Chemical Physical Changes

Chemical and physical changes are related to chemical and physical properties. Chemical Changes Chemical changes take place at the molecular level. A chemical change produces a new substance.  Another way to think of it is that a chemical change accompanies a chemical reaction.  Examples of chemical changes include combustion (burning), cooking an egg, rusting of an iron pan, and mixing hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide to make salt and water. Physical Changes Physical changes are concerned with energy and states of matter. A physical change does not produce a new substance, although the starting and ending materials may look very different from each other. Changes in state or phase (melting, freezing, vaporization, condensation, sublimation) are physical changes. Examples of physical changes include crushing a can, melting an ice cube, and breaking a bottle. How to Tell Chemical Physical Changes Apart A chemical change makes a substance that wasnt there before. There may be clues that a chemical reaction took places, such as light, heat, color change, gas production, odor, or sound. The starting and ending materials of a physical change are the same, even though they may look different.

The Christmas Star Fable or Reality

People around the world celebrate the Christmas holiday. One of the central stories in the Christmas legends is about the so-called Star of Bethlehem, a celestial event in the sky that guided three wise men to Bethlehem, where Christian stories say their savior Jesus Christ was born. This tale is not found anywhere else in the Bible. At one time, theologians looked to astronomers for scientific validation of the star, which may well be a symbolic idea rather than a scientifically proved object. Theories of the Christmas Star (Star of Bethlehem) There are several celestial possibilities that scientists looked into as the root of the star legend:   a planetary conjunction, a comet, and a supernova. Historical evidence for any of these is scarce, so astronomers had little to go on. Conjunction Fever A planetary conjunction is simply an alignment of heavenly bodies as seen from Earth. There are no magical properties involved. Conjunctions happen as planets move in their orbits around the Sun, and by coincidence, they might appear close to each other in the sky. The Magi (Wise Men) who supposedly were guided by this occurrence were astrologers. Their main concerns about celestial objects were purely symbolic. That is, they were more concerned about what something meant rather than what it actually was doing in the sky. Whatever event transpired would have needed to have special significance; something that was extraordinary.   In reality, the conjunction they might have seen involved two objects millions of kilometers apart. In this case, a lineup of Jupiter and Saturn occurred in 7 B.C.E., a year commonly suggested as the possible birth year of the Christian savior. The planets were actually about a degree apart, and that was likely not important enough to get the Magis attention. The same is true of a possible conjunction of  Uranus and Saturn. Those two planets are also very far apart, and even if they appeared close together in the sky, Uranus would have been much too dim for easy detection. In fact, it is nearly imperceptible with the naked eye.    One other possible astrological conjunction took place in the year 4 B.C.E when bright planets appeared to dance back and forth near the bright star Regulus in the early spring night sky. Regulus was considered the sign of a king in the astrological belief system of the Magi. Having bright planets move back and forth nearby could have been important to the wise mens astrological calculations, but would have had little scientific significance. The conclusion that most scholars have come to is that a planetary conjunction or alignment probably would not have caught the eye of the Magi. What About a Comet? Several scientists suggested that a bright comet might have been significant to the Magi. In particular, some have suggested that  Halleys Comet  could have been the star, but its apparition at that time would have been in 12 B.C. which is too early. Its possible that another comet passing by Earth could have been the astronomical event that the Magi called a star. Comets do have a tendency to hang in the sky for extended periods of time as they pass near Earth over days or weeks. However, the common perception of comets at that time was not a good one. They were usually considered evil omens or premonitions of death and destruction. The Magi would not have associated it with the birth of a king. Star Death Another idea is that a star might have exploded as a   supernova. Such a cosmic event would show up in the sky for days or weeks before fading out. Such an apparition would be pretty bright and spectacular, and there is one citation of a supernova in the Chinese literature in 5 B.C.E. However, some scientists suggest it might have been a comet. Astronomers have searched for possible supernova remnants that might date back to that time but without a lot of success.   Evidence for any celestial event is pretty scarce for the time period where the Christian savior could have been born. Hindering any understanding is the allegorical style of writing that describes it. That has led several writers to assume that the event was really an astrological/religious one and not something that science could ever show happened. Without evidence for something concrete, thats probably the best interpretation of the so-called Star of Bethlehem — as a religious tenet and not a scientific one.   In the end, its far more likely that the gospel tellers were writing allegorically and not as scientists. Human cultures and religions are rife with tales of heroes, saviors, and other deities. The role of science is to explore the universe and explain whats out there, and it really cannot delve into matters of faith to prove them.

