Sample Accountable Plan

It is the policy of the company to reimburse any officer or employee for company expenses paid for by such individuals from their own personal funds on the Company’s behalf, in the pursuit of company business. It is the intent of this resolution to satisfy the Accountable Plan requirements under Internal Revenue Code Section 61(c) and the substantiation requirements under Internal Revenue Code Section 274(d). Moreover, Section 1. 2-2(c)(1) of the Income Tax Regulations provides that a reimbursement or other expense allowance arrangement for business expenses paid or incurred by an employee are paid under an accountable plan if the arrangement meets the three requirements of a business connection, substantiation, and returning amounts in excess of expenses. Therefore, all reimbursements will follow these simple guidelines: 1) All individuals seeking reimbursement shall substantiate the expense by providing proof of payment in the form of an invoice to the company prior to any r eimbursement. Accordingly, employees are required to submit detailed expense reports describing each element of an expenditure with the necessary receipts within 30 days of returning from a business trip or incurring an entertainment expense but no later than 60 days after it is paid or incurred. 2) All expenses must be determined to have a direct business connection relating to the operations of the Company, personal expenses will not be reimbursed. Personal expenses if reimbursed will be treated as W-2 wages to the employee. ) All reimbursements by the Corporation shall be made for the expended amounts, pursuant to substantiated business expenses approved from employee expense reports or the proper invoices being submitted by the individual employee seeking reimbursement. The reimbursement relating to travel and entertainment expenses requires employees to describe each expense, the business purpose it served, and, for entertainment expenses, the names and business relationship of the persons entertained in addition to the date of, place of, duration of, and participants in any business discussion that occurred directly before or after the entertainment. ) Reimbursements may be made prior to and in anticipation of the individual incurring the expense out of personal funds, however, upon incurring such expense, the individual will produce the invoice related to such expense and reimburse the company for any excess funds paid exceeding the invoice amount. In cases where the reimbursement of the excess funds is not paid back to the Company, the excess will be reported as W-2 wages pursuant to Section 1. 62-2(c)(3) of the Income Tax Regulations for that individual at the end of the accounting period.

You’re Not Special

Son of famed historian and Puller Prize winner David McCullough, English instructor David McCullough, Jar. Delivered one of the most controversial and memorable high-school commencement speeches on June 7, 2012. Addressing over 400 capped and gowned graduating students, family, and friends at Wellesley High School, McCullough humorous Introduction set the attention-garnering foundation for his main argument: to inspire his audience-?and this generation-?to be exceptional and lead extraordinary lives† (McCullough,Jar. ).Perhaps the most revocation piece of McCullough presentation is his simple and challenging proposition: â€Å"You're not special. † A direct response to the exigency that everyone Is uniquely gifted, the phrase was Immediately demonic by social media and generated a maelstrom of conflicting responses. But rather than analyze this comment as a self-evident rhetorical entity, it is instead important to review McCullough message In context. McCullough effecti vely frames ethical, logical, and pathetic appeals with preexisting commonplaces and a calculated delivery to further his positive precept for the future generation.Situated ethos primes McCullough audience and lends credibility to his argument before he even utters a word. A retro's ability to persuade, in fact, Is directly linked to their reputation: preconceived moral Judgments affect the perceived validity of the messenger (Crowley and Heehaw, 148). Thus, McCullough prestigious social standing-?devoted teacher, advocate of civic engagement, and son of a prolific academic-?commands respect and receptiveness.For example, McCullough authority as a scholar is reinforced by his reference to ancient philosophers and prominent literary figures: â€Å"You've learned, o, I hope, as Sophocles assured us, that wisdom Is the chief element of happiness. † By virtue of his extrinsic virtuosity, the audience perceives McCullough as reputable, a veritable expert in the field. This shared rhetorical lens, or commonplace, consequently establishes a positive Interpersonal dimension between McCullough and his audience and promotes attentive listening.An audience engaged with the rhetoric moreover shifts individuals' attitudes from indifference to acceptance or rejection, two states conducive to persuasion (163). Additionally, McCullough later assertions to carper the heck out of the diem† and resist the easy comforts of complacency' are bolstered by his social eminence. Ultimately, an exemplary rhetoric is more efficacious at telling his audience to be exemplary: McCullough message is transformed through situated ethos.Just as McCullough rhetorical proposition is strengthened through ethos, so too Is the effectiveness of his dialectical conclusion reliant upon all aspects of logical appeal. McCullough first lays an Inductive foundation on which to build his deductive argument that â€Å"You're not special. † This inundation, in fact, is augmented both in p otency and applicability by McCullough detailed enumeration of irrefutable instances and cognizance of contentious reasoning. Many of McCullough particulars demand belief without further elaboration; they are what Aristotle deemed â€Å"[†¦ J scientific demonstrations† (119).Indeed, McCullough statistical evidence not only serves as incontrovertible proof, 1 OFF encompassing: â€Å"So think about this: even if you're one in a million, on a planet of 6. 8 billion that means there are nearly 7,000 Just like you. † McCullough facts also carry eight because he utilizes outside expertise to corroborate his claims: â€Å"In fact, astrophysicists assure us the universe has no center; therefore, you cannot be it. † Furthermore, McCullough exposes the false pretenses on which many audience members claim academic superiority and distinction: â€Å"And I hope you caught me when I said ‘one of the best. But the phrase defies logic. By definition there can be onl y one best. You're it or you're not. † Interestingly, McCullough further demonstrates the fallacious nature of this reasoning by noting that the venue-?the Wellesley High football stadium-?is a literal level playing field. † Having not only piled on particulars† (124) but also shown the illogic of opposing claims, McCullough conclusion-?that no one is special-?readily follows. His subsequent deduction, thoroughly dependent on the strength of his inductive reasoning, is thus nearly inescapable.It goes as follows: No one is special; you are someone; you are not special. This syllogism certainly hearkens to the literal meaning of anthem, cutting right to the heart of the matter† (125). McCullough recognizes that an individual's response to a proposition is dependent on preexisting commonplaces which coalesce into larger ideologies. For this reason, his logical appeal challenges the normally unarticulated but widely held belief that everyone has talents which dif ferentiate them from others.By objectively attacking a near universal commonplace, McCullough makes his message relevant to his entire audience and indisputable. McCullough, in turn, concludes his speech with a collection of dialectical dictums: â€Å"Develop and protect a moral sensibility and demonstrate the character to apply it. Dream big. Work hard. Think for yourself. † These final developments are McCullough true proposition to the Wellesley High School graduates of 2012. Though improvable, the rhetorical impact and acceptance of such moral adages relies upon the perceived â€Å"wisdom† (119) of the rhetoric.Thus, McCullough compelling message-?his dialectical claims-?are substantiated by his logically sound reasoning, resulting in a message that fully resonates with the audience. McCullough also furthers his proposition by altering the emotional state of his audience and challenging commonplaces with pathos. Speeches are neither given nor received in a vacuum; McCullough audience, showered with accolades, brings with them preexisting states of self-absorption and entitlement.As such, a powerful change in emotional intensity is required to induce openness and receptivity. McCullough effects this change through pejorative language and indirect confrontation of sensitive commonplaces. His diction-?including words like â€Å"pamper,† â€Å"cosset,† â€Å"dote,† and â€Å"bubble-wrap†-?is colorful and conveys disparaging, valued judgments† (186). Similarly, his degradation of commonplace symbols like trophies ND awards contests the ideological underpinning that such achievements have intrinsic value: â€Å"If everyone gets a trophy, trophies become meaningless.We have of late, we Americans, to our detriment, come to love accolades more than genuine achievement. † Perhaps most inciting is McCullough cynical description of childhood, being doted upon and called sweetie pie. † The net effect is an em otional globalization of the audience which polarize beliefs and generates a genuine, hierarchy affects emotional responses-?individuals are less indignant at those of rater communal standing (176)-?McCullough position allows to him to temper his message and strike an optimal balance between boredom and excessive â€Å"C†¦ Enrage† (185). In this way, McCullough increases audience enforceability and the impact of his other rhetorical claims. Just as important as his rhetorical appeals is McCullough delivery, which confers eloquence on a seemingly scathing commentary. In truth, however, McCullough body language, tone, and cadence highlight some weaknesses as an orator. It was evident that he read from a manuscript, and he made no use of deliberate pauses to highlight certain concepts. As such, some of McCullough more grandiose ideas and imagery were not done justice.Nonetheless, McCullough mastery of one stylistic piece of ammunition is apparent: calculated perception and humor. His tasteful use of levity is effective because it appeals to all sectors of his audience; consider his references to baseball, marriage, Barney, M)LO,† and the universal distaste for Donald Trump's hair, which is â€Å"C†¦ ] quite a phenomenon. † McCullough humorous, multidimensional allure-?a emission unrepresented in multimedia portrayal-?makes the tenets of his oration memorable and adds a much needed human element.Through situated ethos, logos, pathos, ubiquitous commonplaces, and a cogent delivery, English instructor David McCullough, Jar. Effectively conveys a timeless and fundamental doctrine to his audience: to lead â€Å"The fulfilling life, the distinctive life, the relevant life. † And though a superficial synopsis of uniform Not Special† is a caustic condemnation of the future generation, a genuine examination reveals a much deeper, uplifting truth: life is not meant to be accomplished, but experienced.

Hunger Games Book Report Essay

â€Å"The Hunger Games† is a the first book in a fantastic series of three books written by Suzanne Collins. It takes you into the life of a scared but quick-thinking, brave girl named Katniss Everdeen who learns how to survive on her own from a very young age when her father died in a mining accident. From that day on, she took care of her little family (mother and little sister, Prim) as well as herself by hunting in the woods of District 12 everyday with her guy friend Gale (who might have a thing for her but no one really knows). District 12 was one of the twelve districts that made up the country of Panem. Panem was once the continent of North America. When an epidemic swept through the continent of North America, Panem was formed and, the people who lived under the rules set by the capitol did not like it. They rebelled against the capitol and lost. Now, every year, children’s names, ages 12 through 18, are put into a bowl and drawn out during a ceremony known as â€Å"The Reaping. † This is a dreaded time and no one wants to be a part of it because they know that if their names are drawn, it is almost like a death sentence. When a name is called, you are then taken and thrown into what is known as â€Å"The Hunger Games. † Our narrator, main character, and hero also known as Katniss Everdeen, offered herself as a tribute in place of her younger sister Prim in an effort to save her life. When her and Peeta Mellark (the boy tribute from district 12) were taken off to the capitol, they went through some pretty intense training and in the end, well, you’ll have to read the book to find out what happened but it was sort of an unexpected ending. This book was so good because it kept you on your toes the whole time. I would rate it a solid 9. 5. I gave it that high of a rating because, the unexpected seemed to happen a lot and things popped up all the time out of no where. The book also kept a good pace and there weren’t to many dull moments; there was just enough detail that you could picture what was going on in your head while the story kept moving. The only thing that I did not like about this book was the fact that it seemed almost too futuristic. Yes, it is true that the story takes place millions of years from our present day but, it seemed almost to realistic. Crazy is a good word that describes what some of the people acted like that lived in the capitol. In all though, I really did think that this was a very good book and I would suggest it to anyone who was considering reading it.

