Monday, September 30, 2019

Log Mgmt

Log Management in the Cloud: A Comparison of In-House versus Cloud-Based Management of Log Data A SANS Whitepapers – October 2008 Written by: Jerry Sheen Sponsored by Alert Logic Basic Practices Questions for the Cloud Provider Considerations for In-House Log Management Executive Summary In the 2008 SANS Log Management Survey, 20 percent of respondents who were satisfied with their log management systems spent more than one week each month on log analysis. Most of those companies were in the Global 2000.The remaining small- and medium-sized businesses (SMB) and government organizations spent twine a half-day to five days per month on log analysis. The survey also showed that, because of difficulties in setup and integration, most organizations have only achieved partial automation of their log management and reporting processes. These difficulties have organizations, particularly SMB, wondering if they should turn over log management to an in-cloud provider†one that prov ides their log management software and log data storage over the Internet.In January, 2008, Stephen Northup, president of the SANS Technology Institute, wrote that there are pitfalls with putting log management in-the-cloud. On the plus side, he adds, â€Å"you will almost certainly save money. In addition, real experts on log analysis are hard to find†¦ † 1 Recently, vendors began offering log management in-the-cloud (otherwise known as Software as a Service or AAAS), as a way to simplify log management because the provider can dedicate the material resources and retain the talented, focused personnel to do a better Job for less money.This particularly makes sense not only for SMB without the dedicated manpower, but also for enterprises whose IT resources are stretched trying to manage multiple distributed Lana. While IT managers agree that log management is difficult, they are leery about handing over their log data to a third party application provider because the dat a might not be available when they need it, not to mention the sensitive nature of some of the data that shows up in log files.Before deploying or overhauling log management systems, organizations need to weigh the benefits and drawbacks of each model in context of their business requirements. To simplify the process, this paper presents some questions to consider when vetting those business needs against each (and in many cases, both) of these log management models. Www. Sans. Du/resources/leadership/log_logic_interview. PH Log Management in the Cloud Basic Practices When looking at both models of log management (internally or in the cloud), begin with the end in mind by clearly laying out the reasons you want to collect log data.The following are some pre-selection tenets to keep in mind when considering both models of log management: Identify Your Goals One of the keys to any successful project deployment is identifying the goals before starting. Log management needs are differen t for each business unit staking a claim in the process. The IT group may be interested in the value of log data for problem solution; the security team may be interested in information management or event management tied into an overall SEEM; and the audit and compliance group is most likely interested in tracking what people are doing in regard to sensitive data.Other possible uses for log data include marketing, forensics and HER accounting. As they identify goals, companies would do well to consider the broader advantages of log management and analysis, and look for systems or services that will allow a migration toward a more complete use of log data in the future. Of importance to all groups is the type of reporting supplied by the service or system. Log management systems often have reporting that is geared toward compliance for PC, SOX, HAIFA and other similar standards.Apart from required reports, log management can generate reports that are helpful for system maintenance, security management and many other purposes. Whether log management is handled in-house or in the cloud, reporting and correlation features should be easy to use and able to meet current and future business goals. Locate Resources Critical to the success of any log management initiative is finding the staff needed to implement, manage and maintain the system. This is particularly difficult for SMB and government agencies that can't afford top dollar for IT talent.Yet, according to a Gardner paper in May of 20082, compliance drivers are pushing organizations with smaller security staffs to acquire log management systems. In these cases, in-cloud services make sense. Larger organizations with dedicated security staffs and advanced log management processes, on the other hand, are more likely to keep log management functions in-house. But even those organizations might use log management services for branches, or as a part of their larger security or network management operations. 2 GO 56945, Mark Nicole and Kelly Savanna's.SANS Analyst Program Try Before You Buy The computer industry is fraught with solutions that don't work nearly as well as they purport. So, testing and trial use is critical to determine whether the system or service suits your needs. Put the search interface through its paces to test for functionality and accuracy. Start off with a few devices sending log data, but also set up as many devices as you are allowed to test during the trial period. Some log management systems work very well for a small amount of data; but as the data feed test larger, the performance goes down quickly†and the systems or services can miss events.A good way to test the system or service is to send some suspicious data to a device that is being monitored. Then go look for that particular data to make sure it's all there in the logs. One way to do this is to use the Kiwi Slog Message Generators to send messages to the target, for example by using an option in the program to send a simple text message followed by a number. This makes it simple to see if any of the test messages have been picked up by the log management system or service and reported upon as required.If there is a security component to the monitoring service (there usually is), try attacking your server and see how the provider responds. The specifics of how you would do this testing will vary with your goals, but logging in as a user and intentionally mistyping the password enough times to lock the account should get a response from the log service or system. I have actively used this testing approach on some appliances that collected security information and never got a response. If you choose to do this kind of testing, start slowly to get an idea of where the response threshold is.In addition to testing for nationality and security, pay attention to the user interface. In most cases, this will be a Web-based front end. Go through all the options and make sure they work. A lso, make sure that responses to the GUI are intuitive. If you have a report that you need regularly, you should be able to get that report reasonably easily, even have it e- mailed to a specified account. Custom reports and specialized reports may be more complicated to receive as a test, but the basic flow of the system should make sense.Finally, make sure that the people who will use the service test the interface before decisions are finalized. Www. Sociology. Com/kiwi-slogged-overview Questions for the Cloud Provider Selecting a log management software service provider is more like cementing a partnership than making a purchase. The service provider will have copies of critical log data†at times they may have the only copies of that data. The table below offers a quick snapshot of what to cover in a Service Level Agreement with a log management cloud service provider.Following that are questions to consider before taking the plunge. AAAS availability No more than 2 minute s of downtime a day and no more than 5 minutes per week. Timeliness of log data showing up in system Individual logged events must be available to a search from the customer portal within 90 seconds of the event. Timeliness of log data analysis Regulatory compliance Alerts must be delivered to the client within 30 minutes of a critical event. The AAAS provider must maintain compliance to changing regulations within 30 days of notification of change.New attack vectors should be applied to the processing system within 24 hours of a new attack being identified. The processing system must be upgraded to support changes and modifications to alerting from supported systems when systems are available for mineral release. Prompt upgrades to support new attack vectors Prompt upgrades to support upgrades to hardware and software 4 When considering cloud-based log management applications, organizations should ask the following questions (most of which can also be applied to in-house log manage ment systems): Is It Safe?Many IT managers are concerned with the safety of their log data, and rightly so: Log data can be dangerous if it falls into the wrong hands. Attackers can get valuable information from reading the logs. For example, they can see if their attacks work, been known to show up in logs). Log data as common as Web or e-mail traffic often contains confidential information. Having control of logs can be useful to attackers who, in some cases, will try to clean the log data to remove any traces of their activity. Therefore, it's important to look at the safety of log data†whether it's stored on- or off-site.If the log data is stored locally, it's often kept on each individual computer producing the data. Larger organizations will have log servers that will store the log data in a centralized attached storage device. Those systems are, in an ideal situation, secured and difficult to break into. In the cloud model, this data storage would be handed off to the c loud provider, which relieves the organization of the hardware, security and HER burdens involved with keeping storage in-house. However, as they lose control of that data, organizations must rely on the cloud service to handle their data securely.The issue of whether a service organization is competent is difficult to determine, and is ultimately based on reputation. Cloud providers must create a trust model as they manage collected log data securely and separately in a multi-tenant environment. This creates the need for additional layers of security to operate multiple tenants from one another on a shared server, while also protecting the data stores from attackers. Firewalls, encryption and data loss prevention are all areas of security that apply to sensitive log data stored in the cloud†a cloud that's increasingly brutalized.Fertilization, in itself, is not necessarily a negative, as long as proper security procedures are followed within the virtual cloud. The same charac teristics of fertilization that make it a concern as a hacking agent also provide a hiding technology that has the potential to make user accounts harder for attackers o access. Already security vendors are developing virtual technologies so that their anti-mallard products can't be detected and overruled by today's kernel boot- level rootlets. 5 How Is It Transported?Ask the cloud provider for specifics about how the data gets transmitted from your systems to their operations center. Is the data encrypted in transit? What type and strength of encryption is used? Is the encryption proprietary? Be wary of providers that claim their encryption information is confidential or proprietary; instead, look for providers that use proven technologies such as SSL or AES. There are numerous examples of companies that have invested vast amounts of money in creating their own encryption technologies only to find out after release that they missed a critical component.How Are Keys Stored? It would be easier for a log management vendor to use the same encryption secrets client, that attacker can access the accounts of all clients. A different key for each customer account would not only offer better protection against customers accessing one another's accounts, but also against an attacker cracking a password and getting the keys to the entire kingdom. Logical separation of key storage is also important for the same reasons. How Often Is The Data Transmitted? Most log management systems send data in batch mode.The collection appliance typically waits for either a specified time or amount of data before transmission. In general, a quicker frequency is better because the data is getting processed faster. More frequent transmission minimizes traffic bursts and gives an attacker less time to interrupt or block the transmission of alerts, a technique attackers use in an attempt to avoid detection. What Is The Level Of Compression and Bandwidth Utilization? Bandwidth utilization is a question that you'll want to keep an eye on as you test your log management service.It is common to get 90 percent compression or better on ASCII (plain text) logs, while binary log compression ratios may be less. If your Internet connection is currently heavily utilized, the log traffic may impede other traffic, and you'll want to plan for this issue ahead of time. One way to monitor the bandwidth is to capture traffic statistics using Net Flows. If you aren't monitoring your overall Internet traffic utilization, it's best to get a handle on that prior to implementing a log management service and use this number as a baseline. What Backup and Redundancy Is Included ? If a cloud provider claims to be set up to handle this type of data correctly, verify that it is, in fact, doing a better Job than you would. The provider should have data stored at multiple locations and secure backups for redundancy. Check, too, with the company that is actually doing storage. In the cloud model, storage could be handed off to another vendor. Ask questions about how stored data is encrypted, how it is transferred, where the tapes or other media are stored, and if there is a process for racking tapes.Find out how long backup data is retained, how it's destroyed, and what happens to the data if the service is terminated. It will probably be impossible to verify most of this, but the cloud provider should be able to answer questions and provide benchmarks, customer references, service agreements and other documentation. What Are The Responding Options? System. These built-in reports typically cover things like regulatory compliance and common performance and security metrics. Verify that the reports your organization needs are included as overbuilt reports, or that they're easy enough to customize.Often, reporting is not as straightforward as people would like it to be. Sometimes, the logging application won't provide the required information directly, but it may be available i ndirectly. For example, a security manager may want to identify invalid session IDs on a Web site because a high frequency of invalid session IDs may point to an attacker trying to guess a session ID and clone or hijack the session. If the log manager doesn't report that information directly, it may be possible to get similar information by tracking the number of connections built from any given IP address. How Much Of The Data Is Actively Searchable?In some cases, the most recent data will be more quickly accessible for searching than data that has been removed from an active state. Moving data out of an active part of the database can make databases faster, so some data may be moved into an area that provides slower access. Ask if there are any special requirements to access archived data or whether the only issue is a performance penalty†and request a demonstration. 7 How Much Of The Data Is Stored? If data is moved out of primary storage, is the full log data retained or w ill recovery of data be limited to searchable data fields and metadata?If some detail is eliminated, determine whether this will cause problems with regulatory compliance, forensics processes and other log management and reporting needs required across your organization. If there are processes that automatically eliminate some data, can those processes be suspended for special circumstances, such as litigation requiring the preservation of data? How long does it take to make such changes? What Log Data Will Be Accepted? What specific devices, operating systems and applications are supported?Several operating systems and hundreds of widely used appliances and devices are critical o today's diverse organizational IT infrastructures. The number of applications a log manager may be called upon to understand is staggering. Prioritize on all your critical devices and applications. How are they supported by the service provider, and how thorough is that support? How Are Its Instructions Fo r Setting Up Devices? Log management can become more complicated as the number of log-producing for setting up devices, operating systems and applications that need to be monitored.Often, a company will need to deviate from the normal setup procedure, based on the peculiarities of its business that complicate the log data life cycle. As a result, setup instructions should be termed as guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Rules often must be massaged to work with the varying operating systems and applications (including their versions) that an organization needs coverage for. 8 How Are Alerts Determined? If the cloud provider is offering to send alerts for events of interest, find out how they determine what is of interest and compare that to what is of interest to your organization.Are they looking solely at security events or do they include more routine support and maintenance events? If the events of interest include both types f events, how do they distinguish between the two? H ow much involvement does the log management client have in setting up what alerts are of interest to them? If a drive runs out of space, for example, that can often be Just as big a problem as an attacker compromising a system. Ask, also, if they can correlate related events to give the analysis situational awareness. For example, an administrator logging into a domain controller at 10 a. . And creating a user is quite different from the DNS process starting a command shell and creating a user in the middle of the night. In both cases, a user is being created. In the first instance, the process seems normal; but in the second instance this combination of events could be associated with the RPC DNS exploit as demonstrated in an April, 2007, SANS Webmaster. Cloud (and in- house systems) should, therefore, include situational awareness to understand when creating a user is a normal event and when, as in the second example, it is not normal.In addition to automated monitoring and alerts , it would be ideal if cloud providers could offer human review of logs as an add-on fee for service. Human review is required under some regulations, and is a good basic best practice for organizations to follow because automated systems don't catch everything. How Quickly Does Processing Occur? Timing is an important issue with log management that the cloud model is well- suited to address. One typical problem with in-house log management is that events are often found after a problem is noticed.It is, of course, best to detect log events leading up to a critical event in order to avoid the critical event. The question about processing speed encompasses a number of different issues: Once an event has been logged at the local device, how long does it take for that event to show up in the yester? If that event should trigger an alert, how long will it be before the alert is relayed to the client IT department? Is there an option for the vendor to do more than April 24, 2007 Webmaste r – www. Sans. Org/websites/show. PH? Beastie=90861 9 How Often Are The Alerts Updated? Operating systems and network devices are constantly coming under new and different attacks requiring new responses. The errors from these devices also change with some upgrades, so it is important for the Log Management provider to conduct regular and timely updates to its system, and respond reasonably when errors occur. How Are System Upgrades Handled? In the cloud, upgrades to the log management systems are handled by the provider, thereby relieving the organization from having to maintain these systems in-house.There is a risk, however, that the upgrades may cause outages in coverage by accidentally introducing new compatibility or protocol problems. It would be a good to ask the cloud provider about how upgrades are handled and how clients are protected during the upgrades. By the same token, how would updates to any internal system log-generating devices affect the cloud provider's coverage? 10 Considerations for In-House Log Management Many of the same questions that apply to companies offering log management service in the cloud also apply to internally-managed log management systems.The 2008 SANS Annual Log Management survey indicates it is still incredibly difficult to automate log management systems to the degree organizations need. A recent article by Patrick Mueller in Information Week refers to log management as a â€Å"monster. † Just because it's difficult doesn't mean log management needs to be outsourced. When weighing in-house log management, consider the following factors: Could A Personal Change Ruin Your Log Management Process? Log management is often the pet project of one person while the rest of the IT staff tries not to get involved.If that person leaves the company, it can be difficult for initiatives. Will Your Staff Monitor The Logs Regularly And Maintain Updates? Log management services have requirements built into their contract s for response time and full-time monitoring. Can your staff live up to those same expectations? One of the issues for log management companies is keeping up with updates to applications, operating systems and regulatory issues. Is your staff able to keep up with the changes? As an example, how did your staff do when Windows Server 2008 changed all its event Ids?At the time, most administrators used a collection of scripts; however, all those scripts, which were working, suddenly became broken. Floggers lashed out about it. For a log administrator who finally has everything working, that sort of a situation can be a demoralizing surprise. Maintaining updates and monitoring logs is complicated by the fact that most companies support a diversity of logging devices. To properly support local log management, an IT group will need to work with different vendors ho use different types of log data.At times, it may be necessary to bring in consultants to assist with tracking down specific i ssues. Organizations need to consider the associated costs and frustrations of working with multiple vendors and integrators along with the costs of the initial deployment and ongoing internal staffing requirements. 56 www. Informational. Com/story/charities. Jhtml? Articled=208400730 www. ultimate windows security. Com/wick/WindowsServer2008VistaSecurityLog. Sash 11 Roll Your Own Or Buy An Appliance? A big debate in the log management arena is how to deploy log management tools.According to the SANS Log Management survey, the majority of organizations (38 percent) are building home grown solutions through the use of slog servers, custom scripts and applications. The remaining respondents used a combination of commercial software and appliance-based tools or checked â€Å"other. † In either case, organizations are not happy with their level of automated correlation or system coverage, according to the survey. Coverage, automation, correlation and access must all be addressed, maintained and improved upon as needs dictate, regardless of which option is chosen.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Culture at Starbucks

