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Letscommunicate Ltd
Introduction

Letscommunicate Ltd produces mobile phones for sale in supermarkets. In today’s competitive market of mobile phones with short product life cycles, it is important for mobile phone producers to develop and market products that not only meets the customers demand for features at a certain price level but also generate the desired profits. This essay analyses the benefits and limitations of using target costing and life-cycle costing systems over the existing costing and performance measures used by the company. The current techniques used by the company are useful for keeping costs under control but they do not provide an indication of either the maximum costs allowable for defined product features or profits over the total life of a product.

Target costing

Target costing is a method to determine the cost at which a product with specified parameters must be produced to generate the required rate of return. It involves cost analysis during the developmental phase as well to keep the overall costs below the threshold. The cost control techniques currently used by the company are useful in managing costs during production stage. However, moving cost management efforts from the production stage to the product development stage translates into higher profits because of lower costs . This is particularly useful for companies producing mobile phones for supermarkets because supermarkets drive tougher bargains.

The benefits of target costing are higher if specific targets for costs and product features are established earlier in the product development cycle . Cost analysis in earlier stages of the product development may indicate whether it is feasible to produce a mobile phone that not only meet customers’ expectations of price and quality but also generates the desired returns for Letscommunicate Ltd. Also, modifications to the product in the initial development stages cost less and will increase the company’s profit and ability to compete better.

However, the target costing concept will take lower priority if Letscommunicate were to focus on meeting fast time-to-market demands because of shorter time to launch a mobile phone . It is also difficult to forecast price in the future due to rapid technology developments in mobile phones and changes in customer preferences .

Life-cycle costing systems

The competitive nature of the mobile sector means that mobile producers have to not only manage with lower profit margins and shorter product life but also spend a significant amount on developing new products and features. This means that costing methods like absorption costing systems that only look at production costs are less useful because they neglect research and development costs in evaluating profitability of a product. Life-cycle costing systems overcome this drawback as they evaluate costing from the research and development phase through to the eventual conclusion of a product’s life. This approach is useful in determining the overall profits from a product like a mobile phone that has high development costs and a short product life due to new products being launched constantly by competitors.

The major challenge of using the life-cycle costing system is that it would be difficult for Letscommunicate to estimate full life-cycles of a mobile phone in a rapidly changing environment and increasing competition.

Conclusion

Target costing overcomes some of the drawbacks of the current costing and performance techniques used by Letscommunicate as it focuses on maximum allowable costs during the development phase so that the company can generate the required returns. Life-cycle costing is useful as it will incorporate high development costs and short product life in determining the feasibility of a product.

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Executive Summary

The company’s profits are falling and there is a build-up of inventory within the production process. This report considers three management systems which could rectify the situation. Considering theory of constraints, just in time and programme evaluation and review technique, the report recommends that more information regarding the cause of the problems is undertaken, and a suitable programme of revaluation of the business processes is undertaken.

Introduction

The role of management accounting in the organisation has become so much more that the reporting of the score to managers (Hansen, Mouritsen 2006). In the wake of the decline of Western Manufacturing and the relevance crisis of management accounting to modern business as outlined by Kaplan and Johnson in ‘Relevance Lost’, the traditional cost accounting approach has been largely replaced by alternative methodologies (Kee, Schmidt 2000). The role of the management accounting in the modern firm is not only to report the score, but to seek to influence the score by using techniques and theoretical approaches to improve the business processes. As such it is important for managers to understand the use and usefulness of a variety of alternatives to traditional accounting approaches, especially traditional cost accounting and look to introduce other techniques which may have practical advantages for the firm (Dugdale, Jones 1998). There is no one size fits all approach which will work in any case and the application of cost accounting can and will always provide key information about how the business is doing in terms of its goals. Indeed many of the newer techniques focus on particular applications within industry and each of them has something to offer the firm in terms of improving the business processes (Plenert 1993). This report considers three approaches in the context of practical application to a range of common problems, problems which may be responsible for the inventory build-up of the firm in question and its declining profits. The approaches are the Theory of Constraints (TOC) and the attendant logic of Throughput Accounting (TA), Just in Tim Inventory Management (JIT) and wider implications to ‘Lean’ manufacturing methodologies and the Program Evaluation and Review Technique framework (PERT). The report outlines the main features of these methodologies and the advantages and limitations of them with specific reference to their usefulness in a variety of practical situations. The report concludes that each of the methodologies has something to offer and that any management decision must be based on the goals and objectives of the company and its strategic direction.

Theory of Constraints and Throughput Accounting

Developed by E.M. Goldratt as a response to the criticisms of traditional cost accounting, the TOC states that the traditional variable costs of Cost Accounting do not apply, or rather, they apply with less rigour in a modern management situation (Bragg 2007). In the past Labour was seen as a totally variable cost, workers would work to the management’s discretion and short time and layoffs were dictated by the level of production need. Goldratt argued that this was no longer the case as changes to society and legislation had meant that the workforce was more of a fixed cost for the organisation (Wei, Liu et al. 2002). The TOC states that even though modern managers are still evaluated by labour use, such efficiencies can lead to decisions which harm the organisation rather than help optimise production. This criticism led Goldratt to develop the TOC as an alternative system, identifying ‘constraint’ as a decision relevant concept in the service or production process (Watson, Blackstone et al. 2007).

The central idea to TOC and TA is that each organisation has a specific goal (or a set of specific goals) which can be effected by decision making, better decision making leads to better completion of the goals (Linhares 2009). If one takes the normative assumption of a profit orientated organisation as the maximisation of the owner’s wealth, then the ‘goal unit’ will be the ‘throughput contribution’ (TC) which is similar to the ‘total contribution’ marginal costing (Hansen, Mouritsen 2006). The difference in TA is that ‘throughput contribution’ is defined in the TOC as Sales (S), less total variable cost (TVC) which is he cost of raw materials (not labour). This is placed in the context of two further conceptual mechanisms, Investment (I), which refers to money tied up in the system in terms of inventory and work in progress, as well as with machinery and buildings and the like, the second is Operating Expense (OE) which is the money spent by the system on generating goal units, but not the cost of raw materials, so items such as utilities and wages (Davies, Mabin et al. 2005).

This delineation of the costs of production and services allows the processes to be viewed in terms of a number of optimization questions. Typically firms need to ask themselves how throughput (TC) can be increased, how Investment (I) can be reduced and how Operating Expense (OE) can be reduced. These questions in turn will affect the Net Profit, Return on Investment, Productivity and Investment.

Therefore it can be argued that the maximisation of throughput contribution is key to the maximisation of all of the above key performance indicators. The firm can seek to maximise TC by optimising a number of aspects of the production processes. There are five common steps associated with this process;

Identify the system constraints

Exploit the system constraints

Subordinate everything else to the decisions made

Elevate the system’s constraints

Restart the process if a constraint has been broken

The following example illustrates the process.

Company A has two workers and produces two products (Workers, A,B, Products X & Y). Product Y Requires ten minutes of Worker A’s time, and product X requires fifteen minutes. Potential demand for X is 100 units, for Y is 50 units. If the total time available to worker A is 2000 minutes per week Worker A is not a constraint as the total time to manufacture both products is equal to the total available time (15 minutes x 100, 10 minutes x 50 = 2000 minutes). Worker B also works on the two products but takes 15 minutes on both products (15 minutes x 100, 15 minutes x 50 = 2250), assuming that Worker B has the same maximum time available (2000 minutes) there is a constraint around Worker B. Thus the constraint has been identified.
Step two seeks to exploit the constraint. Concentrating on Worker B as this is where the constraint occur, the exploitation of the constraint means the company (according to its goal of maximising wealth) needs to make a decision based on how to allocate production. To do this the managers need to know what the Throughput Contribution is for each unit. Assume that TC for product X is ?75 per unit and for product Y it is ?120 per unit. The constraint here is time, measured in units of a minute, therefore the TC per unit of constraint is found by dividing the TC by the time taken with each worker, at the point of constraint this is as follows (X, 75/15 = ?5, Y, 120/15 = ?8.33), as there are only 2000 minutes available the TOC suggests that all 50 units of product Y should be produced with a total time taken of (50 x 15 = 750, TC = ?8.33 x 750 = ?6247.5) leaving 1250 minutes to produce product X (TC 1250 x ?5 = ?6250). Net profit will therefore be (6247.5 + 6250 = ?12497.5). In this example this is how the TOC makes all other considerations subordinate to this decision.

TOC does have its problems, it makes many of the normative assumptions about the behaviour of costs that traditional cost accounting does, and largely ignores costs of changing the activities of many of the business processes to suit a particular set of circumstances (Rand 2000). Yet it is a powerful decision making tool and one which, if used properly can alter the success of a manufacturing process in terms of the goal of maximising the wealth of the company .

Just In Time (JIT)

JIT Inventory Management is one of a set of ‘Lean’ manufacturing methodologies which has grown out of the Japanese Approach to management accounting (Abdul-Nour, Lambert et al. 1998). In particular much of modern JIT management is based on the Kanban system of Inventory management which is a part of the Toyota Production System (TPS) which is famous the world over for its efficiency and speed to market with new products (Houghton, Portougal 1997). JIT as a part of a Lean system relies upon the pull of the market rather than the push of production targets and generally states that investment in inventory, both in terms of raw materials and work in progress, also finished goods, represents a waste to the company (White, Prybutok 2001). JIT requires the accurate organisation of the production process in terms of both processes and components of production and finds a minimum level of stock holding at every level of the process. The original Kanban system was based around a set of two cards which accompanied an individual component through the production process. At each point where a component was removed from stock to be used in a process of manufacturing one of the cards would be returned to the previous process to alert that process that another was required. This meant that without the aid of sophisticated computers the TPS managed to cut its value of stock in the factory to a fraction of what it had been, requiring less investment of working capital, lower overheads in terms of storage and warehousing, and less risk of over production of any components or of finished goods (Abdul-Nour, Lambert et al. 1998).

JIT is a system which has largely been adopted in many of the larger production facilities which have adopted ‘Lean’ technology. These range from most car manufacturers to manufacturers of high technology. But there is growing evidence that it may be very useful in terms of the smaller manufacturer, and even the service industry, especially as the cost of raw materials is rising in the face of increased demand for core materials (Abdul-Nour, Lambert et al. 1998, Khan, Sarker 2002).

JIT is difficult to implement and requires considerable investment in the production processes (Hansen, Mouritsen 2006, Houghton, Portougal 1997). It is impossible to implement JIT unless there has been a programme of business process redesign to allow such minimum stock levels to be held, and this can present a large investment cost in the firm which may or may not ultimately benefit from such an inventory management programme. JIT requires the firm to invest heavily in partnerships with suppliers as well and to evaluate the supply chain from almost every angle to prevent a total collapse of the production system (David, Eben-Chaime 2003). This is because there is little room for error in the process, if demand is poorly predicted and is higher than expected then the firm will run out of the raw materials of production and may lose custom (Kelle, Al-khateeb et al. 2003). If lower than predicted the firm will not have the capacity to store inventory (die to process redesign). Further if suppliers fail to deliver for any reason the process will come to an abrupt halt. JIT therefore requires a significant amount of managerial information from both the external market and the internal processes to get right and there have been many cases of difficult implementation, especially in smaller companies (Abdul-Nour, Lambert et al. 1998).

Notwithstanding this there is a lot of evidence that with more and sophisticated modelling techniques from increasingly advanced technology, JIT systems are getting easier to implement (White, Prybutok 2001, Yasin, Small et al. 1997). Therefore as long as the systems are set up correctly there are major advantages in reducing the waste of inventory throughout the process of manufacturing. Because of its requirements, and making everything subordinate to the level of inventory, it is not applicable for JIT systems to be used in conjunction with the Theory of Constraints, as managers are unable to subordinate all decisions within the production process to a ‘bottleneck’. Therefore some would argue that JIT systems are less flexible, or certainly allow less flexibility that TOC does (Yasin, Small et al. 1997).

Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT)

Put simply a PERT map is a model of complex processes which occur to facilitate an outcome (Castro, Gomez et al. 2008). The PERT framework is very similar and often used in conjunction with a critical pathway diagram which shows the key processes involved in such an outcome (Mummolo 1997). PERT modelling makes a number of assumptions and has many conventions. In drafting a PERT chart the processes will be numbered in tens, to allow for further additions as the model grows. Further the model assumes that there is a linear relationship between the processes and therefore a number of key relationships (critical pathways) are determined (Cox 1995). These are often termed predecessor events and successor events. The PERT model deals with time in a number of ways giving an optimistic time and a pessimistic time for the completion of a process. It allows managers to view a project, task or process in a way which will help to maximise the efficiency of such a task in terms of a number of variables (Shipley, de Korvin et al. 1997).

Implementation of PERT requires a significant investment of time and expertise and so can have an impact on the costs of an activity, which must be weighed with the advantages or benefits such analysis brings to the process redesign (Azaron, Katagiri et al. 2006). Often PERT is a useful way to implement ‘Lean’ techniques of production as it allows the mapping of existing processes to look for ‘slack’ in the system. But its complexity can also be a disadvantage in terms of the time it takes to complete and the risk of errors in the model having unintended consequences to any new or redesigned process (Azaron, Katagiri et al. 2006).

PERT is most useful at outlining the dependencies of a process and the identification of the critical pathways which affect the outcomes of a process. Further the methodology allows for the identification of the benefits of early, late and slack starts or a process (Cox 1995). It is also a way of organising a large and complex amount of information I a way which is relatively easy to understand by non-specialist managers, and as such allows the input of many areas of speciality in the redesign process, some of which may not be heard in terms of purely operations or accounting systems such as JIT and TOC.

Yet PERT can have a number of significant disadvantages when used. First and foremost is the possibility of thousands of critical and interrelated aspect of a singly process (Mummolo 1997). The time taken to map out all of them can be considerable and even if they are all mapped out the subtle interrelationships are often difficult to place into such a restrictive framework. It is a given that in real life the process will not always work in the way in which it is modelled, and small changes across a few key aspects can vastly change the outcomes and behaviours of many of the assumptions behind PERT analysis. PERT is very useful in terms of initial investigation of a process or event, but it takes both art and science to appreciate how something will work in the real world situations of manufacturing or service industries. In this respect PERT should be seen only as an aid to understanding and not a ‘right’ answer (Castro, Gomez et al. 2008).

Conclusions

The three managerial tools which have been outlined in this report are all powerful providers of decision relevant information. Further all three allow the management to view not only the outcomes at the current time, but also to make significant changes to the processes of production or provision of services which can dramatically improve performance. The case given points to both poor profits and returns on investment and poor inventory management as problems for the company, as such it is important before any decisions are made about the implementation of new management practices, as to why these are occurring. If the drop in profits are due to a slackening of demand, a change to JIT and the attendant redesign of the business along ‘Lean’ philosophy may be significantly advantageous, as it will allow tight control over inventory and allow the company to respond to the needs of the market more effectively. By removing overproduction and inventory as wastes to the business, profits would be expected to recover, as long as the business is still a going concern (Hansen, Mouritsen 2006).

If, however, the company still has similar levels of demand for its products then the company will need to investigate where the problems in the existing processes are. TOC would be one way of looking at this problem, so too would JIT. It is felt if the levels of demand are broadly similar it may well be worth the management of the company undertaking some analysis of the business processes with a view to coming to a decision about the suitability of either TOC or JIT, but it must be appreciated that each of these approaches carry some significant costs and risk if the analysis is not well thought out. PERT analysis will map out the internal process and identify the various problems with slack and time, but it does not look in much detail at costs. Other methodologies the company may like to consider as a part of any process redesign are the Activity Based approaches to costing, management and budgeting, these fit well with JIT management, but not so well with TOC. TOC has significant limitations because it subordinates everything to the constraint, and as new constraints appear the process has to be restarted from scratch. This criticism also gives it the flexibility that the other systems mentioned herein do not possess. This report recommends that managers identify the reason for the falling profits, and look to find out why inventory is building up (are these a symptom of slack demand, or of inefficiencies within the business). Based on these findings a decision as to what further systems are needed can be made.

References

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I. Introduction

Archer’s Organic Foods plc is a producer and distributor of organic foods. The company is looking to expand the business by acquiring a farm in the North of England. This report analyses the financial viability of two farms by using a number of investment appraisal methods. The two farms differ in their initial investments, sales and costs. The freehold of option 1 farm will be acquired at the beginning of the project. The farm in option 2 will be taken on a 10-year lease with deposit and annual rent payments. The report makes a recommendation on the final selection of a farm by evaluating the results, strengths and weaknesses of four investment appraisal methods.

The four investment appraisal methods used in this report are the Accounting Rate of Return (ARR), payback period, Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR). The results of the four investment appraisal methods may not be similar because of differences in their approaches and calculations. Hence, it is beneficial to use more than one investment appraisal method and understand the benefits and limitations of each method before making a final decision.

II. Investment appraisal methods

The four investment appraisal methods can be classified into two main categories. The ARR and payback period are non-discounting methods whereas the NPV and IRR are discounting methods. The ARR method measures the accounting profit rate by dividing the average income by the average investment (Hansen and Mowen, 2007, p. 568). The method is simple to use but has major limitations. It ignores the time value of money which is a major drawback in case of projects with long lives. Also, a benchmark rate is required for comparison.

The payback period calculates the time required to recover initial investment from the operating cash flows of a project (Brigham and Houston, 2007, p. 373). Shorter payback period projects are preferred as they generate cash equal to initial investment in a shorter duration and this can be viewed as a proxy of risk.

However, the payback period method ignores the time value of money (Kinney & Raiborn, 2011, p. 655). It also ignores the cash flows after the payback period which could result in a selection of a project that adds less value.

The NPV method calculates the net value of a project by discounting the cash flows at a rate which reflects the risks of those cash flows. The discounting of the future cash flows is a major advantage of the NPV method over the non-discounting methods. This is very important for valuing the two alternatives as cash flows are spread over 10 years.

The drawback of the NPV method is that it assumes constant gearing to maintain same cost of capital. This rarely happens as cash inflows over the period change the gearing. A company will have to issue debt regularly to maintain same gearing (Delaney, 2008, p. 37). This is difficult to do due to administrative issues and costs. It is also not easy to calculate cost of capital that is used for discounting cash flows (Howe, 1992, p. 34). Finally, the NPV method is not useful on its own when a company faces capital rationing. The profitability index may have to be used along with the NPV to evaluate investments in a capital rationing scenario.

IRR method also discounts the future cash flows and gives the cost of capital at which the NPV would be zero. This gives an idea about the margin of safety that is available in terms of possible decline in the rate of return before it equals cost of capital. The limitation of the IRR method is that it can give two IRRs for same set of cash flows if the pattern of cash inflows and outflows reverses more than once during the life of a project (Brigham and Daves, 2009, p. 421). It also assumes that cash inflows during the life of a project will be reinvested at the IRR which may not be true as the firm may not have similar opportunities to invest in.

The investment appraisal methods have their pros and cons and it is useful to use more than one method to get a better picture.

III. Results of investment analysis

The first option is the freehold acquisition of a farm at ?1,500,000. The calculations and results of the investment appraisal methods of option 1 are shown in appendix I. It is assumed that the farm will be sold for ?1,500,000 at the end of 10 years. It implies that the average investment over the period will be ?1,500,000.

ARR = Average profit / Average investment = ?313,000 / ?1,500,000 = 20.83%

The cumulative cash flows turn positive for the first time in year 6.
Payback period = 5 + (245,000/360,000) = 5.68 years.

The NPV of option 1 is ?739,000 and the IRR is 19.43%.

The second option is to lease a farm for 10 years. A down payment of ?300,000 will be made at the beginning of the 10-year period. It is assumed that the down payment will be returned at the end of 10 years. The average investment will be ?300,000. The calculations and results of the investment appraisal methods of option 2 are shown in appendix II.

ARR = Average profit / Average investment = ?190,000 / ?300,000 = 63.33%

The cash flows are adjusted to reflect the fact that annual rents will be paid in advance. The rent for year 1 will be paid at the beginning and hence shown in year 0. The rent for year 10 will be paid at the end of year 9 and hence ?150,000 cash is added back to the profits of year 10.

The cumulative cash flows turn positive for the first time in year 5.
Payback period = 4 + (160,000/190,000) = 4.84 years.

The NPV of option 2 is ?623,000 and the IRR is 27.48%.

IV. Analysis of results

The ARR of option 1 is 20.83%. There is no benchmark available for comparison but it is significantly more than the cost of capital of 12% and hence the ARR method approves investment in option 1. The payback period is 5.68 years. Though the payback period is significantly lower than the 10-year life of the project, it does not meet the 5-year cut-off period set by the finance director. Hence, the investment in option 1 is not approved under the payback period method.

The NPV of option 1 is very high and positive ?739,000. Purchase of the farm will increase the net value of the firm by ?739,000 over a period of 10 years and hence the investment is approved under the NPV method. Finally, the IRR of 19.43% is also higher than the cost of capital of 12% which again approves the purchase of firm.

The ARR of option 2 is 63.33% which is substantially higher than the cost of capital of 12% and hence the ARR method approves investment in option 2. The payback period is 4.84 years and it meets the 5-year cut-off period set by the finance director. The investment in option 2 is also approved under the payback period method.

The NPV of option 2 is positive ?623,000. Option 2 is also approved under the NPV method. Finally, the IRR of 27.48% is also higher than the cost of capital of 12% which again approves the purchase of firm.

Option 2 is preferred over option 1 by the ARR, payback period and IRR methods. However, the option 1 is preferred over option 2 by the NPV method because the NPV of option 1 is more than that of option 2.

The difference results under the various investment appraisal methods are not unexpected. The ARR and payback period methods do not discount the future cash flows. This is a major drawback in this case as cash flows are spread over a long life of 10 years. Also, the cost of capital is a high 12% and not discounting the cash flows does not reflect the risk of the investment. In view of the above arguments, the results of the ARR and payback period methods should be viewed with caution.

The NPV method favours option 1 as its NPV is ?116,000 higher than the NPV of option 2. However, option 1 uses higher initial investment and this is reflected in its IRR which is lower than that of option 2.

The company should opt for option 1 as it adds the maximum net value to shareholders. However, if funding is restricted than option 1 should be preferred because it adds higher net value per unit of investment. The net value per unit investment is ?2.08 for option 2 as compared to ?0.49 for option 1.

In addition to the above analysis, the investment decision should take into account few other but important points into consideration. Firstly, in the analysis of option 1, it was assumed that the farm will be sold for ?1,500,000 after 10 years. However, the prices of land and farms have increased in the recent years. The table below shows the sensitivity of the NPV to the changes in price of the farm.

An annual farm price inflation of 6% over a 10-year period would substantially increase the NPV to ?1,121,000. This is a significant jump. Even if the annual farm price inflation is -2%, the NPV is still positive. On the other hand, the changes in farm prices would not have any impact on the NPV of option 2. The possible significant benefit from purchase of a farm should also be included in final decision making.

Secondly, the evaluations are also sensitive to changes in cash flows. Projections are rarely met in practice (Arya et al., 1988, p. 499). It is difficult to accurately predict cash flows over a 10-year period because of a number of factors. The demand may change due to economic-wide changes. The costs of raw materials and labour may rise faster than anticipated. Adverse weather may also play havoc on the production. Hence, it is beneficial to do a sensitivity analysis of cash flows. It is assumed that the variable costs will move in direct proportion to the changes in revenues. The tables below show the sensitivity of the NPVs to changes in sales and variable costs.

