Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance in Offshore Development Enterprises in Sri Lanka

EFFECTIVENESS OF SOFTWARE QUALITY ASSURANCE IN OFFSHORE DEVELOPMENT ENTERPRISES IN SRI LANKA Malinda Sirisena, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Moratuwa. ABSTRACT The aim of the research described in this thesis is to evaluate the effectiveness of software quality assurance approaches of Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations, and to propose a framework which could be used across all offshore software development organizations. An empirical study was conducted using derived framework from popular software quality evaluation models.The research instrument employed was a questionnaire survey among thirty seven Sri Lankan registered offshore software development organizations. The findings demonstrate a positive view of Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance – the stronger predictors of Stability, Installability, Correctness, Testability and Changeability. The present study’s recommendations indicate a need for much emphasis on software quality assurance for the Sri Lankan offshore software development organizations. Keywords: Software Quality Assurance (SQA), Offshore Software Development, Quality Assurance Evaluation Models, Effectiveness of Quality Assurance. BACKGROUND INFORMATION Software Quality Assurance (QA) plays a major role in successful implementation and maintenance of a software project. In many organizations, QA has been simply traded-off to project cost [1]. The motivation of this research is to highlight the value of Software Quality Assurance against the economic cost. The IEEE standard ANSI/IEEE 730-2002 defines software quality assurance as â€Å"a planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that the software conforms to established technical requirements†[2].QA is not only holding a direct relationship of meeting customer satisfaction, but it has a very high impact on project schedules and cost. Failing to pay attention is often resu lted in budget overruns and schedule delays [3]. Software Quality Assurance has paid back in many industries such as telecommunication, health, travel, law, hospital, government and schools in many American organizations. †¢ A system of teaching hospitals conservatively estimates $17. 8 million saved on an investment of $2. 5 million in quality management over a five-year time period. The University of Pennsylvania saved more than $60,000 a year from one project focused on reducing mailing cost. †¢ The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reduced the time needed to produce the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI), compiled by 650 people in five departments, by 33 percent with no loss in accuracy. [4] Even in Sri Lankan software engineering companies, have been recognized QA as an important element. In 2005, Affno (www. affno. lk) has won the National Best Quality Software Gold Award for their product – eTender, which developed for Sri Lanka Telecom to automate their tende ring process [5]. 2 THEORETICAL BASE OF THE STUDY 2. WHAT IS SOFTWARE QUALITY The IEEE standard ANSI/IEEE 730-2002 defines software quality assurance as â€Å"a planned and systematic pattern of all actions necessary to provide adequate confidence that the software conforms to established technical requirements†[2]. By going down the path of IEEE definition, there are two major camps when defining software quality[6]: 1. Conformance to specification: quality defines in terms of the level which the product or service meets its’ written specifications. 2. Meeting customer needs: meeting customer’s explicit or implicit needs, irrespective of any measurable product or service characteristics.Currently software quality assurance is measured in two ways: from technical perspective and from user perspective[7]. In the technical perspective of measuring software quality is based on specifications. Developers measure quality and ensure specifications in terms of errors i n code through testing process and through other mechanisms such as formal specifications, structured programming[8]. End-user perspective of software quality is measured through user experience to denote how well software meets user expectations. User dissatisfactions do not necessarily be resulting from failure to meet specifications or coding errors. . 2 SOFTWARE QUALITY MANAGEMENT PHILOSOPHIES This section of the literature presents different philosophies of quality from view points of quality management gurus. These quality management philosophies could be a good alternative to formalized quality models which the research is going to based on. Quality management requires customer satisfaction, prefers prevention to inspection, and recognizes management responsibility for quality[9]. 2. 2. 1 DEMING AND FOURTEEN POINTS FOR MANAGEMENT Walter Edward Deming defines quality in terms of customer satisfaction[10].Customer satisfaction is beyond conformance to specifications. According to Deming, the judge of quality should be the end user or the customer. Deming argues that management system should implement in a way that everyone in the organization to be responsible for quality of their output to the internal stakeholders. He introduced fourteen points for management for people to understand and implement necessary quality transformation[10]: 1. Create constancy of purpose for improvement of product and service: Stay in business and provide jobs through innovation, research, constant improvement and maintenance. 2.Adopt the new philosophy: For the new economic age, management needs to take leadership for change into a learning organization. 3. Cease dependence on mass inspection: Eliminate the need for mass inspection by building quality into the product. 4. End awarding business on price: Aim at minimum total cost and move towards single suppliers. 5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service: Improvement is not a one-time effort. Man agement is obligated to continually look for ways to reduce waste and improve quality. 6. Institute training: Workers should be trained properly on their jobs. . Institute leadership: Leading shall consist of helping people to do a better job and to learn by objective methods. 8. Drive out fear: To assure better quality and productivity, people feel secure. 9. Break down barriers between departments: Team work culture across departments. 10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations and numerical targets: Let workers formulate their own slogans. Then they will be committed to the contents. 11. Eliminate numerical quotas or work standards: Quotas take into account only numbers, not quality or methods. They are usually a guarantee of inefficiency and high cost.A person, in order to hold a job, will try to meet a quota at any cost, including doing damage to the company. 12. Remove barriers to taking pride in workmanship: People are eager to do a good job and distressed when they cannot. 13. Inst itute a vigorous programme of education: Both management and the work force will have to be educated in the new knowledge and understanding, including teamwork and statistical techniques. 14. Take action to accomplish the transformation: It will require a special top management team with a plan of action to carry out the quality mission.A critical mass of people in the company must understand the 14 points. 2. 2. 2 JURAN AND THE IMPORTANCE OF TOP MANAGEMENT COMMITMENT TO QUALITY Joseph M Juran proposes two meanings to quality[11]: 1. Quality consists of those product features which meet the need of customers and thereby provide product satisfaction. 2. Quality consists of freedom from deficiencies. In the handbook Juran propose quality as â€Å"fitness for use† rather than â€Å"meeting customer needs† he argues that it is not a feasible task to meet customer need. His view is much closer to the thought – â€Å"conformance to specifications†.Juran propose s three fundamental managerial processes for the task of managing quality. The three elements of the Juran Trilogy are[11]: 1. Quality planning: A process that identifies the customers, their requirements, the product and service features that customers expect, and the processes that will deliver those products and services with the correct attributes and then facilitates the transfer of this knowledge to the producing arm of the organization. 2. Quality control: A process in which the product is examined and evaluated against the original requirements expressed by the customer. Problems detected are then corrected. . Quality improvement: A process in which the sustaining mechanisms are put in place so that quality can be achieved on a continuous basis. This includes allocating resources, assigning people to pursue quality projects, training those involved in pursuing projects, and in general establishing a permanent structure to pursue quality and maintain the gains secured. 2. 2. 3 CROSBY AND STRIVING FOR ZERO DEFECTS Philip B Crosby is a â€Å"conformance to specification† adherer. Crosby summarizes his perspective on quality in fourteen steps that is built around four fundamental â€Å"absolutes† of quality management[12]: 1.Quality is defined as conformance to requirements, not as â€Å"goodness† or â€Å"elegance† 2. The system for causing quality is prevention, not appraisal. That is, the quality system for suppliers attempting to meet customers' requirements is to do it right the first time. Crosby is a strong advocate of prevention, not inspection. In a Crosby oriented quality organization everyone has the responsibility for his or her own work. There is no one else to catch errors. 3. The performance standard must be Zero Defects, not â€Å"that's close enough†. Crosby has advocated the notion that zero errors can and should be a target. . The measurement of quality is the cost of quality. Costs of imperfection, if corrected, have an immediate beneficial effect on bottom-line performance as well as on customer relations. 2. 2. 4 ISHIKAWA AND FISHBONE DIAGRAM Kaoru Ishikawa defines quality as â€Å"meeting customer needs†[13]. He further argues that no specific quality standard could ever define and following them does not meet the expected quality levels. According to Ishikawa, quality is a very broad concept which goes beyond product, service, process, information quality, etc.He introduced quality circles through Fishbone diagrams. 2. 2. 5 FEIGENBAUM AND TOTAL QUALITY CONTROL Armand Vallin Feigenbaum built his thought around â€Å"total quality control†[14]. Feigenbaum states that quality is a dynamic factor which must be defined in terms of customer experiences. He further states that quality should satisfy customers’ explicit and implicit needs[14]. 2. 3 SOFTWARE QUALITY MODELS Previous section focus on different view points of quality management gurus. These points wi ll be helpful in solving common quality management problems in Sri Lankan, offshore enterprises.Quality management philosophies presented in the previous section represent flexible and qualitative view of quality; this section will present a rigid and quantitative[15] quality structure, which will be a roadmap of identifying independent variables for current study. 2. 3. 1 MCCALL’S QUALITY MODEL Jim McCall’s quality model is primarily aimed towards the system developers and development process, however he has tried to bridge the gap between users and developers by focusing on number of quality factors, considering both user’s and developer’s priorities[16, 17].The quality model is organized around three quality characteristics[16]: Figure 1: McCall’s quality model organized around three types of quality characteristics McCall’s model furthermore elaborated with a hierarchy of factors, criteria and metrics around the three types of major pers pectives. Figure 2: McCall’s quality model Eleven factors on the left-hand side of the model represent the external view of quality as viewed by end users. These eleven factors attribute to twenty three quality criteria, which describe the internal view of software. The evaluation is done by answering each quality criteria with â€Å"yes† and â€Å"no†.Finally the quality level is derived as a percentage based on the responses received as â€Å"yes†. 2. 3. 