At Risk Students Free Essays

Below is a list of warning signs that an educator may see with these types of abuses. Warning Signs of Potential Abuse: Be aggressive, oppositional, or defiant * Act out, displaying aggressive or disruptive behavior * Fear of going home * Be described as â€Å"accident prone† * Being a low achiever * Showing regressive or less mature behavior * Dislike or shrink from physical contact These are just a few of the signs that are listed as â€Å"Behavioral Clues That May Indicate Child Abuse† (Cross-Tower, 2003, Para. ), since bruises are not always a sure indicator of abuse. We will write a custom essay sample on At Risk Students or any similar topic only for you Order Now Warning Signs of Potential Drug Abuse: * Withdrawal * Isolation Fatigue Depression * Aggressive Rebellious Behavior * Change in Friends * Drop in Academic Performance These are a few of the signs that In an article by Bowers (2013) and according to him, â€Å"[m]ore than one of these behavioral changes must be present In the student for a substantial amount of time before an assumption is made by a teacher about drug use† (up. 2). Warning Signs of Suicidal Tendencies: * Loss of interest in activities previously enjoyed * â€Å"Acting out† verbally or physically, at home or at school * Preoccupation with death and dying * Loss of Interest or participation In school life Sudden reports of trouble at school * Difficulty concentrating These are a few signs that could indicate, â€Å"[p]attention signs of suicidal feelings and Houghton† (Boson’s Children Hospital, 2013, Para. 18); however, these could also be signs of depression. Moreover, a teacher should see assistance If these signs appear If one of my students had any of these signs, I would be concerned. The first thing I would do is my research and find out what the protocols are when reporting suspicions of child mistreatment or abuse. Secondly, in these cases I wouldn’t second guess myself and I would report my suspicions to the appropriate authority, in addition, I would indicate that these are suspicions and that I do not know for sure if abuse is occurring. Furthermore I would do was talk to the child to see if they are willing to disclose what is going on with him or her. If the child discloses anything, I will add that to my suspicions when I turn in my report to the proper authorities. I will continue to keep a watchful eye on the student, and if anything else occurs after I make my report, I will turn that information in as well. Next, I will follow the progress that is going on in the case and ask for any updates available. Moreover, my main priority at all times is my student’s well-being and I will continue to report each case f abuse I witness because it is my responsibility to ensure my student’s safety and well-being when he or she is in my care. How to cite At Risk Students, Papers

Importance Of Culture In Business Samples †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Importance Of Culture In Business. Answer: Introduction What is culture? Culture, in simple words, can be defined as the difference of thoughts, beliefs, religion, ethnicity, language, cuisines, etc. that exists between individuals and groups. The behavior of a person in a social setup is an attribute of his or her cultural values or the culture to which he or she belongs. Importance of culture in business The spread of globalization has brought some drastic changes in the business world. Companies from all over the world are now trying to expand their operations in new markets that can offer them an increased potential and are also establishing cross border connections with other business organizations. In cross border communications, culture plays an important role as people belonging to different countries have different cultural backgrounds and their behavior can be a factor of their cultural values. While communicating with people from different cultural backgrounds, it is important to have knowledge about their culture because what is normal in a persons culture, it might be offensive to the other person. As a result, the spread of globalization has brought around a need to attain cultural knowledge while planning to communicate across borders. Cross cultural management cultural differences between Australia and Japan Japan is a country that is located in East Asia and has an estimated population of 126,740,000. The country has a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of $5.420 Trillion as of 2017 and is the third largest economy in the world. On the other hand, Australia is a country that is located on Oceania and has an estimated population of 24,676,900. The country had a GDP of $1.189 Trillion in 2016 and is considered to be a wealthy country. The two countries carry out a lot of business with each other as their policies and status compliments each other. During 2015-16, Japan was Australias third largest partner in terms of trade as Japan is the second largest export market for Australia. Australia too imports goods from Japans, such a passenger vehicles, refined petroleum, goods vehicles and gold (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade , 2017). Hofstedes cultural dimensions Named after the proposer of the theory Geert Hofstede the Hofstedes cultural dimension theory is a work that aims at getting a better understanding of cross cultural communication. In his theory, he used certain cultural dimensions to study the effect of culture on the behavior of a society (Hofstede, 2011). These