First Impression in Recruitment

Introduction The recruitment of new employees into the company is usually very essential to maintain a productive labor force. The process should be taken carefully because making a mistake can have serious repercussions on the company. How the process is undertaken usually reflects the culture of the institution. The process can be undertaken by the company itself or through a recruiting agency. The process usually has various steps which include application, short listing, interviewing, selecting and training which a candidate must pass through.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on First Impression in Recruitment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More All the steps of recruitment may be affected by internal or external factors. In ensuring that the process is carried out properly, the recruitment team should have the necessary skills and experience. This paper seeks to discuss first impression as one of the factors affect ing decision making in the recruitment process. The paper outlines its positive and negative effects in regard to selection of best applicant in the short listing and interview stages. First impression When one meets someone or a group of people, the way he/she presents himself is very important. This is because most people judge other people from their first impression (Lin, 2010). First impression has influence in decision making in the recruitment process (Skowronski Ambady, 2008, p. 148). The aim is usually to ensure that one fits within the company norms or culture. The recruitment being a very important activity to a company and the candidate as well, the recruitment team should be very curious not to make any wrong judgment. Wrong judgment would lock out the best candidate for the position and select least suitable candidates which may hinder the company from achieving its goals and objectives. The first impression importance varies from one kind of job to the other. In most management systems, business and jobs involving social interaction, the candidate must give a good impression to the recruitment team as well as the customer in administering his duties once appointed for the position. In most technical jobs, it may not have much significance in the work output. First impression significance can be argued to vary according to the job in question. There are some jobs which will require one to have a striking first impression for instance job which expose the employees of a company more to their clients while other may involve working at the back office and maybe mostly lonely. There is therefore a need to ensure that when first impression is being put into consideration, the job requirements in regard should also be considered. Short listing After advertising for a given position in a company through various means, the number of applications received is usually large. The application letters usually include those people who are qualified as well as those who are not qualified. The exercise is usually intended to be fair to all the applicants.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In selecting the candidates that best suits the position that was being advertised, first the applications are considered against the job requirements (Dale, 2004, p. 125). This usually eliminates a large number of applicants although still a large number of applicants pass to the next test. To eliminate another group of people, one considers specific skills attributed to the position after which those applicants with additional skills are considered. At this stage of recruitment, the recruitment team has not yet met with the applicant and thus cannot give credit to them based on physical first impression. The only available materials from the candidate are the application letters and other testimonials in which the way they are presented give varyi ng impressions. The presentation of the applicants documents are used to create an impression of the kind of a person the applicant is. In most cases, applicants take time to create and arrange their application papers in a smart way that will present them as the best candidates for the specific job being applied for. There is a likelihood that applicants may create a good impression that what actually they are. This is the reason why interviews are followed after the short listing process so as to verify some or all the qualities that are presented in the documents. Interviewing This usually follows short listing of the candidates. The candidates usually get a chance to express themselves as well as interact with the interviewers. There are various types of interviews: telephone interview, video interview, behavioral interview, information interview, group interview and panel interview among others (Darlington Schuman, 2008). In these interviews the interaction between the intervi ewer and the interviewee may be face to face or conversational through phone. At this