The AWB Scandal - Violation of Ethical Principles, Morality, and Leade Case Study

Essays on The AWB Scandal - Violation of Ethical Principles, Morality, and Leadership Case Study The paper â€Å"The AWB Scandal - Violation of Ethical Principles, Morality, and Leadership† is a   thrilling example of a case study on ethics. The AWB scandal is regarded as a scandal of global magnitude, for instance, the company paid heavy monetary bribes to Iraq Government something that was in contradiction to the regulations set out in the Oil-for-Food Program established by the UN. The establishments of the Cole Royal Commission that comprehensively investigated this scandal have it that AWB and the Australian government gravely violated the business ethical code of conduct in their operations. The company’s ventures were masked with numerous malpractices including bribes, deceit, and inhumane acts. There was a regulatory failure on the part of the government that allowed and facilitated corruption and fraudulent acts at AWB. This section discusses the acts of ethical violations with regard to the Australian Wheat Board and the Australian government in the eve nt of the Oil-for-Food Program.Australian Wheat BoardWinning of contracts: the Cole commission established that the Australian wheat Board paid large amounts of kickbacks to Iraq government representatives in order to ensure continued wheat supply, notwithstanding that they were acting contrary to the Australian government legislation and United Nation’s Oil-for-Food program regulations (Parker, and Evans, 2007). The use of bribery in order to win the wheat export contract was automatically unethical. This is clear evidence that the company executives were involved in winning contracts carelessly without carefully determining the legality and morality of what they were paying for (Overington, 2007). Similarly, among the approximately over 3000 companies that had contracts with the Oil-for-Food program to supply food commodities to Iraq, none of them had paid bribes like AWB. Accordingly, AWB executives dealt directly or indirectly with the Iraq government officials; for examp le, when AWB paid US$500,000 into the Jordanian account owned by Alia; a transport company, the Canadian Wheat Board was told to pay US$700,000 into the same account by the Iraq government officials. This clearly shows that despite the UN regulations that food suppliers should not involve the Iraq government in their business; AWB still went ahead and breached this initial requirement thus violating the UN trade sanctions on Iraq.The AWB’s executives together with government officials heading large government organizations conspired to fraud the company shareholders. They were deceitful in their undertakings, only focusing on obtaining fraudulent benefits from shoddy deals. They wholly failed all tenets of corporate governance of AWB while at the same time falsifying every detail of their corrupt deals in order to escape personal accountability (Overington, 2007). In the same line of argument, their deals tarnished the image of the company in the national and global arena. Th e company was displayed as one that is not socially responsible transgressing all requirements of business ethics and business morality. This corporate scandal similarly, cost the Australian image from a global perspective; for instance, the country’s rank on the Transparency International Corruption Index falls from 9 to 11. The actions of AWB’s executives were significantly unethical.Given the fact that AWB was the sole company responsible for marketing and exporting Australia’s wheat: the major export commodity for the country, it gravely deeds more harm than good. AWB’s structure allowed the manifestation of corruption, for instance, all the Australian wheat exports were channeled through AWB in what was termed as a single-desk export authority, which gave the company bureaucratic power that helped it in perpetuating its illegal and corrupt deals (Parker, and Evans, 2007). Accordingly, the company used these extreme powers to defraud its shareholders out of their financial investments together with profits as well as tarnishing Australia’s trade reputation across the world (Overington, 2007). This was immoral and unethical on the part of the company; it should have acted in the best interest of the shareholders and the country at large.

