took the ACT. Maybe the first test went especially well for you – you did better with timing than normal, picked up extra points with guesses, had a great test center, and felt pretty comfortable with all of the reading passages and questions. Your first ACT score might have actually been a bit higher than you actually should have scored, so the second test is just a correction of your first score. However, it's also quite possible to run into worse luck on your retake. Even slight score changes could cause your overall composite score to decrease. For example, even if you did slightly better on two sections of the ACT, if you ran into bad luck and struggled with the two other sections, your composite could decrease. As an example, check out the following two hypothetical ACT scores. Even though this student improved their English and Science scores, bigger drops in Reading and Math caused their overall composite score to decrease. Test 1: 26 English, 27 Math, 29 Reading, 27 Science (Composite: 27) Test 2: 27 English, 24 Math, 25 Reading, 28 Science (Composite: 26) It’s not unheard of at all to see drops like 27 to 24 Math or 29 to 25 Reading. By losing just 4 or 5 raw points on each section, you could see a decrease like that. And you could easily lose that many raw points if you lose track of timing, or run into a tough Reading passage you don’t gel with, or Math questions you find more challenging. In short, even small changes in luck could have a big effect on your score. Also, did you study enough? The less you study for your retake, the more susceptible you’ll be to bad luck, struggling with timing, or having a hard time with test questions. It may be you studied a bunch before you took the ACT for the first time, but underestimated the time you would need to spend for the retake, so your score decreased. And how did you study? Were you timing yourself carefully? Analyzing your mistakes? Focusing on weak spots? If you just lazily reviewed some concepts you missed the first time or went through practice sections without recreating test conditions, your studying might not have been effective enough to raise your score. Finally, think about outside factors: Was your test center significantly worse the second time around? Were there unclear instructions from the proctor? Was your test center too hot or cold? (Read more about bad test centers and what to do about them here). Or were you sick or otherwise unfocused on your retake day? (Remember to also consider the reverse: were conditions especially good on your first ACT date and just average on your second one?) Any one of these factors or a combination of them could easily be enough to cause a composite score to decrease by 1 to 3 points. Large Score Drops (More than 3, Less than 5 Composite Points) You dropped the ball. If your ACT composite falls by this much, you likely have a more serious issue that you need to identify. Maybe you’re using a new strategy that just isn’t working for you – like trying to read through the reading and science passages first before reading the questions or plugging in the answers instead of solving with algebra on the math section. If a strategy is causing you to lose more than 5 raw points on a section, that could bring down your score enough to make your composite fall by 3 to 5 points. It's possible you didn't study at all (or only studied a little) before your ACT retake, thinking you could wing it. This would leave you wide open to struggling with timing, unexpectedly tough questions, or other bad luck on test day. Or maybe you were particularly sick or unfocused on your second test day, or your test center had serious problems. Regardless, you need to figure out what went wrong before attempting another retake! Very Large Drops (More than 5 Composite Points) A very serious issue is occurring if your score drops by this much. Maybe something was egregiously wrong with your test center, you filled in answers one line off for a whole section, or you were particularly sick or unfocused. Okay, so a 7-point ACT score drop probably isn't quite as dramatic as the Hindenburg disaster, but it may feel that way to you! First of all, examine your composite and section scores to see where the drops were. This will help you figure out where the problem occurred. Compare these two hypothetical students to see what we mean: Student A Test 1: English 29, Math 26, Reading 32, Science 30 (Composite: 29) Test 2: English 25, Math 18, Reading 26, Science 24 (Composite: 23) This student experienced big point drops in every section, leading to a much lower final composite score. Due to the drops in all sections, something must have happened with overall test strategy, for instance struggling with pacing or using a bad guessing strategy. It's also possible the test center was particularly bad, or the student was feeling quick sick. In short, the student needs to figure out what it was that caused their overall performance to suffer so much. Student B Test 1: English 29, Math 30, Reading 31, Science 30 (Composite: 30) Test 2: English 28, Math 15, Reading 29, Science 28 (Composite: 25) This student had a super large drop on one section (Math 30 to Math 15) and smaller, statistically likely drops on other sections. This means that, obviously, something went way wrong on math – maybe on this section the student started bubbling their answers one line off, resulting in a slew of wrong answers. It’s also possible that maybe the student implemented a new strategy on Math that turned out to be disastrous. But in this case, since the other sections weren’t affected, it’s less likely the problem was due to the test center, a bad overall test-taking strategy, or illness. This student needs to figure out what went wrong in Math. Finally, if you experience a 5-point composite drop or larger, you should consider the possibility your test was mis-scored. If you can't figure out any other logical reason your score would have dropped by so much, you might consider ACT’s hand-scoring service to find out for sure. How to Prevent a Score Decrease Given that your ACT composite score could easily decrease or remain the same if you retake the test, how can you make sure your score goes up? Follow our advice to make sure you don't waste your ACT retake. 