Organizational culture refers to â€Å"a system of shared meaning held by members [of an organization] that distinguishes [it] from other organizations† (Robbins, 2005). In other words, organizational culture is the collection of characteristics and qualities which the employees of an organizations or the organization as a whole, values and consequently seeks to preserve. Robbins 92005) put forward seven basic characteristics which make up an organizational culture. The first of these characteristics is innovation and risk taking which refers to how management allows their employees to take some amount of risk in order to introduce new approaches and methods of work.Second is attention to detail – which means that a company requires its workers to give their full attention to specifics and the fine points of their jobs, so to speak. The third characteristic of organizational culture is outcome orientation, which indicates that management is not very much into rules and procedures as long as the desired results are accomplished, followed by people orientation which refers to management’s concern with how managerial decisions affect their employees or even their customers base.This could be taken to mean that no matter how beneficial a decision might be for the organization if such a decision could prove harmful to its employees, it is most likely to be shelved. The fifth characteristic is team orientation – by this Robbins refers to how the organization organizes its activities around work teams instead of encouraging individualism among its employees.Aggressiveness, the sixth characteristic, on the other hand, means that management wants its employees to show aggressiveness because it gives premium to competition. Finally, the last characteristic of organizational culture is stability. Robbins uses this term to refer to the preference of management to keep things secure and steady, thereby sustaining the existing state of affairs as long as the organization is profitable. This is resorted to by companies who do not want to go all out for growth and expansion.The cultural characteristic at Starbucks which best appeals to me is the aggressiveness encouraged by management. For a growth-oriented individual, Starbucks is an attractive company to work for because undoubtedly it gives value to employee aggressiveness because it is essentially a growth company. As a matter of fact, aside from being the â€Å"first specialty coffee retailer† in the world, Starbucks has more than 8500 branches and franchises in 25 countries around the world (Tripp, L., Siwapiragam, V., Rahim, N., & Horton, E. (2005).Innovation and risk taking, team orientation, and attention to detail are the other characteristics that make the company appealing. The culture at Starbucks is customer-responsive. It hires service-oriented and friendly employees who are not bound by rigid customer relation rules. The low level of formalization observ ed by the company allows its employees to adjust to different kinds of customers who come from all walks of life.This practice could be called empowerment, permitting employees to do what they deem necessary in order to satisfy customer needs. In its customer-responsive culture, Starbucks employees are clearly conscientious in pleasing their customers and are willing to go out of their way just to satisfy the needs of their customers. (Robbins, 2005)Employees of Starbucks know just what is expected of them. The company wants them to satisfy their customers from the quality of their coffee and other products to the services that they provide. They are committed to this expectation and focus all their efforts in achieving it. This shows that the culture in the company is strong as it is characterized by a â€Å"high degree of sharedness and intensity creates an internal climate of high behavioral control.† This expectation, therefore, effectively shapes the behavior of Starbuck s employees. (Robbins, 2005)The Customer Base of StarbucksThe customer base of Starbucks could be described as people who go out to have their snacks or take a cup of coffee outside their homes for different reasons. They could generally be classified into two categories: those who usually hang out with friends to socialize over cups of coffee and slices of sandwiches and those who go out to celebrate special occasions or to treat their visitors and friends to something special. Notwithstanding their category, however, the customers of Starbucks value their money and would want to have their money’s worth – in terms of quality, cleanliness, and satisfactory customer service. It is the company’s primary objective, therefore, to meet all of these customer requirements.Customer Service Standards for StarbucksPeople who are going out for their favorite blend of coffee whether habitually or occasionally expect not only excellent coffee but commendable service in retu rn for their money. For Starbucks, therefore, customer service starts with its product. For this reason, the first concern that should be addressed by the company is product quality, specifically its coffee. It should therefore exert every effort to achieve the highest possible product quality at all times. Management could make this possible by exercising due diligence in ensuring that only excellent coffee beans are brewed. This is the only way to ensure that their customers keep coming back.After product quality, the company should take into account the problem of cleanliness and sanitation. The dining room, rest rooms, and kitchen should be immaculately clean. Customers should be fully convinced that they are being served with clean food prepared in a sanitary manner and handled only by sterile workers. To this end, it would be very effective if customers are allowed to observe how their coffee and sandwiches are being prepared by clean-cut and healthy-looking personnel. Custome rs also prefer to eat in clean surroundings. Starbucks management should therefore see to it that every item in the dining room – from the furniture to the tableware and cutlery – are spotlessly clean with no insects buzzing around while they eat.The final customer service concern should be the quality of service. The sales staff, the food servers, and the maintenance people should be in clean uniform and should convey an image of clean living and over-all health. It would not be advisable for management to employ people who look as if they are indulging in substance abuse during their spare time. Employees should likewise be courteous and polite at all times, making it mandatory for management to focus employee selection on these aspects.These standards are meant to capture customer confidence and establish a management-customer relationship based on trust. If customers are satisfied that management is doing everything in order to safeguard their health and well-being by preparing the food carefully and in a sanitary manner, providing them with a sterile dining area, manned by neat and courteous employees who see to their every need while dining, then the company should have achieved a good foundation for a profitable business.ReferenceRobbins, S.P. (2005). Organizational Behavior, Eleventh Edition. Prentice-Hall.Tripp, L., Siwapiragam, V., Rahim, N., & Horton, E. (2005). Project V – Industrial toInformation Model of an Enterprise. Retrieved September 7, 2007, from