Gandalf as the Guide Archetype - 1222 Words

Gandalf as a â€Å"the Guide† What is Gandalf’s Archetype? The dictionary defines it as the original pattern or model from which all things of same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype. J.R.R Tolkiens The Hobbit is a story of growth that centers on Bilbo Baggins a Hobbit who is perfectly happy in his Hobbit hole eating, drinking and smoking. Everything in Bilbo’s life is as he likes it, until the day that Gandalf the Grey strolls into his life and although Bilbo doesnt know it Gandalf is his Guide. The Archetype of The Guide points the hero in the direction he is destined to go. Gandalf is the one who chooses Bilbo as the 14th and luckiest member of the party making the trek†¦show more content†¦Finally the Bilbo that Gandalf has been talking about the whole story has emerged. Gandalf always gives off the impression that he knows everything before it happens. Just by speaking with Bilbo he knew that there was an underlying power that Bilbo didnt even know what was there. Gandalf seems to take a special interest to Bilbo that he doesnt have for any of the dwarves. He doesnt even speak to Fili and Kili or any of the dwarves except for Thorin of course and Im sure he wouldnt try to go back for any of them if they were left behind in a goblin cave. But he was very adamant that they go back for Bilbo even calling him his friend. Gandalf was trained by some of the strongest Valar or gods and he considers the tiniest of creatures a Hobbit his friend. Gandalf and Bilbo share an unspoken bond. Gandalf was trained by the Valar to aid the people of middle-earth in the fight against evil, for over 2000 years, Gandalf worked most faithfully against the rising powers of evil in Middle-earth. Gandalf has never showed a real interest in the treasure that was awaiting them at the end of the journey. He was more interested in the growth of Bilbo as a hero and the goblin cave is a perfect example. While the Dwarves are only concerned wi th moving on to there gold, He is insistent that they go back for Bilbo. Why would he do that? Why would someone who just fought is way out of those caves barely escaping with hisShow MoreRelatedThe Hero s Journey And The Lord Of The Rings1630 Words   |  7 Pagesmodel, archetypes, reluctant heroes, and the description of the stages to help you understand, support, and complete your work.) Leave my numbers as they are and write a paragraph under each number (in a dark text color that is different from the color of my text (you choose) - and thank you, remember I am half blind). In this paragraph, explain what major events in the film happen at each stage of the journey. Be descriptive, and in addition to the events, include the archetype titlesRead MoreMaking Of A Hero : Tolkien s The Hobbit And The Monomyth1951 Words   |  8 Pagesis a key representation of the heroes â€Å"call to adventure†, a challenge often triggered by external obstacles that prompt the protagonist to develop his heroic traits. Baggins’s development as the story’s protagonist and hero follows a visit from Gandalf the wizard, prompting him to take part in an adventure comprised of an army of thirteen battle-ready dwarves. In this paper, I will show that Tolkien’s fictional novel The Hobbit follows the rudimentary structuring discussed in Joseph Campbell’s hero’s

Perspectives on Human Resource Management

Question: Discuss about the Perspectives on Human Resource Management. Answer: Introduction In the given case study, the first hospital encounters many issues regarding human resource management as the hospitals CEO has devolved the power to the middle managers and the finance management functioning as the human resource department. The following are the recommendations for the first hospital to improve the operation of the human resource management at the hospital. The sustainable development of a human resource (HR) capability is the key to success of an organization that include strategic management addressing the issues related to issues and competitive challenges generally encountered in an organization. The HR capability will cater to the needs and demands of the situations that arise in course of time in the company operation. The first hospital lacks the human resource management functions and key HR policies that are required for delivering the efficient quality of care to the patients. The middle managers perform the functions of human resource like the job analysis, training and development, recruitment and selection and performance that affects the quality of care to the patients. The poor implications of HR policies and practices by the middle managers has lead to the increase in staff grievances, industrial disruption, staff shortages, absenteeism leading to deterioration in satisfaction in staffs and quality of care to the patients. The following recommendations would help to improve the operation of HRM in the first hospital. Establishment of HR department and role of HR in hospital The first hospital lacks the human resource department and a senior HR manager as the key functions of HR are performed by middle managers. The middle managers are responsible for providing guidance to the managers at the low level and push the data, facts, details and analysis to the organization. They are not meant to perform the key functions of HR like job analysis, training, staff selection and recruitment, occupational health and safety measures and in improving the overall performance of the hospital services. There is urgency for establishment of human resource management department. The human resource management is important for the first hospital as it plays a vital role and their decisions and actions directly affect the quality of care to patients and the job satisfaction in hospital staffs. The level of performance by the staff influences the hospitals performance and the outcomes in patients. The human resource management is concerned with the development of both the in dividuals and the organization as a whole (Townsend, Lawrence Wilkinson, 2013). They seek the responsibility of delivering quality of healthcare to the patients and improve services. The HR department would efficiently use the spectrum of patient services and their coordination with the health care providers. The HR department also ensures equity among the staffs, mechanisms for strategic financial protection, analyzing specific needs of the groups and in improving patient satisfaction (Baluch, Salge Piening, 2013). The hospital requires a senior HR manager to manage the HR department. The role of HR in a healthcare is important