Forward Contracts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Forward Contracts - Essay Example Although these simple arrangements can easily mitigate foreign exchange rate risks, there are several advantages and disadvantages of using them to hedge foreign exchange risks (Feng, 2007). The first advantage of using forward contracts to hedge foreign exchange risks is that future rates can be fixed in advance. This therefore eliminates the downside risk exposure. Secondly, forward contracts are more flexible with respect to the amount of money to be covered. Thirdly, forward contracts are relatively simple and straightforward to both comprehend and organize (Feng, 2007). On the other hand options allow the contracting party to settle forward contracts at an agreed and fixed exchange rate, but at any time between two specific dates. This means that option-date forward exchange contracts can be settled at the agreed rate if currency cash-flows occur between the two set dates (Meera, 2009). Although forward exchange contracts are simple agreements that can mitigate exchange rate risks, they have some shortcomings. In particular, it may be difficult to get a counter party who will agree to fix future exchange rates for the time period as well as the amount in question. Secondly, forward contracts do not provide an opportunity for the parties to benefit from favorable fluctuations in the exchange rates. Thirdly, forward markets only exist for major world trading currencies such as the Dollar, Euro, Pound or Yen, but they do not exist for exotic currencies (Doupnik & Perera, 2007). The main disadvantage with options is that the issuer of the option receives the fees upon the specified date and is obligated to buy the securities at the other party’s option. Additionally, options are subject to basis risks and only provide a partial hedge (Meera,

Family Medical Leave Act Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Family Medical Leave Act - Research Paper Example The FMLA also protects employees who take leave to care for a sick parent or child, and who take leave for a serious illness of their own. However, while the FMLA is a definitively a positive thing for individuals who need to care for a newborn or adopted child, it is often not taken, because the employer does not have to pay the employee during leave, and, in the case of taking leave for â€Å"serious† illnesses, the FMLA is often abused by employees who simply do not want to come to work. Furthermore, the employer does not have to give leave, depending on the size of the employer and the status of the employee. If the employee and the employer fit the criteria in the law, then the employer is required to give leave for legitimate reasons, such as caring for a newborn or adopted child. However, there are always cases of employers firing the employees anyway, and, in these cases, employees do have certain rights. This project will explain what the FMLA is, how it protects men and women from being fired for taking care of newborns, how the law is abused by employees, how employers may circumvent the statute, and what rights employees have when they are unlawfully terminated for taking protected leave. The Family Medical Leave Act. ... In 2010, the FMLA was expanded to include members of the military who are deployed to a foreign country, and for veterans who need to undergo medical treatment, recuperation or therapy. The requirements for employees who want to take advantage of the FMLA are that the employee must have worked for the employer for a total of 12 months, the employee must have actively worked for the employer at least 1,250 hours in the past 12 months, and that the employer has at least 50 employees (Jones, 2012). Although, with regards to parental leave, the FMLA allows both mothers and fathers to take leave, one of the focuses of the Act, according to Grossman (2004), is to specifically protect women from discrimination. This is because, unlike men, women have historically been subjected to discriminatory practices, as states have enacted laws which have discouraged mothers from working outside the home. Such laws cited by Grossman (2004) included an Illinois law which prohibited women from the law p rofession; Michigan, which prohibited women from tending bar; Oregon, which limited the number of hours that women could work in certain environments; and Florida, which prohibited women from serving as jurors. Moreover, as Grossman (2004) notes, even after each of these laws were challenged, and struck down, by the United States Supreme Court, discrimination against women still remained, in that women often were not allowed to take administrative leave to care for children. The FMLA was designed to combat this discrimination against women, and it has been combined with the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, explained below, to ensure that women are allowed to keep their jobs after having given birth to