Bottling Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bottling Company - Case Study Example The above parameters are calculated using Excel built in functions. The mean and median are very close to each other; it shows that the data do not have skews. Standard deviation of sampling data are small, which states that values are close to the mean. In statistics, the population mean is measured through the sample mean. Statistics uses a concept called confidence interval in order to calculate a population mean. This assignment uses a 95% confidence interval to evaluate a range of the population mean. The confidence interval, in this case, is measured using method of unknown mean and unknown standard deviation of the population. The range is achieved using the central tendency values and the critical value of t, and SE. The critical value is calculated using Excel formula T.INV.2T(0.05,29); where 0.05 is the significance level of 95% confidence interval, 29 is the degree of freedom, df = n-1. The t critical = 2.045. The term SE is called standard error; it is calculated using formula STDV / sqrt (n). In this case, SE = 0.1. The upper limit of the interval = X mean + t*SE = 14.87+2.045*0.1=15.08. The lower limit of the interval is X mean +t.*SE = 14.87-2.045*0.1 = 14.66. Thus, the 95% confidence interval is (14.66, 15.08). In this case, customer’s complaint is that the soda in the bottle is less than 16 ounces; however, the company claims that the soda in the bottle is 16 ounces. These two statements give the basis for the hypothesis test (â€Å"What is hypothesis testing†, n.d.). The alternate hypothesis is the population mean is less than 16 ounces; null is the population mean is equal or greater than 16 ounces. The significance level of the test is 5%. Based on the alternative statement, it is advised to conduct a left tail test of mean; for this purpose test statistics is defined as t = (x mean - ÃŽ ¼) / SE = (14.87-16.0) / 0.1 = - 11.25. Based on degree of freedom, df = 29 and significance level

Explain why you believe you should be accepted into the MAB graduate Personal Statement

Explain why you believe you should be accepted into the MAB graduate program in UGA - Personal Statement Example ecause of the role it plays in sustaining human life and, therefore, finding a long lasting solution to this problem will go a long way in making the human life sustainable. As a youngster, I realized that I dedicated much of my time to agriculture especially, crop production since my high school and undergraduate level and thus, I wish to take it a notch higher and pursue my MAB at your prestigious university. By undertaking MAB program, I believe I will go a long way in realizing my childhood dreams as well as the intimate passion I have for this program. In addition, the University of Georgia has everything that am looking for in pursuing the MAB program. This appealing program consists of components such as management, agribusiness marketing, and finance, which are requisites that can help me realize my long-term dreams. The components are vital in perfecting my practical experience and research skills. Apart from my mindset in crop production, I have a special interest in business and, therefore, the combination of the two i.e. agriculture and business will help me in realizing my dreams. Additionally, I believe MAB program will equip me with multivariate skills not only in agriculture field, but also in business. Production of crops in large scale is a vital to eliminating food shortage but producing the crops at a lower price is the greatest achievement that the world is striving to achieve. Therefore, I see MAB program as the key to finding solutions to these problems. I have learnt about agri-business especially the area of crop production during my childhood days. Additionally, I strongly believe that the program will facilitate both my long term and short term career aspirations. If given the opportunity to undertake this program, I believe that my strong motivation and aspiration in this field will not only benefit me but the world at large. The experience and skills I will learn from MAB program, will present me with the opportunity to be able to

Aiming Toward A Hydrogen Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Aiming Toward A Hydrogen Economy - Essay Example Thus, when discussing the strength, weakness, opportunities and threats of the hydrogen fuel technology enthusiastically researched and developed in Iceland, the inevitability of the political, economical, social and technological implications continue to remain unabated at each step and level although their form may differ from country to country and region to region, depending on each country's political, economical, social and technological status, political system and relationship with the world community. (China Energy Industry - PEST Framework Analysis) The main advantages of using Iceland as base for Hydrogen Fuel Technology are her abundant natural resources, her desire to appropriate technology to tap her resources through research and development without upsetting her ecological and environmental balance, and her potential to return to her pristine, original and idyllic landscapes through sustained innovation and tie up with major energy corporations such as Shell, DaimlerChrysler, etc. Till the 1970s, Iceland was dependent on whatever energy she could muster from fossil fuel her lackluster economy could afford. The shift to Hydrogen fuel energy brought about a sea change economically, socially and corporately. It not only catapulted Iceland as a case study of immense potential and promise for other nations to emulate but also rejuvenated the nation's economy and social scenario. (Ken Mark and Jordon Mitchell, p12) Iceland's proximity to affluent Western European nations, as also its own skilled and dedicated human resource provides it the potential to harness the latest and the best in terms of human skills and technological resources. With this proven record of pollution-free energy use Iceland's credentials as trend-setter in the important energy sector can only grow from strength to strength in the international arena. Weakness Despite Iceland's success with Hydrogen fuel technology, a universal change over to this form of energy is not viable as of now. Globally, hydrogen fuel technology is in its infancy and the world has a long way to go before its usage could be made safe and cost-effective enough for the end-user to switch over to the same extent as in the case of Iceland. It is difficult and unsafe to store hydrogen in gaseous form. In its independent state, hydrogen burns out. In its liquefied form it is necessary to keep it at -217C. It is not possible to store and distribute hydrogen fuel in the existing infrastructure. A new infrastructure has to be created for its storage and distribution. Geothermal production of hydrogen is not possible

Liability & Negligence Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Liability & Negligence - Case Study Example There are various reasons why the entities mentioned above can be found liable for the pilot’s accident. The manufacturer of the aircraft would have been found liable for the pilot’s accident under the strict liability act. Liability can be imposed on the manufacturer of the Cessna 337 without finding a fault such as negligence. In this case, the pilot who now becomes a claimant needs to prove that n accident occurred and that the aircrafts manufacturer was responsible. The law can impute strict liability in a situation like this, which can be considered dangerous (Edward, 2009). The manufacturer will be liable for the accident if he did not discourage the pilot against reckless behavior, which led to the accident. No matter how good the aircraft is, in a case of an accident like this, the manufacturer of the aircraft can be held liable. This is because; the pilot can accuse the manufacturer of a faulty product in case of product liability (Bernhard, 2012). The pilot however does not need to prove that the aircraft was faulty. In this case, strict liability will make the manufacturer of the Cessna 337 liable for the pilot’s accident. The manufacturer can also be liable for the pilot’s accident as a result of negligence. If the manufacturer did not provide enough warnings of the dangers of the flight, he will be held liable for the accident. The manufacturer is also liable for the pilot’s accident because he could have taken the flight for a test to ensure that it was in good condition. The pilot will be found liable for his accident due to various reasons. The main reason why he will be liable for his accident is negligence. In the presented case, the pilot has shown negligence in various issues. First, he decided to fly the aircraft when it did not have enough fuel. The pilot can also be considered to be negligent because he flew the flight when he was not comfortable with the night conditions. The pilot can also be sued for negligence because of

Discussion Questions - About Outsourcing Article

Discussion Questions - About Outsourcing - Article Example The case clearly shows that the organization exploited the demands of the industry by serving as a niche player in the provision of specific core competences’ services. The success of the company can therefore be linked to the ability to provide services that are specifically to the core competences in contrast to their ability of not using fake accents and pseudo names. This case is so because the organization seemed to have avoided risks by applying a method of service provision that other big companies could not venture into. It would not be wise for other BPO organizations to adopt the strategy of the company, as well as making them common. The reason behind this notion is that the strategy was developed by one organization in the industry, with the sole aim of capturing the core competences of the niche market. The fact that the strategy required a number of skilled personnel would rule out the urge for other companies to try developing the idea (Samarpan, 25). Such an idea would prove to add extra operational costs that some of the BPOs would not like to

Value Chain Model for PSU in Order to Receive Raw Materials from South Research Paper

Value Chain Model for PSU in Order to Receive Raw Materials from South Korea and China - Research Paper Example Having a shared vision enables the workers in all the locations to collaborate in delivering value. The process of receiving spare parts, storage, general inventory control, shipping scheduling should be managed with an aim of cutting any time delays. Immediately an order is registered, a process of simulation from the production plant should be initiated. 1.4 Operations. The assembling, packaging, equipment maintenance, product-testing as well as other activities must be streamlined with an aim of creating efficiency in delivering the final desired product. In fact, all necessary output measures should be aimed at enabling workflow as well as delivery performance to include dependable stock safety levels to avoid delays and understocking. This is where a forecast comes in to ensure the scheduling of end items. In reference to the activities needed to deliver goods to the market, the different locations need to share information as well as to operate in guidance by same policies so as to translate their cooperation into a synergetic relationship. Other areas of key concern are ordered fulfilment, the logistics involved in shipping as well as Material Requirements Planning or Distribution Requirements Planning system. By using a centralized in-formation model any demand changes will be detected well in advance and preemptive measures taken in advance. There need to be many resources committed to wooing buyers to purchase the cutting technology product. On top of that, how the distributors and dealers are selected goes a long way to determine whether sales targets will be achieved or not.  

Marketing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Marketing - Term Paper Example Branding strategies enables companies to charge a premium price (Kotler, 2003). Michael Kors built his retail empire by joining forces with some smart investors that had lot of experience and success in the retail industry. In 2003 Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou bought a controlling interest of 85% in Kors brand for $100 million. These two entrepreneurs invested in Tommy Hilfiger in 1989 and three years later they turn his company into a publicly traded corporation. The process to turn a company from a private business into a public firm that can sell its stock in the open market is known as an initial public offering (IPO) (Investopedia, 2011). Kors has implemented a lot of smart marketing strategies that have allowed his brand to differentiate from other designers. The firm recently introduced a new collection of clothes that has the same prestige of the Kors line, but at a lower price point. Another strategy that Kors utilized to increase the profitability of the company was produ ct diversity. The utilization of a product diversification strategy enables companies to expand their market (Theproduct, 2011). Kors began selling perfumes, handbags, and watches. These products have a higher profit margin than clothes. These new products are considered cash cow products. A cash cow is a product that produces a constant dependable source of income (Answers, 2011).

Casual analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Casual analysis - Essay Example Other causes are lack of intellectually challenging church teachings, and too much emphasis on prosperity rather than Godliness. Church scholars observe that while many people claim to be Christians, most of them rarely attend church on a regular service. This essay discusses the decline of church attendance by review recent statistics, the reasons for the decline, possible remedies and the future of the church. Church Attendance Statistics Studies on church attendance reveal startling statistics that are only indicative of a drastically declining church attendance. In addition to the documented increasing closure of churches, it is recoded that 2.7 million church attendants become inactive members every year (Gill 46). This translates into the observation that an increasing number of people are leaving the Christian church and entering into the secular world where church has no significance. Olson and Adams (7) notes that beginning 1990 through 2000, the total membership of all Prot estant churches in the United States reduced by approximately 9.5 per cent, meaning that 5 million people stopped going to church during that period (). This decline in church attendance occurred despite the population of the nation rising by 24 percent, that is, 11million people. In 2002, 87 per cent of Americans claimed to be Christians in most studies but only around 40 to 50 per cent of them are regular church goers (Jackson 4). This confirms the assertions of theology scholars that church attendance may be up to a half of the population that claims in polls to be Christians. Reasons for Church Attendance Decline One of the major problems cited by church scholars for the decline church attendance is poor church leadership. Most people are simply unhappy with the way their clergymen and church officials run their churches. Chief among the elements of poor leadership is unacceptable management of funds, morale problems, and lack of a clear vision for the members of the church (Jac kson 25). For instance, if a church runs a building fund for over 20 years, there is a likelihood of the members wondering if the building will ever come into being. Moreover, if the church leaders are unable to follow through a course to its completion, the existing members will develop doubts while potential members will get discouraged from joining the church. Moreover, if a pastor or a prominent church member is caught in improprieties, the members of the church who look up to those as their source of inspiration and motivation lose their trust. In addition, there are high chances that a respected church member will deny being involved in wrongful actions. The fact that it can be proven that they actually went against Christian teachings worsens the case because the congregation wonders how evil people are supposed to lead them in leading straight, Christian lives (Gill 47). Another reason blamed for the decline in church attendance is observation that people are finding churche s to be lacking in intellectual challenges. It is crucial to note that more and more members of the young generation are educated at college and university levels, making them thinking people with expanded capacities of knowledge and curiosity (Wijsen and Schreiter 54). The conception of the young people that they always know more than the person preaching at the pulpit apparently gives them the perception that the

The movie “Jose Rizal” Essay Example for Free

The movie â€Å"Jose Rizal† Essay The movie â€Å"Jose Rizal† is all about our National Hero Dr. Jose Rizal – Hislife and works, his struggles in order to free his countrymen from abuse, until his death under the hands of the Spaniards who occupied our country for a very longtime. Most of the scenes of the film took place during Rizal’s imprisonment at Dapitan wherein he meets Taviel, a Spanish officer, who will eventually defend him on his trial in court. During their meeting, Taviel asks Rizal everything about him and his works through various questions. Every answer that Rizal brought out from his mouth made Taviel realize that Rizal was indeed an innocent man. On the course of their conversation, Rizal talks about the making of his Two Novels â€Å"Noli Me Tangere† and its sequel â€Å"El Filibusterismo† which are both anti-Spanish Novels that depicts how the Spaniards rule the Philippines and how the rights of the Filipinos were abolished. Rizal portrayed himself on the said Novels – as Crisostomo Ibarra on â€Å"Noli Me Tangere† and as Simeon on â€Å"El Filibusterismo. †Going through with the movie, while Rizal is telling his story to Taviel, the scene on the movie switches from his life story then to his portrayal on his Novels. Sometimes the scene gets very difficult to follow because of the sudden switches during the scenes on the movie most especially during the time that his first novel was on the process of writing. Rizal, a brave and a man of his word, was never afraid whatever theconsequences he may suffer because of his writings that are against the friars and also to Spaniards. His goal was to free the Philippines from the unjust government of Spanish colony. In summary, the movie talks mostly of Rizal’s life until his death and the creation of his great novels. The actors and actresses who acted on the movie did a great job presenting how it was during Rizal’s time even though the said events in Rizal’s life were just written in books.

Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Palliative Care

Cognitive Behavior Therapy: Palliative Care Individuals that have been deemed by their medical team to have serious diseases that are resistant, nonresponsive or have failed reasonable treatments are often referred to specialists for comfort measures only. According to the World Health Organization, Palliative care is the active total care of patients whose disease is not responsive to curative treatment. Control of pain, of other symptoms, and of psychological, social and spiritual problems is paramount. The goal of palliative care is the achievement of the best possible quality of life for patients and their families (WHO, 1990). The National Center for Health Statistics (1996) estimated that 20% of all deaths and 30% of the deaths of elderly individuals occurred in extended care facilities. Extended care facilities are but one place where end-of-life issues are a common fact of daily life. However, regardless of the setting, each individual faces the end of life with his or her own view of life, death and the dying process. The estimated number of patients in palliative care varies due to the difficulty in capturing the actual numbers from hospitals, primary care practitioners, families and emergency rooms. The estimate of patients receiving the Medicare benefit for hospice and palliative care is approximately  ½ million, and it is estimated that, in 2000, approximately 20% of patients dying in the United States received hospice or palliative care services. It should be noted that although many, if not most, individuals in hospice/palliative care settings are age 85 or older, this level of care is not limited to older adults. Motor vehicle accidents, post-traumatic incidents, drug overdoses and other physiologically devastating disorders may result in permanent damage to the younger body as well as the older body. Mortality rates at a young age for those with mental illnesses is decreasing therefore it is estimated that by 2030 there will be 15 million individuals with mental illness residing in long term care facilities (SAMHSA, 2004). This chapter will focus on the reduction or modification of autonomic, psychiatric, or sensory symptom experience of these individuals through use of cognitive behavioral therapy. Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) uses a structured and collaborative approach while helping individuals to recognize, evaluate and restructure the relationships between their thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Through a process of targeted interventions, the therapist assists individuals to identify, monitor and cognitively restructure the dysfunctional thoughts and/or to modify behaviors that are maladaptive, useless or even harmful (Beck, 1976; Turk, Meichenbaum, Genest, 1987; Freeman Freeman, 2005). CBT includes a range of both cognitive and behavioral techniques such as relaxation, guided imagery/visualization, biofeedback, behavioral experiments, guided discovery, stress management, training in pain or stress management strategies, and cognitive restructuring for dysfunctional thinking and many others . Although there is a paucity of research on the use of CBT in palliative care settings, CBT is effective for many of the psychological issues that are prevalent in palliative care including, depression, anxiety, pain management, and insomnia. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview on the use of CBT for assessment and treatment of psychological distress in palliative care settings. Assessment of Emotional Functioning in Palliative Care There are many challenges to the assessment of mood disorders in palliative care settings. An initial challenge is the myth that psychological distress is a normal reaction to end of life. Despite expectations, most individuals in palliative care settings do not have symptoms of anxiety, depression or dementia. Many individuals arrive at this stage of their lives or illnesses with a sense of calm resignation, if not expectations of relief and of going home to God, heaven or family members waiting for them in the hereafter. Therefore those individuals that are experiencing symptoms that require intervention may achieve significant benefit from the interventions. The most common presentations are those of depression, anxiety, pain management failures with exhaustion and anguish, and sleep disorders. The healthcare provider requires tools necessary to differentiate major depression from anger, sadness, and anxiety associated with the symptoms of an untreatable or chronic illness. Assessment of preparatory grief and depression. Another obstacle to the assessment process is simply overcoming the challenges of differentiating symptoms from normal grief of the illness itself. Differentiating between preparatory grief and depression is a key component to the proper assessment of depression in palliative care and has important treatment implications. Preparatory grief can be defined as what an individual must undergo in order to prepare himself for his final separation from this world (Kubler-Ross, 1997). Symptoms of preparatory grief include 1) Mood waxes and wanes with time, 2) Normal self-esteem, 3) Occasional fleeting thoughts of suicide, and 4) Worries about separations from loved ones (Periyakoil and Hallenbeck, 2002). Preparatory grief is a normal, not pathological, life cycle event (Axtell, 2008; Periyakoil and Hallenbeck, 2002). Major depression is defined as five or more of the following symptoms during the same two week period: depressed mood, marked diminish in pleasure, weight loss or gain, insomnia or hypersomnia, psychomotor agitation/retardation, fatigue/loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, lack of concentration/indecisiveness, and recurrent thoughts of death and suicidal thoughts or plans (APA, 1994). Table 1 provides a symptom list. The list is not intended to be all inclusive however it gives the clinician an overall view of symptoms that may be observed in the individual dealing with depression in a palliative care setting. Although some symptoms of grief and depression overlap, there are ways to distinguish between grief and depression. Table 2 summarizes the ways to differentiate symptoms of grief versus depression according to temporal variation, self-image, hope, anheonia, response to support, and active desire for an early death (Periyakoil Hallenbeck, 2002). The first step to proper recognition of depression involves the identification of possible risk factors (Wilson, Chochinov, de Faye, and Breitbart, 2000). Certain demographic characteristics, such as younger age, poor social support, limited financial resources and family history of a mood disorder, as well as a personal history of previous mood disorders place individuals at a greater risk for developing depression or anxiety in end of life situations. Risk for developing a mood disorder also is elevated with certain types of diagnoses, including pancreatic cancer and brain tumors, and particular medical interventions such as radiation therapy (Hirschfeld, 2000). Symptoms of the illness, including poor symptom control, physical disability, and malnutrition also place individuals at higher risk. The second step to the proper assessment of depression includes utilization of appropriate assessment tools. Many times it is the degree and persistence of symptoms that provide the information necessary when considering major depression. Major depression, which is estimated to occur in fewer than 25% of patients in end of life care, may be best screened with targeted questions such as: How much of the time do you feel depressed? In addition, for those individuals that have a difficult time describing their symptoms or history, asking family members to provide information about a previous history of depression or a family history can be very useful. Although studies validating assessment tools vary greatly, many of the self-report measures have been shown to be effective in palliative care patients. The most common utilized tools in palliative care settings frequently omit physical symptoms of depression. Many symptoms of depression overlap with the terminal disease process (Noorani Montagnini, 2007). Examples of self-report measures that omit somatic symptoms include the Beck Depression Inventory II (Beck, Steer, and Brown, 1996), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Inventory (Zigmond Snaith, 1983), and the Geriatric Depression Scale (Yesavage et al., 1983). The Hayes and Lohse Non-Verbal Depression Scale (Hayes, Lohse, and Bernstein, 1991) is a third party observational measure that can be completed by staff, family, or friends to assist with the diagnostic process. Terminally Ill Grief or Depression Scale (TIGDS), comprising of grief and depression subscales, is the first self-report measure designed and validated to differenti ate between preparatory grief and depression in adult inpatients (Periyakoil et al., 2005). Assessment of anxiety. The symptoms of anxiety may differ in individuals in the palliative care environment. Many times symptoms of anxiety have a physiologic component. For example in those individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases difficulty breathing, low oxygen levels and overall compromised respiratory function causes air hunger which is experienced as anxiety and even panic. Table 3 lists some of the common anxiety symptoms seen in this population. Family members are often at a loss as to what they can do to assist their loved one that is experiencing anxiety, and especially fearfulness. It is often useful to provide significant others with a checklist of items that are important to report to the healthcare provider. Involving the family has the benefit of giving them a structured guide for response which reduces their own anxiety in response to the patient. In addition the patient may relax more knowing that a family member is involved with their care in an approved, helpful manner. An example of a list of items for family members to watch for and report to the healthcare team is listed in Appendix 1. Cognitive Behavioral Interventions in Palliative Care Psychological intervention in the palliative care setting includes those aspects of treatment that would provide relief from emotional distress while an individual is dying. Often this time period includes depression, anxiety, grief and organic brain dysfunctions such as dementia and/or cerebral vascular diseases. Individuals and their family members are both considered the patient during these times. Many of these individuals are suffering from chronic, unremitting pain conditions which negatively impact their emotional health. Treatments for pain and chronic conditions also play a part in the individuals mental status. The use of Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is extremely useful for these individuals. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy has the strongest empirical support of any psychological intervention for the management of symptoms typically seen in a palliative care setting. The most common presentations of psychological distress in the dying patient include anxiety, depression, hopelessness, guilt over perceived life failures and remorse. Persistence of these thoughts and feelings interfere with functioning, makes the person generally miserable as well as those around them and can severely affect his/her quality of life. Medical treatments, such as antidepressants, anxiolytics and cholinesterase inhibitors, exist for these problems however supportive psychotherapy such as relaxation training, imagery, distraction, skill training, and negative thought restructuring improves the possibility of remission. CBT can also improve the symptoms of spiritual distress that may include feelings of disappointment, guilt, loss of hope, remorse, and loss of identity. CBT for depression. Symptoms of depression are common in end of life care. It can be one of the most distressing groups of symptoms an individual can experience and may interfere significantly with daily tasks of life. Some experts have estimated that up to 75% of patients with terminal illnesses experience symptoms of depression. Amelioration of some of the symptoms of depression can increase the amount of pleasure and meaning in life, as well as add hope and peace. Treatment for depression can reduce the experience of physical pain as well as general misery and suffering. In addition, reduction of the symptoms of depression may improve the treatment of coexisting illnesses more effective. Most importantly, given that one of the most serious symptoms of depression is suicidal ideation, it makes sense to treat depression in order to prevent successful suicidal outcomes. There is a paucity of literature in the area of the use of CBT with depression in Palliative Care, due to the high attrition rate resulting from physical morbidity and mortality (Moorey et al., 2009). Therefore, these factors pose significant barriers to conducting randomized clinical trials in Palliative Care to address these components. The following is a review of the sparse literature on CBT in Palliative Care with depression. In an attempt to address this problem, Moorey et al., conducted a cluster randomized controlled trial in order to determine if it was possible to teach nurses CBT techniques in order to reduce anxiety and depression symptoms in patients with advanced cancer (2009). Eight nurses were trained in CBT by attending several 1- and 2-day workshops and then were rated on the Cognitive Therapy First Aid Rating Scale (CTFARS) for CBT competence. Seven nurses did not receive training and served in the control group. A total of 80 home care patients entered the trial; however most of these participants were excluded due to being too ill to participate. A total of 16 patients were in the CBT group and 18 patients were in the control group. The participants received home care nursing visits in which assessments were conducted at 6-, 10-, and 16-week intervals. The individuals who received CBT reported lower anxiety scores over time, but no effect of the training was found regarding depression. It was noted that both groups experienced lower rates of depression over the course of the study. The authors noted the heterogeneity of the sample and the high attrition rate due to physical morbidity and mortality presented several barriers to conducting the study and may have played in a role in the findings (Moorey et al., 2009). Cole and Vaughan (2005), in their review on the feasibility of using CBT for depression associated with Parkinsons disease (PD), found that it is a promising option. The authors noted that depressed inviduals with comorbid PD experienced a significant reduction in depressive symptoms and negative cognitions. In addition they experienced an increased perception of social support over the course of treatment (Cole Vaughan, 2005). The recommended course of action for individuals in this setting included: stress management training, relaxation training, behavioral modification techniques for sleep hygiene, and cognitive restructuring. Modification of life stressors contributing to depressed mood should be identified and plans made to minimize stress and maximize quality of life. The use of thought restructuring is recommended in order to maintain a sense of purpose and fulfillment through meaningful activity and to adjust expectations of self and others. Individuals are also encouraged to return to previously enjoyed activities in order to maximize feelings of pleasure and happiness. Through systematic defocusing on physical conditions the person is able to experience more pleasant activities, which are also encouraged. Similarly, Dobkin et al, conducted a study which explored the effects of modified CBT for depressed patients with PD, in conjunction with a separate social support intervention for caregivers (2007). The patients received 10-14 sessions of modified CBT, while caregivers attended three to four separate psychoeducational