Overviewing the impact of Corporate Governance - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 22 Words: 6684 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Did you like this example? In this world of constant changes, corporate are in a need to maintain their financial position and increasing their financial performance. A huge degree of emphasis has been laid on continuous learning, research, development and strategic planning. Corporate governance is regarded as a means to ensure that companies are run properly and at the same time, minimising the risk of corporate failure. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Overviewing the impact of Corporate Governance" essay for you Create order Coyle (2007) has stated that it is an assessment system that serves as a signal indicating mechanism, not only can provide enterprise with a manoeuvrability basis and instruction for furnishing its corporate governance, and provide corporate governance assessment record to the society, but also at the same time, review timely the changes of strategic policy environment and provide a favourable environment for social mutual governance. Historical Perspective of Corporate Governance Coyle (2007) related that the main concerns for better practices in corporate governance started in the UK in the late 1980s and 1990s. The reports are as follows: Report Title and year published Author name Report facts, main arguments, recommendations Cadbury Report (1992) Sir Adrian Cadbury The report was part of the Committee on the Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance. There was no statutory obligation of the code, but the London Stock Exchange (LSE) required all listed companies to include a statement of compliance with the code in their annual report. Myners Report (1995) Paul Myners Various recommendations were made concerning the relationship between institutional shareholders and company managements, including communications. Greenbury Report (1995) Greenbury Remuneration committees should be made up Non Executive Directors (NEDs) to make decisions on senior executive pay. Bonuses for directors should be linked to satisfactory performance criteria. More transparency in remuneration. These recommendations were accepted by the LSE and were incorporated into the listing rules. Hampel Committee (1998) Sir Ronald Hanpel The committee was chaired in 1995 and led in due course to the publication in 1998 of the Combined Code on Good Governance. The report laid emphasis on directors remuneration, relations with shareholders, accountability and audit. The code was divide into two main parts, namely best practices for companies and best practice for institutional investors. Higgs Report (2002) Derek Higgs The report envisaged a more demanding and significant role for NEDs and focused on the effectiveness on NEDs in promoting company performance and accountability An international History of Corporate Governance. Efforts to improve corporate governance in various countries have resulted in series of reports, legislative measures and codes of conducts. Coyle (2007) mentioned that the need for good corporate governance is a matter of international concern. In developing countries the drive for corporate governance arose out of the need to provide sound governance and institutional practices so as to attract FDI. In develop countries, the impetus was on the quality of reporting and reduce the executive abuses. The OECD Principles of Corporate Governance Published in 1999 and subsequently revised in 2004, the OECD principles are to help governments especially those in developing countries to improve their legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks for corporate governance in their respective countries. The six main principles of the OECD are: Ensuring the basis for an effective corporate governance framework Protecting and facilitating the exercise of shareholder rights Ensuring the equitable treatment of all shareholders Recognising the rights of shareholders as established by law Ensuring timely and accurate disclosure on all material information for the corporation Enhancing the mechanism for the boards accountability to the company and the shareholders while ensuring the effective monitoring of the management by the board These principles are not compulsory requirements but are intended to provide countries with adequate guidelines in the implementation of good governance practices. Commonwealth Association for Corporate Governance (CACG) CACG was established in April 1998 in response to the Edinburgh Declaration of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in 1997 to promote excellence in corporate governance in the Commonwealth. The CACG has two main objectives: To promote good standards in corporate governance and business practice throughout commonwealth. To facilitate the development of appropriate institutions which will be able to advance, teach and disseminate such standards. Principles for Corporate Governance: Towards global competiveness and economic accountability (1999) produced various guidelines concerning corporate governance practices. Corporate Governance in the European Union In May 2003, the EU commission presented a communication entitled: Modernising Company Law and Enhancing Corporate Governance in the European Union A Plan to Move Forward. The main reasons for this statement were mainly because of recent corporate scandals and to harmonise the rules for creating a Single European Market. The action plan consisted of six headings: Corporate Governance Capital Maintenance and Health Groups and pyramids Corporate Restructuring and mobility The European Private Company Cooperatives and other forms of enterprises. The King Report (South Africa) The second King Report on Corporate Governance for South Africa (2002) promotes the concept that companies especially in developing countries should take into account the interests of the communities in which they operate while distinguishing between accountability and responsibility. The report stressed that boards must apply tests of accountability, fairness, transparency and be responsible towards the companys identified stakeholders. Mervyn Kings approach might be said to meld corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. The Sarbanes Oxley Act (SOX) 2002 (United States) The need for greater investor protection especially after various corporate scandals starting with Enron has been one of the main thrusts of Sarbanes-Oxley. The official name of SOX is the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002. The SOX covers issues such as: Establishing a public company accounting oversight board Auditor Independence Corporate Responsibility Greater Financial Disclosure Definition of Corporate Governance according to Various Writers. Corporate Governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. Cadbury Report (1992). Good governance is not a new concept. It has existed since the early days civilisation. Both eastern and western civilisation recognized and preached the principles of good governance. The philosophy of good governance can be related also to various religious studies like the Hinduism, Islamism, Christianism, Judaism, Buddhism and others. In the modern business world, the concept of governance has been put in the context of business management, thus corporate management and control and to end up with nowadays highly used business word Corporate Governance Corporate Governance is not a new issue. It has an ancient touch, since the formation of companies. The need for corporate governance arises because of the separation of management and ownership in modern Corporation. In practice, the interest of those who have effective control over a firm can differ from those interests of the suppliers of external finance. The principal-agent problem is reflected in management pursuing activities which may be detrimental to the interest of the shareholders and this problem can be mitigated through the protections derived from good corporate governance. 