time the interviewee is given a chance to sell him/herself. Depending on the type of interview, the interviewer is able to get certain traits from the applicants through the first impression by using various interview methods. There are some traits which are attached to certain jobs and thus the interviewer has to ensure that they are keenly analyzed (Elearn, 2009). This helps to select the candidates who do not require intensive training so as to fit into the job specifications well. Effects of First impression on short listing and interviewing At the short listing stage there is no direct interaction between the candidates and the recruitment team. This thus denies the recruitment team a chance to shortlist without basing their consideration on first impression with the exemption of just using the impression created by the applicant’s documents. It thus avoids possible mistakes that may ar ise later to be associated with wrong judgment at short listing stage that could be based on first impression judgment.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on First Impression in Recruitment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Carrying out an interview makes it possible to ascertain the impression created through the documents sent by the applicant. During interviews, the recruiting team is able to get some characters that may be necessary in the work conduction. In this case, making the right character selection ensures that work output will improve (Davies, 1990). For example, in the selection of a receptionist, the interaction he or she has with other people including the customer is very vital. If the interaction is good then the results are favorable but when it is bad, serious problems may arise. Thus the judgment on first impression may help in selecting the best candidate that fits well with the position being rec ruited for (Demarais White, 2006). On the other hand, there are some people who may not give the right first impression as may be expected by the recruitment team but fits very well in the job specification. It is significant that the recruitment team goes a step further to ensure that incase a candidate has a wrong first impression it is found out whether he/she really fits in the job description well (Anon, 2011). This is important because first impression can be worked on using fewer resources than for instance training a person on technical issues. This thus means that first impression may make the company to lose the best qualified worker in the interview. This kind of mistakes is usually prevalent in technical job recruitment. In these jobs, a person may not present himself very well but when given a technical interview, he performs very well. Such mistakes may lower the workforce productivity which may hinder the company from achieving its set goals and objectives (Mahoney, 2006). This is mainly because the prediction of the candidate’s performance in the job may not be directly related to his/her personality. This judgment is mainly used in behavioral interview. Thus, some judgment in the recruitment based on first impression may have serious repercussions on the company’s performance in future. To avoid the occurrence of such mistakes, more analysis which could be in the form of tests should be undertaken (Burns, 2006). The recruitment process can thus be influenced by various factors including first impression. These factors have either positive effect, negative effect or both and thus proper analysis should be undertaken so as to eliminate the possibility of adverse effects on recruitment. The effect may vary depending on the various the various recruitment methods used (Rathus Nevid, 2010). Conclusion Recruitment is an expensive and crucial activity undertaken by the company. The issue of first impression usually plays a significant role in the initial judgment of a person. The judgment may be biased and may not reflect the true character of the candidates. This thus would have negative repercussions on the company development. On the other hand one can be able to get the traits possessed by a person that are crucial for a specific job.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This thus means that there are both positive and negative attributes of first impression on the short listing and interviewing of candidates for a given job. To avoid the negative effects, the interviewer should be flexible not to make conclusions from the first impression. This is due to the fact that human beings are not at their best always. Thus successive tests should be undertaken to make sure that the best candidate is selected for the position. References Anon. (2011) New Avenues Magazine’s blog. Does Your First Impression Really  Matter? Web. Burns, D. (2009) The First 60 Seconds: Win the Job Interview Before It Begins. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Dale, M. (2004) Manager’s guide to recruitment and selection. London: Kogan Page Publishers. Darlington, J Schuman, N. (2008) The Everything Job Interview Book: All You Need to Make a Great First Impression and Land the Perfect Job. Ohio: Everything Books. Darlington, J. Schuman, N. (2008) The Everything Job Inter view Book: All You Need to Make a Great First Impression and Land the Perfect Job. New York: Cengage Learning. Davies, J. (1990) First impressions, a series of letters from France, Switzerland and Savoy. Oxford: Oxford University. Demarais, A White, V. (2005) First Impressions: What You Don’t Know About How Others See You. New York: Cengage Learning. Elearn. (2009) Recruitment and Selection. Amsterdam: Elsevier. Lin, L. (2010) Harvard magazine. Your body language and first impression. Web. Mahoney, G. (2006) Fire Department Interview Tactics. New York: Cengage Learning. Rathus, S. A. Nevid, J. S. (2010) Psychology and the Challenges of Life. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons. Skowronski, J. J. Ambady, N. (2008) First impressions. New York: Guilford Press. This essay on First Impression in Recruitment was written and submitted by user Louis Kent to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Emily Blackwell

Emily Blackwell Emily Blackwell Facts Known for:  co-founder of the New York Infirmary for Women and Childen; co-founder and for many years head of the Women’s Medical College; worked with her sister, Elizabeth Blackwell, first woman medical doctor (M.D.) and then carried on that work when Elizabeth Blackwell returned to England.Occupation:  physician, administratorDates:  October 8, 1826 – September 7, 1910 Background, Family: Mother: Hannah Lane BlackwellFather: Samuel BlackwellSiblings (Emily was 6th of the 9 surviving children of the family):Elizabeth Blackwell, medical doctorAnna, an artist, newspaper columnist, and translatorHenry married Lucy Stone, feminist and woman suffrage leaderSamuel married Antoinette Brown Blackwell, early ordinated minister and suffrage leaderSarah, writer, and artistGeorge Washington Blackwell, landownerMarianne, teacherJohn Education: Admitted to Rush College in Chicago in 1852, Rush did not permit her to return for a second year because of opposition of patients and the Illinois State Medical SocietyBellevue Hospital, New York City: observerWestern Reserve Medical School, graduated 1854 with honorsEdinburgh, Scotland, studied with Sir James Young SimpsonAlso studied at various clinics and hospitals in London, Paris, and Germany Marriage, Children: Never marriedâ€Å"Romantic friendship† with Dr. Elizabeth Cushier, who was her roommate at the Infirmary and with whom she shared a house from 1883 to Emily’s deathAdopted a baby, Nanny, when Emily was 44 years old Emily Blackwell Biography: Emily Blackwell, the 6th of her parents’ nine surviving children, was born in Bristol, England, in 1826. In 1832, her father, Samuel Blackwell, moved the family to America after a financial disaster destroyed his sugar refining business in England.   He opened a sugar refinery in New York City, where the family became involved in American reform movements and especially interested in abolition. Samuel soon moved the family to Jersey City. In 1836, a fire destroyed the new refinery, and Samuel became ill. He moved the family to Cincinnati for yet another new start, where he tried to start another sugar refinery. But he died in 1838 of malaria, leaving the older children, including Emily, to work to support the family. Teaching The family began a school, and Emily taught there for some years. In 1845, the eldest child, Elizabeth, believed that the family’s finances were stable enough that she could leave, and she applied to medical schools. No woman had ever been awarded an M.D. before, and most schools were not interested in being the first to admit a woman. Elizabeth was finally admitted to Geneva College in 1847. Emily, meanwhile, was still teaching, but she didn’t really take to it.   In 1848, she began a study of anatomy. Elizabeth went to Europe from 1849 – 1851 for further study, then returned to the United States where she founded a clinic. Medical Education Emily decided that she, too, would become a doctor, and the sisters dreamed of practicing together. In 1852, Emily was admitted to Rush College in Chicago, after rejections from 12 other schools. The summer before she began, she was admitted as an observer at Bellevue Hospital in New York, with the intervention of family friend Horace Greeley. She began her studies at Rush in October of 1852. The following summer, Emily again was an observer at Bellevue. But Rush College decided that she could not return for the second year. The Illinois State Medical Society was strongly opposed to women in medicine, and the college also reported that patients had objected to a female medical student. So Emily in the fall of 1853 was able to transfer to the medical school at Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She graduated in February of 1854 with honors, and then went abroad to Edinburgh to study obstetrics and gynecology with Sir James Simpson.   