Distance learning Essay

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (1999) of the U. S. Department of Education, technological innovations especially in information and communications technology (ICT) has precipitated a revolution in the delivery of distance learning education, especially in the postsecondary level of education. To argue that distance learning education has come to stay and has changed perceptions and attitudes of education delivery is perhaps one without contention. Management guru, Peter Drucker has even gone as far as to say traditional on-campus university education will be defunct in 30 years. Focussing of three seminal areas of advantage – flexibility and convenience, resource cost, and accessibility – this paper will argue that earning a degree through distance learning education is better than through a traditional institution. One of the fundamental advantages that distance learning degree programs have over residential on-campus programs is flexibility and convenience. For me, location is one of the most important considerations for choosing a degree program. Questions like: Do I really want to relocate to earn a degree? Will I like my new location? nd Will I get a visa to travel to this location to study for a degree? are important considerations that I will have to deal with when choosing an on-campus degree program. These considerations helped me in choosing to do a degree program in law by distance study. My choice of a distance study program made it convenient for me to stay in my own locality while still having access to quality education that is commensurate with on-campus equivalents. Moreover, a lot of distance learning programs come with the benefit of self pacing one’s education; a benefit which I had by pursuing my law degree as a distance study student. My schedule allowed me to complete the course in two years and I was able to plan my education to fit into my schedule without any major disruptions. Thus, apart from being able to earn a degree, I had the advantage of not putting on hold other things that are equally important to me. Family and career commitments for example, did not have to suffer because I had chosen to earn a degree. With distance learning education, I was able to conveniently earn a degree in the comfort of my home. The fear of resigning from a permanent job to study and the financial and career implications of such a decision did not arise at all. More importantly, as my present career is in the area of my study, it gave me the opportunity to readily apply the knowledge gained in my distance learning education to my work. Consequently, I had greater opportunities of upward mobility in my career aspirations than I would have had if I had studied through the traditional on-campus method. Another major advantage I had by earning my degree by distance learning is the fact that it is more cost effective in comparison to traditional on-campus university education. I was able to utilise time more effectively when studying for my degree through distance learning education. The time I would have spent commuting to lectures was spent more usefully to study. Apart from the time constraints that on-campus programs are plagued with, commuting also brings additional financial cost. This was not a problem for me as I studied at home. Furthermore, fees for distance learning programs tend to be lower than on-campus programs as the distance learning student does not use the physical facilities of the institution providing the degree program. In my specific situation, I paid less for accessing the same quality of education I would have had if I had studied on an on-campus program. The cost of maintaining expensive on-campus facilities will invariably be passed on to the on-campus student. One of the most important considerations for on-campus students is accommodation. If one has a family and is studying far from one’s family home, the most obvious solution would be to maintain two separate accommodations. For parents financing their children’s on-campus university education, they may be paying for two accommodations at the same time – the family accommodation, and their children’s on-campus accommodation. This duplication of expenditure was unnecessary in my case as I studied from home. Thus with distance learning education, one can have access to the same quality of on-campus education at a much reduced resource cost. Evidently, there are so many advantages that can be argued in favour of distance study education. However, for the specific purposes of this paper, the final consideration that will be argued in favour of distance learning education is the better level of accessibility to course moderators and tutors. One of the increasingly pervasive features of distance learning education is the availability of a personal tutor. While studying by distance education for example, I had access to a personal tutor who I could contact through various communication devices like email and telephone. Thus though the argument may be made that on-campus programs offer a personal touch to the learning process, this is not lost in distance learning education. The issue of spontaneity in response to questions have been said to be an advantage of on-campus education over distance learning education. On closer scrutiny however, it can be realised that this advantage is perhaps even greater in certain circumstances when one is studying by distance study. In the first place, ICT makes it possible for communication to be instantaneous and as such, spontaneity is no longer an exceptional feature of on-campus education. If I had a question, I easily called my personal tutor and he discussed the question with me. Also, through the use of web technologies like discussion forums, and discussion boards, in-depth discussions amongst course participants were held online and this greatly enhanced my learning process. The use of personal tutors in a lot of distance study programs also makes it possible for peculiar educational needs to be addressed in a customized manner. Also, the accessibility that distance learning education brings makes it possible for more people to earn quality education on a wider scale than would have been possible through traditional institutional means. The use of revolutionary open source online learning programs like Moodle breaks the restrictions that are associated with accessing traditional on-campus degree programs. A global community can thus access distance learning degree programs that they would have otherwise not been able to access. The above presentation has advanced the advantages that earning a degree by distance learning education has over traditional on-campus degree programs. This paper has considered three key advantages – convenience and flexibility, resource cost, and accessibility – while conceding that the considered areas reflect only a limited perspective of the colossal advantages that distance learning education has over traditional on-campus programs. In conclusion, it is again affirmed that based on the justifications and advantages adduced, limited though they may be, earning a degree by distance learning education is far better than earning a degree through the traditional institution system.