The above tables show that option 2 is more sensitive to the changes in sales and variable costs. At 80% of the base case sales and variables costs, the NPV of option 1 is significant positive but that of option 2 is marginally positive. The option 2 will turn into a negative NPV investment if actual cash flows are just less than 80% of the projected cash flows.

Thirdly, the NPV is also sensitive to changes in the cost of capital. The tables below show the sensitivity of the NPVs of two options to changes in the cost of capital. Option 1 is more sensitive to changes in the cost of capital. The company should analyse the likely increases in the cost of capital over 10 years before making a final decision.

In addition to the above-discussed points, the company should also analyse some of the key non-financial matters to ensure that the investment will yield positive results. It should analyse whether there would be local demand for organic foods in case of each option. Organic foods are sold at a premium to inorganic foods. The buying power of consumers is linked to the general overall economic conditions. The UK economy is passing through a tough phase with consumers concerned about government cuts in public expenditure. This may make it difficult for the company to sell its produce in the local region.

The company should also consider the resources that would be involved in effective monitoring of the farm in the North as opposed to current operations in the South. Monitoring and control is important for success of an investment and long-distance could hamper it.

V. Conclusions

The results of four investment appraisal methods did not match and there is no unanimous choice. Option 2 is preferred on the basis of the ARR, payback period and IRR methods. Option 1 is the preferred option because of its higher NPV and the possibility to gain from an increase in farm prices.

The NPVs of two options are also sensitive to a number of factors like cost of capital and changes in sales and variable costs. The NPV of option 2 is more sensitive to changes in cash flows whereas the NPV of option 1 is more sensitive to changes in the cost of capital.

VI. Recommendations

The recommended option is option 1 because of its higher NPV and also the potential to reap even higher benefits due to increase in value of farm over 10 years. If the project does not meet sales expectations, the company will have the option to sell the farm and exit early in option 1. On the other hand, the company will end up paying lease rent for 10 years in option 2.

References

Arya, A., Fellingham, J.C., and Glover, J.C., 1988. Capital budgeting: Some exceptions to the net present value rule. Issues in accounting education, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 499-508.

Brigham, E.F., and Daves, P.R., 2009. Intermediate Financial Management. 10 edn. South-Western Cengage Learning.

Brigham, E.F., and Houston, J.F., 2007. Fundamentals of financial management. 11 edn, Thomson Higher Education.

Delaney, C.J., Rich, S.P., and Rose, J.T., 2008. Financing costs and NPV analysis in finance and real estate. Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management, Vol. 14, Issue 1, pp. 35-40.

Hansen, D.R., and Mowen, M.M., 2007. Managerial accounting, 8 edn. Thomson South-Western.

Howe, K.M., 1992. Capital Budgeting Discount Rates Under Inflation: A Caveat. Financial Practice & Education, Vol. 2, Issue 1, pp. 31-35.

Kinney, M.R., & Raiborn, C.A., 2011. Cost Accounting – Foundations and Evolutions. 8 edn, South-Western Cengage Learning, Mason.

This work was produced by one of our professional writers as a learning aid to help you with your studies

Critically appraise the circumstances where an impairment loss is deemed to have occurred
Introduction

IAS 36 Impairment of assets published in 1998 and subsequently amended in 2004 and in 2008, seeks to ensure that an asset is not carried on the statement of financial position at a value that is greater that it’s recoverable amount. This paper aims to critically appraise the circumstances where an impairment loss is deemed to have occurred and explain when companies should perform an impairment review of assets, while discussing the effects of impairment decisions on the firm’s financial position and performance.

Previously there was little authoritative guidance on the accounting for asset impairments. The absence of explicit guidance for many assets permitted substantial discretion in terms of amounts and timing of write offs (Francis et al, 1996). Over time accounting standards have moved towards presenting more items at fair value on the Balance Sheet. In doing so IAS 36 tries to remove as much discretion as possible. The primary objective of IAS 36 Impairment of Assets is to ensure that an entity’s assets are carried at no more than their recoverable amount and the standard sets out the criteria for defining how the recoverable amount is determined. Entities are required to conduct impairment tests where there is an indication of impairment of an asset, with the exception of goodwill and certain intangible assets for which an annual impairment test is required. Intangible assets with an indefinite useful life, an intangible asset not yet available for use and acquired goodwill should all be measured annually whether or not there is any indication of impairment.

Impairment is deemed to occur when the carrying amount is higher than the recoverable amount (i.e. the value in use. the asset’s net selling price or the fair value as determined in accordance with IFRS 13). At the end of each reporting period an entity is required to assess whether there is any indication of impairment. If an indication of impairment is evident then the assets recoverable amount must be calculated [IAS 36.9]. An impairment loss is recognised where the recoverable amount is below the carrying amount [IAS 36.59]. The impairment loss should be immediately recognised, generally as an expense unless it relates to a revalued asset where the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease [IAS 36.60]. In the case of goodwill, a cash-generating unit to which goodwill has been allocated shall be tested for impairment at least annually by comparing the carrying amount of the unit, including the goodwill, with the recoverable amount of the unit: [IAS 36.90] In each situation, if the carrying amount of the unit exceeds the recoverable amount of the unit, the entity must recognise an impairment loss. This is a radical change in accounting for goodwill. Previously, International Accounting Standards required recognition of Goodwill subject to amortisation over its useful lifetime.

Indicators of impairment are set out in IAS 36 with a view to making the decision less subjective than previously was the case. Negative changes in technology, markets, economy and law could all have adverse impact on the value of an entity’s assets. Indicators of impairment could be as a result of internal or external sources. The market value of an asset may decline as a result of usage or the passage of time. Other external indicators of a decline in value could be the result of significant technological, market, economic, or legal changes which occur and have an adverse effect on the asset or entity. Market interest rates may impact the discount rate used in calculating the value in use of an asset and therefore decreasing its recoverable amount. Internal indicators of an impairment review could be the result of obsolete or physically damage assets, or if an asset is part of a restructure or held for sale, or where the economic performance of an asset is worse than expected.

Despite the standard being objectively set, it can be difficult in determining the measurement of value attributable in assessing impairment options. The timings and measurement of asset write-downs rely heavily on estimates. A number of features of impairment testing and measurement process make implementation a challenge. Triggering events to indicate impairment are many and vary greatly in significance and severity. Different valuation models are used and there is little conformity in the selection of discount rates. (Comiskey and Mulford, 2010). A difference in nature continues to exist between fair values disclosed by management. While the standard seeks to increase transparency and eliminate the subjectivity of accounting for impairments, the exercise for determining if an asset is impaired and by how much remains at management’s discretion. It was felt that previously management took advantage of the discretion afforded by accounting rules to manipulate earnings either by not recognising impairment when it has occurred or by recognising it only when it is advantages (to them) to do so (Francis et al, 1996). The standard now seeks to address this discretion by requiring annual impairment (Goodwill and intangibles) or impairment reviews to be carried out whenever there is an indication of impairment. Even still, there is an element of discretion afforded to the calculation of impairments and so management incentives to manage earnings can still play a part in any impairment decisions. These estimates might be managed to alter or avoid impairments, limiting the comparability across firms. A goodwill impairment loss, for example, is estimated in most cases from management’s projections of future cash flows (Z Li et al, 2011). This is problematic to the investors who are unable to see through these potential manipulations. Indeed, investors and analysts have the option to adjust, or indeed totally ignore, reported accounting numbers, therefore it is far less certain whether this reporting behaviour actually misleads users or reduces reliability and relevance (Lhaopadchan, 2010). Additionally, financial statements differ from the management accounts used by an entity and the effect of any impairment further widens a gap already existing between management information accounts used by the board and the financial statements audited and published.

Earnings manipulation is one such concern given the judgemental approach to the indication of and calculation of impairment. One of the most widely cited papers that investigate the effect of executive compensation plan on accounting choice is Healy (1985). Healy hypothesizes that managers have an economic incentive to manipulate earnings in order to increase their cash compensation, this being the case certain accounting standards allow for this more than others and IAS 36 still allows for an element of judgement in the calculation of impairments. Furthermore, papers have cited the nature behind recognition (or lack of recognition) of impairments and IAS 36 permits an impairment loss on a long lived asset to be reversed if the economic value of the asset recovers. This has been seen to have a direct impact on the practice of impairments whereby reversibility has a positive effect on a manager’s decision to record asset impairments. ‘Permitting reversals significantly increases the likelihood that a manager will record the impairment’ (Trottier 2013) thus highlighting the discretion that management can withhold towards the treatment of impairments.

Volatile financial markets and shifting economic conditions can impact the value of a company’s assets across the Balance Sheet. The recent global meltdown of financial markets was accompanied by highly publicised asset write-downs (Spear and Taylor 2011) and so the standard seeks to address the transparency of the financial statements by ensuring that impairments are directly reflected through the profit and loss account and statement of comprehensive income, disclosed by class of asset. It is not surprising that the most frequent write down activities took place during periods of economic recession confirming the strong relationship between asset write-downs and economic conditions. In 2013 the consolidated results of PSA Peugeot Citroen saw a ˆ1,101 million impairment charge, mainly recognised with respect to the assets of the Automotive Division, primarily to reflect the deteriorating automobile markets and adverse exchange rate movements in Russia and Latin America. Additionally, in 2014 Vodafone’s end of year profits dropped after a ?6.6bn impairment relating to the value of European operations whereby lower than expected cash flows were the result of a tougher macroeconomic environment and heavy price competition contributing to a total decline in revenues. Both investors and financial analysts revise their expectations downward on the announcement of an impairment loss. The negative impact of the loss serves as a leading indicator of a decline in the future profitability of an entity. (Z Li et al, 2011).

Conclusion

In conclusion, despite the presumed benefits associated with Fair Value accounting, it is shown that in practice managerial self-interests and earnings management concerns appear to motivate many impairment decisions (Lhaopadchan, 2010). IAS 36 goes further than any previous standard and subsequent amendments to eliminate any subjectivity involved in highlighting and calculating an impairment loss. While goodwill should be assessed annually for impairment other potentially impaired assets are only reviewed in detail for impairment if there is an indication of impairment, some of which are highlighted by the standard itself, however the indicator of impairment could go unidentified resulting in misleading financial statements. Additionally many calculations of impairment use management projections which could include error or contain an element of managerial self-interest and manipulation. Generally speaking the reaction of market participants to any impairment disclosed in the financial statements is of a negative nature with the exception of restructuring costs for which highlight future spend. While the standard seeks to provide a truer and fairer representation of asset value it should be noted with caution the subjective nature of any calculations. Even with an unqualified audit report on the financial statements the audit opinion on impairment is only as good as the information provided and made available to the external auditors.

Hence, it can be concluded that IAS 36 Impairment of assets has come far to contribute to improve the transparency of the financial statements by successfully determining when and how impairment reviews should be conducted, however there will remain an element of managerial judgement for which caution should be taken by all users of the financial statements.

References

‘Causes and effects of discretionary asset write-off’, Francis, J.. J. D. Hanna, and L. Vincent. Journal of Accounting Research Volume 34, 1996.

‘Goodwill, Triggering Events and Impairment Accounting’, Eugene E Comiskey; Charles W. Mulford. Managerial Finance, Volume 36 (9): 22 – August 10 2010

‘Causes and Consequences of Goodwill Impairment Losses’ Z Li et al. Review of Accounting Studies, Volume 16 (4) – Dec 1, 2011 – May 11 – 2010.