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Genre Conversation Essay

Although genre is commonly regarded as a tool for conventional assortment, it is necessary to recognize that a genre is not defined by its formal features, but by its situational factors. The contextual identification of a genre is highlighted by Carolyn Miller, who describes genres as the â€Å"typified rhetorical ways of acting in recurring situations† (qtd. in Bawarshi 7). The word â€Å"situation† is crucial in her definition because writing results from situational demands. Such situational nature of writing is emphasized by many scholars including Amy Devitt, Anis Bawarshi, and Stanley Fish. Synthesizing the works of these authors, we can derive that genre unites writing and context. Thus instead of focusing on formal features, a genre should be acknowledged as a publicly established form identified by its contextual features, in which writers and readers are socially connected. Since genre is socially defined, it can only function when there is a rhetorical situation that calls for a response. Returning to Miller’s definition, genres are responses to recurring situations. Because similar situations trigger similar rhetorical responses, these responses develop into a default ways of answering a particular type of situation (Bitzer 13). Nonetheless, not all situations stimulate responses; only situations in which one or more exigences exit trigger production. According to Lloyd Bitzer, an exigence is an â€Å"imperfection marked by urgency† (6). Writers are only motivated to write due to the presence of such imperfection. Since a rhetorical writing is invented to address an exigence, the purpose of such writing is therefore to modify the situation and so to alleviate the presented problem. Such contextual dependency of writing is highlighted when Bawarshi connects writer’s purpose and situation, indicating that writing â€Å"begins and takes place within the social and rhetorical conditions constituted by genres† (11). In other words, genres situate and motivate writers to write for a practical reason. For example, an advertisement article serves to encourage purchasing when a company tries to sell a product, while a science report serves to communicate lab results when researchers wish to publish their findings. In short, genres are responses to situations, thus what classifies a text into a genre is primarily the pragmatic purpose of the text in relation to the given situation. Furthermore, situations does not merely create genres, they also shape genres. Consider the rhetorical situation in which a letter is written: there are some physical distances between the writer and receiver, there is a close relationship between the writer and receiver, there is something the writer wants to communicate†¦Given such situation, there are many constraints that dictate the formal features of writing. These constraints give a genre its formal features. Thus genre simplifies the formal decisions writers need to make by â€Å"organiz[ing] the conditions of production as well as generat[ing] the rhetorical articulation of these conditions† (Bawarshi 9). With genre, writers are provided with writing frameworks that allow them to echo the demands of the given situation. Again, these writing frameworks are â€Å"rhetorical forms† that â€Å"comes to have a power of [their] own† as they are primarily responses to recurring situations (Bitzer 13). This implies that genres are shaped by situational specificity, thus particular social demands give birth to particular genres as different situations emphasize different values. Therefore â€Å"keep[ing] form and generic contexts united† is essential for a genre to work and hence for us to communicate as genres are shaped by contexts (Devitt 200). Although situation suggests appropriate forms to allow effective communication, it is crucial to acknowledge that formal features do not define genres. Formal feature can vary significantly within a genre, and such â€Å"inherent variation within all genres† is â€Å"essential to keeping genres alive and functioning† (Devitt 212). For instance, an advertisement can attract customers with striking pictures, yet it can also sell a product using persuasive statistics. No matter what formal features a text possesses, that text belongs to the advertisement genre as long as it is written to encourage consumption. This example illustrates that although context writing set constraints to promote appropriate formal features, yet the writer’s purpose is what ultimately defines a genre. Apart from contextualizing writing, genre socially connects writers and readers. On the conveying side, writers participate in discourse communities, which are â€Å"social and rhetorical environment[s] within which cognitive habits, goals, assumptions, and values are shared by participants† (Bawarshi 5). Writers in the same discourse community tend to employ same or similar genres. This is because the social contexts they write in, as well as the ideologies they wish to convey, are both shared within the community. Therefore, if a writer chooses to communicate with a genre commonly used by a discourse community, that writer will be identified as a member of community. What is the significance of discussing discourse communities? This answer relates back to the situational nature of writing – the concept of discourse community highlights the social purposes of genre by â€Å"locate[ing] a writer’s motives to act within typified rhetorical and social conditions† (Bawarshi 11). Members of different discourse communities tend to express using different strategies because they write for difference purposes and respond to different situations. Thus â€Å"writers will use different language in different genres† to properly address the presented exigence (Devitt 213). All in all, genre socially connects writers by situating them in discourse communities within which participants are motivated to produce by the same type of situation. Writers are not the only ones involved in the social context of writing, a text is given meaning by its readers as it means whatever the readers interpret it to mean. This suggests that a genre is identified as that genre when the readers perceive so. Fish describes interpretation as â€Å"the art of construction† (361); instead of finding what is in a text, readers create what is in the text through interpretation. These interpretations are shared â€Å"social and cultural patterns of thought† that result from experiences of acting within the social environment (Fish 364). Therefore, genres are â€Å"embedded within their social and cultural ideologies† so that they trigger appropriate interpretations (Devitt 191). Genre’s situational embedment underscores that writing is â€Å"dynamic, changing over time as the assumptions, values, and practices of writers and readers change† (Rounsaville 70) because the â€Å"social and rhetorical conditions are constantly being reproduced and transformed† as writers and readers act within them (Bawarshi 9). In sum, writing changes because context change. Hence, writing is a  social action defined and shaped by the social conditions that guide production and interpretation. Socially shared ideologies give birth to textual conventions, which are â€Å"agreements between writers and readers about how to construct and interpret texts† (Rounsaville 69). Genres associate writers and readers by suggesting textual conventions. Because these conventions are shared agreements between writers and readers, they enable writers to construct writing in a manner that directs readers’ interpretation so the text conveys its intended message. Therefore, successful communication results when writers follow text conventions when inventing and readers use these same conventions when reading. In conclusion, genre is constituted by social conditions in which writers and readers act within. Such situational dependency of writing is reflected in the works of the three authors referenced above. Amy Devitt’s text underscores the importance of understanding genre through its rhetorical purpose instead of through its form. She opposes the use of writing models, arguing that although learning formal features is an easier approach, yet the understanding of how genre actually functions is more practical when writers encounter new situations in specific disciplines. Similarly, Bawarshi relates text and context by defining writing as a social action. He reveals that inventions always depart from preceding productions, hence highlighting the importance of applying previously established forms to answer situational demands. Lastly, Fish’s chapter underlines the necessity of responding to an audience. After all, writing is a form of communication that involves not just the writer but also the reader, therefore writers should always be aware of how their readers might interpret their invention. In sum, the main take away point from these authors’ works is that effective writings are those that echo situational conditions. Works Cited Bawarshi. Anis. Genre and the Invention of the Writer: Reconsidering the Place of Invention in Composition. Logan, Utah: Utah State University Press, 2004. Devitt, Amy â€Å"A Proposal for Teaching Genre Awareness and Antecedent Genres. † Writing Genres. Carbondale: Southern Illinoise University Press, 2004. Ede, Lisa. â€Å"Writing for Rhetorical Situations†. Rounsaville, Angela, et al. , eds, Situated Inquiry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008. Fish, Stanley E. â€Å"How to Recognize a Poem When You See One†. Rounsaville, Angela, et al. , eds, Situated Inquiry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2008.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Measures and Scale Statistics Project Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Measures and Scale - Statistics Project Example Various tests have been employed to determine if the regression model is satisfactory. The model is said to be satisfactory, if the estimated regression equation can predict the value of the dependent variable given values for the independent variables. The relationship between these two measures is that they analyze the extent to which variables are related. However, these two do not assess cause and effect. Stress is part of normal life though too much stress can cause emotional, psychological and physical problems such as heart disease, irregular heart, chest pains and high blood pressure (Quinn & Keough, 2002). Our main concern is to study the relationship between stress and high blood pressure. We want to ascertain whether medical researchers are right with regard to stress causing high blood pressure. Let us determine the relationship of these two by using a sample of 20 patients who had their stress test score and blood readings taken. Regression and correlation is used in ascertaining the relationship as shown below: From the above workings in the table, the correlation coefficient is one. Therefore, the relationship between stress and blood pressure is a linear one. This simply means that when stress levels increase, the blood pressure also increases. The regression model is determined is fit as we were able to predict the values of blood pressure at given levels of stress. The correlation is +1, therefore a relationship which is linear exists between BMI and birth weight. Using regression analysis, it will be not possible to predict the birth weight given the BMI because the model is Ã… · =

Thursday, September 26, 2019

BIO Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

BIO - Assignment Example BMI was calculated as kg/m 2, and classified as lean, overweight or obese, depending on BMI for age and gender f or subject s below 18 years. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Blood was withdrawn in the morning after an overnight fast (>10 hours) and collected in non-heparinized test tubes by an assigned physician. Fasting serum glucose and lipid profile (Total, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides) were measured using routine laboratory procedures (Konelab, Finland). All biochemical estimations and storage of samples were carried out at BRP, KSU, Riyadh, KSA.† Quote: â€Å"Data were analyzed using SPSS 11.5 (Chicago, Illinois) and variables were expressed as mean  ± standard deviation (SD) for continuous variables. Frequencies were presented in percentage (%). Student t-test was done to compare differences between 2 groups (with and without perceived stress). Bivariate correlations were done to determine associations between p erceived stress and metabolic parameters of interest. P-value was considered significant at Quote: â€Å"Weight was recorded to the nearest 0.2 Kg using an international standard scale (Digital Person Scale, ADAM Equipment Inc., USA); height to the nearest 0.5 cm using the same scale. BMI was calculated as kg/m 2 , and classified a s lean, overweight or obese, depending on BMI for age and gender f or subject s below 18 years. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Blood was withdrawn in the morning after an overnight fast (>10 hours) and collected in non-heparinized test tubes by an assigned physician. Fasting serum glucose and lipid profile (Total, LDL- and HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides) were measured using routine laboratory procedures (Konelab, Finland). All biochemical estimations and storage of samples were carried out at BRP, KSU, Riyadh, KSA.† Al-Daghri, N. et al. (2014). Stress and cardiometabolic manifestations among Saudi Students entering universities: A

A Cultural Geography of Childhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

A Cultural Geography of Childhood - Essay Example Several of these, the first portion or set of the collection, reflects an English child's experiences, and the second set are my global perspective of other children's culture, or perceived existence as may be influenced by media and other forms of information. All throughout this essay, I have incorporated texts from readings about childhood and culture.Photography is a form of art aided by technology that captures in one scene what could have been or what might happen, or exactly what is happening with the subject or subjects, in connection with the present background, at this point, his or her environment. This could either be perceived, apparent, or as interpreted by circumstantial evidence presented by the image which is called the photo. Through photography, various forms of messages, interpretations as well as representation of culture, tradition and practices are depicted. These representations embody existing as well as ideal forms of what should be or what can be, but in mo st cases, also depict what are prevalent in society. With photos of children, these depictions are quite difficult to mask or hide. Thus, they become iconographic, as is "truth" at the moment. There had been moments in time that "childhood" according to Aries (1962) did not exist as in the middle ages, although this has been criticised as inaccurate (Hanawalt, 1995) where children were controlled and restrained. Aries went on to describe children as "little adults" although modern researches also pointed out that there had been separation of a "child" and "adult" starting in medieval Europe, of which, occurrences must have ignited these change. This essay, nevertheless, will progress with modern studies that have careful consideration of how children interact with adults and the factors that affect or shape children's general views as well as their present state. First Set I have an ordinary, normal childhood experience in the United Kingdom. I stayed around at the house for most of my early memories of childhood and my mum and dad served as big people that have to look after me and my needs. I have chosen this first set to depict, what for me is a "normal" childhood. Normal in the sense that there were no extraordinary occurrences such as physical or mental abuse, early detachment of a child to his or her parents, disability experiences, among other life-changing courses. This first photo depicts a toddler and her dad in formal outfit: he in tuxedo and the baby girl in chiffon dress. At the viewpoint of ordinary audience or watcher, this was taken during a special occasion, and it could be a wedding, a church or holy day, or any event that prompts the family, which is the mother, the father and the child, or children, to dress up and join a congregation, a community, or family gathering. (1ST PHOTO/Father & TODDLER) This second photo depicts a pre-school or day care child with his buddy. They are both of about the same age range between 3-5 years old and are in the stage of discovering friendship or comradeship, as well as belonging and acceptance. Considering their skin and hair colour, as well as their outfit, both children belong to a middle class or well-off family and society. This could mean their basic needs were well-taken cared off, and with the smile and facial glow of the blond child, he appears to be contented and secured, while the other child seem to have been influenced a little with the happiness or enthusiasm

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

PRJ1 Security Tool Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PRJ1 Security Tool - Assignment Example However, when used non-ethically, hackers can also utilize this tool to extract information of the network traffic deprived of any sort of authorization (Ethereal. 2007). Wire Shark is categorized in the list of open source tools and was released on a GNU public license. As per the GPL, the complete source code is free. The open source tool can be modified as per business requirements. The importance of this tool is significant, as securing the network requires specialized software or tool that penetrates within the network for detecting anomalies. Previously, these specialized tools were very expensive and proprietary. However, with the launch of Ethereal, this trend has changed. Some of the functions that Wire Shark provides to its users are: As mentioned before, compatible on both UNIX and Microsoft platforms Regardless of interface type, captures network traffic and display packets on the screen Incorporates ‘tcpdump’ for displaying captured packets. ... (Sharpe, Ed Warnicke et al.) As shown in fig 1.1, wire shark has captured some packets and is ready for further query. Figure 1.1 Wire shark GUI illustrates three panes. (Sharpe, Ed Warnicke et al.) The first pane i.e. the top one is called the packet list, as it shows the summary of every captured data packet. Users can click on any one of the captured packet to get the properties that are illustrated in the next two panes. Likewise, the middle pane is comprised of tree structure that can be expanded further. (Sharpe, Ed Warnicke et al.) The further expanded properties show frame count, interface type, protocol type and TCP properties. Moreover, the upper left corner at fig 1.1 displays a filter tab that can be used to filter the packet types, as per interest. Furthermore, new protocols can also be added, as it is an open source tool and they can be called as modules or can be constructed in sources. (Sharpe, Ed Warnicke et al.) Some of the protocols that are not common and can be a dded in the tool are 802.1q Virtual LAN, 802.1x Authentication, AFS (4.0) Replication Server call declarations, AOL Instant Messenger, ATM, ATM LAN Emulation, Ad hoc on-demand Distance Vector Routing Protocol, Ad hoc on-demand Distance Vector Routing Protocol v6 etc. (Sharpe, Ed Warnicke et al.) Platforms that the tool supports other than UNIX and Microsoft are AIX, Debian GNU/Linux, Slackware Linux, Red Hat Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, HP/UX and Sparc/Solaris. Figure 1.2 As shown in Fig 1.2, the wire shark capture menu shown multiple options i.e. interfaces, options, start and capture filters. The interface option provides users an opportunity to add or remove network interfaces

