BSC (Hons) Social Work. Cross-Cultural Perspectives on society Essay

BSC (Hons) Social Work. Cross-Cultural Perspectives on society - Essay Example use practitioners and clients no longer speak the same language nor do they share similar/comparable cultural references and worldviews (Hawkins, Fook and Ryan, 2001). From an ethical perspective, multiculturalism has made negotiations through the ethical minefields of social work all the more treacherous. Suffice to say, as Bisman (2004) points out, the contemporary British social worker can no longer be guided by the ethical guidelines which inform professional British social work but needs to adopt a more universal, a-cultural ethical approach which acknowledges and respects the ethnic/cultural ethics of clients. From the theoretical perspective, this means that not only is a more multicultural professional ethics guideline required but that interventions strategies which address the challenges posed by the increasingly cross-cultural nature of the practice need to be developed (Walker, 2001; Scourfield, 2002). Not only has multiculturalism complicated the work of the British social worker from all of the theoretical, ethical and cultural perspectives, but contemporary social worker can find him/herself in a position wherein legal restrictions and regulations clash with professional duties and obligations. Given that since 1998 population and demographic changes across Britain were a direct result of the inflow of refugees and asylum seekers (Rees and Boden, 2006), social workers often find themselves in a situation wherein both their professional ethics and training dictate the imperatives of their extending help to members of this group while the law effectively constrains their ability to do so. In other words, considering that likelihood of the British social worker’s having, not only to counsel and help an ethnically diverse clientele but both refugees and asylum seekers as well, the chances of coming into contact with illegal immigrants who, despite their status are in dire ne ed of help, are high. As I discovered through personal professional

Develop a public relations campaign Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Develop a public relations campaign - Article Example This paper will outline Riordan's PR campaign including its defined target audience, an overview of public relations issues, and implications of ethical issues. In addition, Riordan has implemented a marketing research plan and sought to align its marketing and public relation strategies The Riordan staff consists of 550 people and the company seeks to become a leader in embracing diversity in the workplace. Riordan has conducted research and believes that a strong business case exists for the employment of a diverse workforce. Effectively adopting and practicing diversity policies will benefit the company image, create greater attraction to potential employees, and reduce employment costs through improved retention in the workplace. A website reviewed by Riordan staff (www.embracingdiversity.org) states that, "A diverse team is a team in which every member of staff regardless of their age, gender, race, religion, disability, sexual orientation and regardless of how they operate, or what they look like are valued as an individual and not as a member of a group." Adopting guidelines is the easy portion of the task, with approximately 550 employees, implementing a company wide diversity initiative and gaining acceptance will prove to be difficult tasks. Riordan will have to place resources behind this initiative including Public Relations professional, support staff, and a measurement system. Currently Riordan's tracking and financial systems are not merged, meaning each facility operates independently and there is a very manual process to creating reports and accessing company information. This issue will need to be resolved and can be as a new software operating system has been identified but not approved for purchase. The diversity implementation can be used as further justification for the software. Additionally, Riordan has four manufacturing facilities with one located in China and the other three located in various regions in the United States. Specific Public Relations strategies and tools must be used to ensure a seamless diversity integration process. Target Audience Riordan Manufacturing strives to be a solution provider for its customers and not be a part of its customers' challenges. The company will maintain an innovative and team oriented working environment. By assuring that its employees are well informed and properly supported, it will provide a climate focused on the long-term viability of the company. Riordan must be focused in

Foreign Capital Essay Example for Free

Foreign Capital Essay Foreign capital: The capital available to any country other than the domestic capital in order to finance any domestic purpose is called foreign capital. Need for Foreign Capital 1.Capital investment requirements – Since underdeveloped countries want to industrialize themselves within a short period of time, it becomes necessary to increase capital investment substantially. This requires a high level of savings. However, because of general poverty, the savings are very low. This creates a resource gap between investment needs and savings. This gap has to be filled through foreign capital. 2. Technology transfers – The under developed countries have lower technological capacity as compared to advanced countries. The desire for industrialization creates the need for importing technology from advanced countries. Such technology transfer usually comes with foreign capital in the form of private foreign investment or foreign collaboration. The technological gap is reduced by training domestic personnel and through establishment of educational, research or training institutes. 3. Exploitation of natural resources – A number of underdeveloped countries possess huge mineral resources, which can be exploited for economic development. These countries do not possess the required technical skill and expertise to accomplish this task. As a consequence, they have to depend upon foreign capital to undertake the exploitation of their mineral wealth. 4. Development of entrepreneurship – Many under developed countries suffer from shortage of private entrepreneurs. This creates a limitation in the process of industrialization. Foreign capital undertakes the risk of investment in host countries and thus provides the much-needed impetus to the process of industrialization. Once the process of industrialization gets started with foreign capital, domestic industrial activity also increases through greater local participation. This automatically develops local entrepreneurship. 