1. Focus on Your Weak Points When studying for your retake, spend plenty of time studying for the section (or sections) you got the lowest scores on the first time. You want to make sure you get the points you missed the first time around. For example, if your Math score was a 24 and all your other sections were between 28 and 30, you would definitely want to make sure to improve your Math score to improve your overall composite. If you can make sure you earn points you missed on your first test, you’re reducing the chances of a score decrease. Not sure where to start? Here are some resources to help tackle a weak subject area or two. English The Best Prep Books for ACT English The Top 9 ACT English Strategies You Should Use More guides from grammar rules to diction errors Math How to Stop Running Out of Time on ACT Math Plugging in Answers: A Crucial Strategy More guides on everything from fractions to statistics Reading The Best Way to Practice ACT Reading Questions The Four Types of ACT Reading Passages You Should Know How to Stop Running Out of Time on ACT Reading More fine-grained guides from comparison passages to author intent Science A Complete Guide to ACT Science 9 Reasons You're Missing ACT Science Questions ACT Science Strategies You Should Be Using 2. Don’t Neglect Your Strong Areas Even if you fix your weak spots, it’s not unlikely that your highest section could go down if you don't study for it. In other words, think of this as preserving the points you earned on your first round of the ACT. Even if you manage to raise the score on your weakest section, if your other section scores decrease – by even just a point or two! – your composite could decrease or stay the same. Check out the hypothetical ACT scores below to see what we mean: Test 1: English 28, Math 24, Reading 30, Science 29 (Composite: 28) Test 2: English 27, Math 27, Reading 28, Science 27 (Composite: 27) Even though this student brought up Math, their lowest section, from 24 to 27, the slight score decreases on other sections caused their composite score to fall. This means you need to be practicing for the entire test, even your strong sections, to guarantee a composite score increase. Being prepared for the test as a whole is the best way to shield yourself from ACT composite decreases. So how can you prepare for the ACT as a whole? Use complete practice tests, time yourself strictly, and understand how the test is scored. Also look into getting a strong overall ACT prep book to help you study. 3. Practice, Practice, Practice Even though you've taken the ACT once before, that doesn't mean you don't have to practice much before your retake. In fact, you may want to consider practicing even more than you did before your first ACT! The more consistent you can be, the better. Practice will reduce the score variation caused by harder/easier test questions or good/bad luck on test day. Think of it this way: any challenge you encounter in practice is one you will be prepared for on test day. Whether that’s an extra-hard math question, a tricky reading passage, or personal fatigue, learning how to deal with challenges in practice can help you achieve your target score on test day. Use strict timing whenever you study, and aim to consistently hit your target score on each section. Also, be ruthless about analyzing your mistakes – don’t just note your wrong answers, figure out why you got them wrong and how to make sure you won’t ever make the same mistake again. (Read more about how you should be analyzing your mistakes.) 4. Logistics In addition to adopting a smart study plan, you also want to make sure outside factors don’t mess with your ACT retake score. Make sure you’re using the best test center for you. Also, be sure that you’re getting enough sleep and following the guidelines to be ready the morning of the test. Finally, give yourself enough time before a retake – if you rush to retake the ACT on the next possible test date, you might not give yourself enough time to practice and improve. Make sure you give yourself enough time to study and prepare for your ACT retake! What’s Next? Check out ACT tips from our resident 36 full-scorer. If you can incorporate all these tips, the odds of your score decreasing will go WAY down! Learn more about how the ACT is scored to know how many questions you need to get correct for a score increase. Also read about ACT timing so you can be efficient about your time per question. Need motivation to study for your ACT retake? Discover scholarships you can earn for high ACT scores. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points?We have the industry's leading ACT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and ACT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Alien Vs Predator essays

Alien Vs Predator essays This is a scientific film, its about a war between 2 groups of strange organisms which are not from earth. And all the fight is on earth inside an ancient pyramid in Egypt which has a relation ship between these aliens from a long time ago. I really liked the film much, I think it is so exiting, I liked its story much and its brilliant direction. And I wrote about some scenes from the film which I really found that they The story begins inside a research center in USA, where the group of the history scientists were talking about a strange pyramid which was discovered in Egypt. At the end of the talk the result was to send some of the group to the pyramid to find out what history or revolution does it belongs to. Unfortunately, the time the group was going to the pyramid, was the time the revolution of the aliens come to life again. All the frozen aliens in the pyramid will go out to life again. And the predators are coming to the pyramid to destroy the aliens and stop them from making their civilization One of the scenes which I really liked in the film was the scene when a woman scientist of the group called Sam was under the mercy of the 2 creatures. When Sam was running inside the pyramid from one of the aliens then suddenly a predator appears in front of her. I felt so pitiful toward her, but the strange thing was that the predator didnt attack her but he went for the alien. Then there was a strong painful fight between the 2 enormous strong creatures, which ended by the victory of the predator. This wasnt only the exciting part of the scene, when the predator killed the alien he went towards Sam as he approaches to her he gets out a sword and he almost kills kills her. I felt my heart beats at this time as she was so panic, then suddenly the predator stops as she get out a bag, then she opens it and gets out o ...