0Donovan (2003) defines corporate governance as an internal mechanism encompassing processes, policies and people who works for the benefit of stakeholders and shareholders by coordinating sound management practices with integrity and business knowledge which will ultimately lead to a healthy board structure and hence creating a sound corporate structure within the organisation. ODonovan (2003) put forward that a firm implementing good corporate governance practices this can influence its share price as well as the amount of cost required in raising capital determined various external market forces, the financial markets, legislations and global environment. External forces are beyond the control of the board and the board find its difficult to handle external pressures and forces. Corporate governance is now being enthralled in various legislations for the sake of transparency from the part of corporate in order to avoid corporate malpractices. Taking a finance point of view, Shleifer and Vishny (1997) define corporate governance as dealing with the various ways in which finance provider assure themselves of getting an appropriate rate of return on their respective amount of investment. Kakabadse, Kakabadse and Kouzmin (2001) put forward that following on a survey which reads Board Governance and Company Performance: Any Correlations?, carried out by McKinsey and Company who referred to Agrawal et al., (1996), it was clearly noticed that investors willing to pursue a growth strategy and subsequently invested in low valued or table companies were willing to pay for good governance. These investors assumed that a company with good corporate governance will have a better financial performance over a time lag and/or that good corporate governance can ultimately reduce the risks associated and attract further investments. Kakabadse, Kakabadse and Kouzmin (2001) further put forward that though there are substantial research that creates the relationship between corporate governance to company performance, there are equally a growing range of results with different interpretations. The wide range of results can be explained because of the variability of different companies concerning their board structures, attitude towards risk, NEDs participation and others. According to Kakabadse, Kakabadse and Kouzmin (2001), there have been studies done by Zahra and Pearce (1989), Jonnegard and Svensson (1995) and Maassen (1999) based on the integrative models of board involvement, incorporating different theoretical perspectives and various board attributes, suggesting that corporate governance has, at least, an indirect effect on company performance. Taking again a finance point of view, Mathiesen (2002) put forwards that corporate governance is an important field in economics that tries to investigate about how to secure a well developed board management and firm management by using incentive internal mechanisms and legislation. This is basically restrained to the issue of improving financial performance, for example how corporate owners can motivate corporate managers to increase the competitiveness of the firm. Taking an integrated approach of the issue, Sir Adrian Cadbury documents that corporate governance is concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. The aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society. It also encompasses the setting up of an appropriate lawful structure, economical and institutional environment that allows companies to thrive as institutions for enhancing corporate competitiveness. Advancing long term shareholder value, and maximising human-centred development while remaining conscious of other responsibilities to stakeholders, the environment and the society in general. Good Corporate Governance Good corporate governance entails the pursuit of objectives by the board and management that represent the interests of a company and its shareholders including effective monitoring and efficient use of resources. It is influenced by a number of factors, primarily the nature of the overall institutional and legal framework that has been established by governments to effect such good governance. Good Corporate Governance is important at different levels. At the company level, well governed companies tend to have better and cheaper access to capital and tend to outperform their poorly governed peers over the long term. Shleifer and Vishny (1997) suggest that good corporate governance increases the efficiency of capital allocation within and across firms. It also reduces the cost of capital for issuers, helps to broaden access to capital, reduces vulnerability to crises, fosters savings provisions, and renders corruption more difficult. Likely, those companies that insist upon the highest standards of governance are aiming at reducing many of the risks inherent to an investment in an company. Black, Jang, and Kim (2003) supported in their in findings that companies, which actively promote robust corporate governance practices ultimately attract more investors who are willing to provide capital at a lower cost. More generally, well governed companies are better contributors to the national economy and society. They tend to be healthier companies that add more value to shareholders wealth, workers, communities and countries in contrast to poorly governed countries that may result in job losses, the loss of pensions, and even demoralize confidence in securities market. These good governance practices enable corporations to use their capital efficiently, maintain the confidence of investors and attract more patient long term capital. In accordance with OECD (1999) corporate governance enhances strategic focus, builds market confidence and community support, and is an important source of corporate competitive advantage. Hence, the state of corporate governance in an economy is likely to be connected with the state of economic and political governance of that given country. Kaufmann (2003) argues that poor governance of financial institutions increases the liabilities of the financial system. They have distorting effect on public institution, deter foreign direct investment and can lead to future financial crisis. Theories relevant to corporate governance The theories of corporate governance comprise of: Shareholding Perspectives Stakeholding Perspectives Stewardship theory Shareholding Perspectives There are two main theories that explain the shareholder approach governance: The Separation of ownership and control- origin of the Agency theory The myopic market model The Separation of ownership and control- origin of the Agency theory Berle Means (1932) described a fundamental agency problem in modern firms where there is a separation of ownership and control. Jensen Meckling (1976) further define agency relationship and identify agency costs. Agency relationship is defined when a principal appoints an agent to undertake a specific task. The relationship is recognised under the law of agency. There is an inherent conflict of interest between managers and shareholders. If managers are to act in the best interest of owners, the managers must be monitored and rewarded with appropriate incentives. Deegan (2000) refers to the agency relationship to the delegation of decision making from the principal to the agent or managers. The conflict of interests between managers or controlling shareholder, outside or minority shareholder refer to the tendency that the former may extract perquisites (or perks) out of a firms resources and be less interested to pursue new profitable ventures that will increase shareholders wealth. This leads to potential loss in efficiency of generating profits as managers. Act in their self interests. Therefore, the share price that shareholders (principal) pay often reflects such agency costs. To increase firm value, one must therefore reduce agency costs. This is one way to view the linkage between corporate governance and corporate competitiveness therefore reduce agency costs. This is one way to view the linkage between corporate governance and corporate competitiveness by improving corporate financial and overall performance. Letza, Kirkbride, Sun and Smallman (2008) mentioned that two problem occurring out of the agency theory are that it is very difficult to monitor what the agent is doing and the second problem is that the principal and the agent may share different actions because of the different attitudes to risk horizons. Myopic Market Model Letza, Kirkbride, Sun and Smallman (2008) made reference to the work of Hayes and Abernathy (1980), which shared a common view with the principal agent model and that corporations should serve the shareholders interests only, but criticises that the Anglo-American model of corporate governance because of competitive myopia and its consequent pre occupation with short term gains in return, profit and stock price. The Myopic model argues that what is wrong with corporate governance is that the system encourages managers to focus on short term performance by sacrificing long term value and corporate competitiveness of the corporation. Financial markets often force managers to behave in a divergent way from the maximisation of long term wealth for shareholders. It was further argued that the myopic market model contends that corporate governance reform should provide an environment in which shareholders and managers are encouraged to share long term performance horizons. Stakeholding Perspectives Stakeholder model Abuse of Executive Power Model Stakeholder Model The firm is not a standalone entity. It has stakeholders to which it is accountable and which in turn work towards its prosperity. The interdependence between a firm and its strategic shareholders is recognized by Clarkson (1994), who forwarded the idea that the firm operates on a larger environment including the legal and market structure. The main aim of the firm is to create added value wealth for its stakeholders by converting their involvement into final goods and services. Letza, Kirkbridge, Sun and Smallman (2008) in Freeman (1984) argued that the aim of corporate governance is to maximise wealth creation of the corporation as a whole by taking into account the interests of various groups in the society to which the corporation has an interest either