5. Development of economic infrastructure – The domestic capital in under developed countries is inadequate to build the required level of economic  infra structure. Thus these countries require the assistance of foreign capital to undertake this task. Over the last 50 years, international financial institutions and governments of advanced countries have made substantial capital available to the under developed countries to develop their economic infrastructure in the form of transport and communications systems, generation and distribution of electricity, development of irrigation facilities, etc. The basic intention is to build an economic model for achieving sustainable development. 6. Financing balance of payments deficit – In the initial phase of economic development, under developed countries face larger imports (in the form of machinery, capital goods, industrial raw materials, spares and components), than exports. The deficit in the balance of trade is financed by inflow of foreign capital. The economic development of an underdeveloped country therefore needs foreign capital to initiate its economic development process and sustain it till desired level of stability is reached

Nursing interventions and preventative management in skeletal traction

Nursing interventions and preventative management in skeletal traction Discussion Output 1. List nursing interventions and preventative management related to skeletal traction. Skeletal traction is done is used for treatment for fractures, muscle spasms and immobility due septic joints. In taking care of a patient with skeletal traction assessing should always be done in order to prevent further complications. In assessing the patient, assess for signs edema, skin color, temperature, irritation, abnormal positioning, swelling, hemorrhage, muscle spasms, pain and discomfort, vital signs, fluid balance, urine output and most importantly the safety of the patient. Along with these are, providing emergency care is required (prevention of shock, respiratory care), providing care with the patients cast observing for the signs of circulatory impairment, providing care with the traction checking the weights if hanging freely, providing respiratory exercises to prevent any lung complications, encouraging increase fluid intake, and providing appropriate skin care to prevent pressure sores. 2. Discuss a component of cast care for the pediatric client or adult client. Identify manifestations of compartment syndrome. In taking care of patient with cast, always remember to keep the cast clean and dry. Always check and assess if the cast is attach appropriately, not to tight or loose. If the patient will take a bath, cover the cast with a plastic bag or wrap to prevent water on the cast. But having with cast, it is advisable to avoid showers and better yet use the bathtub and hand the part with cast outside the tub while bathing. Air and water are prevented to get under the cast for this may cause complications like skin breakdown if not prevented. Along with putting of cast, sweating cant be prevented to accumulate under the cast. If any strong odor comes from the cast, it is better to report immediately to the doctor to do the appropriate actions for this. In lieu to patients mobility, crutches are needed to help patient in walking, but be sure to help patient and remove any hazards that can harm patients safety. In terms of manifestations of compartment syndrome, severe pain that dont go away ev en medications are given is the hallmark manifestation of this. Also it comes along with decreased sensation, weakness, paleness of skin and numbness or paralysis. 3. Compare the nursing needs of a total hip replacement patient with those of a total knee replacement patient. Patients who had undergone total hip replacement and total knee replacement has common nursing needs along with these are: relieving the pain of the injured part, monitoring for the vital signs, wound drainage, swelling, edema, pain/discomfort, hemorrhage, and preventing infection. The main difference is that, for the total hip replacement patient, the nurse prevents the patient from having deep vein thrombosis, and dislocation of prosthesis, meaning the nursing needs of the patient are more on preventing infection and dislocation of the hips. In total knee replacement, the nursing care needed are to prevent patient from having peroneal nerve palsy, using the Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) for the physical therapy of the patient, meaning the nursing care needs of the total knee replacement are more on the physical therapy needs of the patient in order to gain better mobilization to the patient. 4. Discuss methods to avoid dislocation after hip replacement surgery. In preventing dislocation after hip replacement surgery the three main cardinal rules are dont cross your legs, dont bend your legs beyond 90 degress and dont turn affected foot inward or internally rote the hips. These cardinal signs should be followed for the first six weeks after the surgery. Crossing the legs can be cause of compromising blood circulation in the lower extremities. Dislocation will be possible if you cross leg and hip in affected part, but dislocation will not result if crossing leg on the strong leg over the operated part. Turning the operated leg inward can cause possible dislocation due to affected leg will turn internally rotate the hip that will cause the head to jump out of the socket. 5. You are caring for a patient who has had skeletal traction placed to treat a fractures femur. Discuss nursing interventions and assessment techniques related to this type of treatment. In caring patient with skeletal traction in treating fracture femur, assessing and monitoring the patient every now and then is very important to prevent any complications. Monitor for any signs of skin abnormalities edema, color, temperature, irritation, swelling, hemorrhage; muscle spasms, pain and discomfort, vital signs, fluid balance and the safety of the patient. Safety of the patient is really important in taking good care of this kind of patient, along with this thing providing emergency care is required to prevent shock and respiratory care. The cast of the past should also be observed for any signs of circulatory impairment. For the traction, check the weights if hanging freely. Encourage the patient to follow diet high protein, high vitamin, high calcium and to increase intake of fluids. Provide proper skin care to prevent any pressure sores and instruct client to any fracture-related issues that can help him/her to have knowledge upon his/her condition. 