American Intervention in Soviet-Afghan War Essay Example for Free

American Intervention in Soviet-Afghan War Essay During the Cold War, the United States resolved to take a shot at the Soviet Union by siding with Afghanistan and taking great measures to stop Soviet influence and communist ideology. In 1979, the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in an attempt to expand its influence in the Middle East with the absence of American influence. At this point in the Cold War the United States and Soviet Union were more or less at the climax of their dilemma, so the U. S. therefore decided to get involved by fortifying Afghan’s primary rebellious group, the mujahidin. The United States jeopardized homeland security by providing significant support to mujahidin revolutionaries, and in doing so the U. S. helped them hinder Soviet rule over Afghanistan. There are plenty of reasons ratifying America’s lack of foresight and prudence, one being that the state of the Soviet Union was not great as it was. One should take into consideration that the Soviet Union was already in a drastic decline when the United States began to intercede in Soviet-Afghan affairs. Benjamin Frankel, an esteemed writer who wrote an article for History in Dispute, described how there was a prolonged controversy in the Soviet Union on the topic of how to proceed with communist policies (14). Secondly, America already expressed its hard-line policy toward the USSR in a more detrimental way. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan established the Strategic Defense Initiative to protect the U. S. from potential ballistic missile attacks by the Soviet Union. In total, as the ABC-Clio database prescribes in paragraph ten of â€Å"Cold War, 1945-1991†, the USSR spent approximately $80 billion on the Soviet-Afghan War. The fall of the USSR was hastened by its lofty spending on the unnecessary cause. Similar to the economic problems in the Soviet Union, the United States’ actions concerning Soviet-Afghan affairs inflicted great burdens upon the U. S. economy. The United States wasted a substantial amount of money in order to aid mujahidin rebels so they could counteract their Soviet oppressors, but received no compensation in return. As an unknown author from Mount Holyoke College estimates in â€Å"Origins of the Taliban†, the United States lost about $3 billion just on funding these covert ops. The mujahidin and Afghanistan as a whole provided little in return. The mujahidin, for one, only used America for what it provided and discarded the country once transactions were complete. Also, Afghanistan contained insufficient natural resources compared to its Middle-Eastern counterparts. In addition to this action’s negative impact on the U. S. economy, it was also unjustified by the United States’ failure in persuading Afghans to convert to its political viewpoints. The United States did not spread democracy or even impede the Soviet Union’s communist influence on Afghanistan. Instead of acting how it did, the United States should have allowed Afghanistan to develope itself and figure out its own problems to an extent. One sign of progression in the country occurred in the mid-2000s when Afghanistan held its first presidential election. For example, Canada has benefitted by having the foreign policy of isolationism. Shifting back to the mujahidin, Benjamin Frankel describes it, stating, â€Å"Once they helped to push the Soviets out of Afghanistan, they turned their attention to the hated ‘infidel’ West and its ‘satanic’ leader, the United States† (16). Benjamin Frankel went on to speak of how the Afghans were apathetic toward the message of democracy, while they already disdained the ideology of communism (16). These reasons explain why the two parties never became allies and split ways once the Soviets withdrew in 1989. Sometime in the midst of the United States attempting to spread democracy in Afghanistan, the Jimmy Carter regime passed an embargo on wheat and corn against Russia as another attempt to burden the Soviet Union. The Russian Grain Embargo, enacted in 1980, had a negative financial impact on American farmers. This act was drawn up to reciprocate the past ongoing tensions between the United States and Soviet Union which heightened when the United States began to help the mujahidin in 1979. On the subject of U. S. and USSR trade, representative George McGovern stated at a 1980 Senate hearing in paragraph ten on the Annals of American History database that agricultural produce took up 75% of their trade. With this lack of trade, the USSR and U.  