Flow Measurement – Fluid Mechanics

Name: ******** Class: DME2 Title: Flow Measurement Date: 11/02/2013 Lecturer: Mr Higgins Summary: In this experiment many different meters were used to measure fluid flow rate; the orifice plate, the venture meter, the rota meter and the weigh tank. Each meter works by its ability to alter a certain physical property of the flowing fluid and then allows this alteration to be measured. The measured alterations are linked directly to the flow rate and these measurements are subbed in to adjusted equations to solve for it. Each methods outcome is then analysed, compared against each other. . Objectives: * To introduce the student to three typical methods of measuring he flow rate of an incompressible fluid namely; 1- Venturi metre 2- Orifice plate 3- Rotor metre * To compare the accuracy of each device. * To give insight into appropriate industrial application for each device. 2. Theory: Water enters and first flows through the Venturi metre, then through the Orifice plate and then thro ugh the Rotor meter. On leaving the Rotor meter the water flows via a control valve to the weigh-tank of the hydraulic bench.At the inlet and the outlet of each flow measuring device is a connection to the manometer board, this allows the head loss to be determined across each device. For an incompressible fluid flowing through a pipe the following equations apply: Continuity, Q=V1A1=V2A2(1) Bernoulli’s P1? g+V122g+z1=P2? g+V222g+z2(2) Venturi Rewriting Bernoulli’s equation for the experimental apparatus PA? g+VA22g+zA=PB? g+VB22g+zB Since apparatus is horizontal ZA=ZB therefore, PA? g+VA22g=PB? g+VB22g Rearranging VB22g+VA22g=PA? g+PB? gSince P/? g is the hydrostatic (pressure) head, h at any given point we can rewrite the above equation as, VB22g+VA22g=hA-hB(3) Where hAand hB are read directly from the apparatus. To solve for velocities, we rearrange equation (1), VA=VBABAA Filling into equation (3), VB22g+VBABAA22g=hA-hB(4) Hence the only unknown asVB. Therefore, to find the flow rate, determine VB from equation (4) and then Q is given by. Q=VBAB (5) Orifice Q is calculated using the same procedure as the Venturi meter using ports E and F as opposed to A and B.However, because the orifice plate is less ideal, it causes turbulence in the flow it requires a correction factor known as the coefficient of discharge, K. For this apparatus K=0. 601 therefore, the calculated Q must be multiplied by K, Qactual=Qtheoretical? K Rotor meter The flow rate is read directly off the rotor meter calibration curve as seen in the graph h below. 3. Apparatus: * The bulk of the apparatus used in this experiment is as shown below on a labelled diagram. * The flow of water was manually varied by a screw type tap. The weight balance is not shown but is acted on a counter balancing weight system. In this experiment a 4kg weight was dropped and the time was started. The length of time was determined by how long it would take for the water to raise the weight. This (wit h a 1:3 weight is to water ratio) allowed the mass flow rate to be calculated. Rotameter Rotameter Manometers Manometers 4. Orifice Orifice Venturi Venturi Procedure: 1. Set flow rate to maximum. 2. Record the monometer readings A, B, E and F. 3. Measure the discharge using the weigh-tank. 4. Repeat the steps 2 and 3 for 6 other flow rates. 5.Draw a graph of volumetric flow rate measured by the weigh-tank versus volumetric flow rate measured by the other three devices (all on one graph). 6. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each device from an installation view. 5. Experimental Results: | Amm| Bmm| Emm| Fmm| Rota-meter| Flow rate (weigh – tank) @4kg (s)| 1| 378| 131| 349| 86| 21. 4| 25| 2| 345| 162| 326| 130| 18. 4| 31. 8| 3| 320| 188| 304| 165| 15. 2| 37| 4| 298| 202| 288| 191| 12. 3| 47. 5| 5| 282| 222| 274| 211| 9. 3| 59. 4| 6| 266| 236| 262| 232| 5. 4| 91. 5| Position| A| B| E| F| Diameter (m)| 0. 026| 0. 016| 0. 051| 0. 020| 6.Sample Calculations: Venturi: As Q =VA, the volume (V) and the area (A) must be calculated first. Volume is found from the equation (4) as shown in theory being rearranged; VB22g+VBABAA22g=hA-hB VB2-VB2AB2AA2=hA-hB2g VB21-AB2AA2=hA-hB2g VB2=hA-hB2g1-AB2AA2 VB2=hA-hB2g1-AB2AA2 VB=hA-hB2g1-AB2AA2 From this equation, V can now be calculated using the results from the experiment. Calculation carried out for first instance: AA=? 0. 02624AB=? 0. 01624 AA=5. 3093? 10-4m2AB=2. 0106? 10-4m2 h = the height read from the manometer in the experiment. VB=0. 378-0. 131(29. 8)1-(2. 0106? 10-4)2(5. 3093? 10-42)2 VB=4. 4120. 85659 VB=5. 6517 VB=2. 3773m/s Now that the velocity at point B and the area of point B is calculated, Q can now be worked out; QB=VBAB QB=2. 3773? (2. 0106? 10-4) Volumetric Flow RateB=4. 7799? 10-4m3/s To convert into kg/s; QB=(4. 7799? 10-4)? 1000 Mass Flow rate B=0. 