cultural dimensions are power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation and indulgence. A comparison of Japans and Australias culture on the basis of Hofstedes cultural dimension is given below: Power distance Australia scores 36 on this dimension while Japan has a score of 54 on the power distance index. This implies that the Japanese are more concerned about their position in the organizational hierarchy as compared to the Australians (Hofstede-Insights, n.d.). Individualism Australia scores 90 on the individualism index whereas Japan has a score of 46. This implies that in the Japanese society, people like to be a part of a collective society. On the other hand, the Australian culture scores very high on individualism and has a very loosely knit society (Frost, 2013). The Australians look after themselves and the employees are expected to be self-reliant. Masculinity Australia scores 61 on the masculinity index while Japan has a very high score of 95 in this index. According to the Australian culture, achievements and success are an important part of life and most of the hiring or promotion decisions are based on them. On the other hand, Japan is one of the most masculine societies in the world. The competition between individuals is severe in the Japanese culture and they compete with one another in all walks of life. Uncertainty avoidance Australia scores 51 on the uncertainty avoidance index while Japan has a high score of 92. Japan, with a score of 92, is one of the most uncertainty avoiding countries in the world. Japan has been subjected to a number of natural and man-made disasters in the past and this very fact has forced the country to become peculiar about each and everything that they do (Advantagepartnershipexecutivesearch, n.d.). As a result, they avoid uncertainties as much as they can. On the other hand, Australia scores an intermediate score of 51 on this scale. Long-term orientation Australia has a score of 21 on the long-term orientation index while Japan has a score of 88. Japan is a society that believes in basing its decisions on long-term goals and objectives rather than aiming for short-term goals or objectives. On the other hand, Australia has a normative culture and have a greater need for quick results. Indulgence Australia is considered to be an indulgent country with a score of 71 while Japan scores 42 when it comes to indulgence. The Australians have a higher willingness to realize their impulses and desires and like to indulge in fun loving activities (Radford, et al., 1993). On the other hand, Japan with a score of 42 has a culture where the people show a restrain towards their impulses and desires. Cultural and communication challenges between Australia and Japan As discussed above, Australia and Japan conduct a lot of business with each other despite a large difference between their cultural values. The cultural differences between the two countries can be clearly observed by comparing them using Hofstedes cultural dimensions. Therefore, it is important for business organizations, belonging to both the countries, to have a complete knowledge about each others cultural values so that they can communicate with each other without misunderstandings or unintentionally offending each other. Some important things, with respect to culture, that an Australian must keep in mind while doing business with a Japanese entity are discussed below: First of all, one of the major cultural issue that an Australian is likely going to face, while getting into business with a Japanese, is related with the language differences. Japanese speak English better on phone than in person. A Japanese employee would try to avoid communicating in English during face-to-face conversation because of his or fear to make a blunder and lose reputation (Lay, 2006). As a result, an Australian must keep it in mind that there will be a linguistic difference between the two of them. Secondly, for an Australian to build effective relations with his Japanese counterpart, it is important for him to act with integrity, demonstrate exceptional listening skills and show verbal expressiveness as these are some of the traits that can easily impress a Japanese person. Furthermore, the Japanese society prefers face-to-face communication over other modes of communication. Japanese have a tendency to perceive written material, visual aids, graphs, pictures, etc. as offensive and unfriendly. On the other hand, the Australians have a tendency to adopt tones during communication and use written or graphical material for communicating their idea in a better way. Thus, an Australian can offend a Japanese if he or she is unaware about this cultural difference. Thirdly, when in Japan, the Japanese have a tendency to make offers for things and utilities that they think are important and might be required by their guest. On the other hand, a guest demanding something from the Japanese can offend a Japanese person as they do not consider it to be polite. Therefore, an Australian dealing with a Japanese must not demand anything from him or her, until they offer it themselves. Fourthly, it is evident from the Hofstedes cultural dimension model, Japan is a country that believes that power is highly distributed in the society and believes in a system of hierarchy. In Japan, the performance of the employees is evaluated by their seniors and it is not considered to be wise to leave the office before the superiors leave. On the other hand, Australians do not believe