S. each deeply suffered. As a result of the Russian Grain Embargo, prices on a bushel of wheat dropped 50? and prices for a bushel of corn dropped 30?. As McGovern later proclaims to the senate in his speech in paragraph nineteen, projected numbers â€Å"do not take into consideration the tremendous increase in cost of production for crop year 1980 for farmers, coupled by depressed markets. † This act, indirectly associated with rising tensions also causing the U. S. to fortify the mujahidin, made live very hard for farmers. The Russian Grain Embargo left a great mark on agrarian society in both the United States and the Soviet Union, but moreso in the U. S. This statement demonstrates the irony behind the embargo. The harm done to the USSR was substantial, though. One may say that the Russian Grain Embargo went with the hard-line policy Reagan put forth toward the USSR, but this argument is invalidated by the financial burdens on America and the Soviet Union. Subsequently in his speech, George McGovern states in paragraph twenty, â€Å"The U. S. omestic blow to the agricultural community can reasonably be concluded to be greater than the one we are delivering, at least in the long run and at least in economic terms. † Plus, Russia was coming off a record low year for crop production, further supporting this act’s injustification. Despite the fact that the Russian Embargo Act was mainly a burden to farm society, it also proved or will have proven to be a burden to other important parts of society. The Russian Grain Embargo also devastated both the United States and the Soviet Union in ways other than agriculturally including everyday citizens. In paragraph eighteen McGovern alludes to his great statistical knowledge, noting that American taxpayers compensated for the debt of the Russian Grain Embargo by paying a sum of $3. 8-5 million. The credibility of the United States as a reliable trade partner skyrocketed due to the embargo. The administration of former President Jimmy Carter probably did not foresee this outcome or even think about it. Another outcome of the act was expanded herd slaughter in Russia. Russians thus consumed bad or in some cases unsanitary meat because of the lack of U.  S. meat shipments. Instead of wasting our time creating unnecessary policies or embargoes or groundlessly creating a powerful Afghan resilient force, the Unites States should have seized other important opportunities. For example, during the period in which the United States sent weapons to the mujahidin, Afghanistan’s neighboring country Pakistan developed a nuclear-weapon program. This is ironic because limiting nuclear-weaponry in any place was apparently supposed to be a chief concern of America, yet we did nothing about it. Pakistan could have shared nuclear secrets with its ally neighbors, thus jeopardizing American security. Benjamin Frankel wrote about the possibility that Pakistan could eventually use their nuclear weapons. In that case, America would certainly regret not committing itself to the issue. Before acting, we have to first ponder all implications – the pros and cons. Either the various leaders of the United States from 1979 to 1989 did not do this or they misevaluated. When a country is already on an nevitable path to its downfall, spending a large amount of money to try to hasten it is unnecessary. Blocking trade to that country is inessential and dumb if all parties involved are negatively affected like in the case of the Russian Grain Embargo. In the end, the Unites States and Soviet Union were burdened by their shortsighted approaches; ergo, we should learn from their mistakes and attempt to fix any remaining consequences. Unfortunately, we may one day have to endure the reper cussions of not taking action if a Middle Eastern country sets off a nuclear bomb.

