Political Institutions

Political institutions have been around since nearly all human societies were organized tribally. Over time they have developed into various organizational features and eventually taken the shape they do today. They have proven to be fundamental in virtually all societies worldwide and by being so omnipresent we often take these institutions for granted and do not realize how vital they are for our society. Moreover, because they are so important and play such a big part in our society, there is a major purpose to compare them between time and place.Therefore, this paper will first elaborate on explanations for political institutions and through that process come up with a working definition. Furthermore, it will explain why political institutions play such a major role in our society, and lastly it will argue for why we should compare these institutions. There are countless definitions of political institutions making the term somewhat vague (Klingemann & Goodin, 1996; Peters & Pier re, 1998).It refers not only to formal political organizations such as political parties and parliament, but also to informal constraints such as customs, ideals, guidelines and actions (Peters & Pierre, 1998; North 1990). In addition, Wiens (2012) emphasizes that these formal and informal rules establish and stabilize roles. Moreover, although there is no consensus amongst theorists of what makes an institution political (Garret & Lange, 1995), Max Weber (cited in Gerth & Mills, 1946) and Moe (2005) argue that an institution is political if it influences the distribution of power.As a result, for the purpose of this essay I will combine these scholars’ explanations to create a working definition. Political institutions are sets of formal and informal rules that influence the distribution of power, create roles and by combinations of standards, ethics, instructions and procedures stabilize interaction for occupants of those roles (Wiens, 2012; Peters & Pierre, 1998; North, 19 90; Gerth & Mills, 1946; Hall, 1986). Thus for being so ubiquitous, political institutions have profound ramifications for politics and for society at large.Political institutions have been developed by human beings throughout history to generate order and diminish insecurity (North, 1991) One of the main explanations to why they create order is because by influencing the way entities interact in politics, these political institutions significantly affect the potentials for individuals and groups to resolve collective problems and identify shared interest (Weir, 1992; Moe, 2005; Johnson, 2001). One apparent example is how parties create political alliances and in some cases governmental coalitions.Therefore, political institutions are vital as they stabilize and structure interactions (Hall 1986; Przeworski, 2004), and by being forces of stability also offer predictability (Hague & Harrop, 2010). Furthermore, Moe (2005) claims that political institutions essentially exist and are si gnificant because they make people better off. Whereas North (1981; 1990) and Minier (2001) do not fully share this opinion and rather contend that in order to benefit everyone in society and also for the economy to grow rulers have to adopt the correct political institutions.Thus, in order to find what the â€Å"correct† political institutions might be, there is an intrinsic motivation to compare these between time and place. To be able to comprehend the bigger picture of political power it is crucial to understand how political institutions work and in order to develop deeper knowledge about those it is vital to compare them (Beck et al, 2001). Moreover, without comparing there is not much to acquire from a mere description (Pennings, Keman & Kleinnijenhuis, 2005).In other words, returning back to North’s argument, one can hardly know which political institutions that are â€Å"correct† in bringing benefits to everyone by merely observing just one institution. Therefore, a vital reason to compare is to look for useful ideas and to see which political institutions might be good and bad at achieving specific political goals and see if these various institutions can survive in different political settings (Przeworski, 2004; Nikandrov, 1989).In addition, by seeing similarity in difference and difference in similarity and linking ideas and theory to evidence we can gain greater insight and be more aware of alternatives (Friedman, 2011). However, some scholars point to the dangers of comparison (see Faure, 1994; Radhakrishnan, 2009) and it is important to acknowledge those risks. Nevertheless, as Friedman (2011) explains: â€Å"For all the problems and dangers of comparison, in the end it is worse not to compare than to compare† (p. 756).To summarize, first of all political institutions are sets of formal and informal rules that have since the early ages of man stabilized and shaped interactions and outcomes by establishing roles and af fecting power relations. Secondly, political institutions are important because they structure individuals and groups to overcome self-interest and rather cooperate for mutual gain. Furthermore, they create order and by offering predictability they reduce insecurity. In addition, arguably, political institutions can benefit everyone in the society and support in economic growth.Thirdly, we should compare political institutions to learn about valuable ideas, be mindful about possibilities and to see how similar and different institutions functions in various contexts. Lastly, we should compare to get a wider and enhanced understanding of how political institutions function and thus also enables us to further comprehend the mechanics of political power. REFERENCE LIST: Beck, T. , Clarke, G. , Groff, A. , Keefer, P. , & Walsh, P. (2001). New tools in comparative political economy: The database of political institutions. World Bank Economic Review, 15(1), 165-176. Faure, A.M. (1994). So me methodological problems in comparative politics. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 6(3), 307-322. Friedman, S. S. (2011). Why not compare? Publications of the Modern Language Association of America, 126(3), 753-762. Garret, G. , & Lange, P. (1995). Internationalization, institutions, and political change. International Organization, 49(4), 627-655. Gerth, H. H. , & Mills. C. W. (1946). From Max Weber: Essays in sociology. New York, United States: Oxford University Press. Hague, R. , & Harrop, M. (2010). Comparative government and politics: An introduction (8th ed).New York, United States: Palgrave Macmillan. Hall, P. A. (1986). Governing the economy: The politics of state intervention in Britain and France. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press. Klingemann, H. , & Goodin, R. E. (1996). A new handbook of political science. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Johnson, J. (2001). Path contingency in postcommunist transformations. Comparative Politics 33(3) 253-274. Minier, J. (2001). Politica l institutions and economic growth. Philosophy & Technology, 13(4), 85-93. Moe, T. M. (2005). Power and political institutions. Perspectives on Politics, 3(2), 15-233. Nikandrov, N. D. (1989). Cross-national attraction in education. Comparative Education, 25(3), 275-282. North, D. C. (1981). Structure and change in economic history. New York, United States: Aldine-Atherton. North, D. C. (1990). Institutions, institutional change, and economic performance. New York, United States: Cambridge University Press. North, D. C. (1991). Institutions. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 5(1), 97-112. Radhakrishnan, R. (2009) Why compare? New Literary History, 40(3), 453-471. Pennings, P. , Kleman H. , & Kleinnijenhuis, J. (2005).Doing research in political science. London, UK: Sage Publications Ltd. Peters, B. G. , & Pierre, J. (1998). Institutions and time: Problems of conceptualization and explanation. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 8(4), 565-583. Przeworski, A. (20 04). Institutions matter? Government and Opposition, 39(4), 527-540. Weir, M. (1992). Politics and jobs: The boundaries of employment policy in the United States. Princeton, United States: Princeton University Press. Wiens, D. (2012). Prescribing institutions without ideal theory. Journal of Political Philosophy, 20(1), 45-70.