classes. The modified CBT sessions were comprised of the same components of the previous Cole Vaughan, (2005) study, such as, stress management training, behavioral modification techniques for sleep hygiene, relaxation training, cognitive restructuring, modification of life stressors, and increasing engagement in pleasurable activities. The classes were targeted at providing caregivers with ways to respond to the patients negative thoughts and beliefs, as well as, strategies to offer appropriate support. As in the previous study, the modified CBT sessions were comprised of training in stress management, behavioral modification, sleep hygiene, relaxation techniques, an d cognitive restructuring. Participants reported a significant reduction in their depressive symptoms and cognitions and increased perception of social support at treatment termination and one-month post-treatment. CBT for anxiety. Along with depression, anxiety is a common mental health problem in palliative care settings and also appears to be alleviated with CBT interventions. In a small feasibility study examining the use of cognitive behavioral therapy techniques for mild to moderate anxiety and depression in hospice patients, four sessions of CBT techniques was found to significantly reduce anxiety and depression in a majority of patients (Anderson, Watson, Davidson, and Davidson, 2008). Overall, participants in the study found the CBT techniques acceptable, helpful, and qualitatively reported improved mood. A significant reduction in anxiety symptoms also was seen in a randomized controlled trial of CBT administered by home care nurses in patients with advanced cancer (Moorey et al., 2009). CBT techniques are particularly effective to assist with the management of anxiety related to breathing difficulties commonly seen with pulmonary diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In a group of individuals with COPD, six sessions of guided imagery, a CBT relaxation technique, was found to significantly increase the partial percentage of oxygen saturation, which is a physiological indicator signaling more effective breathing (Louie, 2004). In another study, as little as 2 hours of CBT group therapy yielded a decrease in depression and anxiety among older patients with COPD, but there was no change in physical functioning (Kunik et al., 2001). CBT for pain management. Pain is not simply a biological response to unpleasant stimuli. It is a complex phenomenon that includes biological, psychological, behavioral and social factors that interact in complex ways to influence the pain experience. Some of the factors that can influence a persons experience of pain include: a) previous pain experiences, b) biologic and genetic predispositions, c) mood disorders such as anxiety and depression d) their beliefs about pain, e) fear about the pain experience, f) their individual pain threshold and pain tolerance level, and f) their skill with coping methods. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy has the most empirical support for the management of chronic pain, especially when used as part of an interdisciplinary treatment approach to manage pain symptoms (Turk, Swanson, Tunks, 2008). Cognitive behavioral techniques can be used independently to assist with pain management or integrated into a comprehensive cognitive-behavioral case conceptualization framework to address pain (Turk, Swanson, Tunks, 2008). The three components to CBT for pain management are 1) Education and rationale for the use of CBT, 2) Coping skills training, and 3) Application and maintenance of CBT skills (Keefe, 1996). Useful behavioral interventions to assist with pain management include goal setting, relaxation strategies, such as deep breathing and guided imagery, and activities scheduling. Cognitive interventions would include increasing problem-solving skills and addressing an individuals maladaptive thoughts related to pain management. Examples of maladaptive thoughts include: 1) Ive tried every pain management intervention with no success, 2) I cannot do any of the things that I used to do, 3) nothing will help manage my pain, and 4) no one can help me feel better. CBT for pain manage ment has demonstrated efficacy in various diagnoses often addressed in palliative care. CBT has been found to be efficacious in the management of cancer-related pain in single studies (Syrjala, Donaldson, Davis, et al., 1995) as well as in systematic reviews (Abernethy, Keefe, McCrory, Scipio, Matchar, 2006). CBT for sleep hygeine. Insomnia, sleep duration and quality are major concerns for people with pain disorders such as osteoarthritis (Vitiello, 2009). Approximately 60 percent of individuals with chronic pain disorders report frequent nighttime awakening due to pain during the night. Disrupted sleep patterns exacerbate chronic pain intensity and experience which in turn causes more disturbance of the sleep/wake cycle. Successful treatment of interrupted sleep may reduce the pain experience as well as improve the overall quality of life for these individuals. Psychotherapeutic techniques that target sleep disturbances are easily incorporated within behavioral and cognitive management of other co-occurring disorders as well. Sleep disorders are common in patients who suffer from Parkinsons disease (PD) (Stocchi, Barbato, Nordera, Berardelli and Ruggieri, (1998). Specifically, insomnia, nightmares, REM sleep behavior disorder, sleep attacks, sleep apnea syndrome, excessive daytime sleepiness, and periodic limb movement in sleep result from changes in sleep structure, movement disturbances in sleep, disturbances in neurotransmission and medications. Individuals who are sleep deprived are at risk to develop infections, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, depression, and require increased time to recover from stress (Schutte-Rodin, Broch, Buysse, Dorsey, and Sateia, 2008). CBT improves sleep by addressing unhelpful beliefs regarding sleep and misperceptions about the amount of sleep that one obtains. Many misperceive the amount of time they are actually asleep. People who suffer from insomnia actually sleep more than they are aware of because they are only attentive of when they are awake. Furthe rmore, many people believe they require 8 hours of sleep in order to be able to function during the day and any amount of sleep that is less is insufficient and will result in reduced ability to function during the day. Therefore, these beliefs and misperceptions can increase ones stress level about sleep and a stress response may result when one thinks about going to sleep. Clearly, a heightened stress response is not conducive to sleeping. CBT increases ones control over their unhelpful and inaccurate beliefs and enables them to replace them with more helpful and accurate beliefs (Whitworth, Crownover, and Nichols, 2007). CBT also addresses the behavioral components of ones sleep routine or patterns that interfere with ones ability to obtain restful sleep. Exercising, smoking, or drinking caffeinated drinks just prior to bedtime can interfere with ones sleep. All of these activities are stimulants that energize the body. Also, not having a bedtime routine, a regular sleep-wake pattern, or taking naps may interfere with ones ability to get restful sleep. Increasing ones sleep hygiene by developing positive habits that influence sleep such as, having a bedtime routine to prepare ones mind and body for sleep, regular exercise several hours before one intends to prepare for sleep, and avoiding coffee, alcohol, and smoking in the evening, as well as, increasing activities that produce relaxation (e.g., taking a hot bath one to two hours before going to bed, meditation, deep breathing, or muscle relaxation) can increase the likelihood of obtaining restful sleep. Another behavioral strategy utilized in CBT i s sleep restriction. This technique attempts to match ones actual sleep requirement with the amount of time one spends in his/her bed. The theory behind this approach is that reducing the amount of time spent in bed without sleep will increase ones desire to sleep (Harvey, Ree, Sharpley, Stinson, and Clark, 2007). Results of a study by Vitiello showed that treatment improves both immediate and long-term self-reported sleep and pain in older patients with osteoarthritis and comorbid insomnia without directly addressing pain control (2009). This study included 23 patients with a mean age of 69 years were randomly assigned to CBT, while 28 patients with a mean age of 66.5 years were assigned to a stress management and wellness control group. Participants in the control group reported no significant improvements in any measure while Individuals treated with CBT reported significantly decreased sleep latency (onset of sleep) by an average of 16.9 minutes and 11 minutes a year after treatment. Interruptions in sleep after sleep onset decreased from an average of 47 minutes initially to an average of 21 minutes after one year. Pain symptoms improved by 9.7 points initially to 4.7 points. Sleep efficacy (how rested does the person feel upon awakening) initially increased by 13 percent and 8 percent a year after treatment. The improvements remained robust in 19 of 23 individuals at a one-year follow-up visit. Furthermore, while many older adults experience insomnia, it is reported that up to two-thirds of those who experience these symptoms have limited knowledge regarding available treatment options. Sivertsen (2006), conducted a randomized controlled trial to compare the efficacy of non-benzodiazepine sleep medications with CBT. This study included 46 patients with a mean age of 60.8 years who were diagnosed with chronic primary insomnia. Participants were randomly assigned to either the CBT intervention (information on sleep hygiene, sleep restriction, stimulus control, cognitive therapy, and progressive relaxation), sleep medication (7.5 mg zopiclone each night), or placebo medication. Treatment lasted 6 weeks, and the CBT intervention and sleep medication treatments were followed up at 6 months. Data regarding total wake time, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and slow-wave sleep was collected utilizing sleep diaries, and polysomnography (PSG; monitors physiological activity during sleep). Results revealed that total time spent awake improved significantly more for those in the CBT group compared to the placebo group at 6 weeks and the zopiclone group at both 6 weeks and 6 months. In comparison, the zopiclone group did not reveal significant results from the placebo group (Sivertsen, 2006). The CBT group experienced a 52 percent reduction in total wake time at 6 weeks compared with 4 percent and 16 percent in the zopiclone and placebo groups respectively. A statistically and clinically significant finding was that participants receiving CBT improved their PSG-registered sleep efficiency by 9 percent at posttreatment, opposed to a decline of 1 percent in the zopiclone group. Total sleep time increased significantly between 6 weeks and 6 months for the CBT group. The zopiclone group showed improvements at 6 weeks and maintained these improvements at 6 months, but did not show further improvements. The CBT group showed significant improvements compared to the zo piclone group in total wake time, sleep efficiency, and slow-wave sleep; total sleep was the only area that did not yield a significant difference (Sivertsen, 2006). ADAPTING CBT TO THE PALLIATIVE CARE SETTING Overview of CBT in Palliative Care Cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective for many of common mental health issues seen in palliative care and often augments the success of pharmacological interventions. In addition to the individual with the terminal illness, their family members, as well as multiple health providers are considered integral members to the success of the collaborative relationship. Use of a CBT case conceptualization framework and various components offer flexibility, which makes the CBT approach feasible to implement within a palliative care setting. The following section provides an overview of the components of cognitive-behavioral therapy and necessary adaptations to palliative care settings. Collaborative Relationship As mentioned in previous chapters in this book, a collaborative relationship is a core component of an effective cognitive-behavioral intervention. In a palliative care setting, the collaborative relationship often involves more than just the client and the therapist. The interdisciplinary treatment team works with the individual to develop an individualized treatment plan that is central to the case conceptualization and goal setting of CBT. A variety of disciplines, such as nursing and social work, use CBT techniques in palliative care settings. Individuals receiving palliative care often need assistance with CBT interventions as their illness progresses. Individuals receiving palliative care often need assistance from the treatment team with practicing skills, such as relaxation techniques, and adapting CBT interventions as goals of care change. Some individuals in the Palliative Care setting may not be facing death in the near future, and if they are facing impending death, they may not be aware of it. In these cases the primary patient may be the family member or significant other. It is also common practice for most individuals to seek help for mental health problems from their family practitioner even though the typical family practitioner has very little training in psychiatric/mental health assessment, diagnosis and treatment. In cases where the family is relying on an under-trained health care provider it may be incumbent upon the mental health provider to negotiate the gap between family and medical care. Case Conceptualization and Goal Setting Therapy with the dying person should begin with having the person identify, explore and determine outcome goals regarding the issues at hand. Similarly to the primary care setting, case conceptualization and goal setting need to occur almost immediately. The therapist uses the Socratic Dialogue to explore the persons concerns and worries. This gives the individual more of a sense of control over what will be happening in the therapy session. Once this sense of control is established it becomes easier to explore other, more emotion laden topics. Goals should be small, obtainable and proximal to the session to be most effective. For example, Mrs. Jones I will be back to see you tomorrow. One of the things you have decided to practice is your deep breathing at least twice tonight and again in the morning. When I return I will check with you to see how you are doing with the practice. In palliative care setting, it may be necessary to discuss how other people involved in care can assist with reaching goals. For example, nurses might remind individuals to practice relaxation strategies during wakeful periods, as well as talk an individual through the relaxation technique when experiencing a high level of pain. Behavioral Interventions Pleasant Events Scheduling. Activities scheduling is a useful intervention to assist with mood disorders, pain management, and sleep hygiene issues seen in a palliative care setting. Engaging in pleasant events distracts an individual from negative thoughts and provides experimental evidence to support more adaptive thinking styles. Often times in palliative care the first barrier to overcome is identifying pleasant events that can occur in a palliative care setting due to health limitations. Pleasant events need to be person-centered, meaningful, and feasible activities that can be built into a daily routine. Meaningful pleasant events can be identified through both clinical interview and self-report methods. Clinical interview queries should include taking a history of an individuals daily schedule and identify activities the individual enjoyed engaging in on a routine basis prior to their illness. From the generated list of previously enjoyed pleasant events it needs to be determined which activities the individual can continue to enga