in managing and performing the key functions of the HR department. The senior HR manager performs many functions like maintenance and use of financial services, planning of budget and profits of the owners and stockholders, and efficient use of finances to fulfill the patients obligations. The HR manager would look into the adequacy of staffs at every leve l of the hospital, absenteeism, recruit and replace the inefficient medical staffs and make changes to meet the demands of the current patients (Boella Goss-Turner, 2013). The HR manger and the department are responsible for training and recruitment of medical staffs, renewal of medical licenses of the health care professionals and the replenishment of the educational requirements renewing the certifications. Development of efficient HR policies and practices The HR policies and practices are important in a healthcare system as the decisions and actions taken by the organization greatly influences the behavior of the staffs, their attitudes and the performance in ensuring quality care services (Tyson, 2014). It also involves the recruitment, training and assessment of workforce. The HR policies are responsible for looking after the manpower, their recruitment, welcoming new staffs, training and development, handling the staffs grievances, the patients needs, performance of the management and handling of charges and responsibilities in the healthcare sector (Stone, 2013). The identification and planning of the services and requirements of the hospital needs and a sound staff that helps in achieving the goals of the hospital. For the planning of manpower, the essential recruitment is important in terms of qualifications, aptitude, skills that are required for the hospital. The conduction of HR training for building of competent staffs, purp ose and methods involved for the training interventions. These methodologies would help to recruit new staffs and replenish the shortage. The HR policy also looks after the grievances of the staffs and finds solutions to it. The HR policy also lays down the health needs of the medical staffs and for the patients. The HR Audit finally reviews all the aspects of human resource management functioning and strengthen the core HR policies for the better functioning of the hospital. Strategic human resource management The human resource management involves the administrative function of the healthcare system in hospitals. The strategic management consists of the approach of the HR in meeting the goals of the hospital through the staffs by the means of policies and practices of HR and integration of the HR strategies. It includes the setting of the strategic human resource management process that includes the strategic direction that would define the hospitals goals, missions, the external threats and opportunities and the internal weaknesses and strengths (Abdelhak, Grostick Hanken, 2014). It also comprises of the strategic implementation of devising structures and allocation of resources to enact human resource management strategies of the hospital. Above all, the hospital should practice sustainable HR practices to achieve the goals and fill the gap in the functioning. Recommendations Concisely, there is a need for urgency to reshape the HR management with the establishment of HR department, HR manager, the various HR policies and practices and the strategic planning and management. The recruitment of HR manager and a HR department is the foremost thing that would manage the operation of human resource management at the hospital. The basis of a sustainable HR capacity provides an essential insight into the HR policies and procedures that are followed by the organization to support for the proper functioning in congruency with the employee as well as the employers relationship and fulfillment of the personal needs of the individual employee. HR policies basically offer guidelines and standing instructions regarding matters related to HR issues in conjunction with definite strategies and approaches that may be applied into actual practice. The policies are so improvised that they are in accordance with the values and defined principles of the organization. The attitudes and social responsibilities of the organization towards their employees are exhibited by virtue of the overall HR policy. The specific HR policies generally comprise a range of issues encompassing age and employment, discipline, bullying, diversity management, employee growth, voice and relations, employment relationships, scopes of equal opport unity, health and safety provision, grievances, incorporation of new technology, promotion, rewards, redundancy, substance abuse, sexual harassment and work life balance. Moreover prior to implementation, the HR policies should be verified whether they satisfy the legal competency standards to put into effective practice. Extensive and thorough communication and feedbacks from the managers, employees and the respective representatives culminates in successful formulation and implementation of HR policies (Armstrong Taylor, 2015). The utilization of the HR policies must be in line with the procedures that pave the way for the organizational functioning. Consistent and appropriate following of the HR procedures are the concerns of the line managers who work in coalition with the HR department to gain access to valuable information and necessary guidance to devise holistic strategies. Procedures for HR policies normally consider contexts linked to capability and disciplinary matters a long with other matters like grievances and redundancy. Personnel function and human resource management are intimately associated that account for the operational advantage and employee satisfaction concerning HR issues. Instead of problem solving and mediation roles, they are entrusted with the roles of strategizing and planning to ensure functioning of the competent workforce (Storey, 2014). Therefore, a sustainable HR capability will ensure that all these standards and guidelines are adequately taken care of in keeping with specific organizational beliefs and values. The roles of HR in an organization generally consist of certain vital functions including anticipation and driving of changes, possession of extreme professionalism and credibility, greater emphasis on behaviors rather than knowledge, self critical ability and harnessing of the care for the employees. The HR professionals are entrusted with the responsibilities of strategic management, health and safety, community and employee relations, design and analysis of work, HR policies and planning, HR information and