direct or indirect. The efficiency of this stakeholder approach draws on Japan and Germany as examples of successful industrial societies in which stakeholders are given importance while setting corporate goals so as to maximise the interests of the various groups of stakeholders. The main components proponents of the stakeholder theory for the provision of voice and ownership-like incentives to strategic stakeholders that are intended to share the control of the firm between investors and stakeholders through a compound board so as to reduce conflicts of interest and agency costs. The Abuse of Executive Power Model Letza, Kirkbridge, Sun and Smallman (2008) referred to Hutton (1995) and mentioned that the current American corporate governance procedures are in the hands of senior management who may abuse it to serve their own interest instead of shareholders and stakeholders. It was put forward that in Keasey et al., (1997) referred by Letza, Kirkbridge, Sun and Smallman (2008) as Incentive Mechanisms such as share options are a means to reduce corporate malpractices. That is to align more closely the interests of the managers and the shareholders through payment to managers partly with cash and share options. This gives the managers a powerful incentive to act in the interests of the company by maximising shareholder value and stakeholding value. However some managers may indulge in some accounting irregularities in order to increase the value of their share potions. Stewardship Theory The stakeholder theory was put forward by Donalsdon (1990), a management scholar. In this model, managers are good stewards of the corporations and diligently work to attain high levels of corporate profit and shareholders returns (Donaldson Davis, 1994). The authors argue that managers are inspired by non economic factors and given the needs of managers for responsible, self directed work, organisations may be better served to free managers from subservience to NED dominated board. However, supporters of the stewardship model are basically those individuals who contribute their own funds and other resources to non profit organisations to become a director. It is interesting to note that both agency theory and the stewardship theories are contradictory theories, in the sense that the former views the manager as the self seeking agent whereas the latter views the manager as the god steward. Why has Corporate Governance become so prominent today? The East Asian Crisis of 1997 severely affected foreign capital after property assets collapsed The second event was in 2001-2002which saw the collapse of two big corporations namely Enron and WorldCom and the ensuing scandals and collapses like Arthur Andersen, Global Crossing and Tyco. Becht et al., (2002) documents that the world wide wave of privatization of the past two decades, the pension reform and the growth of private savings, the takeover wave of the 1980s, the deregulation and integration of capital markets and recent corporate scandals have lead to corporate governance gaining momentum. Yoshikawa Phan (2001) note intensifying global competition and rapid technological changes force firms to focus on maximising asset efficiency and shareholder value if they want to access funds to fuel growth opportunities. These technological advances reduce transaction costs and information research costs rendering capital markets more accessible to investors. This has fuelled global competition between capital markets and evolution of corporate governance around the world. Benefits of good corporate governance Earnings confidence of shareholders Firstly when good corporate governance is fully implemented, it ensures that large corporations are well run institutions that have earned the confidence of investors and lenders. Donaldson (2003) found good corporate governance is important for increasing investor confidence and market liquidity. This process prevents corruption and management malpractices, while promoting fundamental values of a free market economy in a democratic society (CIPE, 2002). However, CC Okeahalam et al (2003) asserted that countries that fail to establish acceptable standards of transparency and governance within bounds of good law will lose their international repute and will find increasingly difficult to attract foreign and institutional investment. If a company adopts and implement good corporate governance practices, shareholders are retained and new investors are attracted. Institutional investors have indicated willingness to pay a premium for the shares of a well governed company. Around the world, price earnings ratio are higher among companies with good disclosure. Hence good corporate governance is necessary in order to: Create competitive and efficient companies and business enterprises Attract both local and foreign investors guarantee them secure investment efficiently managed, within a transparent and accountable purposes. Enhance the accountability and performance of those entrusted to mange corporations. Growth Effect Growth is likely to be highest when capital is allocated to those financial institutions that use it optimally. A strong system of corporate governance equips investors with the information and confidence necessary for them to lend funds directly to companies. This applies equally to foreigners, who will become more willing to provide their savings to the country in particular to the corporate sector. Likewise, Mervyn King, the governance guru, has observed that foreign capital literally flows to places that exude a perception of good governance. As such, investment should increase, thereby boosting productivity and growth across the economy. In these different ways, good corporate governance can lead to higher economic growth. Stability effect In addition to the growth effect, strong corporate governance can reduce the likelihood of a domestic financial crisis, in which investors lose confidence in the assets which they own. On a broader view, recent research has found a relationship between the state of corporate governance in an economy and the severity of the crises that it suffers. Meesook et al., (2001). Nonetheless, this link should not be over emphasizes. Some countries with good corporate governance have had crises. Other countries with poor corporate governance have avoided them. In his recent excellent survey of the state of corporate governance in India, Omkar Goswani argues that a transparent and well governed company makes good business sense. Economic development effect Corporate Governance has implications for economic development especially in helping to increase the flow of financial capital to firms in developing firms. Without efficient companies or business enterprise, a country will not create wealth or employment. Consequently, without investment, companies will stagnate and collapse. If business enterprises do not prosper, there will be no economic development; no employment, no taxes paid and invariably the country will not develop. As such, developing countries in particular, need well governed and managed business enterprises that can attract investments, create jobs and wealth and remain viable, sustainable and competitive in the global market place. Moreover, results from an extensive study of corporate governance in emerging markets by CSLA Global Emerging Markets, released in April 2001 suggest good integrity and responsiveness to shareholders, competitive advantage and performance. Good corporate governance therefore becomes a prerequisite for national economic development and to operate competitively in a globalised world. Determinants of good corporate governance Discipline in modern corporations in induced by both internal and external factors. The Internal Drivers Internally, effective governance systems are reflected in a set of relationships among the key players in a corporation. Typically, these would be reflected in the companies act, auditing regulations of the company, securities laws and listing requirements of the Stock Exchanges. Internal arrangements differ accordingly to the ownership structure of the company. For a publicly owned company with dispersed ownership, the manner of selection board members is important. The Role of the Board of directors In simpler terms, a board is the link between shareholders and the company. As such, all companies should be headed by an effective board which can lead and control the company. A companys board of directors prepares financial statements reflecting a true and fair view of the operations of the company during the financial year and takes steps to safeguard assets of the company to prevent and detect fraud. Fama Jensen (1983) view the board as the apex of internal decision control systems of organisations. Functions of boards The act of providing counsel and advice to management is a key element of the boards function. Chatterjee and Harrison (2002) found that board of directors in and of itself can be a valuable resource to the firm. Similarly the Report on Corporate Governance for Mauritius (2003) stipulates that it is the board responsibility to provide effective corporate governance, performance and control affairs of