Company Law and the Corporate Veil

Company Law and the Corporate Veil Introduction As the day company is formed, it can be said that the company is â€Å"incorporated†. As the company uniqueness is that it provides for effective separation of resources and managements of its resources and it is further compounded on the fact that the owner of the capital can limit his or her liability to the third parties. Therefore the company is recognized as a separate entity and it is treated in its own capacity. In nowadays business companies, it can be seen that companies have both advantages and disadvantages in measuring the limited liability of the shareholders on the basis that the company is liable for its debts and obligations. Therefore, double-edged sword is created which means it has both good and bad elements. In this assignment, details about the doctrine of separate legal entity will be analyzed. Also statements of features of company as separate legal entity and circumstances the veil of incorporation will be lifted will be analyzed with reference to some cases. Doctrine of separate legal entity In company law of Malaysia, a company is treated as a separate legal entity from its members constituted in it which is its shareholders and directors. This is the doctrine of separate legal principle. The company is a different separate body from its member. Thus, the members of the company are not liable for the company debts. For instance, when a company turn into a contract, the company itself will personally liable for the contract rather than the shareholders and the directors. Therefore, a company is a corporate body. A corporation is an artificial legal person that exists independently of the individuals who at any given time are the members of the corporate body. This principle was established by the House of Lords in Salomon v Salomon Co Ltd[1]. The rule of Agency An agency is a relationship where one person consents or is deemed to have consented that the other person should act on its behalf so as to affect its relations with third parties. Features of Separate Legal Entity At the time the company is incorporated, it is a separate legal person, it brings forth some effect which can be the features of it. Under section 16(5) of the Companies Act 1965 states that, once a company had been incorporated, the company had all the ability as an incorporated company. For instances, it is means that the company can enjoys its right and function as a legal person. Company that incorporated is a legal personality that is created and recognized by the law as stated by Salleh Abbas F.J in Tan Lai v Mohamed bin Mahmud. When a company register under Companies Act, it becomes vested with corporate personality which is an independent legal person and separate from its members. For instance, the company is a legal person. In Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd. (1987)[2], unsecured creditors claimed that the company never had an existence of independent although it was incorporated. They claimed that it was Salomon himself trading under another name, but the House of Lords held Salomon Co. Ltd. must be regarded as an independent person from Salomon. This is because of the fact that the company was not role as an agent for the member. Thus, Salomon and the others are mere subscribers of the company although he owned all the issued shares. Hence, Salomon could enforce its rights against the company as a secured creditor. Furthermore, the company also has the ability to sue and be sued in its own name. Therefore, a company can make legal action to enforce its right. It was established in the case Foss v Harbottle[3] where action brought by the members of the company made an injury complain towards the company and it was fail. Therefore the member could not take action on behalf of the company. Besides, a company has perpetual succession which means members may join and leave, but the company will continue go on. When a company become incorporation, it will continue operate until it is dissolved according to the Companies Act 1965. Under the case of Re Noel Tedman Holdings Pty Ltd[4], the court allowed the representative personal of the deceased to appoint the directors of the company so that the directors could allow the transfer of the shares to child. This proves that although the shareholders had leave but the company is still exiting and continue go on. Other than that, a company also has ability to own property on its own name. According to section 16(5) a company has power given to own personal land and other types of property. While company is separate legal person from its member, the member has no legal right and interest with the property and it is belongs to company. In case Macaura v Northern Assurance Co. Ltd[5], Macaura owned a tree plantation which was covered by an insurance policy. Later he sold the plantation to a company which he was the only shareholder. After the sale, Macaura continued to insure the plantation in his own name. A fire broke out and the plantation was destroyed. Macaura then attempted to claim on the insurance policy but the insurance company refused to pay. The issue was whether Macaura had an insurable interest at the time of the loss. It was help that the insurance company was right in not paying. The plantation company was a legal entity in its own right, separate from its shareholders. Other than that, in a corporate body, the shareholders of the company can enjoy limited liability. While a company is a separate legal entity, the shareholders are not liable for the debts and the liability is limited by shares. Therefore, creditors have no rights to take any legal action against the shareholders. In case Ye Yut Een 1978[6], the director of the company is not liable for the company’s debt. It is the company who had not complied with the procedures related to the retrenchment benefits. Lifting The Veil of Incorporation Although the company has privilege as separate legal entity, it must not be used for any unlawful or illegal business purposes, in case a fraudulent or dishonest use is made of the legal entity, the concerned individuals will not be allowed to take the shelter of the corporate personality. The court will disregard the corporate veil to see the real persons behind it. Generally, the law will not go behind this veil of incorporation to look at the membership of the company. But the courts will ‘lift the corporate veil’ in some exceptional cases. Salomon v Salomon Co Ltd case have decided that the members of the company are not liable for any contract that contracted by the company. This will cause they may have a chance hiding behind the veil to defraud the creditors and other parties that contracted with the company. The court will pierce the corporate veil by applying the principle known as ‘piercing the corporate veil’. When there is no entity separate from members, the court will pierce the corporate veil and take action. After that the court will make the company and its members liable for any breach of contract. The veil of incorporation can be lifted in according to situation provided under statutory provision and by judicial interpretation under the common law. For instance, section 36, Companies Act 1965 states that if the number of members of a company is reduced to below two and its carries on business more than six months, the person who is a member of the company during the time that is so carries on business after those six months, and is aware of it, the person is personally liable for all the debts that the company contracted after those six month and he may be sued therefor. According to the section 304(2), Companies Act 1965, together with the section 303(3), provide that an officers who knowingly contract a debts on behalf of the company. It means borrow money and knowing that that the company is most likely unable to pay the debt is guilty of an offence and on conviction be made personally liable to pay that debt. Under section 304(1), Companies Act 1965 provides that when a company’s intention is to purposely defraud its creditors, the veil of incorporation is lifted. In the course of the winding up of a company or in any proceedings against a company it appears to the court when hearing the application of the liquidator or any creditor or contributory of the company that any business of the company has been carried on with intent to defraud creditors of the company or creditors of any other person or for any fraudulent purpose, the court may hold any persons who were knowingly parties to the fraud personally responsible for all or any of the debts or other liabilities of the company as the court directs. Under section 365(2), Companies Act 1965 provides that any payment of dividend not from profit is prohibited. Any payment made of dividends to shareholders is personally liable by the director towards the creditors of the company when there are no profits available. There are also situations where the court thinks it is appropriate and it will lift the veil of incorporation at common law. The situation whereby the veil of incorporation is lifted where the company is acting as agent or partner of the controlling or parent company. Group of the companies the problems can be complex. Subsidiary own and fund money of a business has been held to do so as agent for the holding and parent company. So, holding and parent company actually operating business. This is applied in case Smith, Stone and Knight Ltd v Birmingham Corporation (1939)[7]. Besides, the veil of incorporation will be lifted when there is a group of companies, including holding and subsidiary company, the court can lift the veil and treat a company and its subsidiary as one economic unit. In case DHN food Distributors Ltd v Tower Hamlets London Borough Concil[8], subsidiary company owns a piece of land while the DHN which is parent company operated the business on the land. The local authority purchases the said land. The DHN claimed compensation for disruption. The local authority refused to pay the compensation on the grounds that the land did not belong to DHN. The court lifted the veil of establish that DHN is connected with the subsidiary company as treated as one economic unit, they did suffer a loss as a result of acquisition from the local authority and allowed to claim the compensation. At last, lifting the corporate veil can also assist in the prevention of fraud. In case Aspatra Sdn Bhd Ors v Bumiputra Bank Malaysia Berhad (BBMB)[9], Lorrain Osman, one of the director of Aspatra Sdn Bhd, was once a director of Bumiputra Bank Malaysia Berhad, must account for the secret profit he made in breach the fiduciary duty. To avoid detection Lorrain Osman had channeled the monies which is the secret profit he make into several companies that he controlled, one is the Aspatra Sdn Bhd. BBMB feared that the money Lorrain Osman took would leave Malaysia and applied for an injunction. The veil lifted to reveal that the assets of Aspatra Sdn Bhd belong to the Lorrain Osman and the injunction was accepted. Conclusion In conclusion, it clearly stated that the doctrine of separate legal entity have created double-edged swords to the shareholders of the company. Although it brings many features to the shareholders but it also have drawback towards the company itself and creditors in some situation. Hence, there will be some defects of incorporation. However, lifting the veil of incorporation by the court will reduce the defects of incorporation. [1] SALOMON v SALOMON CO LTD [1897] A.C. 22, House of Lords [2] SALOMON v SALOMON CO LTD [1897] A.C. 22, House of Lords [3] Foss v Harbottle(1843) 67 ER 189 [4] Re Noel Tedman Holdings Pty Ltd. (1967) QdR 561 [5] Macaura v Northern Assurance Co Ltd[1925] AC 619 [6] Yee Yut Ee(978)2 MLJ 142 [7] Smith, Stone Knight Ltd v Birmingham Corp[1939] 4 All ER 116 [8] DHN Food Distributors Ltd v Tower Hamlets London Borough Council[1976] 1 WLR 852 [9] Aspatra Sdn Bhd v Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Bhd (1988) 1 MLJ 97

Intertwined Cultures in the Writings of Jhumpa Lahiri Essay -- Literar

Charlemagne was once quoted having said â€Å"To have a second language is to have a second soul† (Kushner 29). In achieving full comprehension of another language, one also gains insight into the culture of foreign individuals. It is common knowledge that in the modern world, English is the dominant tongue. Yet, bilingualism, even multilingualism, is a sure sign of possessing the scarce knowledge of cultural diversity. As American society becomes more accepting of various cultures in its politics and education, foreign voices also appear more in American literature. The diversity of origins of the latest young writers is vast: In The New Yorker’s 2010 â€Å"Top 20 Under 40† list of new American writers, over one-third were not born in this country. Their homes cross the globe, from Latvia to Peru (â€Å"Top 20 Under 40†). The rise in popularity of stories of these bicultural writers can be attributed to the changing of attitudes in America. Our history and present is laden with the accounts of immigrants. Their perspectives are fresh and bursting with talent. Jhumpa Lahiri, a female Bengali author, gained prominence after she was listed in the 1999 edition of the â€Å"Top 20 Under 40†. That same year, her collection of short stories â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies† was published, and went on to sell millions of copies worldwide. Lahiri in particular is well known for, in the words of Aviya Kushner, â€Å"translating the immigrant experience for us, often lyrically†¦as the English-born child of immigrants, she can move smoothly between both worlds, marveling and assuring us that, yes, it will be all right† (Kushner 27). In many of her short stories, Lahiri focuses on that transition from a foreign culture-in her case, Indian-to American culture. More than oft... ... May 2012. . Kakutani, Michiko. "BOOKS OF THE TIMES; A Broken Body in Shiny, New China." The New York Times. The New York Times, 04 July 2008. Web. 4 May 2012. . Kushner, Aviya. "McCulture." The Wilson Quartlerly 33.1 (2009): 22-29. JSTOR. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Dec. 2009. Web. 2 May 2012. . Lahiri, Jhumpa. Interpreter of Maladies: Stories. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1999. Print. Ranjini, V., and N. Ramakrishna. "Immigrant Experience In Jhumpa Lahiri's Interpreter Of Maladies And The Namesake." Poetcrit 21.1 (2008): 64-74. Literary Reference Center Plus. Web. 5 May 2012 Tyrell, Michael. â€Å"Interpreter of Maladies: Review.† Harvard Review 17 (1999): 198-199. JSTOR. Web. 4 May 2012.