6. A patient is being discharged with an external fixator for a fractured humerus. Discuss home care instructions for this patient. For home care management of patient with external fixator, checking the fixator is the very important thing to do. Check if there are loose pins, loose nuts on frame, and pain at the fracture site. Cleaning the frame should be twice a week, dampened cloth with alcohol or water can be used to wipe off the frame. Monitoring temperature should be done daily, cause increase temperature may be a sign of infection to the affected site. As the same with the frames, pin sites should also be cleaned once or twice a day to prevent infection. 7. Identify various types of traction and the principles of effective traction. Various types of tractions includes: Skin traction put up by means of adhesive tape or strapping that is applied to the limb; Skeletal traction put up by means of directly upon the bones by means of pins, wires; Bryants traction is a kind of traction used for treatment of fractured femur or correction of hip dislocation; Bucks traction kind of traction which a pull is exerted on the lower extremities in order to align it to treat contractures and diseases of hip and knee; Dunlops traction a mechanism that helps in treating immobilize upper arm due to fracture or contracture of the elbow; Russells traction unilateral or bilateral mechanism that helps in immobilizing, and to aligning lower extremities due to femur, hip, knee contractures and other orthopedic diseases in hip and knee. In order to have effective traction, as a health care provider, you should make sure to position the patient properly with a correct body alignment in the center of the bed to have a good maintenance of the pull. Ropes and weights should be observed and checked regularly to make sure it moving freely on the pulley. The rope knots should be maintained in a right position in order to prevent it from touching the pulley. And lastly, the comfort of the patient should be maintained, and making sure he/she is comfortable in his/her position to avoid any further complications. 8. Discuss the use of Bucks traction, its uses and the involved nursing considerations. Bucks traction is a form of skin traction to the lower extremity specifically the lower limb to provide straight pull through single pulley that is attached to a crossbar at the foot of the bed. It is a short-term measure in treatment for hip dislocations, hip and knee contractures and reduction of back pain. In terms of nursing considerations, the main goal is to provide patients comfort, positioning the patients bed not to high to prevent any discomfort. Checking the alignment of the leg is also a must, it should be in a straight line of pull to maintain the attachment of the bar to the pulley. Part of it, the bandage wrapping should be checked if it attached properly. 9. Discuss the nursing care for a patient undergoing orthopedic surgery. In caring for patient undergoing orthopedic surgery, the main goal is to restore motion, stabilize and relieve pain and disability. For the preoperative care, the nursing care to be done is to assess for the hydration status of the patient. It is important for the patient to have adequate hydration in order to decrease the blood viscosity and venous stasis and also it ensure adequate urine flow. In checking the hydration status of the patient, the skin and mucous membranes, along with the vital signs, laboratory status and urine output are assessed and monitored. More on, the nurse also has the responsibility in helping the patient to relieve his/her discomfort. Relieving pain can be decreased in immobilizing of the fractured bone/joint. It is really important to control the pain of the patient in order to accomplish other nursing care like improving the mobility of the patient. For the postoperative care, it is important to assess and monitor the vital signs, pain/discomfort, wound drainage, level of consciousness, and fluid balance of the patient, in order to prevent any complications. Web Assignment In a patient that has applied cast, the first and most important thing to do is to assess the patients overall health condition, in assessing the patient, start by monitoring for the vital signs and pain/discomfort of the patient; numbness, tingling sensation, and irritation on the injured body part in order to prevent any further complications. Commonly, mild swelling on the injured area is common during the first few days. In caring for this, you can teach the patient or his/her relatives to keep the cast above the level of the heart for about 24-48 hours. This management can help in reducing the swelling, by doing this the injured part can be rested on pillows to maintain this level. Also, putting ice packs can help swelling down. Ice packs can be covered with thin towel to the cast and apply it for about 20 minutes every two hours. Pain relievers prescribed by the physician can also be taken like ibuprofen or acetaminophen. For the cast care, it is important to keep the cast clean and dry. It is advisable to avoid taking showers and better yet use the bathtub and hand the part with cast outside the tub while bathing. One way also is to cover the injured part with plastic bag or wrap to prevent the water on the cast. Also, check the cast if it is attach properly, make sure it is not too tight or loose. These measurements are important because of the reason that air and water if get under the cast may cause complications like skin breakdown if not prevented. Prevent dirt, or sand to get under the cast, to prevent any inflammation due to irritation within the cast. When having a cast, sweating cant be prevented to accumulate under the cast, it is proper to monitor if the cast has strong odor. Monitoring the patients cast is a must to prevent any complications. More on, if the patient experiences these: foul odor from the cast, along with cracks or breaks, loose or tight cast; swelling, tingling or numbness, discoloration, and severe pain from the injured part it is proper to report immediately to the attending physician to avoid worse situation and to do proper measures to treat the following abnormalities.