While in Scotland, Emily Blackwell began raising money towards the hospital that she and her sister Elizabeth planned to open, to be staffed by women doctors and to serve poor women and children. Emily also traveled to Germany, Paris, and London, admitted to clinics and hospitals for further study. Work with Elizabeth Blackwell In 1856, Emily Blackwell returned to America, and began working at Elizabeth’s clinic in New York, the New York Dispensary for Poor Women and Children, which was a one room operation. Dr. Marie Zakrzewska joined them in the practice. On May 12, 1857, the three women opened the New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and children, financed with fundraising by the doctors and with help from Quakers and others. It was the first hospital in the United States explicitly for women and the first hospital in the United States with an all-woman medical staff. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell served as director, Dr. Emily Blackwell as the surgeon, and Dr. Zak, as Marie Zakrzewska was called, served as the resident physician. In 1858, Elizabeth Blackwell went to England, where she inspired Elizabeth Garrett Anderson to become a doctor. Elizabeth returned to America and rejoined the Infirmary’s staff. By 1860, the Infirmary was forced to relocate when its lease expired; the service had outgrown the location and bought a new location that was larger. Emily, a great fundraiser, talked the state legislature into funding the Infirmary at $1,000 a year. During the Civil War, Emily Blackwell worked with her sister Elizabeth on the Women’s Central Association of Relief to train nurses for service in the war on the side of the Union. This organization evolved into the Sanitary Commission (USSC). After draft riots in New York City, opposing the war, some in the city demanded that the Infirmary expels black women patients, but the hospital refused. Opening a Medical College for Women During this time, the Blackwell sisters were increasingly frustrated that medical schools would not admit women who had experience at the Infirmary. With still few options for medical training for women, in November of 1868, the Blackwells opened the Women’s Medical College next to the Infirmary. Emily Blackwell became the school’s professor of obstetrics and diseases of women, and Elizabeth Blackwell was the professor of hygiene, stressing prevention of disease. The following year, Elizabeth Blackwell moved back to England, believing that there was more she could do there than in the United States to expand medical opportunities for women. Emily Blackwell was, from that point, in charge of the Infirmary and the College continued the active medical practice, and also served as professor of obstetrics and gynecology. Despite her pioneering activities and central role at the Infirmary and College, Emily Blackwell was actually painfully shy. She had been repeatedly offered membership in the New York County Medical Society and had turned the Society down. But in 1871, she finally accepted. She began to overcome her shyness and make more public contributions to various reform movements. In the 1870s, the school and infirmary moved to yet larger quarters as it continued to grow. In 1893, the school became one of the first to establish a four-year curriculum, instead of the usual two or three years, and the next year, the school added a training program for nurses. Dr. Elizabeth Cushier, another physician at the Infirmary, became Emily’s roommate, and they later shared a house, from 1883 to Emily’s death, with a niece of Dr. Cushier. In 1870, Emily also adopted an infant, named Nanny, and raised her as her daughter. Closing the Hospital In 1899, Cornell University Medical College began admitting women. Also, Johns Hopkins by that time had begun admitting women for medical training. Emily Blackwell believed that the Women’s Medical College was no longer needed, with more opportunities for women’s medical education elsewhere, and funding was drying up as the school’s unique role also became less necessary. Emily Blackwell saw that the students at the college were transferred to Cornell’s program. She closed the school in 1899 and retired in 1900. The Infirmary continues today as NYU Downtown Hospital. Retirement and Death Emily Blackwell spent 18 months traveling in Europe after her retirement. When she returned, she wintered in Montclair, New Jersey, and summered in York Cliffs, Maine. She also often traveled to California or Southern Europe for her health. In 1906, Elizabeth Blackwell visited the United States and she and Emily Blackwell were briefly reunited.   In 1907, after leaving the U.S. again, Elizabeth Blackwell suffered an accident in Scotland which disabled her. Elizabeth Blackwell died in May 1910, after suffering a stroke. Emily died of enterocolitis in September of that year in her Maine home.