‘Fair Value Accounting and Intangible Assets.’ Lhaopadchan. Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance, Volume 18 (2)

‘The Effect of Reversibility on a Manager’s Decision to Record Asset Impairments’, Trottier, Kim. Journal Accounting Perspectives , Volume 12 (1) – Mar 1, 2013

‘The Effect/Decisions of Bonus Schemes on Accounting Choices’, Healy, P M. Journal of Accounting and Economics Volume 7 (1), 1985

‘Asset Write Downs: Evidence from 2001-2008’, Spear, Nasser A; Taylor, Alexandra M. Australian Accounting Review, Volume 21 (1) – Mar 1, 2011

This is what some people claim

Mankind has lived for thousands of years. As generations grow, we are becoming more and more aware of the harmful effects illness and stress impact on our bodies. Our awareness of the need to take the necessary steps to achieving a healthier lifestyle and prolong our life span is also growing. The number of diseases rising around the world makes it vital that people apprehend the importance of leading and living a healthy life. They believe health is accomplished by eating healthy food and exercising, but this is only one part of the healthy living process. There is more to being healthy and achieving an overall wellness and wellbeing than just eating well and exercising. Different elements assemble the human beings overall health, these elements are referred to as “the six dimensions of health” physical, psychological, spiritual, social, intellectual, and environmental. This report will discuss and define each of the six dimensions to provide adults with an understanding of the dimensions in hope of protecting our children from illnesses and diseases, and providing them with a more stable and a better future.

Background

Why is this report needed? Explain the six dimensions of health (Donatelle, 2006) and use this to explain to the reader why wellness and wellbeing are important in early childhood education and care.

The early childhood years sets the foundation to how children view themselves, each other, and the world around them. Their character which will develop further as they grow older begins in those early years. For this reason it is vital for Early Childhood Professions to understand the six dimensions of health in order to support children’s development in achieving wellness and wellbeing.

Bronfenbrenner believed children are influenced by the ecological system, (the system of relationships that form his or her Environment) particularly the microsystem (the immediate environment, e.g. family or school) Bronfenbrenner, 1998. He mentioned that positive emotional interactions and experiences between caregivers and children are crucial for the development of social and emotional wellbeing in children.

Donatelle, 2006 said “The motivation to improve quality of life within the framework of one’s own unique capabilities is crucial to achieving health and wellness”. As children’s services or early childhood settings fit into the microsystem stage of the child, it becomes imperative for us to set the building blocks for children to achieve the optimum wellness and wellbeing. Our interaction and experiences play a key role in their development, but what is wellness and wellbeing?. Donatelle, 2006 identified wellness and wellbeing as follow;

Physical heath : the way we function using our bodies, how sharp our sensors are, how fit we are, the ability to catch diseases and disorders and the ability to recuperate from illness and regain health,

Intellectual health: Mentally healthy , the capacity to think with clear judgment, the ability to learn, the ability to grow from experience and the ability to make critical decisions.

Social heath: the ability to socialise and interact well with others, the ability to adjust to situations at different levels

Emotional health: the ability to recognize and express feelings appropriately, the ability to control and balance these feelings with yourself and others. The ability to feel good about yourself, love and trust.

Environmental health: the ability to appreciate the world around you and to recognise the role you play in effecting the environment.

They believe

Spiritual health: the ability to have faith, hope, and belief. The ability to connect with the world around you as one, to love and respect nature and to feel the love and pain of the world.

Discussion

Discuss each dimension of health and explain what is happening or not happening to support children’s wellness and wellbeing in your service.

Wellness is a state of optimal health that is working towards or trying to maximize the individual’s potential to achieve a vibrant state of wellbeing and enjoyment of life. This is a lifetime process of working towards enhancing your physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, and environmental wellbeing.

When we think of Wellness and Wellbeing, it is good to remember that all aspects of the six dimensions impact each other. Although every dimension is important in its self, it is the balance that gives each individual the optimum wellness and wellbeing. For example if a person focus on his/her physical health and neglects the emotional health, the physical health would deteriorate soon after. Keeping an overall balance and a holistic approach would give us a higher chance in achieving wellness and wellbeing.

Factors that affect our Wellness and wellbeing.

The individual’s attitude and behaviors.

Heredity and family history.

The influence of the people around you, positive and negative.

Health care availability.

Let’s have a closer look at each dimensions and how does the centre cater for the dimension.

Physical health;

Physical health is most visible to us and the easiest to keep an eye on. It would probably be the one dimension we pay more attention on, than any other dimension. If we eat well balanced nutritious food and exercise regularly, minimise the consumption of harmful foods such as alcohol and cigarettes, the chances of us catching diseases are reduced but not eliminated.

How can it be achieved?

Exercise least 30 minutes a day.

Eat lots of fruits, vegetables and whole grains,

Replace bad fats with healthy fats, such as those found in olive oil

Visit your dentist regularly

Seek medical attention when required

Maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Centre’s approach to physical health;

The centre aims to:

Facilitate physical development by providing activities which foster fine and gross motor skills.

Provide children with 50% of their recommended dietary intake

Provide a healthy eating environment

Provide children with healthy food habits

Provide water throughout the day

Provided children with a balance of active and quiet activities

The centre focuses on providing children with a balanced nutritious food but fails to promote and link the importance of staying active to the physical health. Very little discussion is provided about health and fitness.

Intellectual health;

Intellectual health is our ability to perceive and process information accurately and the ability learn and Interact with the world around us. To achieve an intellectually healthy life, we must have the wish to learn and to have an interest in what is going on around us. Intellectual health also involves problem solving and creativity.

How can it be achieved?

Keep your mind active with learning

Participate in creative and problem solving activities.

Read the news each day.

Paint and draw.

Build something with your hands.

Work out a crossword puzzle each day, it can help keep our brains on alert.

Centre’s approach to intellectual health;

The centre aims to:

Facilitate intellectual development by providing activities and experiences which allow children to experiment, think and question the world around them and develop their problem solving skills.

Encourage children to develop a positive attitude towards learning, responsibility, self-discipline and self-esteem.

Design activities which allow children to develop their capabilities and interests at their own pace and according to their individual need.

Social health;

.

Socially healthy people engage, interact, and co-operate well with each other. That includes friends, family, co-workers and other groups. Being comfortable with oneself as well as others at different levels and maintaining relationships.

How can it be achieved?

Learn ways to relate with others.

Practice communication skills.

Try to be the kind to your friends or partner.

Be considerate and mindful of others.

Centre’s approach to Social health;

The centre aims to:

Facilitate personal and social development by group experiences with peers, friendly interactions with adults and activities which promote their sense of independence.

Develop programs which enhance children’s social and emotional skills

Emotional health;

The ability to understanding our feelings and emotions and finding vigorous ways of expressing them .Emotional wellness is one of the most important aspects of the six dimensions. It should be one of our main focus points of life in order to accomplish wellbeing. In order to be healthy or have good physical health you must have a good foundation of emotional wellness. You can notice this in your everyday life, by just noticing how having a “good day” or a “bad day” effects you physically.

How can it be achieved?

Learn to recognize your limitations.

Practice different ideas to create healthy relationships with others.

Maintain a sense of point of view.

Learn to deal with emotions such as sadness, anger, or frustration.

Centre’s approach to emotional health;

The centre aims to:

To help children recognise their feelings and emotions.

Encourage children to express feelings and emotions appropriately.

I don’t believe the centre is doing enough to cater for the emotional wellbeing in children. I think a lot more can be done to facilitate positive emotional development. (Refer to recommendation).

Environmental health;

Environmental health is to appreciate and respect the natural environment around you and do whatever you can to protect it.

How can it be achieved?

Better understanding of the environment

finding ways to minimise the waste going to the landfills such as donating clothes and donate computers and mobile phones to organisation.

Recycling

Centre’s approach to environmental health;

The centre aims to:

Promote the understanding and importance of recycling and energy saving.

Reuse material for children’s activities.

Promote environmental education in children’s everyday learning experiences

Role model the positive environmental approaches in daily routines such as reducing energy output and the use of water.

Spiritual health;

The ability to know that life is meaningful and has a purpose. Our morals, values and ethical believes guide us to making decisions and the direction to life.

How can it be achieved?

Take some time to discover your morals and believes.

Try to stick to your believes during difficult times.

Believe in yourself

Centre’s approach to spiritual health;

The centre aims to:

Families are encouraged to share their culture, language and home experiences.

Promote each child’s culture and language, and facilitate experiences whenever possible

Provide an environment that is anti bias and caters for the child’s cultural, family and linguistic diversity.

Promote equality by maximising the educational outcomes for all children, regardless of their gender, cultural backgrounds or socio-economics.

.

The right to play is a childs first claim on the community. Play is natures training for life. No community can infringe that right without doing deep and enduring harm to the minds and bodies of its citizens. By playing, children learn and develop as individuals, and as members of the community. Letting children go out and play is one of the best things that parents can do for their children’s health. A mix of active, imaginative and creative play makes for a brilliantly balanced diet of play. Some children prefer to spend most of their time with creative play, some with imaginative play and others with active play. There is nothing wrong in liking one toy or game in particular, but a balanced diet of play is best for development. In other words, it’s good for your child to play in lots of different ways. Each type of play contributes in its own way to all-round psychological progress. Your child gets something different out of playing with different toys. Encourage your child to achieve a balanced diet of play by offering a regular change of play activities. You can suggest new types of games and new toys. A balanced diet of play is as important as good food or love. According to Dr Richard Woolfson (an educational psychologist with 30 years’ experience and a qualified nursery and primary school teacher), a portion each of three types of play each day helps with every child’s healthy development:

Creative play is about drawing, painting, playing music, cooking, or making something (anything!). It doesn’t matter what your child makes, or whether there’s a perfect result. Through creative play, your child expresses his- or herself, learns about process, discovers cause and effect and gains pride in their achievements.

Imaginative play starts in your child’s head. It can be role-playing, creating a new game, giving toys a voice, inventing adventures or playing a word game. Through imaginative play your child begins to understand the world, investigates fact and fiction, and develops positive relationships with themselves and other people.

Active play is how your child moves in the world. It is running, jumping, catching and dancing – all of which build strength and boost coordination. Active play is also a great way to learn about teamwork, release tension and feel truly free.

Play is a serious business, as far as children are concerned. Play makes an immense contribution to your child’s development in lots of important ways.As a child plays, they learn all about themselves and what they can do. Play helps them make friends, enjoy company and discover the world around them. Your child has fun while playing and at the same time is exercising, discovering and developing both emotionally and physically. That’s what makes play so wonderful!

Improving Confidence Through Play

Play boosts your child’s self-confidence in many ways:

Exploration. By learning through discovery, your child develops belief in their skills and abilities.

Movement. As soon as your child can move, they want to play. The “I got there by myself” expression shows your child’s growing confidence. Playing is also a fantastic form of exercise and as the facts show us, children need regular exercise.

Facts:

Welsh children are the second most overweight in Europe

According to recent research by the World Health Organisation -in Wales, 23% of boys and 17% of girls are obese.

60% of children spend up to 4 hours a day watching TV.

Only 60% of children have regular opportunities to play outside.

Imagination. Children use their imagination in pretend-play. This is a new and exciting experience for children, and they love it.

Creativity. Every child can be creative in play. Your child will be delighted when you smile at their drawings and paintings.

Socialising. Playing with friends is a great way for your child to learn important social skills like sharing and taking turns.

Problem-solving. Your child’s confidence is boosted by solving a puzzle – they would rather do it without too much help.

Language. Playing with others builds up your child’s vocabulary, speech and communication skills.

Individual Play Patterns

The way your child plays depends on many different factors. First there’s their age and stage of development – play becomes more complicated as your child grows older. Personality matters too – an enthusiastic child will get stuck in to toys immediately while a passive child may hold back. The range of toys and games available affects play – a child who hasn’t got a pedal toy, for example, won’t learn how to make it move by pushing the pedals.

