Leadership Profile Paper (communication) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Leadership Profile Paper (communication) - Essay ExampleHe finally make a great move in the year 1994, when South Africa attained her full freedom free from the hands of colonialists. He became their first democratically elective president by all the races in the country.Nelson Mandela was born at Mvezo. His parents were Nongapphi Nosukeni and Henry Mgabla Mandela. He went to Methodist Boarding School and then proceeded to Fort Hare University where he was expelled after being found engaging in student politics in the year 1940.In 1960, the Apartheid government banned both the ANC and the Pan African movements in the country. This, therefore, triggered the Mandela operate factions to launch an underground struggle for the liberation of the South African citizens from the oppressive rule of the colonialists. The Mandela lead team, therefore, created the Umkhento weSizwe the armed wing of the ANC that again he was appointed the chief commandant since he had a vast experience in milit ary knowledge after undergoing trainings in Algeria.In 1958, Nelson Mandela married Winnie Madikizela with a blessing of two daughters Zenani and Zinda they new-fangledr came to break up in the year 1996. Because breakage is believed to have been caused by the actions of Winnie Mandela that is said to have been involved in cleaning of the ANC activists. Mandela was not happy at all with Winnies actions he then decided to marry Graca Machel, the wife of former Mozambique President, Samora Machel. With his former wife Winnie, Mandela had one son, the late Makgatho Levanika who died at the age of 54 years in the year 2004, earlier before him.While in deportation, in Robben Island, Mandela still made contacts with the ANC leaders that later, lead him to meeting most senior government officials including Presidents PW Bother and De Klerk in the year 1989. He was unlucky to have met these government officials as December of the very alike year he was served an arrest for being suspecte d of being spearheading the campaign for the

Assessment of National Express Group Operations, Macroeconomic Essay

Assessment of National Express assort Operations, macroeconomic Environment and Challenges - Essay ExampleThis essay presents an informative analysis of the National Express Group company economic position. The company was founded in 1972 by the state owned National Bus Company. The company has grown tremendously since its privatization in 1988 from a midget transport servicing provider to a multinational firm. It currently has its operations in UK, Canada, Morocco, Spain, US and Portugal. The company has recently expanded its business in opposite parts of Europe also. The company currently runs more than 1600 busses across UK and is a leader in urban bus service provider. It also provides bus service in North America in which daily 1 million students go to school.National Express Group is focused in achieving excellence in their existing markets and to explore new market opportunities to drive their company to the utmost peak. Its main objective is the growth of its business thr ough customer satisfactionMacroeconomic environment consists of those variables upon which the company has no control. Companies cannot control the macroeconomic factors but can minimize its impact by taking strategic decisions accordingly. These factors exist outside a company and usually have a great affect on the functioning of the company.In UK, the market conditions were challenging but still due to sloshed market hold and flexible coach supply model, the company delivered high profit for the business. As of National Express bus service in UK, thither was a rise in cost for the company during the year 2009 due to the increase in the cost of fuel.

Online college education vs traditional Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Online college education vs traditional - Essay ExampleThe mesh revolution has excessively affected the educational sector. There are many sites which offer online courses especially at the college level and higher. It would be rare to find a university in the U.S. that has no internet connection and reasonable technology infrastructure. However, the use of the internet in classroom teaching is not as widespread as the use of the internet for information, entertainment, communication, and research (Scagnoli, 2005). With the internet the barriers of time and space have been ended. Online education is internet enabled technology driven education that allows you to study anytime, anywhere, as per your convenience. Online education is one of the ways of imparting effective education to the aspiring people, residing anywhere in the world. This has helped people to pursue and advance their learning process, without messing up with their professional responsibilities and duties. Online l earning helps to increase the educational experiences irrespective of age and geographical diversity. The World Wide Web empowers the University to deliver training and critical information to its wide spread student base no matter where and what time zone the users are in. The students just access their training materials or start studying whenever they want from home or from office. Online education gives the students the flexibility to go through the programme content at the time that is most convenient to them and thereby achieve an appropriate balance of work, family, community and educational commitments.

Food and beverage manager Essay Example for Free

Food and beverage manager Essay1.1Describe with examples, some of the characteristics of nutrition issue and solid food beverage service systems that is in utilization within the hospitality industry. The change Production System is the modern methods used in bringing together yield and beverage activities in the hotel industry. Food that is centrally produced is easier to distribute to the point of service than for it to be produced in batches or separately. Centralised production system whitethorn be transported in a ready to serve state made e. g. hot or cold if it needs some form of regenerator for chilled or frozen food. The advantages of centralised production include, lower food apostrophize and supply cost are lower In centralised production methods you need to employ a fewer staffs in the kitchen. The kitchen locoweed in like manner be operated in a cheaper location.The disadvantage of the centralised production methods is if there is a case of food poison the gear up will be more spread and can cost loss of business, these can affect the finances of the hotel. When food and beverage come in by centralised system, they were then distributed into different departments. Main RestaurantA coffee shopChinese food shopFine restaurantIs the Traditional Parties production system, this is a table service.Table service, where cook or chill are servedTable service, for Tradition Parties production.Table service (British table service or French. likewise Traditional Parties production.Bars are for drinks only1.2For the systems discussed in 1.1, discuss factors that can affect recipes and menus.These are factors affecting receipts and menus.Guest religion and health, has remained a in truth important issues, religion of the guest and health restrictions Some people have allergy to e.g. crabs meat, protein, and fibre/vegetable, these can affect receipts and menu in the hotel. Financial resources, restaurant and guests types cost types of restaurant, Guest, spending baron, age Group, labour cost. Chinese food is only prepared by Chinese people these can also affect the receipts and menu, Time factor, if the food is not serve at the right time the food may be too cold or if care is not taken the food may not be ready in time for serving. Pricing of food because of the market is not invariable for price the pricing of the food may change, and can affect the receipt and the menu, by demoralizeing a alternative price or brand.1.3For the systems discussed above, compare the cost and staffing implications. OutletCOST OF FOODSTAFFMain restaurantThe cost is moderate and affordableMany staffs are required, can be service from billet or homeA coffee ShopThe cost is affordable and low priceFew staffs are needed a serve customer.long suit restaurant serving Chinese food.The price is low and affordable by class.Few staff is needed, and can be operated by member of the family. Fine dine restaurantThe price is high and can some be for spe cial occasion e.g. anniversary, birthday, or business meetings. Few staff are required e.g. atomic number 47 service, wine steward.BarThere are high class bars that are very expensive or common bar for everybody. Few staff are needed to operate.1.4A justification with examples regarding the suitability of systems for different types of food and beverage outlets. For coffee shop is non-alcohol beverage servicesThe fine dining restaurant sales food and beverage is based on good quality at the high prices In the bar selling different types of drinks or beverageChinese serving food is about culture food, which is served by the Chinese2.1Taking in to account, the various needs for financial statements, discuss the use of financial statements in food and beverage operations. Financial statement or financial operations these outline the finance of the revenue and expenses over a period of time. Which gives the production budget, the units that have been produce to the sales of the compan y, the production budgets also estimates the cost involved in material and labour. Operating budget these gives the estimate of the income expenses based on sales, manufacturing costs, labour etc. bills flow Statements Is receipt from the business these help the business, when income will be enough to cover expenses or when the organisation needs help. It helps in taking loans from the bank and repayment. rest Sheet is statement of the total assets of what the company own or owe. Income statement A finance statement that shows earnings report, operating statement, profit and loss.2.2 To demonstrate the use of cost and pricing processes.To be able to demonstrate the assess cost and pricing will need the following methods, the purchase price per item, we then landmark the food into different packs, for example if chicken are brought for 10 per pack and the meal are going for 15 per plate as a meal. It may sense to add the extra with the meal e.g. the rice or chips. List of the purc hasing methodsCentral purchasing is used by chains organization. This enable the hotel to buy their food stock in one location, all the services need will be in on site and contain the buying power and be able to negotiate the price at reasonable cost. The disadvantage are that the individual outlets cant complain regarding the suppliers, if one is receiving better spree than the other, These may affect the quality of the food, if too far from the site. Total supply This method is new, these allowed the hotel to buy from one supply, these cut the papers work, the administrative work and can be expensive. 2.3 Implement effective purchasing process of the five Star Hotel Food and beverage managers we can attend industrial events and trades show in order of battle to get new innovation ideas and learn above new products. We can communicate with functional departments regarding pricing trends products variations and inventory when available. Food and beverage manager nominate effecti ve and strategic report to corporate the hotel catering office supplies on inventory and costing performance and recommendations. We also go to menu and catering germinal to identify new inventory that are in demands, including schedules and procurement needs.