Fully- round character Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Fully- round character - Essay Example This is because, for a story or fiction to be fascinating, there is always a personality where the story revolves around. These characters’ fundamental attribute is that their story is told in sufficiency to allow people conclude that they are three-dimensional, genuine, rounded, innovative, outstanding, as well as true to life (â€Å"Character: The People of Fiction†, pp 9). This script will highlight the traits of a realistic, fully-round personality. It will also outline three examples of fully-round personage in different short stories. Fully round characters have many more aspects in their personalities as compared to flat or any other character in a play. They are usually the core of people’s focus in most of the fictions or short stories, and are portrayed by creativity as well as personality. These characters also have intrinsic traits, akin to every human being, which are brought about by the events of a story; therefore, their complete portrayal as characters is straightforwardly linked to the narratives relating to the lives they had lived (â€Å"Character: The People of Fiction†, pp 10). Hence, the fully-round character participates in the major part of a story, and they are the heroes in most of the times. However, some of these characters may not appear as heroic, but they are always the protagonists. They are essential to the accomplishment, progress in opposition to the antagonist, as well as display the capability to adjust to new circumstances. These characters are also most of the times dynamic since they identify and adapt to situations (â€Å"Character: The People of Fiction†, pp 11-14). There are so many examples of plays that portray fully-round characters, such as in the various plays written in the Seagull reader. For example, in the play â€Å"Fences†, by August Wilson, the fully round character, Troy Maxon, is an agitated garbage collector as well as ex-baseball participant. This character

Disadvantages of examination- oriented education Essay

Disadvantages of examination- oriented education - Essay Example This raises concern that the focus on examinations in the education system may be defeating the very purpose of education. Disadvantages of Examination-Oriented Education The most-often faced criticism of an education-oriented system is that the examinations become the focal point of all the educational activities that a student goes through instead of merely being the means to an end. This focus on students’ performance in examinations has consequences on the curricula and the manner in which the curricula are taught to the children. The curricula in examination oriented education systems has become very rigid and based on a set of text books that become the Bible for the students. (1). The emphasis is more on imbibing this by the student by heart rather than understanding the subject matter. It will not be surprising that typo errors convert a chemistry textbook into a physics textbook and the physics examination taken by the student is actually a chemistry examination. Thin gs have come to such a pass that neither the educational education, nor the teacher, nor the student would notice it, for the concentration will be on the marks received on the paper. This situation gets even more aggravated, when the education administrators develop the content of the textbooks that are beyond the grasping ability of the average student and the teachers follow a uniform teaching approach. Interest in studies is lost, motivation to learn is absent and many students end up being labeled as low achievers owing to the poor marks they receive in their examination (1). The list of other demerits if attempted to explain like this could run into pages. In brief the disadvantages of examination oriented systems include the negative influence it has on the teaching of certain subjects and topics, on teaching and learning and attitudes of teachers, parents and students; and the neglect of more dynamic instructional methods. It leads to selective study habits in students and t he possible development of undesirable attitudes of amassing certificates through any means. This attitude also gets transferred to some parents. It offers the possibility of malpractices by students and teachers and others through copying and the leakage of pre-set question papers, and the like. Examinations test only the cognitive abilities of children, and ignore the affective and psychomotor domains of students. Students face stereo-typed questions allowing them to be selective in the study of topics in a subject to attain the level of marks desired. Higher objectives of education in the form of application, synthesis and analysis are ignored through the use of examinations and the sole deciding criterion of knowledge and skills attainment levels. Scoring low in examinations carries with the possibility of being looked down upon in peer groups and in student and other social circles. (2). Possible Solutions There are only two possible solutions. The first is to do away with eval uation process in education, through which the examination system has crept. Leave it to the students to attain their desired level of competencies in subjects of their choice, based on what they intend to with their lives after their formal education. Teachers, parents and friends can act as counselors and motivational mentors in this exercise. In case they find them short of knowledge