Every child instinctively needs to play. But there are many distractions that can grab young interest. For example, a television programme or a computer game may attract your child’s attention away from toys and games.

A Balanced Diet of Play

Some children prefer to spend most of their time with creative play, some with imaginative play and others with active play. There is nothing wrong in liking one toy or game in particular, but a balanced diet of play is best for development. In other words, it’s good for your child to play in lots of different ways. Each type of play contributes in its own way to all-round psychological progress. Your child gets something different out of playing with different toys. Encourage your child to achieve a balanced diet of play by offering a regular change of play activities.

“Rights” are things every child should have or be able to do. All children have the same rights. These rights are listed in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child started twenty years ago. Almost every country has agreed to these rights. All the rights are connected to each other, and all are equally important. Sometimes, we have to think about rights in terms of what the best is for children in a situation, and what is critical to life and the protection from harm. Millions of children in the world are victims of mistreatment, abuse and violence each year. They are abducted from their homes and schools and recruited into the army. They are trafficked into prostitution rings. The consequences can be devastating. Violence and abuse can kill. Often the children result in poor physical and mental health. They are also denied an education, or lead to homelessness or a sense of hopelessness. Some worst cases the children are forced into begging. Most of the time, children are helpless and are not able to defend themselves against any form of danger.

Children need love and protection from the moment they are born. They are not able to defend themselves and are also helpless little individuals who will not be able to look after themselves. They do not have the required capability to care for themselves. They need love and protection from adults for various reasons. The reasons are their psychological, spiritual and physical wellbeing; happiness and joy; safety and security; stability; inner strength, confidence and high self-esteem; a life free of fear and worries and lastly securing a bright future (Benjamim). A child who is not loved and cared for will feel neglected. They will feel that they are unworthy of love and will grow up to be disturbed adults. They will lack confidence, insecurity and therefore will not be able to perform to their potential. As they are not able to express their true feelings, they will hide in a corner or behave aggressively to show their anger. Love will give the strength and also peace of mind they need as they grow. Children’s basic needs must be met. They must know that there is an adult they can approach when they need help and support. They must feel that there is someone who will always be there for them and to love them completely. Even when children are being disciplined, they should know that it is out of love and that they are being protected from being hurt. Children who feel loved and protected will be happy and motivated about themselves. They will be able to achieve to their potential, trust and interact with the people around them. These children will grow into wise, strong, self-confident, respectful, reliable adults and conduct a healthy lifestyle. They will make sensible choices and lead a normal life. They will be able to build positive relationships and therefore create strong family bonds. They will pass the love and protection they received when they were young to their children. These are the reasons why children need the protection of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the child was set up in 1945 by 51 countries. Today there are 192 member states. It was set up with several aims to benefit young children. The aims of the Convention are to set standards for the defense of young children against neglects and abuses that they face in countries all over the world every day. It is cautious in allowing for the different cultural, political and material realities among all the different countries. The most impotent factor to consider is for the best interest of the child. The Convention constitutes an assembling point and a useful tool for civil society and individual children, working for the protection and promotion of the rights of the child. The rights set out in the Convention can be generally grouped in three sections. The first section is Provision, which means that every child has the right to possess, receive or have access to certain things or services. For example, they are entitled to a name, a nationality, health care, education, play, and care for disabled children and also the orphans. The second section is Protection. This means that the child has the right to be protected from harmful acts and practices. For example, when they are separated from their parents, being used for commercial or sexual exploitation and when they are physically and mentally abused. The third section is Participation. The child has a right to be heard on decisions affecting their life. As their abilities progress and as a preparation for adult life, the child needs to have increasing opportunities in taking part in the social activities. For example, they should have freedom of speech and opinion. They should be allowed to choose their culture, religion and language (Hrea). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child also aims at protecting children from discrimination, neglect and abuse. It provides for the implementation of rights for children both during times of peace and war times. There are four general principles being conserved in the Convention. The principles also known as the key provisions focuses on Non-discrimination; Best interests of the child; Right to life, survival and development. They express philosophies the Convention is conveying and provides guidance for national programmes of implementation.

According to Krappmann (2009), it is important that many professionals who are working with young children must know the rights of a child. However, most often they do not know much what these rights for the child means. Now the rights of a child are spreading across the world and to other different professional people like judges, teachers, policemen, law-enforcement officers, medical staffs and social workers. Parents are also educated about the provisions of the Convention. Even children themselves know what their rights are. However, this knowledge has not ended the sufferings and difficulties faces by children but it is considered an appreciable start. More schools are starting to inform children about their rights and give them a chance to speak up in matters that concerns them. Then again as mentioned earlier it is not happening everywhere. On the other hand, awareness about who children are and what are their rights are being spread across the globe. There concrete changes taking place in the world. For instance, many laws have been coordinated with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child to set the law for Juveniles. Child rights have been included in new articles of constitutions and child codes. In most countries violating the rights of a child like punishing the child harshly or sexually abusing the child have been dealt with very severely. Juveniles’ and adults’ justice are being separated into individual systems in many countries. These progresses are not only the efforts of the supervising committee but many United Nation agencies and organisations have been contributing towards the process of making child rights a success. Governments are involved, not only in the implementation of child rights in their own country but also cooperating with other State Parties which needs resources.

There were case studies from Africa, where reports state that early child development was available in Africa. However, it was limited and was only available to very few people in Africa. Due to this problem, Europe set out a mission to change Africa. It identifies that religion and education will be the most promising means to save the continent and its people from their sufferings. They started the Euro-Western early child development programme in Africa. There are evidences that the Euro-Western early child development programmes are beginning to take shape in Africa (Pence and Nsamenang, 2008). This is one example that the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has made a difference to the lives of the children. Another example is that in July 2010, the Republic of Congo announced that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has welcomed new measures to increase child protection and this is a major development for the Central African nation. Marianne Flach, UNICEF Representative in Congo said “This framework will better monitor the violation of children’s rights, abuses and help to improve the situation to build a protective environment for children.” UNICEF also noted that Africa’s legislation must be updated and coordinated with the new measures that were recently implemented. These national efforts will need more support.

The world has changed over the past 20 years and the challenges children face is different from those times to the present situation. Early childhood had changed and will continue to do so with the influence of technology and economic developments. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child has made a difference to the lives of the children. However, the Convention still could help to strengthen children’s role in decision-making processes and demand that they are given a voice in reviews of their placements.

There are many definitions of resilience but most have similar components. Gilligan’s (2000) definition states ‘a set of qualities that helps a person to withstand many of the negative effects of adversity. Bearing in mind what has happened to them, a resilient child does better than he or she ought to do’ is one of the more straightforward. Critically, most authors consider that resilience is a mixture of nature and nurture. Attributes that some children are born with, such as good intellectual ability and a placid, cheerful temperament, are associated with resilience. Children who are born prematurely and/or with disabilities, who cry and cannot be comforted, who cannot sleep or who will not accept being held are more vulnerable to adversity and may be less likely to be resilient.

The term resilience is used to describe why some people struggle hard to cope with life experiences while others survive with self-esteem, identity and their level of wellbeing intact. The concept of resilience has been used to refer to:

a positive outcome despite the experience of adversity;

continued positive or effective functioning in adverse circumstances; or

recovery after a significant trauma. (Masten quoted in Schoon, 2006, p. 7)

Johnston-Wilder and Collins quote: ‘What constitutes adversity, adverse conditions and trauma varies among individuals and between cultures. Like adults, children vary considerably as to what they find easy, hard or impossible to deal with. When children are exposed to a stimulus that might offer a threat to self-image or self-esteem, they respond differently’. (Johnston-Wilder and Collins, 2008 pg 54)

Very little distresses parent/carers more than witnessing their children struggle to cope with life’s difficulties. Trouble, whatever its form or source, holds the potential of engendering negative emotions in children and exhausting their coping resources. If the trouble is serious or long lasting, it may reduce a child’s chances of attaining life enhancing goals and experiencing sustained episodes of emotionally invigorating pleasure. It may also move a child on a course of maladaptive functioning. Parent/carers typically devote considerable energy trying to eliminate the source of difficulty or control.

However, the government initiatives such as Every Child Matters: Change for Children (DfES, 2004) attempt to address the issue of identity and self-esteem, stressing the importance of supporting all children’s social and emotional development. Such support needs to be based on an understanding of identity formation, which involves a consideration of definitions of ‘identity’ and of the complexity of the term.

John Bowlby’s theory of attachment argued that a child’s emotional bond to their familial caregiver was a biological response that ensured survival. The quality of attachment, he quotes, has implications for the child’s capacity to form trusting relationships. To put Bowlby’s theory into practice, Pound states ‘the main positive outcomes of good attachment experiences in the early years seem to be social ones:

• Self confidence

• Efficacy

• Self-esteem

• The capacity to care for others and to be cared for’. (Pound, 2008, pg 44 and 45)

Consequently, the attachment theory suggests that children’s self-esteem is profoundly affected by the quality of early relationships between children and their parents, carers or significant others. Knowledge of attachment and separation behaviours can be useful in supporting children who show unusual signs of stress in unfamiliar social situations, such as the transition to school (Barrett and Trevitt, 1991). Critcially both, Johnston-Wilder and Collins quote: ‘But even exponents of attachment theory recognise that attachment history is only partially useful in predicting some outcomes for children, and even these would not be uniquely predicted by attachment history. Practitioners need to use a range of theories and knowledge to understand the behaviour of children with whom they work and be tolerant of individual differences and needs. There can, however, be pressures on such tolerance: schools, for example, often justify their exclusion policies with reference to the need to educate all children and keep them safe from harm’. (Johnston-Wilder and Collins, 2008 pg 44)

Valerie Daniels quotes ‘Being able to communicate is a real asset when working with children. Body language says a lot. What you say, what, the way you behave, even to the other adults in the room makes a very real impact on children. But if at all possible try and be as natural as possible with children’. (Open University, 2008)

The UNICEF document, ‘An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich Countries’ provided an overview of the state of childhood in the majority of economically advanced nations of the world. The document states ‘The UK ranked in the bottom third of the country rankings for five of the six dimensions reviewed. While the country ranked higher in the educational well-being dimension, the UK lags behind in terms of relative poverty and deprivation, quality of children’s relationships with their parents and peers, child health and safety, behaviour and risk-taking and subjective well-being’. (UNICEF: 2007, pg Report Card 7). Critically, there is still considerable work to be done, to enhance all dimensions of child welfare, despite increased government investments in improving children’s services over the past 10 years.

Daniel Coleman quotes ‘critically, parents/carers are asked to attend emotional needs of their children and are prompted to train themselves to handle their interpersonal relations wisely. It is critical, that as a parent/carer, they should know about origin of their emotions, functioning of their brain and positive usage of their feelings. Critically, they need to control their emotions while making decisions; otherwise they have the capability to hijack their rationality. Many may face different situations and make spur of the moment decisions, followed by their emotions. Decisions may not be logical even though they may have sharp logics’ (Coleman, 1996). Consequently, responsibility for school readiness lies not with the child, but with the parent/carers who care for them and the educational systems. Parent/Carers therefore, need to attend to the emotional needs of their children and prompted to train themselves to handle their own interpersonal relations wisely. Foley and Leverett, quote ‘There are a number of aspects of emotional literacy that may usefully be grouped, such as recognising your own emotional state, managing your own emotions, recognising others’ emotions, being able to be explicit about feelings, and being able to talk about talking. These skills and understandings are important components with which to build and sustain relationships with others. Here a child describes how, in her school, a simple bully box can encourage children to communicate worries and feelings’ (Foley and Leverett, 2008 pg 17)

This work complements existing national initiatives to promote social and emotional well-being. It should be considered in the context of the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme and related community-based initiatives. SEAL supports children’s social, emotional and behavioural skills. It focuses on five social and emotional aspects of learning: self-awareness, managing feelings, motivation, empathy and social skills. It looks at helping children develop skills such as understanding another’s point of view, working in a group, sticking at things when they get difficult, resolving conflict and managing worries. These initiatives stress the importance of such programmes to enable children to participate fully in the development to ensure their views are heard.