much in power distribution and attach a great importance to work-life balance. For Australians, leaving before their superior will not be a big deal. Furthermore, age is considered to be a definition of a persons seniority in the Japanese culture. For an Australian, it is important to treat Japanese elders differently than the way in which he or she would deal with the younger ones (Martinuzzi, n.d.). Therefore, Australians should keep that in mind that they have to respect the power or the position that a Japanese holds in his organization hierarchy while communication or dealing with him. Fifthly, Japan is a country that tends to avoid uncertainties as much as they can. Before taking a firm decision, they are more likely to analyze even the minutest details of the deal. On the other hand, the Australians have a higher tendency to avoid uncertainties. Therefore, an Australian carrying out business with his or her Japanese counterpart must be patient while negotiating with them as they can take time to finalize their decision. Sixthly, Japanese preferences during communication can greatly vary as compared to that of an Australian. In Japanese, it is a common saying that hear one, understand ten (Kopp, 2012). Japanese believe that during a conversation, if 10% of the information is expressed verbally then the remaining 90% of the conversation is communicated through non-verbal communication and should be understood by the other party. On the other hand, Australians are very particular about the information that they share in their conversation and might demand more details from their Japanese counterparts. Seventhly, privacy is very important in Japanese culture. The Japanese like to maintain their privacy and are reserved in nature. Therefore, for an Australian, who wants to do business with a Japanese, it is very important to avoid getting into personal details in the beginning phase of establishing a relation because the Japanese are such private people that they can even get their names removed from another persons phonebook if they want. Eighthly, the Japanese culture is a high context culture i.e. they place more value to the information that is shared through non-verbal cues, such as body language, eye contact, behavior, etc. whereas the Australian culture is a low context culture i.e. they place more value to information shared through written documents, contracts, etc. Therefore, an Australian must keep it in mind that his non-verbal cues are being perceived by his Japanese counterpart and an unintentional move might end up offending the Japanese person. Lastly, meetings for the Japanese are not what the Australians might think it is. In Australian culture, a maximum of two to three people can be sent for a meeting if themanagement feels that they have acquired all the information that they should (Friedman, 2014). For Japanese, a meeting is an opportunity to collect information and they can send as many as 20 people for a meeting. Thus, the Australians should consider this fact and keep it in mind. Recommendations/Conclusion There are a significant number of differences between Australia and Japan, which can make business dealing difficult between an Australian and a Japanese. An Australian who wants to establish effective business relations with a Japanese should definitely study the Japanese culture in detail and learn their preferences, communication patterns, mannerism, etc. before starting to build a relation because relations really matter in the Japanese culture and it can become difficult for an Australian to establish effective relations if he or she is not aware about the Japanese culture. References Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade , 2017. Japan country brief. [Online] Available at: https://dfat.gov.au/geo/japan/pages/japan-country-brief.aspx[Accessed 10 October 2017]. Hofstede-Insights, n.d. COUNTRY COMPARISON. [Online] Available at: https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/australia,japan/[Accessed 9 October 2017]. Frost, A., 2013. Japanese Culture and Hofstedes Five Dimensions. [Online] Available at: https://restaurantkyoto.dk/blog/en/japanese-culture/[Accessed 10 October 2017].management Advantagepartnershipexecutivesearch, n.d. Cultural Differences between Australia and Japan. [Online] Available at: https://www.advantagepartnershipexecutivesearch.net/26871c9c-9d3e-4437-939c d8cc9626829f.html[Accessed 10 October 2017]. Radford, M. H., Mann, L., Ohta, Y. Nakane, Y., 1993. Differences between Australian and Japanese Students in Decisional Self-Esteem, Decisional Stress, and Coping Styles. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology , 1 September. Hofstede, G., 2011. Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, 2(1). Lay, G. C. C., 2006. The Influences of Culture on Differences in Australian and Japanese Communicative Behavior and Work Styles, s.l.: s.n. Kopp, R., 2012. Articles of Interest. [Online] Available at: https://www.japanintercultural.com/en/news/default.aspx?newsid=204[Accessed 10 October 2017]. Martinuzzi, B., n.d. DOING BUSINESS IN JAPAN: 10 ETIQUETTE RULES YOU SHOULD KNOW. [Online] Available at: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/doing-business-in-japan-10-etiquette-rules-you-should-know/ [Accessed 10 October 2017]. Friedman, S., 2014. 6 Things You Need To Know About Doing Business In Japan. [Online] Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com/6-things-to-know-about-business-in-japan-2014-6?IR=T[Accessed 10 October 2017].