4779kg/s Orifice: To calculate the mass flow rate using the orifice method, calculations very similar to the venture method are used. The positio ns are now different so therefore the diameters are changed in finding Q. AA/VA and AB/VB are now obviously changed to AE/VE and AF/VF but otherwise the exact same method is used to find VF.However, the overall mass flow rate has to be corrected by a factor of K=0. 0601 due to a less efficient apparatus being tested. AE=? 0. 05124AF=? 0. 02024 AE=2. 0428? 10-3m2AF=3. 1416? 10-4m2 VF=hE-hF2g1-AF2AE2 VF=0. 349-0. 08629. 811-3. 1416? 10-42. 0428? 10-32 VF=5. 16. 97635 VF=5. 2851 VF=2. 298m3/s Q=VFAF Q=2. 2983. 1416? 10-4 Q=7. 223? 10-4 Now multiplied by correction factor and converted to kg/s; Q=7. 223? 10-4)(0. 601)(1000) Q=0. 43406 kg/s Rota-meter The mass flow of water is worked out in this method by feeding the results read from the rotor meter into the graph as shown below; Weigh TankThe ratio of weight of the load to the weight of the water in this lab is 1:3. A weight was applied to the time the discharge was 4kg. Therefore the time taken for this discharge can allow us to calcu late the mass flow rate as Mass flow Rate = KG/S. So for the first test; Q=4325 Q=0. 48kg/s 7. Calculated results: | Venturi (kg/s)| Orifice (kg/s)| Rota meter(kg/s)| Weigh tank(kg/s)| 1| 0. 4779| 0. 4341| 0. 463| 0. 48| 2| 0. 4116| 0. 3747| 0. 404| 0. 3773| 3| 0. 3496| 0. 3156| 0. 341| 0. 3243| 4| 0. 2981| 0. 2636| 0. 284| 0. 2526| 5| 0. 2357| 0. 2124| 0. 224| 0. 202| 6| 0. 1667| 0. 1466| 0. 152| 0. 1312| 8. Discussions:The measurement of fluid flow can prove very important in day to day applications. For example the measurements of blood-flow rates in human artery or the measurement of liquid oxygen in a rocket are hugely important in their field of work. Although the methods used in this lab may not all work in these cases, the selection of the proper instruments for a particular application is hugely important. Flow-rate-measurement devices frequently require accurate pressure and temperature measurements in order to calculate the output of the instrument so choosing the correct method of measurement is hugely important.Each of the flow measurement devices used had its own advantages and disadvantages. Comparing the venturi meter the orifice plate there are some noticeable differences. Although both are suitable for clean or dirty fluids the orifice plate has a relatively low cost compared to the venturi meter. But on the other hand the orifice plate does require a smaller diameter in compared to the venture meter. In day to day applications these two factors could have huge effect on the choice in application. Cost is always a huge factor in any application decision and depending on the requirements for the application size could also play a vital role.The weigh tank is a somewhat more basic approach to measuring the mass flow rate of fluid. The human element of error in the timing of the weights displacement can be easily corrected by machinery and could prove very effective for applications measuring flow. The rota meter is also a simple but effective m ethod of flow measurement. The simple effects of parallax are a disadvantage to this application but again in day to day modern applications, computerised sensory machines can correct this very easily. 9. Conclusion: Overall this lab was a success.The results are all within the range of having explainable errors such as; * The main error predicted is due to the ‘snowball effect’ in calculations, where a rounding off of results at the beginning of a number of equations has a greater effect with the end result. This rounding error can have greater effects than thought and can drastically vary the end result. * Parallax is another error caused across each application. The heights read across the manometers and the rotameter can be easily read wrong. Along with the meniscus of the fluid giving a false level and a wrong angle at the result reading can change the end result also. Human error is always a small error to be taken into account, especially when using the stop watc h in the weight tank method of measuring the flow rate. The likelihood of reading the exact time needed is very small. This again can have huge effect on the accuracy of the result achieved. By carrying out this laboratory students were able to become comfortable with calculations and equations that were ran through in class. The ‘hands on approach’ of this lab allows students to understand the theory better and this in turn results in easier revision when studying for exams.Overall this laboratory and its results proved successful, with results accurate with an explainable percentage of error and with students having a greater understanding in this area. 10. Bibliography: 1. CIT laboratory manual: Fluid mechanics-B. S. Massey, Applied mechanics – J. D. Walker, Fluid mechanics – Irfan A. Khan, Mechanical Engineering Science- J. Hannah and M. J. Hiller. 2. Wikipedia – formulas / units confirmation 3. http://fetweb. ju. edu. jo – general inform ation on each measuring meter used.