PARTY PLATFORMS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

PARTY PLATFORMS - Essay Example Democrats demand that the state meet all the funds required for education while Republicans are more inclined towards privatization of educational funding (2010 State Republican Party Platform, 12; Texas Democratic Party). Regarding giving education to all who are living in the United States, Democrats have a more flexible stand towards non-citizens (2010 State Republican Party Platform, 12; Texas Democratic Party). Democrats are for daytime juvenile curfew while Republicans are against it (2010 State Republican Party Platform, 14; Texas Democratic Party). Democrats also want the state to support community colleges, which Republicans disagree with, as they want the students and parents to fund community colleges (2010 State Republican Party Platform; Texas Democratic Party). b. Position II. On Immigration Democrats have a more lenient stand towards illegal immigrants than the Republicans (2010 State Republican Party Platform; Texas Democratic Party). Republicans declare that they are dead against â€Å"amnesty in any form leading to citizenship, or legal status for illegal immigrants† (2010 State Republican Party Platform, 20). But democrats want to have helpful legislation for legalization of illegal immigrants who want to stay (Texas Democratic Party).

Stop-and-Search Rights Unveiled Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Stop-and-Search Rights Unveiled - Essay Example Merseyside Police Authority says the decrease compared to the previous year is reflective of the fact that stop and search powers are used more selectively and consistently in line with force policy. The arrest rate rose from 10.9% to 14.6%. Publication Information: Article Title: Stop-and-Search Rights Unveiled; Officers Can Be Asked for Written Record. Newspaper Title: Daily Post. Publication Date: March 22, 2005. Page Number: 2. COPYRIGHT 2005 MGN Ltd.; COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group He also aims to increase the current 33 policemen and women from ethnic minorities in a force of 2,973 officers, at the same time as working with multicultural communities of Cardiff and Swansea to the valleys of south Wales. Here he tells the Welsh Mirror of the challenges facing him in his new job.I'm very excited. It's something new for myself and also for the force. I've enjoyed working with the police when I was director of the rural race equality project in the south-west of England. They will have needs which are unique to those living in rural communities. The approach in the country will have to be different because the issues in rural areas will be different to the ones in Cardiff and Swansea. Publication Information: Article Title: My Fight to Bring Equality and Race Harmony to ... There were a total of 47,106 stop and searches on Merseyside between April 2002 and March 2003. Stops started being recorded in Sefton under the new guidelines, known as Recommendation 61, on April 1, 2003. There were 19,601 stop and searches recorded between April 2003 and March 2004. Merseyside Police Authority says the decrease compared to the previous year is reflective of the fact that stop and search powers are used more selectively and consistently in line with force policy. The arrest rate rose from 10.9% to 14.6%. The new system will mean some extra costs, as yet undisclosed for Merseyside Police -1- Questia Media America, Inc. www.questia.com Publication Information: Article Title: Stop-and-Search Rights Unveiled; Officers Can Be Asked for Written Record. Newspaper Title: Daily Post. Publication Date: March 22, 2005. Page Number: 2. COPYRIGHT 2005 MGN Ltd.; COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group My Fight to Bring Equality and Race Harmony to Wales; UNIQUE ROLE FOR NEW MAN. by Nick Servini WALES'S biggest police force has named Mohammed Dhalech as its new race advisor - the only one outside London's Metropolitan Police. South Wales Police is the first force to take the lead set by the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry report. Mohammed will deal with ethnic minorities - as well as help stamp out race within the force. His role is to give expert advice to Chief Constable Tony Burden and senior officers when they deal with race-related crimes. He also aims to increase the current 33 policemen and women from ethnic minorities in a force of 2,973 officers, at the same time as working with multicultural communities of Cardiff and Swansea to the valleys