the company. Size of the Board of Directors The board should have an appropriate balance of executives, non executives and independent directors. It is essential for the protection of shareholders interest that the board has some directors who are independent from the company and from any dominant shareholder. Having independent directors on the board will normally increase the level of corporate governance as shareholders will have more confidence on the board. Botha (2001) documents independent director presents a broad spectrum of stakeholders and appears to contribute to the success of well performing boards. Regarding the size of the board, it may vary from industry to industry and corporation to corporation as in determining board size, directors should take into account the nature, size and complexity of the company as well as its stage of development. Large corporate usually have eight to sixteen members on their boards. Mak and Yuanto (2003) echo the above findings in firms listed in Singapore and Malaysia when they found that firm valuation is highest when board has five directors, a number considered relatively small in those markets. However, Faleye (2003) presents an interesting proposition. He argues that no one hat fits al and board leadership structure depends entirely on individual firm characteristics such as organisational complexity, availability of other controls over CEO authority, CEO reputation, and power. External Auditors Most listed companies sustain their own internal audit department but to check whether accounts have been prepared in a fair view, they appoint external auditors. The main objective of the external audit is to report on the financial statements prepared by the managers. The detection of fraud and errors are incidental to this main objective. The regulators reliance on external auditors is premised on the belief that the auditors are public spirited and will act on behalf of either the public or the state, and that they are independent of the management. To engender public confidence in the integrity of the external auditor, he must be skilful, careful, diligent, faithful and honest. Such an auditor bolsters the perception of corporate governance. Internal Control and Risk Management An internal control system comprises of control procedures and policies. Internal controls are devices that ensure, as far as possible the orderly and efficient conduct of business. Internal controls and risk management are closely linked because a companys system of internal control has a key role in management of risks that are significant to the fulfilment of its business objectives. Sound internal practices ensure risks are managed and avoided through control mechanism which identify risk, monitor and mitigate them. Communication and disclosure Transparency is believed to be the keystone of good governance. Access to information provides the basis of accountability, performance assessment and attainment of strategic objectives. Information should be prepared and disclosed in accordance with high quality standards of accoutring and financial and non financial disclosure. Thus, reports are encouraged to be transparent and to reflect accountability in order to disseminate timely and relevant information to users. (OECD Principles of Corporate Governance). The External Drivers: As noted earlier, the external drivers of good corporate governance are laws, rules and institutions that provide a competitive playing field and discipline the behaviour of insiders, managers and shareholders. It is found that experience in developed market economies indicates that the legal framework for competition policy, for enforcing shareholders rights, systems for accounting and auditing, well regulated financial system, the bankruptcy system and the market for corporate control are among the institutions that discipline corporations. There is now increasingly momentum internationally towards implementing more laws and government regulations that impose obligations on companies, directors and officers to adopt, implement and comply with good corporate governance. Consequently, failure to do so may lead to legal and criminal sanctions being imposed on the company, its directors and officers. Corporate Governance and Competitiveness Governance systems of countries are accruing in importance presently because of the nature of globalised economy which corporations have to operate in. Hence, supporting globalization needs continuous improvements in information technology and related networks. Coupled with liberalization of financial markets, this is bringing radical changes in investors patterns which made a movement of funds from highly volatile financial market in different jurisdictions. With the erosion of barriers to investment, corporations have to compete for funds and for customers. Consequently, in order to survive in a competitive environment, business enterprises have to restructure their organisations and it is argued that the key to success in this new global configuration. Abiding to codes of good corporate practices will lead to corporations to operate on a longer term and survive as it has been found in the past that many writers have associated corporate governance with corporate performance. From the brief literature on corporate governance, it is seen that the effectiveness of corporate governance had been mainly gauged by performance measures in past studies. However such measures alone cannot fully reflect a companys competitiveness. Corporate competitiveness incorporates on the basis of the studies of Buckley et al. (1998), a firms potential and process of competitive advantage ability to sustain performance such as market share and growth, employment and rewarding of its factors. Likely, as the economic environment becomes competitive, Allen and Gale (2000) come across firms which find themselves under greater pressure to eliminate inefficient governance systems and to provide better protection to investors. As a result, economies characterised by high level of competition should also enjoy a better corporate governance system and higher investor protection. Although international guidelines argue that explicitly or implicitly that good governance practices is associated with corporate competitiveness, theoretical and empirical studies of corporate governance practices and their effects have not provided uniform or conclusive evidence to the fact but instead most studies had been carried out on the relationship of corporate governance and financial performance. During the last decades, most theoretical studies have produced a series of conceptual models explaining the causal relationship between corporate governance and corporate performance. The Empirical Studies of the relationship between corporate governance and corporate competitiveness. The findings of the past studies have found mixed results. The past studies have been classified in parts namely: Board Structure and firm performance Ownership and Control mechanisms Social responsibility and firm performance Many researchers have come to different conclusions. The findings are divided into positive and negative results. Board Structure and firm performance Agrawal and Knoeber (1996) found that more outsiders on the board are negatively related to performance, one rationale was that the boards are expanded for political reasons to include politicians and environmental activists or consumer representatives and they either reduced firm performance or proxied for the underlying political constraints leading to their seat levels. Bhagat and Black (2002) found out from their survey that there is no convincing evidence whether increasing board independence would improve firm performance board independence would improve firm performance. They found no linkage between the proportion of outsiders directors and Tobins Q, return on assets, asset turnover and stock returns. Ownership Concentration Gulger (1999) did a survey by studying the US and UK firms and come to the conclusion that owner controlled firms with a single block of equality exceeding 5% or 10% significantly outperformed manager controlled firms. On the other hand, Agrawal and Knoeber (1996) found no significant relationship between performance and stockholders of block-holders. Social Responsibility and firm performance Veerchoor (1998) found that 26.8% of 500 US corporations with a commitment to ethical behaviour had a higher overall financial performance that those who did not assume explicit undertakings. Daily et al (1997) found in their of 13 activist funds and their holdings in 197 large companies showed that activism had no appreciable effect on the firm performance and stock prices. Gompers, Ishii, and Metrick (2003) shows that companies with strong shareholder rights yielded annual returns that were 8.5% greater than those with weak rights. The more democratic firms enjoyed higher valuations, higher profits, higher sales growth and lower capital expenditures and in one word they are competitive. Empirical Evidence that Good Corporate Governance is at the heart of investment decisions: McKinseys Global Investor Survey Opinion (2002) McKinseys