Planning strategy analysis with case study Essay

Planning strategy analysis with case study - Essay Example Brief Summary of Housing in London City London city area is the largest metropolitan city in the United Kingdom as well as the largest all over Europe. London city has also a diverse range of people, religions and culture. Currently, there are plans underway to improve the housing system in London. One such idea is the London plan (Books, 2010). The draft of the London plan was written by the Mayor of London and published by the Greater London Authority on February 2008. The plan identifies areas of opportunity with an aim of reducing social deprivation a well as creating sustainable development. Such areas will be able to accommodate 2,500 homes. They will also be popular town centers. The objective of the London plan is be able to accommodate London’s growth for the years to come. Every occupant in London city will be able to afford a home as well as gaining accessibility to housing policies for example house insurance. This is meant to improve quality of life as well as cre ation of jobs. Another policy used in London to plan and build homes is the Council house which is popularly known as local authority house. The council houses were built and operated locally in areas surrounding London city. There were also houses newly built and spacious to attract interested persons. However, they mainly targeted the working class persons as they could rent the houses at reasonable prices while some were able to purchase houses. Over the years, many people have migrated to London city which has led to population increase. This is viewed as a negative aspect because houses have become less than the people leading to a vice called urban blight. The council responsible for providing houses is now faced with a challenge to relocate the excess people or build more homes. Optioning to build more homes has not primarily solved the issue as there is now reduced space for expansion in London city. Subsequently, this has led to the leaders of London city to consider buildi ng homes in the less developed areas of United Kingdom. Statistical analysis have shown 15% of the population in London having migrated decongesting the city. Nonetheless, a substantial 40% of London city still live in the council housing (Thorpe, 2010). They claim that the new housing schemes built in the less developed areas are not up to standard with the council houses. In light of this, the council has had to hire top architectures that drew new designs of houses that are at per with the tenants standards. The houses to be built were primarily rental homes. Since there were new designs of houses drew by the architectures, they required new building materials as well as new technology in order to achieve their goal. Technology and Building Materials Strategizing and making a low energy building needs planning and design. A lot depends on the type of weather. In a hot climate, the design needs to mainly focus on keeping the building cool meaning small windows and thick insulating walls on the side that receives the most sun. It has also must a good circulation system to draw out hot air while drawing in cooler air. In a cold climate, the main focus is keeping the building warm. The side of the house receiving the most sun should have a conservatory or large

Petrozuata Case Study

Petrozuata Case Study Petrolera Zuata, Petrozuata C.A. Voilis Athanasios 1) Introduction – Case Study In 1976, after nationalization of the domestic oil industry a stated owned enterprise Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) was established for the purposes of managing the country’s hydrocarbon resources and promoting economic development. It was the world’s second largest oil and gas company with reserves in Venezuela and refineries across the Europe, United States, and the Caribbean. Domestically, PDVSA provided 78% of Venezuela’s export revenues, 59% of the government’s fiscal revenues, and 26% of nation’s GDP and had a reputation of being one of the best managed national oil companies. In 1990, PDVSA started an ambitious long-term project, which main aim was to double its domestic production and expand international markets. For the implementation of this venture, the company needed to raise investments for approximate amount of USD$ 65 bn. At that time neither PDVSA nor Venezuelan government had the possibility to finance the underlined expansion. As a solution, it was decided to establish a strategy called â€Å"La Apertura†, which opened the Venezuelan oil sector to foreign companies through profit sharing agreements, operating service agreements, and strategic joint ventures associations. Unfortunately, such initiative overlapped with political instability and economic turmoil in the country. Only in the early 1990s two failed military coups and the impeachment of President Perez took place. In late 1993, because of the severe crisis in the banking system, the administration suspended a number of constitutional rights, imposed price control on basic goods and services, and took direct control over most of the banking system. Moreover, the