However, a growing body of research indicates how identity formation is an important indicator of feelings of wellbeing and self-worth (Canino et al., 2004; Rapee et al., 2006). Our individual perception of, and how we value, ourselves is linked to our behaviour and social performance. This process becomes important to all who work with children because identity formation and feelings of wellbeing are strongly linked to life experiences and success (Kernis, 1995). Poor self-esteem is associated with anxiety development among young children (Canino et al., 2004; Rapee et al., 2006), identity conflict (Kendall and Kessler, 2002) and, in extreme cases, psychiatric distress and disorder (Burns and Rapee, 2006).

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (United Nations, 1989), including the participation rights of the child, and so incorporates a dimension solely based on children’s own sense of wellbeing. International measurements and comparisons such as these should give an indication of a country’s strengths and weaknesses and of what is achievable; children’s wellbeing in rich countries is, in reality, policy-susceptible. It would appear that the UK has rather more weaknesses than strengths; the UK, at the time of writing, was in the bottom third of the rankings for five of the six dimensions of children’s wellbeing in the UNICEF report.

Critically, practitioners face a dilemma around needing to both accept and change children’s perceptions of themselves in order to promote their wellbeing. Developing resilience is also of vital importance if children are to face up to and cope successfully with the challenges that come their way. Consequently, Susan Rodger states ‘Youth Inclusion Project was developed to encourage young people with disabilities to access mainstream clubs and groups. I think it’s important they attend clubs like everybody else. They should be allowed to have that sense of belonging in these organisations without having to have their mum perhaps going along with them’. (Open University, 2008). Lorraine states: ‘If you see her body language, when she walks in, and she’s walking up high and her shoulders are back and she’s walking in and she thinks she’s the bee’s knees. And she’s saying bye to her brothers and you know, they’re quite high because they think it’s great that their sister’s doing the same things as any other girls and that’s really important for their self-esteem too. It speaks volumes. I think it’s a struggle to get a child like Vanessa involved in just normal activities, usually because of people’s attitudes, because that attitude can be based on fear, it can be based on ignorance, it can be based on a whole variety of reasons, but it was a struggle. I mean like most things with a child with disability, to actually get to the point baseline almost, where other parents are, you know, starting off from, is a struggle. So it wasn’t easy because not all the Guide groups in Stirling wanted to take her’. (Open University, 2008). Other important issues are: what working effectively with others means; how the relevant skills develop; how children can be enabled to make choices about fitting in; where things may go wrong; and how positive intervention strategies can be applied. Nicola Fry quotes ‘Children need to development their sense of responsibility not just to others but themselves. If I am talking to a group of children we all have to respect that a particular child has the right to be listened too and views taken seriously, then that child must realise that applies to the other children too and it then becomes his responsibility to listen.. and so on. (Open University, 2010).

Critically, Identity is a complex term and process and consequently influenced by a myriad of social factors, an identity develops and evolves as a life story. Identity formation begins prior to birth and is influenced by social context, interpersonal relationships and the social construction of meaning. An understanding of the complexity and fluidity of identity development can help us to question ascribed labels, which may create barriers for children and between children. This provides practitioners working with children with a methodological instrument that urges them to examine the importance of the whole child and the whole child in context.

Children’s wellbeing is connected to finding out about themselves and who they want to be. In the light of a child’s right ‘to preserve his or her identity’ (United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, United Nations, 1989), practitioners have a responsibility to ensure that the children with whom they work can develop an identity in an atmosphere that challenges discrimination and prejudice. Consequently, adults need to know the children with whom they work, to work to build positive relationships with them and between children themselves, understanding and respecting their individual and emerging frames of reference.

As professionals who work with families, our willingness to talk openly about identity and to help foster a positive sense of self in children can make an enormous difference in affirming the rich diversity of our human community and helping children make bridges across cultures and traditions.

Children need to be treated as individuals; ‘one size fits all’ responses are not helpful. Remember that communication of your interest and concern in the child is essential; it is often the little things where, for instance, you have gone the extra mile beyond the call of duty, where you have bought something the child particularly treasures or you have just been there to listen and comfort, that matter and are remembered. Residential workers who have a determined resilience perspective will often make a positive and long lasting difference to looked after children’s lives.

In this chapter, we will be discussing about the historical background of impression management, followed by the definition and scope of impression management. There are different metaphors that used to describe people that use impression management tactics. According to Shakespeare’s As You Like It : “All the world is a stage, and all the men and women merely players ” , he compares the the world to a stage and life to a play, literally means that our life is just a drama only. However, Shakespeare only interpreted it as a theatrical analogy but not a sociology theory.

The term was first adapted into sociology from the theatre by Erving Goffman, who developed most of the related terminology and ideas in his 1959 book, “The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life”. Thus, the theatrical analogy was being transformed into dramaturgy, a method of analyzing social interaction as if the participants were performing on a stage. Dramaturgy is a sociological perspective starting from symbolic interactionism , and commonly used in microsociological accounts of social interaction in everyday life.

Erving Goffman (1922-1982), arguably the most original American theorist of the second half of the 20th century, the metaphor of life as theater is rich in meaning. He saw all human interaction as, in some ways, very much like a grand play. He was not, however, as concerned with sweeping generalizations about the human condition as he is much more concerned with the particulars of daily life-the micro-level interactions between individuals that, when taken together, constitute the human experience. At this micro level, he argues, the world is much more like a stage than we commonly realize.

Goffman stated that it is impossible to discuss people’s selves abstracted from their social situations. He writes,

“This self itself does not derive from its possessor, but from the whole scene of his action. . . this self is a product of a scene that comes off, and not a cause of it. The self, then, as a performed character, is not an organic thing that has specific location. . . [the individual and his body] merely provide the peg on which something of collaborative manufacture will be hung for a time. And the means for producing and maintaining selves do not reside inside the peg. (Goffman, 1959, pp. 252-253)”

Thus, the fundamental unit of social analysis is not the individual but rather as the “team” ,which is responsible for the creation of perceptions of reality in social set-tings. A people’s action is always depending upon the situation and the people, yet we could not really observe or even find out the deeper heart of a person.

While Goffman (1959) applied dramaturgy as a tool for smooth interactions, the theory then changes into a more application forms. Some social psychologists like Edward Jones labeled dramaturgy as serving more specific purposes for impression management. Impression management is rather a applied sociology theory that emphasis on the strategic such as gaining power and influencing others. During the 1970s, the impression management perspective became very popular among laboratory-oriented experimental social psychologists and in the mid 1980s, more organizational studies emerged to use the impression management framework. Most empirical studies on impression management concentrate on the situational or individual factors that influence a certain impression management behaviour or tactics that affect outcomes like promotions, performance appraisal ratings, and career success.

What is impression management ? Impression management is defined as the process by which people attempt to influence the images that others have of them (Rosenfeld, Giacalone & Riordan, 1995).

According to sociologist Erving Goffman, men and women are like actors, which perform in front of everyone (audience) to attract their attentions.They use their experiences as a script,to deal with daily activities. Usually a script contains of basic information that people stored in their mind like the persons involved, the situations and the meaning of a scene. Without a script,the situation might become chaos,and the actors’ behavious might become chaotic as well.When people engage in social intereactions, it is known as performances. The performance consists of a combination of verbal and non verbal behaviours, influenced by actor’s interaction motives. In the next chapter, we will be discussing more about impression management behavior.

Impression management behaviours

In this chapter,we will discuss about different types of impression management that exist,followed by Jones and Pittman’s (1982) impression management taxonomy.

According to Leary and Kowalski( 1990) there are two types of impression management behaviours:verbal impression management behaviour and non verbal impression management behaviour.Non verbal behaviour contains expressions like smile, yawns, and etc that can reflect the feeling of the actors without the use of words. Whereas for verbal impression management behaviour,it is defined as the opposite of non verbal behaviour because it involves the action of the actors to influence the others.

Verbal impression management can separate into 2 categories, assertive impression management and defensive impression management.. Assertive impression management is a tactic that to reveal a favourable image on the other. It also further divide into 2 sub-categories, that is other-focused (making sure that the target feel good about himself) and self-focused (aim to himself to make it seems that he has a potential skill and posses a good qualities on others). For defensive impression management, it is mostly used to repair or protect one’s image.

Jones and Pittman Taxonomy

E.E Jones was the first sociologist who investigate the social behaviour. He believed that the Ingratiation has the largest power to influence other people in order to increase their attractiveness of themselves. Jones and Pittman later developed another 4 classes of self-presentation strategies that will mainly engage in our daily life in order to influence the others. There are: Intimidation, Self-promotion, Exemplification and Supplication.

Ingratiation

The most common and most studied impression management tactic is ingratiation. It is also known as ” attraction management “. According to Jones, ingratiation is a process where the ingratiator find out what the audience finds attractive in an individual and then provide it to them. It is widely used by everyone in our daily activities.People engage in ingratiation to enhance their own actual power in a relationship. Ingratiation can be a successful way of influencing others if it is used wisely.

Intimidation

People who engage in intimidation try to gain social power by being feared. The intimidator try to convince his target that he is dangerous. By doing so, he will gain respect from his targets. Intimidation is most likely to take place in working field, family, school and etc.

Self-promotion

Unlike ingratiation who want to be liked, self promotion focus more on being competent.The actor usually focus more on specific skills that they have, such as playing a musical instrument to attract other people. The self-promoter wants to convince others and portray an image of competence among everyone.The aim when using this strategy is usually an immediate one such as getting admitted into university or getting a new job.

Exemplification

The ingratiator wants to be liked, the self promoter wants to be seen as competent, the intimidator wants to be feared, and the exemplifier wants to be admired and respected.He wants to be seen as disciplined and honest Usually the exemplifier always come early at work or takes work home everyday.They want everyone knows that they work hard and engage in self sacrifice.By doing so, the others will feel guilty because they are not the same as the exemplifier. The target will somehow support the exemplifier by doing the same thing sooner or later.

Supplication

The last self presentation strategy would be supplication. It is a strategy where someone exploits their weaknesses.The supplicator tend to seek help or sympathy from others. Usually it is used by those handicapped people, who cant perform daily activities normally. Supplication is the opposite of self promotion.

Based on daily realities, critically discuss how lectures, parents, politicians and artistes engage in impression management.
In this chapter, we will discuss in details about the question of this assignment (which is stated above).
Artistes

As we mentioned in previous chapters, everyone engage in impression management in their daily lifes, especially the artistes.There are three types of strategies artistes use to manage their impressions, they are ingratiation, self promotion, and supplication.

Most of the artistes use ingratiation tactic to attract their fans. Artistes do it through make up, wearing provocative clothes, expensive jewelries to portray a healthy look. This gives a fake image towards the public on the attractiveness of the celebrities. For example, Nicole Kidman will not step out from her house without any make up. Imagine if the fans see their idol’s real look without any make up, they might feel surprise and disappointed, and this might cause them to support another artist instead of the original one. That’s why we always see the artistes in heavy make up or beautiful clothes, but never see them in normal looks.

Besides ingratiation, artistes also use self promotion strategy when engaging in impression management. Artistes do it by promoting themselves and portray an image of competence among them. This will show the difference between the celebrities. They want the audience to recognize them for the skills, not only their physical appearance. For instance, Tom Cruise is one of the most well known male actor in Hollywood. He might not be as handsome as Brad Pitt, but his unique acting skills made him as the best male actor in the past 10 years. This proves that physical appearance is not the only tool to survive in the artistes’ world, but also the unique skill that each artist possesses.