Doungy by James Moloney Essay

On the exterior it seems that Dougy, the book, is all about racism. However when you delve further into Dougy, many other strong messages come across. Some that stand out are finding yourself, appreciating what we have and, most strongly, having an open mind. At the beginning Dougy, the boy, is timid, unsure of his life and seems to be in everyone’s shadow. Whilst being trapped in the hall with the floodwaters rising- Dougy comes out of his shell and comes to the rescue. His brave efforts probably save the lives of Gracey and Raymond. These events bring out the best in Dougy and he gains confidence in being able to achieve his dreams. He did, indeed, find himself and this made him, â€Å"bloody lucky.† Do you take things for granted? Dougy showed us that there are so many people out there, to who a new car sparks a cry of delight. Yet do we even blink an eyelid, when we see a new Commodore drive past? Oh no, it’s just another car. These feelings don’t just apply to cars, too- but too everything. We really need to appreciate what we have, not be greedy and just be happy with what we have- so many others aren’t as fortunate as you or me. This message comes out clearly, especially when the family goes to Brisbane. A lot of trouble brews in Dougy from not having an open mind and accepting the opinions and views of others. As you read the book, you will also see the influence that others can have on our feelings. Pay attention to the changed attitudes of the children to Gracey, after their parents have talked to them. James Moloney puts very different personalities into his characters and shows us the different types of people in this world. There are the understanding people, who will listen to both sides of an argument and follow their hearts and minds- shown by Brett. Then there are the obstinate people, who’s views will never change and they will keep on hurting people- shown by Cooper and Co. There are the people who really believe in themselves and won’t let other people get to them- shown by Gracey. There are those who don’t care what others think and can be kind of scary- like Dougy’s Mum. And then there are those people who need something to wake them up to their lives and give  them a little push; to realise their potential and to work towards their dreams- this is just like Dougy. James Moloney gives us so much to think about in such a little book. Dougy will give you plenty to think about, but you need to read between the lines to grasp all the hidden messages. James gives us a lot to think about and reading Dougy should really make you think about your life. Chapter 3 Summary-  · Family travels to Brisbane by train (pretty boring!)  · Dougy is touched by a field of sunflowers  · Pulling into Brisbane was really exciting for them (like the new Commodore)  · They were the only black people in the crowd  · They feel very different and they stand out  · Meet very prejudiced taxi driver who thinks they don’t have the money to pay him  · They are surprised that a black person owns the hotel because in their town there are only white bosses  · Gracey has first training session, but Raymond doesn’t want to go- instead he, Steve (guy from hotel) and Dougy go to see something Raymond really wants to see  · Steve takes them to Lang Park- the home of State Origin games  · The guard doesn’t want to let them in at first, but when he realizes  they’re from the country and harmless- he relents and lets them look around  · Being there means a lot to Raymond  · Raymond says he will play there one day and Dougy doesn’t laugh unlike the other guys  · Another guard comes along, makes them leave, says they’ll probably steal something and he isn’t nice to them  · Dougy isn’t sure what he wants to do in life, but he is scared of becoming like his Dad (just wandering around with no home) Commentary- The author, using something simple and part of Mother Nature- the field of sunflowers, shows that Dougy’s family live in a way out town. It also seems like a rally small town. Dougy also probably hasn’t been anywhere else because he says, â€Å"I think, maybe, there are hundreds of other fantastic things in the rest of the world that I’ll never know about.† This point is also shown by how excited they are when the train pulls into Brisbane. The author shows that things are different in towns and cities (well they were at the time). People in the country aren’t really educated about what life is like in the city. This is shown by Dougy’s uncomfortableness with being the only blacks in the crowd. He thought that it would be just like at home- equal numbers of blacks and whites in the streets. Being uneducated is also shown by the comment that Dougy makes that Steve couldn’t be the manager of the hotel because in their town only white people are own businesses. Dougy and his family thought things would be the same in Brisbane and on some matters, they were caught unawares. Chapter 3 also shows that in a small town people have to stick together no matter what their skin colour- there may be prejudice, but it has to be overcome to get things done. In the city prejudice can be rampant (more of  it), without that much of an effect. James Moloney shows that many people stereotype against Aborigines. They may hear bad stories about them or have one bad experience and then they think that every single Aborigine is the same. It hurts people’s feelings when you stereotype like that- for example the taxi driver thought Dougy and his family wouldn’t pay, just because others hadn’t paid him. (Another example of this is saying that all blondes are dumb.) The scene at Lang Park shows that the littlest things mean a great deal to some people and can really inspire them. Just being at Lang Park and touching the grass inspires Raymond to say that he would play there one day and Dougy knew he wasn’t joking. The very end of chapter 3 shows that if we don’t believe in each other and ourselves- we won’t have the courage or the confidence to do after our dreams. Chapter 7 Summary- A number of things happen in chapter 7. It has been decided that Gracey will go to school in Brisbane. It is the summer holidays, it’s hot and the town is expecting a storm. Melissa Brodie is back in town (to stay) and has found a new pastime, in the form of motorbike riding. Melissa’s Dad has warned all the young blokes not to let Melissa borrow their bikes- or else! However Melissa continues to ride- she borrows Tiny’s bike in secret. Two weeks before Gracey was to leave for Brisbane, her Mum decides they should celebrate- with the whole town. She sets of the hire the hall across the road, which happens to be a big no-no for blacks. The owner of the hall, Mrs England, nearly dies when Gracey’s Mum goes to hire it. Unable to stop her, however, she gives in and the hall is hired. Meanwhile a storm starts brewing up north and the whole town starts preparing for a flood. This is what they were doing when Melissa Brodie is found unconscious in the  sandhills. Not knowing the full story, people start to blame Johnny Warren and trouble brews! Commentary- The beginning of the chapter shows the different attitudes towards the weather and crops, of the people. The white people are constantly worrying that there’ll be no rain, whereas the black people don’t worry so much- this shows that they have faith in the land and this is they way that they are brought up- to have faith in the land. The fact that Melissa borrows Tiny’s bike in secret (after her Dad warned all the other blokes), is really important later on in the story because this unknown fact causes misunderstandings and, really, the whole war. Melissa being able to talk her way into borrowing a bike and also ‘bad-mouthing’ the town without any consequences, show how some people’s attitudes are warped. They will listen to a good-looking and skinny girl and agree and grin, but if a fat and not so nice looking person says something they just look at him or her funny and laugh or tease them. This shown by Tiny- he said he wanted to be a mechanic and people said, â€Å"Fat chance† because he is fat. The little episode in booking the hall shows that some people will never change and they don’t want to, either. However, no matter what stands in our way we need to be determined and believe in ourselves. While Dougy was helping fill sandbags and a guy said, â€Å"Typical, lazy black bastards.† This shows again that our society is affected by stereotypes. That man didn’t notice Dougy’s black hands on the bag, however. So this shows that there may be many stereotypes out there, but they, nearly always, mean nothing. You have to get to know a person before you can really say what they are like- you can’t just look at their skin or hair colour. Chapter seven contains many messages for us to remember. Chapter 11 Summary- At the beginning of chapter 11, Luke doesn’t feel like shooting anymore and his Dad decides to head home. Luke arrives at his grandparents’ house early Friday morning and sleeps till his Aunt calls that his Mum is going home from the hospital. As his aunt talks to him, Luke begins to feel guilty for not visiting his Mum. Therefore he decides to be a good boy and care to the household duties, while his Mum rests. When Alison first wakes, Luke has to lie his way out of the room- about the shooting trip. The next Monday Luke and Alison confront each other. The communication barriers are broken as Luke asks about his Mum’s school life. But these are soon put again as his Mum starts to say what he should and shouldn’t do. Luke gets very upset, storms out of the house, gets on his bike and rides away. Commentary- At the beginning of the chapter, it seems that Luke is growing up and he doesn’t want to shoot anymore. This shows that people can change, as they see the light of a situation. When Luke lies to his Mum, he doesn’t feel comfortable, which shows that lying isn’t a human tendency- unless you let it become that and you make it a habit. The point that Luke doesn’t want to hang around his friends is unusual and can show that he feels uncomfortable with being suspended. From this we can gather that it’s in us to want to do our best. When we fail ourselves, we do feel disappointed. The funny atmosphere between Luke and his Mum is the same in many families today- parents and children aren’t very close due to poor communication. When they start talking its like floodwaters, but this flood of communication soon slows to a trickle, as Alison starts acting like a teacher- according to Luke. What he doesn’t realize is that Alison just  wants what is best for him. Instead Luke runs out and may get into trouble again. This little episode shows us that talking to each other is needed for a stable family. What family members need to realize is that they can’t push their opinions down people’s throats, that they need to be reasonable and willing to compromise. It’s also really important to look out for each other.