Emancipation of the slaves Essay Example for Free

Emancipation of the slaves Essayuestion Examine the methods employed by planters to offer labourers to head for the hills on sugar domains after emancipation.Full emancipation of the slaves was achieved in 1838 in the British West Indies and 1848 in the French colonies. The post-emancipation period was viewed with fear by planters who believed that mass of ex-slaves would exodus the plantations, robbing them of their labour supply. In many cases this was so. However, 1 can argue that the British West Indies experienced a greater labour fuss than the French colonies of Martinique and Guadeloupe. Therefore, the powerful measures put in dwelling house in the French colonies were unjust, an example of over-exaggerated panic on the part of the planters, and a form of maintaining control over their declining power over labour.The term freed people refers to persons who were not enslaved to anyone, who had open to them various opportunities previously closed, who maintained co mplete control over their movements and in general their lives. concord to the historian Rawle Farley, many ex-slaves saw the estates as an oppression of this particular meaning of freedom and hence unexpended as a form of resisting it. To desert the plantations the ex-slave had to wages into consideration land availability, population density and the flexibility to move from one profession to another or even to one with similar characteristics, such as small scale farming.inside low density colonies care British Guiana where land was plentiful, ex-slaves left to settle on small plots. Many ex-slaves also left to their original plantations to work on others where pay was high, some(a) even ventured into other professions such as hucksters, butchers, skilled workers and managers. In some low density colonies like St. Lucia, conciliatory measures like the metayage system was employed so as to make plantation work more appealing. In these cases planters provided the tools, and the ex-slaves, the labour. Both parties shared in the defecate at crop time making the ex-slave more eager to not only be present at crop time, but to do the premier(a) labour efficiently. However, in many other islands planters created a problematic situation for ex-slaves.In high density colonies like Antigua, coercive measures were put in place as a demonstration of power by planters. Even in the low density colony of Jamaica coercive measures dominated and belowmined the entire concept of freedom. consort to the historian, William A. Green, Jamaica suffered from not a labour shortage but a labour problem, that is, there was a labour consider but they did not want to work on the plantations. Douglas Hall furthers this argument with the statement that, Planters were likely to exaggerate the withdrawal of ex-slaves from the estates. This leads one to blame the planters for being the creators of their own problems. In a panic, they attempted to force the ex-slaves to remain on th e estates by applying the coercive measure of lowering wage rates while raising rents. This was intended to diminish net earnings from gross revenue of provisions in local markets and so make the ex-slave dependent wages for his livelihood.It was this rent question that really was burning issue between employer and employee. In some cases rent was levied on each occupant of a cottage, while in other cases no rent was collected at all so that the labourers could be ejected at a moments notice. All requests by ex-slaves for annual tenacy was denied. Many labourers were faced with the situation whereby rents were paid form their wages. In addition this the tenant and his family household moldiness still work for the landlord. According to Swithin Wilmot, rent was manipulated in such a fashion that it was a penalty rather than a charge for the use of estate property andrefusal to pay resulted in increased rental.This coercive measure applied to get freed persons on the estates had the opposite effect. Ex-slaves abandoned plantations to squat on crown land or purchased land and engaged in various agricultural endeavours for subsistence and market. If these escapees required additional income, they engaged in providing casual labour for the nearby plantations. Many ex-slaves bought land and create freed villages. These freed villages were a danger to the sugar economy since peasant farmers provided competition with their crops.Within the French colonies labour laws were passed with the intention of controlling the peasantry. In Martinique in particular, where land availability was scarce, ex-slaves were forced to comply with many of the insufferable regulations, for example paying the personal tax, tolerating the pass system and maintaining a domestic passport.The personal tax was created before 1848 with the aim of restricting the movement of Blacks to the towns and served to restrict movement from the countryside. The law imposed a sum payable annually by inhabi tants, the boroughs receiving higher taxes than those living in the countryside. In 1848 the personal tax jumped from 10 francs 50 centimes per year in Pointe-a-Pitre, to 15 francs. Even in the country areas, the personal tax rose from 4 francs 50 centimes to 5 francs. The creation of this tax was intended to both(prenominal) restrict the Blacks movement to that of the plantations while forcing them to work to pay for it. The need for the Blacks to pay taxes is extremely interesting, especially since, accord to historian Dale Tomich, most planters could not afford to pay freed men wages.On February 15, 1852 the pass system was introduced to attempt to force the ex-slaves to adopt contractual labour. Rosamunde Renard notes that under this system, either individual working for a salary or a daily wage, or every holder of a work contract of less than one year should possess a pass. If they did not own a pass then they were sentenced to working in the workhouses.The authorities tende d to play a greater economic consumption in supporting planters in the French colonies than in the British West Indies. Ex-slaves however responded at first with violence, attacking anyone trying to remove them from their homes or take away their freedom, and later engaging in passive resistance. When they had to register, they gave a different name for everything, the governor de Gueydon say they baptized under one name, married under another, taxed under a third and unknown under all these names. The Blacks also loitered and refused to accept contractual work when ever they could.Though the planters mainly used coercive measures, they also attempted to apply conciliatory measures. In Martinique a system of medals for model workers was devised so as to encourage work on the plantations. Gold and dye medals were distributed among the pupils of religious institutions who had done fairly well in agriculture. Schools were created with the purpose of training plantation workshop lead ers and good workers. The freedmen were not fooled. They responded with increasing hostility towards these refreshing attempts to make them stay on the plantations.In conclusion, the term induce tends to mean, according the dictionary to persuade. However, planters were seen applying more often force, that is, coercive measures rather than conciliatory measures to attempt to keep ex-slaves on the plantations. Within the high density colonies the coercive measures were not really necessary but rather a demonstration of planter control and power. Within the French colonies, if one is believe Perrison, there was absolutely no reason to apply the coercive measures the historian Rosamunde Renard described. For Martinique, one can question the sensibility of a slave revolt resulting in emancipation just before it was officially declared.Not surprisingly, an increasing distrust of the slaves exploded directly after emancipation was declared together with fear of economic ruin for the soci ety. Planters and the Authorities joined forces against the savage, uncivilized Blacks whose nature inclined them away from the delights of working in the blistering sun on the plantations and more towards their crude and uninformed version of what freedom was about, like liberty of movement. These hostile attitudes of planters and authorities alike are responsible for the exodus of ex-slaves in both the British West Indies and the French colonies.