systems, recruitment and selection, management of diversity an work life balance, learning and development as well as performance and management. Measurement and assessment of the HR issues related to international HR, employee services and compensation and reward management are among the other duties of the HR. The human and social outcomes within an organization are pivotal to the sustainability of the proposed HR capability. The stakeholders seem to be both positively and ne gatively impacted due to the human resource management linked o the applicability of the HR policies. Hence in view of this the promotion of social and environmental health is the basis of sustainable development of HR policy in an organization that impacts the working modality of the company (Kramar, 2014). These precondition normally the performance output. The socio-economic, regulatory and technological contexts are influenced and in turn affect the development of strategy and HRM policies and guidelines. The human resource, roles and responsibilities include evaluation, benefits, audit and data management in conjunction with industrial relations and legal considerations. Diversity, counseling and employee development in addition to compensation provided, organizational development, change management and strategic management are other criteria for the improvisation of a sustainable HR policy. An interdisciplinary approach comprising of the strategic positioners, credible activis ts, capacity builders, HR innovators and integrators along with technology proponents is desirable to the facilitation and implementation of the HR policies. Corporate social responsibility as well as the corporate social dependence indicates the success or failure of the HR policies that determine the functioning of an organization with respect to its intrinsic organizational policies and beliefs (Bratton Gold, 2012). The success of the strategy implementation is determined by virtue of certain attributes related to organizational structure, design of task, types of information and information systems, selection, training and development of employees and reward systems. Supervision of the effectiveness of the strategy and the implementation techniques and accurate identification of the problematic issues, review of the existing structures and policies and improvisation of alternative strategies are other requisites to a sustainable HR capacity. Further recognition and acknowledgem ent of the vital nature of human resources in gaining competitive advantage are other significant criteria that foster the sustainability of a HR capacity. The sustainability of the HR capacity may be interpreted by means of the capability approach and the careful analysis of the ecological dimension, responsibility and relationship between the individual and collective levels. Integration of all these variables account for strong sustainability. In view of this, reference can be made about the job analysis, job design and workflow design that are necessary to create a link between the strategic aims of the business and the job patterns (Pelenc et al., 2013). Job analysis ensures identification of the tasks accomplished and the knowledge, skills and abilities required to execute them. Moreover a thorough understanding about the job requirements allow pragmatic hiring decisions along with the evaluation of the performance of individual employee thereby fostering the training needs and career progression. Further addressing of the multiple stakeholders in managing innovation and environmental sustainability contribute towards a strategic human resource management (HRM) that is both utilitarian and sustainable (Jackson, Schuler Jiang, 2014). Conclusion The hospital is situated at multiple sites so there is a need for a large manpower. The hospital requires a HR department and a manager. The planning of efficient HR policies that would help the HR in the practicing of key functions like job analysis, recruitment of staffs, management of performances, the financial issues and management processes. The establishment of a sustainable HR capacity is instrumental to the functioning of an organization and the chief characteristics that define such set up include a number of committees such as the safety, health and environmental risk assessment surveillance committee, regulatory and legislative supervision committee, stakeholder relations committee and credit committees. Bidirectional and mutual relationships among the representatives of the operational units as well as the corporate departments congruent to the corporate relations add value to the organizational framework. Hence the human resource management comprising of features related to selection, recruitment, employment legislation, discipline, development, training, reward systems, productivity and motivations seem to impact the HR capacitys sustainability. References Abdelhak, M., Grostick, S., Hanken, M. A. (2014).Health information: management of a strategic resource. Elsevier Health Sciences. Armstrong, M., Taylor, S. (2014).Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Baluch, A. M., Salge, T. O., Piening, E. P. (2013). Untangling the relationship between HRM and hospital performance: the mediating role of attitudinal and behavioural HR outcomes.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,24(16), 3038-3061. Boella, M., Goss-Turner, S. (2013).Human resource management in the hospitality industry: A guide to best practice. Routledge. Bratton, J., Gold, J. (2012).Human resource management: theory and practice. Palgrave Macmillan. Jackson, S. E., Schuler, R. S., Jiang, K. (2014). An aspirational framework for strategic human resource management.The Academy of Management Annals,8(1), 1-56. Kramar, R. (2014). Beyond strategic human resource management: is sustainable human resource management the next approach?.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,25(8), 1069-1089. Pelenc, J., Lompo, M. K., Ballet, J., Dubois, J. L. (2013). Sustainable human development and the capability approach: Integrating environment, responsibility and collective agency.Journal of Human Development and Capabilities,14(1), 77-94. Stone, R. J. (2013).Managing human resources. John Wiley and Sons. Storey, J. (2014).New Perspectives on Human Resource Management (Routledge Revivals). Routledge. Townsend, K., Lawrence, S. A., Wilkinson, A. (2013). The role of hospitals' HRM in shaping clinical performance: a holistic approach.The International Journal of Human Resource Management,24(16), 3062-3085. Tyson, S. (2014).Essentials of human resource management. Routledge.