Anglo American Dissatation

Introduction Anglo American Plc is a mining conglomerate and is one of the largest companies within the mining industry. It originally started in 1917 as a gold mining company going by the name of Anglo American Corp; the name was created when the initial starting capital of ? 1million was raised from U. K. and U. S. sources (Forbes 2006). In 1999, following a major strategic review, Anglo American merged with Luxembourg headquartered Minorco to form Anglo American Plc, with its primary stock exchange listing and head office in London and secondary listings in Johannesburg, Switzerland, Botswana and Namibia (Anglo American 2012d).Anglo American â€Å"operates in Africa, Europe, South and North America, Australia and Asia† and is a global leader in the mining of both platinum and diamonds (Anglo American 2012c). They employ approximately 100,000 people (Anglo American 2012c) across the world, both in the mines and in local offices, with the majority of employees being based in South Africa, 79,000 (Anglo American 2011). Anglo American employs 10,000 people in South America, which is the second largest proportion of employees in the company, and employs 11,000 people in other countries across the globe (Anglo American 2011).South Africa produces the highest amount of revenue by origin, $17,855million in 2011, which accounted for 49% of the group’s total revenue for that year (Anglo American 2011). When comparing all the countries’ revenue for the year, South Africa has a very dominant position, as all the other countries have less significant revenues of $5,058million or lower (Anglo American 2011). This suggests that South Africa is the main country for production. They have a highly diversified mining portfolio, comprising of many metals and minerals.In 2011, Anglo American increased their shareholding to 85% in the world’s leading diamond company, De Beers (Anglo American 2012a), which accounted for 6% of the share of Anglo American ’s operating profit in 2011 (Anglo American 2012c). The company employs 16,000 people in the diamond division, in North America and Africa, which is the second largest percentage of employees across the group (Anglo American 2011). Another subsidiary of Anglo American is Anglo American Platinum Ltd. AAP), of which they own 80% and employ 55,000 people, which is the largest proportion of employees across the company, 55% (Anglo American 2011). AAP is the main producer of platinum in the world, accounting for 40% of the global supply (Anglo American 2012c). Iron ore is the most predominant area of Anglo Americans operating activities with the largest share of the group’s profit in 2011 of 41%, $4520Million (Anglo American 2011). This is significant in comparison with the second highest area of operating profit, copper, which attributed to $2461Million, 22%, of the operating profit.Anglo American also produce metallurgical and thermal coal, nickel and other materials, whi ch, although contribute to the company’s profits, are less significant in comparison to the more major operations of diamond, copper, iron ore and platinum. Anglo Americans main corporate aim is to, â€Å"be the leading global mining company becoming the industry’s largest employer, partner and investment of choice† (Anglo American 2012f). They believe a â€Å"sound strategy, sustainable development and good corporate governance are essential to achieve this goal†. (Anglo American 2012f) MethodologyAt the first meeting, the group decided that the company study was to be worked on two days a week and a table was drawn up in order to manage the time efficiently to ensure the deadline was met. The table comprised of a ‘plan’ and ‘achieved’ column for each date during the weeks leading up to the deadline of 14th December, see Appendix A. After the first meeting, the group went away to do some individual brief research on the given co mpany in order to get background knowledge of Anglo American and so the in depth research for each section could be carried out at the next meeting.In order to make the most of the time given, the group was divided so that each of the main sections were researched thoroughly in order to give a more detailed report. The group followed the recommendations, allowing a third of the time to carry out research, a third on writing up the report and a third on editing and producing the final piece. After the research had been carried out on all sections, different members of the group began writing up different sections of the report using the information previously obtained.The group then looked over each other’s sections in order to make sure all relevant information was included, to check for grammar and spelling mistakes and to make sure enough references had been used. This was important to ensure all members had a good understanding of each section. Anglo American’s webs ite and annual reports were the main source of information for the company study. The issues surrounding Anglo American during the past year allowed for many relevant news articles to be widely available for use within the financial management section.After the report had been completed, the group booked weekly sessions in the Techno booths with print outs of the completed report, to ensure all members of the group were familiar with all sections. The presentation was then brainstormed and the main points put on a PowerPoint, which then allowed for the presentation to be practiced over a couple of weeks prior to the deadline. Many rehearsals of the presentation were carried out to ensure it filled the time allocation required and it flowed well.Problems occurred with the methodology closer to the deadline, as members of the group had less spare time to work on the company study, due to other assignments being due in around the same time. Financial Accounting Corporate Governance As a global organisation it is crucial that Anglo American complies with the highest standards of corporate governance, to ensure any agency problems within the company are minimised and the company is well run. Anglo American aims to â€Å"direct and control its company in a transparent and accountable way. † (Anglo American 2012f).From the 2010 board effectiveness review, an action plan was created to improve the relationship between the board and management, which could have helped reduce the conflicts of interests and agency problem. The action plan was to Increase contact between directors and management between board meetings and â€Å"Introduce more ‘free flowing' informal discussions outside board meetings – the pre-board meeting dinners will be more ‘structured' whilst retaining an informal style† (Anglo American 2011). In 2011, this action plan was reviewed and changes within Anglo American were made. The flow of management information to the Board was enhanced and the frequency of dissemination of this was improved. † â€Å"Structured board dinners also took place during the year where matters such as strategy were discussed† (Anglo American 2011). This shows good corporate governance by Anglo American as areas of the business which need work are being identified by the company and being acted upon accordingly to improve the effectiveness and control. The Anglo American board is chaired by Sir John Parker and consists of two executive and eight non-executive directors. 0% of this board it made up by women, this suggests that the Anglo American board could be more diverse. In the current business economy, â€Å"Regulators, politicians and shareholders are each stepping up pressure on companies for greater board  diversity  as part of a drive for better governance† (Robertson 2012). The Lord Davies Women on Boards report set a target of 25% minimum of board members to be female by 2015. Anglo Ameri can stated in their annual report their â€Å"intention to increase the representation of women on the Board from 20% to about 30% by 2013† (Anglo American 2011), which is two years below the national expectation.This is an example of good corporate governance by Anglo American as it is adhering to policies and targets which are not compulsory and also has disclosed in its annual statement, its future intentions to increase diversity in the boardroom. Anglo American also has a nomination committee which â€Å"aim is to build on the existing diversity of the board by identifying and nominating suitably qualified candidates† (Anglo American 2011). This is viewed as being good corporate governance by the company as Anglo American is making sure before directors are appointed that they are right for the job and the best candidate is chosen.To do this, they are considering both men and women for the job roles which is widening the talent pool. The Government passed the UK B ribery Act 2010, under this act the â€Å"defence  for a company against this liability is to prove that it had ‘adequate procedures’ in place to prevent bribery† (Wilkinson 2010). To comply with this act, Anglo American have implemented the necessary procedures to ensure that its business integrity policy operates effectively, so the risk of bribery is minimised as far as possible (Anglo American 2011).During the year, Anglo American developed enhanced guidelines on the acceptance and provisions for gifts and entertainment and provided specific guidance on the procedures to be followed where risks were considered higher. This is a good example of corporate governance as this would reflect positively for shareholders and potential investors, as new laws are being adhered to. In accordance with the UK Corporate Governance Code, Anglo American continue to propose the re-election of all its directors on an annual basis (Anglo American 2011), which ensures good cor porate governance, as directors will always be of the highest quality possible.Within Anglo American â€Å"The Audit Committee plays a pivotal role in ensuring high standards of corporate governance and provides assurance to the Board on its reports to shareholders† (Anglo American 2011). In Anglo American, the audit committee comprises of four independent non-executive directors. The audit committee is also charged with reviewing the results of the key risk management process, â€Å"being involved in the risk management procedures of the company† (Anglo American 2011).However, to improve the governance in this area Anglo American could disclose the main risks to the company and the strategy it has in place to deal with these risks. The Audit committee is also responsible for the whistleblowing programme which the group has had in place for a number of years. It â€Å"is designed to enable employees, customers, suppliers, managers or other stakeholders, on a confident ial basis, to raise concerns in cases where conduct is deemed to be contrary to our values† (Anglo American 2011).This shows good corporate governance as there is a programme which has been set up by the group where stakeholders, can report failures and discrepancies within the company, to independent non-executive directors. However, Anglo American could disclose the procedures which are to be followed when issues are reported. Within Anglo American, the board delegates certain responsibilities to a number of committees; these include the Remuneration committee, Nomination committee and Audit committee.In coherence with the UK combined code of corporate governance there â€Å"should be a formal and transparent procedure for developing policy on executive remuneration and fixing individuals director’s remuneration packages, no director should be involved in deciding their own remuneration† (FRC 2012). Anglo American’s remuneration committee seeks advice fr om external advisers Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP, Linklaters LLP, Mercer Limited and Deloitte LLP, to help determine the director’s remuneration packages.Anglo American describes its policy as being â€Å"formulated to attract and retain high-calibre executives and to motivate them to develop and implement the Company’s business strategy in order to optimise long-term shareholder value creation† (Anglo American 2011). The remuneration mix is an important part of good corporate governance as it ensures that the company has an appropriate blend of basic and performance related pay as the remuneration committee will see as suitable.This will ensure that the directors will strive to achieve the main goal of increasing shareholder wealth. At the present time, director’s remuneration is calculated on the industry median for the mining sector and is adjusted by the director’s performance and experience. Anglo American could improve their corporate governa nce by setting director’s remuneration packages at the industry averages only. Within Anglo American, each executive director’s total remuneration consists of basic salary, annual bonus, long-term incentives and benefits.This ensures that an appropriate balance is maintained between fixed and performance-related remuneration (Anglo American 2011). However, the sheer value of some of the bonus packages is likely to affect shareholders wealth and the willingness for potential investors to invest. An article from the Telegraph explains that the chief executive of Anglo American was handed a 38 per cent increase in pay last year, with a total package worth ? 2. 17m, however the cash element of her annual performance bonus was increased by 134 per cent to ? 962,000.Never the less, at this time shares in Anglo American fell by 14 per cent over the course of 2011 (White 2012). This could be viewed as bad corporate governance by the company as despite the share price falling t he chief executives pay has been dramatically increased. To help the directors ensure they have a meaningful stake in the performance of the company, in 2004 the remuneration committee devised a Bonus Share Plan (BSP), â€Å"which requires executive directors to invest a significant proportion of their remuneration in shares† (Anglo American 2011).This demonstrates good corporate governance, as it aligns the directors’ interests with that of the shareholders, reducing the agency problem. The bonus share plan also weakens independence of the directors within the company, as it is giving them greater interest within the company on a personal level. Training is offered to new directors in order to develop a comprehensive view of Anglo American’s company, continuous training is also available to directors throughout their employment.However, the governance could be improved by disclosing in the annual report the nature and the schedule of the training, so the stakeh olders know what is being covered in the induction training. Within the annual report for Anglo American there is a statement of director’s responsibilities, which sets out what is expected of the directors. The board should present a balanced, true and fair view of the company’s position and prospects. Under company law the directors should not approve the accounts unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the affairs of Anglo American.This shows good corporate governance from the company as in the annual report it breaks down the directors responsibilities, however this could be improved by giving details to the users of the annual reports about what responsibilities each director has. A breakdown of the separation of roles between the chairman and director could also be disclosed in the annual report, which will ensure that one person is not given too much power which could prove to be very risky for Anglo American.The skills and knowledge of all the board members are summarised in the annual report, to give the shareholders and stakeholders an idea of their previous experience and the wealth of knowledge they bring to Anglo American, which shows good corporate governance by the company. Overall Anglo American shows good corporate governance with compliance to the UK combined code of corporate governance. The company has disclosed majority of information but could improve by disclosing the strategies in place, especially for the risk management prospective and its whistleblowing and training schemes.Stating the responsibilities of the chairman and chief executives would also ensure that corporate governance is being applied at a continuous high level. Stakeholders UK corporate law requires companies to be principally accountable to their shareholders. However, Anglo American believe that their shareholders' best interests are served when the company makes sure all appropriate stakeholders are kept happy, not just the sha reholders (Anglo American 2011).It is in all stakeholders’ best interests that the company not only survives, but flourishes long term, Anglo American therefore seek to be the partner of choice for its stakeholders by operating in a way that is acceptable to them all (The Times 2012a). Anglo American needs their stakeholders to support them in order to meet the organisations objectives’, for example treating staff well and respecting local communities, will make it easier to recruit new people necessary for growth.In the long term, this will create more value for shareholders. Employees are possibly the most important stakeholder for Anglo American, employing approximately 100,000 people around the world (Anglo American 2012c), however working within the mining industry has been voted one of the top ten most dangerous jobs (Korch 2012). To help protect this stakeholder group, Anglo American has adopted strict health and safety regulations which are outlined in the safe ty way, ensure that employee’s working conditions are as safe as they can possibly be. The safety way is a comprehensive framework of roles and responsibilities supported by a set of safety principles and mandatory safety standards† (Anglo American 2012b). The strategy outlines Anglo American's risk-based approach to safety based on ten key factors that support effective safety management; leadership, risk management, culture, competence, assurance, monitoring, planning, standards, communications and learning (Anglo American 2012b). Employees in management positions are also seen as stakeholders within Anglo American, as they are esponsible for making key business decisions within the company and without the relevant information they will not be able to make reliable decisions. Unions are a very important stakeholder for Anglo American as they try to make the employees' time whilst working for Anglo American as safe and as beneficial as possible. Previously, Anglo Ameri can have clashed with unions and issues have been raised, as seen in The Telegraph (2011), resulting in negative media interest and damaging the reputation of the company (White 2011). This, in turn, has a negative impact on all stakeholders within the company.In 2010, Anglo American received an â€Å"Employer incentive award for good performance† due to their â€Å"sound labour relations with trade unions, as well as the implementation and enforcement of sound occupational health and safety practices and initiatives† at the South African trade unions solidarity awards for 2010 (Anglo American 2012k). Examples of some of the trade unions that are recognised within Anglo American are The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, The National Union of Mineworkers, The United Association of South Africa and The Togetherness Amalgamated Workers Union of South Africa.Activist groups can be classed as stakeholders, as mining involves using the world’s natural re sources and in some cases can lead to long term damage to the environment. Such groups are passionate about protecting the environment and if they feel that Anglo American are not protecting the environment enough, they put pressure on the company. On 28 Sep 2012, War on Want released an article discussing the miner’s strikes in South Africa and the poor working conditions of the employees (War on Want 2012).This could create negative publicity and disrupt operations, therefore affecting shareholder wealth. In response to these activist groups, Anglo American has recently developed a Socio-Economic Assessment Toolbox (SEAT) as a means of further improving the impact of its activities, e. g. setting up training programmes for local communities (The Times 2012b). The contractors that work on the various sites across the globe are also seen as stakeholders within Anglo American, as they carry out the majority