The Use of Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthornes, The House of the Seven G

The Use of Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The House of the Seven Gables In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The House of the Seven Gables, the present is haunted by events of the past; the past actually becomes a curse upon present individuals in this narrative, because it influences their lives. Through the symbols, the actual House of the Seven Gables and the portrait of Colonel Pyncheon, Nathaniel Hawthorne provides sufficient detail to prove his theme - past events, frequently influence the lives of present individuals. The transformed characters, in the end, abandon the symbols of ages long past and effectively abandon the curse of the past in their lives. The actual House of the Seven Gables symbolizes the weight of the past, firstly because the house is actually cursed by an ancient plebeian accused of witchcraft. From the very beginning, neighbors say Colonel Pyncheon builds the house "on an unquite grave" and it indeed has a "bad air" (14). The Colonel constructs his house upon the very spot of the small hut of Matthew Maule, the one accused of sorcery; actively contributing to the ruin of the wizard, the society in which the Colonel lives regards him as less than impeccable. Maule addresses Colonel Pyncheon as he dies on the scaffold to iterate the curse that would haunt his lineage for generations: "God. . . God will give him blood to drink!" (14). The house becomes a symbol of the curse, and the Colonel, by building where he did, seems to give Maule "the privilege to haunt . . . the chambers into which future bridegrooms were to lead their brides, and where future children of the Pyncheon blood were to be born" (14). The curse o f the past affects all members of the present Pyncheon household, and the Maules keep th... ...s to rest. The present Pyncheons and Maules quit the house and the portrait to take up residence in the country home of Judge Pyncheon, thus signifying an escape from the bondage of the past. The house, with its reminiscent decorations, architecture, memories, and dreams is put behind the present Pyncheons along with the portrait of the "evil genius" of the family that suggests secret wealth and his eternal presence (101). The good Pyncheons abandon the embodiment of the past that has curse their lives for so long; they leave the past for life in the present, and this abandonment proposes new life, prosperity, and future, things unthinkable under the influence of the embodied past which is the curse of the House of the Seven Gables and of the Portrait of Colonel Pyncheon. Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The House of Seven Gables. New York: Penguin, 1961. The Use of Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The House of the Seven G The Use of Symbolism in Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The House of the Seven Gables In Nathaniel Hawthorne's, The House of the Seven Gables, the present is haunted by events of the past; the past actually becomes a curse upon present individuals in this narrative, because it influences their lives. Through the symbols, the actual House of the Seven Gables and the portrait of Colonel Pyncheon, Nathaniel Hawthorne provides sufficient detail to prove his theme - past events, frequently influence the lives of present individuals. The transformed characters, in the end, abandon the symbols of ages long past and effectively abandon the curse of the past in their lives. The actual House of the Seven Gables symbolizes the weight of the past, firstly because the house is actually cursed by an ancient plebeian accused of witchcraft. From the very beginning, neighbors say Colonel Pyncheon builds the house "on an unquite grave" and it indeed has a "bad air" (14). The Colonel constructs his house upon the very spot of the small hut of Matthew Maule, the one accused of sorcery; actively contributing to the ruin of the wizard, the society in which the Colonel lives regards him as less than impeccable. Maule addresses Colonel Pyncheon as he dies on the scaffold to iterate the curse that would haunt his lineage for generations: "God. . . God will give him blood to drink!" (14). The house becomes a symbol of the curse, and the Colonel, by building where he did, seems to give Maule "the privilege to haunt . . . the chambers into which future bridegrooms were to lead their brides, and where future children of the Pyncheon blood were to be born" (14). The curse o f the past affects all members of the present Pyncheon household, and the Maules keep th... ...s to rest. The present Pyncheons and Maules quit the house and the portrait to take up residence in the country home of Judge Pyncheon, thus signifying an escape from the bondage of the past. The house, with its reminiscent decorations, architecture, memories, and dreams is put behind the present Pyncheons along with the portrait of the "evil genius" of the family that suggests secret wealth and his eternal presence (101). The good Pyncheons abandon the embodiment of the past that has curse their lives for so long; they leave the past for life in the present, and this abandonment proposes new life, prosperity, and future, things unthinkable under the influence of the embodied past which is the curse of the House of the Seven Gables and of the Portrait of Colonel Pyncheon. Works Cited Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The House of Seven Gables. New York: Penguin, 1961.