Comparative Error Analysis of Public and Private High School Students Thesis

Comparative Error Analysis of Public and Private High School Students - Thesis Example y significant difference in academic success rates of students who attend well funded private schools as opposed to students who attend public schools that are under-funded. In this light, high school students schooling in the different setups will definitely exhibit differentiated results and characteristics based on the intricacies of the different schooling schemes. For instance, students in private schools go through a curriculum determined by the board while their counterparts in public schools use a curriculum determined by the national educational standards (Bryk, Lee, and Holland, 45-46). This inadvertently implies that the results from the different students get affected. Private schools focus on passing exams while as public schools focus on completing the syllabus. In addition, given that private students fundamentally run on money collected from the student’s school fees, the quality of education is thereby determined by this. This means the student is a product of the school he or she attends. Public schools get equal funding from the relevant government agencies. With a high level of standardization and policies the quality of educa tion becomes leveled (Epstein, 34-35). High school students attending private schools are so focused on passing exams while those in public schools focus on learning a myriad of other skills as opposed to education alone based on the curriculum and associated policies. The effect of funding (independent variable) on academic success (dependent variable). Lack of adequate funding in the public schools makes the public students to perform dismmaly in the academic endeavors. On the other hand, private schools generate adequate funding through a variety of different sources including students’ tuition fees, endowments and grants. This makes students to excell in studies due to adequate provision of learning materials. Besides, curriculum development (independent variable) also impacts on the students educational

Advantages And Perspectives Of Homeschooling Essay

Advantages And Perspectives Of Homeschooling - Essay Example Public schools offer a diverse range of subjects like theatre, drama, arts, music, dance, which the students can choose depending on their interests. This allows the students’ inner talent to be polished and brings them to the forefront. Homeschooled children are at a disadvantage in this regard as such activities are minimal. In addition, homeschooled children do not get much exposed...... Every child has different strengths and weaknesses and hence every child requires different attention from the teachers. In a public school, this is not entertained to as the student to teacher ratio is quite high. In a Homeschooling environment, children are at an advantage as they can be taught in a learning style that fits best. The curriculum is more specialized and specially designed to cater to the needs of the children so that they not only mug up what they are taught but get a true learning experience and understand what they are being taught. One thing commonly experienced by the public school students is the peer pressure. Peer pressure is a negative aspect of public schools as a student’s life gets influenced by those around him. Most of the time, the student is forced to conform to the demands of the public schools and his own individuality is threatened. Peer pressure may not only drag a student into wrong activities like smoking and drinking but it also affects s tudents’ way of expression as they are worried as to how others would react to them. In a home-school environment, students grow and develop with very little pressure from their peers and this is the reason why it helps them to express themselves without any fear of what others would think about it. Hence these children learn and study without any stress and pressure.