In addition, artistes also use supplication strategy to manage their impression. As we all know, Michael Jackson was found addicted to drugs during the 1990s.He admitted taking Valium, Xanax and Ativan to deal with the stress of the child sexual abuse allegations made against him, and painkillers actually were prescribed to soothe excruciating pain that he was suffering after recent reconstructive surgery on his scalp. All the fans were shocked and upset when they found out about that. They can’t accept the fact that their idol has been on drugs for so long. Some fans were disappointed and refused to support him anymore. However, he admitted the mistakes and acknowledge that should be punished. He pleaded the fans to forgive him for his silly mistakes.In the end, the fans forgive him for drugs abuse and continue to support him.If he did not apologize to his fans, the situation might changed.

Conclusion

In this assignment, we have a clearer picture about the background of impression management and the definition of it. We also understand that there are different types of impression management strategies that we use in our daily activities.

The main purpose for this assignment is to study about the different ways to engage in impression management by different individuals with different roles. Artistes, politicians, lectures, and parents are the targets for this assignment. By using Jones and Pittman Taxonomy, we can understand how the targets manage their impressions in daily activities. Different people will use different strategy to manage their impression, but their goal is the same: attract attention.

To conclude, impression management is very important to all of us. We need it in our daily activities. Everyone wants to make a good impression when we are communicating with other people. A good impression is very important because we will never get a second chance to make a first impression.

UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2012
OCTOBER 2012 TRIMESTER
ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET
Course Title : INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
Course Code : UAPS2003
Tutorial group : Tutorial 3
Title of assignment : Impression management
Due date : 14 November 2012
Student’s Name
Student’s ID No.
Course
Year and Sem
Parents

Parents usually are the one who having most of the time get in touch with their children. Hence, it is not peculiar that parents usually use some kind of impression management on their children. Children, on the other hand, will be influenced by their parents, in order to be disciplined or becoming a well-mannered person in the future. Thus, showing that impression management is the important part in this field for educating children.

Parents usually use 3 types of impression management on them, there are Ingratiation, Intimidation and Exemplification. In terms of Ingratiation, parents usually behave friendly in front of their child. Even though they are working at outstation, leaving them alone or sending them to the guardinator to take good care of their child, they call them once a week in order to get in touch with them, building a good rapport with them, no matter how far is it. Some parents even buy some material stuff to their kids as their compensation of time. They shower their children with love and harmony, awarding them by taking them to fun-fair whenever they done something correctly or scoring a good results. Besides, when the children feel unhappy to a certain kind of things, like feeling not happy with their teacher in daily school experiences, parents will become a good listener, listen to their story or experiences and find a solution for them. All in all, parents will be able to “win” their children heart, and in return, children will treat his/her parents back nicely. Ingratiation shows that parents use their positive side of themselves to influence the children perception in the front stage.

The next impression management is Intimidation. This kind of impression is simply regarded as the opposite action of the Ingratiation. As we known, Ingratiation is type of the impression in order to get people attractiveness, whereas for Intimidation, it is kind of the impression that make the surrounding feel scary and dangerous. Parents also using this type of impression towards their kids. Parents, usually father uses his air of authority to educate their children in those days and nowadays as well. This situation has made the surrounding very scary and children will feel the sense of danger towards him. Consequently, children dare not against to their parents in the future. Even though when children come to the rebellious stage, they also dare not tone loudly against their parents. This seems much effective than Ingratiation in order to educate their children. Intimidation shows that parents using their negative side of themselves to influence/fear the children in the front stage but at the back stage, they are very caring for their children.

The following impression management is Exemplification. This is a kind of impression that a person sacrifices himself in order to influence the other people so that the target will feel guilty and tends to changing his/her bad behaviour. This usually happen on parents in educating their children as well. For instance, when parents saw their children throw rubbish in the public without intentionally, they will pick up the rubbish and throw it into a proper thrash in front of their children, or whenever the parents saw others doing so, also picking up the rubbish and throw it in a proper way, in front of children of course. This has made children guilty that littering is a bad behaviour and they start to change themselves, by not repeating the same mistake again. This shows that parents setting a good example in front of their children in order to instil a good morale values on them. In china, most parents are very poor. They usually work as a farmer and yet they want their children to have a further studies on overseas to get a proper degree. Thus, in order to fund the education fees, they worked very hard and even sell off their valuable things like the land or their house as well to let their children to study. This is also a kind of impression management in parents engaging to their children, sacrificing themselves and making their children to feel guilty if they do not study hard to get a proper degree.

Lecturer

Impression management refers to the individual intentionally or unintentionally influence and control others formed their own impression. Appropriate impression management helps individuals and others to establish good interpersonal relationships, even attracting the attention of others, and then pull nearly the distance between. Therefore, if lecturer can grasp of teaching impression management strategies, will help to attract the attention of students and learning focused, directly or indirectly, to enhance the students’ learning motivation and effectiveness. Goffman said that “Everyone has their own performance to others; everyone is always trying to keep a proper impression in social contexts, in order to get a positive rating. Everyone has a set of face-saving or face – saving strategy that “face work”.

The impression management tactics of lecturer use is ingratiation, intimidation and exemplification. Ingratiation is the strategy use to influence others, in order to increase their own personal attractiveness. How do we choose to show ourselves, by increase our personal appearance? By clothes, darker clothes to convey authority and lighter clothes is produce a friendly image. Do not wear the excessive jewellery and open-toed shoes. Besides, most of the lecturer uses shaping good teaching in order to enhance teachers’ social status and importance enhance communication between schools and parents. Lecturer emphasis the influence of their background behavior, try to understand student subcultures, establish a positive self-identity, in order to shorten the spatial distance between teachers and students. Lecturer unauthorized use of ingratiation strategies to enhance students’ interest in learning, to create a sound and stable self-identity of students.

Intimidation, the use of coercion is to show the behavior itself is a dangerous man, and caused a horrible impression to others, to accept each other for fear of control, so as to achieve their own ends. Most of lecturer given quizzes and practice in the class to supervise students concentrate in class, understand students’ learning. Students feel afraid to take quizzes and practice in the case of an unpredictable. This situation helps students to increase their concentration. For those their attendance rate is lower than 80% in each subject, examination not allow as their punishment. Students will attend their class and do not absence randomly. For those who full attendance, bonus marks will give as their rewards.

Exemplification, model strategy use refers to behavior for those who show outstanding moral behavior, designed to lure followers exemplary. The core of the strategy is to make others agree with the behavior, in order to win the respect of others, and to increase its own influence to the lofty impression of integrity and behavior. If lecturer is fair and equitable, students were more likely to trust the teachers, actively participate in courses. “Score is in your hand, however you decide, not for me to decide”, let students know the score in their hands, and openness their result. Respect is important, if teachers respect the students, the students also felt seriously under mutual respect with the teachers, the students learn the effect will be better. Do not quibble over or any contempt and crumbs attitude, if you give him a face embarrassment, may be the next time he not come to class anymore or sleep at there, what ever you talk, he not listen also. If students can feel the enthusiasm and sense of responsibility of the teacher, students take the initiative go to class and take part of actively in class.

In conclusion, the teacher can directly or indirectly affect the students, but also has the responsibility to make good profit to the future with a variety of ways to enhance students’ learning motivation and effectiveness. Therefore, as a teacher if the proper use of impression management can promote human interaction of teachers and students to improve the students’ attention and interest of lectures, with the love of learning contexts, and thus effectively improve learning outcomes.

Politician

Do you ever ask yourself why the politician is always full of cheers of support from the audiences in his or her political speech? Recently in 6 November 2012 of the United States President Election, Barack Obama managed to win the election and be able to serve for his country for four years more. It is partly due to the high support from the people of United States. However, we may notice that an election is always full of political talks. Therefore, politician will take their opportunity to give their point of views in order to get their supports and build up their reputation.

Without doubt, the phenomenon of dramaturgy and the application of impression management can be easily seen in politics. Many of the politicians have their own family and of course they perform differently in different situations. For example, a politician will perform as an ambitious and inspired leader in front of the mass people. On the other hand, politicians will behave to be mean and aggressive to the member of the opposite party. Moreover, they would not behave what they are in politic towards their family members and their beloved. It is then obvious that the behaviors of politicians are dependent to the situations, and the application of impression management is tremendously important to the politicians.

Most importantly, what strategies should politicians adopt in engaging impression management?

First, most of the politicians use ingratiation tactic as their strategic in politic. The Tactic of “ingratiation” is to make one politician more liked and attractive by the others. So politician will sometime find out something that attract the people’s attention and provide them something that people really want. They will be considered as caring, responsible and considerate. The purpose of this tactics is to give the good impression to the people and thus the people will support him as a politician. Dato’ Sri Haji Mohammad Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak (born 23 July 1953) is a Malaysian politician who has been the sixth Prime Minister of Malaysia since 2009. Recent time, our Prime Minister Najib have establish many policies that benefit all Malaysian. As Malaysia is a multicultural country, 1Malaysia Campaign was established by the Prime Minister on 16 September 2008. 1Malaysia Campaign put emphasis on ethnic harmony, national unity, and efficient governance. Furthermore, Najib also introduced the Government Transformation Program (GTP) to increase quality, skill and transparency in public service and the government. Specific measures include the use of Key Performance Indicators to measure the performance of officials and agencies and National Key Result Areas to define goals for specific areas of public policy. Najib also develop a New Economic Model that will speed Malaysia’s transition to a high income country. The plan will emphasise ways to increase the income and productivity of workers by encouraging knowledge industries and increasing investment from overseas.

Moreover, politicians also engage intimidation tactic towards their political enemy such as the representative of opposite member, terrorists and others. Sometimes the politician stands their point of view very much and they hope that thing can process according to what he says. So they will use this strategic to fear the people and thus achieving what he want. It may be unusual to see in a democratic country because the politician will definitely don’t want to lose his supports, but this can be widely seen in the some dictators of underdeveloped countries such as the last dictator of Libya- Muammar Gaddafi. In some how they want to scare the people from preventing them to overthrow his idea and rule. One example that can explain this tactic is the famous Munich Agreement that happened in 30 September 1938. Munich Agreement, (September 30, 1938), settlement reached by Germany, Great Britain, France, and Italy that permitted German annexation of the Sudetenland in western Czechoslovakia. As Hitler continued to make inflammatory speeches demanding that Germans in Czechoslovakia be reunited with their homeland, war seemed imminent. Neither France nor Britain felt prepared to defend Czechoslovakia, however, and both were anxious to avoid a military confrontation with Germany at almost any cost. With lots of effort, the Britain and France were able to persuade Hitler to have a meeting. However, Two Czech representatives were only allowed to sit in the room next door. Afterward, Czechoslovakia was informed by Britain and France that it could either resist Germany alone or submit to the prescribed annexations. Finally, the German army was able to conquer Czech without having a war. It is clear to show that Hitler applied tactic of intimidation and fierce impression towards his enemies made him able to achieve his goal.

Furthermore, self-promotion is vital for politician because they want to show the capability in doing this. From this, they will get support and then continue in making contribution to the society. During the election, we can always see many politicians go to their election area to shake hand with the voters and even giving a political speech. The main purpose of these moves is to promote oneself and gain vote from the people. One of the examples of this impression management is the fireside chats of Former President Franklin Roosevelt. They were called fireside chats because fireside chats because when you chat by the fire, you feel calm and relaxed, just like what the fireside chats were intended to be like. People could sit at home and listen to the president speak. President Roosevelt talked the nation on the radio about various issues during his presidency. On that time, fireside chats were broadcast every Sunday night. He spoke of plans such as creating jobs for the unemployed. He gave hope when people needed hope. Consequently, he gained great support from the people of The United States that made him elected more than two times.