Ancient Advances In Mathematics :: essays research papers fc

Ancient Advances in Mathematics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ancient knowledge of the sciences was often wrong and wholly unsatisfactory by modern standards. However not all of the knowledge of the more learned peoples of the past was false. In fact without people like Euclid or Plato we may not have been as advanced in this age as we are. Mathematics is an adventure in ideas. Within the history of mathematics, one finds the ideas and lives of some of the most brilliant people in the history of mankind's' populace upon Earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First man created a number system of base 10. Certainly, it is not just coincidence that man just so happens to have ten fingers or ten toes, for when our primitive ancestors first discovered the need to count they definitely would have used their fingers to help them along just like a child today. When primitive man learned to count up to ten he somehow differentiated himself from other animals. As an object of a higher thinking, man invented ten number- sounds. The needs and possessions of primitive man were not many. When the need to count over ten aroused, he simply combined the number-sounds related with his fingers. So, if he wished to define one more than ten, he simply said one-ten. Thus our word eleven is simply a modern form of the Teutonic ein-lifon. Since those first sounds were created, man has only added five new basic number-sounds to the ten primary ones. They are â€Å"hundred,† â€Å"thousand,† â€Å" million,† â€Å"billion† (a thousand millions in America, a million millions in England), â€Å"trillion† (a million millions in America, a million-million millions in England). Because primitive man invented the same number of number-sounds as he had fingers, our number system is a decimal one, or a scale based on ten, consisting of limitless repetitions of the first ten number sounds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Undoubtedly, if nature had given man thirteen fingers instead of ten, our number system would be much changed. For instance, with a base thirteen number system we would call fifteen, two-thirteen's. While some intelligent and well-schooled scholars might argue whether or not base ten is the most adequate number system, base ten is the irreversible favorite among all the nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of course, primitive man most certainly did not realize the concept of the number system he had just created. Man simply used the number-sounds loosely as adjectives. So an amount of ten fish was ten fish, whereas ten is an adjective describing the noun fish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Soon the need to keep tally on one's counting raised. The simple solution was to make a vertical mark. Thus, on many caves we see a number of Ancient Advances In Mathematics :: essays research papers fc Ancient Advances in Mathematics   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ancient knowledge of the sciences was often wrong and wholly unsatisfactory by modern standards. However not all of the knowledge of the more learned peoples of the past was false. In fact without people like Euclid or Plato we may not have been as advanced in this age as we are. Mathematics is an adventure in ideas. Within the history of mathematics, one finds the ideas and lives of some of the most brilliant people in the history of mankind's' populace upon Earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First man created a number system of base 10. Certainly, it is not just coincidence that man just so happens to have ten fingers or ten toes, for when our primitive ancestors first discovered the need to count they definitely would have used their fingers to help them along just like a child today. When primitive man learned to count up to ten he somehow differentiated himself from other animals. As an object of a higher thinking, man invented ten number- sounds. The needs and possessions of primitive man were not many. When the need to count over ten aroused, he simply combined the number-sounds related with his fingers. So, if he wished to define one more than ten, he simply said one-ten. Thus our word eleven is simply a modern form of the Teutonic ein-lifon. Since those first sounds were created, man has only added five new basic number-sounds to the ten primary ones. They are â€Å"hundred,† â€Å"thousand,† â€Å" million,† â€Å"billion† (a thousand millions in America, a million millions in England), â€Å"trillion† (a million millions in America, a million-million millions in England). Because primitive man invented the same number of number-sounds as he had fingers, our number system is a decimal one, or a scale based on ten, consisting of limitless repetitions of the first ten number sounds.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Undoubtedly, if nature had given man thirteen fingers instead of ten, our number system would be much changed. For instance, with a base thirteen number system we would call fifteen, two-thirteen's. While some intelligent and well-schooled scholars might argue whether or not base ten is the most adequate number system, base ten is the irreversible favorite among all the nations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Of course, primitive man most certainly did not realize the concept of the number system he had just created. Man simply used the number-sounds loosely as adjectives. So an amount of ten fish was ten fish, whereas ten is an adjective describing the noun fish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Soon the need to keep tally on one's counting raised. The simple solution was to make a vertical mark. Thus, on many caves we see a number of