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Human Resource Info Systems Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Human Resource Info Systems - Assignment Example the concerned scenario, it has been determined that Castle’s Family Restaurant can be termed as a chain of restaurants comprising eight restaurants spread all over north California. Presently, this restaurant chain is facing an issue regarding effective human resource (HR) management. The prime focus of this discussion will be towards effective evaluation of the current management issue within this restaurant chain. Special emphasis will be provided regarding the implication of Human Resources Information System (HRIS) within the functionality of this restaurant chain to increase the efficiency of the work process and simultaneously save significant amount of time as well as money. Based on the case scenario, it can be ascertained that the name of the business which is being assisted is Castle’s Family Restaurant, a restaurant chain business which is established in north California. It has got multiple branches spread all over the area. The restaurant chain can be considered as a large service sector operating within that area and by taking into consideration its current level growth within United States (US) market, it can be stated that the restaurant business has been attaining gradual success and profit. These restaurant business processes have also been significantly contributing in terms of the nation’s quarterly and annual gross domestic product (GDP) figures (National Restaurant Association, 2014). Taking about the business environment, it can be said that this restaurant chain employs a substantial workforce of around 300-340 employees who are placed in eight restaurants of the business. It serves multiple customers and thus requires effective management (Agarwal & Garg, 2012). Correspondingly, by taking into consideration the present management issue within this restaurant chain, it can be stated that the need of a centralized monitoring and control system is of paramount importance. Currently, the staff and the daily process management within

Monday, September 23, 2019

Journal Entry One Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Journal Entry One - Assignment Example An ethical culture is cultivated where the leaders behave in an ethical manner as the other staffs follow that as they are also rewarded. The Enron and Tyco scandals shows that un-ethical practices, lack of leadership, and financially corruption are the three reasons that lead to the collapse of the these giants that had been in operation and doing good business over the years. These two companies did not have effective compliance and ethics program since these scandals took long to be unearthed and this shows they did not have proper follow-ups for the leadership and also those staff that knew about it did not take it upon them to disclose them. A few months ago I worked for a company that did not follow the guidelines since the stated organisation ethics were only written and were openly seen to be followed even by the management since mistakes were committed but no due process was followed to punish the offenders. This gave a chance to all staff to do as they wished. Ellen, V. V., & Ascalon, E. (2008). The role and impact of leadership development in supporting ethical action in organisations. The Journal of Management Development, 27(2), 187-195. doi:

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Knowledge Questions for Unit Hsc Essay Example for Free

Knowledge Questions for Unit Hsc Essay As a candidate, make sure you describe and explain your actions. | | | | | | | |Knowledge Questions for Unit HSC 44 | | | | | | | |5 | | | |Who draws up the Code of Practice for Social Care? | | |The General Social Care Council. | | | | | | | |6e | | | |Outline features of systems used in Lincolnshire in respect of confidential reporting of issues of concern. | | | |The council has its own policy which helps to inform on bad practice, difficulties between staff members and complaints ect. This is| | | |the ‘whistle blowing’ policy and it was designed in order to protect those wishing to make a complaint and to avoid such things as | | | |victimization. Although anonymous, complaints are still dealt with the same seriousness as named complaints although it is preferred| | | |that applicants with complaints should not be anonymous. | | | | | | | | | | |7 | | | |When the Children’s act 2004 was published it contained some major changes for the way in which services were to be delivered. Take | | | |one and explain in your own words the advantages this brings for the wellbeing of children and their families. | | | |The Childrens Act 2004 brought about many changes and most significant was the Every Child Matters campaign that runs along side the| | | |2004 act. For the Act itself the main change that helps in the work that I do is the implementation of the CAF. This works in line | | | |with the need for inter-agency working. I think this is one on the most crucial changes of the Act, and as the Victoria Climbie | | | |inquiry showed many agencies were involved with the case and through lack of communication, information sharing and joint working | | | |Victoria Climbie died at the hands of her aunt. One of the many advantages is local authorities drive for inter-agency working. | | |Through this many agencies are trying to change their way of working and with the help of the CAF more agencies are invited to the | | | |first meeting when a child has been shown to have additional needs. On the whole the process is proving to be more focussed on the | | | |child and family and this reduces any stigma for the families as in the past most cases where always referred to social workers. | | |Families and children are now seen more often and social workers can now focus on the more complex and child protection cases. | | | |Through inter-agency wo rking families and children are given the help that meets their needs and reduces the need for long term | | | |involvement. | | | | | | | | | | |8a | | | |Outline the features of the Dfes initiative â€Å"Building a Culture of Participation† | | | |This initiative is led by the government in their commitment to allow children to have a say in how policies affect them and to | | | |contribute to how a service is delivered. By listening to children and young people it ensures that policies and services are | | | |designed around their needs. This leads to better outcomes for children, young people and families. It also allows for policies to | | | |be effectively evaluated and evolve as necessary. | | | | | | | | | | | |9a | | | |Outline the Common Assessment Framework. Explain why this Government initiative has been introduced and its purpose. | | | |The CAF was implemented in 2006 in order to have a universal assessment form that could be used by all agencies and professionals. | | | |This was in line with some of Lord Laming’s recommendations after the Victoria Climbie enquiry. As a universal document it reduces | | | |the need for repetitive assessments and focuses more on the child and family and multi agency working. The CAF process can start at | | | |any time once it has been identified that a child has an additional need. Once agreed all information is shared between the agencies| | | |involved again reducing the chance of a child ‘falling through the system’. As the CAF is aimed at early intervention some one such | | | |as a school teacher can be the lead professional allowing more serious cases to be dealt with by social workers. As children can | | | |often have what was once deemed as minor issues and not warrant the classification as a child in need, through the CAF they are | | | |classed as having additional needs which allows professionals to work with the child and family. Once a child that has been | | | |highlighted as a CAF they can move in and out of the system as identified issues arise. | | | | | | | | | | |9bc | | | |Summarise the targets of the combined health and education initiative â€Å"Healthy schools†. | | | |The national healthy schools programme promotes a whole school approach to health. The programme is a joint initiative between the | | | |department of health and the department for children, schools and families. It aims to deliver benefits for children on improvement | | | |in health, raise pupil achievement, more social inclusion and a closer working between health promotion providers and education | | | |establishments. | | | |The public health white paper choosing health (2004) set a challenging target for 75% of schools to achieve healthy school status by| | | |2009 and for all schools to work towards this target. Through a planned curriculum schools can promote learning and healthy | | | |lifestyle choices. The four core themes within the programme are: | | | |Healthy eating | | | |Physical activity | | | |PSHE | | | |Emotional health and well-being. | | | | | | | | | | | | | |12 | | | |How does the Joint Annual Review shape the way in which Children’s Services are delivered locally. You may wish to discuss | | | |Lincolnshire’s last JAR and comment on how the recent Service restructuring has been a result of this. | | | |The Children’s Act requires joint area reviews to be conducted in each children’s services authority area. The multi-disciplinary | | | |team of inspectors review all services provided to children and young people aged 0 – 19. There are around 42 key judgements which | | | |relate directly to the five outcomes highlighted in the every child matters framework. Through the Lincolnshire JAR report published| | | |in March 2007 it was proved that there was a need for better facilities for all children aged 0 – 19. There are now plans to develop| | | |a further 23 children’s centres by 2008. Through this service restructuring the aim is to shift the balance of services from | | | |interventionist to a preventative approach. The strengthening families will work with partner agencies to deliver the five outcomes | | | |for the every child matters. This is where children’s services as a targeted service interface as part of a universal service. | | | | | | | | | | |16e | | | |Identify the risks to effective working caused by stresses on the work force and recommend what action can be taken. | | | |When work becomes too stressful for an individual it can cause a knock on effect throughout the staff team and the cases in which | | | |the individual is working on. The individual can start to have more days off sick which could cause other staff members to add to | | | |their workload in taking on those individuals cases. Stress can also cause the individual to lose direction and focus in the cases | | | |they work on and this can result in a reduced quality of service for those particular families. | | | |Stress in the work place can be identified early and then reduced by regular supervision. Supervision gives the individual a chance | | | |to discuss their cases and anything that might be causing them to feel stressed. Supervisors are then able to help supervisee’s in | | | |managing there stress before it gets to the point where it affects all that they do. Staff meetings are another opportunity to get | | | |together on a regular basis with other team members as it’s a chance for everyone to discuss their working role as well as any | | | |difficult cases they may have. This gives a chance for positive reinforcement by the manager on the work that is being done and also| | | |a chance to ‘brainstorm’ ideas that might help with the work. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |17 | | | |Explain in a short paragraph how the Social Model of disability affects children and their families which you work. | | |The social model of disability says that people are disabled not by their impairment, but by society that does not take account of | | | |their needs and prevents them from having full access to society due to physical, communication and social barriers. A large | | | |majority of the families that I work with fall into the category of being disabled by society. Those families that are most | | | |disadvantaged are those living in poverty. Families face multiple stresses which can affect a child’s needs. If a parent struggles | | | |to provide an adequate environment for a child this will impact on the child’s developments and the parent’s capacity to care for | | | |the child. | | |CHILD A | | | |CHILD B | | | | | | | |No dependence on social security benefits | | | |Household receives multiple enefits | | | | | | | |Two parent family | | | |Single adult household | | | | | | | |Three or fewer children | | | |Four or more children | | | | | | | |White | | | |Mixed ethnic origin | | | | | | | |Owner occupied home | | | |Council or privately rented home | | | | | | | |More room than people | | | |One or more persons per room | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |18a/b | | | |See 8a above. | | | | | | | |18d | | | |Using Lincolnshire County Councils Competency framework, explain how you would assist a member of your team to develop skills in | | | |risk management with regards to child protection. You need to be specific to an individual competency. | | |Using competency number 8 –Analysis and Judgement. I would be able to assist the member of staff in the above question. As part | | | |of the competency it requires the individual to look closely at the work they do and how it could be improved. Part of this is | | | |through having a broad range of information about an issue. In this particular instance it would be child protection. This could be | | | |done in-house through regular supervision. This can be through asking the individual to research up to date information and then | | | |having a question answer session on the information they have found. This shows that the indivual has done what is requested and | | | |demonstrates that they have an understanding of the subject that they would then be able to take into their work practice. Another | | | |useful development skill would be to assign the individual to a child protection case that was held by a social worker. The indivual| | | |would gain insight into the process of how child protection is identified and then managed. This hands on approach would give valued| | | |knowledge and development without risk to the family involved. | | | |Finally a child protection training course would be beneficial to the individual to again further develop there knowledge of the | | | |subject. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |19 | | | |What impact does placement disruption potentially have on the wellbeing of Children In Public Care. You should relate your answer | | | |the recent Government paper ‘Care Matters’ | | | |Most children who end up in care experience multiple moves. It is standard that three or more moves constitutes as placement | | | |stability. Child development theories say that repeated movements jeopardize the opportunity for children to develop secure | | | |attachments with carers and trusting relationships with adults. Children with behaviour problems, prior instability and the age of | | | |the child at placement have all been found to be important factors in placement instability. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |24 | | | |List 3 types of evidence that would be valid in court. Explain your rational behind each one. | | | |1) Video Evidence- For children 14years and under. Also for children classed as a vulnerable witness. Video evidence reduces the | | | |need for a child to be in court and to be face to face with the perpetrator. | | | |2) Court reports – These are factual based evidence which follow a mandatory guideline for completing. | | | |3) Records – Records are an essential source of evidence for investigations and inquiry’s, and may also be used in court | | | |proceedings. Therefore it is essential that any records on a child are clear and accurate and ensure that there is a documented | | | |account of an agency’s or professional’s involvement with a child and/or a family. | | | | | | | | | | |25 | | | |Provide three examples of recording information that might be deemed discriminatory and explain why, in at least one of these | | | |examples, the discrimination might pass without comment. | | |1) The child is ‘missing’ from the record – This doesn’t mean that the child hasn’t been mentioned at all, but that their wishes and| | | |feelings, their views and understanding of their situation, are not recorded. The absence of a child from the record suggests to the| | | |reader that no work has been done with the child, or that the child has not been involved in any work. | | | |2) Facts and opinions are not differentiated – Failing to differentiate between fact and opinions can result in the significance of | | | |some information being overlooked, or opinions becoming accepted as facts and which could influence the management of the case. If | | | |opinions and judgements are not substantiated in the record it can be difficult to explain how these were made to family members who| | | |access the records especially if the case holder who wrote them is no longer working within the agency. | | | |3) The record is not written for sharing. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |This account must (except in the case of responses to questions) be authenticated by at least one of the following | |Work products seen | | |List | | |Witnessed by— |Name |Sign |Expert | |Include on witness list | | |Y/N | |I confirm the authenticity of the |Signature of Candidate | |work above |DATE 31. 03. 08 | |I confirm the judgements claimed |Signature of Assessor |TICK IF OBSERVED | |above |DATE | | EV 5