Capital Structure and Liquidity Analysis

Question: Discuss about the Capital Structure and Liquidity Analysis. Answer: Introduction This study aims to identify and analyze the liquidity positions and profitability of the two popular telecommunication companies in Malaysia. These companies are Axiata Group Berhad and Maxis. Both of these companies are listed under Bursa Malaysia. The study provides a systematic flow of discussion and analysis. After identifying the liquidity and profitability of the two companies separately based on the financial ratios, the study performs a comparison between the performances of the two companies. Brief overview of the companies: Axiata Group started its business in 1992. The mission of the company is providing better connectivity through innovative technology and within the affordable price range (Axiata.com, 2017). The vision statement of the company states that it wants to be the best telecommunication service provider in Asia. Currently, the company deals with three products or services mobile network, digital internet and network infrastructure (Axiata.com, 2017). Maxis incorporated its business in 1987 and initially it was named as Maxis Software. It is one of the most popular telecommunication companies in Malaysia as well as overall market in Asia (Maxis.my, 2017). The company deals with several products like, SimCity Series, Spore, The Sims series, and Darkspore. The mission statement states that Maxis aims to remain the best integrated telecommunication service provider in the nation (Maxis.my, 2017). On the other side, the vision of the company is bringing the future to its customers in a simple, enriching and personalized manner through high quality and innovative technology (Maxis.my, 2017). Explanation on liquidity and profitability ratios Liquidity and profitability are the best indicators of the financial performances of the companies. Liquidity shows the capacity of a company paying its short-term debts by utilizing its short-term assets (Dongare, Deshpande Muley, 2016). Maintaining the liquidity at a standard level is very important for every company because the decisions investors and other stakeholders highly depend on it. If the investors find low liquidity of a company, then they do not want to invest their money or fund in that company because there remains liquidity risk. The liquidity of a company can be identified by calculating two ratios like, current ratio and quick ratio (Meena Dhar, 2016). At the same time, the net working capital also indicates the liquidity of the company. The formulas for calculating these ratios and net working capital are shown below: Each of the above mentioned liquidity ratio is very useful for the companies. The current ratio, quick ratio and net working capital indicate the financial strength of the company in short-run. Considering the two ratios the management and the other stakeholders can easily understand the level of liquidity risk of a particular company (Sarkar, 2016). If the ratios are high, then it is considered that the liquidity risk is low and if the ratios are low, then the liquidity risk is high. At the same time, the current ratio of a company also indicates the efficiency of the company selling its products, which means, the current ratio indicates the efficiency of the company converting its inventories in to cash (Panigrahi Sharma, 2016). Apart from these, the current and quick ratios also show the efficient of management satisfying the creditors of the company. Profitability is another major indicator of the financial performance standard of a company. The profitability of a company can be measured by identifying or calculating different ratios like, gross profit ratio, net profit ratio, return on assets, return on equity and earnings per share (Halim, 2016). The formulas of these profitability ratios are shown below: The profitability ratios are also very useful for the companies while measuring their financial performances. Identifying return on assets, the management and other stakeholders can understand how much the company is efficient utilizing its assets for earning the revenue (Baba Abdul-Manaf, 2016). At the same time, the gross margin and net margin indicate the profit earning capacity of the company in a particular financial year. The earnings per share of the company are very important factor for the ordinary shareholders because it shows the earnings of the shareholders from their investment in the equity of the company (Dolewikou, Sumekar Setiadi, 2016). Therefore, the profitability must be identified for each company to identify its performance standard. Computation and interpretation of the liquidity and profitability ratios of Axiata Group Berhad In the above it has been identified liquidity and profitability ratios are the indicators of the financial performance of a company. Therefore, in order to identify the performance standard of Axiata Group Berhad, here, the liquidity and profitability ratios of the company are calculated. The liquidity and profitability ratios of Axiata Group Berhad are shown below: Liquidity ratios: 2015 2014 2013 Current ratio 0.78919307 0.78761005 1.14910624 Quick ratio 0.776772863 0.780077797 1.14129556 Net working capital -2,632,921 -2,242,624 1,198,950 (Source: Axiata.com, 2017) In the above table, the liquidity ratios of Axiata Group Berhad for 2013, 2014 and 2015 can be seen clearly. As per the liquidity ratios mentioned above, it can be said that liquidity position of the company has declined from 2013 to 2015. In the financial year 2013, the current ratio of the company was 1.15: 1 (approx), which declined to 0.78: 1 (approx) in 2015 (Axiata.com, 2017). However, it is also true that the current ratios of the company in these three years were not up to the industry standard. As per the industry standard, the current ratio of a company must be 2: 1 in the financial year. In none of these three years, Axiata