Major Tasks Of Quantity Surveyor Construction Essay

Major Tasks Of Quantity Surveyor Construction Essay Quantity Surveyor is a professional who work within the construction industry involving building costs. This profession provides a qualification gained following formal education, specific training and experience that provide a general set of skills that are then applied to a diverse variety of problems. These relate to costs and contracts on construction projects. Other areas in which Quantity Surveyor find employment include property surveys for hidden defects on behalf of potential purchasers, running estates, valuating the mineral deposits of mining companies, selling property and even Leasehold Reform Act work. Quantity Surveyor also involves all stages of the project and is usually appointed by the architect or engineer who designs the construction. They act as the financial overseer of a particular project, translating the plans into details costs. The major tasks of Quantity Surveyor include preparation of Bills and Schedules of Quantities of materials, labour and services required in the construction and equipment of building or engineering work. Traditionally, much of the work was included in Bills of Quantities as prime costs sums. Bills of Quantities, for example, consist of large quantities of estimate few items. Because much of the work involved is at or below ground level, the quantities are normally fairly correct, with a full remeasurement of the work that is actually carried out. Also as there is not the same direct relationship between quantity and costs, contractual claims and potentially is more likely event. In addition, quantity surveyor should also has frequent dealings with the different working rule agreements, day work rates and other documents such as Civil Engineering Procedure, which is published by the Institution of Civil Engineers. Another major task of Quantity Surveyor is giving advice on cost management or value management from time to time. The basis of the construction project in the context of forecasting, analyzing, planning, controlling and accounting. For example, Quantity Surveyors are the cost and value experts of the construction industry. Their responsibilities include advising clients on the cost and value implication of design decisions and the controlling of construction costs. Great importance is now attached to the control of costs on the majority of the projects. Clients and designers are disposed to making changes after the contract has been signed, and to order additional works that were not visualized. Quantity Surveyor also needs to give an opinion on alternative proposals and evaluate the costs. Once the decision is made to build the project by the client, Quantity Surveyor will recommend the client on proper to contract arrangement as well as the legal contract and conditions under which the building will be constructed. Quantity Surveyor also action on behalf of the client advises the architect and engineer on the cost implications. This includes the different construction methods, alternative choice of materials, size and quality of the project. This is also to ensure that each element is settling with the cost plan allowance and the overall project cost remains within the budget. Besides, Quantity Surveyor is a strong position to take a leading managerial role throughout the development of a project. For example, they are able to assess the implications of changes in design, site conditions and working arrangements and give the client accurate budget and time estimates. Besides that, preparing tender and contract documents are also one of the major tasks of Quantity Surveyor. Quantity Surveyor needs to prepare these tender documents at the end of the process. When the project is near to the tender stage, the different firms that may be interested in constructing the project should be ready the designs for construction projects. However, it is also recognized that the process is too long and frequently still unsuitable as compared to other countries of Western Europe and in different parts of the world. During the latter decades of the twentieth century, much effort was made to reduce overall design and construction time periods as well as attempting to reduce the time spent on site by the contractor. After that, Quantity Surveyor will recommend the contractor that suitable for the projects to the client so that client can select a suitable contractor to complete the project. As a conclude, Quantity Surveyor plays an important roles in construction industry. Quantity Surveyor needs to prepare the Bills of Quantities, tender documents, and procurement. Besides, Quantity Surveyor also has to advice the client on appropriate contract arrangement, cost management or value management. Quantity Surveyor is now retained to help clients develop their strategy for managing all of their construction projects. The skills required by Quantity Surveyors in preparing and ensuring good quality of documents for construction projects. Quantity Surveyor manages all costs that are related to building projects, from the initial calculation to the final figures. Quantity Surveyor also seeks to minimize the costs of a project and enhance value for money, while achieving the required standards and quantity. A Quantity Surveyor may work with either the client or the contractor, working in an office or on site. The title of the job may also be referred to as a construction cost consultant or commercial manager. Below is range of skills that the profession would need to continue to develop if it wished to maintain its role within the construction industry. For example, knowledge base that includes construction technology, measurement rule and conventions, construction economics, financial management, business administration, construction law and a skill base that includes management, documentation, analysis, appraisal, quantification, synthesis and communication. There are two types of skills, one of them is soft skills and the other one is hard skills. Some example of soft skills is responsible. As a Quantity Surveyor we should practice responsibility for our reputation depends on it and most important we calculate sums, prepare tender document and the contract. Besides, the other example of soft skills is able to work with people. Quantity Surveyor has to work with architect, civil and structure engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering and the most important is to work with client or developer. Quantity Surveyor should have good communications with all of them especially when preparing the tender document and procurement. Besides that, calculation is one of the examples of hard skills that a Quantity Surveyor should practice example, a Quantity Surveyor must have strong basic in calculation and understanding of the principles involved in discounting the value of future receipts and payments. Another example of hard skills is computer literacy. Computer literacy requires an understanding of the following two related areas of computer knowledge:- Knowing computer capabilities and limitations General understanding of the organization, capabilities and limitations of the various machines, example the hardware. Knowing how to use computer Familiarity with the common uses or applications of computers. Comfortable working with pre-written software. The other of the hard skills is accounting skills. It is a fundamental and important business skill and as such is important to the quantity surveyor in general. The primary purpose of keeping accounts is to provide a record of all the financial transactions of the business, and to establish whether or not the business is making a profit. The accounts will also be used:- In determining the partnersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ or companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s tax liabilities. To support an application to a bank for funding. To determine the value of business in the event of a sale. In addition, Quantity surveying require a range of technical skills. Qualified surveyors must be able to read architectural drawings and understand construction processes. They find that an admiration of mechanical and electrical installations is valuable, together with an understanding of their interface with other parts of the construction. As quantity surveyors are concerned with financial matters, strong numerical skills are essential. In building surveying, ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s important to have a thorough understanding of regulations and laws so made to ensure that they are followed. Besides that, the work is volatile and so Quantity Surveyor needs to be flexible and able to think on feet. Creativity might help Quantity Surveyor to solve unexpected problems. As a conclude, Quantity Surveyor needs to have good attitude, have good communications skills as you could be required to express your opinions both verbally and on paper, able to work with others and can work well in a team, have a sound knowledge of building construction, skilful in calculation, accounting and computer literacy, and technique skills that able to read architectural drawings and understand construction processes. All of this is important to a Quantity Surveyor to ensure good quantity, accurate costing, and good quantity in preparing the tender documents and procurement.