Fords marketing strategy The Way Forward Case Study - 1

Fords marketing strategy The Way Forward - Case Study Example This research will begin with the statement that Ford is one of the top ten leading global brands in terms of revenue.   In 2008 to 2009 however, Ford and the automotive industry, in general, experienced difficulty. Its competitors Chrysler and General Motors declared bankruptcy and the company itself is in danger experiencing a substantial decline in sales of 23.4 percent in 2008 to 2009. In an attempt to jump-start sales and save the company, Ford’s new CEO, Man Mulally the former EVP of Boeing (who incidentally helped saved the company’s declining sales after 9/11 attack) implemented a marketing strategy dubbed â€Å"The Way Forward† which served as the company’s blueprint to overcome the 2008-2009 crisis. There are several marketing issues in Ford’s marketing strategy â€Å"The Way Forward†. These are market segmentation, refocused marketing effort and pricing in addition to cutting costs. Perhaps what saved Ford from bankruptcy during the very difficult time of 2008-2009 crisis was its decision to refocus its marketing efforts towards emerging markets. Not only did the company experienced an increase in sales during this difficult time but it also saved on cost when it sold its Volvo subsidiary to leave its maturing market in Europe. As it turned out, it had to keep up with the challenge of the increasing demand rather than get anxious about declining sales.  

Marketing communication 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Marketing communication 2 - Essay Example The empowerment of the customers with respect to the availability of information was really understandable by the case of the departmental store of a friend of mine that was seriously affected because of the improper marketing communication. The departmental store of the friend was performing well within the periphery of the expectations in the couple of years since inception but soon it started to exhibit poor performance. The sales revenue was severely hit. External experts, those were employed by the store, investigated and observed that the failure of the firm even though it maintained quality goods and services, was primarily because of the lack of the marketing initiatives and rusty performance of the marketing department. The departmental store basically targeted the middle income groups and middle aged families especially those where both of the spouses were working. In order to meet the needs of the working customers, the departmental stores remained open for all round the clock, seven days a week. Also, the store provided facilities like home delivery of the purchased items free of charge at the convenient hours along with online purchasing. The store also aimed to grab the lower income strata of the society as it proposed and implemented various sales promotion methods. The goals and the objectives of the marketing communication plan would essentially be to reinstate the departmental store with its glory and pride in the city of its existence. Also, the marketing communication plan would essentially aim to make target customers aware about the various sales promotional offers and schemes and increase the footfalls and thereby to increase the revenue. The marketing communication plan should be such that it inculcates the various mechanisms of effective marketing communication. The decision to visit the store and purchase from the store should be depicted as that of high involvement as per FCB Grid Model and the schemes and

Interest Rate Parity, Exchange Rates Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Interest Rate Parity, Exchange Rates - Essay Example Through increased employee engagement, employees have been indicated to encompass skills that are geared towards enhanced performance in the workplace. Employee engagement has been attributed with the ability to decode the workplace processes, as well as adjust to the system within the shortest time possible. Employee engagement is almost impossible for the functioning of any organizations. Analysts argue that for any organization to attain high productivity, incorporation of employee engagement in organizations is the blueprint of operations of all organizations. Alarming statistics indicate that the negative implications of not engaging employees in the workplace are taking an uphill trend. Other statistics indicate that, most workers record high levels, of unhappiness in a majority of organizations in the United Kingdom. Consequently, this has become an uphill task for managers to handle. In fact, a great percentage of studies have recorded employee disengagement and unhappiness as the major indicators of low productivity in the companies. Experts in the management sector attest to the fact that, if employees are allowed to explore their potential to the fullest, there is a great likelihood that, employees will treat their workplaces as their own businesses. In essence, employees that are engaged are more of proactive than reactive; they are self driven and innovative towards unremitting improvement of their workplaces. Generally, employee engagement has had massive impacts on building rapport between employees in the workplace through creation of proper communication channels; mandatory for growth of organizations. The sole purpose of this dissertation is to understand the implications of engaging employees and their performance. In order, to have a vivid interpretation of this topic, the case study of Etisalat telecommunication Company will be put under scrutiny.

Current issue speech about hospitality marketing Essay

Current issue speech about hospitality marketing - Essay Example Research conducted by Redshift Research reports that, statistically, hotel uses lead the number of people using social media in the hospitality industry followed by vacation activities, attractions and restaurants. Olenski has used a few examples to drive his point home (Web). He argues that four seasons hotels and resorts band is very famous in the hospitality industry yet promoting it through the social media has never been successful as expected. Olenski says that an attempt to increase weekend booking through the social media by Maxine saw only a few people visiting the different social media sites such as Facebook, twitter and Instagram (Web). The few people who visited the social media platform did not have a huge impact on the market target. It is apparent that marketing the hospitality industry through the social media is not an easy task. It is indeed challenging for players in the hospitality industry to target the right audience through social media. Social media marketing also requires highly engaging and interactive platform in order to benefit a given brand. Social media marketing in the hospitality industry therefore, requires improvement on a few areas. A few mistakes are made by different brands who market their products and services in the social media in the hospitality industry. Usually, social media is accompanied with additional pressure on company’s resources including staffs that can make sure a high-level of engagement with social media users. According to Olenski, social media can only do well when issues such as immediacy, engagement and reliable are maintained (Web). Immediacy, engagement and reliability are the only way hospitality industry can gain from the social media marketing. Internal resources are significant in providing the real benefits of products and services to consumers through interaction and engagement. Social media should be utilized by the internal