of the work on civil engineering projects, such as digging new mines.C ontractors are important stakeholders in Anglo American as they have a lot of responsibilities when undertaking projects and if these are not carried out properly, then problems can arise. If quality standards were compromised, due to disillusioned contractors, then this could have health and safety consequences in the future. Contractor management is also an important consideration when using contractors as external stakeholders, for example local communities may accuse Anglo American of poor social performance associated with these contractors.This is the reason that the social impact of contractors on the local area is managed professionally. Customers are a vital stakeholder within Anglo American, but due to the nature of the industry, the majority of Anglo American's customers are countries, â€Å"China is a key customer of Anglo American's products† (Anglo American 2012m). Anglo American has many different key performance indicators (KPI), divided into investing in worl d class assets in the most attractive commodities, operating safely, sustainably and responsibly, employing the best people and organising efficiently and effectively (Anglo American 2011).One of the main operating KPIs is the work related fatal injury frequency rate (FIFR). FIFR is calculated as â€Å"the number of fatal injuries to employees or contractors per 200,000 hours worked† (Anglo American 2011). This information is most relevant to the employees of Anglo American, and the unions representing them, as they are the ones who are directly affected by the injuries of co-workers. The FIFR for 2011 shows a small increase in fatalities from 15 to 17, however, in 2009 there were over 50 fatalities which shows that Anglo American is implementing the correct strategies in order to minimise these fatalities.Despite the downward trend, Anglo American targets 0 fatalities, showing that Anglo American show a keen interest in their employees' welfare. Another operating KPI is the lost time injury frequency rate (LTIFR), which is the amount of lost time from injuries (LTIs) per 200,000 hours worked (Anglo American 2011). An LTI is an injury which leaves the employee unable to perform their regular duties for a the period after the injury was incurred (Anglo American 2011).If Anglo-American have a higher FIFR or LTIFR than the industry average, it may put off possible employees from applying for a position, which could result in the company not being able to employ the most knowledgeable people, which can have a negative impact on shareholder wealth. Another operating KPI is greenhouse gas emissions which is measured in CO2 equivalent emissions (Anglo American 2011). Environmental activist groups, such as Greenpeace, are likely to be interested in this key performance indicator as greenhouse gases are very harmful to the atmosphere and have been linked with global warming.The annual report from 2011 shows a reduction in Greenhouse gas emissions than in 2010, s ignifying that Anglo American are moving in the right direction in terms of reducing their carbon footprint. Total water use is another operating KPI and includes water used for primary activities, which affect the people who live in the area surrounding the mine. Some of the regions that Anglo American work in, have sparse water supplies and therefore any water used by the company may result in less water for the local communities.Reducing this KPI is important to Anglo American, as if this is not managed it may put off potential employees within these communities from applying for a position within the firm, and may give Anglo American a bad reputation. The final key operating KPI is Enterprise Development, which is is defined as the number of companies supported and number of jobs sustained by companies supported by Anglo American enterprise development initiatives (Anglo American 2011). The stakeholder that is most closely linked to this key performance indicator would be the lo cal community in which Anglo American operates.Results from this KPI show that Anglo American is currently supporting 38,681 businesses which is much higher than their target of 3,500 businesses (Anglo American 2011). A key KPI relating to employing the best people is voluntary labour turnover, which is the number of permanent employee resignations as a percentage of total permanent employees (Anglo American 2011). In 2011, the percentage of employees who resigned was 3% which shows a decrease of 2. 3% from the previous year (Anglo American 2011).This shows the company is striving to improve employee morale and employee working conditions. This KPI is important for the employees of the company, as it indicates the number of people who may have been unhappy within their work. An important employment KPI in recent times is gender diversity, which represents the percentage of women and female managers employed by Anglo American (Anglo American 2011). In 2011, the group managed to incre ase the percentage of female employees from 14% to 15% and the total number of female managers from 14% to 21%.This KPI can be linked to both the employees and unions of the company, as both want to make sure Anglo American has equal opportunities for both genders in order to create a harmonious working environment. The first â€Å"organising efficiently and effectively† KPI is asset optimisation, which is defined as the sustainable operating profit benefit from optimised performance of the asset base of the core businesses (Anglo American 2011). An asset optimisation strategy is comprised of asset management and asset monitoring and a well organised strategy can reduce avoidable maintenance and interruption times.Managers of Anglo American will be interested in an effective asset optimisation strategy, as it will allow them to make effective decisions with regards to the best method of maintaining and using the company’s assets. The other organising KPI is the supply chain, which is the â€Å"operating pro? t and capital spend bene? ts to Anglo American resulting from centralised procurement from core businesses† (Anglo American 2011). An effective method of managing the supply chain is by local procurement, as it saves transport costs by supplying across the world.Therefore, managers of Anglo American will be interested in this KPI as it allows the company to build relationships with key contractors/ suppliers that can produce mutually beneficial outcomes. The results for the most recent financial year show an improvement to the supply chain of $472 million from the previous year. In the annual report Anglo American also have a section of investment KPI’s, these include return on capital employed and underlying earnings per share. The results from the annual report show an increase in both KPI’s from 2010 to 2011, 24. 8% to 26. 5% and $4. 13 to $5. 06 respectively.Investment KPI’s are only relevant to shareholders. I t enables shareholders to check how well Anglo American generates profit from the capital invested and provides them with a comparison to the previous year. Despite the fact that Anglo American has a fairly extensive list of key performance indicators, there are other factors that have not been accounted for that would benefit the company’s stakeholders. Antofagasta Plc. , another company within the mining sector, uses operational KPIs that state the volumes of the most important metals that has been mined during year and compared with previous years (Antofagasta 2011).Anglo American could create this form of KPI to ensure they increase the level of production for the most important materials each year, which would be useful to the majority of stakeholders as they would be able to see how much the company has expanded its' production over the year. Contractors would be able to use this information to estimate how the level of production will increase over the following year t o put aside enough resources in order to carry out any projects that Anglo American may have in the future. London Mining Plc. ave a KPI for number of employees trained, which gives the number of people who have undergone professional training within the year (London Mining 2011). Anglo American could use this as one of their KPIs to show whether the management have executed the relevant training schemes for employees. Customers would be the most likely stakeholder to benefit from this KPI, as if there is a high number of people that have been professionally trained, it implies that their staff are trained to the highest standard and will have the correct knowledge needed in order to carry out best practice.Employees would find this information useful to determine whether they might be entitled to be given professional training by the number of employees put on schemes within the year. hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Financial Management Figure 1 shows Anglo American Plc. ’s share price performance over the period 1 January to 30 September 2012 and the FTSE All Share performance. After analysing, it can be seen that both share price, and average share price of the FTSE All Share, have considerably similar movements over the given period with Anglo American’s share price being more erratic. [pic]On 6 January, Anglo American shareholders approved the change of holding from 45% to 85% of De Beers at the company’s general meeting. During the meeting the chairman voiced his expectations for an increase in shareholder value due to the expertise and leadership of De Beers (Anglo American 2012a). This shareholder approval was expected to result in an increase in demand for shares, which is represented by the increase in share price between 9 January and 23 January. This movement in share price seems to be autonomous from the FTSE All Share which would aid our analysis of this particular period as the event is internal to Anglo American. On 26 January Anglo American released their production report for the 4th quarter in 2011. Initially, the share price dropped from ? 27. 37 on 26 January to ? 26. 35 on 30 January which could have been due to the decrease in diamond and platinum production. This area of production is what the company is best known for, so a decrease in production of these would initially deter investors and create doubt for shareholders. Between 30 January and 3 February the share price shot up by ? 2. 5 which signified that the shareholders had looked into the report further to see that the production of all other materials had increased, including nickel production increasing by 125% from the previous year (Anglo American 2012). From figure 1, it can be seen that this increase is reflected in the movement of the FTSE 100 which could suggest that there may be external factors also affecting Anglo American at this time. On 23 March, Anglo American sold a â‚ ¬750m 10 year euro bond which could hav e been due to funds being needed more within the company (Euroweek 2012).Investing in the euro bond may have been to help create or strengthen values of the company, especially within Europe at this particular time of the European Sovereign Debt Crisis. As shown on figure 1 between 23 March and 29 March the share price fell dramatically. This could be due to shares being sold by shareholders that primarily invested in Anglo American, as they supported the Eurozone. On 1 June, Anglo American re-entered the euro bond market which â€Å"several bankers speculated that they returned out of prudence† Euroweek 2012). The share price shot back up, which could have been caused from the amount of demand for the deal, this suggested investors were pleased to see Anglo American again. Anglo American was in talks with Peru on 29 June in relation to a potential local sustainable development to accompany a mining project in the region, and had proposed a $118 million investment (Guerra 201 2). $36. 9 million of the investment was budgeted to install a pumping system in to two of the country’s rivers (Guerra 2012).The fact they are supporting and helping Peru is a sign of good corporate social responsibility for shareholders and potential investors which resulted in a ? 0. 66 increase over 4 days. Between 10 August and 30 August, there is a noticeable decrease in the share price which would seem to be an internal factor as the FTSE All Share does not seem to follow suit during this period. An outside article was realised on the 10 August stating that Anglo American were dismissing claims that a shareholder spring was expected to occur which was broadcasted in the Telegraph (2012).The article in the Telegraph (2012) stated that shareholders had contacted Sir John Parker, Chairman of Anglo American expressing their dissatisfaction with the CEO, Cynthia Carroll. Sir John parker sided with the CEO which fuelled the shareholders to take their complaint to one of the company’s directors. This highlighted to the shareholders the lack of support they were receiving, which therefore could be the internal factor forcing the share price down.When comparing Anglo American with other companies within the mining industry, the movements in the FTSE share price are mirrored more closely by Antofagasta than Anglo American, which may suggest that their beta is closer to 1. [pic] Throughout the period analysed, the share price movements for Anglo American is quite volatile in comparison to the FTSE All Share. Between 2 April and 7 June, the movement in share prices between both Anglo American and The FTSE is extremely similar with Anglo American’s movement being more responsive.This could signify that external factors affecting the whole market have affected Anglo American the same way but at a more severe rate, this is shown by their beta of 2. 08, see Appendix C. With the FTSE having a perfect market beta of 1 the beta value of Anglo American is in perfect correlation with the movement of share prices, see Appendix B, as in the majority of places the movement is the same but double as volatile. With the beta value being considerably higher than 1, shareholders or investors are likely to be risk seeking rather than risk averse.The further away from 0 the beta value is, the lower the shareholder value, but the potential for a high return is there. As seen in the London Business School Risk Measurement Services publication the commercial betas for the 3 quarters up to September 2012 are of a similar value, see Appendix C, with the average being 1. 55. This is significantly lower than our calculated beta of 2. 08. However the â€Å"Risk Measurement Service uses estimates based on an analysis of variable factors, and is therefore no way guaranteed† (London Business School 2012), whereas the beta of 2. 8 was calculated based on weekly data taken from Thomson Analytics. Although the beta of 2. 08 is the less favourable one, it is the more accurate out of the 2 so will give a better indication of shareholder value and the risk an investor may take. Both betas are aggressive in relation to the market beta however the commercial calculation is less so. Unless a serious investor were to calculate the beta themselves, using actual data for the company, they would be likely to base an investment decision on estimated inaccurate beta values.A shareholder’s decision to invest can be influenced by another confounding variable, the company’s investment rating. There are 3 main investment ratings that stakeholders use and rely upon these are Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) and Fitch. Anglo American are rated on Moody’s with a long term investment rating of Baa1 and the equivalent long term rating on S&P of BBB+ which is noted to be a lower medium grade of investment. S&P define their BBB+ rating as the company having â€Å"adequate capacity to meet financial commitments, but more subject to adverse economic conditions† (Standard and Poors 2012).Although Anglo American’s ratings could be higher they seem to be in a good stable financial position and therefore an attractive investment for potential shareholders. The short term ratings for Anglo American are of a slightly better position than the long term ratings, with Moody’s being P-2, which implies they â€Å"have a strong ability to repay debt obligations† (Moody’s 2009). This shows the company is fairly liquid giving reassurance to shareholders because if the company was to enter default there would be a higher chance of shareholders getting a return.The S&P credit rating for Anglo American was the same in 2011 as in 2012 with a long term rating of BBB+ and a short term rating of A-2 for both. This gives investors the security of Anglo Americans stable credit rating and in turn ability to pay off debt. Although investment ratings can be used to help determine whe ther to invest or not they should not be relied upon, as companies with the same rating do not have absolutely equal credit quality. It does not take into consideration external factors such as a change in money rates and it ignores the length of maturity. Dividends |2011 |2010 | | |($) |($) | |Interim dividend |28 |25 | |Recommended |46 |40 | |final dividend | | | |Total dividends |74 |65 | Anglo American has a clear dividend policy in which a base dividend will either be increased or maintained from year to year (Anglo American 2011).An interim dividend of 28 US cents per ordinary share was paid on 15 September 2011, and for the 2011 financial year â€Å"The Board proposes a final dividend of 46 cents per share, giving a total dividend for the year of 74 cents, a 14% increase† (Anglo American 2011) see figure 3. During the year the Group paid dividends of $818 million to company shareholders, which is a huge increase on the $302 million paid out in 2010, and $1,404 million in dividends to non-controlling interests.Based on shares eligible for dividends at 31 December 2011, this will result in an estimated distribution of $557 million of shareholders’ funds, of which $350 million will be distributed by the parent Company. The interim dividend for 2012 has increased by 14% to 32 cents per share, which continues their policy of a base dividend being slightly adjusted after discussion to ensure the maintenance of their investment grade rating (Anglo American 2012n). Dividends are proposed to be paid out in cash and not scrip issues therefore the $557 million will be shown on the balance sheet, therefore affecting cash flows.Anglo American have a fairly attractive dividend yield of 3. 32% in 2011, when compared with other mining companies within the FTSE 100, see Appendix D. From the four companies analysed the dividend yield has increased from 2010 to 2011, apart from BHP Billiton. This suggests that either companies are issuing a higher divided or the value of shares has dropped. In Anglo Americans case the share price has fallen over the given period, but the annual dividend has also increased. As a percentage of earnings the dividend for 2011 was 14. 51%, which had increased from 11. 97% in 2010.Considering the high capital investments that Anglo American commit themselves to, this is fairly good proportion of earnings attributable to shareholders. The optimum dividend policy would offer shareholders a constant, steady dividend paid at regular intervals now rather than later; this is exactly what Anglo American has to offer. However due to the Group’s aggressive investment plans for future growth, which includes three major projects; Barro Alto, Los Bronces and Kolomela, the constant regular dividend policy is likely to cease or at least come under discussion at board meetings.Shareholders have questioned the decision to invest money into these projects, CEO Cynthia Carroll has announced that the 3 projects and anot her one expected to commence in 2013 will contribute $6bn to dividend pay-outs. Although the expected change in dividend policy has undoubtedly caused controversy with shareholders, the company has proven that investment into new projects is necessary to maintain a high profit and continue to pay a regular dividend in the future (Vuuren 2011).Over the past few years Anglo American have had a strong, fairly positive balance of debt and equity, which has allowed them to have the flexibility to attain more finance when necessary. Net debt at 30 June 2012, including related hedges, was $3,124 million which was an increase of $1,750 million from the net debt at 31 December 2011. Net debt at 31 December 2011 comprised $12,873 million of debt, partially offset by $11,732 million of cash and cash equivalents (Anglo American 2011).However a dramatic net debt decrease of $6,010 million occurred from 31 December 2010 to 31 December 2011 which reflects strong operating cash flows and proceeds o n the disposal of 24. 