2 BOEHM’S QUALITY MODEL Barry W Boehm’s model has similarities to McCall’s model. His qualitative approach of defining quality stems from three levels in the hierarchy, which ends with primitive characteristics[18]. These primitive characteristics individually contribute to the overall quality level. Figure 3: Boehm's software quality characteristics tree[19]. Quality measurement is carried out through extent or degree to which the product or service achieves each characteristic[19] . 2. 3. 3 ISO 9126Among the ISO 9000 series of quality standards, ISO has released the ISO 9126: Software Product Evaluation[20]. Figure 4: The ISO 9126 quality model [20]. ISO further proposes quality characteristics/guidelines to evaluate the above six areas of importance. Figure 5: ISO 9126 quality attributes Each quality factor/ six areas of importance is represented by sub-factors as depicted in the above diagram. Details of each selected attribute will be discussed in the next chapter. 3 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK This chapter elaborates how the conceptual framework for the study has been derived through the existing work identified in the literature review. . 1 EXISTING WORK Since the study is on evaluating software quality from software developing organization’s view, it is necessary to filter down the quality attributes discovered in the literature, only to represent developer view of software quality. Therefore it has been decided to take the union of developer related qu ality attributes from all three popular models referred in the previous chapter. It is not an easy task to differentiate developer oriented quality attributes from user oriented attributes as quality classifications are different from each model and some attributes are subjective to their multiple definitions.For a consistent interpretation of the quality attributes, the definitions of attributes have been used according to Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI) Software Technology Roadmap glossary[23] and ISO 9126[24] definitions. 3. 1. 1 DEVELOPER ORIENTED ATTRIBUTES FROM MCCALL’S MODEL McCall’s model mainly goes hand in hand with external quality factors. Following are the quality attributes extracted from McCall model, which are related to developer related quality based on SEI definitions. Selected Attribute Maintainability SEI Definition[23] â€Å"The ease with which a software system or component can be odified to correct faults, improve performance, or other attributes, or adapt to a changed environment. † â€Å"The degree to which a system or component facilitates the establishment of test criteria and the performance of tests to determine whether those criteria have been met. † â€Å"The ease with which a system or component can be modified for use in applications or environments other than those for which it was specifically designed. † â€Å"The ease with which a system or component can be transferred from one hardware or software environment to another. â€Å"The degree to which a software module or other work product can be used in more than one computing program or software system. † â€Å"The ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged. † Testability Flexibility Portability Reusability Interoperability Table 1: Developer related quality attributes from McCall’s model 3. 1. 2 ADDITIONAL ATTRIBUTES FROM BOEHM ’S MODEL Boehm’s model, which has put the utility perspective in terms of quality, is much similar to McCall’s model.After evaluating definitions, following two attributes were added to the list. Selected Attribute Understandability Modifiability SEI Definition[23] â€Å"The degree to which the purpose of the system or component is clear to the evaluator. † â€Å"The degree to which a system or component facilitates the incorporation of changes, once the nature of the desired change has been determined. † Table 2: Additional developer related quality attributes from Boehm’s model 3. 1. 3 ADDITIONAL ATTRIBUTES FROM ISO 9126 Following are sub-attributes taken from the ISO 9126 definitions.Selected Attribute Analyzability ISO Definition[24] â€Å"The capability of the software product to be diagnosed for deficiencies or causes of failures in the software, or for the parts to be modified to be identified. † â€Å"The capability of the so ftware product to enable a specified modification to be implemented. † â€Å"The capability of the software product to avoid unexpected effects from modifications of the software. † â€Å"The capability of the software product to be adapted for different specified environments without applying actions or means other than those provided for this purpose for the software considered. â€Å"The capability of the software product to be installed in a specified environment. † â€Å"The capability of the software product to co-exist with other independent software in a common environment sharing common resources. † Changeability Stability Adaptability Installability Co-existence Replaceability â€Å"The capability of the software product to be used in place of another specified software product for the same purpose in the same environment. † Table 3: Additional developer related quality attributes from ISO 9126 model 3. 1. 4 FINAL ATTRIBUTE LISTAfter anal yzing the above mentioned attribute lists and completing the preliminary studies, the list could filter down to the following for the current study. 1. Correctness 2. Testability 3. Changeability 4. Stability 5. Installability In the following sections, each of above attribute will be discussed in terms of their quality characteristics. 3. 1. 4. 1 CORRECTNESS SEI defines correctness as â€Å"The degree to which a system or component is free from faults in its specification, design, and implementation†[23]. McCall attributes correctness through[16]: †¢ †¢ †¢ Traceability Completeness ConsistencyThrough traceability, it makes possible to know the relationships of each module or component and thereby higher confidence states correctness. Completeness assures that there are no parts left in terms in executing a function of a system or a procedure; thereby 100% completeness ratio guarantees correctness. Inconsistent systems or functions will lead to higher error pro bability; therefore it is a part of correctness. Through the initial discussions with some key personnel, it was revealed that these characteristics are equally hard to reach to achieve Correctness. . 1. 4. 2 TESTABILITY SEI defines testability as â€Å"The degree to which a system or component facilitates the establishment of test criteria and the performance of tests to determine whether those criteria have been met†[23]. Both McCall and Boehm have attributed testability to quality assurance on following characteristics[16, 18]: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Simplicity Instrumentation Self-descriptiveness Modularity and structuredness Accountability Accessibility Communicativeness. Simplicity of applications will make easier in testing comparatively to complex applications.Instrumentation makes possible to put probes in the system in order to deduce test data. Self-descriptive systems have inbuilt help or system documentation which will be sufficie nt to understand the system by going through. Modularity helps in isolating system tests which structuredness denotes consistent organization of the system. Accountability on system for which it is possible to measure the usage of the code[19]. Such measurements are typically covered by debugging tools, which exist specifically for programming languages. Accessibility of a system allows usage of its parts in a selective manner[19].This allows in creating flexible test scenarios. Through communicativeness, systems make easier to understand inputs and output, which makes easier to compose test cases. 3. 1. 4. 3 CHANGEABILITY ISO defines changeability as â€Å"The capability of the software product to enable a specified modification to be implemented†[24]. Changeability is an attribute defined in ISO 9126 and lacks supporting characteristic definitions. However changeability could be achieved through: †¢ Aiming simple solution rather than complicated systems as by nature si mple applications are easier to change. Low coupling of individual modules of a system as lower interactions make easier to change individual components. †¢ Designing the systems change in mind from the beginning while keeping application evolution. 3. 1. 4. 4 STABILITY ISO defines stability as â€Å"The capability of the software product to avoid unexpected effects from modifications of the software†[24]. Therefore stability in this context does not denote the ability of the system to show stable behavior when used. However, if modification often results in unexpected behavior, there will be a high impact on stability.Stability is directly influenced by Changeability. Low changeability is likely to show low stability. This will depict the fact that, trying to change a low changeable system will lead to a greater risk of instability. 3. 1. 4. 5 INSTALLABILITY ISO defines Installability as â€Å"The capability of the software product to be installed in a specified enviro nment†[24]. Installability requirements are generally specified in the form of an installation process. The target environment in this case will have to be known at the development time.Installability is measured as a percentage exercised of the total specified Installability requirements. In the Sri Lankan context, Installability is commonly referred as Deployability. 3. 1. 5 RELATIONSHIPS OF VARIABLES Having identified the variables and attributes, it had been decided to limit the study to following variables, after interviewing key quality assurance personnel in target organizations. Based on their arguments, on applicability to offshore organizations, the best suited variables have been selected for the study. Dependent Variable: Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance Independent Variables: . Correctness a. Completeness b. Consistency 2. Testability a. Simplicity b. Modularity c. Structuredness 3. Changeability a. Simplicity b. Coupling 4. Stability a. Changeability 5 . Installability Having identified the variables, following relationships have been derived based on the reviewed literature in the previous section. Correctness Testability Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance Changeability Stability Installability Independent Variables Figure 6: Schematic diagram for conceptual framework Dependent Variable 3. 2 HYPOTHESES FORMULATEDIn order to statistically test the derived conceptual framework, following hypotheses have been formulated. Since the study is targeted to test each independent variable separately, hypotheses also have been formulated independently to each independent variable. H01: there is no relationship between the Correctness of software developed and released to QA team), on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA1: the greater the Correctness of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach.H02: there is no relationship between the Tes tability of software developed and released to QA team, on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA2: the greater the Testability of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. H03: there is no relationship between the Changeability of software developed and released to QA team, on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA3: the greater the Changeability of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach.H04: there is no relationship between the Stability of software developed and released to QA team, on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA4: the greater the Stability of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. H05: there is no relationship between the Installability of software developed and released to QA team, on the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. HA5: the greater the Installability of software developed and delivered to QA team, the higher the effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. RESEARCH DESIGN Research design will outline the roadmap of achieving the research objectives thorough the identified variables and theoretical framework. Details of study Purpose of the study Type of investigation Extent of researcher interface Minimal: studying events as they normally occur and defining a framework Study setting Measurement Measurement and measures Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance in Emerging Offshore Development Enterprises in Sri Lanka Descriptive: quality evaluation framework Hypothesis testing: to validate the evaluation frameworkCorrelation: study of correlations to effectiveness against evaluation factors Noncontrived: study in real business environment Quality factors and their applicability through quality matrices and Likert scales Data analysis 1. Classification of data 2. Goodness of data Unit of analysis Sampling design Time horizon Data collection method 3. Hypotheses testing Individuals based on job categories in Offshoring organizations Judgmental sampling of individual in the entire population of offshore enterprises Crosssectional Interviews, Questionnaires, Observations Figure 7: The research design 4. 