10 Facts That Private Schools Want Parents to Know

10 Facts That Private Schools Want Parents to Know If you are considering sending your child to private school, here are 10 facts about private schools which all prospective parents should know. The data and information provided here should answer most if not all of your biggest questions. 1. Private Schools Educate About 5.5 Million Students According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there were approximately 33,600  private schools in the U.S. in 2013-2014. Together, they served approximately 5.5 million students in grades pre-kindergarten through 12 and the postgraduate year. Thats about 10% of students in the country.  Private schools cover just about every need and requirement you can imagine. In addition to college prep schools, there are special needs schools, sports-focused schools, art schools,  military schools, religious schools, Montessori schools, and Waldorf schools. Thousands of schools focus on high school and offer college preparatory courses. About 350 schools are residential or boarding schools. 2. Private Schools Offer Great Learning Environments Its cool to be smart in a private school. The focus in most college preparatory schools is on getting ready for college studies. Advanced Placement courses are offered in most schools. You will also find IB programs in about 40 schools. AP and IB courses require well-qualified, experienced teachers. These curricula are demanding college-level studies which allow students with high scores in the final exams to skip freshman courses in many subjects. 3. Private Schools Feature Extracurricular Activities and Sports as an Integral Part of Their Programs Most private schools offer dozens of extracurricular activities. The visual and performing arts, clubs of all kinds, interest groups and community service are just some of the extracurricular activities you will find in private schools. Extracurricular activities complement the academic teaching which is why schools emphasize them - they are not something extra. Sports programs combine with academic work and extracurricular activities to develop the whole child. Most private schools require their students to participate in some sport. Teachers are also required to be involved in coaching a sport. Because sports and extracurricular activities are such an integral part of a private school program, you rarely see cuts in these areas as we have seen in public schools when budgets get tight. 4. Private Schools Provide Constant Supervision and Have Zero-Tolerance Policies One of the appealing aspects of sending your child to private school is that she cannot fall through the cracks. She will never be a number at a private school. She wont be able to hide in the back of the class. In fact, many schools use the Harkness style discussion format for classroom teaching. 15 students sitting around a table have to be involved in the discussions. Dormitories in boarding schools typically are operated family-style with a faculty member being the surrogate parent. Somebody is always around keeping a watchful eye on things. Another feature of private schools is that most have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to serious infractions of their rules and codes of conduct. Substance abuse, hazing, cheating, and bullying are examples of activities which are unacceptable. The result of zero tolerance is that you can be assured that you are placing your children in a safe environment. Yes, she will still experiment but she will understand that there are serious consequences for unacceptable behavior. 5. Private Schools Offer Generous Financial Aid Financial aid is a major expense for most schools. Even in tough economic times, schools have made assisting families who want to send their children to private school a top priority in their budgets. Several schools offer a free education if you meet certain income guidelines. Always ask the school about financial aid. 6. Private Schools Are Diverse Private schools got a bad rap in the early part of the 20th century as being bastions of privilege and elitism. Diversity initiatives began to take hold in the 1980s and 1990s. Schools now proactively search for qualified candidates regardless of socioeconomic circumstances. Diversity rules in private schools. 7. Private School Life Mirrors Family Life Most schools organize their students into groupings or houses. These houses compete with each other for all kinds of things besides the usual sports activities. Communal meals are a feature of many schools. Teachers sit with students developing close bonds which are such a valuable feature of private school education. 8. Private School Teachers Are Well-Qualified Private schools value teachers who have degrees in their chosen subject. Typically 60 to 80% of private school teachers will have an advanced degree as well. Most schools require their teachers to be licensed to teach. Most private schools have 2 semesters or terms in their academic year. Many prep schools also offer a PG or post-graduate year. Some schools also offer study programs in foreign countries like France, Italy, and Spain. 