Increased Competition in the Field of Robotics Essay Example for Free

Increased Competition in the Field of Robotics EssayIf desired, calibrate the virtual movement to reflect physical conditions and download optimized zombie programs. By simulating your process you chiffonier always be sure to have the right combination of robot, gun and fixtures. After all, in virtual reality, bumping in to car parts and fixtures does not really matter. Arc Geometric simulation enables accurate arc weld robot programs with optimized gun angle against the seam. Also, it is easy to approximate guns with different swan neck angles for best reachability. SpotWhen working on-line it is not an easy thing to program a topographic wind welding robot to weld perpendicular to a sur stage. With the aid of geometric simulation systems, this is ensured, with improved quality and a durable weld as a dissolving agent. Evaluating and designing spot weld guns is effectively done in a virtual environment. Laser Laser technology has made many processes more efficient. Robo tized laser applications really deserves submit of the art manufacturing simulation technology as a companion. Truly these technologies is for the future. PaintingWhen programming a paint robot on-line, there are often difficulties associated with where and how to interject robot positions in order to get the best result. Off-line programming reduces many of these difficulties. Features such as paint thickness simulation and the fact that you actually see where you are aiming truly help. Consumption of paint, products, and above all time needed for on-line touch up dramatically decreases. Handling and assembly modeling can also be used in robotized discourse and assembly trading operations. The product can be checked in fixtures and grippers and together with other products.Kinematics can be added to products. During simulation of handling processes reachability can be checked and collisions can be detected and provided. Simulation can also be used to optimize the layout by c hecking the placement of fixtures, racks and other equipment. Simulation of human operations Not only robot operations can be simulated, also human operations are possible to simulate. Simulation of human operations is important in an ergonomic point of view. Reachability and accessibility can be analyzed in an beforehand(predicate) stage of the project, before any physical verification is possible.Different sizes of the human model can be used to point out if changes in layout, process equipment or product are necessary. By using simulation, difficult and/or impossible operations can be eliminated. The purpose of these analyses is to prevent harmful operations. The result of the simulations can also be used in an educational purpose. 4. Robots in place of Human in Food Industry. Robots to solve end-of-line issues in food industry. They face a number of challenges in their end-of-line packaging operations.In a manual process, they must deal with ergonomic issues, labor availabilit y, and the uncertainty of increasing costs associated with youthful and potential future legislation. In an automated process, accommodating rapid-fire package changes driven by sustainability initiatives and shelf impact, as well understanding and improving key doing measures such as Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), are key. And in any process, food safety is an overriding concern on the minds of processors, as the consequences of foodborne illness and/or massive product recalls have affected a wide range of food categories. . Current Robotic Trends in Packaging Industrial robots have emerged as a valuable end-of-line tool to help address these challenges for food manufacturers, as the performance and user-friendliness of the technology has increased while costs have decreased. Growth in vision-assisted robotic applications is peculiarly notable, as vision enables a robot to emulate the flexibility of human hand-eye coordination and perform a number of in-process product i nspections for quality assurance.A number of statistics point to increased adoption of robotics in the industry The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) Statistics Department, which provides information on world-wide trends in robotics, reports optimistically about robotics industry growth in the plan of attack years. According to the Robotics and Automation Society, whose goal is to advance innovation, education, and fundamental and applied research in Robotics and Automation, (1) says that Nearly every major user industry increased its purchases in the opening quarter of 2010.Especially strong gains were seen in robot sales to the semiconductor/electronics/photonics industries as well as food consumer goods. In addition, Material handling remains the largest application area for new robot orders, accounting for some 60% of the units sold. Many food companies and packaging machinery manufacturers have successfully applied robots in a wide variety of processes in the dairy , meat, baking, confection, frozen, snack, beverage, and even produce industries.

Analysis of Tescos Corporate Governance and Responsibility

Analysis of Tescos embodied establishment and Responsibility1.0 INRODUCTION1.1 Overview of the start bodied institution and Corporate Responsibility have gained an increasing amount of grandness over the last ten due to some of the worlds greatest corporal s backsidedals that have been victorious place. These s batchdals have non been happening to the under demonstr open or developing economies, which have a high rate of corruption, merely instead have been pickings place in the developed countries, which supposedly have had miscellaneous safeguards to protect the interests of t emerge ensemble the stakeholders. sideline the collapse of major multi-nationals such as the Max headspring pudding st wiz in the UK, Enron in the united States and Parmalat in Italy to number proficient a a couple of(prenominal), run intoings of fraud, dish angiotensin-converting enzymesty, irregular news report and too some(prenominal) power held by iodine separate soon came to light. As a termination, people and investors have illogical the trust they placed in the pecuniary fodderstuffs and the big corporations to safeguard their as scores and interests. The loss in say-so has seen big drops in the furrow marketplaces around the world and should the rationalise continues, the unhurt world economy would collapse which would lead story to devastating consequences.As a result of those alarming situations, governments around the globe have devised prototypes of good corporeal nerve and passed on divers(a) laws, rules and regulations to hold companies prudent for their own actions, k at a timen as Corporate organisation and Responsibility in order to date that such s basedals atomic number 18 not repeated in the future.The briny embodied constitution frameworks take the brass instrument for Economic Co-operation and Developments (OECD) principles, the UK rewrite feature ordinance (2003) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States. Some of these are leg e real last(predicate)y binding, such as the one in the United States while early(a)wises operate on a comply or explain basis.This project pull up stakes place more emphasis on the validation framework in the UK, namely the revised Combined computer code, though I will provoke brief analyses of otherwise cut acrosss and frameworks. Why I chose this sectionalizationicular topic theater of operations is for many reasons. Firstly, I believe that at that place is still mount to im examine unified brass worldwide and hence, wished to learn more about it. Secondly, despite the incident that collective regime and collective indebtedness have croak increasingly important in todays world and that companies have to adhere to the rules or principles, reports of fraud and defective comement are still emerging in the developed economies, which lead to the collapse or nationalisation of versatile organisations. Well known ex capaciouss in the UK include the nationalisation of Northern Rock bank and the government pumping in money into its various other banks, including Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland among others. It indeed begs the question about the credibility of the embodied governance framework. In addition, as a commercial enterprise student, it is now imperative to have a good dread of the theme and as a taxpayer and citizen, I am both directly and indirectly affected by corporate behaviour.1.2 The Organisation in questionThis thesis revolves around Tesco plc, one of the worlds ahead(p) retailers. Opened in 1919 by founder Jack Cohen, his counterbalance days sales were 4 with a profit of 1. By 1947, the community floated on the stock exchange with a share price of 25p and by 1979, its socio-economic classly sales has reached 1 billion. In 1983, Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd becomes Tesco PLC. Nowadays, the friendship has entered various other markets including the USA, China, Korea and many other European countri es. It has in addition diversified into other industries, including pecuniary services and is before long making profits in excess of 2 billion. It is the UKs biggest supermarket in terms of turnover with 2,115 UK stores and employing 280, 373 staff in the UK alone (Tesco annual report 2008) . much(prenominal) an organisation has been chosen for various reasons, namely becauseIt is a listed company, and hence according to the capital of the United Kingdom Stock Exchange rules, it extremitys to adhere to the principles of the UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance on a Comply or Explain basis. Therefore, I will be able to determine whether such a big company is unfeignedly cosmos a good corporate citizen.Most of the info that I will need to conduct my seek is readily accessible with its website, including its financial statements and annual reports.Data on similar organisations, such as Sainsburys plc is as well as readily accessible, which would prove to be very usefu l for comparison purposes. This would help me to make an compendium on how those deuce similar organisations are complying with the UK combined write in code on corporate Governance and whether the departure from for example a specific code is usual for these companies or ot.Tesco plc has a very large number of stakeholders and hence it is interesting to find out how the company is working towards fulfilling its right towards them. In other words, how it is creation corporately responsible, especially how it is dealing with the principal- component problem.In addition, according to the companys annual report, Tesco follows a variegation schema, lay down over 10 years ago and which has been the butt of its enormous advantage in recent years.Due to the companys size, Tesco has segmented itself into 5 master(prenominal) areas bone marrow UKCOMMUNITYNON FOODRETAILING SERVICESINTERNATIONALThe UK is its biggest market and the core of the business. The main withdraw here is to fork out its customers with excellent value and choice.As well as deriving high shareholder value, the company besides tries to be