5% of Anglo-American Sur (Anglo American 2011). Anglo American is funded mainly by equity as shown by the debt and equity ratios in Appendix D. At 30 June 2012 for every $1 of capital invested by the shareholders $0. 655 is funded through debt, which is a slight improvement on the debt equity ratio of 0. 677 at 31 December 2011.The ratios indicate that the group should easily be able to generate enough cash to satisfy its debt obligations as the group has enough room to manoeuvre its current levels of finance. It is important that a company’s debt-equity ratio is not too high as this can lead to increased interest payments and an enlarged risk of damaging their credit rating. This is perhaps the reason that the group made efforts to decrease the debt-equity ratio from 31 December 2010 from which it was 0. 755. Anglo American has a sound equilibrium between debt and equity as seen by the gearing calculations in Appendix D.Over the past two years, the figu re has increased gradually from 45. 71% at 30 June 2010 to 50. 30% at 30 June 2012, which could be due to an increase in long term liabilities. The market value of equity has also increased but at a slightly lower rate, causing the gearing ratio to increase steadily. However, the value of equity is based on the market value of the shares at 30 September 2012 for each of the three years to ensure a more accurate comparison, so when considering each year in turn, it would not show the true value of gearing.Figure 3 shows the comparison of the percentage of gearing compared with the percentage of gearing using the market value of equity. Both show a similar pattern with gearing gradually increasing over the two years, but a steeper incline for the gearing based on the share price at that year. This could be a result of the share price dramatically decreasing from 25. 26 at 30 September 2010 to 18. 17 at 30 September 2012, in turn giving a lower value of equity when using the market sha re price.Calculating the gearing using the share price at that time, rather than the market value today, shows the gearing in a way that the company would have wished to portray. Overall, it can be seen that the share price movements of Anglo American Plc. generally follow the market trend, signalling that external factors are the main influence on any change in share price. The erratic behaviour of Anglo American’s share price makes an investment in this company quite risky. For example a variation in the market share price due to a change in regulation is likely to have more of an effect on Anglo American as their beta value is 2. 8. To lower the risk they could strengthen themselves against external factors by introducing or improving their internal control systems, minimising their exposure to the external environment and in turn lowering their beta. The beta of Anglo American demonstrated by how the share price movement is generally the same as the market but exaggerated , which shows that it is an aggressive beta. When comparing with other companies in the mining sector Anglo Americans beta value is higher than most but not an anomaly, see Appendix C.All the companies within the mining sector in the FTSE 100 have a beta value higher than 1, making them all aggressive, risky investments, with Anglo American being one of the more risky options. Anglo American may seem quite risky when using the beta, however when considering this alongside the company’s gearing it could be considered as an attractive less-risky investment. Anglo American’s gearing is fairly average, but it could be improved by minimising the amount of debt that contributes to the company’s finance, also decreasing the debt equity ratio.Although the company may be seen as becoming increasingly highly geared, they are constantly investing in new projects to increase shareholder wealth in the long term, which makes the level of gearing more acceptable. Anglo America n’s investment rating is fairly high on Moody’s credit rating table, which shows there are signs for improvement but also space for fault. The rating is based on many confounding variables, with Corporate Governance having a major influence on the overall rating. Although Anglo American has demonstrated fairly good corporate governance, there is still room for improvement in many areas.Another variable that could affect the rating is the dividend policy on offer to shareholders. Anglo American offer a very attractive policy with a base amount and regular payments, which is the optimum option for shareholders, as they know what to expect and when to expect it. After taking into account all aspects of the financial performance of the company, an investment in Anglo American would be recommended for a risk seeking investor expecting regular dividend payments. Anglo American is a worthy investment, as they have a number of new projects ined up for the future and have prove n to have had huge success with previous projects, leading to satisfied shareholders. However, the value of Anglo American has declined over the period analysed, with the share price falling from 22. 29 to 18. 17, but this is forecast to increase over the near future due to all the projects recently invested in. If the global economy was to enter a double dip recession, Anglo American is not likely to be affected much by this, due to the strong commodity values and derivatives. Strategic ManagementAnglo American is currently one of the world’s top mining companies and has held this position for a number of years. Their main goal is to be the â€Å"leading global mining company, becoming the investment, partner and employer of choice† (Anglo American 2012f). A way in which Anglo American wish to become the global leading mining company is to outperform competition, by their structure of organising efficiently and effectively (Anglo American 2012l). They aim to achieve t his from being more focused and performance orientated, and believes their Asset Optimisation (AO) programme will help to do this (The Times 2012).Anglo American wanted to enhance the health and performance of their operations, so designed an Asset Optimisation programme in order to achieve a holistic approach to this. It has allowed a more open working culture giving employees the encouragement to not only work together but contribute their own ideas to improve the business. A major contributor from the AO programme, that has added value across the group, is the development of the programme, in which it has been introduced into the day-to-day business of Anglo American.This programme has added value and strength to Anglo American as to date they have saved well over their target of $1 billion from their core operations and hope the strategy continues to present positive outcomes in the future (The Times 2012). To improve efficiency, each individual area of production is focused on lowering its costs, such as lowering excessive waste or managing the usage of natural resources. Water is vital to Anglo American in order to carry out their operations and also for the communities around them, especially as some areas are the most ater-stressed regions in the world. To reduce water usage, a 10 year strategy is in place which involves making projects water resilient, investing in new technology and building water infrastructure. By 2030, Anglo American hope to have reached the strategic objective of zero net water consumption. Not only does this strategy improve the efficiency of production, it also engages with stakeholders, which in turn benefits the community (Anglo American 2012l) and will reduce the agency problem between directors and the local population.Investment is a strong part of Anglo American’s strategy, and they feel that the investments they have made into large scale assets, with long life cycles, have given them a clear advantage through the low costs attached to them. The commodities that Anglo American specialises in are those that they believe hold the best returns over a long period of time, and even during the fluctuations that occur over an economic cycle.Anglo American also offers derivatives of their commodities which is a good strategic decision for them to take, in the sense that they are guaranteed a certain level of return for those derivatives. However if the demand and in turn the price dramatically rises for those commodities Anglo American could receive lower than the market value at that time. Therefore the option to offer derivatives not only allows for the opportunity of stability for an agreed amount of income, but also the threat to lose out on an increase of market value of that commodity. Operating safely, sustainably and responsibly is embedded in everything† (Anglo American 2012l) that Anglo American does. Employee safety is a huge part of any decision made by the company and they are per sistent on reaching their goal of zero harm. The 5 years prior to Cynthia Carol becoming Anglo Americans CEO there was a total of nearly 200 fatalities, whereas the 5 years following her position as CEO the number of fatalities dropped to 77.This could be down to the change in strategy and how the importance and safety of employees was considered invaluable to Cynthia; this was demonstrated by her drastic decision in 2007 to close the Rustenburg mine instantly due to the risky nature of it (Carroll 2012). The health and wellbeing of employees was taken a step further when HIV/AIDS and general healthcare services were not only provided to employees but also their dependents, spouses and other stakeholders.This has been recognised as world class and has received a number of rewards for it, ‘The Business Excellence Award for Best Workplace Program’ being one of many (Engineering & Mining Journal 2009). Minimising the effect that their operations have on the environment is something that Anglo American also considers in detail. Over the years Anglo American have received a number of awards that prove their commitment to the environment, in 2011 they received the three out of four awards at the ‘Three Nedbank Capital Green Mining Awards’.They were recognised for their rural research project at Sishen mine where management decisions were aligned with the long term sustainability objectives of the Taolo Gaetsewe District and the surrounding region (Nedbank 2011). Anglo American hope that this project will make a positive difference to community development, and in turn bring them closer together, building respectful associations within the society they work in (Anglo American 2012l).They believe that this strategy along with strong governance and solid risk management will create trust amongst the company and its stakeholders and fundamentally enable the delivery of long term returns to shareholders (Anglo American 2012l). Employing the best people is vital to the success of the company and also to achieving their main goal of becoming the leading global mining company. How effectively Anglo American operates depends on the people they employee which in turn contributes to the reputation they have with investors, partners and potential employees (Anglo American 2012l).To attract the best employees to the company, Anglo American; create a safe work place for all, have a clear strategy for success, offer stimulating work, are organised for effectiveness and efficiency and support employees in their career development (Anglo American 2012l). Not only does this strengthen the company, as employees have the help to progress and be motivated to progress and become the best employees, but it also offers opportunities for Anglo American to be the employer of choice.Although Anglo American has quite strong strategies in place, they should be aware of the external factors which are constantly changing that could affect these str ategies or future strategies. Due to the many countries that Anglo American operates in, they need to constantly monitor each country to ensure they are aware of anything that could affect them, for example, a change in government may have a drastic effect on the way they operate in that country. This could be managed by strong internal controls and contingency plans to react to any change as quickly as possible.The minimum wage rate for each country is something that also needs to be monitored and adhered to as they differ dramatically between the countries Anglo American operate in. The minimum wage for Australia in 2011 was ? 10. 13 compared to Kenya which was ? 0. 61, which is a dramatic difference so is hard to monitor, but it is essential to ensure all the different countries regulations are adhered to (Wage indicator 2012). Governments have also started to impose super profit taxes, where mining royalties increased in Australia, Chile and South Africa.Companies are charged su per profit taxes on revenue but now new legislation has been introduced where mining companies are charged on profits as well as revenue. To offset this, there are also discovery bonuses that Anglo American can be rewarded for, for finding natural resources within a country (Deloitte 2010). Anglo American should carefully consider the environment and the areas affected by their actions. There is a constant concern from the public, as appreciation of the environment grows along with the awareness of the harmful effects that mining can have on their surroundings (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006).Activities at ground level constantly have an impact on the surrounding area, as bore holes, access tracks and sometimes even helipads are required. If the areas affected are left un-rehabilitated, this can have a long term effect on the environment (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006). Anglo American has a strategy in place that is recognised internationally, and assists any mine-closu re planning. It focuses on the provision for finance necessary and rehabilitation â€Å"for long term sustainability through addressing complex socio-economic, physical and bio-physical challenges† (Anglo American 2012e).Stakeholder relations are constantly upheld throughout any project that Anglo American carries out; this ensures they have constant feedback from the community, government bodies and any other stakeholders affected by their actions. Mining is always going to affect the environment and the local communities surrounding each project, but Anglo American has strong strategies in place to deal and cope with these affects to the best of their ability. It is important for Anglo American to value the importance of society.Employees, their communities, and the population of host countries are all part of the society that Anglo American should embrace. â€Å"Every year Anglo American spend a percentage of their pre-tax profit on social investment projects and spend ti me working with communities† (Anglo American 2012j). In 2011, Anglo American increased their Corporate Social Investment by 15. 8% to $128. 6 million. The Anglo American Group Foundation is their own venture that operates globally, offering grants to countries where projects are carried out (Anglo American 2012j).Education is a huge social aspect where grant funding is used; assisting the development of maths, science and literacy as well as higher education and ensuring teachers are of a good quality. Health is also considered an important aspect on which to focus grant distribution, and Anglo American have a holistic approach when it comes to HIV/AIDS as not only do they supply internal counselling and testing but have also donated $4 million to external HIV/AIDS projects (Anglo American 2012j).Anglo American has outstanding generosity and strategies in place when it comes to the society and has strong and thorough planning for any operation carried out to improve their rela tions with stakeholders. However â€Å"community projects require creative marketing strategies and comprehensive business plans, and an external project consultant could be useful here† (Engineering and Mining Journal 2012), to eliminate any bias, and to make society relations a major variable for any decisions made.A large proportion of Anglo Americans workforce and mining is carried out in Africa â€Å"with nearly 1 billion people, Africa accounts for over a sixth of the world’s population, but generates only 4% of global electricity† (Salaam 2007). Anglo American need a lot of electricity to carry out day to day activities and with the strain of electricity available throughout Africa it was essential for Anglo American to find an alternative energy source due their large consumption of 102. 9 million gigajoules in 2011 (Anglo American 2011).In order for this level of energy to be available to them Anglo American have constructed five platinum based fuel cel ls which not only provides them with the necessary power for productivity but also â€Å"provided a significant economic and environmental development opportunity for South Africa by facilitating the provision of clean, reliable and cost effective power† (Anglo American 2012g). Anglo American consider technology and carbon reduction to be linked very closely and aim to have technology capable of running cost efficient, carbon neutral mines in 20 years (Anglo American 2012g).Although Anglo American have the aim in place to achieve this, a strategic report on how they aim to achieve it and a breakdown of steps, costs and research would be useful. It would not only be useful to the company and employees carrying out the strategy, but also for stakeholders, especially the African population and government. It may even be possible for the project to be supported, and maybe even assisted by the local Government to push forward the time scale. Being a multi-national company, Anglo A merican has to comply with many laws from each country they mine in.As well as these, some countries have individual legislation, which varies in different areas of the countries, USA & Canada (Garcia 2008). These can include environmental laws, e. g. water pollution, national laws e. g. minimum wages and safety laws. An example being that Anglo American has developed a safety and sustainable development committee in order to comply with South African safety law. This states that a company in South Africa must provide a committee with ambitions to â€Å"initiate, develop, promote, maintain and review measures to ensure health and safety† (Boshoff 2012).By having a safety committee they can try to minimise the lost time fatality rate and try to achieve their overall goal of zero fatalities within any Anglo American workplace. Anglo American has a sound collection of strategies in place to deal with external factors but it is also important for that they have strategies in plac e for internal factors. Figure 5 shows a value chain of Anglo American and allows for the internal factors that Anglo American could be affected by to be recognised. |Infrastructure: A multinational conglomerate with joint projects and subsidiaries.De Beers being the largest subsidiary of | |many. Extremely high capital investment, with lots of projects. Primary listing on LSE, secondary on JSE. | |Human Resources: Diversity among workforce across all levels of employment. Committed to International Labour Organisation. | |Development of talent remains a key priority. | |Technology: Research and develop their own technology. Link development of new technology with the ability for carbon | |reduction. | |Procurement: have a local procurement policy engaging local businesses in supply chain.Expect all suppliers to operate | |safely, sustainably and responsibly. Prefer suppliers who are engaged in China sourcing. | |Inbound Logistics: |Operations: Diamond, |Outbound Logistics: |Marketi ng and Sales: De Beers|Service: To maintain | |partner with Chinese |nickel, copper, iron |40% of worlds platinum|have their own diamond |the sites. Mines need | |suppliers to operate and |ore, thermal coal and |output. Own 85% of De |auction and shops. 70% of |to be maintained by | |maintain complex products|platinum mining. Beers, the global |platinum consum