Global Investor Survey Opinion (2002) found that more than 80% of the more than 200 global institutional investors, together representing more than USD 3.25 trillion in assets, indicated a willingness to pay a premium for the shares of a well governed company over a one considered poorly governed but with a comparable financial record. The size of the premium varied by markets from 11% for Canadian companies to around 40% for less strict regulatory regimes like Egypt, and Russia and 30% in Eastern Europe and Africa. In its survey McKinsey Co., found that corporate governance is still at the heart of investment decisions. That is investors still put corporate governance at par with financial indicators when evaluating investment decisions and an overwhelming majority if investors are prepared to pay a premium for companies exhibiting high governance standards. Well governed companies may benefit from a lower cost of capital The report put forward that there are a number of other research that sought to explain the relationship between concerning the perception of the quality of companies to superior share price. The McKinseys survey was opinion based hence the finding is limitary. Hermes Pensions Management Ltd (2004) Deutsche Bank over several years carried out various studies linking corporate governance and financial performance over various markets. According to the Hermes Pensions Management Ltd (2004), Deutsche Bank UK research is based on an assessment of corporate governance practices of the 350 FTSE companies at the end of 200 and 2003 using 50 corporate indexes. It found a direct relationship between share price of the companies and their corporate governance performance. Over the three years of study, the top 10% of the companies in terms of corporate governance practices outperformed those in the bottom by 10% to 25%. Following this study, Deutsche Bank ranked these various companies accordingly to their corporate governance indexes. Deutsche Bank research showed that there was a positive relationship between corporate governance standards and their ROE. The top 20% companies (average 2002 ROE of 15.9%) which were more that the bottom 20% (average 2002 ROE of 1.5%). However this resear ch failed to establish a clear link between qualities of corporate governance and investors current market valuations, measured by the P/E and P/CF as opposed to the historic share price performance. Prof. Tong Lu (2006) Report (2006) Prof. Tong Lu (2006) of the Chinese Centre for Corporate Centre for Corporate Governance and the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences carried out researches on the assessment of corporate governance practices on best 100 Chinese listed companies. Corporate governance assessment system must realise the basic principles of good corporate governance which includes fairness, accountability, openness and transparency. The study showed various observations: Overall assessment for the top 100 Chinese listed companies showed that more improvement in corporate governance is needed in form rather than in substance; improvement originated from the demand for compliance is greater than that originated from that driven by the market. Compared with 2005, the standard of Chinese Corporate Governance has generally improved in 2006, but the pace of improvement is minimal. Overall standard has increased by 4.25% measuring by the scores in our combined assessment. It has been found that there is a need to better emphasised on compliance and information disclosure and transparency by listed companies. The score in responsibilities of board of directors is higher than that scored in roles of stakeholders and shareholders rights, in the year 2005. In 2005, there is no significant difference between the combined corporate governance index scores of Shanghai-Shenzhen listed companies and Hong Kong listed companies; and there are improvements as compared with th 2005 data. Summary. The various theories allow us to understand that good governance practices generate goodwill, investor protection and confidence. Now, there is even more reason for them to improve their governance practices. Numerous recent studies emanating from academic circles show that good corporate governance increases valuations and boosts bottom line. Likewise, various studies have shown the link between corporate governance performance and share price performance. However these various researches have been based on mostly perceptions and opinions and the results obtained through the assessment of corporate governance practices have been interpreted differently though the basis the techniques and basis of evaluation are the same. Chapter 3 Corporate Governance in Mauritius Corporate governance issues are attracting worldwide interests. It is being actively involved and promoted in every sphere of life whether politics, business, social and environmental whereby all these issues are under good governance banner. It was necessary for the government to take certain steps to enhance its institutions and governance practices to be able to reinstate investors confidence and improve business climate. Good governance is a means of achieving sustainable economic and social objectives, accountability, transparency, responsibility, fair treatment, meritocracy, management disciplines and fight against corruption. How will the Corporate Governance help Mauritius? Globalisation and liberalizations of economics have presented challenges an opportunities for Mauritius particularly its production structures. The need to improve the governance is critical for enhancing productivity, competitiveness and self dependency to play an essential role in issues of international, financial and economic policy. The re-engineering of entities will improve the investment climate and raise stakeholders confidence in the corporations. Corporate Governance encourages long term investment flows by building market confidence and for those companies dealing on the international scene, corporate governance is even more essential. A lack of good corporate governance in a market will lead to a situation whereby capital will leave that market with the click of mouse and then capital will flow elsewhere. Hence, investors will determine which companies and which markets full stand the test of time and endure weight of greater competition. In 2001, new measures were introduced to comply with the codes of best practices worldwide and included: New Companies Act Introduction of IAS Introduction of new listing rules for companies on the SEM Ltd Setting up a national committee on Corporate governance Report on corporate governance as per world Bank Reports on Standards and codes in respect of Auditing, Accounting, Insolvency and Rights of creditors. Ah-Hen (2004) argued that good corporate governance plays a pivotal role in the economy and is a solution for, weak and legal regulatory systems, poor banking regulation and practices, inconsistent accounting and audit standards and unregulated capital markets. Likewise Ah-Hen (2004) mentioned about ineffective oversight by corporate boards. The Report on the Observance of Standards and Codes (ROSC) Mauritius underwent a Corporate Governance Country Assessment program, the results of which were published in October 2002. This was a joint initiative of the World Bank and the IMF. The report was based on the assessment of the corporate governance practices of listed companies in Mauritius. The assessment provided a benchmark against OECD principles applicable to the state of corporate governance in Mauritius, that is, to what extent the OECD principles were observed in the quoted firms. Accordingly, the strengths and shortcomings in the corporate governance structure were reviewed and appropriate policy recommendations made. Some of the board recommendations were t: Establish basic Shareholders rights Address stakeholder issues Improve information disclosure Better define the role and power of the supervisory and management board The Code of Corporate Governance for Mauritius (2003) The report on corporate governance for Mauritius was produced by the joint effort of the National Committee on Corporate Governance, Mervyn King who provided advice and guidance and FIRST INITIATIVE, an organisation supporting corporate governance programmes worldwide provided the required funding. The code takes on a broad approach and develops guidelines concerning the main provisions that are Section 1 Compliance and Enforcement Section 2- Board and Directors Board Committees Role and Function of the Company Secretary Risk Management, Internal Control and Internal Audit Auditing and Accounting Integrated Sustainability Reporting Communication and Disclosure Relationship with Shareowners According to Section 1.1, the Code shall apply to companies listed on the official list of the Stock Exchange of Mauritius, banks and non- banking financial institutions, large public companies, state owned enterprises and large private companies. Compliance with the code is on a comply or explain basis where companied will acknowledge their compliance with the provisions or state their reasons for non compliance in their annual reports.