1 TYPE AND NATURE OF THE STUDYThe study was an empirical study through analysis of responses to the questionnaires which was formulated through the conceptual framework. 4. 2 DATA COLLECTION METHODS Since the study is on offshore software development organizations, it has been decided to collect data from all registered companies in Software Exporters Association Sri Lanka and seven other offshore software development organizations in Sri Lanka. There were forty seven registered members as of first August, 2007. Questionnaires were distributed to the key quality assurance person or to the most senior quality assurance person in each organization. . 2. 1 QUESTIONNAIRE DESIGN A structured questionnaire was used to gather responses apart from the preliminary interviews. The questionnaire is divided in to four main sections. Section one has eleven questions, capturing organizational demographics of the responder. Section two has six questions, to capture responder’s personal demographics. Section three is the main section of the questionnaire which captures organizations’ software quality assurance, project specific demographics and responses to test the conceptual framework. Section four is targeted to capture additional information for the conceptual framework. RESULTS OF DATA ANALYSIS Responses received had been categorized to qualitative data and quantitative data. Qualitative data had been used to understand the responder’s and company background. Quantitative responses, where the scale data is measured have been assigned scores as per following table for statisti cal analysis. Response Selected Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree Score Assigned 1 2 3 4 5 Table 5: Rates given for questionnaire responses Each response was individually assessed to ensure data validity and integrity.Incomplete responses have been followed up with the responder with available contact information and have been able to complete in many instances. For the blank responses, score three was assigned in case the question is not applicable to the responder’s organization. Following summary shows the statistics of the questionnaire distribution and responses received. Number of Organizations that Questionnaire had been sent 47 SEA registered companies + 7 other offshore companies Total Responses Received 39 Invalid / Unusable 2 Number of Valid Responses 37Table 6: Statistics of questionnaire distribution responses received 5. 1 PILOT STUDY To test the primary data a pilot study was run among fourteen Quality Assurance Engineers at an offshore so ftware development organization, using a draft questionnaire. On the scale of reliability in order to treat results with credibility[25] and the internal consistency of the draft questionnaire, was checked by using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The alpha coefficient should be above . 7 for the scale to be reliable[26]. The overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was . 81, thus the questionnaire was considered to have a good internal consistency and suitable for collecting the data for the main study. Details of Cronbach’s alpha are discussed under Analysis of Reliability Section, below. 5. 2 PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS All thirty seven organizations selected as valid responses are exporting software. 89. 19% of the selected organizations are locally owned while 10. 81% of organizations which are in Sri Lankan operation are owned by foreign parties. 64. 86% of the target organizations are project based companies while 21. 2% of the organizations focus only on their own pro ducts. However 13. 51% of the organizations undertake client projects while they market their own products. 10 8 No. of Organizations 6 4 2 0 1. 00 2. 00 3. 00 4. 00 5. 00 6. 00 7. 00 8. 00 12. 00 14. 00 No. of years in Sri Lankan Operation Figure 8: Analysis of organizations against number of years in operation According to the above graph, most of the Sri Lankan offshore organizations under the current study have started their operation two years before. 75. 68% of the responders were males and the balance 24. 32% were females.The average age of responders was 30. 11 years. On an average, they posses one year of experience in their current position in the respective organizations. The following chart represents the education level of responders. 30 25 20 Count 15 10 5 0 Non IT Graduate IT/Comp. Science Post Graduate Graduate Deploma MSc/MBA/Post Graduate Degree Other Education Level Figure 9: Education level of responders Majority of quality assurance heads in the target organizat ions posses Information Technology or a Computer Science degree. 3. 03% Little Early 9. 09% On Time 24. 24% Too Delayed 3. 64% Little Delayed Figure 10: Project completion against estimates Responders were asked to select a completed project/product when they responded to part 3 of the questionnaire. The above pie chart highlights the project/product completion time against the estimates of the selected projects by the responders. From the selected projects/products, majority have been completed with a little delay from the estimates. Mean and the variance are calculated for each question under each independent variable and the dependent variable through the assigned scores as per Table 5.Question No. Question Mean Variance Effectiveness of Software Quality Assurance 18 19 20 21 22 23 Software QA is a very important discipline in our organization Without QA our products/services will not meet current level of customer satisfaction Our Software QA approach/practice helps us in winnin g new businesses Our organization has adequate number of QA Human Resources Our organization has invested enough in Software QA tools Our Software Development or any other Process has considered QA as a major practice 3. 622 4. 081 3. 811 3. 919 3. 514 3. 865 0. 686 0. 99 0. 658 0. 465 0. 812 0. 842 Correctness 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 â€Å"If the systems or components we deliver meet specifications to 100%†, we can say that it’s a high quality factor Systems or components we deliver, always met specifications Uniformity of functionality/operations/navigation of the designed system always contributed to high quality System maintained Uniformity of functionality/operations/navigation across individual functions If a function of a system, completes its execution without in between failures, we can say it is a high quality factor.Our systems do not fail in executing a function or procedure to its completion Our QA team measures our systems, whether they meet specifications o r not 3. 703 3. 568 3. 703 3. 324 3. 243 3. 243 4. 108 0. 604 1. 141 0. 715 1. 003 0. 745 0. 634 0. 544Testability 37 If all functionality/operations/navigation of systems could be tested enough, then we can say it denotes high quality All the functionality/operations/navigation of our systems are properly being tested by our QA team Even the complex operations of our systems are represented by simple user interactions in order to make applications simple and user friendly Our applications are decomposed in to manageable modules in implementation in a practical manner Consistent organization of modules/code are evident in our applications Our QA team measures or put emphasis on testability (Simplicity, Modularity, structuredness) of applications during the QA cycle 4. 595 0. 303 38 4. 514 0. 312 39 4. 297 0. 270 40 3. 946 0. 330 41 3. 838 0. 417 42 4. 432 0. 308 Changeability 43 If a product allows a specified modification to be implemented without much difficulty, then we can say i t denotes a high quality factor Our systems do not need much effort to accommodate minor specification changes (i. e.Adding a new field to a form) at implementation or quality assurance stage Our systems maintain low interactions between individual modules, therefore it is easier to change individual components without affecting others Our QA team measures put much emphasis to test changeability and stability of systems during the QA cycle 4. 000 0. 111 45 3. 946 0. 164 46 3. 838 0. 251 48 3. 919 0. 299 Stability 44 If the systems avoid unexpected effects after modifications, it denotes a high quality or it’s a high quality factor After the design changes done to one module, our systems have very few side effects to other modules Our QA team measures put much emphasis to test changeability and stability of systems during the QA cycle 3. 595 . 359 47 3. 703 0. 437 48 3. 919 0. 299 Installability 49 If the system could be installed in a specified environment without challenges, it denotes high quality or it can be considered as a high quality factor Our systems do not get challenged during the installation in the agreed/specified environment Our QA team measures Installability of systems they test 3. 568 0. 863 50 3. 162 3. 541 0. 862 1. 311 51 Table 7: Means and variances of questions Frequency distributions of responses to each of above questions have been presented in Appendix 2. 5. 3 SECONDARY RESULTS ANALYSIS Primary data is further analyzed to derive more meaningful results.For statistical analysis, the ratings gathered through individual questions were summed up to derive scores for individual independent variables. Variable = sum of marks for relevant questions I. e. Correctness = Q30 + Q31 + Q32 + Q33 + Q34 + Q35 + Q36 Sample Mean, where, n = sample size, and = scores Sample Variance, Standard Deviation, Following table illustrates the statistics of independent variables, which denotes the effectiveness of quality assurance. Standard Deviation 0. 569 0. 552 0. 422 0. 327 0. 445 0. 752 Variable Effectiveness of QA Correctness Testability Changeability Stability Installability Mean 3. 802 3. 556 4. 270 3. 926 3. 739 3. 423 Variance 0. 324 0. 305 0. 178 0. 107 0. 198 0. 566Table 8: Basic statistics of independent variables and the dependent variable Following is the graphical illustration of above statistics. 4. 500 4. 000 3. 500 3. 000 2. 500 2. 000 1. 500 1. 000 0. 500 0. 000 Mean Variance Std. Div. Figure 11: Basic statistics of independent variables According to the above illustration, Testability contributes to QA effectiveness most while Changeability remains at the second position. Installability was rated as of least significant to the QA Effectiveness in the subject domain. 5. 3. 1 ANALYSIS OF RELIABILITY OF DATA Cronbach’s alpha measure is used to determine how well the target independent variables measure single, unidimensional QA Effectiveness latent construct.Cronbach's alpha can be written as a function of the number of test items AND the average inter-correlation among the items. N where, N = number of items and = inter-item correlation among items. Cronbach's Alpha Based on Cronbach's Standardized Alpha ( Items . 912 . 918 Table 9: Reliability statistics N of Items 28 Cronbach’s alpha for all twenty eight questions is 0. 912, which denotes that the collected data is acceptable for the research. 5. 4 HYPOTHESES TESTING Analysis had been done to test each set of hypothesis to find out whether there are relationships defined through the hypotheses exist among independent variables and the dependent variable.The correlations between the factors hypothesized to effectiveness of quality assurance shown in the following table: Set of Hypothesis/Independent Variable H1:Correctness H2:Testability H3:Changeability H4:Stability H5:Installability ** Correlation is significant at the 0. 01 level (2-tailed). Pearson Correlation/ Effectiveness of QA . 678** . 589** . 559** . 728** . 613** Sig. (2-tailed) . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 . 000 Table 11: Correlations between hypotheses for quality assurance Hypothesis H1: According to Hypothesis H01, Correctness which is influenced by Consistency and Completeness has a positive relationship to effectiveness of software quality assurance approach. Since this hypothesis is supported by the data analysis (Sig. value was . 000, p