Assessing the Quality of Education in the Philippines

The goal of this Article is to ensure that quality education will be vailable to Filipinos from all walks of life in four corners of our country. Why powers and functions of and Dep- Ed does the 3 education bodies put into action their duties and powers for delivering of quality education and holistic development of Filipino students and graduates? Dep-Ed, CHED and TESDA are working hand in hand independently from each other. These three education bodies report directly to the Office of the President. Like what was mentioned above, the three sectors are all mandated to ensure the quality of education in their own respective level. The separation of 3 bodies ensures that there would be the necessary attention, priorities and resources for all levels. Each sector also ensures the readiness of a student to the next level. For example, Dep-Ed needs to make sure that the graduating elementary students are all ready and prepared to handle the programs and curriculum of high school level until they finish high schools. A student who finished high school should be ready to the tasks and programs in college either a bachelor degree or vocational courses. Given that these three educational bodies work accordingly and will be given the mandated resources nd budget, the quality of education in the Philippines would soon be competitive and be affordable to every Filipino child. The education plan on the reform to be initiated by the new president of the Philippines. length of education to global standard which was from 10 years to 12 years. I have two stands on this initiative. First, the idea of aligning the length of education to the global standard would be an effective way of ensuring that our grade school and high school students have the enough time to get the necessary quality of education Time as evolved so fast and it has been said that the only constant in world is change. It could be Just appropriate to align our education duration to global standard to ensure our students would be able to cope with the rapid- changing society. On the other hand, this initiative would only be effective to private schools whose students are fewer than the students in public schools. Also, I do not agree with this initiative as I do not see any problem with the length of education in the Philippines even if it doesnt really follow the global standard. I believed that it is not the length of basic ducation that we need to focus on. Philippines was able to make good and topped student that has excel in many filel and in many countries with the education we have. What we need to focus on are the numbers of classrooms and facilities in public school, strengthening the research for all levels and increasing the numbers of public teachers. We need to focus on the materials and resources we are to give to our education sector and strengthen the existing policy for us all to be effective. Give your stand regarding the criticism on sex education by the Dep- Ed and church? Sex education has been one of the 3 most controversial topic across all corners in the Philippines. For the longest time, sex education has been the discrepancy of parents whether to discuss it with their children or not. I partially agree to the motion of sex education among our students. I guess it would be time for our students to end their curiosity. Sex, whether we like it or not, is a subject we all need to discuss with our kids. We got no choice but to discuss sex with them since this is something that has been abused by many young people. Sex has been abused and has been done because young people were not disciplined and educated to them. It is said in the bible that sex is a gift from God and should only be done by a married couple. It is also said in the bible that God asked us to promulgate. However, it is also mentioned in the bible that once we have promulgate across all over the world then it we need to take the measures to control it. Young people, at the right time and at the right way, needs to be educated with sex. A good curriculum is needed to ensure good education regarding sex to our young people.