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Determinants of Mutual Fund Growth in Pakistan

Determinants of Mutual Fund Growth in Pakistan This study is actually about the mutual fund growth and the determinants which are influencing on the growth of these funds. We ask whether the growth of funds is influences by the management fee, family proportion and the expense ratio or not. How much these variables influenced the growth of funds. We further check out the relation of the family assets and the return on the funds with the performance of the funds. Investors are paying the charges to control the funds and for the growth of the funds in the shape of management fee and the administrative charges. We study the behavior and the output of the funds from the duration of 2005-2009. We selected the funds which are listed in KSE. The funds are selected which are in the family proportions because of the nature of regression model which is used for the calculation of the effect of determinants on the growth of the funds. We use two models for the interpretation of the data. These are fixed effect model and cross section model. Through these models we elaborate the effects of different factors on the growth of these funds. We focus on the management fee for checking the efficiency of the funds management. Whether these are contributing in the growth of the funds or not, if not then these fee is only for the benefit of funds management INTRODUCTION In Pakistan the mutual fund industry handles a significant portion of the assets of individual investors. Basically there are many factors which can affects on the growth of the mutual fund. In these determinants of the mutual funds which can affect the growth of the mutual fund we are focusing on the management fee, the main focus is on the charging of the management fee and its impact on the growth. Whether it is beneficial for the growth or not? Along with this we are determining some other major determinants of which can influence on the growth of these funds in Pakistan. Compensation to managers is primarily in the form of a Management fee. With few exceptions, Management fees are charged as a percentage of the assets under management rather than on the basis of performance. It is therefore in the interest of management to grow the total assets in the fund and in the associated fund family. One tool that managers may use to grow funds is the Management fee. The fees, which are l imited to1% to 3% per year as Management fee, are used to cover administrative costs. This paper studies whether or not the charging of a Management fee support the investors by growing the worth of mutual funds family along with that of some other determinants. Next we checked that the charging of Management fee leads to greater cash inflow for the funds which charge them. We focus on various mutual funds existing in the Karachi Stock Exchange and listed there, in order to control for the variety of commission payment schemes associated with management fee charging funds that are now available to shareholders and are in the group of families charging Management fee. LITERATURE REVIEW These are some of the review from the experts and the researchers. Academic opinion on mutual fund fees is generally critical. Bogle, points out that the average cost of owning mutual funds has risen over 100 percent in the last sixty years. Freeman and Brown contend mutual fund advisory fees alone are excessively high. In their view the mutual fund industry is dominated by conflicts of interest where the mutual fund boards fail to negotiate arms-length management contracts with asset managers. In their view asset managers are over compensated for the services that they provide. Similarly Ang, Chen and Lin argue that the primary benefit that managers can provide to the shareholders is the reduction of expenses. The reason is that management has more control over expenses than over any other aspect of the return to the shareholders. Therefore, if managers are not working to reduce expenses they are failing to carry out their primary duty to the shareholders. Golec found that fund managers are compensated primarily on the basis of a percentage of the assets under management. That compensation scheme provides fund managers with a strong incentive to grow fund assets regardless of the degree to which such growth is consistent with shareholder welfare. Collins, along with Livingston and ONeal (1998) and ONeal (1999) argue that some investors pay to receive professional investment advice and assistance in the purchase of mutual funds. Essentially they argue that brokers provide some combination of resolving asymmetric information for investors and providing a needed service in completing and maintaining the required records in order to complete the investing process. We closely examine the issue of whether brokers primarily resolve asymmetric information or primarily provide investors with record completion and maintenance services. One way to grow the assets is to well manage the fund by the fund management of that varies funds. Management f ees provide a source of funds for controlling and managing the funds. Naim Sipra (2008) one of the interesting things to note is the low correlation between the funds and the market portfolio. In US studies the correlation between the market and mutual funds is often 0.9 or above. A high correlation with the market is an indication of a high degree of diversification. The low correlation in the Pakistani case suggests that the mutual funds are not doing a very good job of diversification. The low correlation and also the low betas are probably due to inclusion of fixed income securities such as the Term Finance Certificates (TFCs) in the portfolios of these funds. Since the composition of the funds is not publicly known therefore it is not possible to analyze this issue any further. Ali S M, Malik A S (2006) A Capital markets play a vital role in the economic development of a country. It is now widely accepted that there is a direct correlation between economic growth and the development of the financial sector. Mutual funds are considered to be an imp ortant source of injecting liquidity into the capital markets. A well established financial intermediation system facilitates the economic activity by mobilizing domestic as well as foreign savings. Muhammad Akbar Saeed (2004) during the last two years, mutual fund sector has more than tripled in size to Rs. 112 billion (as of 31-Dec-04). The industry players are predicting that the business is likely to grow by 200 percent over the next five years. The success of the industry will lie in several factors, one of which will be the role of regulators and their efforts to continuously evolve the code of corporate governance for the mutual fund industry. Moeen Cheema and Sikandar A. shah (2006) Mutual funds are becoming vehicles of securities investments most favored by the general public worldwide. Whereas, this trend is more pronounced in the developed securities markets of the United States of America and Europe, mutual funds are increasingly gaining the public attention in the developing economies as well. Pakistan is not an exception to this global trend and even though mutual funds form a comparatively small segment of the securities markets, they have grown phenomenally over the last few years. According to the Mutual Fund Association of Pakistan (MUFAP), whereas mutual funds may not shield investors from the risks associated with overall market failure, the ability to diversify that they provide may reassure public investors as regards the failure of individual companies and hence make them less wary of insider opportunism in any given corporation. We similarly consult some of the related articles for this purpose, which can be seen from the references. We also consult some of the conflicting matters with the course instructor. In summary, Management fee is basically for the controlling of the mutual funds and for the growing purpose of the funds. But is it working well for the growth of the mutual funds which funds are being charging this fee. HYPOTHESES AND METHODOLOGY This paper studies whether the shareholders income and their wealth increase from the growth of the mutual funds through the charging of Management fees. The main focus on the Management Fee but there are some other determinants like family proportion, expense ratio, return through sharp ratio and assets turnover in that specific duration which we selected for the research purpose. There are a number of ways in which investors could enjoy by the growing of wealth from funds which charge this fee. Since the fee is used for administrative expenses. It could aid investors by making them aware of high quality managed funds that might otherwise be invisible to them. There are several possible examples of funds where this might apply. First, funds charging this management fee lead the higher total returns. Funds with greater total returns would benefit investors in that, if the superior performance was persistent, investors would have a higher terminal wealth from investing in these funds than they would have from investing in other funds. A fee showing the existence superior total returns would be of great of interest to investors. The null hypothesis: Ho: There is no difference between the total returns of mutual funds that charge the Management fee and those that do not charge the Management fee will be tested. Second, the Management fee might be a signal to investors of a greater risk adjusted rate of return. A greater risk adjusted return would imply that investors could earn superior returns with less chance of loss with respect to other portfolios offering the same level of return. The second null hypothesis to be tested is: Ho: There is no difference in risk adjusted returns between the risk adjusted return of mutual funds that charge the Management fee and those that do not charge the Management fee. 2nd hypothesis will be tested using Sharpe Ratio. It needs to be noted that these null hypotheses could be rejected either because the funds charging the Management fee over perform or because they under perform. If there is persistent over performance, the over performance is in the interest of the investors. However, persistent under performance would mean that the fee being paid by the investors is being used to let them know that these mutual funds are not performing well that will leave the investors with less terminal wealth. Such a result would be consistent with the view that Management fees are inconsistent with shareholders income growth. Third, the funds charging the Management fee could be the funds that have lower expense ratios. The numerator of the expense ratio includes all of the operating costs of managing the fund; including the management fee and other administrative costs as well as all the expenses. It may be that after the Management fee is removed from the expense ratio the fund has lower expenses than other funds. Such a result would support the idea that the fee itself is merely a substitute for other costs and that the investor in such a fund is no worse off, and could be better off than the investor in a fund that does not have the fee. The null hypothesis to be tested is: Ho: There is no difference of the expense ratios of the funds on the growth of the mutual funds. 3rd hypothesis will be tested after subtracting the Management fee from the expense ratio. The null hypothesis could be rejected because the funds charging the fee have lower expense ratios or because the funds charging the fee have greater expense ratios. In the first case the management fee would be in the interests of shareholders and in the second case the fee would not be in the interests of shareholders. If it is found that the management fee is not supporting the growth of the mutual funds of shareholders, the other alternative is that the fee is in the favor of the fund management. It would be in the interest of fund management to charge the management fee if the existence of the fee led to faster asset growth than could otherwise be expected. Management desires faster asset growth because of the manner in which management is compensated. Fourth, managers might be using management fees to grow funds more rapidly than they would otherwise be growing. The growth of the fund from time t to t+1 is defined as: Gi = (Assetst Assetst -1(1+R))/Assetst -1 (1)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Equation Where Gi is the growth rate in the assets under management by fund i from time t-1 to time t. Assetst are the net assets under management at time t. Since the assets under management may grow either due to new sales or returns, equation 1 eliminates the growth that is due to returns. For all of the funds in the study, the management fee is based on the net assets under management which may provide a managerial incentive to grow the fund as rapidly as possible. Ho: The growth rate of mutual funds that charge management fee is higher as compare to the funds which are not charging the fee. We will test whether the funds that charge the fees actually are growing faster using a regression model that controls for risk adjusted return, asset turnover rate, the relative size of the mutual fund within a family of funds, the expense ratio of the fund other than the management fee and the level of the management fee. Gi = ÃŽ ² 0 + ÃŽ ² 1RARi + ÃŽ ² 2ATi + ÃŽ ² 3ASSETi + ÃŽ ² 4FAMPROi + ÃŽ ² 5ERi + ÃŽ ² 6FEEi + ÃŽ ² i †¦2) Equation Gi is the growth due to new investment in funds i from previous year t to current year t+1. Growth is defined by equation 1. This sign (?) Measures the sensitivity of the growth rate of the mutual fund to the specified factor in each case. An expected positive sign means that the growth rate is expected to respond positively to increases in the variable. An expected negative sign means that the growth rate is expected to respond negatively to increases in the variable. The expected sign is specified for each of the control variables. RARi is the risk adjusted returns on fund i from year t to t+1, estimated by using the Sharpe Ratio. In accordance with past findings, this control variable is hypothesized to have a positive sign and does take a positive sign. ATi is the asset turnover for fund i which is measured through the formula of Net Income divided by the Total Assets. Turnover is a measure of investing activity. The greater the turnover, the greater the cost of operating the fund. Holding all else equal, the greater the cost of operating the fund the lower the growth in the fund. This variable is hypothesized to have a negative sign and does have a negative sign. ASSETi is the