Financial Ratios: TESCO and J. Sainsbury Essay

1. Introduction The purpose of this report is to conduct a comparative ratio analysis of the financial statements of J. Sainsbury PLC and Tesco PLC for the year-ending 2013. The financial information that is provided from each company’s annual report and the comparison between them will help possible users of this analysis to understand not only the differences between these two companies but also each company’s weaknesses and strengths. Below, the profiles of the two companies will be referred as well as eight accounting ratios for each company will be presented in order to have the appropriate financial information to analyse. Furthermore, the possible users of this analysis will be identified and all their differing information requirements will be mentioned. Finally, there will be provided a short discussion on the importance of supplementing financial analysis with non-financial considerations and a general conclusion will be made which will contain a summary of the main findings of this report. 1 .1 Tesco’s PLC profile Tesco PLC (Public Limited Company) is a food retail company which operates in nine markets with 923 stores across the world. It employs more over 240,000 people which sell its products giving access to 260 million people (Tesco PLC., 2014). Over the past five years, Tesco has expanded from the UK’s supermarkets into new countries with new products and services including a major non-food business. More specifically, the company has started to sell electrical devices, internet shopping, toys, sports equipment, home entertainment, home shop, cook shop and furniture. Also it provides financial services in cooperation with Royal Bank of Scotland serving 3.4  million customers which reveals the company’s intentions to expand in new markets. 1.2 J. Sainsbury’s Profile Sainsbury PLC is engaged in grocery and related retailing. The company’s activities are organised into three segments which are retailing (supermarkets and convenience), financial services (Sainsbury’s Bank), and Property investments (The British Land Company PLC and Land Securities PLC) (Reuters, 2014). The Company employs around 150,000 people and it operates over 1,000 stores acquiring 572 supermarkets and 440 convenience stores. The Company also acquires an online entertainment company, Global Media Vault Limited and HMV Group plc’s holding in Anobii Limited, a social network and online retailer of e-books. 2. Financial-accounting information and ratios According to Roger Hussey (Hussey, 1999), the financial accounting information is primarily concerned with communicating a ‘true and fair view’ of the financial performance and financial position of an entity to external parties in accordance with established principles, legal requirements and accounting standards. The general purpose of financial statements is to provide information that is useful to a wide range of users for making economic decisions and assessing the organizational management (IFRS, 2014). Accounting ratios are related with this information and their purpose is to describe a quantitative relationship between two values permitting the comparison of company’s performance with the previous years, competitors and with the industry benchmarks. Below, profitability, liquidity, working capital control and financial risk ratios will be presented and compared for the two companies providing the appropriate financial information. 2.1 Profitability and efficiency ratios The main objective of a financial statement analysis is to value a firm’s equity securities which mean that the firm has to ensure its profitability for the future (Mackenzie et al., 2013). Profitability and efficiency ratios are used by financial information users in order to assess the firm’s operating performance. They provide information about how much profit the firm makes in relation with its sales and how efficiently the business is using its assets to generate revenue. 2.1.3 Return on capital employed (ROCE) is a financial ratio that measures the percentage return on the total funds employed in the business and shows how effective management is in generating revenue and controlling costs. TESCO plc has slightly a bigger ROCE percentage than its comparable company J. Sainsbury which fact for some people would be irrelevant but if it will be examined in depth it can be comprehended that TESCO company has a better management because it uses more efficiently its capital. 