Nursing Ethics of Patients Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nursing Ethics of Patients - Case Study Example And lastly, an ethical decision-making model will be discussed keeping in view the given scenario. Ethical theories form the bedrock on which the guiding principles of the nursing profession are based. They are responsible for providing a structural approach to moral reasoning in this profession (Med India, 2011). Most often than not, healthcare professionals are faced with situations that require the employment of such ethical theories for the purpose of moral reasoning so as to conclude the moral value of a judgment under consideration (Registered Nurse Canada, 2009). Example of the employment of such theories includes granting the right to the patients to be able to make their own treatment-related decisions. This term refers to the right of an individual to keep the medical information and records private. The information under its clause can only be trusted to the healthcare professionals dealing with the patient and is not to be made public or even given to someone else without the consent of the patient (Fullbrook, 2007). Even though confidentiality is something that is to be valued and respected, there are situations in which that does not seem like the best thing to do, as is the scenario in the given case. In such cases, it is considered that one establishes a domain of certain reasonable limits. It would somehow restrict the boundary to which the confidentiality principle is to be respected (Wolfe, 1962). However, in cases where the confidentiality aspect endangers the prospective patient, it becomes an ethical dilemma for the healthcare professionals that are then torn between upholding the confidentiality and informing others of the condition for treatment (Corey & Callanan, 1998). Even though confidentiality is a vital practice in the medical profession, just like all the other factors, it is not absolute. (Wynia, 2007).

The UAW and It's Effects on the City of Detroit Term Paper

The UAW and It's Effects on the City of Detroit - Term Paper Example A popular third party representation for almost any labor or industry type is referred to as the labor unions. These unions are comprised of workers from within the company and industry; their collective function is to bridge the gap between the employees and employer through communication and serve as an organized voice for all employees. A labor union’s main objective varies and depends on the employees’ needs or grievances. However, majority of these objectives are geared towards the well-being of employees -- health care benefits, good or improved working conditions, increased salary to accommodate rising costs of living, skills enhancement, contract longevity, and so on. Employers, on the other hand, establish the relationship with labor unions through certain access to facts (e.g., profit, loss, operation costs, labor costs, et cetera) to which negotiation and a coordinated decision-making is firmly grounded. This access and hearing out of employer’s side e nables the labor union to observe impartiality. On a labor union’s perspective, this may also permit them to come up with demands that are realistically feasible for employers to meet. However, this does not work all the time. There are times when labor unions inadvertently choke up the business and industry with their demands. This challenge calls for a more diverse and flexible approach from labor unions. One such labor union, alleged of choking up the auto-making industry in Detroit, Michigan, is the United Auto Workers Union or UAW. This paper attempts to explore the effects of this labor union to the core industry of Detroit City. The UAW Founded in 1935 and is considered to be â€Å"one of the largest in North America,† the United Auto Workers Union (UAW) accomplished its pioneering work of â€Å"expanding the nation’s labor movement† as well as establishing the standards of labor conditions through â€Å"generous pension, health care, and job secu rity provisions† (â€Å"United Automobile Workers,† 2011, para. 1). Evidently, the UAW was successful in bringing about improvement in the working conditions of auto-laborers in vast coverage and was expected to continue growing and carrying out its mission. However, the year 1970 had marked the start of UAW’s turbulent years ahead; the â€Å"shrinking of the North American auto industry† and â€Å"the crisis that engulfed† Detroit’s Big Three (i.e., General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) had set the â€Å"downward path† for the labor union (â€Å"United Automobile Workers,† 2011, para. 2). This series of crises had not just hurt the industry but also hurts the employees, as well. Inevitably, industries have to lower overall costs and the pressure of lowering these costs weigh down on the laborers’ wage and benefits. Consequently, companies cannot afford anymore the costs of benefits demanded by laborers and the UAW. Compani es and employees are torn between retrenchment and retaining but in the expense of lower wages and/or lesser benefits. Most laborers chose the latter and around December 2008, UAW membership among the Big Three’s, General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler, declined -- from 305, 000 to 139, 000 workers (â€Å"United Automobile Workers,† 2011). The Automakers’ fall Looking close, particular advancements in the auto industry had paved the way for Detroit’s demise. Price (2000) collectively called these advancements the â€Å"

Masuring Health and Diseases Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Masuring Health and Diseases - Essay Example The ill effect of the drugs can also be seen in the increasing number of the criminals in jails which clearly demonstrates the association between drugs and crime. Measuring substance abuse is a significant area in the medical field. Modern science has implemented many different ways to estimate the impact of treatment on drug abuse. Farrokh Alemi & Heibatollah Baghi in their online article, Measurement of Substance Abuse Treatment Outcomes Over Time, rightly identify these ways as; â€Å"percentage of positive drug tests, probability of drug use, percentage of patients abstaining from any use, total number of days of use, daily probability use and average days till next use†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Alemi and Heibatollah). It makes clear the fact that measuring health related with substance abuse has an elite role in the diagnosis and treatment of various diseases. The journal article entitled How Science Has Revolutionized the Understanding of Drug Addiction by Nora D. Volkow illustrates the issue of drug addiction and its diagnosis. Author leads the reader to think about various health issues related with drug abuse especially among the adolescents. Measuring diseases and health deterioration is a significant area of measurement in the process of diagnosing health issues related with drug abuse. Author’s comment permits the reader to modify his/her existing knowledge about health problems related with drug abuse. In this respect one can advocate authors view; â€Å"Tobacco use killed approximately 100 million people during the 20th century and, if current smoking trends continue, the cumulative death toll for this century has been projected to reach 1 billion† (Addiction and Health). Adolescent who follow the practices of drug abuse often show the symptoms of low academic performance, early drop out of school, and unplanned pre gnancies. Severe

Applying the Background and Methodology of the Research Process to Essay

Applying the Background and Methodology of the Research Process to Problems in Health Care - Essay Example To increase the provision and access to these primary needs, it is important for the federal government to deploy more health and clinical providers to such areas. One of the major concerns that have drawn controversy is the provision of reproductive health services particularly for the teens. The role of teenagers in the determination of their reproductive choices and the influence of the parents in such health choices has been the main source of controversy. This calls for provision of specialized medical services by physicians to ensure that the teens make right choices regarding their reproductive health. This study therefore focused on establishing the relationship between elective pregnancy termination among teens and the population density (Robert, 2004). This study is important to the healthcare sector given the risks that are associated with pregnancy termination. Hypothesis in research refers to tentative explanation about a given phenomenon that tries to establish the existence of a relationship between test variables. It is used in research to predict or test the expected outcome. The hypotheses for this study include; Dependent variables are those variables or values whose outcomes are measured by the independent variables. Independent variables on the other hand are those variables that are manipulated or varied by the researcher. In this study, the percentage of electively terminated pregnancy represents the dependent variable while population density represents the independent variable (Robert, 2004). This is the theoretical perspective of the study that simply defines the theories and the variables that will be investigated in the study. Theoretically, the study established that, access to reproductive health services was relatively low in low population density areas hence, few cases of electively terminated pregnancies in teens. Literature review plays an important role in research since they act as secondary source of the

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 38

Case Study - Essay Example Recruitment or talent acquisition can be defined as â€Å"the set of activities and processes used to legally obtain a sufficient number of qualified people at the right place and time so that the people and the organization can select each other in their own best short and long term interests (Schuler, 1987). The talent acquisition methodology adopted by Jamie is also a key learning from the case. Jamie recruited people based on their potential and trainability. This was done by a series of assessment tests. It is clear that the people recruited for the organization are suitable to help achieve the organization’s vision. Jamie had used various techniques to assess potential candidates. The techniques used by Jamie were aimed at finding the right person for the job. In a similar way, a manager while hiring potential candidates shall make use of different recruitment techniques to ensure that the person selected is the most suitable for the job. The training process imparted by Jamie to his trainees was a thorough with clear plan. Classroom coaching was accompanies with practical activity. Each component of the training was aimed at improving the skills of the candidates. For example, he had week camping session to foster team spirit. He also had the trainees learn about livestock farming and quality evaluation which is an important part of a chef’s job. In a similar fashion, it is necessary that the training process of an organization is directed towards imparting specific skills to the candidates with continuous involvement from the manager. Jamie was supportive towards the weaker students. This ensured that every candidate got equal opportunity to perform and learn. An organization should have a clear and concise plan for the improvement of the weak performers. Having such a performance improvement plan not only improves the employee’s morale but also organization’s effectiveness. It is important to understand that each individual in the

Write about the reasons of the need of geometry who Descartes and Essay

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Customer Satisfaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6750 words

Customer Satisfaction - Essay Example The product development cycle starts with the assessment of the customer's needs and ends when the design is finally released. In this highly competitive environment world class organizations are supposed to implement the TQM strategy in order to continually seek better performance. In the world we live today, it must be amply clear that; In fact these guiding principles are inextricably linked to each other and development of this thought along with the development of other business processes can lead to some form of a competitive advantage in the market. The modern view of quality is that products should totally satisfy the customer's needs and expectations in every respect on a continuous basis. This new concept calls for a well designed product with functional perfection, providing satisfaction beyond customer's expectation, excellence in service and absolute empathy with customer. TQM therefore encompasses a set of critical factors (Powell, 1995; Li et al., 2003; Arawati, 2005). In general, some of these critical factors can be identified as; Top management commitment: The top management of a company must be convinced enough to adopting quality control programmes. This will help in conditioning the attitude of other departmental heads to regularly monitor the quality aspect. StrategicStrategic planning: Strategic planning is a process which, through an examination of external and internal factors for an organisation, results in a set of mission, purpose, objectives, policies, plans and programmes for implementation. Customer focus: A progressive organisation is supposed to have a strategy for quality which is based on customer perceptions of quality. Customer service after the sale of a product is considered as important as the quality of the product itself. Benchmarking: It is the process of following the best in the industry. Human resource management: Human resources form the crucial part of any organisation. They are the key players in producing and delivering quality. Supplier relationship: Suppliers too have a role in quality assurances as their role encompasses the identification, acquisition, access, positioning, and management of the resources required for the product and the company. Continuous improvement: Improvement is a never ending cyclic process. Product Quality requires to be continually improved to remain in the competition. Quality information system: How the quality principles are being implemented in the company and if required the management can decide to take a corrective course of action midway, is determined by the Quality Information System (QIS). It was in early 90s that the concept of Total Quality Management started being promoted as a way for business to wring out inefficiencies and boost productivity. TQM was considered the only way to effectively compete with the Japanese dominance in the manufacturing sector. It is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services satisfying their needs. KLEEMANN's activities1 concern both the manufacturing and