total assets of fund i at time t. The larger a fund, generally, the older the fund is so that assets serve as a proxy for the age of the fund. The older a fund, the more well known the fund is to the investing public and the easier it will be to sell the fund. Assets are expected to and do have a positive relation with growth. FAMPROi is the proportion of the mutual fund family assets made up by fund i. The larger the proportion of the family assets in the fund the slower will be the growth, as management efforts will be directed primarily at the newer, smaller funds. This variable is expected to have a negative sign and generally has a negative sign. ERi is the expense ratio of fund i , less the management fee from all the expenses. The expense ratio includes all of the costs that the management company charges to the fund including the management fee, trading costs, and any other expenses. Since the purpose of the test is to isolate the effect of the management fee, that fee is subtracted from the expense ratio. The greater the expense ratio, the lower the growth. Investors should prefer a lower cost fund to a higher cost fund. The variable generally has the expected negative sign. FEEi is the level of the Management fee. For the vast majority of the funds in the study, this variable will be charged by 1% to 3%. It is expected that the null hypothesis will be rejected and that this variable will have a positive sign which is generally the case. The regression model (Equation 2) is estimated on an annual basis for the years 2004 through 2009 for all funds that have all required data available. Equity and fixed income funds are examined separately. A positive and significant sign on the FEE variable will lead to a rejection of the null hypothesis and will be consistent with the idea that the Management fee is used by management to increase growth in assets. There are two economic rationales that apply to the imposition of the Management fee on mutual fund investors. The first is that investors are the primary beneficiaries. The second is that fund management is the primary beneficiary of the fee. The major contribution of this paper is to determine whether the facts are more consistent with the investors or the managers being the beneficiaries for mutual funds. THE DATA All of the data are taken for the years 2004 through 2009. Since 2004 is the first year and lagged data is needed, the results are presented for all funds for which all data was available for 2005 through 2009. The data are summarized in the table form and data is regarding the equity funds. As far as the collection of the data is concerned so we consult many sources for the collection of the data. Mainly we collect it from KSE. From where the full data was not available and after that we consult the Business recorder, Statistical Bulletin of Pakistan [Federal Bureau of Statistics (2005)] for 2005-2009 and SBP for the collection of the financial reports and the kibor rates. The net asset values are collected from the KSE as well as from Brecorder. The data available in the form of tables and excel sheet which is attach along with this article. Mainly we collect the data of the equity mutual funds. Our focus was on most commonly known mutual funds of the Pakistan market. We selected a lmost 21 mutual funds from the KSE available sources but because of the running of Regression Model, for which we need only the family funds which are in the form of groups. We neglect the individual funds because of the family proportion concern. So now the data available is of 13 mutual funds which are in the form of family. From that we could generate the family proportion of the mutual funds assets. Because the amount of the data was less for five years so we take the data in the panel form representing through panel EGLS. RESULTS These are some of the results which we conclude from the help of the CROSS SECTION MODEL FIXED EFFECT MODEL. In econometrics and statistics, a fixed effects model is a statistical model that represents the observed quantities in terms of explanatory variables that are all treated as if those quantities were non-random. This is in contrast to random effects models and mixed models in which either all or some of the explanatory variables are treated as if they arise from the random causes. Often the same structure of model, which is usually a linear regression model, can be treated as any of the three types depending on the analysts viewpoint, although there may be a natural choice in any given situation. In panel data analysis, the term fixed effects estimator (also known as the within estimator) is used to refer to an estimator for the coefficients in the regression model. If we assume fixed effects, we impose time independent effects for each entity that are possibly correlated with the regressors. The major attraction of fixed effects methods in non-experimental research is the ability to control for all stable characteristics of the individuals in the study, thereby eliminating potentially large sources of bias. Within-subject comparisons have also been popular in certain kinds of designed experiments known as changeover or crossover designs (Senn 1993). In these designs, subjects receive different treatments at different times, and a response variable is measured for each treatment. Ideally, the order in which the treatments are received is randomized. The objective of the crossover design is not primarily to reduce bias, but to reduce sampling variability and hence produce more powerful tests of hypotheses. Fixed effects methods cannot estimate coefficients for variables that have no within-subject variation Time-series cross-section (TSCS) data harness both cross-temporal and cross spatial variation to maximize empirical leverage for theory evaluation. However, this powerful data structure also requires careful consideration of temporal and spatial (cross-unit) heterogeneity, temporal and spatial dynamic processes, and potentially complex stochastic error structures. In the table 1 which is descriptive table and that is showing the mean, median and standard deviation as well. As it is clear and shows from the descriptive table that the sharp ratio, which is basically the return calculation through the sharp measure, is the negative impact on the growth of the mutual fund. As you will increase the return on the funds or the return increases over the amount of the funds the impact of it is negative on the growth of the mutual fund. Similarly the coefficient of this sharp ratio is also negative impact on the growth of the mutual funds. Now secondly, the asset turnover showing, the mean in the descriptive table representing the negative value which means that if the asset turnover will be negative so it can reduce the growth of the mutual funds. Assets are in the positive form and they show that if the asset of the fund increases so it means that the impact of this on the growth of the fund is positive and it contribute in the growth of the mutual fu nd. The family proportion of the mutual fund should have the positive impact on the growth of the mutual fund and in the table 1 of the descriptive result, the result of this is positive so it means that the family proportion increasing in this which is the positively impacting on the growth. Expense ratio is resulting negatively on the growth of the funds, and the management fee which is the basic testing of this is also showing the negative impact on the growth of the mutual funds in Pakistan. TABLE NO. 1 Descriptive Analysis GR SR AT ASSET FP ER FEE MEAN 3.989 -1.096 -0.008 2633207 0.365 1.262 54455166 MEDIAN 0.005 -0.540 0.010 1435134 0.410 1.260 38342000 MAX. 63.590 2.290 0.450 14193216 1.000 10.900 2.49708 MIN. -27.660 -5.010 -1.070 0.00000 0.000 0.000 0.00000 STD. DEV 12.763 1.470 0.272 3060791 0.255 1.644 53774795 SKEW. 2.134 -0.946 -1.834 1.951847 0.187 4.008 1.599424 PROB. 0.000 0.004 0.000 0.0000 0.729 0.000 0.0000 SUM 259.290 -71.278 -0.525 1.71608 23.400 82.060 3.54709 OBS. 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 TABLE NO. 2 Correlation Matrix DETERMINANTS GR SR AT ASSETS FP ER FEE GR 1.000 -0.269 -0.578 -0.163 0.062 0.100 -0.146 SR -0.269 1.000 0.360 0.124 0.174 -0.186 0.132 AT -0.578 0.306 1.000 0.139 0.071 -0.403 0.125 ASSETS -0.163 0.123 0.193 1.000 0.503 0.084 0.972 FP 0.061 0.174 0.071 0.503 1.000 0.270 0.538 ER 0.100 -0.187 -0.403 0.084 0.270 1.000 0.058 FEE -0.146 0.133 0.125 0.972 0.538 0.058 1.000 Now further according to the table 3 which is Fixed Effect Model, we design a panel least squares method in this model for the calculation of the data, in that the sharp ratio is resulting in the negative form and show the result that as the return on the mutual funds increases the growth effected negatively. The coefficient of the sharp ratio is negative and the result is showing significance, which is acceptable. After that assets turnover of it is in negative figure which shows a negative impact on the growth and the prob. Is significance we are keeping the level of the significance here is 0.10. The coefficient of the family proportion is positive thats good for the growth of the mutual fund but it is not significance because the prob. is higher than the level of significance. The expense ratio is showing the negative result, which means that the increase of the expense ratio is a negative impact on the growth of the mutual funds. Its coefficient value is negative and the value i s significant according to the fixed effect model. Now comes the management fee, according to this model the management fee is resulting in the positive value for the fund, that means that the funds that using the Management fee are contributing in the better growth of the fund because the coefficient value is positive but according to this model the fee is not significant here, the result is that the funds charging the fee can make the funds growing as compare to the funds that are not charging the management fee. The factor we assume here that the management fee effect positively for the growth of the funds but because of the political instability and the country economic situation it is not resulting good in the growth of the mutual funds in Pakistan. Lastly according to this model, value of Lassets is positive and the significant level is good which shows the Lassets significant. We take the assets here despite of the assets because of the mismatch and not the proper results fro m the assets. So it is impacting positively on the growth of the mutual fund. If it increases the mutual fund growth will increase. TABLE NO. 3 Fixed Effect Model Dependent Variable: GR Method: Panel Least Squares Sample: 2005-2009 Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 64 Cross-sections included: 13 DETERMINANTS COEFFICIENT STD. ERROR T-STATISTICS PROB. SR -3.772 1.532 -2.462 0.018 AT -24.784 7.253 -3.417 0.001 LASSET 0.447 0.155 2.878 0.006 FP 4.932 9.653 0.512 0.612 ER -2.250 1.054 -2.135 0.038 FEE 1.637 1.427 1.144 0.258 CONSTANT -1.456 4.251 -0.343 0.734 EFFECTS SPECIFICATIONS CROSS-SECTION FIXED (DUMMY VARIABLES) PERIOD FIXED (DUMMY VARIABLES) ADJUSTIFIED R-SQUARED 0.438 MEAN.DEP BAR 4.051 S.E OF REGRESSION 9.639 S.D. DEP BAR 12.859 SUM SQUARED RESID 3810.045 SCHWARZ CRITERION 8.418 LONG LIKELIHOOD -221.580 F-STAT. 3.227 DURBIN–WATSON STAT 1.896 PROB F-STAT 0.000 In table 4 and 5, we use the CROSS SECTION MODEL (cross section random effects cross section weights), according to both of these methods the calculations are same, the coefficient values and the significant are same. The assets turnover is showing the negative value which shows according to it that the more assets turnover can impact the growth of the mutual funds and the value is significant in both methods as well as in the fixed effect model. The value of the sharp ratio means the return of the mutual fund is showing coefficient negative in the random effect method that means that the increase of the return value can effect the growth negatively and growth is less when this return value is high while the value is significant which means it is good for the growth of the mutual fund and same value is showing in the fixed effect method. But in the cross section weights method the value of the return is positive and it is not significant there. So it shows here a that the higher ret urn impact the mutual fund growth positively means higher the return higher the growth of the mutual fund nut it is nit the case here. Family proportion of the mutual funds according to the both methods says that the results are showing positive relationship in the growth of the funds and the higher the family proportion. The values are significant according to the probability measures. Expense ratio according to both of these models reflects the results that expense ratio is impacting the growth of the funds negatively. Means as the ratio of the expense increase the growth is going to be less for the mutual funds. The coefficient value of the expense ratio is in negative value and the value in both the methods shows that this is significant. As far as the Management fee is concerned here so according to the both methods the management fee is impacting on the growth inversely. The coefficient value in both the cases is negative means if the management fee is charged by the mutual fu nd management so the growth is less than if they dont charge the management fee. And the value is significant in both the methods. So it is clear from now that according to the Cross Section Model the impact of the management fee is negative on the growth of the mutual funds. The management who is charging the management fee their growth of the mutual funds is less and downward. TABLE NO. 4 Cross Section Weights Dependent Variable: GR Method: Panel EGLS (Cross Section Weights) Sample: 2005-2009 Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 54 Cross-sections included: 13 Linear Estimation after One-Step Weighting Matrix VARIABLE COEFFICIENT STD.ERROR T-STAT PROB SR 0.439 0.825 0.532 0.596 AT -32.916 3.815 -8.628 0.000 FP 4.404 3.353 2.506 0.016 ER -2.032 0.719 -2.825 0.006 FEE -5.297 1.997 -2.665 0.010 LASSET 0.447 0.155 2.877 0.006 WEIGHTED STATISTICS R-SQUARED 0.788 MEAN DEPENDENT VAR 7.211 ADJ. R-SQRD 0.766 S.D. DEPENDENT VAR 20.513 S.E. OF REG 9.905 SUM SQUARED RESID 4709.255 DURBIN-WATSON STAT 1.785 UN-WEIGHTED STATISTICS R-SQUARED 0.396 MEAN DEPENDENT VAR 4.801 SUM SQUARED RESID 6164.67 DURBIN-WATSON STAT 1.521 TABLE NO. 5 Cross Section Random Effect Model Dependent Variable: GR Method: Panel EGLS (Cross-Section random Weights) Sample: 2005-2009 Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 64 Cross-sections included: 13 Swamy and Arora estimator of component variances VARIABLE COEFFICIENT