Self presentation/ Presenting the Self

In self presentation, we are the actors and the others are the audience and vice versa on other people perception. Generally, all of us will try to display the positive side of us and hide the bad images of us. This can be mainly seen in our daily life experience. For instance, we would dress up nicely when we dating with somebody else, laughing with other people although it was a bad joke, and try to pretend a good listener although knowing that it was a boring story. So, just ask ourselves, does this scenario has destroy our true identity on pretending the others although knowing that something is not going well. The answer is NO because all of us are applying the Goffman’s principle of role distance, the separation of outward performance as well as inward performances. Therefore, we may outwardly perform a nice, smiling face but inwardly scolding and cursing them instead. Outward performance is similar to the actor does onstage and the inward feeling is comparable to what the actor does on the backstage. Goffman hence uses this stages to his theory in analysing the self-presentation, dividing into frontstage and backstage. In front stage, people present their selves in ways expected for the others, like audience. On the other hand (backstage), starts to reveal their true identity, showing no concern for the audience. Frontstage performance is not necessary consider as dishonest or making fool on the others (audience), but it can be perform better if we apply the Jones and Pittman Taxonomy on the front stage and conceal our true identity in the back stage in our daily, it can seems much interesting in order can influence other people perception as well.

It refers to the growing control and strengthening of small and large muscles. Children develop in stages, gaining control in the larger muscles of the upper body first. Physical development takes place in two directions, from the head down and the trunk out. Developmental progress is measured using milestones based on typical sequential development.

Physical development can be sensory development (relates to sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell). Or motor development (relates to the body). There are two sets of skills involved in motor development they are gross motor/ major motor skills (used in the control of large muscles e.g. walking, running anf kicking) and fine motor/ manipulative skills (control and use of hands and fingers e.g. pincer grasp and fastening buttons).

Effecting development

There are some factors that can effect physical development whether these are good (improve physical development) or bad (make the process slower), the following are examples of this:

More reason on how development can be effected
Gender

Both boys and girls should be given the same opportunities however; some adults assume that boys wish to play ‘rough’ and that girls want to play ‘gently’. In reality most boys and girls enjoy both. Restricting the types of play a child can do means that a child is missing out on activity’s, that they probably would have enjoyed and that would have helped them in developing and learning.

Health

Healthy children will usually have all the energy they need to enjoy the range of opportunity’s open to them. A child with a health problem may lack energy, and need more rest. They may even miss opportunities through illness or time spent in hospital. This can lead to a slower tare of development affecting growth, development and learning.

Environmental effects

Poor air quality and traffic pollution can effect health as the lack of space to play in is a cramped area also if home conditions have no outdoor space may lead to issues such as traffic fumes, pesticides from agriculture. Also living with adults who smoke, drink or take drugs can result in a generally less healthy living space. Which may result in not giving the child enough area to develop properly.

Stimulation, encouragement and opportunity

Children, who are encouraged to try new experiences and have plenty of stimulation opportunities aviable to try, will usually have greater enthusiasm for learning. This will give them a better chance of developing better than those children who lack opportunities whatever the reason.

Love, security and bonding

Children who know that they are loved and feel secure both at home and school or in there care setting will feel more confident, to new experiences. They are more likely to join in with others, benefitting fully from learning things from new opportunities aviable to them.

Discipline and apprioate boundaries

Children need to have boundaries. It is an important part of security. A child who is not disciplined will continually test the boundaries to see how far they can go. There energy will be used up in testing the boundaries, leading to them missing out on opportunities and not knowing how to behave properly.

Adult expectations

If adults looking after the child do not expect much of a child, they are unlikely to get much out of them in return. It is important for a child to understand that adults are keen for them to learn and develop. Children are usually eager to do well and gain adult approval.

Grasp

A child uses a variety of different ways to grasp things. These are:

Development of grasp – using the hands (book research).

New-born – A new-born baby keeps there hands tightly closed for most of the time, the baby also shows a grasp reflex – if anything is put in there hand, it is automatically grasped tightly. The automatic grasp reflex disappears after a few weeks and the baby will only be able to grasp again when she has learnt control of the muscles in her hands.

3 months – The child’s hands are held open for most of the time not that the grasp reflex has gone. If the baby is given a rattle, she holds it for a few moments only. If there hands accidently touch her clothes she pulls them. This is the time they will spend along time looking at there hands. In about another month the baby is able to clasp her hands together and play with her fingers. They learn what there fingers and hands look like and how they can move them to to do what they want.

6 months – The baby can now grasp an object without it having to be put in there hand. They use their whole hand to do this. At this age they can pick up everything in their reach with one or two hands. They can pass it from hand to hand, turn the objet over and take it to their mouth. When lying on there back, they like to play with there toes, they love to crumple things and to splash water.

9 months – The baby is able to use her fingers and thumb to grasp things. They can also open there hands when they want and deliberately drop things on the floor. By the tenth month they use their index finger and pokes objects, at this age they should be able to pick up small objects between the tip of the index finger and thumb.

1 year – The baby can now use her hand to throw things and can point with their index finger to the objects they want.

15 months – The child can now take a cup or spoon to their mouth – but there judgement is not very good yet. The cup is likely to tilt too far when they are about to drink and the spoon is likely to turn over before reaching the child’s mouth. When playing with toys such as building bricks they should be able to stack them on top of each other.

18 months – The child can now feed their self’s completely. They should be able to make a tower of three bricks.

2 years – The child can now put there own shoes on, begin to draw, turns door handles and unscrew jaws. She can build a tower with six bricks.

2 and ? years – The child begins being able to undress, builds a tower with eight bricks and can thread large beads.

3 years – The child begins to dress herself but needs help with buttons.

4 years – The child can now eat skilfully with a spoon and fork.

5 years – The child dresses and undresses without any help, can use a knife and fork for eating.

What can Mia do?

After researching what ages a child should be doing what, so far Mia is doing very well. She points at objects when she can not say what they are called, she can undress her self and open door handles etc. When Mia eats she normally uses just a spoon and a fork she knows what to do and how to use them however she doesn’t always do this so far by looking at this research Mia’s is doing well.

Looking at my grasp research I can see Mia can do the grasp she should be able to she picks up a pencil correctly and smaller items.

Below is a checklist I made to see how well Mia was doing –

Age

What should happen?

Does Mia do this?

New-born

Keeps there hands tightly closed for most of the time, the baby also shows a grasp reflex – if anything is put in there hand, it is automatically grasped tightly. The automatic grasp reflex disappears after a few weeks and the baby will only be able to grasp again when she has learnt control of the muscles in her hands.

Mia has done all of this as a baby anything she was given straight away she would show a grasp reflex keeping a tight hold on the object she did this when people gave her there finger to hold on to.

3 months

Hands are held open for most of the time not that the grasp reflex has gone. If the baby is given a rattle, she holds it for a few moments only. If there hands accidently touch her clothes she pulls them. This is the time they will spend along time looking at there hands.

This was the time mia started to learn about her hands, she use to pull at her top often and look at it in amazement.

4 months

Able to clasp her hands together and play with her fingers. They learn what there fingers and hands look like and how they can move them to do what they want.

Mia has done this at this age mia use to poke things as well.

6 months

Grasp an object without it having to be put in there hand. They use their whole hand to do this. At this age they can pick up everything in their reach with one or two hands. They can pass it from hand to hand, turn the objet over and take it to their mouth. When lying on there back, they like to play with there toes, they love to crumple things and to splash water.

Mia did this she use to touch and pick her small toys up, mia use to and still does splash in the bath. Mia went through a stage where she put objects to her mouth but she now knows she shouldn’t do this.

9 months

Use there fingers and thumbs to grasp things. They can also open their hands when they want and deliberately drop things on the floor.

Mia did this and realised it was funny to drop things onto the floor.

10 months

Use their index finger and pokes objects, at this age they should be able to pick up small objects between the tip of the index finger and thumb.

Mia already poked things before the age of ten months but did start to do this more.

1 year

Use their hand to throw things and can point with their index finger to the objects they want.

Another thing Mia realised was funny, she still does this. She points at things when she forget what there called, or you cant understand what she means.

15 months

Now can take a cup or spoon to their mouth – but there judgement is not very good yet. The cup is likely to tilt too far when they are about to drink and the spoon is likely to turn over before reaching the child’s mouth. When playing with toys such as building bricks they should be able to stack them on top of each other.

Mia has learnt this well.

18 months

Now feed there self’s completely. They should be able to make a tower of three bricks.

Mia learnt this and still does this now.

2 years

Now put there own shoes on, begin to draw, turns door handles and unscrew jaws. She can build a tower with six bricks.

Mia often puts her own shows on when she wants to go outside, she can open doors and loves to draw.

2 and ? years

Begins being able to undress, builds a tower with eight bricks and can thread large beads.

Mia undresses when she knows its bath time, etc.

3 years

Begins to dress herself but needs help with buttons.

Mia can dress her self, but putting her trousers on and a top but can not do buttons, this means mia is able to do more than the average 2 year old.

4 years

Now can eat skilfully with a spoon and fork.

Mia can use both of these to eat, she prefers a spoon but still does sometimes use her hands.

5 years

Dresses and undresses without any help, can use a knife and fork for eating.

Mia is not yet at this stage.

Development milestones
What is a milestone?

A milestone is an action or event marking a significant change or stage in development.

There are a variety of milestones a child passes throughout while physically developing, these all happen at different ages. Below is a table showing what ages a child should be able to do something physically new. The end column is explaining whether Mia has done this yet

Between the ages of 0 and one –

Age

Physical milestone

Has Mia achieved this?

New-born

Reflexes, e.g. moro, walking; no head control’ sees vague shapes, light movement.

Mia showed this as a new born baby.

1 month

Tracks objects.

This happened.

3 months

Held upright, legs bear a little bit of weight, more head control, needs help to sit, kicks vigorously – using alternative legs, raises head and chest using forearms, hands open- can hold objects.

Mia use to do this and use to always be kicking her feet and legs.

6 months

Head fully controlled and can turn, holds on to one or both feet when lying on back, legs can bear weight when held upright, on front supports head and chest with straight arms, rolls from on back to on there front, holds arms out to be picked up, reaches for objects using palmar grasp to pass from hand to hand, eyes work together.

Mia can do this.

9 months

Pulls into sitting and standing positions, sits unsupported, deliberately drops objects, crawls on hands and knees/ feet, shuffles on bum, bear walks, rolls, wriggles to move, walks when both hands are held, can use fingers and thumb to grasp an object (inferior pincer grasp).

Mia do this at the correct age and used the correct grasp.

12 months

Walks with one hand held with feet wide apart (cruises), uses primitive tripod grasp, helps with dressing, deliberately throws objects, focuses on distant objects.

She is very independent and did this well.

Below are physical development milestones a child will reach between the ages of one and five –

Age

Physical milestone

Has Mia achieved this yet?

15 months

Walks independently – using arms to balance, walks upstairs forward and downstairs backwards, kneels, builds a two block tower, uses a cup and spoon.

YES

18 months

Walks confidently, walks upstairs putting both feet onto each step, controls wrist e.g. turns door knobs, remove shoes and socks, builds a two – three brick tower.

YES

2 years

Runs – avoiding obstacles, walks on tip-toes, jumps, kicks ball, uses preferred hand, threads beads, builds a six – eight brick tower, starts potty training.

YES

3 years

Walks upstairs with one foot on each step, downstairs with two feet on each step, balances on one leg, walks sideways, peddles and steers toys, throws ball overarm and catches it, dresses and undresses with help.

NEARLY

4 years

Goes up and down stairs like an adult, has a mature pincer grip, eats skilfully with a spoon and a fork, uses a bat and ball, improved balance and climbing skills.

NOT YET

5 years

Dresses and undresses mostly independently, uses knife and fork well, increased agility, skip, dance rhythmically, and use large equipment confidently.

NOT YET