foreign exchange markets were closed and began rationing foreign currency to the private sector. Few years later, by the time of the deal closing, due to an economic and social reform program of President Caldera, the economy had begun to recover, but with coming presidential elections, public tension was also growing. All in all, the feasibility of the project was under the pressure of  the sovereign risk. The rating agencies were considering three principal risks: possible government action, currency market volatility, and Venezu elan business conditions. The first development project of reopening Venezuelan oil sector to foreign investments was Petrozuata. It is a USD$ 2.424 bn joint venture between Conoco and Maraven as a part of PDVSA. Conoco was the petroleum subsidiary of one of the largest chemical producer in the world E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont). That time Conoco recently completed projects in Russia, Norway, USA and was a recognized leader in refining technology and project development. Underlined parties started feasibility studies and negotiations for a joint project in 1992. After four years of planning, Conoco and Maraven had made a mutual decision to finance this deal on a project finance basis, because of financial and organizational benefits provided by such structure. PDSVA could not have built the project alone because of its lack of specialized assets needed to extract and upgrade syncrude oil. On the other hand, foreign ownership of domestic hydrocarbon resources is prohibited by law, closing all ways for a sole expansion by Conoco. In terms of ownership structure, it was strategically decided that PDVSA subsidiary contributed less than 50% of the total equity amount but, through its preferred shares, would retain voting control. Because PDVSA would be the minority shareholder, the company would be classified as private. As a consequence, it would not consolidate into PDVSA’s balance sheet and, more importantly, they would not be bound by legislation for public companies (public procurement bidding procedure, excessive accountability, etc.). Final association agreement had a term of 35 years beginning once production started in 2001. The equity ownership contributions were set up in such way that Maraven had 49.9% of shares and 50.1% for Conoco. After accomplishing of the agreement, Conoco has an obligation to transfer its shares to Maraven at no cost. Also, to give incentive to the project, the government agreed to decrease the royalty rate during early operation years and the Congress agreed to lower the income tax rate from 67,7% to 34%. The sponsors agreed to use USD$ 975 mn of equity and USD$ 1.45 bn of debt to finance the project, which corresponded to 60% of debt-to-equity ratio. Such high percent of equity contributions to the project were chosen to show the sponsor’s commitment to the project. In 1996, for the beginning of the project, sponsors contributed USD$ 79 mn of paid-in capital. Additional contributions including contingency fund were projected to infuse in the following 4 years for the total amount of USD$ 366 mn. For the outstanding sum of USD$ 530 mn, shareholders chose a risky plan to use cash flows from the sale of early production crude, after completion of the oil fields and pipeline in August 1998. It is necessary to mention that risks peculiar to underlined financial mechanism were mitigated through a good execution plan and strong sponsor guarantees. Concerning the sources of debt financing, Petrozuata raised USD$ 450 mn as a loan from commercial banks with loan guarantees from bilateral and multilateral agencies, such as U.S. ExIm Bank, Export Development Corporation of Canada, OPIC and IFC. Those agencies would mitigate Venezuela’s political and economic instability by providing political risk insurance. However, the major funding source of the project was the American private placement market. Petrozuata received USD$ 1 bn of debt from the Rule 144A market. These bonds were chosen because of the additional advantage of speed and less onerous disclosure requirements imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Petrozuata project had three main components: a series of inland wells to produce the crude, a pipeline system to transport the crude to the coast, and an upgrader facility to partially refine the crude. It was unusual and a highly complicated to finance multiple component projects on a standalone basis. A special system of contracts and commitments were designed and implemented to make the project feasible. A detailed scheme of contracts and commitments is provided in Figure 2. For instance, sponsors mitigated the incentive problem and managerial inefficiency by creating a small board of directors comprised of two directors from each sponsor, and using compensation contracts for managers that were linked to the project performance. Also was realized the major benefit of project finance: public-sector management was substituted for private-sector. The construction risk was allocated to sponsors. Conoco and Maraven agreed to provide funds for any cost overruns prior to completion. Also, the parent companies guaranteed these obligations. The guarantee has a unique structure in terms of the difference in ratings between parties – DuPont (AA-) and PDSVA (B). The parties agreed