STD.ERROR T-STAT PROB CONSTANT 1.663 2.777 0.599 0.551 Determinants of Mutual Fund Growth in Pakistan Determinants of Mutual Fund Growth in Pakistan This study is actually about the mutual fund growth and the determinants which are influencing on the growth of these funds. We ask whether the growth of funds is influences by the management fee, family proportion and the expense ratio or not. How much these variables influenced the growth of funds. We further check out the relation of the family assets and the return on the funds with the performance of the funds. Investors are paying the charges to control the funds and for the growth of the funds in the shape of management fee and the administrative charges. We study the behavior and the output of the funds from the duration of 2005-2009. We selected the funds which are listed in KSE. The funds are selected which are in the family proportions because of the nature of regression model which is used for the calculation of the effect of determinants on the growth of the funds. We use two models for the interpretation of the data. These are fixed effect model and cross section model. Through these models we elaborate the effects of different factors on the growth of these funds. We focus on the management fee for checking the efficiency of the funds management. Whether these are contributing in the growth of the funds or not, if not then these fee is only for the benefit of funds management INTRODUCTION In Pakistan the mutual fund industry handles a significant portion of the assets of individual investors. Basically there are many factors which can affects on the growth of the mutual fund. In these determinants of the mutual funds which can affect the growth of the mutual fund we are focusing on the management fee, the main focus is on the charging of the management fee and its impact on the growth. Whether it is beneficial for the growth or not? Along with this we are determining some other major determinants of which can influence on the growth of these funds in Pakistan. Compensation to managers is primarily in the form of a Management fee. With few exceptions, Management fees are charged as a percentage of the assets under management rather than on the basis of performance. It is therefore in the interest of management to grow the total assets in the fund and in the associated fund family. One tool that managers may use to grow funds is the Management fee. The fees, which are l imited to1% to 3% per year as Management fee, are used to cover administrative costs. This paper studies whether or not the charging of a Management fee support the investors by growing the worth of mutual funds family along with that of some other determinants. Next we checked that the charging of Management fee leads to greater cash inflow for the funds which charge them. We focus on various mutual funds existing in the Karachi Stock Exchange and listed there, in order to control for the variety of commission payment schemes associated with management fee charging funds that are now available to shareholders and are in the group of families charging Management fee. LITERATURE REVIEW These are some of the review from the experts and the researchers. Academic opinion on mutual fund fees is generally critical. Bogle, points out that the average cost of owning mutual funds has risen over 100 percent in the last sixty years. Freeman and Brown contend mutual fund advisory fees alone are excessively high. In their view the mutual fund industry is dominated by conflicts of interest where the mutual fund boards fail to negotiate arms-length management contracts with asset managers. In their view asset managers are over compensated for the services that they provide. Similarly Ang, Chen and Lin argue that the primary benefit that managers can provide to the shareholders is the reduction of expenses. The reason is that management has more control over expenses than over any other aspect of the return to the shareholders. Therefore, if managers are not working to reduce expenses they are failing to carry out their primary duty to the shareholders. Golec found that fund managers are compensated primarily on the basis of a percentage of the assets under management. That compensation scheme provides fund managers with a strong incentive to grow fund assets regardless of the degree to which such growth is consistent with shareholder welfare. Collins, along with Livingston and ONeal (1998) and ONeal (1999) argue that some investors pay to receive professional investment advice and assistance in the purchase of mutual funds. Essentially they argue that brokers provide some combination of resolving asymmetric information for investors and providing a needed service in completing and maintaining the required records in order to complete the investing process. We closely examine the issue of whether brokers primarily resolve asymmetric information or primarily provide investors with record completion and maintenance services. One way to grow the assets is to well manage the fund by the fund management of that varies funds. Management f ees provide a source of funds for controlling and managing the funds. Naim Sipra (2008) one of the interesting things to note is the low correlation between the funds and the market portfolio. In US studies the correlation between the market and mutual funds is often 0.9 or above. A high correlation with the market is an indication of a high degree of diversification. The low correlation in the Pakistani case suggests that the mutual funds are not doing a very good job of diversification. The low correlation and also the low betas are probably due to inclusion of fixed income securities such as the Term Finance Certificates (TFCs) in the portfolios of these funds. Since the composition of the funds is not publicly known therefore it is not possible to analyze this issue any further. Ali S M, Malik A S (2006) A Capital markets play a vital role in the economic development of a country. It is now widely accepted that there is a direct correlation between economic growth and the development of the financial sector. Mutual funds are considered to be an imp ortant source of injecting liquidity into the capital markets. A well established financial intermediation system facilitates the economic activity by mobilizing domestic as well as foreign savings. Muhammad Akbar Saeed (2004) during the last two years, mutual fund sector has more than tripled in size to Rs. 112 billion (as of 31-Dec-04). The industry players are predicting that the business is likely to grow by 200 percent over the next five years. The success of the industry will lie in several factors, one of which will be the role of regulators and their efforts to continuously evolve the code of corporate governance for the mutual fund industry. Moeen Cheema and Sikandar A. shah (2006) Mutual funds are becoming vehicles of securities investments most favored by the general public worldwide. Whereas, this trend is more pronounced in the developed securities markets of the United States of America and Europe, mutual funds are increasingly gaining the public attention in the developing economies as well. Pakistan is not an exception to this global trend and even though mutual funds form a comparatively small segment of the securities markets, they have grown phenomenally over the last few years. According to the Mutual Fund Association of Pakistan (MUFAP), whereas mutual funds may not shield investors from the risks associated with overall market failure, the ability to diversify that they provide may reassure public investors as regards the failure of individual companies and hence make them less wary of insider opportunism in any given corporation. We similarly consult some of the related articles for this purpose, which can be seen from the references. We also consult some of the conflicting matters with the course instructor. In summary, Management fee is basically for the controlling of the mutual funds and for the growing purpose of the funds. But is it working well for the growth of the mutual funds which funds are being charging this fee. HYPOTHESES AND METHODOLOGY This paper studies whether the shareholders income and their wealth increase from the growth of the mutual funds through the charging of Management fees. The main focus on the Management Fee but there are some other determinants like family proportion, expense ratio, return through sharp ratio and assets turnover in that specific duration which we selected for the research purpose. There are a number of ways in which investors could enjoy by the growing of wealth from funds which charge this fee. Since the fee is used for administrative expenses. It could aid investors by making them aware of high quality managed funds that might otherwise be invisible to them. There are several possible examples of funds where this might apply. First, funds charging this management fee lead the higher total returns. Funds with greater total returns would benefit investors in that, if the superior performance was persistent, investors would have a higher terminal wealth from investing in these funds than they would have from investing in other funds. A fee showing the existence superior total returns would be of great of interest to investors. The null hypothesis: Ho: There is no difference between the total returns of mutual funds that charge the Management fee and those that do not charge the Management fee will be tested. Second, the Management fee might be a signal to investors of a greater risk adjusted rate of return. A greater risk adjusted return would imply that investors could earn superior returns with less chance of loss with respect to other portfolios offering the same level of return. The second null hypothesis to be tested is: Ho: There is no difference in risk adjusted returns between the risk adjusted return of mutual funds that charge the Management fee and those that do not charge the Management fee. 2nd hypothesis will be tested using Sharpe Ratio. It needs to be noted that these null hypotheses could be rejected either because the funds charging the Management fee over perform or because they under perform. If there is persistent over performance, the over performance is in the interest of the investors. However, persistent under performance would mean that the fee being paid by the investors is being used to let them know that these mutual funds are not performing well that will leave the investors with less terminal wealth. Such a result would be consistent with the view that Management fees are inconsistent with shareholders income growth. Third, the funds charging the Management fee could be the funds that have lower expense ratios. The numerator of the expense ratio includes all of the operating costs of managing the fund; including the management fee and other administrative costs as well as all the expenses. It may be that after the Management fee is removed from the expense ratio the fund has lower expenses than other funds. Such a result would support the idea that the fee itself is merely a substitute for other costs and that the investor in such a fund is no worse off, and could be better off than the investor in a fund that does not have the fee. The null hypothesis to be tested is: Ho: There is no difference of the expense ratios of the funds on the growth of the mutual funds. 3rd hypothesis will be tested after subtracting the Management fee from the expense ratio. The null hypothesis could be rejected because the funds charging the fee have lower expense ratios or because the funds charging the fee have greater expense ratios. In the first case the management fee would be in the interests of shareholders and in the second case the fee would not be in the interests of shareholders. If it is found that the management fee is not supporting the growth of the mutual funds of shareholders, the other alternative is that the fee is in the favor of the fund management. It would be in the interest of fund management to charge the management fee if the existence of the fee led to faster asset growth than could otherwise be expected. Management desires faster asset growth because of the manner in which management is compensated. Fourth, managers might be using management fees to grow funds more rapidly than they would otherwise be growing. The growth of the fund from time t to t+1 is defined as: Gi = (Assetst Assetst -1(1+R))/Assetst -1 (1)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Equation Where Gi is the growth rate in the assets under management by fund i from time t-1 to time t. Assetst are the net assets under management at time t. Since the assets under management may grow either due to new sales or returns, equation 1 eliminates the growth that is due to returns. For all of the funds in the study, the management fee is based on the net assets under management which may provide a managerial incentive to grow the fund as rapidly as possible. Ho: The growth rate of mutual funds that charge management fee is higher as compare to the funds which are not charging the fee. We will test whether the funds that charge the fees actually are growing faster using a regression model that controls for risk adjusted return, asset turnover rate, the relative size of the mutual fund within a family of funds, the expense ratio of the fund other than the management fee and the level of the management fee. Gi = ÃŽ ² 0 + ÃŽ ² 1RARi + ÃŽ ² 2ATi + ÃŽ ² 3ASSETi + ÃŽ ² 4FAMPROi + ÃŽ ² 5ERi + ÃŽ ² 6FEEi + ÃŽ ² i †¦2) Equation Gi is the growth due to new investment in funds i from previous year t to current year t+1. Growth is defined by equation 1. This sign (?) Measures the sensitivity of the growth rate of the mutual fund to the specified factor in each case. An expected positive sign means that the growth rate is expected to respond positively to increases in the variable. An expected negative sign means that the growth rate is expected to respond negatively to increases in the variable. The expected sign is specified for each of the control variables. RARi is the risk adjusted returns on fund i from year t to t+1, estimated by using the Sharpe Ratio. In accordance with past findings, this control variable is hypothesized to have a positive sign and does take a positive sign. ATi is the asset turnover for fund i which is measured through the formula of Net Income divided by the Total Assets. Turnover is a measure of investing activity. The greater the turnover, the greater the cost of operating the fund. Holding all else equal, the greater the cost of operating the fund the lower the growth in the fund. This variable is hypothesized to have a negative sign and does have a negative sign. ASSETi is the total