2.1.3 Asset turnover ratio TESCO GROUP Asset turnover ratio  £m Sales revenue 64,826 Capital employed 22,550 Asset turnover (%) 287,47 % J. Sainsbury Asset turnover ratio  £m Sales revenue 23,303 Capital employed 9,580 Asset turnover (%) 243,24% Asset (or capital) turnover ratio measures how many times the capital employed was turned over during the year to achieve the revenue which fact indicates the efficiency of the company’s deployment of its assets. The above tables show that even though the two companies surpass the rank of one hundred percent which means that their capital employed was turned over at least one time during 2013, TESCO exceeds J. Sainsbury for 44, 23 %. This fact demonstrate that TESCO deploys almost a half time more efficiently its assets than J. Sainsbury and in accounting terms it is explained as 2.87 dollars were generated per dollar of assets 2.2 Liquidity and working capital control 2.2.1 Current ratio TESCO GROUP Current ratio  £m Current assets 13,096 Current liabilities 5,889 Current Ratio x:1 2.22:1 J. Sainsbury Current ratio  £m Current assets 1,914 Current liabilities 3,115 Current Ratio x:1 0.61:1 Current ratio is a liquidity ratio that measures the ability of the company to meet its short-term obligations (liabilities) such as debt and payables with its short-term assets such as cash, receivables and inventory. TESCO’s current ratio is estimated to 2.22:1 and it absolutely does not seem to have any liquidity problem in the business in contrast to J. Sainsbury company which current ratio is estimated to 0.61:1. More specifically, these numbers show that TESCO had 2.22 dollars of current assets for each dollar of current liabilities and J. Sainsbury had 0.61 dollars of current assets for every dollar of current liabilities. These results reveal a liquidity problem that J. Sainsbury has which means that the firm can not pay its short term obligations properly. However this does not necessarily mean that the company will be a bankrupt in the near future if it will not pay its short-term liabilities for some small period of time but it is definitely a bad sign of not good f inancial health and it is required from the company to access more financing sources in order to overcome this problem. 2.2.2 Quick ratio TESCO GROUP Quick ratio  £m Current assets 13,096 Inventories (3,744) Current liabilities 5,889 Current Ratio x:1 1.58:1 J. Sainsbury Quick ratio  £m Current assets 1,914 Inventories (987) Current liabilities 3,115 Current Ratio x:1 0.29:1 Quick ratio is an another liquidity ratio and it is very similar to current ratio but the difference from these two ratios is that quick ratio is more conservative because it shows the relationship between liquid assets (from which the inventory is excluded) and current liabilities in contrast to the other ratio. The results are almost the same except the ratio numbers. TESCO has 1.58 dollars of liquid assets available per one dollar of current liabilities and J. Sainsbury has 0.29 of liquid assets for each dollar of current liabilities. The problem for J. Sainsbury remains the same as the company has a bad finance health because it cannot meet properly its short -term obligations. 2.2.3 Inventory Turnover and holding ratio TESCO GROUP Inventory Turnover ratio  £m Cost of sales 60,737 Inventories 3,744 Inventory Turnover ratio 16.22 J. Sainsbury Inventory Turnover ratio  £m Cost of sales 22,026 Inventories 987 Inventory Turnover ratio 22.31 Inventory turnover ratio measures the times that an inventory was sold and replaced over a specific period of time. A low turnover ratio indicates low sales and simultaneously an excess in the inventory of the company which can lead to liquidity problems. On the other hand, a high turnover shows that the firm either has good sales or it implies ineffective buying of its products which mean that the company buys small quantities of product very frequently for a higher price than this that it would get if it would buying bigger quantities leading to a shortage or an inadequate inventory. TESCO during 2013, has turned over its inventory 16.22 times which is 6.09 lesser than J. Sainsbury’s turnover which is estimated to 22.31 times for the same year. This means that in comparison with J. Sainsbury even though that TESCO is a bigger company, in relation with both companies’ capabilities TESCO seemed to have an excess in the inventory which reveals the fact that the company w as dropped out from its expectations in contrast to J. Sainsbury. More products in the inventory implies more cost for the firms so both of them and more specifically TESCO have to improve its ability to liquidate  its stocks from the inventory. 2.2.4 Inventory holding ratio TESCO GROUP Inventory holding period ratio  £m Inventories 3,744 Cost of sales 60,737 Inventory holding period ratio 22.49 days J. Sainsbury Inventory holding period ratio  £m Inventories 987 Cost of sales 22,026 Inventory holding period ratio 16.35 days Similarly to the inventory turnover ratio, inventory holding period ratio shows the period of time (days) that stocks were kept in the company’s inventory. A low inventory holding period indicates that stocks that were kept in the inventory were for a small period of time. Accordingly happens when the inventory holding period is high which means that stocks in there are kept for a long period of time. According to Japanese industry statistical website (M&A BANK Co. LTD, 2014), the average inventory turnover for food retail companies such as TESCO and J. Sainsbury, is 34.44 days. The fact that TESCO has a bigger inventory turnover is illustrated in the inventory holding period for both companies. For each inventory turnover, TESCO was keeping its inventory for 22.49 days and J. Sainsbury for 16.35.  These results lead to the same conclusions of inventory turnover statements that were mentioned above. 