Toni Morrison and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese :: Biography Biographies Essays

Toni Morrison and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese In this I essay will be discussing two unique authors, Toni Morrison and Elizabeth Fox-Genovese. Morrison is a Nobel Prize winning author, and Fox-Genovese, is a history professor at Harvard. Both of these women have interesting perspectives on race and gender. According to the articles I have read, Toni and Fox-Genovese claim the way people view women and minorities is wrong. In a Vibe Magazine interview, Toni claims that In a recent British nanny case, there was "complaint about the mother not being home with child...she she should have been home with her children, said some people" (Vibe 1998 p.2). Morrison states that it would be an entirely different situation, had the mother been a poor black women. A black women "should work, even if that work is taking care of somebady else's children" (Vibe 1998). This is a wrong way to look at things; "we fought a long time to have 'Women taking care of children' understood to be work. Now its understood to be something else" (Vibe 1998 p.3). According to Toni, people size up who you are by what you look like, what your name is, and by what you do. However this is only "part of who you are. When I was a little girl, a man came up to me and said, 'are you a Willis?' - referring to my mother's maiden name-'I thought so, by the way you walk.' I moved to New York and people said, 'What do you do' So you say' I'm a writer..but you that's only part of who you are" (Vibe 1998 p.3). Often people wrap their identity in what they do. This can be troublesome when your not performing to someones expectations, one might think there is some thing wrong with who they are, which is not true. The same thing applies to gender and race. It is unfair to already have a preconcieved notion about someone without checking him or her out first. Fox-Genovese claims that many articles of literature exclude certain people. Like Morrison, Fox-Genovese agrees that elite culture "denied the values and perceptions of all others and imposed itself as an absolute standard" (Fox-Genovese 1998).