Group Berhad has maintained the current ratio at 2: 1 level (Axiata.com, 2017). Similarly, the quick ratios of the company in 2014 and 2015 were also much lower than the required industry standard. As per the industry standard, the quick ratio of the company must be 1: 1, but in case of Axiata Group Berhad, the quick ratios were 1.14: 1 in 2013; 0.78: 1 in 2014 and 0.77: 1 in 2015 (Axiata.com, 2017). On the other side, if the net working capital of the company is considered for the analysis, then it can be said that the liquidity position of the company was in danger during 2014 and 2015 (Srinivasan, 2016). In 2014 and 2015, the net working capital was negative, which means, the current liabilities of the company were more than the current assets. Analyzing the liquidity ratios of Axiata Group Berhad for the three financial years, it can be said that the liquidity position of the company is not good. Moreover, it also indicates that if this situation is not improved, then the company may face more problems in the near future (Brierley, 2016). Profitability : 2015 2014 2013 Gross margin 20.63342094 18.49927989 22.2935031 Net margin 13.25759199 12.52907728 14.9071945 Return on Assets 4.69734358 4.772105249 6.29597791 Return on equity 10.24736724 10.39292108 12.8096165 EPS 29.5 27.6 29.9 (Source: Axiata.com, 2017) As per the above table, the profitability of Axiata Group Berhad has decreased in 2015 in comparison to 2013. The gross as well as net margin of the company has decreased, which means, the earnings of the company have also decreased. Decrease in the gross profit and net profit ratios indicate that the expense level of the company increased (Goldmann, 2017). This means, the company was not able to control its expense level properly. At the same time, the above table is also showing that the return on assets of the company has also decreased in 2015. Moreover, the decrease in the return on assets has happened continuously, which means, the capacity of the company to use its assets effectively has decreased gradually (Singh, Kumar Colombage, 2017). The same thing happened with return on equity of the company. The return on equity has also declined gradually from 2013 to 2014. However, the EPS of the company has fluctuated during these three financial years. In the year 2013, the EPS of the company was $29.9, which decreased to $27.6 in 2014 and again increased to $29.5 in 2015 (Axiata.com, 2017). This means, there was clear fluctuation in the EPS of the company. Therefore, by analyzing the overall profitability ratios of Axiata Group Berhad, it can be said that the management of the company requires improving its profitability position immediately. If the company fails to do this, then, in future, the company may lose the trust of the stakeholders, which will ultimately reduce the scope for the company attracting more investment (Damar, Farouk Winarto, 2016). Computation and interpretation of the liquidity and profitability ratios of Maxis Like Axiata Group Berhad, the liquidity and profitability situations of Maxis can be measured by identifying its liquidity and profitability ratios of the company. The liquidity and profitability ratios of Maxis are shown in the below tables: Liquidity ratios: 2013 2014 2015 Current ratio 0.50599272 0.61629839 0.57594295 Quick ratio 0.48675106 0.61332462 0.57323591 Net working capital -1,808,286 -1,605,119 -2,075,138 (Source: Maxis.my, 2017) The above table is indicating the liquidity position of Maxis during 2013, 2014 and 2015. All of the three liquidity ratios of the company during these three years were fluctuating and at the same time, it is also true that the liquidity ratios of the company have increased a bit in 2015 (Maxis.my, 2017). As per the above table, it can be said that the liquidity position of the company was very weak in these three financial years. The current ratios of the company were very low, although the ratio has increased from 2013 to 2015 (Maxis.my, 2017). However, the percentage of the current ratio that has increased from 2013 to 2015 was not so high. In these three years, the current ratio of the company was in between 0.50: 1 to 0.61: 1, which means the company has not achieved the industry standard. The same thing can be noticed in case of quick ratios also. The quick ratios of the company have increased, but the level of the quick ratios of the company in these three years was much lower than the industry standard (Maxis.my, 2017). At the same time, the net working capital of the company was negative in all of these three financial years. Therefore, from the overall analysis of the liquidity position of Maxis, it can be said that the company was in danger (Vintil? Alexandra Nenu, 2016). The ability of the company paying its short term liabilities by its current assets was very low, which can de-motivate the investors and other stakeholders of the company. Hence, improving the current liquidity position of the company is very important for Maxis. Profitability : 2013 2014 2015 Gross margin 65.9938981 67.7300548 68.2841364 Net margin 19.5086616 20.5617642 20.3136582 Return on Assets 10.2267596 9.52435856 9.20250757 Return on equity 29.4550307 36.4058427 41.3951991 EPS 23.53 22.88 23.16 (Source: Maxis.my, 2017) As per the above table, the profitability of the company has been improved during 2013 to 2015. The gross profit ratio and net profit ratio of the company have gradually increased from 2013 to 2015 (Maxis.my, 2017). This means, the ability of the company to enhance its profit level has been improved in 2015. The return on equity of the company has also increased and in 2015, the return on equity was much high. However, the return on assets of the company has disappointed the company. The return on assets has declined, which indicates that the companys capacity of using its assets effectively has decreased (Dafi.ase.ro, 2017). This is not a good sign for the future of the company. However, as