Managing Across Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Managing Across Culture - Essay Example The immigrants or those who take part in the act of moving from their original location to other locations suffer the risk of mixed cultural changes. There are certain extents at which these cultural changes lead to indifferences and cultural conflicts. The degree of negativity is overcome by the instillation of positive attitudes and believes of social understanding. The positive aspects lead to good interaction and communication between two or more groups from different cultures (Paulson, 1993). The people from different cultures and norms are usually advised to acknowledge their cultural differences, respect those of others, face the reality and learn how to coexist with each other than fight or argue over their differences. The biggest challenge that is usually faced when trying to achieve this is the presence of non-verbal gestures, which are usually hard to comprehend but are expressed by majority of the different cultures to illustrate superiority or to lower the dignity of a certain culture. Verbal communication can be termed as one of the challenges that are faced by different people from different cultures and locations but are not necessarily the main problem. The main cause of distress and differences that is mostly experienced by different cultures is the process of understanding and accepting each other’s culture without debating on which is superior and inferior. Problems Experienced between Different Cultures In this discussion essay, the culture of different people and their relations with each other will be made with regards to the American state of cultural values and understanding. The U.S. will be the centre of reference since research has indicated that the citizens of U.S. are conscious of the cultures of other people than those that live in the Northern America although the whole of America will also be used as reference to clarify and illustrate the effects of cultural differences and the ways of controlling them (Hofstede, 1997) . The immigrants that come from other parts of the world to settle in America experience all sorts of difficulties before they adapt to their new way of life. The challenges that they undergo before earning full citizenship, allowance to work, and move freely take time, commitment and dedication. In case the immigrants choose to settle and start families in the U.S., they usually name their children according to the rules that are set by the American laws and earn the right for their children just like any other American citizens. The acceptance and respect of different cultural values makes it possible for different cultures to live and work together due to the availability of a common agenda and mutual understanding (Hofstede, 1997). The presence of a child strengthens the stay of the parents in the American soil since the risk of deportation fails to exist. This is because deportation would mean that the child would be left an orphan since he or she would have no parents in case the parents are deported. It has been the culture of the American laws to follow up the development of every child within its jurisdiction. The laws governs the way the children are brought up and raised in healthy and nutritious conditions thus embracing the children born of other cultures but in the American soil. This illustrates that there is a mutual understanding and connection between all people from all parts of the world

The relation of quality management and risk management -or- the future Thesis Proposal

The relation of quality management and risk management -or- the future of quality management with risk management - Thesis Proposal Example Widdop et al (2007, p.2) observes that integrating the two approaches to management requires communication. There is a gap in the existing literature of the lack of a framework of enhancing the integration of quality management with risk management and this is the focus of this study. Developing this integrative framework will make it easy for organizations to manoeuvre these important approaches to management. According to Williams et al (2006, p.68) risk management intersects with quality management at the point at which it seeks to ensure the effectiveness, efficiency and economy of a business strategy or process. Quality management is the design and execution of products and services with the objective of meeting and preferably exceeding customers’ expectations without the wastage of available resources (Williams et al 2006, p.68). Risk management identifies, prioritizes, addresses, and eliminates potential sources of failure of the services and products to meet their set objectives. In this context, risk management is a pre-emptive, proactive, predictive, and preventive endeavour. After studying a number of companies, Williams et al (2006, p.69) found that reducing risk deltas reduces objective gaps and variation hence increasing process quality. Kuhn and Youngberg (2002, p.159) asserted quality is one of the important issues in risk-based approach to management alongside health, safety and environment. After examining five organizations, Kuhn and Youngberg (2002, p.159) found that continuous improvement, stakeholder satisfaction, adherence to standards and checks and balances, optimizing the quality of every investor’s dollar and prevention are quality principles and practices that seamlessly fit into risk management. Kuhn and Youngberg (2002, p.160) observe that the Six Sigma is an exemplar case of how to integrate quality management with risk management. For example, he notes that Six Sigma’s DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve,

Description of Composition Essay Example for Free

Description of Composition Essay I have many wonderful moment in my life, in my home country with my family and my friends. we lived in a beautiful areaand Were pleased with our neighbors. during Have the holidays left all the campaign. However, I remember a good experience that i still can not forget. During this spring break I made a visit to my cousin Matthew who live in Dallas, tough spending years without seeing I was very pleased to be able to spend this time with him. Dallas is a great city and wonderful buildings are very large in the city center. During my stay Mathieu showed me around the zoo of the city of dallas a place where we encounter several species of animals that are found throughout the world, among other gorillas, snakes, parrots. That day was the first time in my life I saw a gorilla who was nearly two meters long, this animal was really impressive both for its size and its weight. At the end of the visit to the zoo I wanted to eat some things. We went to Matthew and me in a fancy restaurant in the city. This restaurant is located near the city center in a large building with a beautiful cadre. ur map for this restaurant we could see dishes from different origins Africa, Europe and America. We took each European dishes and we talked about our childhood. When we finished eating we took several photographs in the restaurant throughout the city of Dallas to keep in memory of this moment of reunion between my cousin and me. I really enjoyed the spring break this year because i had a lot of fun. i there fore look foward to the summer break and i hope i twill be even more beautiful than i will to live.