Who Should Be Responsible for Obesity

Who should be responsible for obesity? When it comes to the topic of America’s social problems, most of us will readily agree that the obesity epidemic is one of the major problems in America’s society now. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of who is responsible for this problem. Whereas some are convinced â€Å"Don’t Blame the Eater†, that the fast-food industry is responsible, other maintains that is a personal responsibility and what you eat is your business.My feeling on the issue are mixed. I do support Radley Balko’s position that it is a personal responsibility â€Å"What you eat is you business†. However I find that Radley Balko has over looked some issue on the corporation’s side and I also agree with David Zinczenko’s argument that it is corporate responsibility. I agree that in the articleâ€Å"What you eat is your business† Radley Balko  states that â€Å"We’re becoming l ess responsible for our own health, and more responsible for everyone else’s.Your heart attack drives up the cost of my premiums and office visits. And if the government is paying for my anti-cholesterol medication, what incentive is there for me to put down the cheeseburger? † More and more insurance companies are making ton of money every day, Americans rather spend all their money to pay for premiums health policies but not take care of their own health. But why bother to spend all the money on those policies, we can just put down the cheeseburger and save.People  argue that they don't have time to eat healthy but this is only an  excuse, if we all use five  minutes to pack our own lunch that can change a lot in the society, I know we all busy with all kind of different things in our daily life but we have an hour to watch TV but do not have five  minutes to pack lunch? Even a sandwich with a juice box is healthier than those fast-foods in the street. Isnâ₠¬â„¢t it a health body is most important to our life?In â€Å"  What you eat is your business† Radley Balko also claim that â€Å" Instead of manipulating or intervening in the array of food available to American consumers, our government ought to be working to foster a sense of responsibility in and ownership of our own health and well-being. But we’re doing just the opposite. † 61% of American is overweight in America, government, president, politicians and school board try so many things to ban the fast foods and sodas from school campuses and vending machines, but I think those are wrong way to fight obesity.Government and school board should foster people to eat health, teach them how to manage their diet and tell them the outcomes of not take care their own health, not intervening in the array of food available to American consumers. But I also agree David Zinczenko, â€Å"Don’t Blame the Eater† insist that† Drive down any thoroughfar e in America, and I guarantee you’ll see one of our country’s more than 13,000 McDonald’s restaurants. Now, drive back up the block and try to find someplace to buy a grapefruit. † Fast-food restaurants are all over the place, how can we avoid it?When we don’t want to cook or on Sunday some families want to eat outside, there is no other choice for them, drive down any thoroughfare fast food restaurant everywhere. It hard to find places where healthier foods are sold; there are inexpensive and convenient compare to fast-food restaurants. There are also a number of convenient stores everywhere, and convenient stores do not just offer chips and sodas, most of them offer fresh fruits, water and other healthy alternatives to â€Å"fast-food†. People can also choose to eat at home, or carry around a healthy snack that they got at home.Eric Schlosser in â€Å"Your Trusted Friend† emphasize that â€Å" Fast food chains annually spend about $ 3 billion on television advertising, their marketing efforts directed at children extend far beyond such conventional ads. The McDonald’s corporation now operates more than eight thousand playgrounds at its restaurants in the United State. A manufacturer of â€Å"Playlands† explains why fast-food operators to build these largely plastic structures:† Playlands bring children, who bring in parents, who bring in money. † Fast food restaurants become gathering spaces for families with young children.Every about 90 percent of American children between the ages of three and nine visit a McDonald’s. Children are the biggest consumer for fast-food restaurants, that’s way fast-food restaurant spend about $3 billion on television advertising and some other promotion, like buy happy meal with free toys. A successful promotions easily double or triple the weekly sales volume of children’s meals. But other side a successful promotions also easily do uble or triple the chance of being obesity. In my opinion I think fast- food over advertise.Even fast food industry influence of the food market is the biggest reason causing us to have obesity, as a consumer we put everything into our mouth, you can blame the fast food industry and the food available to us all day but you actually is responsible for what you eat. You can find all kinds of excuse, but you still have the responsibility to take care of yourself we need to be aware of the problem first, willing to take a step in choosing the right foods, and make an effort to do exercise without this demand at the first place, no one ethical company has the viability to survive in such a cruel demand driven market.

Parents Teen Relationship

Parent-Teen Relationships Analysis Our survey was about parent teen’s relationship and how close they are with each other. We survey 100 students in our school which fifty of them were male and other fifty were female. We had 9 questions which were about who they living with and how open they are with their parents. My three survey questioners are ‘are they are closer to their mother or Father’, ‘who they are more comfortable to talk’, and ‘being more open with parents would have positive or negative effects on their relationship. ’ Question #4 The result shows that teenagers are closer to their mothers rather than their fathers. The graph shows that 77 percents of students are closer to their mother which 48 percent of them are Female and 29 percents of them are Male. Most of the teenagers are close to their mother rather than their Father because she is the one who is there and will listen to you and knows your needs, but father is at work most of the time. Mother spend a great deal of time with their children get to know them better and become more sensitive to their need. Fathers and mother interact differently with their children. Father tends to be more physically engaged and less emotional with their children than mothers are. Girls are closer to their mother because they are from same gander and wouldn’t feel comfortable to talk about their physical issues with their father. In this survey 21 percent were closer to their father because they think that they understand each other better and fell comfortable to talk about their issues. Question #5 The results show that teenagers are most comfortable talking to their mothers and friends than their fathers. The graph shows that 47 percent of students are most comfortable talking to their mother which 29 percent of them are Female and 18 percent of them are Male. However, 15 percent of them are most comfortable talking to their father which 11 percent of them are male and 4 percent of them are Female. Other 38 percent are most comfortable talking to their friends which 21 percent of them are Male and 17 percent of them are Female. Communication with their children seems to be the bridge to a good and healthy relationship between moms and their children. The most important part of communication for moms is listening. Most of the students are comfortable talk to their mother because she is the one who is there when they have problem and always listen to them. She tries to understand them and give them good advices not punish them for what they had done. Also, mother will support their children emotionally and girls are more comfortable talking to their mother about their problems and emotional stuff. Some of the boys are comfortable to talk with their father because they think that he will understand them better and knows their need as a man. Furthermore, most of the students are more comfortable talking to their friends because they are at same age and might have or had same issues and problems as they have. Other reason is that they think that their parents wouldn’t understand them and they might not have close relationship or scared of talking about something they did wrong. Question #9 Most of the students think that being more open with their parents would have positive effects on their relationship. 78 percent of the students said yes and only 22 percent of them said no. ttp://fatherhood. about. com/od/dadsandteens/a/teen_friends_2. htm Communication with their children seems to be the bridge to a good and healthy relationship between moms and their children. The most important part of communication for moms is listening. Many times moms are in too big of a hurry to speak and less interested in listening. The way to learn is to listen. Children learn from moms as well as moms learn from children. It is not al ways easy for a mom to listen in a busied life nevertheless listening is sometimes the most important. Take the time to stop and listen to what your child has to say it will be a precious moment that can be turned into a precious memory. Moms need to be consistent with children. Children learn to trust this way. A mom says something it is important to follow through with that statement. Whether it be a boundary for a child (where they can go, curfews) or a special time and day set aside for them. Consistency is an everyday thing that will go on through the life of the child. They trust boundaries that are set for them and look forward to the time they get with mom. As children grow and have ideas of their own, it is important for moms to keep communicating and listening to their children. There are different needs in children as they grow and change and it is important for moms to recognize their changes and needs with an open mind and a lot of understanding. Sometimes tough love is a hard thing to for moms but a much-needed thing in children's lives. And my mum because she's my emotional support. She's a female like me, so we talk about anything. She's there to cry to.. It's very effective. Children feel closer to parents who treat them like friends and listen to them more than those who rule by fear. When you treat your child like a friend, he/she will confide everything in you and this way can be saved from doing a lot of stuff that could be harmful for them or get them into trouble. Being a friend to your kid makes them feel closer to you, and protect them from outside influences that may be attractive but may get them into trouble.

Service Development Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Service Development Project - Essay Example Being able to realise the needs of the rent-a-bike, the company had decided to offer their services. The main goal of the company is to provide bikes for rent in France that will satisfy their target market and be known in the marketplace as a company that provide effective and efficient bike services. It is important that the company will consider a good value proposition to its customers if it wishes to gain a competitive advantage over its competitors and be known in the marketplace. According to Piercy (2002) describes value for a customer, not only in terms of lower prices and higher quality, but more as a perception of one service overall benefits compared to the total cost of the service. These costs not only include price, but also the time, effort, and difficulties that may arise during the whole purchase decision and post purchase evaluation. Piercy (2002) states, those customers have become more 'sophisticated' as awareness of marketing activity has increased. The expectations of the customer have increased so much that traditional marketing perspective where the customer is easily satisfied has all but disappeared. Customers now want, and expect not only the core benefits of rent-a-bike services, but also secondary benefits such as, design, reliability, brand names, and various colours. Customers also now demand what has been referred to as, the augmented service. This would include, low energy usage, extended warranties, free delivery after purchase, or interest free credit. These secondary and augmented aspects of the service, amount to the overall superior value proposition given by the company to the customer. Treacy and Wiersema (1995) had categorized the buying motives of the customers in three different types on how to mark value. These include service leadership, customer intimacy and operational excellence. In this service, the company may use the customer intimacy value proposition for its customers. In this manner, the company will try to focus on the quality of their relationships with target market and provide complete solutions as their value proposition. The marking value that the company used is "PROVIDING EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT SERVICE THAT WILL SATISFY OUR TARGET MARKET." In order to create value, the company will consider service testing within the area of France. Key competitors Competitor's analysis is very important when a company will be considered as a new entrant within the market place. It is essential so that the company will be able to know their competitors and the possible strategy that they may use to outgrow such competitors and know the needs of the target market. However, it can be said that these industries do not solely focus on providing rent-a-bike in a specific target market. Hence, it can be said that OYbikes can have bigger opportunity to be recognised in the marketplace. Marketing segmentation Primarily, the context of the market segmentation for this company will be the Psychographics. Psychographics includes social class, lifestyle, and personality variables (Chiagouris & Kahle, 1997). The end result of using these variables is a psychological profile of each market segment. Issues also examined the customers' loyalties, habits and self-concept.