a corporate citizen. In addition to its annual report, the company also publishes a Corporate Responsibility report to show that it is a responsible business.Over the past decade, the company diversified into the non-food market whereby it offers a range of products, from laptops to mobile phones, etcThe aim here is to be as strong in food as in non-food, competing on price and value.Following its success into the non-food market, the company went into retailing services, pass financial services to its customers. Again here, this sector has proven to be profitable for the company.Nowadays, Tesco is not only operating in the UK but also in closely European countries as well as in the US and Asia. The company has been expanding very quickly and is the number 1 retailer in Thailand todayAs can be seen, Tesco has followed through a diversification strate gy throughout the last decade, expanding not only into other markets but into other industries as well. Considering that diversification is quite a risky strategy, the company has been per manakining exceptionally well, defying the watercourse credit crunch to record profits of over 2 billion poundsSuch a big and successful company provides us with ample opportunities to assess whether there are any irregularities in its reports, ie, whether there is good governance or not1.3 Research QuestionsThe harangue is mainly an analytical one, in that an analysis on the companys corporate governance and its corporate responsibility report will be per corpseed. The main objective is to determine whether the company is behaving responsibly, by complying with all the provision of the code and how is it discharging its duties towards its stakeholders. The main questions that will therefore be investigated are the followingHas Tesco complied in all respect with the principles of Corporate Gove rnance and if not, why has it go from a ill-tempered provision?Is there a link between its Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility and its financial position?Is the company projecting an image of a good corporate citizen?The higher up will form the main research questions though I will also be looking at various other aspects briefly such asVariety of directors at the organisation.The difficulty in finding the rectify people with the right skills for the company.The role of Tescos audit delegacy, including independence issues.Public relations regarding the effect on the company if seems to cheer regulations.The companys bud pass away towards fulfilling its corporate responsibilityHow the company is working towards be eco-friendlyWhether the company provides proper adequate training, pension provisions, etc1.4 Overall Research ApproachThe starting insinuate for the thesis indulges firstly into a broad comment of both corporate governance and corporate respon sibility. We will look at various definitions from a few sources in order to provide the reader with an understanding of the subject. well(p) corporate governance is incorporated into many reports. The main ones that will be the focus of the dissertation are notably the Cadbury report, Hambel report, Greenbury report, Higgs report, smith report and the Turnbull Committee.The main points of the UK Combined Code (revised July 2003) will be discussed in a bit more detail, since it will form the basis of our first topic of interest of the project. In addition, the London Stock Exchange now requires all its listed companies to comply with the above code, which includes Tesco. As such, the first project objective will be achieved, whereby we can make an analysis whether Tesco has complied fully with the code or not.Whether there is a link between Tescos governance agreement and its financial performance will be the second part of the project. An analysis of the companys financial state ments will be performed to assess its financial performance using various accounting techniques, such as ratio analysis, industry, competitor and outside(a) comparisons. Other items, such as share price movements, off balance sheet finance, creative accounting and conflicts of interests between management and shareholders will also be looked at to ensure that the figures provided in the financial statements are not misleading, especially to both current and potential investors.The meeting of Tescos corporate governance system on its various stakeholders will form the next point. The main stakeholders that will be investigated here will beShareholdersEmployeesSuppliersCustomersLoan providerGovernmentPublic each(prenominal) of the above points will be explored in details and an assessment on stakeholders conflicts of interests will be discussed briefly if there are any.Next on the order of business will be the topic of Corporate Responsibility. I will be making an analysis to dete rmine how well Tesco is taking the responsibility to consider the interests of customers, employees, shareholders, federation and the environment in its operational activities.Lastly, the thesis will focus on any criticisms and potential recommendations on the organisations corporate governance system and on its corporate amicable responsibility.2.0 Information gatheringGathering study and selective schooling effectively is key to achieving a good project. A great deal of research is essential and very often there might be info overload. When too much data is collected, it sometimes becomes very difficult to analyse and interpret them flop which whitethorn be problematic in doing well in the thesis. On the other hand, not collecting enough data may lead to the price conclusion, thus rendering the thesis use slight or even misleading.Therefore, it is of utmost importance that one must collect information properly and effectively in order to avoid wasting time and sometimes even money. We should always bear in mind that the data that needs to be collected should be sufficient so as to achieve the research objectives.2.1 Sources of informationThere are two types of data, mainly capital and secondary data. Primary data is data that is unique to the researcher, and that is unavailable anywhere else. There are different methods of collecting such types of data. The main ones though areSurveyQuestionnairesObservation andInterviewsPrimary data is often very valuable since it is unavailable anywhere else. However, collecting it is very time consuming and costly. In addition to that, one must always ensure that a proper margin of error is selected and that a good sample size is chosen. Otherwise, all the benefits of primary data will be lost. As can be seen, though valuable, it is often very time consuming and costly. junior-grade data, as the name suggests, is data that is not unique. It is data that already exists somewhere else. Secondary data is data tha t has already been collected and collated by somebody for some reason other than the current study. It can be used to get a new perspective on the current study, to supplement or compare the work or to use parts of it, as another study may prove costly and time consuming e.g. the census.Secondary data can further be divided into two parts, namely qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data includes biographies, personal letters, diaries, records, schedules, published material, electronic computer database, policy statements, etc. Quantitative data would have market research, census, and Economic documents, planning documents or specimens. The list is endless and at a time the type of secondary data is identified, it becomes easy to locate the source.The following is a list of where data has been collected and scrutinised for the purpose of the thesis2.1.1 TextbooksTextbooks have always been a major source of information. In fact, due to the increased importance of corporate go vernance, corporate responsibility and responsibility accounting, many textbooks have attempted to explain the pattern of those topics and their relevance of in todays financial world. In todays accounting profession, it is now recommended that all accountants be beaten(prenominal) with corporate governance and especially ethics. This is mainly due to those scandals such as Enron which shook the whole financial world. It has been one of the most talked topics in the recent decade regarding the top CFOs and CEOs halenessI found the texts regarding corporate governance and corporate responsibility to be well documented, which has been quite useful in analysing the topics in question. I made use of several textbooks, including many accounting ones. The main one I have used for my research is the BPP textbook for the connecter of Certified hire Accountants P1, schoolmaster Accountant.The textbook has provided me with a great insight about ethics and corporate governance and has h elped a traffic circle in preparing for this analysis.In addition, I also found the Heriot-Watt University MBA textbook regarding corporate governance to be super useful. This has helped me to understand from scratch why corporate governance is so importantThe MBA textbook goes into much more details on the subject which really broadened my friendship and provided me an insight from the barriers to improvement on governance systems to the various policy responses.The benefits of using textbooks are that they contained a great deal of literature on the issue of corporate governance, which not only helped me in achieving some of my aims for my project but also opened my look on the effects it has on each and both one of us.Unfortunately, textbooks have some drawbacks as well. Firstly, one needs to get the right texts for a particular research topic, which can take a circumstances of time. Next, there is a lot of education to do, and if time is a constraint, this can pose a pra cticed problem. In addition, although one may get the right books, one also has to make sure that they are the latest editions, since they tend to contain updated data and information.2.1.2 Professional magazinesProfessional magazines are another great source of information. As a regular subscriber to the economist, needless to say that they have been of tremendous help to my thesis. From an frugal point of view, I understood how corporate governance impacts on everyones breeding, no matter where you are or whichever country you are working in.The Enron scandal for example did not only affect its employees and the United States citizens but everyone else in the world. Now one may asks oneself how do i get affected if i work in Nepal for example. The answer to that I understood it by reading the economist When Enron collapsed, first of all, the employees and shareholders and whoever were directly connected were the first to suffer. But Enron was a major global player in the fina ncial markets, which sent shockwaves across the whole world, meaning we were all impacted by their actions It is therefore no wonder that legislations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley were quickly brought into force in the United States.A lot of other countries also brought in their own codes of best practice on corporate governance and responsibility accounting. All this knowledge, I gained from those professional magazines, which are a great way of keeping