9. The Small Size of Most Private Schools Allows Plenty of Personal Attention Most college prep schools have about 300 to 400 students. This relatively small size allows students plenty of individual attention. Class and school size matters in education, as it is important that your child not fall through the cracks and just be a number. Small class sizes with student-to-teacher ratios of 12:1 are fairly common. The larger schools usually include prekindergarten through 12th grade. You will find that they actually consist of 3 smaller schools. For example, they will have a lower school, a middle school, and an upper school. Each of these divisions will often have 300 to 400 students across four or five grades. Personal attention is an important part of what you are paying for. 10. Private Schools Are Sustainable More and more private schools are making their campuses and programs sustainable. It has not been easy for some schools because they had older buildings which were not energy efficient. Students in some private schools even compost waste food and grow some of their own vegetables. Carbon offsets are part of sustainability efforts too. Sustainability teaches responsibility within the larger global community.   Edited by  Stacy Jagodowski

Texts often represent women as victims in a patriarchal society. Discuss.

Texts often represent women as victims in a patriarchal society. Discuss. The female perspective is a critical element that has been persistently neglected throughout cultures due to the prevalence of the patriarchy. This has meant that literature itself manifests as a male institution, shaped by men's minds and voices who view the female experience as trivial and unworthy of consideration. Therefore, being unable to express their own perspectives and discriminated against in their writings, women are a marginalized group. But, in their portrayal, are they truly victims of a patriarchal society? Certainly Sylvia Plath's Daddy (1962) paints a despairing picture of suppression and inner anguish, a woman driven mad by the men in her life - though is this really the case? For Ania Walwicz challenges this concept of a helpless damsel in distress by subverting the traditional fairytale in Little Red Riding Hood (1982), thus undermining masculine values about women and their sexuality. Through the examination of these two texts, the extent of women's victimizatio n by a patriarchal society can be determined.An engraving from the Cyclopedia of Wit and Humor.

MIS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

MIS - Essay Example edman), globalization has entered a whole new phase and this reality can be judged from the speed with which technology is connecting different countries in a way which is also suppressing the distinguishing characteristics in terms of religion, race, culture, or language. My career might be working in the petroleum field in Saudi Arabia and globalization would surely influence my career as well. The fact that I belong from a different country and might be working in a totally different part of the world full of people speaking different language and following different cultures and values is not scaring me in a way it would have had globalization not been such a profound phenomenon presently. Also (according to Friedman), globalization has changed the world in a way that is eliminating the distinguished characteristics and a more harmonious working environment is made consequently at different workplaces around the globe. As countries continue advancing technologically, the world is also getting smaller in response. In an insightful and riveting piece titled In the Next Industrial Revolution, Atoms Are the New Bits, (Anderson) also discusses how the world is rapidly changing as globalization took its toll a few years back and how business should be able to boom both locally and globally by carefully leveling the playing field. Though revolution cannot be brought in a single day yet, by leveling the playing field and embracing creative ideas from local people like Local Motors did, the manufacturing future could be drastically changed. Local Motors let the common public design transportation and out ruled the global auto manufacturing giants. (Anderson) emphasizes that the future is not about relying on globally recognized manufacturing companies, rather the future should be majorly about trusting on local individual innovators with brilliant ideas so that business could flourish locally. What is now seen as big can lose to what was seen as small in the past only

Philosophy Reflective Writing Assignment (Five questions, Five Research Paper