Marketing Research Proposal for Film 4 You DVD Rental Store Paper

Marketing Proposal for Film 4 You DVD Rental Store - Research Paper Example The firm that is analyzed in the paper is Films 4 You Company limited is a regional company with headquarters in New York. Established in the year 1999 with strong market presence in provision of DVD rental services, Films 4 You Company Limited has a track record of distributing 500 DVD consumer rental per day representing a 5% share in the DVD rental business in New York economy. DVD rentals are specifically are a cherished service for all age groups especially for high school students, college students, teenagers, young adults and parents who choose the DVD rental services for entertainment purposes. Major competitors in the DVD rental business include upcoming rental stores, online rental providers and media houses that broadcast entertainment DVDs. Over the last three years, Films 4 You Ltd has experienced downward revenue from its business, perhaps reasons that can be hypothetically attributed to rapid surge of online rental provisions or inability of the company to meet the dyn amic and changing consumers buying behaviors when it comes to DVD rental. Similar pilot market studies have ranked online stores and inadequacy to meeting customer’s needs as to major factors that can be attributed to the decline in the sales revenue of the organization. Suggests that the introduction of internet has by far means changed the way businesses are conducted globally. Internet has played a significant role in the value chain from manufacturing, distribution and retail outlets. Merrilees further adds that the main sector affected by internet is perhaps the marketing aspect. Online marketing according to this research studies is composed of the basic P’s marketing just as in convectional marketing, (price, product, people and place) and perhaps the online marketing could poses competitive advantage since it adequately enhances and utilizes these four components in one place. (Ducoffe, 1996) On the other hand, Film 4 You suggests that another contributing fact or for the sales decline would be as a result of a shift in the consumer’s buying behavior. In pure competitive markets consumers vary in age, buying behavior, income, education, taste and many factors that play to inform consumer’s preferences. When classified, buyer buying behaviors are generally influenced by four major factors including; cultural, personal, psychological and social factors. This paper presents background analysis of the perceived factors that affect Film 4 You with their respective background study, proposed objectives of the study, statement of the problem, scope and limitation of the study, methodologies used and design of the research study and significance of the study. This paper analyses on consumer behavior and emergence of online marketing as important due to the immediate applicability in the global business economy. In addition, this research is of the specific opinion to evaluate which one the highlighted factors would be responsible for such observed business poor performance. Background information Online Marketing Marketing studies by (Merrilees, 2001)suggests that internet has revolutionized how organizations conduct their business worldwide. Its advent has seen a new shift in marketing paradigm around on improving the value chain along manufacturing and retail to end users creating a new pattern of retail distribution channel. (Cobanoglu, Ekinci, & Park, 2003) Ideally online marketing has seen such an increase and usage among consumers as a result of strong working trust among parties involved, building strong and working relationships and recognizing the fact that the customers work to define their rules of engagement. To this far, marketing has received so much benefit from internet. While using the basic convectional principles of marketing, the system has become much more preferred due to its effectiveness to enhance and correlate the P’s of marketing in much more efficient manner. (Rhee & Riggins, 1999)

Fast Food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Fast Food - Research Paper Example Nonetheless, it does not make it an easy endeavor, as it also requires strategic thinking concerning how to undertake it. There are those that will shy away from it due to high costs incurred at the beginning and those who embrace it simply because there is a constant market. In the same way, consumers have become more aware of health hazards associated with fast food forcing restaurants to come up with healthier options. Outline of Opposing Side The most pressing challenge facing the fast food industry is the fact there is an increasing awareness of health implications of fast foods. Previously, the fast food was the go-to business owing to its cheap aspect in the face of hard economic times. Fast food outlets were able to cash out on such times by offering promotions, discounts and cheap combination meals. At the same time, consumers enjoyed convenience in form of fast deliveries. Presently however, fast food outlets have been faced with challenges stemming from health concerns suc h as the health reform bill passed in 2010 aimed at combating obesity that calls on fast food restaurants with 20 or more outlets to reveal the calorie content of their meals on the menus. This has called for innovation in the industry where restaurants have to look for ways in which they can package their meals in a healthy manner while still making them attractive. This is particularly so with children meals that are usually offered with toys making them more attractive to them; for instance Happy Meals offered by McDonalds. Legislators suggested that such complementary items attracted children to unhealthy meals. Coming up with healthy alternatives costs more and as such restaurants are faced with an uphill task of creating consumer loyalty where for instance consumers will be encouraged to purchase more expensive items after getting them ‘hooked’ on the low-priced ones (â€Å"More than menus†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Second to health concerns is loss of family tradition as a n effect of dependence on fast food. This comes from the fact that fast foods offer convenience and low priced items at a time when most people are leading hectic lifestyles defined by long working hours and work plus school routines leaving no time for getting home to prepare a meal. Getting a meal has become a matter of picking up the phone and making an order that is then delivered in no time. Traditional family bonding that happened during meals has faded because of this as people eat away from home so dinner conversations that created time for catching up have become a thing of history. Even with expensive meals, many young people are able to afford them, as many are keen on making extra money after school or during school breaks (Hager 5). It has been reported that approximately 25 percent of adults eat at a fast food restaurant where a typical meal comprises of three hamburgers along with four packets of French fries every week. Such meals are considered junk foods, as they a re high in fat and salt and if a soda accompanies them there is high sugar and calorie contents summing up the junk food definition as being low in nutritional benefits. Sugar-sweetened beverages that have over time increased in portions served account for nearly 20 percent of calories consumed by Americans. This is what causes type 2 diabetes and increased body weight where one consumes this continuously without exercising. High saturated fats along with salty meals cause heart disease, blood

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children Research Paper - 4

Reducing Secondhand Smoke on Children - Research Paper Example So the one sure shot and authentic way of curtailing second hand smoke in the case of children is to convince the adults and guardians to quit smoking. Once the parents and guardians quit smoking it automatically removes the source of secondhand smoke at home and in the family car where the children are most vulnerable of catching on secondhand smoke and fumes (Harutyunyan et al., 2013). If this is not possible than the second best option is to request the family members and people in general not to smoke at home and in the family car (Harutyunyan et al., 2013). Besides the parents need to make it a point to assure that the people who take care of children like babysitters and nannies do not smoke around children. The others possible place where children could get exposed to secondhand smoke are the places, including the public places where smoking is allowed (Gordon, Friel, & McGranachan, 2012). Any child visiting such a place, including say a public space is poised to get exposed to secondhand smoke. So parents and guardians should look to it that they do not visit such places with their children where smoking is allowed. Keeping children away from public places where smoking is allowed is one salient way of cutting the secondhand smoke on children (Stosic, Milutinovic, Lazarevic, Blagojevic, & Tadic, 2012). This includes choosing such restaurants and recreational places which are smoke free or where smoking is not allowed (Stoic et al., 2012). This also tends to include such indoor places where smoking is allowed and where children are more likely to get exposed to secondhand smoking. It is a known fact that secondhand smoke causes greater harm when it is inhaled at such places which are c losed or are not well ventilated. The parents and guardians do need to understand the fact that secondhand smoke is utterly hazardous and could wreck havoc on the health and well being of

First world war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

First world war - Essay Example Germany tried to free Morocco so that the coalition between Britain and France could be broken. In June, 1914, a Bosnian worker killed Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand along with his spouse. The worker was employed by a Serbian terrorist organization. Austria-Hungary saw it as a reason enough to attack Serbia. Austria-Hungary seeked help from Germany because they needed protection against Russia. On 28 June, the war was declared. Russia jumped in to assist Serbia. Russian government fully mobilized the troops for war on July 29. In turn, Germany resolved to fight Russia and France on 1 August and 3 August respectively. Germany was declared war upon by Britain on 4 August. By 4 August, 1914, a vast majority of the powers in Europe had plunged into the battlefield. The war ended with great changes in the world map. German Empire was transformed into a republic country. Britain took away German colonies. Liberal democracies were knocked off by dictatorship regime in Germany. Many new countries surfaced in Middle East as well as in

Decision Evaluation and Implementation Slp Assignment

Decision Evaluation and Implementation Slp - Assignment Example he other hand, I also had this thought of saving this many so that I might use it to buy myself some nice cloths, shopping, expand my business or even go out with friends. These were some of the short-term ideas I had about how to spend the money. It was never clear to me and at some point, I got confused over what exactly I needed to do with my savings. It was also not clear to me whether I wanted to use this money soon for a short-term goal, or in the future, for a long-term goal. I needed to find a decision making tool that could suit my problem to help me with decision making. After studying my choices keenly, I realized that they were they could widely be categorized into two types of choices. In this case, there were those choices for the short-term while others belonged to the long-term choices. I then came to find out that the best decision-making tool that could suit my situation was the use of a decision tree. A decision tree is this type of decision making tool which categorizes decisions into two different types making them be in two choices (Francis & Arsham, 2010). Probability is then applied on the events of each side of the decision to find which decision should be taken up. Similarly, while separating the decisions into two different decision sides, elimination of the unwanted decisions can be done by applying the benefits that the decision can give to you, and comparing it with the benefit that the other decision on the other side of the tree is capable of giving. This decision making tool was found to be most appropriate as it gives two sid es of the situation, hence giving us an easy way of making decisions through taking up the decisions on the most appropriate side. The decision tree is developed by establishing all the possible outcomes in a decision making process. Here, the possible outcomes were equated to the possible uses of money I had. It was then developed as below. The decision tree was developed by listing all the possible all the