the overall profitability ratio has increased, it can be stated that the company will be able to enhance the percentage of return on assets. As the company has also maintained the EPS, it can be said that the shareholders of the company were satisfied in these years. However, the company requires maintaining its profitability standard in the coming future because the level of competition in the market is increasing day-by-day (Damar, Farouk Winarto, 2016). The company must try to maintain the low cost level and enhance the efficiency standard of each employee. Comparing the financial performances of Axiata and Maxis based on liquidity and profitability ratios In the above discussion and analysis, the financial performances of Axiata Group Berhad and Maxis have been identified. If the comparison is made between the financial performances of these two companies in the same sector, then it can be said that the liquidity position of Axiata Group Berhad was better than the liquidity position of Maxis. This is because if the above tables of the liquidity ratios of the two companies are considered, then it can be identified that the current ratios and quick ratios of Axiata Group Berhad were much higher than the current and quick ratios of Maxis. This indicates that the Axiata Group Berhad is more capable of paying out its current liabilities by using its current assets (Vintil? Alexandra Nenu, 2016). However, there is a similarity between the liquidity positions of the two companies and that is the liquidity of both the companies is much lower than the industry standard. As mentioned above, the industry standard for the current ratio of a company is 2: 1 and the industry standard for the quick ratio of a company is 1: 1. However, none of the two companies achieved the industry standard during the time span of 2013 to 2015. The dissimilarity between the liquidity positions of these two companies is that in case of Axiata Group Berhad, the liquidity position (Considering only the current ratio and quick ratio) of the company has declined, but in case of Maxis, the liquidity position in improved. On the other side, if the net working capitals of the companies are considered, then it can be said that the Axiata Group Berhad has improved its net working capital, but Maxiss net working capital position has declined. If the comparison is made based on the profitability ratios of the two companies, then it can be said that the performance of Maxis was better than the performance of Axiata Group Berhad. In case of Axiata Group Berhad, the gross and net margins of the company were much low. Moreover, the gross margin and net margin of the company was in declining trend, whereas in case of Maxis, the gross profit ratio and the net profit ratio of the company were improved and these were in increasing trend. Therefore, it can be said that the major difference between the profitability of the two companies was in the trend of the gross margin and net margin. Similarly, there was also difference between the return on equity of the two companies. In case of Axiata Group Berhad, the return on equity has declined from 2013 to 2015, but in case of Maxis, the return on equity has increased. However, there are also some similarities and those are the return on assets in both the companies has declined during 2013 to 2015. At the same time, the EPS of the companies increased from 2013 to 2015 in both of the companies. Therefore, from the above comparison between the liquidity as well as profitability positions of the two companies in Malaysian Telecommunication industry, it can be said that in case of liquidity, the Axiata Group Berhad has performed well than Maxis; but in case of profitability, Maxis has performed well than Axiata Group Berhad. However, it is true and the liquidity positions of both of the two companies are in danger. The low standard of liquidity may be the major barrier for the business development of the company in future (Srinivasan, 2016). Due to the low liquidity and negative net working capital, the companies may face the risk of bankruptcy. Along with that, the company will also miss the opportunities for future growth, which will be he huge loss for both the companies (Guimaraes Nossa, 2010). There are few factors that have affected the liquidity positions of these two companies and that are i) high interest rates in the market. Due to the high rates of interests, the current liability of the companies has increased, which caused low liquidity ratios and negative net working capital (Goldmann, 2017). ii) The low monetary value of the assets has also influenced the liquidity positions of the two companies. Due to the low monetary value of the assets, the capacity of the company to pay its current liabilities by its current assets has declined (Sarkar, 2016). The companies can improve the scenario or the liquidities positions by increasing the current assets proportion. At the same time, the companies have to control its cost level in order to maintain the profitability (Brierley, 2016). In order to control the overall costs, the companies can reduce their overhead costs. At the same time, the management of the companies can also identify the assets, which are unproductive and can remove those assets from the business operations (Guimaraes Nossa, 2010). On the other side, the companies also require enhancing the efficiency level of their employees, so that they can utilize the assets and the equity properly and can increase the overall earnings of the companies. This study has indicated that Axiata Group Berhad and Maxis are the most popular companies in the telecommunication industry in Malaysia. The businesses of the two companies are also expanded in the other countries in Asia. In the study, it has been identified that the liquidity positions of these two companies during 2013 to 2015 were at low standard. 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