Water Pollution in Canada Essay examples -- Environmental Pollution Ess

The industrialization of Canada is severely affecting the nations lakes, streams, and rivers. If something is not done to improve the situation it is going to have some severe environmental problems in its future. The following essay will be looking at the factors that cause pollution, and the effect that pollution has on the environment of Canada. It will also explore some of the methods used to treat and clean-up wastewater, and oil spills. Today pollution is very high in both inland and marine waters. All different types of water pollution are contributing factors in this problem. Here are some things that are associated with pollution: Pathogens: Pathogens are disease causing bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. They usually come from human sewage. As pathogen numbers increase, so does the risk of human health. Biochemical Oxygen Demand: Organic wastes that decay in a body of water. decrease the amount of oxygen found in it. The living things in the lake need oxygen to survive. If the oxygen level is depressed to zero, all fish in the lake die. Any decomposition that does not contain oxygen starts to generate noxious gases such as Hydrogen Sulfide. Pulp and paper mills, and municipal sewage causes BOD. Nutrients: Nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, enrich waters and accelerate the aging of lakes and streams. Also, the result of this is rich plant life which prohibits recreational activities. Plankton blooms depress oxygen levels (as mentioned before) and therefore, endanger living organisms. Major sources of nutrients are municipal sewage and agricultural runoff. Toxic Materials: Can affect the health of aquatic organisms and their consumers, and the people who drink the contaminated water. The toxicants include lead, mercury, DDT, PCB, benzopyrene, oil, and dibutyl phthalate. These chemicals enter the lake through dumping by the factories. Temperature Changes: Temperature changes from waste heat discharges (like from a nuclear power plant) can cause pollution. This happens if their elevation reduces dissolved-oxygen levels, and accelerates eustrophication, which in turn affects the ecological processes and blocks the migration path of fishes. Acidification: Acidification (acid rain etc.) Is caused by sulfur and nitrogen oxide in the rain, which is caused by automobiles and large industries. Temperature Changes: The... ... 40,000 gallons) per ton of steel manufactured. A typical metropolitan area discharges a volume of wastewater equal to about 60 to 80 percent of its total daily requirements! The rest is being used for washing cars, watering lawns, and for manufacturing processes such as food canning and bottling. Infiltration: This occurs when sewer lines are placed below the water table or when rainfall goes down through the earth to the pipe. We do not like it because it means that the piping system and the treatment plant have to work extra hard Storm Water Drainage: This is simply the water from rain, melted snow, etc. draining into our pipelines and sewers where it goes to a treatment plant to be treated, but there is nothing wrong with it. In conclusion, From all the points I have brought up it is easy to see that the more people there are in the world the more water pollution there is going to be. That doesn't mean that we have to stop having children, what it means is that we have to start watching where we drain our polluted water, and start to use our resources more wisely. We should also be more careful with hazardous chemicals , and things like oil drilling, etc.

Political Culture Essay

How to face difficulty appealing to voters across gender or racial lines in the 2008 Presidential elections candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. For the first time in the U.S. history, the presidential nominees is an African-American man (Barack Obama) and a woman (Hillary Clinton) has been recognized by political expert as a ground-breaking.     The defining issues of the United States presidential campaign are gender and racial identity. 1) Do gender or race issues pose challenges to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama? Why or why not? Whether they like it or not gender and race issues will pose challenges to Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.   Since Obama is an African-American black guy and Clinton is a woman, they can ¢t help voters divide according to gender and race as much as they prevent that to happen. In terms of my personal preference this is a no contest.   But of course they have different tactics to win for the Democratic vote.   For one moment let ¢s forget about race and gender that Obama and Clinton lie outside  ¡the norms of United States politics.   Every day in business the clash between them is being played out.   Barack as new and Young Pretender.   They are both energetic and full of ideas.   We always know they are destined to do very well but we never know when, or if, they will reach that level.   They are thoroughly likeable but sometimes selfish.   Clinton the executive who has risen over the years by undramatic effort and symbolize experience.   They ¢re both ready to compromise because they know no one ever gets all they want, but they are both steady and intelligent. I think that the emphasis of this election should be on the things that Clinton and Barack represent in terms of National choices rather than on the individuals.   2) Are American voters capable of voting across gender or racial lines? Why or why not? No.   The current generation of American voters according to political experts, argue that casting votes for candidates are capable regardless of race or gender. I think the most important thing in voting is that people simply have to follow the content of their hearts.   What they think and what’s on their mind that is going to be in the best interest of the country.   Even for those who are non-partisan, the important thing is that the issue that comes across most is the need for a change in the United States.