Impact of Market Imperfections on International Capital Markets Essay

Impact of Market Imperfections on International Capital Markets - Essay Example This paper makes an assessment of the impact of the market imperfections on the functioning of the international capital markets. The perfect market is an economic model which describes a hypothetical market condition in which no producer or consumer has an absolute control to influence the prices. As laid down by the concept of Pareto efficiency a perfect market model would eventually lead to a totally efficient outcome. The theories of demand and supply have been evolved using the analysis of perfectly competitive markets. Efficient allocation and use of resources and maximization of social welfare characterize the perfect market equilibrium (Writing Campus). The perfect market model assumes the presence of certain conditions which make the prices move towards economic equilibrium instantaneously. However these conditions are to be treated as sufficient but not necessary conditions. In a perfect market there exist a large number of small producers and consumers. Because of their relative sizes the actions of these players do not have any significant impact on the others. The prices are set by the market and the firms represent only price takers (Writing Campus). In the perfect market model the goods and services represent perfect substitutes to each other. All the firms in the market sell identical products and there is no product differentiation among the individual products (Writing Campus). Perfect and Complete Information All the players in the market have perfect and complete information about the prices and the activities of other players in the market. The prices set by different firms in the market are known to all the players (Writing Campus). Equal Access One of the major assumptions in the perfect market model is that all the firms in the market have equal access to production technologies and resources, since the technologies and resources are considered to be perfectly mobile (Writing Campus). Free Entry There are no restrictions on the entry to or exit from the market for any firm. The firms may enter and leave the market as they wish and such exit will not have any additional burden on the firms. There is the existence of complete independence in the market that the individual buyers and sellers act independently of each other. The market is structured in such a way that there is no scope for a group of buyers and sellers to join together to influence the prices for their common interest. In other words there is no possibility of cartels or collusion in a perfect market model (Writing Campus). Apart from the above conditions there are certain other behavioural assumptions which also form the basis of a perfect market model. They are: It is the objective of the consumers to achieve maximum utility and the objective of the producers is to maximize their profits. The perfect market model is subjected to severe criticisms on the ground that the model is too simplified and the simplifications are irrelevant and inappropriate to describe the kind of society, market etc. This model can be regarded as a description of one type of market structure with most of its assumptions getting violated in the real world. For instance the firms may not have perfect information about each other. The usefulness of perfect market mo

See work below in description Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

See work below in description - Coursework Example The semiconductor markets are so minute to influence the equilibrium of the industry. It is also revealed that the flow of supply of these semiconductors is not reliable and cannot be predicted. Therefore, it can be termed to be stochastic. Introducing stochastic modeling techniques without backorders to the suppliers, ensures that the management is able to predict the supply patterns of its suppliers (Nagle and Hogan, 2006). This allows the introduction of a Reorder Point within their semiconductor inventory, the Reorder point is a particular level of inventory when reached, demands for replacement of depleted stock. Through such a point Universal management will reduce the stock outs. To effect on this, an automated inventory control technique ascertains the firm not to be faced by stock depletion. It allows automatic stock taking and stock use to establish the Reorder point. These are essential management tactics that the universal management ought to consider. The other alternative that the management ought to consider is to identify one of its key suppliers of the semiconductors and negotiate for a merging deal. The merging in this case is a vertical one. In such a deal, two or more firms having different products, but for a particular finished commodity join together to acquire a firm and reliable supply chain. For instance, semiconductors and engines aid in the manufacture if automobile vehicles. Therefore, this is an opportunity that the universal has to consider to stabilize and solve its supply chain problem. The introduction of the stochastic modeling and an automated inventory process is helpful to the firm since they introduce the reorder point to eliminate stock outs. The automated inventory system allows accuracy and timeliness of stock materials, as well as, to their designated destinations (Nagle and Hogan, 2006). The programming models allow prediction of the stochastic supply patterns, hence, Universal will eliminate

Cost of Capital Essay Example for Free

Cost of Capital Essay 1. WACC is used for discounting cash flows in the future, thus all the modules of cost must reflect firm’s future abilities in raising capital. Cohen made the mistake of using the historical data in estimating the cost of debt yet the share price has changed considerably over time. The market value of equity should be used instead of book value. 2. Cohen calculates the cost of debt by taking total interest expense for the year 2001 and dividing it by the companys average debt balance. This is an estimate of the true cost of debt, but is inaccurate and may not reflect Nike’s current or future cost of debt. 3. Cohen obtained the corporate tax rate of 38% which is used to calculate the adjusted cost of debt by adding state taxes of 3% to the U. S. statutory tax rate 35%. In WACC calculation, marginal tax rate should be used as a corporate tax rate for the future estimate. We can use Yield to Maturity (YTM) on 20-year Nike Inc. Bond issued in1996 of 6. 75% Cost of Equity The 20-year old U. S. treasury used by Cohen for a short-term investment of NorthPoint for the short-term 3 months to 1 year yields is more suitable. Given the risk-free rate (Rf) of 5. 74%, the market risk premium (Rm-Rf) of 5. 90% and beta value of 0. 80, we can calculate the cost of equity using the CAPM as follows: Cost of equity = Rf + ? *(Rm-Rf) = 5. 75%+0. 80(5. 90%) = 10. 46% Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC) We calculate the WACC of Nike Inc. using the weights and costs of debt and equity using the following formula WACC = Wd Kd(1-T) + We Ke. = 10. 05% x 7. 5 %( 1-38%) + 10. 46% x 89. 95% = 0. 4682% + 9. 4083% = 9. 8765% The weighted average cost of capital for Nike Inc. is approximately 10% percent. Recommendation Given the stock price at WACC of approx. 10% ,stock price should be greater than $50. 92, which is higher than current stock price $42. 09. This shows that the current stock of Nike is undervalued and is discounted rate of 11. 17%. Cohen’s WACC of 8. 4% of the stock was undervalued compared to 10%. Therefore Kim Ford should invest in the Nike for her mutual fund.