to include severe penalties for failing to meet their obligations and incentives to cover the other party’s shortfalls. It was a good example of how project finance could substitute the lack of development in emerging countries. After construction would be completed, together with major risks, the sponsor guarantees would also end and the project would become non-recourse to the sponsors. Figure 2: Petrozuata contracts and commitments Source: (Esty 1998) 25 Secondly, sponsors considered within the budget, a USD$ 38 mn contingency for upstream facilities, a USD$ 139 mn contingency for downstream facilities, and sufficient funds to pay premiums on a construction all risk insurance policy covering up to USD$ 1.5 bn of physical loss or damage. Another risk allocation mechanism in the current project was the use of an off-take agreement with the guarantee from the parent company DuPont. According to this agreement, Conoco took an obligation toward Petrozuata to purchase the first 86.6% of Petrozuata’s syncrude, for the whole 35-year life of the project, based on the market price. Moreover, the project company had the right to sell the syncrude to third parties if it could get a higher price. Such scheme eliminate ex post bargaining costs, and deter opportunistic behavior by providing incentives to both sponsors to act in the project’s best interest in the area where contracts would have been costly or impossible to write. Also, with an arrangement authorized by the Venezuelan government the project had a prioritization of cash flows as a main element of the contractual agreements. Petrozuata’s customers would deposit their dollar-denominated funds from the purchases into and offshore account maintained by Banker Trust, governed by the law of New York. Afterwards, the Trustee would disburse the money according to a payment hierarchy. First, the Trustee would make the transfer to a 90-day operating expense account; second, to service the project’s debt obligations; and, third, make deposits to a Debt Service Reserve Account as needed to maintain six months of principal interest. Finally, the project implemented a â€Å"cash trap† basically meaning that if the project maintains an one-year historical and one-year projected Debt Service Coverage Ratio of 1.35X, then the Trustee would transfer any remaining funds to Petrozuata for distribution to its equityholders. To sum up, Petrozuata is an example of the effective use of project finance in developing countries. The adverse circumstances following financial closure provide further evidence of the durability and merits of the project finance structure. The deal set numerous precedents in the bank and capital markets. For these

Essay --

Throughout the course of science, animal cloning has been occurring for many years. Due to the newly developed technology, it has opened up the idea of cloning human. Cloning is â€Å"A DNA sequence, such as a gene, that is transferred from one organism to another and replicated by genetic engineering techniques.† This method happens asexually and can only be found in certain bacteria and plants. For human cloning to occur it will have to be done outside of the physical human body, where an egg is taken and DNA is inserted and then it is put back into the womb for development. There may be many benefits to human cloning, but there are many ethical concerns that many arise in idea of human cloning. In Leon R. Kass article Cloning of Human Beings, Kass â€Å"urges the commission to declare human cloning deeply unethical and to recommend a legal ban.† (Kass 577) In order to fully understand the ethical concerns that may arise in the idea of human cloning and genetic engineering, lets define the two. Kass defines cloning as a form of asexual reproduction in which an individual or individuals are created up to be genetically identical to and already living organism, by the form of a test tube in a lab. The notion of human cloning involved the extraction of an unfertilized egg from a woman, and the removal of the nucleus which homes all the genetic information, and replacing it with the nucleus from the specialized cell of another organism. According to the Webster’s dictionary, genetic engineering is the â€Å"scientific alteration of the structure of genetic material in a living organism. It involves the production and use of recombinant DNA and has been employed t o create bacteria that synthesize insulin and other human proteins.† Kass states ... ... In my opinion, I think that being born a clone is one thing, but the fact of living up to the expectations of the person your parents never got to be is merely wrong and unethical. The issue brought up many time is the fact that human cloning has not been proven to result in a healthy cloned baby with no defect, so my question is if the baby is born with defects what are they to do sue their â€Å"parents†? In addition, if the cloned baby is born with many defects, what are the parents to do? Throw that baby away and keep trying the process of cloning until they have the perfect baby, now this will raise other ethical concerns. Living the life as a genetic creation, created I a laboratory with a group of scientist is just an awkward thought. These are only some the mental issues about cloning that should be considered when the thought of human cloning is at hand.