Cultural theory and the meanings of money :: Business and Management Studies

Cultural theory and the meanings of money Couples and their money: theory and practice in personal finances Four perspectives draw on: * Economics and rational choice theory * Social structural approaches * Psychological approaches * Cultural theory and the meanings of money. According to classical economic theory money has four main functions: †¢it is a medium of exchange, †¢a store of value, †¢a unit of account, †¢a standard of deferred payment. Perspectives within economic theory relevant to personal finances: †¢fungibility This notion is standard in classical economic theory and means that money is considered to be neutral and interchangeable, so that any unit of wealth is substitutable for any other (McCloskey, 1987). †¢rational choice theory This assumes that people make reasoned choices in order to maximise their overall welfare or utility. Rational choice theory lays stress on the importance of information in facilitating the efficient working of markets and of consumer choice. Daniel: I have a high interest account with First Direct as well. And then I have another savings account which is slightly lower interest. The high interest savings account has a penalty on withdrawals, so I keep a sum of money in there stable which I don’t draw on. If I have extra spending, or I need to top up my current account in case I’m going overdrawn, that comes from the third, lower interest account which I keep for small amounts. When I have a surplus at the end of the month in my current account I transfer across to the high interest account as much as I can. Daniel’s economic rationality extended to credit cards and Air Miles. He explained about his American Express Gold Card: I use that for my purchases because I get Air Miles on that, so all my purchases I get Air Miles and I transfer that to my various Air Miles accounts. I originally got a Gold Card because they did a special offer, had one free for a year, and so I gave up after a year. Said ‘No thank you. I don’t want to pay for a card’. Oh well, another card arrives free for a year, so I said, ‘Fine’. Pahl, J. (2001) ‘Couples and their money: theory and practice in personal finances’, in R. Sykes, C.Bochel and N. R. Ellison, Social Policy Review 13, Policy Press Bristol. Rosie: If I’ve got to have dealings with them for money, I like to know that it’s only a certain number of hours†¦ I like restrictions of banking hours; I do quite like that. I’m old fashioned, completely opposite to Daniel. If he sees that something is wrong with one of

Manet - Still Life :: essays research papers

"Clarity, Condour, urbanity and virtous ability to handle paint-such are the qualities which first strike us in Manet's art". A quote by John Richardson still life grapes and figs 1864 Frank Jay Gould collection. Cannes- "The dark rich tones of this painting carry in them the strong popular Spanish influence the light hitting the fruit from the left creates a startling and brilliant luminosity." Said also by John RichardsonBefore we attempt to anaylse the meaning of what's within Edouard Manet's work entitled still life, Grapes and figs, one must first identify , and note, the somewhat colorful events which occurred within the artist life, and note the way in which they must have led his work.Born in France in 1832, Manet was raised by his parents Auguste and Eugenie-Desiree a society couple, who's social standing resulted from Auguste's successful career in the Ministry of Justice , Paris. Indeed, so successful was Auguste in his chosen field that upon his retir ement he was awarded the Legion of Honor. It is thought by many that the importance of Augustes role in both society and the ministry actually intimidated the young Manet, who constantly aspired throughout his adult life, to gain the same level of reverence as that which his father possessed.Manet's personal background to the analysis of the artists treatment of gender within his work, is apparent to his paintings, they showed deeper side of the artist and what "angle" he saw women.However, it is the actions of the artists youth which many therapists believe is the key to understanding the ambiguous portrayal of woman within his paintings throw out his career. It was during the late 1850's when Manet was serving as a naval cadet in Rio de Janeiro, that he met a number of slave girls, Manet had openly admitted in letters to his friends the extend to which he found their tropical beauty alluring. Yet, is was not until Manet returned to France that he reveled the true extent of his relationships with these girls, and confessed to the fact that he had been using his time to relate to the girls in an adult way.The answer lies in the artists life long ill-health, it was in fact Manet himself who first diagnosed although now medically proven to be wrong that the physical pain from which he suffered on a daily basis was the result of a syphilis virus contracted during one of his aforementioned youthful encounters, a misconception which haunted the artist throughout his life .

Eqyptian Culture Essay

Ancient Egypt was a fascinating and complex place. Luckily for historians, Egyptians had made great strides in record keeping which have made studying their culture and society easier than some previous historical eras. Ancient Egyptians were a people who were intensely religious, deeply divided by gender roles and a strong hierarchy, and quite advanced for their period in terms of their technological and economic innovations. Egyptians were deeply religious, and religion played a role in nearly all aspects of their daily lives. When the ancient Egyptians experienced periods of peace and prosperity, they attributed credit for the success to their deities (Slaughter, 5). The Egyptians experienced centuries of remarkable stability and considered this state to be the ma ’at, which was Egyptian for the â€Å"natural order† (Slaughter, 5). Even though they considered good order and balance in their society to be natural, it had to be protected by the pharaoh, who was conside red to have been born mortal but imbued with godhood upon receipt of the throne, and was expected to be an earthly presence of the divine (Slaughter, 5). His religious standing gave the pharaoh a unique legal and authoritative position in ancient Egyptian culture. The pharaoh was expected to defend the nation, take responsibility for all administrative duties, declare all of the laws, and own all of the land (Slaughter, 5). For practical reasons, much of the pharaoh’s responsibilities were delegated to a bureaucracy (Slaughter, 5). Within this bureaucracy, staffed mostly by men, success was measured by the degree to which a person promoted order and prosperity within their stewardship (Slaughter, 5-6). Ancient Egypt had a strong social hierarchy, where a small group of the population, mostly the male elders, formed an elite class that that tightly controlled the rest of society (Slaughter, 7). This hierarchy was rooted in a wide variety of economic, political, religious and social causes that imbued those in power with authority in almost all areas of society (Slaughter, 7). The nature of most economic and commercial activity at the time created great â€Å"wealth, power, and opportunities† for elite men, while putting other men and all women in a position of submission to or dependence on the elite (Slaughter, 7). The division of labor that arose based at first on survival needs created societal attitudes about the roles, attributes, and abilities of men and women (Slaughter, 7). Men were the rulers and hard laborers, while women were the family caretakers (Slaughter, 7). The fertility and sexuality of a woman was her main contribution to Egyptian society, and these attributes were celebrated throughout the culture (Slaughter, 7). Women were expected to marry at 12 or 13 years of age, and to bear children often within the first year after marriage (Discussion, Ian Falconer). Although women were usually not part of the religious or political ruling elite, they were highly respected for their fertility, and were given most of the same legal rights as men (Discussion, Keako Crill). In some rare instances, women actually did manage to rise to stations of power and privilege, sometimes as priestesses to a God within the pharaoh’s bureaucracy (Slaughter, 5), and in four instances, including the case of Hatshepsut, women actually became the supreme rulers of the land (Slaughter, 6). Ancient Egyptians achieved an impressive level of manufacturing and commercia l capability for their time, which allowed them to achieve great strength and geopolitical dominance. Egyptians took advantage of many opportunities to learn, such as using the mummification process as a chance to learn about anatomy and medicine (Discussion, Katelyn Dreger). The Egyptians also developed a calendar with the same number of days as ours, though more closely tied to the seasons. Their calendar had three seasons, each consisting of four 30 day months, and an extra five days between harvest and planting that brought the total days in a year to 365 (Discussion, Tad Gale). This system allowed them to know when to plant and harvest based on the seasons of the year and the rise and fall of the water level in the Nile River in order to get maximum utilization of their vital lands. They also managed to develop a forerunner to our modern day beer by either fermenting water with bread crumbled into it, or by actually fermenting barley and wheat in a similar fashion to modern methods (Discussion, Tad Gale.) Their engineering feats were also impressive, and ranged from the technical prowess that showed itself in their massive pyramids, to the mastery of physics involved in developing advanced chariots that ran faster, quieter, and more stable than their counterparts created by their enemies (Discussion, Blair Vanderlugt). The nature of ancient Egyptian society was quite unique for its time period. Egyptian culture was distinct from neighboring nations, and Egyptians had many advantages that gave them an edge politically and commercially.