Processes of Communication

Processes of Communication We shall study the process and elements of communication. This will: Describe the process of communication Explain the elements of communication Describe the importance of communication process in our everyday life Introduction Communication is a process of sharing of ideas, facts, opinions and the manner by which receiver of the message shares meanings and understanding with another. The objective of any communication process is to send a set of knowledge, in the form of signs, words or visuals, to a specific destination. However, there are certain parameters which are responsible for this entire process. This lesson will focus on those essential factors which make communication process successful. Process of Communication Communication is a process that uses a set of media to transmit ideas, facts, and feelings from one person to another. For thousands of years messages were communicated through spoken voice, when the sender and the receiver were in face-to-face situation. Even today in India, oral communication seems to be a part of majority population. In face-to-face communication sender gets an immediate feedback. He then easily knows about the impact, further needs or demands of the receiver immediately. In this type of communication, the process remains limited to the sender and the receiver, where in, the channel is the spoken language. Let us take another example of a teacher teaching in a class. The teacher is using various combinations of basic forms of communication- spoken, written and visual. In the lecture, the teacher uses a black board or shows the chart. He also combines written words with spoken words. In this process, the sender becomes the teacher, the receiver becomes the students, and the channel becomes the audio-visual mode of teaching. The sender of the message selects when and what to communicate and also decides an appropriate medium for its transmission. The receiver takes the message, interprets, perceives and responds to it. The entire chain here becomes the communication process. As a process, it is routine and continues forever. Every time a person transmits the facts, ideas, opinions or feelings, another person responds in turn communicating facts, ideas, feelings or attitudes. It is a never ending process which is cyclic in nature. According to Wilbur Schramm, communication requires three things: The source The message The destination The source may be an individual speaking, nodding, gesturing or writing. The message may be in the form of sound-waves in the air, or a wave of the hand or a written letter etc. The important thing is that it should be conveyed clearly so that the receiver can interpret it easily. The destination may be an individual who is listening, watching or reading the message or it may be a group of people listening to a lecture or watching a film. Harold Lasswell suggested a convenient method of describing the process of communication. Answering the following questions holds the key to understand the act of communication. The questions are- Who? Says what? In which channel? To whom? With what effect? Suppose two persons A and B are talking on telephone. Person A:Â  Hello, how are you? Person B:Â  I am fine, thank you. How are you? When are you visiting us? Person A:Â  I am fine too. I am coming tomorrow at 6 p.m. to your place. Person B:Â  Shall I pick you up from the airport? Person A:No thanks dear, I will reach myself. Person B:Â  All right, I will wait for you. In the above conversation, ‘Person A’ initiates the discussion then he is the source. ‘Who’ therefore means communicator or the source. ‘Person A’ is communicating to ‘Person B’. ‘Person B’ is the destination or ‘whom’. If the discussion is on phone then telephone is the channel used. Whatever ‘Person A’ is conveying to ‘Person B’ becomes the message. When ‘Person B’ responds to the message it is the feedback. Let’s see the Lasswell model once again: According to David K. Berlo, the whole sequence of communicating or the communication process involves six steps. The source or the initiator of the message encodes his thoughts, ideas, desires, objectives, and a purpose for communication, which is translated into a signs, symbols or code or a language. This is performed by the encoder who is responsible of taking the ideas of the source and putting them in a code, expressing the source’s purpose in a form of a message. The receiver is the target of any communication. The receiver decodes what is being communicated to him by the sender. He interprets the message and reacts accordingly. Thus, there are a few imperative components of communication which are the unchanging and dynamic essentials. Communication bridges the gap between two or more persons (sender and receiver) through producing and receiving messages which have meaning for both. How does communication take place? Encodes Decodes Sender2. Message 3. Channel4. Receiver Decodes Encodes 6. Feedback Sender of the message, first of all conceives the message in his mind and he encodes it in symbol, painting, music etc. The message thus encoded is transmitted to the receiver through a channel. The channel can be direct face-to-face-talk, telephonic conversation or through letters etc. The receiver of the message decodes it and after understanding it gives a proper response to it. If the response goes back to the sender then it is called feedback. Because of the feedback, the sender modifies his message or mode of communication to make it more effective. For Instance, if we talk about a famous film ‘Rang De Basanti’. Here, the sender is the director of the film Rakesh Om Prakash Mehra. The message is the film itself, the channel is cinema, receiver is the audience and the feedback of the film is that it was a hit. ________________________________________________________________________________ Elements of communication The elements involved in communication process are: Sender Message Encoding Channel Receiver Decoding Feedback SENDER The sender is the communicator of the message. He is the one who transmits the message. He conceives and initiates the message. He is the one who thinks of an idea that he wants to communicate and accordingly fixes on a specific channel, to the capacity of the receiver. He transmits the message in such manner that it is easily understandable to the receiver. MESSAGE Message can be defined as a data, idea or information, spoken or written, to be passed from one person to another. It is the subject matter of communication. It may involve any fact, idea, opinion, figure, attitude or course of action, including information. Message is constructed by a set of codes that has an interpretation and an individual understanding to both sender and the receiver. The code could be verbal, non-verbal or written. A code can be defined as group of symbols that can be structured in a meaningful way. Languages are codes, which contain elements like sounds, letters, words, etc. For instance, a song is a code, which has notes, syntax, tune, rhythm etc. Any form of communication thus requires code. Thus, message exists in the mind of the sender, who selects a set of codes to encode the message according to the needs of receiver. ENCODING The process of converting the subject matter into a set of codes or symbols is called encoding. The transmission of a message from sender to the receiver requires the use of codes. Therefore, the sender plans to encode the message in a particular way, depending upon the receptive power of the receiver. The sender or the communicator constructs the message using a set of codes. These codes encode the ideas for the receiver in a specific format and thereafter are delivered to its destination in the form of a message. CHANNEL After message is encoded in a format, sender decides a channel to transmit the message. Communication channel refers to medium or media through which the message is disseminated. The channel or mode of communication should be selected by the sender in such a way that it is fully understood by the receiver. For example, if the message is a song, the channel becomes the audio medium of communication. If the message is in written forms, the channel can be in the form of letters, reports, manuals, circulars, notes, books etc. Television and films use audio-visual channels of communication. RECEIVER Receiver refers to the person to whom the message is intended. Sender of the message constructs a particular message for the receiver. The receiver decodes the message and understands it. He should be mentally and emotionally prepared to receive the message. Message should be conveyed in such a manner that the receiver is able to comprehend it fully. An effective communication can not take place without the presence of receiver. He receives, interprets, perceives, understands and acts upon the message. For example if the message is a film, the receiver is the audience. DECODING When encoded message is translated and understood by the receiver, it is called decoding. The receiver converts the symbols, words or signs received from the sender to know the meaning of the message. Decoding of the message depends on the perception and the interpretation of the receiver alone. Decoding makes the message clearer and it is converted into ordinary understandable language by the receiver. FEEDBACK On receiving the message, the reactions given by the receiver is called his feedback. Feedback is very essential in the process of communication. The continuity in communication is established only when feedback is generated. Communication is a process of action and reaction. Exchange of responses is an imperative thing in this process. Unless the sender is not aware of the response or feedback of the receiver, he cannot communicate further to make the communication effective. The sending back of knowledge about the message to the transmitter is known as feedback. For example, if the film is a message, the receiver is the audience, the feedback becomes the responses of the audience i.e. if they liked the film or not. Assignments Class Assignments Whispering Gallery Play the game ‘Whispering Gallery’. The game can be played with a group of 10-15 students. A class can be divided into three or four such groups. The game begins with a group leader whispering a message to the first member of the group, who then whispers it to the second and so on, till the message reaches the last member of the group. The leader checks to see how much the message has been changed. All groups may discuss the reasons for the transformation of the messages while they were playing the game. Write down what the game tells about the communication process. Home Assignments Draw the process of communication. Fill the following table: Summing Up Communication is often considered as an activity only. In reality, it is actually a process. The process of communication includes transmission of information, ideas, emotions, skills, and knowledge. This is done with the help of symbols, words, pictures, figures, graphs, drawings, and illustrations, etc. Again, communication is the process by which we understand and in turn try to be understood by others. It is dynamic, constantly changing and shifting in response to the overall situation. Therefore, communication can be described as the interchange of thoughts or ideas. This is also referred as sharing of meaning. The thought is conceived by the sender and reaches the receiver after going through all the steps in the ‘information transfer’ or communication process. The sender first process the thought he has received for clarity as to what exactly he wants to convey to his receiver. Once there is clarity in the message to be transmitted sender decides channel through which he wants to convey the message. When the message reaches the receiver he interprets the message and follows the same steps that were followed by the sender. Possible answers to Self-Check questions (c) We cannot communicate through gestures. Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver-Response of the receiver Sender, Message, Encoding, Channel, Decoding, Receiver, Feedback True Encoding (a) Converting message in an understandable language. Terminal Questions Explain the components of the communication process Explain Harold Lasswell’s process of communication in detail. According to Wilbur Schramm, what are the three essential things to the process of communication? Explain in detail. Suggested Further Readings 1. Communication- C.S Rayudu (Himalaya Publishing House) 2. Mass Communication in India- Kewal J. Kumar (Jaico Publications) 3. Mass Communication Theory- Denis McQuail (Sage) 4. Understanding Mass Communication- Defleur Dennis (Hougptons Mifflin Company) Keywords Source: A place from which something comes, arises, or is obtained; origin. Transmission: To send or forward something to a recipient or destination. Response: An answer or reply, as in words or in some action. Destination: The place to which a person, thing or a message travels or is sent. Feedback: A reaction or response to a particular process or activity. Receiver: A person or audience that is being informed. Channel: A medium, carrier or a method through which something is directed. Encoding: To convert a message into a form that can be received by the receiver. Decoding: To convert a message from code into ordinary language. Interpretation: An explanation of the meaning of anothers artistic or creative work; an elucidation.