up to date.Other magazines that have been useful in my research include the various accountancy magazines, such as school-age child Accountant which i receive regularly, since I am also an accountancy student from the familiarity of chartered certified accountants.2.1.3 LibraryI visited various libraries in order to be able to collect as much information as manageable for my research. There is a local library where I detain and this helped a lot. I needed to find journal articles and specific books for corporate governance and cor porate responsibility.However, the problem I encountered at the library is that there were cold too many books for me to choose from and that was very time consuming. I had no other survival but to seek help from the librarians, who were most eager to help.I spent a really long-time reading and summarising all the information that I believe would be useful to me. A big drawback was that there were a lot of outdated information which was very frustrating.However libraries are a great source to get information from and they have been most useful to me.2.1.4 The lucreThe internet nowadays is one of the most indispensable tools for information gathering. It is an integral part on everyones life and without it, mankind would be kind of lost The big vantage of using the internet is the speed at which a large amount of data can be accessed. For that reason, it had been one of my principal sources of information.The information is mostly clear and it is advantageously accessible. Thoug h some websites require a payment to get the information provided, most were free of charge.Most of the information regarding this thesis has been accessed from the internet. As with every good thing, the internet has its drawbacks as well. First, one needs to make sure that by accessing information for our own use, we should make sure that we are not infringing anyones copyright. We also have to be very careful due to the spread of viruses which can damage ones computer and stealing our private information.In any case, the internet clay one of the most powerful tool to gather information.2.1.5 Tesco plc annual report (2008)The companys annual reports were easily accessible from the website and provided me with a wealth of information in regards to corporate governance and corporate responsibility. I managed to even get a 5 year unofficial of the companys financial statements which has helped me to draw out a lot of conclusions regarding performance.However, as one would expect, t he report portrayed Tesco as a good citizen which does everything ethically. I could not therefore rely a hundred percent on everything the report said about.3.0 Ethical IssuesAs in any thesis, ethics play a very important role. Therefore, one needs to make sure to being completely ethical whenever gathering information and using them for ones purpose.3.1.1 Information gatheringBias and proportion Recognizing biased information, looking for balanced views, exploring opposing views, recognizing commercial interests in published information.Fact or Opinion Recognizing factual information, looking for evidence of factual truth, recognizing and valuing opinion. acquaintance Gaps Identifying missing information, locating missing information, stating research methodologies so that others can search further.3.1.2 Information EvaluationAccuracy Is the information accurate when checked against other sources? How steady-going and error-free is the information?Authority Does the information source qualify as an expert? Is the source rightly expected to know the facts and specifics? atomic number 18 the qualifications of the author/speaker clearly stated? Is the author/speaker affiliated with an institution or organization? Is there contact information available for the author of a written document?Content What is the purpose of the information, i.e. to inform, convince, or sell? What does it contribute to your understanding of the issues? Who is the intended audience based on content, tone, and style? What is the overall value of the content compared to other resources on the topic?Coverage Does the information cover the subject adequately? ar there inexplicable omissions?Currency Is the publication date clearly stated? When was the information last revised? Is it maintained and updated regularly? Are the links on a web page up-to-date and useable?Documentation Are you certain the information is based on more than rumor? Does the author explain where the informati on was obtained? Does the web page or article contain a bibliography or list of sources used?3.1.3 Information Use ordinary Use of Information Copyright law allows limited copying for educational and archival purposes, but does limit even that to no more than 10% of a work, among other restrictions.Proper Citation Complete citations of sources used is the most important issue, attributing information to its reliable author, and including enough information for another to locate the source.The ethical issues above (3.1.1 3.1.3) were compiled by H. Heller-Ross, Plattsburgh State University. They have been included in this thesis to help readers take a grasp on the various ethical issues which may impact upon ones research.4.0 Results and Analysis Corporate Governance4.1 Corporate GovernanceCorporate governance is the system by which organisations are tell and controlled. (Cadbury A. 1992)Corporate governance is a set of relationships between a companys directors, its shareholders and other stakeholders. It also provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set, and the mean of achieving those objectives and monitoring performance are determined. (Johnston D. J OECD Secretary General)Corporate governance, the system by which organisations are directed and controlled, is based on a number of concepts including transparency, independence, responsibility and integrity. (BPP, P1 2007)Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. It deals largely with the relationship between the constituent parts of a company the directors, the panel (and its sub-committees) and the shareholders. foil and accountability are the most important elements of good corporate governance. This includesthe timely provision by companies of good quality informationa clear and probable company decision-making processShareholders giving proper consideration to the information provided and making considered judgements.The corp orate governance framework in the UK operates at a number of levelsthrough legislation particularly the Companies ActThrough regulation and in particular for listed companies through the listing rules, which are the responsibilities of theFinancial Services Authority.Through the Combined Code which is the responsibility of the Financial melodic themeing Council. It contains general principles and more detailed provisions relating to the corporate governance of listed companies. It is appended to the FSAs Listing Rules, which require these companies, in their annual report and accounts to, (i) report on how they apply the principles, and (ii) confirm that they comply with the Codes provisions or, where they do not, provide an explanation hence the comply or explain principle which, if employ effectively, underpins informed parley between directors and shareholders. contains general principles. (http//www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/businesslaw/corp-governance/page15267.html)What the abov e definitions are about is that organisations should be managed in the best interest of everyone connected. In other words, directors should not forget that they are the agents of the companies they manage and they have a responsibility towards the various stakeholders. Therefore, they should act with integrity and honesty and should not just be concerned with filling their own pockets.The principal agent problem consists of trust and risk. (Lee, A.T. 2006). This trust may be breached by the agents by pursuing their own interest or through negligence and fraud. History is view to this abuse, which has resulted in shareholders losing their investments and employees losing their jobs with no fault of theirs. As a consequence, stakeholders now want reassurance that such scandals are not repeated, resulting in corporate governance frameworks around the world.The success of a company based on the principal-agent relationship is leechlike on the effectiveness of its corporate governanc e particularly the competence and independence of its board of directors and various subcommittees. (Lee, A.T. 2006)4.2 Various Corporate Governance ReportsThe various scandals around the financial world prompted governments to review corporate governance, especially about those companies that are listed in the stock markets. This lead to a wide range of corporate governance reports being written by scholars around the world. The main ones in the UK are listed below, with a brief explanation about it.4.2.1 The Cadbury reportThe Cadbury Report, titled Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance, is a report of a committee chaired by Adrian Cadbury that sets out recommendations on the arrangement of company boards and accounting systems to mitigate corporate governance risks and failures. The report was published in 1992. The reports recommendations have been adopted in varying degree by the European Union, the United States, the field Bank, and others.4.2.2 The Greenbury ReportThe Gr eenbury report was issued in 1995 by a committee under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Greenbury that developed a number of recommendations of the Cadbury Report on directors remuneration. It stressed the importance of a remuneration committee of non executive directors , the provision of information on remuneration policy in the annual report and accounts, and the restriction of notice and contract periods to less than one year.4.2.3 The Hambel ReportThis was a committee set up under the chairmanship of Sir Ronald Hampel to review the implementation of the Cadbury Code and the recommendations of the Greenbury report. A report was issued in 1998 emphasizing that the primary duty of directors is to shareholders and that the recommendations of the two earlier reports should be treated as guidelines rather than prescriptive rules.4.2.4 The Turnbull ReportThe latest link in the UK corporate governance set up is the September 1999 publication Internal Control Guidance for conductors on the Combined Code otherwise called, after its chairman (Nigel Turnbull, Executive Director of Reed Plc), the Turnbull Report (Turnbull).Turnbulls guidance is based upon the adoption by a companys board of a risk-based approach to establishing a sound system of internal control, and on Accountability, transparency, corporate kind responsibility a new mantra for a new millennium. reviewing its effectiveness. This should be incorporated by a company within its normal management and governance processes. The frustrate of internal control contemplated by Turnbull stretches wider than financial controls, to encompass social and environmental issues matters that have recently come to be grouped together under the generic heading of reputational risk.4.2.5 The Higgs ReportThe Higgs