Pakistan: Recent Economic Developments and Future Prospects

Most of the upstarts emanating al nigh Pakistan in the Western media relate to terrorism, attack b travel by a way of lifes, Islamic fundamentalism, nu well-defined non prolife dimensionn, military get agree and so forth Seldom does unriv whollyed f each upon a positive story seem virtu altogethery Pakistans remarkable scotch turnaround. nonwithstanding the fact of the depend is that disdain much(prenominal) negative type Pakistan is one of the favored destinations for unlike depend coronation. turn up-of-door direct investment flows c e very fit(predicate) for surged by 95 portion during July February 2007 and argon pass judgment to touch $ 5 jillion or 3. pct of gross internal product several extension mellower than FDI flows to our giving neighbor in relative end patchs.Pakistans transnational gravel issues and equity floatations by dint of GDRs control been systematic entirelyy oersubscribed and atomic yield 18 priced at hunky-dory margins. Standard Chartered brink has prove acquisition of a domestic snobby lodge for around fractional a meg dollars. china Mobile the largest mobile comp any in terms of proofreader base has bought out major(ip)ity sh atomic number 18holding in one of the topical anaesthetic cellular holler companies for over $ 400 jillions.Philip and Morris has entered into an agreement to procure 50. 2 per centumage sh ars of the second largest Cig atomic number 18ttes Manufacturing bon ton of Pakistan for US 339 trillion. A mo of impudent(prenominal) similar mergers and acquisitions be in the pipeline. 2. What is that inspite of such adverse exotericity, perceived security fortune and travel advisories the globose investors, fund managers and pla crystallizeary monetary institutions from the fall in States, Europe, East Asia and mettle East all look upon Pakistan favourably and leaven such tremendous beat of confidence in the saving.Sophisticated investors from all over the existence ar appending to purchase billion of dollars of sovereign paper issued by Pakistan for 30 yr duration. There essential be mostthing right the pastoral ought to be doing which fails to reach the radar screen of the fashionable and highly influential western media. 3. As an international development economist I washbowl venture a number of reasons for this app atomic number 18ntly highly paradoxical situation. graduation exercise of all, Pakistan is a untaught of 160 billion heap which is growing at an amount harvest-festival graze of 6-7 percent for the furthermost fiver twelvemonths.Thirty million Pakistanis earning $ 10,000 $ 15,000 (PPP terms) constitute a large and solid trade for purchase of goods and ope wander of all kinds. There be precise few securities industrys shut China, India and Indonesia that atomic number 18 infrapinned by the size and scale that the degraded growing Pakistani warmness pattern impinge one rs. Projections show that if the catamenia fruit A paper presented at the IPRI-RUSI Conference on Pakistan St swangic Challenges & Prospects At Royal coupled service Institute London on April, 17 2007 ates be attained for the coterminous ten old age, Pakistans per capita income allow for prongy in real terms by 2020. At that motorcartridge clip the size of the middle socio- stintingal level bequeath rise to 50 million enjoying purchasing personnel incomes of fairish $ 30,000 equivalent to those of some of the European countries today. Goldman Sachs has located Pakistan in the next el compensate category of largest economies among developing countries for its long term projection. The requirements of exceptton, root, goods and services of these 50 million will corrobo regularise to be met at world class standards.Multinational firms and holders of bang-up with excess liquidity, eyeing these prospects in appear countries and feeling saturation in sophisticate d economies, atomic number 18 rethinking their st rest homegies and repositioning themselves. Pakistan along with smart(prenominal) Asian countries is one of the beneficiaries of this st placegy. The changing demographics of a youthful population and labor might in Pakistan staring against the stark populace of ageing population in Europe, Japan, and US and aft(prenominal)ward a bandage China reinforce these promising prospects for the afterlife.Of course, none of this will be either automatic or easy and good policies, good politics and good caboodle will be chartered to realize this scenario. 4. Second, the stinting surgical process in terms of large scotch perceptual constancy, product, impoverishment reduction and employment generation has been stellar. stinting ripening rank shoot arise from 1. 8 percent in 2000/01 step by step to middling 6 -7 percent a division in the last quartet long time making Pakistan one of the accelerated growing economy in t he Asia region. For Pakistan these judge be non spectacular entirely a reversion to mean.The average harvest rate of GDP ver 50 year rate of flow of Pakistan has been 5. 2 percent per annum. Manufacturing field out purge growth was over 15 percent, exports deem doub lead in US dollar terms in these five geezerhood, and an open trade regime has supported imports from all over the world to triple. Tax r steadyues ready travel by 14 percent a year reducing pecuniary deficit which used to average 7 percent a year in the 1990s to average 4 percent. chthonianway direct turned around from inveterate deficit to a surplus for third successive years master(prenominal)ly refundable to re forward-lookinged export growth and revitalization of workers slowtances.Although it has depart negative since 2005/06 collectable to phenomenonal growth in imports of machinery and equipment and increase in world vegetable oil prices it is macrocosm fully financed by contrasted capi tal flows. Inflation rate during the first foursome years of the current regime roosted under 4 percent nevertheless(prenominal) oil price pass by means of and food shortages perplex led to 8 percent on average since 2004-05. External debt burden has been halved from 52% to 26% of GDP and is projected to be on a declining path.The hoidenishs depicted object to service its debt has considerably ameliorate as debt servicing ratio which used to send away virtually 60 percent of national revenues is direct pull down to 28 percent. destitution incidence has fallen from 34 percent to 24 percent and unemployment rate is down to 6. 5 percent from 8. 4 percent. These movements are in the right direction yet they are non acceptable as one in every quarter Pakistani is silenceness living below the poverty line. duck-I summarizes the changes in the fall upon scotch indicators among October 1999 and June 2006. 5.Third, the basic premise of redress form _or_ system of authorities reform agenda was that macro frugalal stability will ride out short lived if it was not tended to(p) by morphologic reforms to transfer downcasteconomic distortions and by finding astir(predicate) improvement in economic governance. Pakistan has happyly use the first generation of geomorphological reforms that arrive made the economy to a greater extent than expeditious and resilient to face out of the blue(predicate) exogenous shocks. The main thrust of these reforms was to allow greater freedom to the clandestine heavens to own, produce, distri unlesse and trade goods and services while bit by bit withdrawing the cosmos empyrean from this arena.The promotional material of public private partnership in large infrastructure projects as a insurance insurance constitution initiative is standardizedly to get well some of the problems that are inherent in private infrastructure projects at the equivalent time easing the financing constraints fa ce by the public arena. The sell of the suppose in Pakistan has been redefined as a facilitator, enabler, protecter and governor rather than directly managing and presiding over the imperious heights of the economy. governance intervention is warrant for friendly protection of the ridiculous, provision of public goods or when in that respect is a clear case of market failure i. internationalities, progressive market structure etc.6. Fourth, Pakistan occupies a key strategic military position that links India with Iran, Afghanistan and the Copernican Asian States, provides ingress to sea for country locked countries of Central Asia, Afghanistan and Western China, acts as the zippo and transit corridor and opens up to the oil ample Gulf States next door. This strategic location alongwith the comp allowed and invigorated investments in ports, highways, pipelines, etc. will throw up great new opportunities that female genitals be highly attractive.Risk-return deal ingship in these projects is highly gold and a number of exotic firms are keen to take the first suggester advantage by locating their investment curiously in Gawadar port area. 7. passing aside the current situation that I permit describe I would like to address both important perplexitys this afternoon that agitate the mental messages of all potential investors and blood linemen domestic or impertinent in respect to Pakistan. First whether the stability and growth that go so far been achieved will prove to be transitory in personality or will be sustained over time.Second, a pastimeion that has attracted a lot of attention is whether the kinsfolk 11,2001 events have much to do with the economic turn around of Pakistan or whether the changes are more fundamental. To examine these devil questions we have to look at the strength of economic policies, depth of morphological reforms and the spirit of economic governance. Before addressing these two questions let me make two broader manoeuvers to answer the context for our sequent discussion. SUSTAINABILITY OF GROWTH .It should be reiterated that simplespread economic reforms in Pakistan were initiated in 1991 by the Nawaz Sharif presidential term, go along under the Benazir Bhutto Government and further increase and implemented under the Musharraf Government. Thus in that respect should be no suspect in any bodys take heed that the major direction of economic policies cosmos tagd in Pakistan presently enjoys crosswise-the-board political consensus and support among all the wind political parties of Pakistan.The underlying philosophy that the Government should not be in the business of running businesses but regulating the markets and position down the enabling insurance framework has been demonstrably practised by all the successive governments in the past. Deregulation, munificentization, privatization and private firmament led development have been systematically follo wed for the last 16 years, and there is very little doubt in my mind, that these will tolerate the pillars of proximo(a) economic insurance in Pakistan irrespective of which political company assumes power.Of course, there will be departures in approaches, tactics and nuances, episodes of point scoring, distancing from the specific proceedings of the forward governments, coming up with new modalities but the substance and thrust of economic policies will last out the same and go across partisan politics. 9. The second important point that should be kept in mind is that Pakistan has a long, uninterrupted history of an open, non-discriminatory and liberal strange investment regime. The Government of Mr. Z. A.Bhutto in early on 1970s nationalized domestic manufacturing industry, banks and insurance companies but did not touch international investment. Not hardly that the take a chances of expropriation and transfer are almost zero the aim contend field that is afforded t o overseas investors is unparalleled in developing world. This is a deliberate policy measure as Pakistan is squeezed between two economic giants China and India and we cannot afford to view as the same bar on the approach of outside(prenominal) investors as our great neighbors have placed.We have to be much more accommodating and keep the door wide open to allow foreign investors to benefactor our economy by bringing in capital, managerial skills, transfer of engineering science and integrating into global markets. This policy of liberal foreign investment regime is solidly grounded in the political ethos and economic imperatives of Pakistan. 10. Now let me take up as to how a combination of unafraid economic policies, structural reforms economic governance and good luck has changed the economic landscape of Pakistan in numerous fundamental ways. Strength of economic policies 11.The terror of Pakistans economic problems stemmed from monetary indiscipline over a decenn ium that plunged Pakistan into a debt trap. This root cause had thencece to be surgically removed so that the likelihood of its further recurrence in the future is minimized A pecuniary Responsibility Law has been approved by the fan tan, which keeps a lid on the future governments propensity to borrow their way out. Debt / GDP ratio has to be bring down by 2. 5 percentage points each year and the Debt/ GDP ratio cannot exceed 60 percent. Any deviation has to be explained to the Parliament and need its approval.This law will hopefully act as a major restraint on fiscal precipitation in the future. 12. Monetary policy is nowadays rifled by an independent central bank keeping the objective of price stability, financial stability and growth in mind. Although it involves a fine balancing act and inflationary pressures have surfaced during the last two years the Central Bank is committed to pursue a monetary policy that keeps inflation under control. Indirect market- found polic y instruments have replaced credit ceilings, caps on bond and lending rates, preferential treatment to government and directed credit to frontity areas.Interest rates and turn rates are market determined and credit allocation decisions are made by the individual banks base on objective criteria but channelize by prudential regulations. 13. External debt solicitude policy was focused on (a) reprofiling of the tele promise line of official bilateral debt, (b) substituting concessional bestows for non-concessional from international financial institutions, (c) pre-paying expensive loans and (d) liquidating short term liabilities.Debt ratio has thus been reduced from c percent of GDP to 56 percent in five years time. This restructuring of debt has put Pakistan on a firm terms as the debt and debt servicing ratios are on a declining path. This has provided scope and enlarged the substance of the country to chance on all its future foreign flip liabilities and obligations wi thout much uncontrollabley. address worthiness indicators have all better and Pakistan is no longer that vulnerable to external shocks as it was in 1998 at the time of the nuclear tests. 14.Trade policy in Pakistan has been categorised by the World Bank as one of the least restrictive in South Asia along with Sri Lanka and this policy has gradually provided incentives to exporters to increase their market share in the global markets. mass meeting rate policy is pursued to maintain stability in the foreign mass meeting markets while at the same time keeping the engagement of Pakistani exports intact. Large accumulation of foreign reserves play an important role in stabilizing the swap rate and cushioning the economy from the adverse and fragmented exogenous disturbances.One of the tests that the country successfully met in the last two years was to clear the oil price hike from $ 25/ barrel to $ 75/ barrel without any serious dislocation of economic occupation or any loss o f foreign reserves. Five years ago if this escalation had happened the exchange rate would have tumbled and inflation rate would have hit double digits. 15. Pakistan has alike made significant efforts in one-sidedly liberalizing its trade regime since the 1990s. The maximum duty rate has declined from 225 percent in 1990-1 to 25 percent the average tariff rate stands at just 9 percent compared to 65 percent a decennium ago.The number of duty slabs has as well as been reduced to four. Quantitative import restrictions have been eliminated except those relating to security, health, public virtuouss, religious and cultural concerns. The statutory societys that exempted certain industries from import duties or provided discriminating concessions to privileged individual firms have been phased out and import duties on 4,000 items were reduced. Protection to domestic industry is no longer a policy objective and a uniform, across the board, transparent regulatory regime with level pla ying field has been put in place.These measures have brought down set upive rate of protection, eliminated the anti-export bias and promoted free-enterprise(a) and efficient industries. A number of laws have overly been published to bring the trade regime in conformity with World Trade system of rules regulations. These include anti-dumping and countervailing measures and protection of intellectual office rights. This unilateral opening up to global trade has benefited the domestic firms in modify their efficiency and making themselves competitive.STRUCTURAL REFORMS 16. It was realized by the policy makers that stability will remain elusive and short lived if it was not accompanied by structural reforms to remove micro economic distortions and by bringing about improvement in economic governance. at the same time with the debt restructuring, the country embarked on the fiscal policy reforms and consolidation by raising assess revenues, reducing expenditures, cutting down su bsidies of all kinds and containing the losses of public enterprises.Tax reforms were underinterpreted to widen revenue compoundmentation base, remove direct contact between measure payers and tax collectors, introduce value-added tax as the major source of revenue, change tax administration and beef up the capacity of the Central control board of taxation. Although these reforms are thus far underway, the adoption of universal self sagacity followed by random audit of s pick out tax returns, automation and reorganization of the tax machinery have begun to help improve tax collection.Tax-GDP ratio in Pakistan is lower in comparing to other developing countries and has to be raised in the next five years to reach the average level of comparator countries. 17. As one of the sources of fiscal problems was the losses and inefficiencies of public enterprises the Musharraf Government actively pursued an battleful privatization jut out whose thrust was sale of assets in the oi l and flatulence industry as well as in the banking, telecommunications and energy sectors, to strategic investors, with foreign investors encouraged to participate in the privatization process.Pakistans record on privatization since 1991 has been impressive but the transactions unblemished in the last few years have yielded $ 3 billion halt the hemorrhaging of public finances that were used to deal the losses of these enterprises. These privatized banks are now add substantial sums to the national exchequer as they have all become juicy. 