Time and Order-processing Costs Essay Example for Free

Time and Order-processing Costs Essay After making some wise short-term investments at a race track, Chris Low had some additional cash to invest in a business. The most promising opportunity at the time was in building supplies, so Low bought a business that specialized in sales of one size of nail. The annual volume of nails was 2,000 kegs, and they were sold to retail customers in an even flow. Low was uncertain of how many nails to order at any time. Initially, only two costs concerned him: order-processing costs, which were $60 per order without regard to size, and warehousing costs, which were $1 per year per keg space. On average, the rented warehouse space is only half full. This meant that Low had to rent a constant amount of warehouse space for the year, and it had to be large enough to accommodate an entire order when it arrived. Low was not worried about maintaining safety stocks, mainly because the outward flow of goods was so even. Low bought his nails on a delivered basis. Question 1: Using the EOQ methods outlined in Chapter 9, determine how many kegs of nails Low should order at one time.  Question 2: Assume that all conditions in Question 1 hold, except that Low’s supplier now offers a quantity discount in the form of absorbing all or part of Low’s order-processing costs. For orders of 750 or more kegs of nails, the supplier will absorb all order-processing costs; for orders between 249 and 749 kegs, the supplier will absorb half. What is Low’s new EOQ? (It might be useful to lay out all costs in tabular form for this and later questions.) Question 3: Temporarily ignore your work on Question 2. Assume that Low’s warehouse offers to rent Low space on the basis of the average number of kegs that Low will have in stock, rather than on the maximum number of kegs that Low would need room for whenever a new shipment arrived. The storage charge per keg remains the same. Does this change the answer to Question 1? If so, what is the new answer? Question 4: Take into account the answer to Question 1 and the supplier’s new policy outlined in Question 2, and the warehouse’s new policy in Question 3. Then determine Low’s new EOQ. Question 5: Temporarily ignore your work on Questions 2, 3, and 4. Low’s luck at the race track is over; he now must borrow money to finance his inventory of nails. Looking at the situation outlined in Question 1, assume that the wholesale cost of nails is $40 per keg and that Low must pay interest at the rate of 1.5% per month on unsold inventory. What is his new EOQ? Question 6: Taking into account all of the factors listed in Questions 1, 2, 3, and 5, calculate Low’s EOQ for kegs of nails.

Pressure Sensor Controlled Valve Based Microcontroller In General Engineering Essay