Report, named after its author Derek Higgs focused on the role and effectiveness of the non-executive director so as to consolidate the UKs combined code on corporate governance. The report was published in January 2003 and it was expected that the revised combined code will come into effect in July 2003.4.2.6 The Smith ReportFollowing the major financial scandals around the world, the Financial Reporting Council invited Sir Robert Smith to chair a report on the role and responsibilities of the audit committees. The aim was to develop the quick Combined Code guidance and to clarify the duties of the non executive directors meant to form the audit committee.4.2.7 UK Combined CodeThe Combined Code on Corporate Governance sets out standards of good practice in relation to issues such as board composition and development, remuneration, accountability and audit and relations with shareholders.All companies incorporated in the UK and listed on the main(prenominal) Market of the London Stock Exchange are required under the Listing Rules to report on how they have applied the Combined Code in their annual report and accounts. Overseas companies listed on the Main Market are required to discl ose the significant ways in which their corporate governance practices differ from those set out in the Code.The Combined Code contains broad principles and more specific provisions. Listed companies are required to report on how they have applied the main principles of the Code, and either to confirm that they have complied with the Codes provisions or where they have not to provide an explanation. (http//www.frc.org.uk/corporate/combinedcode.cfm)The combined code on corporate governance will be the benchmark against which an analysis of corporate governance at Tesco will be made. Any areas of the code which have not been followed or where the company has tried to manipulate it will be looked at in detail and conclusions drawn out.5.0 Analysis of Tescos Governance system5.1 Directors5.1.1 The boardAs at 28 February 2009, the Board of Tesco PLC comprised eight Executive Directors, seven autarkical Non-executive Directors and David Reid, Non-executive Chairman. The Companys Articl es of Association require all new Directors to be submitted for election by shareholders in their first year following appointment. The Board has appointed one Non-executive Director, Rodney Chase, to act as Senior Independent Director. The Senior Independent Director is available to shareholders to assist in firmness concerns, should the alternative channels be inappropriate. The Senior Independent Director is also required to lead the discussion in relation to assessing the effectiveness of the Chairmans performance. The Non-executive Directors bring a wide range of skills and experience, as well as independent judgement on strategy, risk and performance to the CompaAnalysis of Tescos Corporate Governance and ResponsibilityAnalysis of Tescos Corporate Governance and Responsibility1.0 INRODUCTION1.1 Overview of the projectCorporate governance and Corporate Responsibility have gained an increasing amount of importance over the last decade due to some of the worlds greatest corporat e scandals that have been taking place. These scandals have not been happening to the under developed or developing economies, which have a high rate of corruption, but instead have been taking place in the developed countries, which supposedly have had various safeguards to protect the interests of all the stakeholders.Following the collapse of major multi-nationals such as the Maxwell Empire in the UK, Enron in the United States and Parmalat in Italy to name just a few, findings of fraud, dishonesty, irregular accounting and too much power held by one individual soon came to light. As a result, people and investors have lost the trust they placed in the financial markets and the big corporations to safeguard their assets and interests. The loss in confidence has seen big drops in the stock markets around the world and should the trend continues, the whole world economy would collapse which would lead to devastating consequences.As a result of those alarming situations, governments around the globe have devised frameworks of good corporate governance and passed on various laws, rules and regulations to hold companies responsible for their own actions, known as Corporate Governance and Responsibility in order to ensure that such scandals are not repeated in the future.The main corporate governance frameworks include the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Developments (OECD) principles, the UK revised Combined Code (2003) and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the United States. Some of these are legally binding, such as the one in the United States while others operate on a comply or explain basis.This project will place more emphasis on the governance framework in the UK, namely the revised Combined Code, though I will make brief analyses of other reports and frameworks. Why I chose this particular topic area is for many reasons. Firstly, I believe that there is still scope to improve corporate governance worldwide and hence, wished to learn more about it. Sec ondly, despite the fact that corporate governance and corporate responsibility have become increasingly important in todays world and that companies have to adhere to the rules or principles, reports of fraud and bad management are still emerging in the developed economies, which lead to the collapse or nationalisation of various organisations. Well known examples in the UK include the nationalisation of Northern Rock bank and the government pumping in money into its various other banks, including Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland among others. It therefore begs the question about the credibility of the corporate governance framework. In addition, as a business student, it is now imperative to have a good understanding of the subject and as a taxpayer and citizen, I am both directly and indirectly affected by corporate behaviour.1.2 The Organisation in questionThis thesis revolves around Tesco plc, one of the worlds leading retailers. Opened in 1919 by founder Jack Cohen, his first days sales were 4 with a profit of 1. By 1947, the company floated on the stock exchange with a share price of 25p and by 1979, its annual sales has reached 1 billion. In 1983, Tesco Stores (Holdings) Ltd becomes Tesco PLC. Nowadays, the company has entered various other markets including the USA, China, Korea and many other European countries. It has also diversified into other industries, including financial services and is currently making profits in excess of 2 billion. It is the UKs biggest supermarket in terms of turnover with 2,115 UK stores and employing 280, 373 staff in the UK alone (Tesco annual report 2008) .Such an organisation has been chosen for various reasons, namely becauseIt is a listed company, and hence according to the London Stock Exchange rules, it needs to adhere to the principles of the UK Combined Code on Corporate Governance on a Comply or Explain basis. Therefore, I will be able to determine whether such a big company is really being a good corporate cit izen.Most of the data that I will need to conduct my research is readily accessible through its website, including its financial statements and annual reports.Data on similar organisations, such as Sainsburys plc is also readily accessible, which would prove to be very useful for comparison purposes. This would help me to make an analysis on how those two similar organisations are complying with the UK combined code on corporate Governance and whether the departure from for example a specific code is usual for these companies or ot.Tesco plc has a very large number of stakeholders and hence it is interesting to find out how the company is working towards fulfilling its responsibility towards them. In other words, how it is being corporately responsible, especially how it is dealing with the principal-agent problem.In addition, according to the companys annual report, Tesco follows a diversification strategy, laid down over 10 years ago and which has been the foundation of its enormo us success in recent years.Due to the companys size, Tesco has segmented itself into 5 main areasCORE UKCOMMUNITYNON FOODRETAILING SERVICESINTERNATIONALThe UK is its biggest market and the core of the business. The main aim here is to provide its customers with excellent value and choice.As well as deriving high shareholder value, the company also tries to be a corporate citizen. In addition to its annual report, the company also publishes a Corporate Responsibility report to show that it is a responsible business.Over the past decade, the company diversified into the non-food market whereby it offers a range of products, from laptops to mobile phones, etcThe aim here is to be as strong in food as in non-food, competing on price and value.Following its success into the non-food market, the company went into retailing services, offering financial services to its customers. Again here, this sector has proven to be profitable for the company.Nowadays, Tesco is not only operating in the UK but also in most European countries as well as in the US and Asia. The company has been expanding very quickly and is the number 1 retailer in Thailand todayAs can be seen, Tesco has followed through a diversification strategy throughout the last decade, expanding not only into other markets but into other industries as well. Considering that diversification is quite a risky strategy, the company has been performing exceptionally well, defying the current credit crunch to record profits of over 2 billion poundsSuch a big and successful company provides us with ample opportunities to assess whether there are any irregularities in its reports, ie, whether there is good governance or not1.3 Research QuestionsThe dissertation is mainly an analytical one, in that an analysis on the companys corporate governance and its corporate responsibility report will be performed. The main objective is to determine whether the company is behaving responsibly, by complying with all the provisions of the code and how is it discharging its duties towards its stakeholders. The main questions that will therefore be investigated are the followingHas Tesco complied in all respect with the principles of Corporate Governance and if not, why has it departed from a particular provision?Is there a link between its Corporate Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility and its financial position?Is the company projecting an image of a good corporate citizen?The above will form the main research questions though I will also be looking at various other aspects briefly such asVariety of directors at the organisation.The difficulty in finding the right people with the right skills for the company.The role of Tescos audit committee, including independence issues.Public relations regarding the effect on the company if seems to flout regulations.The companys budget towards fulfilling its corporate responsibilityHow the company is working towards being eco-friendlyWhether the company provide s proper adequate training, pension