Assessment A Profile Assessment Of San Mateo County

Profile Assessment of San Mateo County As of January 2017, there are about 39,523,613 people in the state of California, and 770,203 of those reside in San Mateo County. (Neill, DataPile, 2017) San Mateo County stands the Spanish name for Saint Matthew early on 1776, and most of its terrain came from San Francisco County and Santa Cruz County. Moreover, its current structure exists with the philosophy ‘what gets measured, gets managed.’ (Sustainable San Mateo County, 2017) Countyhealthrankings.org shows that San Mateo County is the top performing county as per its overall healthcare outcomes, however, does this merely illustrate all its community are getting the best quality of healthcare? Given this rating--substantially--data herein†¦show more content†¦San Mateo County firmly believes that community health is not limited to the traditional health measures. San Mateo County defines community health as a form of services arrangement (as abovementioned) in measu ring health quality of life. This standpoint reflects that community health influences many factors and cannot be understood efficiently without the reflection of the trends outside its scope. One trend to illustrate this is the percentage of the San Mateo County adult population who establish healthy behaviors. These behaviors  ¬include respondents who do not smoke cigarettes, are not overweight, exercise at least three times a week for 20 minutes, and who eat an average of at least five servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Only 5.4% of San Mateo County survey respondents report each of four primary health behaviors, a combination which limits cardiovascular and cancer risk. (Professional Research Consultants, Inc., 2013) The idea here is that the statistical findings are way lower compared to its preceding years (2001 with 9.2% and 2008 with 8.5%). We may, therefore, conclude that San Mateo adult residents are starting to exhibit healthy behaviors by not smoking cigarettes, not being overweight based on body mass index, exercising adequately, and including fruits and vegetables in their balanced nutritional diet. Ease of access to affordable fresh produce is an integral part to upholdShow MoreRelatedSocial Assessment : Santa Clara County1857 Words   |  8 PagesSocial Assessment Demographic Profile Santa Clara County has a growing diverse population regarding age, race, language, cultures, and sexual orientation. There are 1,874,526 residents, with 26.6% are ages 0 to 19, 29.4% are between 20 to 39 years old, 28.3% are between 40 to 59 years old, and 15.7% are 60 years of age and older; specifically, 11% of the total population is seniors aged 65 and over (California Department of Finance, 2014). At present, Santa Clara County has the second fastest growingRead More_x000C_Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 PagesStatistics and Data Analysis This page intentionally left blank Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis Third Edition Roxy Peck California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Chris Olsen George Washington High School, Cedar Rapids, IA Jay Devore California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Australia †¢ Brazil †¢ Canada †¢ Mexico †¢ Singapore †¢ Spain †¢ United Kingdom †¢ United States Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis, Third Edition Roxy Peck, ChrisRead MoreMedicare Policy Analysis447966 Words   |  1792 Pagescoverage made by that State in the year 12 ending July 1, 2009; and 13 (B) in the case of a State which required 14 health insurance issuers to contribute to a State 15 high-risk pool or similar arrangement for the 16 assessment against such issuers for pool losses, 17 the State shall maintain such a contribution ar- 18 rangement among such issuers. 19 (6) LIMITING 20 PROGRAM EXPENDITURES.—The Secretary shall, with respect to the program— (A)

Theory and Practice of Family Therapy and Counseling

Question: Discuss about the Theory and Practice of Family Therapy and Counseling. Answer: Introduction Issues in families can arise even in the healthiest of situations, which ultimately leads to frustration, pain and challenging interactions. These issues bring in resentments, irritations, disappointments, anger and guiltiness among the members. Families are for support and love. However, in some families, there are disconnection, misunderstanding, stress and unfulfilled needs. These kinds of family issues can influence the relation among family members negatively. Some major issues that affect the relationship amongst family members include financial concerns, substance abuse, divorce issues, chronic diseases, academic issues in children and other health concerns. However, families can take the help of professional to assist them in addressing these concerns. In such cases, several family therapy theories can help (Carlson et al., 2013). Treating psychological problems within families with the help of theories did not start until the middle of 1950s. It evolved from the existing paradigms of psychoanalysis, and today more contemporary cultural influences are favouring the faster approach of providing therapy to families as opposed to every individual member of the family. This advent of providing therapy to family brought in a completely new way of comprehending and elucidating human behaviour and conduct. Modern contextual perspectives repositioned the accountability of the concerns and the centre of therapy from private internal worlds to the whole family. This shift also called for a new way to define the existence of emotional distress. In this context, several concepts and theories in this field were developed and then influenced the development of family theory (Barker Chang, 2013). In this study, different family therapy theories would be discussed and explored to intervene in Bob and Jills case. The two theo ries discussed in this study are the theory of feminism and theory of post-structuralism. Theory of feminism is used in therapies that require equalising the efforts of both man and woman. Post-structuralism theory is used in family therapies where there is a need of analysing a situation in different ways instead of only one approach. Theory of Feminism Feminist therapy is a man focused, politically instructed demonstrate that positions treatment inside a social setting. It will probably engage the individual in treatment, empowering that individual to possibly address parts of social change, support the self and build up a solid self-thought, and redo and redesign particular sentiments about character. A therapist will work for the most part work to adjust slant, exhibit an aggregate view of abuse, and offer a certifiable, non-dynamic relationship that underlines shared attribute and correspondence. Those in treatment may share their particular stories and in addition get some answers concerning the therapist's encounters. This sort of therapy as frequently as conceivable has the impact of blending those in treatment to affect social change, and people may in like way, through therapy, wind up being better arranged to perceive themselves (Braverman, 2013). Sex is a critical thought in feminist therapy. Individuals often swell sexual presentation in with normal sex, and however various individuals do perceive their sex consequently, different more don't. A particular significance of original presentation can be influenced by things, for example, mental points of view and encounters, societal models and desires, social sentiments and customs, typical questions and contrasts, and theories and inclinations (Bograd, 2014). Feminist therapists may give careful thought to sexual acquaintance hypotheses and inclinations with help those they are treating see how they were connected to sex. Sexual presentation hypotheses here and there incite questionable points of view toward a specific sex, and these mentalities can add to separation, misuse, hurt, and other hazardous encounters. Feminist therapy can help individuals better portray their sexual acquaintance character altogether with both better understand themselves and society (Bepko, 2014). Feminist therapy's accurate perception of sexual presentation settles on it a strong decision for individuals who are transgender or sex assortment. Right when a man's sexual presentation character or expression contrasts from the sex transferred in the midst of work, or when a man's sex is not effectively identifiable, feedback and separation occasionally result. Different people have been hurt by prompting, viciousness, and human rights infringement. These encounters may lead some to scan for remedial reinforce recalling an ultimate goal to address these issues, and moreover any mental torment they may seeing along these lines, and investigate their sexual presentation personality in a guaranteed situation (Capuzzi Stauffer, 2016). Nevertheless, feminist therapy has contained women helping women, show day feminist therapy is enthusiastic about couples, families, kids, and individuals of any sex. Since the mending relationship is an affiliation, men, correspondingly as whatever another get-together, will customarily envision that it is basic first to understand what they require from treatment. For instance, a therapist may help a man perceive how his original presentation part has restricted him by some methods or fortify him in investigating the ways society has affected his capacity to express feeling. Some extraordinary issues tended to might join closeness, emotionality, defencelessness, and the support of affiliations that are not in light of a power chain of noteworthiness (Goldenberg Goldenberg, 2012). Feminism and its integration in family therapy have the potential for freeing changes to happen in the relationship between women, men and kids. Bitter (2013) opines that a feminist utilisation of psychotherapy brings up the issue about the focal presumptions of the work of psychotherapy. There are two or three reasons why feminist therapy made. The goals of feminist therapy is that the customer will twist up noticeably mindful of one's sexual presentation part socialization process, to see covered sex part messages and supplant them with convenient sentiments, to motivate aptitudes to achieve change in the earth, to build up a wide collection of practices that are uninhibitedly lifted and to contort up perceivably truly controlled. The primary subjects are investigating weight and preventions, understanding control and power issues, checking on outside obliged that affect coordinate, comprehending how to perceive fitting commitment, looking at one's values and examining the signific ance of life. It is vital that the feminist therapist bears on in a libertarian part. To do in like manner, they should be touchy to the way that they may abuse their imperativeness in a relationship, not diagnosing superfluously, not giving understandings or heading, not tolerating the unapproachable ace part, and utilising self-prologue to diminish uneven control characteristics between the customer and the therapist. Systems that are utilized by therapists solidify helping the customer understand the effect of sex parts in their lives, to give customers data into ways social issues affect their issues, to underscore control contrasts among men and ladies by and large society eye, to help customers see distinctive sorts of imperativeness that they have and how they and others sharpen their essentialness (Garner Enns, 2012). The benchmarks of feminist therapy include (Burt, 2012): Personal and political setting: A man's issues are reviewed inside the course of action of the individual's social, political, or social setting. Commitment to social change: The reason for therapy is to help the individual and furthermore to have a valuable outcome on society. The value of changing points of view: The restorative framework respects and invites alternative points of view. A libertarian relationship: The medicinal relationship is set up to demystify therapy and to keep a power massiveness between the therapist and the individual in treatment A quality centred approach: A therapist may keep up a central division from illustrative engravings, rename eager success issues, and highlight the attributes of the individual in therapy. Recognition of a broad assortment of persecution: Therapists traditionally express certification of the way that manhandles is harming to all individuals. Theory of Poststructuralism Poststructuralism is a point of view that is exploring a fragment of the suppositions of structuralism. Its birthplaces can be taken after different French learned people, for example, Michel Foucault and Jacques Derrida, and has in this way been impacting all the distinctive fields in which structuralist strategies for determination have gotten hold (Hanssen, 2014). In structuralism, the motivation behind the request is to channel for 'noteworthy structures' or 'focal truths' about individuals. Such a look for 'critical structures' or 'basic truths' can be objective. It is 'critical structure' (e.g., inside identity) that shapes life. Our contemplations, issues, qualities, are related with some inside self. Our characters are settled and important - to be found inside our internal identities. Our characters are ceaselessly reliable. Poststructuralism trusts it is essential to attract regard for the legitimate impacts of the way toward chasing down 'critical structures' or 'urgent tr uths'. One of these impacts in the success purposes behind living has been the progress of different measures and insights on what individuals' lives ought to look like recalling an ultimate goal to be solid. What we are examining for, what we recognise and where we begin from will shape both what we look like and what we will discover. Vernacular and the utilisation of dialect acknowledge an essential part in encircling life (Panizza Miorelli, 2013). What individuals say and do and how we identify with every unusual shapes life, the recommendations that we suit the occasions in our lives, and how we manage these into stories about moreover different people and shapes life, contemplations, our issues, qualities, ourselves are all outcomes of culture and history. They have been put aside a couple of minutes and especially settings. Our characters are reliably made in association with others, with establishments and with more expansive relations of imperativeness. Our characters are m ade up, and relentlessly being made up, of different (every so often conflicting) stories (Barry, 2013). The understanding that our characters are not settled, that they are generally in the midst of the time spent being made is peopling see contrastingly what is occurring in the therapy room. It makes them assume that therapists are in the matter of peopling in the creation and diversion of their personalities (Norton, 2014). The probability of a character being something that is made in association with others, instead of something internal, surmises individuals are attempting now to dependably make a crowd of people to witness the developments that some individual is making in their life. In spite of whether this is having individuals come into the room, or us getting others up with the movements through shaping, people are continually hectically considering who may regard witness this new change. Seeing that the personalities are socially made means individuals are before long more vigilant for how their lives are affected by history, culture, sex, sexuality, class and other more wi de relations of imperativeness. Through drawing in with poststructuralist contemplations, individuals are coming to grasp that their understandings are never targeted, reasonable or respect free. This is requesting that they audit their particular viewpoints and to check compelling their contemplations on others (Carter, 2013). Structuralism gets finally from chronicled foundation. It expects that on the off chance that we watch conclusively, gather information purposefully, and make perceptive clarifications then we can achieve responsible decisions about language and the world (Jackson, 2014). Post-structuralism gets at last from considering. Its systems reliably start by raising instability about what is usually slandered as fundamentally the way things may be. Post-structuralism secures this slant for distrust and increases it. Poststructuralist making tends on to be on a very basic level more emotive. Intermittently the tone is genuine and euphoric, and the style splendid and reluctantly vainglorious. Post-structuralism is out and out more fundamentalist in asking for the delayed consequences of the view that reality itself is academic. Post-structuralism makes what challenged a person to twist up without a doubt terminal nerves about the likelihood of accomplishing any information through vernacular. The verbal sign, in its view, is industriously skimming free of the idea it should dole out. Along these lines, words are constantly dirtied by their inverse energiesyou cannot depict night without reference to a day, or mind blowing without reference to elusive (McNamara, 2012). As per the definition of post structuralism, the issues faced by the members of the family are not imagined, but are active processes. Analysis of the Case Study The family is experiencing family issues from family relationship issues, scholarly and behavioural issues. Other than depending on benefits, Bob is a sole provider for the family and acts as a handyman. Nevertheless, he is jobless right now prompting budgetary requirements. Apparently, the youngsters not nearer to their folks prompting covered feelings of hatred amongst them and their folks. The youngsters, particularly Anthony and Andrew feel that their parent is the reason for their dejection and has come about into investing more energy with their uncle, John. From the case, it appears that John is occupied with some naughtiness that is by all accounts influencing the two young men. Lisa, the most youthful youngster, requests a great deal than their folks can offer. The entire circumstance has achieved distress among the guardians too with Jill reprimanding Uncle John for deluding the kids. Unmistakably, this family requires therapy/intercession. The Feminist theory can be applied to Bob, who is the sole bread earner of the family. It is basic for men to have a touch of feminist office. If feminism is to satisfy its objective of freeing women, men must be a touch of the battle. In reality, men without a doubt bear a more unmistakable measure of the commitment as for finishing misuse of ladies since patriarchal men host been the important blameworthy gatherings of that real abuse. Any substantive theory for social change must offer something to most if not all people from society. Theories, which use hypothetical and elitist lingo, will not be interested in the abused get-togethers most requiring a social value. The theory of poststructuralism can be applied to the situation with Anthony. He behaves rudely with his parents, complaining that they do nothing and abuses them. He gets involved in acts of vandalism too. There are different ways to interpret why he is behaving in this way. According to the theory, there is no one wa y in which his behaviour can be categorised. To solve Bobs hardship of being the sole bread earner in the family, the feminist theory can suggest gender equality in the sphere of educational access, equal pay and ending of gender differences, which can make Jill another bread earner for the family. Both of them can take charge of childcare and housework putting an economic value on individual