18. As Pakistan would hold out to rely on foreign capital flows for augmenting its domestic savings it had to show its seriousness in encouraging foreign investment.There has been a major and perceptible relaxation method of the foreign exchange regime. outside investors can set up their business in Pakistan in any sector of the economy agriculture, manufacturing real estate, retail trade, services, banking etc. , bring in and take back their capital, remit profits, dividends, royalties and fees etc. , without any preceding approvals. Foreign companies are allowed to raise funds from domestic banks and capital markets.They are treated equally with national firms in all regard and can bring in deportee staff to run their businesses. 19. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) can withal enter and exit the market freely without any restrictions or prior approvals. In the Karachi Stock Exchange with a market capitalization of US$50 billion and over 650 listed companies corporate profits were on average in 20-25 percent range much higher than those in most emerging countries. This makes Pakistan an attractive place to invest for foreign portfolio investors too.As part of this liberalisation, non-residents and residents are allowed to maintain and operate foreign capital cook looks, and a market-based exchange rate in the inter-bank market is at work. 20. pecuniary sector reforms in Pakistan were also initiated earl y in the 1990s when new banking licenses were minded(p) to private domestic banks to set up their shops along with the nationalized commercial message banks and foreign banks. Although these reforms were implemented with fits and start, they were accelerated since 1997.The Central Bank was allow autonomy and the control of the Ministry of Finance over banking institutions was diluted. More deep rooted reforms were undertaken since 1999 when net non-performing loans of the banking system were brought down to less than 3 percent of native advances and loans, minimum capital requirements were raised to $100 million, the quality of new loans was improved, mergers and consolidation of financial institutions eliminated a number of weaker players and the range of products and services offered by the banks was widened.solely the most crucial policy action taken by the Government, in my view, was the privatization of Habib Bank, joined Bank, and allied Bank three large nationalized com mercial banks of the country. As a result of these reforms, the share of the private sector ownership of the banking assets has risen to 80 percent and the banking sector is set about a healthy but strong competitive environment. The banks are highly profitable and the average lending rates have declined considerably as automation, on-line banking and sixfold channels of delivery have improved the efficiency of services in result to market competition.1. Agriculture credit, SME financing, consumer loans and microcredit have become mainstream products of the banking industry and the borrower base of the banking system has calculate from 1 million to 4 million households. The middle and lower middle class which had been completely shut off from vex to banking services are now enjoying car loans, mortgages, credit cards, consumer durables. Small farmers are apply bank credit for buying chemical fertilizers, certified seeds, insecticides, small implements and hiring tractor servi ces.Small and medium entrepreneurs are combusting their fabrication and manufacturing capacities and upgrading technology. Landless labor and poor women in the agrestic areas are receiving loans for poultry, small livestock, sewing machines, etc. The main beneficiaries of these reforms are the customers of financial services although it must be recognized that market determined deposit rates have also declined significantly. But as the lending rates are surging upward(a)s, deposit rates are also going to depict an upward movement with time lag.The outreach of banking sector is still very sparse outside the urban areas and has to be extended to cover at least 50 percent of rural households if any meaningful results are to be achieved in poverty reduction and urban rural income inequalities. 22. Deregulation of oil and assail, telecommunication and civil aviation sectors have also brought about significant positive results. cover and gas exploration activity has stepped up in rec ent years and unremitting discovery and production from new gas fields operated by private sector companies have added new capacity to meet the growing energy needs of the country.Independent power producers both domestic and foreign private companies have played a precise role in filling in electricity generation requirements of Pakistan since 1996. Telecommunication has witnessed a boom since the private sector companies were allowed licenses to operate cellular phones. One million new cellular phone connections are creation added every month and the number of phones has already reached about 50 million or a shrewdness rate of almost 33 percent.Long distance international and local anaesthetic loop monopoly of Pakistan Telecommunications Corporation has been broken and new licenses including for wireless local loop have been issued. The customers are reaping rich dividends as the prices of phone calls local, long distance, international are presently only a fraction of t he previous rates. One of the advantages of privatization of the state monopoly, i. e. , the PTCL would be snarl in form of higher bandwidth penetration that has lagged behind other Asian countries. stinting Governance 23.The most significant substitute introduced by the military government is in promoting good economic governance although we have still a long way to go. The reforms in some of the most important federal institutions the Central Board of Revenue (CBR), Securities and Exchange Commission (SECP), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Pakistan Railways initiated some years ago are already beginning to take some hold and making a difference as far as governance is concerned. Discretionary powers have been significantly curtailed but corruption at lower echelons of the Government is still widely rampant.Freedom of press and door to in organic law has had a salutary effect on the behaviour of decision makers but this has not trickled down to the lower bureaucratism ye t where implementation of the policies takes place. The post 2003 period has witnessed some decline in the transparence International ratings of Pakistan compared to the 1999-2002 period. 24. The cornerstone of the governance agenda is the devolution plan which transfers powers and responsibilities, including those related to social services from the federal and provincial governments to local levels.This plan was put into effect in 2001. The main premise of the devolution plan is the belief that development effort at the local level should be compulsive by priorities set by elected local representatives, as opposed to bureaucrats sit in provincial and federal capitals. decadence of power will thus strengthen governance by increasing decentralization, de-concentration, solubleness and peoples exponentiation in their local affairs. However, in the meanwhile the transition has created its own set of dislocations and disruptions in the delivery of services that need to be address ed. 25.Other essential ingredients for astir(p) economic governance are the separation of policy and regulatory functions which were earlier combined inside the ministry. Regulatory agencies have been set up for economic activities such as banking, finance, aviation, telecommunications, power, oil, gas etc. The regulatory structures are now independent of the ministry and enjoy quasijudicial powers. The Chairman and Board members enjoy security of tenure and cannot be arbitrarily removed. They are not answerable to any executive authority and hold public hearings and consultations with stakeholders. 6. The National Accountability power (NAB) has been functioning quite effectively for the last five years as the main anti-corruption agency. A large number of high government officials, politicians and businessmen were sentenced to prison, subjected to heavy fines and modify from holding public office for vingt-et-un years on charges of corruption after conviction in the courts of l aw. Major loan and tax defaulters were also investigated, prosecuted and forced to repay their overdue loans and taxes. 27.Civil service reforms aimed at improving recruitment, training, performance management, career feeler, right surface of ministries and attached departments, and improving compensation for government employees are part of the second generation reforms of the government for building strong institutions in the country. Proposals have been developed to depoliticize recruitment, promotions and career development, enhance the independence and responsibilities of the Federal Public advantage Commission (FPSC) and systematically introduce be based recruitment and promotions.The Civil Service Act has to be amended to suppose performance based career progression enabling the government to reward efficient and competent civil servants. The public sector educational training infrastructure is also being restructured to strengthen skill based training of civil servants at all levels. These are highly demanding reforms and a consensus has to be built among the stakeholders before they can be accepted and implemented. 28. Reforms in access to justice, under implementation since 2001 will deal with delays in the provision of justice, case management, automation, and court formation systems.In addition, human resources, management information systems and the infrastructure supporting judicial system are being revamped and upgraded. Small Causes Courts have been naturalized to provide relief to the poor who have small claims. Alternate Dispute solution mechanisms have proved to be successful in bringing expeditious government of commercial and tax disputes and are being replicated for wider application. IMPACT OF SEPTEMBER 11 EVENTS. 29.A large number of observers and casual empiricists both indoors and outside Pakistan have been making open but untested assertion that it is the considerable aid flows and debt relief resulting from Pakistans part icipation in the war against terror after kinsfolk 11, 2001 that has been responsible for the large reserve accumulation and economic turnaround. It is true that folk 11 did help in mirthful workers remittances from open market to inter bank, in providing some debt relief and new loans and grants, in removing official sanctions, but there were also huge costs incurred by Pakistan.Export orders of more than $1 billion were cancelled. Visits by foreign buyers were suspended and are still avoided due to travel advisory, higher war risk premium was charged on warhead and insurance premiums were raised. 30. The data presented in Table-II shows that even if we assume the extreme case that all official transfers, debt relief and all foreign loans/ credits represent the gift of phratry 11 to Pakistan, this combined amount represents only 8. 5% of make out Foreign Exchange fee of the Country in FY-06.At its acme in FY-02, this amount was 21. 6%. But this entire amount is not a direct fall out of kinfolk 11 because Pakistan has been receiving foreign loans and grants every year since the 1950s. For example, in FY-00 and FY-01, the two years prior to folk 11, we received 16 per cent and 19. 9% of Foreign Exchange Earnings in form of foreign loans and grants. The country had a positive general equaliser and positive current and capital flyer balances in FY 2000-01 much before September 11, 2001 occurred.Even in FY 1999-00 the deficit on overall balance was quite small less than 1% of GDP. Pakistans reserves had started accumulating in FY 2000-01 and SBPs own reserves had almost doubled after paying off foreign currency deposits of almost $1. 7 billion to the non-resident and institutional holders and $. 2. 8 billion in debt servicing to external creditors. Thus, this light that every thing good that has happened to the country is a direct consequence of September 11 is not only false but highly exaggerated for the reasons described below. 1. It should be rec ognized that any external financial relief such as provided in the aftermath of Sept 11 would dissipate quickly and thus remain temporary and transitory in nature until it is accompanied by fundamental structural reforms that clean up the economic landscape, unshackle the entrepreneurial energies of private economic actors, lay the foundations for competitive markets under the vigilant eyes of regulators and expand the productive and foreign exchange earning capacity of the country.As pointed out earlier unless the reforms of financial sector, liberalization of trade and tariff regime, improvement in tax policy and administration, deregulation of oil and gas and telecom sectors and privatization of state own enterprises were put in place it would not have been possible to take advantage of the situation offered by Sept. 11 for its portion to the dynamism of the economy and sustained growth during the last four years. 32.The data presented in Table-II clearly demonstrates that Pakis tans foreign exchange earning capacity has expanded from $ 15 billion annually to $ 40 billion during the last six years or 33% GDP from 20% of GDP. Contrary to familiar perception, it is the Pakistani businesses and nationals working abroad who provide the bulk of the foreign exchange loot of the country. It is hailly fallacious to argue that if the foreigners curiously Americans withdraw their financial service then the country will be in dire trouble.Less than $ 3. 5 billion are received through all types of foreign care while about $ 30 billion are generated by Pakistani businesses and nationals and the remaining amount accrues from foreign direct investment, privatization and international markets. If this pattern of foreign exchange earnings persist in the future the relative share of foreign assistance in form of grants or loans from United States, other friendly bilaterals and multilaterals will continue to decline and will become peanut in the next 5-10 years. 3. In order to further evaluate the veracity of the assertions of the system of dependence of our economy on the US, four key indicators are selected (a) US assistance as percent of Pakistans tot budgetary expenditure (b) US assistance as percent of Pakistans total foreign exchange benefit (c) US assistance as percent of total current account receipts of Pakistan and (d) US assistance as percent of total value of imports of Pakistan.These indicators have been carefully elect to see as to how much distress will accrue to our balance of payments and fiscal accounts if the US for one reason or the other abruptly decides to withdraw its assistance of all types. 34. The results of this analysis shown in Table III indicate that even under the worst case scenario of zero aid flows and no reimbursements for logistics services rendered to the US phalanx the diminution in foreign exchange receipts or budgetary resources would be insignificant varying between 4. 5% of total foreign exchange r eceipts to 7. % of total budgetary expenditures. The other two indicators i. e. the proportions of total value of imports and current account receipts financed by U. S. assistance account for 6. 4 % and 5. 8% respectively not worrisome amounts. 35. There is no doubt that the Government of Pakistan and the people of Pakistan do very much appreciate the financial and moral support demonstrated by the U. S Government at the critical aftermath of Pakistans economy. Several other corroborative benefits accrued to the economy as a result of the U.S bilateral debt forgiveness, strict scruntiny of remittances through informal channels, the US EXIM Bank and OPICs highly positive initiatives towards Pakistan and the withdrawl of all opposite types of economic sanctions. U. S Administration played a helpful role in ensuring larger volume of concessional assistance to Pakistan through the IMF, World Bank and Asian increase Bank. The prompt and generous response to the quake of October 200 5 by the U. S Government, private sector and on-governmental organizations left a very booming impressions in the minds of Pakistanis. 36. US is an important commerce and investment partner of Pakistan and we should continue to remain friends with this superpower. The purpose of this analysis is not to show that we care little for our friendly relations or do not cling to friendship with the Government or the people of the United States. As a matter of fact we should expand our relations with the United States in the areas of higher education, science and technology transfer, trade, investment and labor flows.We should also essay duty free market access for the products exported from the Reconstruction opportunity Zones (ROZs) in the tribal areas as part of our joint strategy to provide economic benefits to the 3 million population living on the poriferous border with Afghanistan. But the main line of work of this analysis is that the pundits in the US who gestate that they c an use the leverage of US official aid to paralyze Pakistans economy are sadly foolish as they have an exaggerated hotshot of the importance of these official flows.Any attempt to see conditions that impinge upon the sovereignty of Pakistan or appointment with our own national interests can be resisted without creating a serious dislocation to our macro economic stability or growth prospects. 37. Despite these reforms, Pakistan is facing many difficult challenges and will continue to face new unforeseen challenges. There is no elbow room for complacency. One fourth of the population still lives below the poverty line.Human Development Indicators remain low as almost half of the population is illiterate, infant and maternal fatality rate rates are high, access to quality education and health care particularly by the poor is limited, income and regional inequalities are widespread, infrastructure shortages and deficiencies persist, skill shortages are winning a toll in the econ omys productiveness while at the same time, there is high unemployment and underemployment. Most worrying to me is that Pakistans image abroad is quite negative.Foreigners are slow to visit Pakistan as they perceive the country to be a dangerous place. The widely distributed preoccupation with the large economies of China and India and the ever-increasing quest to enter these markets is also working to the disfavour of countries such as Pakistan. But the lesson we have learned is that there is no point in complaining and whining about this but to get on with the job, to work even harder, to overcome these deficiencies and constraints and to hope for the best.