provisions, etc1.4 Overall Research ApproachThe starting point for the thesis indulges firstly into a broad explanation of both corporate governance and corporate responsibility. We will look at various definitions from a few sources in order to provide the reader with an understanding of the subject. Good corporate governance is incorporated into many reports. The main ones that will be the focus of the dissertation are notably the Cadbury report, Hambel report, Greenbury report, Higgs report, Smith report and the Turnbull Committee.The main points of the UK Combined Code (revised July 2003) will be discussed in a bit more detail, since it will form the basis of our first topic of interest of the project. In addition, the London Stock Exchange now requires all its listed companies to comply with the above code, which includes Tesco. As such, the first project objective will be achieved, whereby we can make an analysis whether Tesco has complied f ully with the code or not.Whether there is a link between Tescos governance system and its financial performance will be the second part of the project. An analysis of the companys financial statements will be performed to assess its financial performance using various accounting techniques, such as ratio analysis, industry, competitor and international comparisons. Other items, such as share price movements, off balance sheet finance, creative accounting and conflicts of interests between management and shareholders will also be looked at to ensure that the figures provided in the financial statements are not misleading, especially to both current and potential investors.The impact of Tescos corporate governance system on its various stakeholders will form the next point. The main stakeholders that will be investigated here will beShareholdersEmployeesSuppliersCustomersLoan providerGovernmentPublicEach of the above points will be explored in details and an assessment on stakeholder s conflicts of interests will be discussed briefly if there are any.Next on the agenda will be the topic of Corporate Responsibility. I will be making an analysis to determine how well Tesco is taking the responsibility to consider the interests of customers, employees, shareholders, society and the environment in its operational activities.Lastly, the thesis will focus on any criticisms and possible recommendations on the organisations corporate governance system and on its corporate social responsibility.2.0 Information gatheringGathering information and data effectively is key to achieving a good project. A great deal of research is needed and very often there might be data overload. When too much data is collected, it sometimes becomes very difficult to analyse and interpret them properly which may be problematic in doing well in the thesis. On the other hand, not collecting enough data may lead to the wrong conclusion, thus rendering the thesis useless or even misleading.Theref ore, it is of utmost importance that one must collect information properly and effectively in order to avoid wasting time and sometimes even money. We should always bear in mind that the data that needs to be collected should be sufficient so as to achieve the research objectives.2.1 Sources of informationThere are two types of data, mainly primary and secondary data. Primary data is data that is unique to the researcher, and that is unavailable anywhere else. There are different methods of collecting such types of data. The main ones though areSurveyQuestionnairesObservation andInterviewsPrimary data is often very valuable since it is unavailable anywhere else. However, collecting it is very time consuming and costly. In addition to that, one must always ensure that a proper margin of error is selected and that a good sample size is chosen. Otherwise, all the benefits of primary data will be lost. As can be seen, though valuable, it is often very time consuming and costly.Secondary data, as the name suggests, is data that is not unique. It is data that already exists somewhere else. Secondary data is data that has already been collected and collated by somebody for some reason other than the current study. It can be used to get a new perspective on the current study, to supplement or compare the work or to use parts of it, as another study may prove costly and time consuming e.g. the census.Secondary data can further be divided into two parts, namely qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative data includes biographies, personal letters, diaries, records, documents, published material, computer database, policy statements, etc. Quantitative data would have market research, census, and Economic documents, planning documents or specimens. The list is endless and once the type of secondary data is identified, it becomes easy to locate the source.The following is a list of where data has been collected and scrutinised for the purpose of the thesis2.1.1 TextbooksTex tbooks have always been a major source of information. In fact, due to the increased importance of corporate governance, corporate responsibility and responsibility accounting, many textbooks have attempted to explain the concept of those topics and their relevance of in todays financial world. In todays accounting profession, it is now recommended that all accountants be familiar with corporate governance and especially ethics. This is mainly due to those scandals such as Enron which shook the whole financial world. It has been one of the most talked topics in the recent decade regarding the top CFOs and CEOs integrityI found the texts regarding corporate governance and corporate responsibility to be well documented, which has been quite useful in analysing the topics in question. I made use of several textbooks, including many accounting ones. The main one I have used for my research is the BPP textbook for the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants P1, Professional Accou ntant.The textbook has provided me with a great insight about ethics and corporate governance and has helped a lot in preparing for this analysis.In addition, I also found the Heriot-Watt University MBA textbook regarding corporate governance to be extremely useful. This has helped me to understand from scratch why corporate governance is so importantThe MBA textbook goes into much more details on the subject which really broadened my knowledge and provided me an insight from the barriers to improvement on governance systems to the various policy responses.The benefits of using textbooks are that they contained a great deal of literature on the issue of corporate governance, which not only helped me in achieving some of my aims for my project but also opened my eyes on the effects it has on each and every one of us.Unfortunately, textbooks have some drawbacks as well. Firstly, one needs to get the right texts for a particular research topic, which can take a lot of time. Next, there is a lot of reading to do, and if time is a constraint, this can pose a serious problem. In addition, although one may get the right books, one also has to make sure that they are the latest editions, since they tend to contain updated data and information.2.1.2 Professional magazinesProfessional magazines are another great source of information. As a regular subscriber to the economist, needless to say that they have been of tremendous help to my thesis. From an economic point of view, I understood how corporate governance impacts on everyones life, no matter where you are or whichever country you are working in.The Enron scandal for example did not only affect its employees and the United States citizens but everyone else in the world. Now one may asks oneself how do i get affected if i live in Nepal for example. The answer to that I understood it by reading the economist When Enron collapsed, first of all, the employees and shareholders and whoever were directly connected were the first to suffer. But Enron was a major global player in the financial markets, which sent shockwaves across the whole world, meaning we were all impacted by their actions It is therefore no wonder that legislations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley were quickly brought into force in the United States.A lot of other countries also brought in their own codes of best practice on corporate governance and responsibility accounting. All this knowledge, I gained from those professional magazines, which are a great way of keeping up to date.Other magazines that have been useful in my research include the various accountancy magazines, such as Student Accountant which i receive regularly, since I am also an accountancy student from the association of chartered certified accountants.2.1.3 LibraryI visited various libraries in order to be able to collect as much information as possible for my research. There is a local library where I live and this helped a lot. I needed to find journal articles and specific books for corporate governance and corporate responsibility.However, the problem I encountered at the library is that there were far too many books for me to choose from and that was very time consuming. I had no other option but to seek help from the librarians, who were most eager to help.I spent a really long-time reading and summarising all the information that I believe would be useful to me. A big drawback was that there were a lot of outdated information which was very frustrating.However libraries are a great source to get information from and they have been most useful to me.2.1.4 The internetThe internet nowadays is one of the most indispensable tools for information gathering. It is an integral part on everyones life and without it, mankind would be kind of lost The big advantage of using the internet is the speed at which a large amount of data can be accessed. For that reason, it had been one of my principal sources of information.The information is mostly free and it is easily accessible. Though some websites require a payment to get the information provided, most were free of charge.Most of the information regarding this thesis has been accessed from the internet. As with every good thing, the internet has its drawbacks as well. First, one needs to make sure that by accessing information for our own use, we should make sure that we are not infringing anyones copyright. We also have to be very careful due to the spread of viruses which can damage ones computer and stealing our private information.In any case, the internet remains one of the most powerful tool to gather information.2.1.5 Tesco plc annual report (2008)The companys annual reports were easily accessible from the website and provided me with a wealth of information in regards to corporate governance and corporate responsibility. I managed to even get a 5 year summary of the companys financial statements which has helped me to draw out a lot of conclusions regarding perfor mance.However, as one would expect, the report portrayed Tesco as a good citizen which does everything ethically. I could not therefore rely a hundred percent on everything the report said about.3.0 Ethical IssuesAs in any thesis, ethics play a very important role. Therefore, one needs to make sure to