responsibilities. In the case of Anthony, applying post-structuralism theory asks for looking at his behaviour from a different perspective and finding out what can be the real reason behind his conduct. In the context of post structuralism, every form of experience or action is explainable from different perspectives. Therefore, solving Anthonys problems would require second opinions and looking at things from a different angle. Conclusion In this welcomed production, I address the effect of feminist theory in the family takes a gander at, hurling a basic viewpoint on guessing in both feminist reviews and family considers. I review pointers of the effect of feminist theory on the examination of families and consider the procedure with weights in feminist family theory. Through works that mirror some of my instructive encounters, I talk about a confirmation of articles and books that have been persuading in setting up the gathering of information related to feminist family mulls over. Feminism is to crane ladies, and it supports wise talks and progressions to battle for same rights. It offers support to adversary men, for we can fight with them and outperform wants in any calling or field. Feminism takes the smooth quiet, cut down woman, and changes her into a woman of substance, a woman with strength, and a woman willing to hit a grand slam bat for what she has confided in. Feminism is given to changing every social re quest mentality concerning women, and different minorities. We were all around made indistinguishably; we ought to all be overseen in that breaking point. Post-structuralists call our supposition self "subjectivity." Subjectivity joins our examinations, our recollections, our fantasies, and our feelings. This subjectivity looks for the most part from our conditions, condition, and the learning and practices we find in individuals when all is said in one eye. In any case, in our predictable, ordinary habitations, we see more than one sort of information and more than one procedure for finishing things. There are different, and sometimes, they are in strife. So we, as subjects, are endlessly engineeringpicking one position and a while later another constantly. One minute we pick the general position, the going with we revolt, and the going with we attempt to join clashing positions. References Barker, P., Chang, J. (2013).Basic family therapy. John Wiley Sons. Barry, P. (2013).Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory. Oxford University Press. Bepko, C. (2014).Feminism and addiction. Routledge. Bitter, J. R. (2013).Theory and practice of family therapy and counseling. Cengage Learning. Bograd, M. (2014).Feminist approaches for men in family therapy. Routledge. Braverman, L. (2013).Women, feminism and family therapy. Routledge. Burt, H. (2012). Women, art therapy and feminist theories of development.Revisiting Feminist Approaches to Art Therapy, New York: Berghahn Books, 74-90. Capuzzi, D., Stauffer, M. D. (2016).Counseling and psychotherapy: Theories and interventions. John Wiley Sons. Carlson, J., Carlson, J., Psyd, E., Sperry, L., Lewis, J. A. (2013).Family therapy techniques: Integrating and tailoring treatment. Routledge. Carter, P. M. (2013). Poststructuralist theory and sociolinguistics: Mapping the linguistic turn in social theory.Language and Linguistics Compass,7(11), 580-596. Garner, J. D., Enns, C. Z. (2012).Feminist theories and feminist psychotherapies: Origins, themes, and diversity. Routledge. Goldenberg, H., Goldenberg, I. (2012).Family therapy: An overview. Cengage Learning. Hanssen, B. (2014).Critique of violence: between poststructuralism and critical theory. Routledge. Jackson, L. (2014).The poverty of structuralism: literature and structuralist theory. Routledge. McNamara, T. (2012). Poststructuralism and its challenges for applied linguistics.Applied linguistics, ams055. Norton, B. (2014). Identity and poststructuralist theory in SLA.Multiple perspectives on the self in SLA, 59-74. Panizza, F., Miorelli, R. (2013). Taking discourse seriously: discursive institutionalism and post-structuralist discourse theory.Political Studies,61(2), 301-318. Fuss, D. (2013).Essentially speaking: Feminism, nature and difference. Routledge. Luke, C., Gore, J. (2014).Feminisms and critical pedagogy. Routledge. Springer, S. (2012). Neoliberalism as discourse: between Foucauldian political economy and Marxian poststructuralism.Critical Discourse Studies,9(2), 133-147.

The UK Education System Vs The World

The UK Education System Vs The Rest of the World How does the UK education system compare to the rest of the World? Not all education systems around the World are equal, as different school systems can be influenced and affected by different factors including population, cultures and lifestyle habits, as well as the government resources available to both teachers and students. In order to compare the UK education system to the rest of the World, weve looked into factors including population, national average IQ and average classroom size. Weve also looked into the time spent at school including the expected start and finish times, hours per day and days per year, as well as average starting age versus average leaving age. The English education system is deemed as pretty highly valued, however we can still learn a lot from other countries and other countries can learn from the UK. In order to compare our education system to other schools around the World, weve had a thorough research for ourselves, collated all the relevant data and then compared that data to the education system in the UK. How does the education system UK compare to other ways of academic learning across countries? Read on to find out more and discover our infographic which outlines various data points for you to compare and analyse. Comparing with the UK, weve taken data from Australia, Brazil, China, Finland, Germany, Japan, Kenya, United States, Russia, and South Korea. Schools Around The World Did you know that the Worlds oldest school is the Kings School in Canterbury, England? Educational practices and teaching systems can vary quite dramatically across the globe and different countries will have a different set of rules. To start things off in our comparison of the UK education system vs the rest of the World, weve looked at some of the most interesting facts from international schools. Enjoy! The UK Education System Starting with the United Kingdom, weve had a look at the education system of various countries. Looking into the typical school day, average class size, as well as the average starting age and leaving age, weve been able to analyse the data and compared it against the UK. The academic system in England consists of primary education (which starts from age 5), secondary education (age 11-16), further education (from age 16), and then higher education (from age 18). Did you know that the average class size in the UK is 30? Check out the below image to find out more information. Time Spent At School Different education systems around the World have different processes when it comes to the time which students actually spend at school. Weve analysed the start and finish times of a typical school day, as well as the amount of days spent at school during the year to make an accurate comparison of education systems around the globe. Education in the UK school system often means that a typical school day starts at 9am and finishes at 3.30pm, and therefore is 6.5 hours long. In the UK, there are 190 academic days during the year. Did you know that Brazil and Finland have the shortest education days of just 5 hours? Did you know that Japan has the longest academic year of 230 days? You can check out all that data and more in the below image. Does Class Size Matter? The population of a country can really influence the educational standards and the educational system of a country. The class size can also have an effect on the quality of teaching. For example, the smaller the class the more focus and support the teacher can provide for each student. Weve put together a chart below to help show you the difference in population when compared to the average class size of each country. Population definitely reflects the size of a class. For example, Brazil has a population of 210 million with an average class size of 30+, whereas Finland has the smallest population of just 5 million with an average class size of just 20 students. Starting Age Vs Leaving Age In order to compare the education system in the UK with the rest of the World, weve assessed the average starting ages and the average leaving ages at schools for each country. Playing an important role in the education assessment, average starting and leaving ages can vary quite a bit for different countries and it often depends on the education structure for that country and whether there is a programme available for further education. Did you know that Australia and the UK have the lowest average starting ages at 4 years old? Also, Australia, Germany, Japan and the UK all have the highest average leaving ages at 18 years old. Take a look at the below graph to compare the age ranges for yourself. Sources https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/09/countries-with-best-education-systems/ https://www.infoplease.com/world/world-statistics/school-years-around-world http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-by-country/ https://list25.com/25-countries-with-the-highest-average-iq/ https://www.oxford-royale.co.uk/articles/schools-around-world.html http://ncee.org/2018/02/statistic-of-the-month-how-much-time-do-students-spend-in-school/ https://www.shoezone.com/Blog/back-to-school-whats-school-like-around-the-world https://edtechtimes.com/2016/02/29/how-does-class-size-affect-learning-around-the-world/ https://www.theeducator.com/blog/class-sizes-around-world