Child prostitution in foreign countries

Child prostitution in foreign countries Prostitution refers to the act or practice of offering sexual services to another person in return for payment or other favors. Prostitution is illegal in most countries of the world but is still legal in some countries. Different countries treat prostitution and prostitutes differently and the legality of prostitution activities varies from country to country. In some countries, the governments prohibit prostitution and punish all people caught involved in these activities. In other countries, the governments are committed to abolish prostitution. Some allow prostitution but regulate its activities while in some other countries, there is decriminalization of prostitution and people carry out prostitution activities just like any other job. In any of these cases, prostitution is a crime and is associated with other crimes. Like any other form of prostitution, child prostitution is common in the world and children mostly enter into this business because they are forced by circumstance s or people especially their parents or guardians. Child Sex tourism is also common. In this type of tourism, tourists engage minors of the country they visit in sexual activity. People also traffic children across international borders for purposes of sexual exploitation. Both Child trafficking and sex tourism contribute to child prostitution in foreign countries. About 900, 000 children are trafficked across international borders each year and people hold them in brothels or in other places for sexual exploitation. The problem of sex servitude affects both male and female children. People prefer to practice child prostitution in foreign countries for various reasons. Child prostitution is a world problem that requires both national and international attention. Many factors lead to child prostitution in many countries of the world. These include misery, poverty, unemployment of either the child or the parent, human trafficking, dysfunctional family environment, deception, poor education, AIDS scare, drug abuse and addiction, incest, rape, early exposure of children to sexual activities, and internet. Some governments also use child prostitution through sex tourism to promote tourism thus gain foreign exchange. They do this either directly or indirectly. These governments are those that are struggling economically. They usually assume acts of child prostitution and thus allow this evil act to attract more tourists and boost their tourism industry. Internet and child pornography serves as a major marketing tool that promotes child prostitution. People post on websites the experiences about child sex in different places and the costs involved. They also share child pornography through such websites thus encouraging not only child sex tourism b ut also child trafficking for sexual purposes. Poverty ranks high as a major factor that forces children to be prostitutes. This is common in poor countries affected by poor economies and wavering politics. In this situation, voluntarily becomes prostitutes or their parents force them into prostitution to provide financial needs of the family. This is common in most developing countries. Lack of viable sources to support the rising needs of people in these countries makes the children vulnerable to such exploitation. The families in poverty-stricken areas also become easy targets for procurement agents who are seeking for children to sell them into sexual slavery in brothels or various homes in the world. Child labor in poverty-stricken areas also exposes the children to prostitution. When parents or other agents send children to streets to hawk items, they expose their children, especially female children, to sexual harassment and rape. Human trafficking and deception are other factors that cause child prostitution especially in foreign countries. Human trafficking is a criminal activity in which some people purport to send teenagers to foreign countries to work but end up becoming prostitutes in their new destinations. Some brothel owners or procurement agents sometimes deceive parents by paying them money and promising them that their children will work in domestic chores but these children end up in prostitution. The brothel owners control the childs activities and do everything they can to maintain those who help them earn a lot of money. Sometimes hard times hit and these children are deported back to their countries where they continue with their prostitution activities. Dysfunctional family environments also play an important role in forcing children into prostitution. Such children do not get sufficient parental care and wander around looking for places to find solace. Such children end up in night discos and in other places, which expose them to early involvement in sexual activities. In the end, these children end up trading on their own bodies in order to support themselves. Incest and rape generally changes the childrens outlook in life and make some children to give room for prostitution. Some children become rebellious and defiant of the instructions given by their parents and feel independent. They demand for freedom to do what they want with their bodies. This leads most of them into prostitution. Drug abuse by these children also aggravates the problem by subjecting the children to prostitution and making them compromise situations they cannot when they are in their sound mind. Some children also engage in prostitution due to pleasure and continue in it because of the pleasure they derive from these acts. Criminals organize the sex industry in the world and use children in prostitution for their own gain. The demand of young girls and boys in some countries also contributes to the growth of this problem as more children face trafficking to work in foreign countries as sex slaves. The increasing demand of foreign sex in many people aggravates this problem. Some customers also fear sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS and thus engage children in prostitution believing that they are of low risk. Poor law enforcement in other countries also aggravates this problem. Child prostitution is common in virtually all countries of the world. Pimps, brothels and other criminal networks collaborate to traffic about 900, 000 children across borders for sexual exploitation and servitude every year. This is not only the problem of poor countries but it is common even in rich and developed countries. Sex tourism also combines with child trafficking to make this lucrative business of child prostitution to flourish. People usually employ networks of small groups to carry out activities like recruitment, transportation, advertising and retail of trafficked children for the purposes of sex exploitation in foreign countries. These groups often achieve major success because they require little capital to start up and prosecution by the countries involved is relatively rare. The major sources and destinations of sex tourism and child trafficking for sexual exploitation in foreign countries include Thailand, Japan, Israel, China, Belgium, Germany, Bulgaria, Netherla nds, Nigeria, Italy, Brazil and Ukraine among others. Of these countries, Thailand and Brazil are the leading in perpetuating the business of child prostitution. Even though prostitution and child sex exploitation is illegal in Brazil, from 200, 000 to 2 million children aged between eight and sixteen years are forced into prostitution in this country (Charles, 2010). The children involved in prostitution face many challenges and there are many effects associated with this child prostitution. Mostly, the pimps and brothel operators direct the activities of these children and they do not give them freedom of choice. This makes the children to work against their wishes. They also rarely give these children rest from their work. The pimps also give the children little food and this coupled with the high amount of work they do makes these children weak and sometimes may lead to death of the children. Child prostitution is also economically unsound and causes the child moral and physical harm as well as psychological trauma. Those who use children in prostitution activities usually do not well address their health issues. The children also risk attack from many sexually transmitted diseases like AIDS, syphilis, meningitis, anemia, tuberculosis, and others. This further weakens the health of these children and some lead to their death. Because child prostitution is an illegal business, some brothel owners or pimps fear taking the children to hospitals for treatment or regular checkups. In case they suspect a disease in any of the children, these brothel owners employ quark doctors who sometimes prescribe wrong medication for these children. As a result, the children live with a load of diseases and other health disorders, which give them problems throughout their lives. Such children especially girls are forced to enter into early child bearing and sometimes, family responsibilities. This makes those schooling to drop out of school and thus become less equipped for the labor market (Ringold, 2000). The gi rls used in child prostitution are forces to carry out frequent abortions. Unqualified doctors who also use poor methods and equipment in wrong environments often carry out these abortions. This further endangers the life of the child and deteriorates the childs health. Child prostitution also causes a lot of psychological and emotional stress to the children involved in these practices. Children in this case lose their self-esteem and give up in life. Some of the children get permanent physical damage, which they unwillingly live with. Such children do not have any confidence to engage in any other work except crime related jobs. Child prostitution is also associated with other crimes like drug trafficking and abortions. The more they get involved in other crimes, the more their morals deteriorate. They live in constant fear of raids by people and the police. Thailand has the worst record of child prostitution in the world. Even though prostitution is illegal in this country, it still takes place publicly or privately and sometimes the government regulates it. Large international criminal syndicates traffic children from other countries to Thailand and/or sends some children to other countries to work as prostitutes. Sex tourism in Thailand also contributes substantially to the problem of child prostitution. People coerce children from the age of 10 years into prostitution or some parents sell their own children into sex slavery knowingly or unknowingly. (Sorajjakool, 2003; Pusurinkham, n.d.). Poverty plays a major role in engaging minors into prostitution in Thailand. The children used in prostitution in this country come from Burma, Cambodia, Laos, China, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Thailand also traffics children to Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Europe, Canada, South Africa, Singapore and Bahrain for sexual exploitation. The children are kep t in brothels, which are sometimes surrounded by electric fence thus making it hard for the children to escape. Pimps give the girls harsh treatment and brutally beat those who are not cooperative sometimes to death. Ending child prostitution in Thailand has been a challenge because of lack of commitment from most of the stakeholders and the Thai government. Currently, having sex with girls below fifteen years of age is illegal under Thai law. However, child prostitution still exists in Thailand due to corruption of the government and political leaders. This issue makes the government and political systems to overlook or minimize the problem of child prostitution. The offenders often bribe police officers and politicians to protect them against prosecution. Even though this is the case, the government is striving to do away with child prostitution. It is doing this in association with nongovernmental organizations and other international organizations. The concern is to end sex tourism in Thailand and prevent child trafficking both into and out of the country for purposes of sexual exploitation and servitude. Brazil, China, Nigeria and Zimbabwe also have notable cases of child prostitution in foreign countries. These are destinations for child trafficking as well as sources of children trafficked to other countries for sexual exploitation. Sex tourists also find these destinations appropriate for their activities. Child prostitution in most countries of the world is illegal but still there are many instances of child sex molestation. Most governments are committed to end this problem of child prostitution both in their countries and in foreign countries. There are also many of non-governmental organizations and international organizations involved in reducing the practices of child prostitution in the world. These organizations include End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism (ECPAT), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the World Tourism Organization, and the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) among many other international, regional and national organizations. ECPAT is an international organization based in Thailand. This organization was founded in 1991 with the goal of eradicating child prostitution in the world. The organizations plan is to persuade governments to enact laws to protect children against both local and international prostitution. After the governments have enacted these laws, ECPAT then ensures that these governments enforce these laws. The organization also persuades parents through their local leaders not to sell their children into prostitution (Hancock, n.d). It also discourages sex tourism and convinces governments to accept extra-territorial laws that allow prosecution of foreign citizens who sexually abuse minors in the country where they commit the offence. This means that sex tourists who use children in any foreign country will face judgment in the country where they commit the crime while they are on their tour. Some other human rights organizations gives information to parents in poor, rural areas about the tr ibulations and molestations the children go through in the places they sell them. They do this by use of photos, videos, and/or radios. This is what takes place in Thailand. UNICEF is a United Nations organization concerned with the welfare of children. The organization works in many countries to help vulnerable children grow to early adulthood without many avoidable problems. The organization sometimes works with other NGOs in some countries to help it achieve its goals. UNICEF through its conventions sets principles and guidelines for countries to follow in combating child prostitution. The organization then asks and helps countries to commit to their action plans in protecting children. They do this regionally or in individual countries. For example, UNICEFs second World Congress against Commercial Exploitation of Children set out guidelines and some countries made commitments to develop national plans of action against commercial sexual exploitation of children. A number of countries in the Eastern and Central African region made commitments to this strategy. These countries include Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Madagascar, Mozambique, Seychelles, South A frica, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Mauritius and Angola (UNICEF, 2001). Many of these countries face the problem of child prostitution both in the local countries and in foreign countries. Taking an example of Kenya, this country committed itself to the development of a national plan of action on commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC). Through this commitment, the country has formulated policies, programs and activities to help it to achieve the goal (UNICEF, 2001). This has made the country to engage NGOs in the fight against child molestation and sexual exploitation. The NGOs have involved children in the production of drama on child sexual abuse to raise awareness about this issue. The country has also formed the children department in one of its ministries to protect children. The new constitution of that country has comprehensively covered and clearly outlined the rights of children. The countrys government with the help of children rights groups has established strong regional co-operation with other countries. This is helping in checking child prostitution in foreign countries in this region and the world at large. In conclusion, child prostitution is a common problem in many countries of the world. In this practice, the children engage in sexual activity for monetary gain especially by the adults who either are their parents or their caretakers. Some children enter into prostitution due to the hard situations they face while others ere sold into sexual servitude by their parents either consciously or unconsciously. Child prostitution in foreign countries is also a common practice. People do this through sex tourism and child trafficking. Most people practice child prostitution in foreign countries either because they want to avoid the laws of their countries by breaking law in foreign countries or because they misunderstand the people of the countries that they visit. Child prostitution is a multi billion business in the world that leads to wastage of many childrens lives. In some countries, cultural practices contribute to the involvement of children in prostitution. Large and small criminal groups arrange for Trans boundary transfer of children and clients involved in child prostitution. Even though many human rights groups are against this immoral behavior, some governments have not fully committed themselves to eradicating this problem from their countries. Still there is much demand of foreign children for sex in some countries making the business of child trafficking and sex tourism to flourish. In whichever the case, children prostitution is a criminal offence and all people and especially governments need to fight to eradicate this problem from the society.