Philosophy Reflective Writing Assignment (Five questions, Five Resposes for each, 500 words for each response - Research Paper Example I did not have to stay up so late and it certainly was not in my best interest; however I still chose the course of action. However, once you make that decision you are responsible for whatever happens as a result of that action or behavior. The idea that mankind has no free will is overall, both, frightening and dangerous perspective. If people are guided by a hand of fate and destiny then no matter what actions you take in the end you will always find yourself exactly where you were always going to be. In other words your actions are irrelevant, what will be, will be, regardless of one’s efforts or goals. This could easily breed generations of laziness. Why bother to try when it will all turn out the same no matter what we do. It, also, speaks to a lack of responsibility and accountability in our actions. In determinism for example, our decision are not really our own. We choose the only way we can give the choices before us. In other words, when a man kills another, the mur derer is not rally responsible; he had no choice but to as he did. No one would ever be held truly accountable for their actions (Greenstreet 1).We make choices, everyday, on subjects both simple and grand, and we are responsible for those decisions and their outcomes. ... What, biological imperative are we justifying in these cases. If they are not responsible for their actions then how can we detain them or isolate them from the population. Many pedophiles admit that they know that their desire for children is not right, but blame their natural inclination as outside their control. But, they know the laws and ethics, yet they choose to continue to do hurtful and harmful things to chidden. Anything but free will releases them of that responsibility and that is not a worthwhile world to create or participate in. In the question it asks if it is a fair trade to exchange free will for paradise or have free will knowing bad things may happen as a result. Whether something is good or bad is relative to those involved. The cat failing to catch the mouse perceives this outcome as bad, while the mouse thinks of it as pretty good. So every action, behavior, and choice has the potential to have good and bad results, regardless of intention or purpose, to differ ent people all at the same time. (final word count 572) Response 2 First and foremost, it is never going to be okay to sacrifice, lose, or in some way, cost the lives of others. In most cases those situations result not in if the decision is right, or good, but on how it rates on a scale as â€Å"lesser of two evils.† The alternative to that choice was much, much worse. However, when asked is it acceptable to allow the loss of one life in order to save the lives of 1000s? Yes, honestly, it is something that happens every day, usually voluntarily (Rosenstand). Many heroes, rescuers, and brave individuals have sacrificed themselves to save others. Assassination as a viable practice of resolving problems carries a whole other set of issues involving the taking of lives. However,

The Modigliani-Miller Proposition I Theory (MM I)

The Modigliani-Miller Proposition I Theory (MM I) 1. Introduction According to many research of corporation finance, the capital structure decision is one of the most fundamental issues facing to the executives and management level. The corporate finance is a specific area of finance dealing with the financial decisions corporations make and the tools as well as analysis used to make these decisions. The discipline as a whole may be divided among long-term and short-term decisions and techniques with the primary goal being maximizing corporate value while managing the firms financial risks. Capital investment decisions are long-term choices that investment with equity or debt, and the short-term decisions deals with the balance of current assets and current liabilities which is managing cash, inventories, and short-term borrowing and lending. Corporate finance can be defined as the theory, process and techniques that corporations use to make the investing, financing and dividend decisions that ultimately contribute to maximizing corporate value.Thu s, a corporation will first decide in which projects to invest, then it will figure out how to finance them, and finally, it will decide how much money, if any, to give back to the owners. All these three dimensions which are investing, financing and distributing dividends are interrelated and mutually dependent. The capital structure of a company refers to a combination of debt, preferred stock, and common stock of finance that it uses to fund its long-term financing. Equity and debt capital are the two major sources of long-term funds for a firm. The theory of capital structure is closely related to the firms cost of capital. As the enterprises to obtain funds need to pay some costs, the cost of capital in the investment activities is also the main consideration of rate of return. The weighted average cost of capital (WACC) is the expected rate of return on the market value of all of the firms securities. WACC depends on the mix of different securities in the capital structure; a change in the mix of different securities in the capital structure will cause a change in the WACC. Thus, there will be a mix of different securities in the capital structure at which WACC will be the least. The decision regarding the capital structure is based on the objective of achieving the maximization of shar eholders wealth. With regard to the capital structure of the theoretical basis, most well-known theory is Modigliani-Miller theorem of Franco Modigliani and Merton H.Miller (1958 and 1963). Yet the seeming simple question as to how firms should best finance their fixed assets remains a contentious issue. 