being completely ethical whenever gathering information and using them for ones purpose.3.1.1 Information gatheringBias and Balance Recognizing biased information, looking for balanced views, exploring opposing views, recognizing commercial interests in published information.Fact or Opinion Recognizing factual information, looking for evidence of factual truth, recognizing and valuing opinion.Knowledge Gaps Identifying missing information, locating missing information, stating research methodologies so that others can search further.3.1.2 Information EvaluationAccuracy Is the information accurate when checked against other sources? How reliable and error-free is the information?Authori ty Does the information source qualify as an expert? Is the source rightly expected to know the facts and specifics? Are the qualifications of the author/speaker clearly stated? Is the author/speaker affiliated with an institution or organization? Is there contact information available for the author of a written document?Content What is the purpose of the information, i.e. to inform, convince, or sell? What does it contribute to your understanding of the issues? Who is the intended audience based on content, tone, and style? What is the overall value of the content compared to other resources on the topic?Coverage Does the information cover the subject adequately? Are there inexplicable omissions?Currency Is the publication date clearly stated? When was the information last revised? Is it maintained and updated regularly? Are the links on a web page up-to-date and useable?Documentation Are you certain the information is based on more than hearsay? Does the author explain where the information was obtained? Does the web page or article contain a bibliography or list of sources used?3.1.3 Information UseFair Use of Information Copyright law allows limited copying for educational and archival purposes, but does limit even that to no more than 10% of a work, among other restrictions.Proper Citation Complete citations of sources used is the most important issue, attributing information to its true author, and including enough information for another to locate the source.The ethical issues above (3.1.1 3.1.3) were compiled by H. Heller-Ross, Plattsburgh State University. They have been included in this thesis to help readers take a grasp on the various ethical issues which may impact upon ones research.4.0 Results and Analysis Corporate Governance4.1 Corporate GovernanceCorporate governance is the system by which organisations are directed and controlled. (Cadbury A. 1992)Corporate governance is a set of relationships between a companys directors, its shareholder s and other stakeholders. It also provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set, and the means of achieving those objectives and monitoring performance are determined. (Johnston D. J OECD Secretary General)Corporate governance, the system by which organisations are directed and controlled, is based on a number of concepts including transparency, independence, accountability and integrity. (BPP, P1 2007)Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. It deals largely with the relationship between the constituent parts of a company the directors, the board (and its sub-committees) and the shareholders.Transparency and accountability are the most important elements of good corporate governance. This includesthe timely provision by companies of good quality informationa clear and credible company decision-making processShareholders giving proper consideration to the information provided and making considered judgements.Th e corporate governance framework in the UK operates at a number of levelsthrough legislation particularly the Companies ActThrough regulation and in particular for listed companies through the listing rules, which are the responsibilities of theFinancial Services Authority.Through the Combined Code which is the responsibility of the Financial Reporting Council. It contains general principles and more detailed provisions relating to the corporate governance of listed companies. It is appended to the FSAs Listing Rules, which require these companies, in their annual report and accounts to, (i) report on how they apply the principles, and (ii) confirm that they comply with the Codes provisions or, where they do not, provide an explanation hence the comply or explain principle which, if applied effectively, underpins informed dialogue between directors and shareholders. contains general principles. (http//www.berr.gov.uk/whatwedo/businesslaw/corp-governance/page15267.html)What the above definitions are about is that organisations should be managed in the best interest of everyone connected. In other words, directors should not forget that they are the agents of the companies they manage and they have a responsibility towards the various stakeholders. Therefore, they should act with integrity and honesty and should not just be concerned with filling their own pockets.The principal agent problem consists of trust and risk. (Lee, A.T. 2006). This trust may be breached by the agents by pursuing their own interest or through negligence and fraud. History is witness to this abuse, which has resulted in shareholders losing their investments and employees losing their jobs with no fault of theirs. As a consequence, stakeholders now want reassurance that such scandals are not repeated, resulting in corporate governance frameworks around the world.The success of a company based on the principal-agent relationship is dependent on the effectiveness of its corporate governanc e particularly the competence and independence of its board of directors and various subcommittees. (Lee, A.T. 2006)4.2 Various Corporate Governance ReportsThe various scandals around the financial world prompted governments to review corporate governance, especially about those companies that are listed in the stock markets. This lead to a wide range of corporate governance reports being written by scholars around the world. The main ones in the UK are listed below, with a brief explanation about it.4.2.1 The Cadbury reportThe Cadbury Report, titled Financial Aspects of Corporate Governance, is a report of a committee chaired by Adrian Cadbury that sets out recommendations on the arrangement of company boards and accounting systems to mitigate corporate governance risks and failures. The report was published in 1992. The reports recommendations have been adopted in varying degree by the European Union, the United States, the World Bank, and others.4.2.2 The Greenbury ReportThe Gre enbury report was issued in 1995 by a committee under the chairmanship of Sir Richard Greenbury that developed a number of recommendations of the Cadbury Report on directors remuneration. It stressed the importance of a remuneration committee of non executive directors , the provision of information on remuneration policy in the annual report and accounts, and the restriction of notice and contract periods to less than one year.4.2.3 The Hambel ReportThis was a committee set up under the chairmanship of Sir Ronald Hampel to review the implementation of the Cadbury Code and the recommendations of the Greenbury report. A report was issued in 1998 emphasizing that the primary duty of directors is to shareholders and that the recommendations of the two earlier reports should be treated as guidelines rather than prescriptive rules.4.2.4 The Turnbull ReportThe latest link in the UK corporate governance chain is the September 1999 publication Internal Control Guidance for Directors on the Combined Code otherwise called, after its chairman (Nigel Turnbull, Executive Director of Reed Plc), the Turnbull Report (Turnbull).Turnbulls guidance is based upon the adoption by a companys board of a risk-based approach to establishing a sound system of internal control, and on Accountability, transparency, corporate social responsibility a new mantra for a new millennium. reviewing its effectiveness. This should be incorporated by a company within its normal management and governance processes. The span of internal control contemplated by Turnbull stretches wider than financial controls, to encompass social and environmental issues matters that have recently come to be grouped together under the generic heading of reputational risk.4.2.5 The Higgs ReportThe Higgs Report, named after its author Derek Higgs focused on the role and effectiveness of the non-executive director so as to consolidate the UKs combined code on corporate governance. The report was published in January 2 003 and it was expected that the revised combined code will come into effect in July 2003.4.2.6 The Smith ReportFollowing the major financial scandals around the world, the Financial Reporting Council invited Sir Robert Smith to chair a report on the role and responsibilities of the audit committees. The aim was to develop the existing Combined Code guidance and to clarify the duties of the non executive directors meant to form the audit committee.4.2.7 UK Combined CodeThe Combined Code on Corporate Governance sets out standards of good practice in relation to issues such as board composition and development, remuneration, accountability and audit and relations with shareholders.All companies incorporated in the UK and listed on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange are required under the Listing Rules to report on how they have applied the Combined Code in their annual report and accounts. Overseas companies listed on the Main Market are required to disclose the significant ways in which their corporate governance practices differ from those set out in the Code.The Combined Code contains broad principles and more specific provisions. Listed companies are required to report on how they have applied the main principles of the Code, and either to confirm that they have complied with the Codes provisions or where they have not to provide an explanation. (http//www.frc.org.uk/corporate/combinedcode.cfm)The combined code on corporate governance will be the benchmark against which an analysis of corporate governance at Tesco will be made. Any areas of the code which have not been followed or where the company has tried to manipulate it will be looked at in detail and conclusions drawn out.5.0 Analysis of Tescos Governance system5.1 Directors5.1.1 The boardAs at 28 February 2009, the Board of Tesco PLC comprised eight Executive Directors, seven independent Non-executive Directors and David Reid, Non-executive Chairman. The Companys Articles of Association re quire all new Directors to be submitted for election by shareholders in their first year following appointment. The Board has appointed one Non-executive Director, Rodney Chase, to act as Senior Independent Director. The Senior Independent Director is available to shareholders to assist in resolving concerns, should the alternative channels be inappropriate. The Senior Independent Director is also required to lead the discussion in relation to assessing the effectiveness of the Chairmans performance. The Non-executive Directors bring a wide range of skills and experience, as well as independent judgement on strategy, risk and performance to the Compa