assets of fund i at time t. The larger a fund, generally, the older the fund is so that assets serve as a proxy for the age of the fund. The older a fund, the more well known the fund is to the investing public and the easier it will be to sell the fund. Assets are expected to and do have a positive relation with growth. FAMPROi is the proportion of the mutual fund family assets made up by fund i. The larger the proportion of the family assets in the fund the slower will be the growth, as management efforts will be directed primarily at the newer, smaller funds. This variable is expected to have a negative sign and generally has a negative sign. ERi is the expense ratio of fund i , less the management fee from all the expenses. The expense ratio includes all of the costs that the management company charges to the fund including the management fee, trading costs, and any other expenses. Since the purpose of the test is to isolate the effect of the management fee, that fee is subtracted from the expense ratio. The greater the expense ratio, the lower the growth. Investors should prefer a lower cost fund to a higher cost fund. The variable generally has the expected negative sign. FEEi is the level of the Management fee. For the vast majority of the funds in the study, this variable will be charged by 1% to 3%. It is expected that the null hypothesis will be rejected and that this variable will have a positive sign which is generally the case. The regression model (Equation 2) is estimated on an annual basis for the years 2004 through 2009 for all funds that have all required data available. Equity and fixed income funds are examined separately. A positive and significant sign on the FEE variable will lead to a rejection of the null hypothesis and will be consistent with the idea that the Management fee is used by management to increase growth in assets. There are two economic rationales that apply to the imposition of the Management fee on mutual fund investors. The first is that investors are the primary beneficiaries. The second is that fund management is the primary beneficiary of the fee. The major contribution of this paper is to determine whether the facts are more consistent with the investors or the managers being the beneficiaries for mutual funds. THE DATA All of the data are taken for the years 2004 through 2009. Since 2004 is the first year and lagged data is needed, the results are presented for all funds for which all data was available for 2005 through 2009. The data are summarized in the table form and data is regarding the equity funds. As far as the collection of the data is concerned so we consult many sources for the collection of the data. Mainly we collect it from KSE. From where the full data was not available and after that we consult the Business recorder, Statistical Bulletin of Pakistan [Federal Bureau of Statistics (2005)] for 2005-2009 and SBP for the collection of the financial reports and the kibor rates. The net asset values are collected from the KSE as well as from Brecorder. The data available in the form of tables and excel sheet which is attach along with this article. Mainly we collect the data of the equity mutual funds. Our focus was on most commonly known mutual funds of the Pakistan market. We selected a lmost 21 mutual funds from the KSE available sources but because of the running of Regression Model, for which we need only the family funds which are in the form of groups. We neglect the individual funds because of the family proportion concern. So now the data available is of 13 mutual funds which are in the form of family. From that we could generate the family proportion of the mutual funds assets. Because the amount of the data was less for five years so we take the data in the panel form representing through panel EGLS. RESULTS These are some of the results which we conclude from the help of the CROSS SECTION MODEL FIXED EFFECT MODEL. In econometrics and statistics, a fixed effects model is a statistical model that represents the observed quantities in terms of explanatory variables that are all treated as if those quantities were non-random. This is in contrast to random effects models and mixed models in which either all or some of the explanatory variables are treated as if they arise from the random causes. Often the same structure of model, which is usually a linear regression model, can be treated as any of the three types depending on the analysts viewpoint, although there may be a natural choice in any given situation. In panel data analysis, the term fixed effects estimator (also known as the within estimator) is used to refer to an estimator for the coefficients in the regression model. If we assume fixed effects, we impose time independent effects for each entity that are possibly correlated with the regressors. The major attraction of fixed effects methods in non-experimental research is the ability to control for all stable characteristics of the individuals in the study, thereby eliminating potentially large sources of bias. Within-subject comparisons have also been popular in certain kinds of designed experiments known as changeover or crossover designs (Senn 1993). In these designs, subjects receive different treatments at different times, and a response variable is measured for each treatment. Ideally, the order in which the treatments are received is randomized. The objective of the crossover design is not primarily to reduce bias, but to reduce sampling variability and hence produce more powerful tests of hypotheses. Fixed effects methods cannot estimate coefficients for variables that have no within-subject variation Time-series cross-section (TSCS) data harness both cross-temporal and cross spatial variation to maximize empirical leverage for theory evaluation. However, this powerful data structure also requires careful consideration of temporal and spatial (cross-unit) heterogeneity, temporal and spatial dynamic processes, and potentially complex stochastic error structures. In the table 1 which is descriptive table and that is showing the mean, median and standard deviation as well. As it is clear and shows from the descriptive table that the sharp ratio, which is basically the return calculation through the sharp measure, is the negative impact on the growth of the mutual fund. As you will increase the return on the funds or the return increases over the amount of the funds the impact of it is negative on the growth of the mutual fund. Similarly the coefficient of this sharp ratio is also negative impact on the growth of the mutual funds. Now secondly, the asset turnover showing, the mean in the descriptive table representing the negative value which means that if the asset turnover will be negative so it can reduce the growth of the mutual funds. Assets are in the positive form and they show that if the asset of the fund increases so it means that the impact of this on the growth of the fund is positive and it contribute in the growth of the mutual fu nd. The family proportion of the mutual fund should have the positive impact on the growth of the mutual fund and in the table 1 of the descriptive result, the result of this is positive so it means that the family proportion increasing in this which is the positively impacting on the growth. Expense ratio is resulting negatively on the growth of the funds, and the management fee which is the basic testing of this is also showing the negative impact on the growth of the mutual funds in Pakistan. TABLE NO. 1 Descriptive Analysis GR SR AT ASSET FP ER FEE MEAN 3.989 -1.096 -0.008 2633207 0.365 1.262 54455166 MEDIAN 0.005 -0.540 0.010 1435134 0.410 1.260 38342000 MAX. 63.590 2.290 0.450 14193216 1.000 10.900 2.49708 MIN. -27.660 -5.010 -1.070 0.00000 0.000 0.000 0.00000 STD. DEV 12.763 1.470 0.272 3060791 0.255 1.644 53774795 SKEW. 2.134 -0.946 -1.834 1.951847 0.187 4.008 1.599424 PROB. 0.000 0.004 0.000 0.0000 0.729 0.000 0.0000 SUM 259.290 -71.278 -0.525 1.71608 23.400 82.060 3.54709 OBS. 65 65 65 65 65 65 65 TABLE NO. 2 Correlation Matrix DETERMINANTS GR SR AT ASSETS FP ER FEE GR 1.000 -0.269 -0.578 -0.163 0.062 0.100 -0.146 SR -0.269 1.000 0.360 0.124 0.174 -0.186 0.132 AT -0.578 0.306 1.000 0.139 0.071 -0.403 0.125 ASSETS -0.163 0.123 0.193 1.000 0.503 0.084 0.972 FP 0.061 0.174 0.071 0.503 1.000 0.270 0.538 ER 0.100 -0.187 -0.403 0.084 0.270 1.000 0.058 FEE -0.146 0.133 0.125 0.972 0.538 0.058 1.000 Now further according to the table 3 which is Fixed Effect Model, we design a panel least squares method in this model for the calculation of the data, in that the sharp ratio is resulting in the negative form and show the result that as the return on the mutual funds increases the growth effected negatively. The coefficient of the sharp ratio is negative and the result is showing significance, which is acceptable. After that assets turnover of it is in negative figure which shows a negative impact on the growth and the prob. Is significance we are keeping the level of the significance here is 0.10. The coefficient of the family proportion is positive thats good for the growth of the mutual fund but it is not significance because the prob. is higher than the level of significance. The expense ratio is showing the negative result, which means that the increase of the expense ratio is a negative impact on the growth of the mutual funds. Its coefficient value is negative and the value i s significant according to the fixed effect model. Now comes the management fee, according to this model the management fee is resulting in the positive value for the fund, that means that the funds that using the Management fee are contributing in the better growth of the fund because the coefficient value is positive but according to this model the fee is not significant here, the result is that the funds charging the fee can make the funds growing as compare to the funds that are not charging the management fee. The factor we assume here that the management fee effect positively for the growth of the funds but because of the political instability and the country economic situation it is not resulting good in the growth of the mutual funds in Pakistan. Lastly according to this model, value of Lassets is positive and the significant level is good which shows the Lassets significant. We take the assets here despite of the assets because of the mismatch and not the proper results fro m the assets. So it is impacting positively on the growth of the mutual fund. If it increases the mutual fund growth will increase. TABLE NO. 3 Fixed Effect Model Dependent Variable: GR Method: Panel Least Squares Sample: 2005-2009 Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 64 Cross-sections included: 13 DETERMINANTS COEFFICIENT STD. ERROR T-STATISTICS PROB. SR -3.772 1.532 -2.462 0.018 AT -24.784 7.253 -3.417 0.001 LASSET 0.447 0.155 2.878 0.006 FP 4.932 9.653 0.512 0.612 ER -2.250 1.054 -2.135 0.038 FEE 1.637 1.427 1.144 0.258 CONSTANT -1.456 4.251 -0.343 0.734 EFFECTS SPECIFICATIONS CROSS-SECTION FIXED (DUMMY VARIABLES) PERIOD FIXED (DUMMY VARIABLES) ADJUSTIFIED R-SQUARED 0.438 MEAN.DEP BAR 4.051 S.E OF REGRESSION 9.639 S.D. DEP BAR 12.859 SUM SQUARED RESID 3810.045 SCHWARZ CRITERION 8.418 LONG LIKELIHOOD -221.580 F-STAT. 3.227 DURBIN–WATSON STAT 1.896 PROB F-STAT 0.000 In table 4 and 5, we use the CROSS SECTION MODEL (cross section random effects cross section weights), according to both of these methods the calculations are same, the coefficient values and the significant are same. The assets turnover is showing the negative value which shows according to it that the more assets turnover can impact the growth of the mutual funds and the value is significant in both methods as well as in the fixed effect model. The value of the sharp ratio means the return of the mutual fund is showing coefficient negative in the random effect method that means that the increase of the return value can effect the growth negatively and growth is less when this return value is high while the value is significant which means it is good for the growth of the mutual fund and same value is showing in the fixed effect method. But in the cross section weights method the value of the return is positive and it is not significant there. So it shows here a that the higher ret urn impact the mutual fund growth positively means higher the return higher the growth of the mutual fund nut it is nit the case here. Family proportion of the mutual funds according to the both methods says that the results are showing positive relationship in the growth of the funds and the higher the family proportion. The values are significant according to the probability measures. Expense ratio according to both of these models reflects the results that expense ratio is impacting the growth of the funds negatively. Means as the ratio of the expense increase the growth is going to be less for the mutual funds. The coefficient value of the expense ratio is in negative value and the value in both the methods shows that this is significant. As far as the Management fee is concerned here so according to the both methods the management fee is impacting on the growth inversely. The coefficient value in both the cases is negative means if the management fee is charged by the mutual fu nd management so the growth is less than if they dont charge the management fee. And the value is significant in both the methods. So it is clear from now that according to the Cross Section Model the impact of the management fee is negative on the growth of the mutual funds. The management who is charging the management fee their growth of the mutual funds is less and downward. TABLE NO. 4 Cross Section Weights Dependent Variable: GR Method: Panel EGLS (Cross Section Weights) Sample: 2005-2009 Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 54 Cross-sections included: 13 Linear Estimation after One-Step Weighting Matrix VARIABLE COEFFICIENT STD.ERROR T-STAT PROB SR 0.439 0.825 0.532 0.596 AT -32.916 3.815 -8.628 0.000 FP 4.404 3.353 2.506 0.016 ER -2.032 0.719 -2.825 0.006 FEE -5.297 1.997 -2.665 0.010 LASSET 0.447 0.155 2.877 0.006 WEIGHTED STATISTICS R-SQUARED 0.788 MEAN DEPENDENT VAR 7.211 ADJ. R-SQRD 0.766 S.D. DEPENDENT VAR 20.513 S.E. OF REG 9.905 SUM SQUARED RESID 4709.255 DURBIN-WATSON STAT 1.785 UN-WEIGHTED STATISTICS R-SQUARED 0.396 MEAN DEPENDENT VAR 4.801 SUM SQUARED RESID 6164.67 DURBIN-WATSON STAT 1.521 TABLE NO. 5 Cross Section Random Effect Model Dependent Variable: GR Method: Panel EGLS (Cross-Section random Weights) Sample: 2005-2009 Total panel (unbalanced) observations: 64 Cross-sections included: 13 Swamy and Arora estimator of component variances VARIABLE COEFFICIENT STD.ERROR T-STAT PROB CONSTANT 1.663 2.777 0.599 0.551