2. Modigliani-Miller Proposition I The Modigliani-Miller Proposition I Theory (MM I) states that under a certain market price process, in the absence of taxes, no transaction costs, no asymmetric information and in an perfect market, the cost of capital and the value of the firm are not affected by the changed in capital structure. The firms value is determined by its real assets, not by the securities it issues. In other words, capital structure decisions are irrelevant as long as the firms investment decisions are taken as given. The Modigliani and Miller (1958) explained the theorem was originally proven under the assumption of no taxes. It is made up of two propositions that are (i) the overall cost of capital and the value of the firm are independent of the capital structure. The total market value of the firm is given by capitalizing the expected net operating income by the rate appropriate for that risk class. (ii) The financial risk increase with more debt content in the capital structure. As a result, cost of equity increases in a manner to offset exactly the low cost advantage of debt. Hence, overall cost of capital remains the same. The assumptions of the MM theory are: 1. There is a perfect capital market. Capital markets are perfect when investors are free to buy and sell securities investors can trade without restrictions and can borrow or lend funds on the same terms as the firms do investors behave rationally investors have an equal access to all relevant information capital markets are efficient no costs of financial distress and liquidation there are no taxes 2. Firms can be classified into homogeneous business risk classes. All the firms in the same risk class will have the same degree of financial risk. 3. All investors have the same view for the investment, profits and dividends in the future; they have the same expectation of a firms net operating income. 4. The dividend payout ration is 100%, which means there are no retained earnings. In the absence of tax world, base on MM Proposition I, the value of the firm is unaffected by its capital structure. In other words, regardless of whether a company has liabilities, the total risk of its securities holders will not change even the capital structure is changed. As the weighted average cost of capital unchanged, so must the same as the total value of the company. That is VL = VU = EBIT/ requity where VL is the value of a levered firm = price of buying a firm that is composed of some mix of debt and equity, VU is the value of an unlevered firm = price of buying a firm composed only of equity and EBIT is earnings before interest and tax. Whether or not the company has loans or the loans for high or low, investors are all accessible through the following two kinds of investment on their own to create the desired type of earning. 1. direct invested in the companys stock borrowing 2. if shares of levered firms are priced too high, investors will try to take advantage of borrowing on their own and use the money to buy shares in unlevered firms. The use of debt by the investors is known as homemade leverage. The investors of homemade leverage can obtain the same return as the levered firms, therefore, for investors; the value of the firm is not affected by debt-equity mix. The MM Proposition I assumptions are quite unrealistic, there have some implications, (i) Capital structure is irrelevant to shareholder wealth maximization. (ii) The value of the firm is determined by the firms capital budgeting decisions. (iii) Increasing the extent to which a firm relies on debt increases both the risk and the expected return to equity but not the price per share. (iv) Milton Harris and Artur Raviv (1991) illustrated the asymmetric information that firm managers or insiders are assumed to possess private information about the characteristics of the firms return stream or investment opportunities. They will know more about their companies prospects, risks and values than do outside investors. Then it cannot fulfill the assumption of perfect market. Based on the inadequate of MM Proposition I, Franco Modigliani and Merton H.Miller revised their theory in 1963, which is MM Proposition II. 3. Modigliani-Miller Proposition II The Modigliani-Miller Proposition II Theory (MM II) defines cost of equity is a linear function of the firms debt/equity-ratio. According to them, for any firm in a given risk class, the cost of equity is equal to the constant average cost of capital plus a premium for the financial risk, which is equal to debt/equity ratio times the spread between average cost and cost of debt. Also Modigliani and Miller (1963) recognized the importance of the existence of corporate taxes. Accordingly, they agreed that the value of the firm will increase or the cost of capital will decrease with the use of debt due to tax deductibility of interest charges. Thus, the value of corporation can be achieved by maximizing debt component in