2.2.3 Receivables collection period TESCO GROUP Receivables collection period ratio  £m Trade receivables 2,525 Sales revenue 64,826 Receivables collection period ratio 3.89 days J. Sainsbury Receivables collection period ratio  £m Trade receivables 306 Sales 23,303 Receivables collection period ratio 4.79 days The receivable collection period ratio measures the period of time (days) that the company awaits to collect receivables from its clients. A low receivable collection period indicator shows that the company collects its dues from its clients quickly. If this indicator is too low, then it is understandable that the firm does not offer credit facilities to its clients resulting loss in business. On the other hand, when there is a high receivable collection period indicator it is obvious that the company have some difficulties collecting receivables from its clients. TESCO seems to take its receivables almost one day earlier (3.89 days) than J. Sainsbury (4.79 days) which fact mentions again the difference in the liquidity of these two companies. J. Sainsbury which has a liquidity problem has to collect more efficiently its receivables from customers to empower liquidity  as much possible improving its financial position in the market. 2.3 Financial Risk and debt to equity ratio Financial risk shows the possibility of failure in an investment that an investor would have if he would have invest in a company with debt that would not have meet its financial liabilities (ЛÐ ¸Ã'‚Ð ¾Ã ²Ã' Ã ºÃ ¸Ã'…, 1999). TESCO GROUP Debt to equity ratio  £m Non-current liabilities 14,483 Total equity 16,661 Debt to equity ratio 86.92 % J. Sainsbury Receivables collection period ratio  £m Non-current liabilities 3,846 Total equity 5,734 Debt to equity ratio 67,07 % Debt to equity ratio measures the percentage that corresponds to debt and equity of a company. A high debt to equity ratio means that the company has developed with a big amount of debt which can lead to big interest and would have an impact on shareholder’s earnings or even it would lead to a bankruptcy in an extreme case. In the above table, TESCO shows a debt to equity ratio estimated to 86.92 % and J. Sainsbury 67.07 % which is lower for 19.85 % in relation with the first company. It is obvious that TESCO in  the previous year was aggressively financing its growth than J. Sainsbury which means that the company has many liabilities and it is already on the red line to start facing the consequences of a such high ratio. 3. Users of financial analysis and their information requirements According to Gokul Sinha (Sinha, 2009), â€Å"financial statements are the means of providing information to the various users for their decision making but users are different and accordingly, their needs are also different.† In the below table (Table 1.0) the seven categories of the users of financial analysis will be presented with all of their differing information requirements and potential decisions. 4. The importance of supplementing financial analysis with non-financial statements Non-financial considerations were always a great tool for companies which had the knowledge how to use them. Christopher Ittner and David Larcker (Christopher Ittner, 2000) have stated that by supplementing financial analysis with non-financial statements, the organization creates a closer link to the long-term strategies of it. More specifically non-financial data make the companies to communicate different informational objectives with managers, providing them motivation in order to plan long-term strategies in the future. Moreover they referred that some critics argue that intangible assets such as customer loyalty and intellectual capital are the drivers of success for many companies in different industries and they have to pay more attention on these two. Finally, both authors mentioned about the accompanied noise of non-financial data about which the managers must be aware in order to determine how much success they will get if they make their actions which will lead to a maximizing effect on the organizational performance. 5. Conclusion In conclusion, the profiles and activities of TESCO plc and J. Sainsbury were detailed as well the mean of the financial-accounting information was explained. Furthermore, there were presented two ratios from each of profitability, liquidity, working capital control categories and one ratio that describes the financial risk for both of companies. Afterwards the users of the financial analysis were referred and all of their differing requirements were described. Finally, there was a reference on the importance of supplementing financial analysis with non-financial statements as well as the capabilities of using non-financial considerations. Bibliography Christopher Ittner, D.L., 2000. Mastering Management series. Financial Times. Hussey, R., 1999. Oxford Dictionary of Accounting. Oxford: Oxford University Press. IFRS, 2014. IFRS Foundation. [Online] London: IFRS Foundation Available at: http://www.ifrs.org [Accessed 18 April 2014]. Kirk, A., 2014. Chron. [Online] Available at: http://www.chron.com [Accessed 19 April 2014]. M&A BANK Co. LTD, 2014. EDIUNET Industry Avg. [Online] Available at: http://industry.ediunet.jp [Accessed 19 April 2014]. Mackenzie, B. et al., 2013. Wiley IFRS 2013: Interpretation and Application of International Financial Reporting Standards. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Maynard, J., 2013. Financial Accounting, Reporting, and Analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Reuters, 2014. http://uk.reuters.com. [Online] Available at: http://uk.reuters.com [Accessed 18 April 2014]. Sinha, G., 2009. Financial Statement Analysis. New Delhi: PHI Learning Private. Tesco PLC., 2014. Global Sources. [Online] Available at: http://www.globalsources.com [Accessed 18 April 2014]