Pressure Sensor Controlled Valve Based Microcontroller In General Engineering Essay A pressure sensor measures pressure, typically of gases or liquids. Pressure sensor can also be called as pressure transducers, pressure transmitters, pressure senders, pressure indicators and piezometers. Pressure sensors are used for control and monitoring in thousands of everyday applications. Pressure Sensor Controlled Valve based Microcontroller in General A pressure sensor controlled valve based microcontroller is a pressure sensing device that is capable of controlling a desired pressure up to the set point set by the user. Besides, the pressure sensing device also allows the user to monitor and control the entire process of the system by interfacing a Microcontroller with a PC Using RS232 and the PC Serial Port. Pressure sensor and valve are required to design pressure sensing device according to their task Nowadays pressure sensors can vary in design, performance, application suitability and cost. On the other hand, pressure sensors can be classified in term of pressure ranges they measure, temperature ranges of operation, and most importantly the type of pressure they measure. Valves are used to control conditions such as flow, pressure, temperature, and liquid level. The opening or closing of the valve is depend on the signals received from the controllers that compare a set point to a process variable where the value is obtain from the sensor that monitor the change of conditions. Besides, the opening and closing of the control valve is done by electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic system. A valve also can vary in design, pressure range and temperature range of the operation, application suitability and cost. Project Objective The main objective of this project is to design and construct a prototype of pressure sensor controlled valve based microcontroller. This prototype should have the following fundamental features: Able to control the pressure through the setpoint set by the user. Able to activate the alarm if the pressure is above a setpoint. Able to shutdown the whole process if the pressure is in critical pressure. Able to monitor the process of the control through PC. Upon successful implementation of these fundamental features, enhancements are added to improve the safety of this pressure sensor controlled valve based microcontroller. The first improvement is adding manual control function to make this control valve able to control by the user even the pressure sensor is fail to give a signal to the microcontroller. Besides, a backup battery is also added into the controller to provide power when there is absence of main power supply. The backup battery will power the circuit only in the event of failure. On the other hand, a temperature sensor will also be added into this pressure sensor controlled valve based microcontroller to maintain the optimum temperature of the gas. Project Overview The pressure sensor controlled valve based microcontroller is designed to control pressure either in gas or liquid medium in any suitable application. The pressure sensor will senses the pressure from the along the tube or pipe along the application. The bottom of the pressure sensor is connected with a T-Joint connector to the tube or pipe and the analog control signal from the pressure sensor will be connected to the analog port of microcontroller. The analog signal received by microcontroller will be analyzed by the microcontroller. The microcontroller will then control the control valve by with the signal received by the sensor. Besides, a temperature sensor (LM35) will also be added into the prototype to enhance the performance of the prototype. The temperature sensor will be mounted at the surface of the tube or pipe. The temperature sensor will sense the temperature of gas or liquids inside the tube or pipe and send a control signal to microcontroller. The analog control signal from the temperature sensor will be connected to the analog port of microcontroller. The microcontroller then will control the control valve according to the temperature received by sensor. Recently, serial port of computer slowly phase out from the market and to be replaced with USB. Nowadays, most developer will favor USB to serial converter to obtain virtual serial port. So, in order to for general and convenient use, a USB to UART converter (UC00A) which offers USB plug and play, direct interface with microcontroller will also be added to the prototype to create a monitoring system through PC. The Transmit Signal (TX) from UC00A will be connect to the microcontroller receiver pin (RX/RC7) . While the Receive Signal (RX) from UC00A will be connect to the microcontroller transmitter pin (TX/RC6) . Then, a GUI( Global User Interface) will be develop using Microsoft Visual Basic for user to monitor the process operation of the prototype. On the other hand, a backup battery of 24Vdc will also be connected parallel with the main power supply. This is to provide the prototype with a backup power supply when there is no power provided from main power supply .This is to prevent and protect the prototype from trip of circuit and critical shut down of the prototype that might cause damage to the hardware of the prototype. Besides, a LCD display (216 characters) is used to display the pressure and temperature measured from the sensors and indicates the condition or status of the control valve and the air compressor which useful for calibration, monitoring, debugging and testing. A buzzer is embedded in the prototype is used as an alarm when the pressure or temperature is above the setpoint set by the user. Project Scope and Methodology This project consisted both of the hardware and software implementation. According to the schedule, construction of the final prototype was ensured to achieve the projects objective. At the same time, software also designed to meet all the fundamental requirements. When the prototype that met the primary objectives was successfully constructed, the remaining projects duration was spent on enhancements of the prototype to make it more durable and reliable. In part one, projects objectives identification and planning had been done. After that, research on some the theoretical background of the project such as types of pressure sensor, temperature sensor, type and size of fittings and tube, types of control valve and the basic electric component for the controller that needed for this project. Electronic components were carefully selected to construct the prototype based of its functionality, reliability and cost. When hardware selection was finalized and decided, a layout for printed circuit board (PCB) was designed and fabricated. After that, a simple program was written to test, calibrate and debug the prototype to make it worked as described in the primary objective. In part two, further enhancements to the prototype were planned and implemented. The mechanical drawing of the prototype had been designed. The mechanical part of the hardware such as pressure sensor, tubing, fitting, control valve is joint up together and the wiring is connected to the into the main board(Controller) of the prototype. Besides, monitoring system of the operation is also embedded to the prototype to ease the user to monitor the operation using a PC in a control room. After all features, were completed, testing was undertaking to ensure the reliability of the whole system. Troubleshooting and debugging phase on software and hardware were necessary to make all the system become more reliable and safe. Structure of the Report This report is divided into six chapters. At the Chapter 1, Introduction to the project which includes Pressure Sensor Controlled Valve Based Microcontroller in general, Project objective, Project overview, Project scope and Methodology had been discussed. In Chapter 2, some theoretical background for this project will be explained and described in details. While in Chapter 3, how hardware designed of this project as well as their functions will be elaborated. Besides, Methodology used for design the hardware also will be discussed in this chapter. Chapter 4 described the Methodology for the software development of this project. Flow chart for the program will be showed and explained. Besides, equipment and tools used to design complete software also will be discussed in this chapter. In Chapter 5, results and discussion will be shown to explain how the pressure sensor control valves based microcontroller performs its operation. On the other hands, the problems encountered while designing the prototype either in hardware or software and how these problems solved will be also discussed in this chapter. Chapter 6 will be the summary and conclusion of the report whether all the fundamental requirements and objectives achieved for Final Year Project. Then, there will be a short recommendation or suggestion to further improve this project so that it can be used in various types of industry environment. Chapter 2: Theoretical Background 2.1 Introduction to Pressure Sensor A pressure sensor is one that will measure the pressure either gasses or liquids. Pressure is an expression of the force required to stop a fluid or gas from expanding, and it can be express as the equation below. [1] P=F/A Where: P  is the pressure, F  is the  normal force, A  is the area. Pressure Units can be expressed as the table below: Table 1: Pressure Unit 2.1.1 Types of Pressure Measurement Basically, pressures sensor can be classified in term of pressure ranges, temperature ranges and most importantly the pressure type. Pressure sensor can be classified in 5 types of pressure measurement which are : Absolute pressure sensor -Whereby the sensor measure the pressure relative to perfect vacuum pressure (0 Psi or no pressure) 2) Gauge pressure sensor -Whereby the sensor measure the pressure relative to given atmospheric pressure. For example when a tire pressure gauge read 0 Psi meaning to say there is 14.7 Psi (atmospheric pressure) in the tire. 3) Vacuum pressure sensor -The sensor is used to measure pressure less than the atmospheric pressure. 4) Differential pressure sensor -The sensor measures the difference between two or more pressures introduced as inputs to the sensing unit. 5) Sealed pressure sensor Whereby the sensor is used to measure the pressure relative to sea level pressure. 2.1.2 Types of Control Signal from Pressure sensor There are two types of Control signal from pressures sensor which are current output and voltage output signal. Current output normally ranged from 4-20ma while the voltage output normally ranged from 1-5Vdc or 1-6Vdc (The voltage output range mostly is depend by the manufacturer or the type of application). The current output and voltage output always start from 4ma and 1Vdc is to check whether the wiring of the pressure sensor is done correctly and to check whether there is faulty at the pressure sensor. For example, if the pressure sensor output a current below 4ma or 1Vdc, we have to check at the pressure sensor because they might be faulty at the pressure sensor. The current output control signal is widely used in many kind of industry compared to voltage output control signal. This is because there is no voltage drop when current output control signal travel a very long distance compare to voltage output control signal. When travelling at a very long distance, voltage output control signal will have disadvantage due to the resistance of the long wire will cause a voltage drop and might give an inaccurate result to the controller. So, the current output control signal tends to give a more accurate result compare to voltage output control signal. Due to limitation at PIC microcontroller which only has Analog-to-Digital Converter, so a voltage output control signal will be more suitable for the project. Types of Application of Pressure sensor A pressure sensor can be widely used in many types of application.For example: [2] 1) Pressure Sensing -The pressure is measure directly using pressure sensors. This is very useful in oil and gas industry, cars, aircraft, and other machinery that has a pressure functionality implemented. 2) Leak Testing -A pressure sensor can be used to sense the decay of pressure due to a system leak. This is done by either comparison to a known leak using differential pressure, or by means of utilizing the pressure sensor to measure pressure change over time. 3) Level Sensing A pressure sensor can also be used to calculate the level of a fluid. This technique is commonly employed to measure the level of contents in a tank (such as in a water tower). For most practical purposes, fluid level is directly proportional to pressure. In the case of fresh water where the contents are under atmospheric pressure, 1psi = 27.7 inH20 / 1Pa = 9.81 mmH20. The basic equation for such a measurement is P  =  p  *  g  *  h Where P = Pressure, p = Density of the Fluid, g = Standard Gravity, h = Height of fluid column above pressure sensor Introduction to Valve A valve is device that is used to regulate the flow of a fluid or gasses by opening and closing or partially obstructing various passageways. A valve can be operating either in manual operation or automatic operation driven by change in pressure, temperature or flow. For manual operation, the opening and closing of the valve is control by using hand wheel, lever or pedal using human force. Meanwhile for the automatic operation, the opening and closing of the valve is control using an actuator .An actuator will stroke the valve depending on its input and set-up, allowing the valve to be positioned accurately, and allowing control over a variety of requirements. Nowadays, Actuators are widely used for the purposes of automatic control such as in washing machine cycles, remote control such as the use of a centralised  control room, or because manual control is too difficult such as when the valve is very large. [3] 2.2.1 Types of Actuator in the Valve Valve can be classified on how they are actuated. Among them are: [3] Hydraulic Pneumatic Manual Solenoid Motor For a hydraulic system actuator valve is normally used to control a high pressure while Pneumatic system actuator valve is normally used to control a medium pressure in application. Meanwhile low pressure, solenoid or motorized system actuator valve can be used. 2.2.2 Application of Valve Valve can vary widely in form and application. The size of the valve is typically range from 0.1mm to 60cm. Some special valve can have a diameter exceeding 5 metres. The cost for a valve is depending on types of the design, material build, range of temperature and pressure and manufacturer. When a designer, engineer, or user decides to use a valve for an application, he/she should ensure the rated maximum temperature and pressure are never exceeded and that the wetted materials are compatible with the fluid the valve interior is exposed to. [3] The industries in which the majority of valves are used are oil and gas, power generation, water reticulation, sewerage and chemical manufacturing. [3] 2.3 Introduction to Tubing Tubing is pipe or a hollow cylinder for the transmission of fluid (liquid or gas). The term of pipe and tubing can be interchangeable although there are minor distinctions exist- basically, tubing imply tighter engineering requirements than pipe. Both pipe and tubing can be varies in different rigidity and permanence. For examples, a hose is normally portable and flexible. Besides, tubing and pipe can be specified by standard pipe size designation. Types of tubing are specified by the actual inside diameter, outside diameter and the wall thickness. [4] 2.3.1 Types of Tubing Basically, there are few types of tubing can be used in industry. Among them are: Copper Tubing Stainless Steel or Aluminium Tubing Plastic Tubing For copper tubing, there are two basic types of copper tubing, soft copper and rigid copper. Copper tubing can be joined using flare connection, compression connection, or sweat (solder). Soft copper tubing can be bent easily to travel around obstacles in the path of the tubing while a rigid copper cannot be bent and must use  elbow fittings  to go around corners or around obstacles. Soft copper is the most popular choice for refrigerant lines in  split-system  air conditioners and heat pumps while rigid copper is most popular choice for water line. [5] For Aluminium Tubing, it is sometimes used in industry because it is resistance to corrosion and solvents, and for its ductility. Besides, aluminium cannot create sparks when there is a transmission of flammable solvent and the weight for aluminium is lighter compare to steel and iron which make it suitable to use in many types of industry. [5] Aluminium tubing can be joined using flare connection, compression connection, or sweat (solder). Aluminium tubing can be used for heat transfer tubing such as in refrigerant systems. [6] For Plastic Tubing, there are few types of plastic tubing which are PVC(polyvinyl chloride) and CPVC, Polyethylene, Rigid Polypropylene, ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) and Nylon tubing. The most popular for plastic tubing is PVC. It is rigid, and uses thread or glue connections. Besides, it is available in several of pressure range. [5] Plastic tubing is widely used for its light weight, chemical resistance, non-corrosive properties, and ease of making connections. [6] 2.3.2 Types of Tube Fittings There are many types of connection methods for tubing application in industry. The four most common types of tube fttings connections are: Compression Tube Fittings Flare Fittings Bite-Type Tube Fittings Mechanical Grip-Type Tube Fittings The Compression Tube Fitting was the first tube fitting to be introduced, which consist of three components: nut, body and gasket ring or ferrule. The disadvantages of compression tube fittings was it can withstand only minimal pressure and the remake is very difficult due to the contrustion of the sealing ring. [7] CompressionTube Fitting The Flare Fitting was the another variation in tube fittings designs. The fittings is made up from a nut, sleeve and body with a flare or coned end. During installation of a tubing, a special flaring tools are usually required .The disadvantages of flare fittings is that flaring of the tubing may cause stress riser at the base of the flare or cause the axial cracks on thin tubing. [7] Flare Fitting For Bite-Type Tube Fitting , it is used to accommodate higher pressure application over the compression tube fitting design. The fittings is typically made up with a nut, body and ferrule(s) having a sharp leading edge, which give bites into the skin of the tubing to achieve griping and holding ability. There are two types of design for bite-type tube fittings which are the single ferrule and twin ferrule design. In single ferrule bite, the nose of the ferrule performs two functions. The first function is to bite into the tube to hold it and second function is to provide a sealing element for the coupling body.In twin ferrule bite, the back ferrule is used to bite and provide gripping into tube and the front ferrule is used for sealing element for the coupling body. [7] Single-Ferrule Bite-Type Two-Ferrule Bite Type Meanwhile for Mechanical Grip-Type Tube Fittings are typically two-ferrule in design. The front ferrule is used to seals by coining the surface of the tubing and coupling body. While the back ferrule is used holding action. The back ferrule grip the tube for a distance just out-board from tube holding point of the ferrule nose to enhance vibration resistance. The main advantanges of this design compare to the bite-type fittings is that break and remake of the fitting after installation can be more successfully accomplished without damage to either the fitting components or the tubing. [7] Mechanical- Grip Type 2.4 Introduction to Pipe Thread Basically ,there are two types of standard for pipe thread which are : British Standard Pipe- BSP American National Pipe-NPT/NPS Both of British Standard pipe and American National Pipe is designated by trade size rather than actual diameter. Under BSP, there are two basic types of BSP threads which are the BSPT (British Standard Pipe Taper) which is also know as R threads and BSPP (British Standard Pipe Parallel) which is also known as G threads. Both of the BSPT and BSPP have the same thread angle, shapre and pitch ( threads per inch). The only difference for BSPT and BSPP is BSPT threads are tapered and BSPP threads are straight ( parallel). BSP thread have a 55o include angle and have rounded peaks and valleys. On the other hands, for NPT, there are also two basic types of national pipe threads which are NPT ( National Pipe Taper) abd NPS ( National Pipe Straight) . Both NPT and NPS have the same thread angle, shape, and pitch (threads per inch).   However, NPT threads are tapered and NPS threads are straight (parallel).   Both threads have a 60 ° included angle and have flat peaks and valley 2.4.1 NPT vs BSP Pipe NPT thread are widely used in United State but, BSP thread are more widely used in many other countries.The actual specified outside diameters of American National Pipe is slightly different from British Standard Pipe,.NPT/NPS and BSP thread are not compatible with each another. This is due to the differences in their thread forms and pitch . NPT/NPS threads have a 60 ° included angle and have flattened peaks and valleys while a BSP threads have a 55 ° included angle and have rounded peaks and valleys As conclusion, never ever try to mate a BSP fittings with an NPT or NPS fittings if the pressure holding capability is at all critical. CHAPTER 3 HARDWARE AND SETUP DESIGN In this chapter, the hardware components used to setup the hardware would be elaborated and discussed. Each components features and its operation were studied before proceed to the hardware design. These components were tested on breadboard individually with simple program. The main purpose of this is wanted to determine components and algorithms used are work and function properly. Based on these algorithms, a complete program could be designed to make all the components work in the correct manners. The details about software methodology will be explained at next chapter. After all the hardware components passed the testing, a proper design of Printed Circuit Layout (PCB) was needed. A good and neat design of the PCB would ensure all the components work stability and properly to achieve the project primary objectives. During this stage, Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) theory had studied to prevent undesired manners such as noise or crosstalk occurred in the PCB board. Besides , the design drawing of hardware prototype is also had been studied before assembling the hardware prototype. At the last stage, the tubing, fittings, valve, pressures sensor and pressure gauge is assemble carefully in order to prevent gasses leakage from prototype. 3.1 Microcontroller Unit (MCU) A microcontroller is a computer system that runs on a single integrated circuit. It usually consists of Central Processing Unit (CPU), memory unit and Input/Output (I/O) modules. Apart from these, a MCU also contains timers, counters and interrupt scheduling circuitry. Microcontrollers are widely applied in the robotics and embedded system controllers. Different microcontroller models may offer extra peripherals and registers for some applications (eg. UART, SPI, I2C and etc.). They usually run in a fixed oscillating frequency. There are advanced microcontrollers which are 32-bits microcontroller developed nowadays. But, 8-bit microcontrollers are usually sufficient to design a small embedded controller. In this project, Microchip microcontroller had been chosen due to its extra features. For instance, PIC had built-in ADC module to ease the analog to digital signal converting and Universal Synchronous Asynchronous Receiver Transmitter (USART) module to communicate with PC. 3.2 Microchip PIC Microcontroller PIC stand for Peripheral Interface Controller. Until now, Microchip had developed and manufactured multiple families of PIC microcontroller in different packages. They are several families in a certain category such as PIC10, PIC12, PIC16, and PIC18 in 8-bit PIC microcontrollers, PIC24F, PIC24H, dsPIC30 and dsPIC33 in 16-bit PIC microcontrollers and PIC32 in 32-bit PIC microcontroller. The PIC microcontroller that is used in this project is PIC16F877A. One of the reason this PIC microcontroller was choosen because it is in 40-pin DIP package. It was also chosen because it is powerful and yet easy to program CMOS FLASH with only 25 single word instructions based 8-bit microcontroller. With the 20MHz operating frequency, the PIC only need only 200 nanoseconds to execute and instruction.