the capital structure. This theory of capital structure for the study provided an important and analytical framework. According to this approach, value of a firm is VL = VU = EBIT (1-T) / requity + TD where TD is tax savings. MM Proposition II is assuming that the tax s hield effect of each is the same, and continued in sight. Leverage firms are increased in interest expense due to reduced tax liability, has also increased the allocation to the shareholders and creditors of the cash flow. The above formula can be deduced from the company debt the more the greater the tax saving benefits, the greater the value of the company. The revised capital structure of the MM Proposition II, pointed out that the existence of tax shield in a perfect capital market conditions cannot be reached, in an imperfect financial market, the capital structure changes will affect the companys value. Therefore, the value and cost of capital of corporation with the capital structure changes in different leverage, the value of the levered firm will exceed the value of the unlevered firm. MM Proposition theory suggests that the higher the debt ratio is more favorable to corporate, but though borrowing adds an interest tax shield it may lead to costs of financial distress. Financial distress occurs when promises to creditors are broken or honored with difficulty. Financial distress may lead to bankruptcy. The trade-off theory of capital structure theory in MM based on the added risk of bankruptcy and further improves the capital structure theory, to make it more practical significance. 3.1 Trade-off Theory of capital structure According to Myers (1984), a firm that follows the trade-off theory sets a target debt to value ratio and then gradually moves towards the target. The target is determined by balancing the tax benefits of using debt against costs of financial distress that rise at an increasing rate with the use of leverage. It so predicts moderate amount of debt as optimal. But there is evidence that the most profitable firm in an industry tend to borrow the least, while their probability of entering in financial distress seems to be very low. This fact contradicts the theory because if the distress risk is low, an increase of debt has a favorable tax effect. Under the trade-off theory, high profits should mean more debt-servicing capacity and more taxable income to shield and therefore should result in a higher debt ratio. 3.2 Pecking Order Theory of capital structure The pecking order theory stems from Myers (1984) argues that adverse selection implies that retained earnings are better than debt and debt is better than equity. Firms prefer internal finance and if external finance is required, firms issue debt first and issue equity only as a last resort. The pecking order explains why the most profitable firms generally borrow less because they have low target debt ratios but they dont need outside money. As in Baskin (1989), asymmetric information affects capital structure by limiting access to outside finance. Managers know more than outside investors about the profitability and prospects of the firm. Information problems are particularly acute with common stock, announcement of stock issue can drive down the stock price. 4. Conclusion The capital structure decision is one of the most fundamental issues in corporate finance. Regardless of which kind of capital structure, to achieve one of the most optimal capital structures, the company should be mixture of equity and debt and it cannot only focus on equity or debt. Equity is a cushion and debt is a sword, debt is always cheaper than equity, partly because lenders bear less risk and partly because of the tax advantage associated with debt. In general, there are differences in the capital structures of different industries; they are having their own characteristic. The most important thing is the companys liquidity is sufficient or not. In making the decision of how to allocate the fund in which type of assets, the company has to consider and compare the different factors such as NPV, IRR and payback period. In evaluating the NPV, IRR and payback period, cash inflow is fund of the vital element. Therefore the company should know how to obtain the financing and how t o invest it. They should carefully to allocate their resources to maximize the firm value. References: Baskin, J. (1989) An empirical investigation of the pecking order hypothesis, Financial Management, Vol. 18, pp.26-35 Harris, M. and Raviv, A. (1991) The theory of Optimal capital structure, Journal of Finance, Vol. 48, pp.297-356 Merton H. Miller. (1977) Debt and Taxes, Journal of Finance, Vol. 2, pp.261-275 Modigliani, F and Miller, M.H. (1958) The cost of capital, corporation finance and the theory of investment, The American Economic Review, Vol. 48, pp.261-97 Modigliani, F. and Miller, M.H. (1963) Corporate income taxes and the cost of capital: A correction, The American Economic Review, Vol. 53, pp.433-443 Myers, S.C. (1977) Determinants of corporate borrowing, Journal of Financial Economics, Vol. 5, pp.146-75 Myers, S.C. (1984) The capital structure puzzle, Journal of Finance, Vol. 39, pp.575-592