Cash Flow and Profitability of Dividend Payout

Cash Flow and Profitability of Dividend Payout CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Overview The issue of dividend has been studied comprehensively in last few decades. Still it remained as one of the most debatable issue in the field of Finance. The contradictory nature and massive importance 0f dividend in finance had made it one of the most discussable topics for researchers. Researchers in the past enclosed many aspects of dividend; few among them are views about dividend, dividend payment effects on firm value, dynamics and determinants of dividend policy, and dividend movement of different markets. Lintner (1956) study the allocation of income of corporations among dividends, retained earnings and taxes by taking data from the years 1918 to 1941 as a training period and data from the years 1942 to 1951 as the testing period. Researchconcluded that the basic origin of dividend changes werenet earning and preceding year dividends. In addition, firms attempt to continue a constant stream of dividend and influence to make a regularly partial adjustment to a target payout ratio relatively hysterically changing their payout when a change in income occurs. In the short run, dividends are consistent to avoid frequent changes. This dispute is rooted back to the significant effort of Miller and Modigliani (1961), in which it was challenged in a perfect market condition dividend policy did not affect the value of firm. In contrast, Lintner (1962) and Gordon (1963) based à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Bird-in-handà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? theory and argued that in the world of ambiguity and imperfect information, hig h dividend payment is linked with high firm value. In addition, Black (1976) called dividend as great puzzle which need extensive researched. Furthermore, the Brealey and Myers (2005) listed dividend as one of the top ten significantvague topic in advance corporate finance. According to Anil and Sujjata(2008) emerging consensus was that no individual factor alone can describe dividend behavior. The existing corporate theories supported that cash flow and profitability have significant impact on dividend. The aim of this study was to know the impact of cash flow and profitability on dividend payout of non financial firms in Pakistan market. This study considered free cash flow and profitability was most important for non financial firm in Pakistan market. Talat and Mirza(2010) conducted research related to ownership structure and cash flow as predictor of dividend payout policy. According to that personal ownership, cash flow delicacy, size, and leverage were negatively associated with dividend payout policy. In contrast, profitability and operating cash flow was found as determinants of cash dividend. In addition, Researcher concluded that executive ownership, personal ownership, operating cash flow, and size were important determinants of dividend while, leverage and cash flow delicacy did not contribute considerably in determining the level of corporate dividend payment. DeAngelo and DeAngelo (1990) found significant relation between cash flow and dividend changes. Problem Statement In the field of corporate finance, the dividend was considered as one of the most noteworthy issues. The main purpose to study the impact of cash flow and profitability on dividend payout of non financial firm in Pakistani market was to analyze the cash dividend behavior of developing countries firm. In addition, study was conducted to find out how strongly these two variables free cash flow and profitability have impact on the dividend payout because, profitability was most likely used as determinants of dividend payout in most of the previous researches but free cash flow was not taken too much in previous research. Furthermore, how these two variables serve as an indicator for dividend payout. Hypothesis This research study has tested the following hypothesis to fulfill the objective of the research. H1: There is significant impact of free cash flow on dividend payout. H2: There is significant impact of return on assets on dividend payout. H3: There is significant impact of return on equity on dividend payout. H4: There is significant impact of earning per share on dividend payout. H5: There is significant impact of net profit margin on dividend payout. Outline of the Study The research structured follows. Chapter one was consist on the introduction of the thesis, it is essential to review the views and theoretical background of dividend, the statement o problem, scope and objective, hypothesis. Chapter two consisted of literature review given by various authors, theories on dividend and impact of cash flow and profitability on dividend payout. Chapter three explained methodology, it consisted of explanation of the selection of the variables, the sampling and research design, the data technique and hypothesis. Chapter four represents the analysis of results after processing the data. Chapter five composed of final result, conclusion and recommendation. Chapter six consisted of references. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Since 1956, dividend has always considered one of the most interested and investigated topic in world of finance.Lintner (1956) analyzed the allocation of earning of corporation among dividends, retained earnings, and taxes by taken data into consideration for years 1918 to 1941. It was found the basic determinants of dividend change are net earning and preceding year dividends. In addition, firms tried to continue a stable flow of dividend and likely made a regularly limited adjustment to a target payout ratio instead radically changing payout when earning changed. Jensen and Meckling (1976) paid attention toward agency cost hypothesis and described that dividend restricted the funds under management control, as a result putting them under strict capital market examination. Owner responsibility was reduced to deal with the quality of investment and to handle the expenditure on manager prerequisites. Marke, Langrehr, and Hexter(1998) conducted research on dividend policy determinants. Researchers had taken focus of firm, natural log of sales of firm, inside ownership for firm, no of common shareholder for firm, free cash flow for firm, sales growth of firm, and standard deviation of returns o f firm as determinants of dividend policy. Authors concluded that corporate focus has negative impact on dividend payout. While inside ownership had also negative impact, according to researcher the firms have greater inside ownership have small dividend payout. In addition, the firms with higher free cash flow have higher dividend payout and lower payout ratio of firms with higher standard deviation of returns. William and Nanda (1994) conducted research on free cash flow, shareholder value, and the unallocated profits after tax of 1936 and 1937. In this study researcher tried to explore the investor reaction toward the anticipated decrease in free cash flow presented to corporate managers. In addition, researchers suggested agency costs as partial determinants of dividend policy. To avoid the agency problem corporate have to pay higher dividend and imposed higher tax on undistributed profit so the problem of agency cost handled efficiently. The study conducted on determinants of dividend payout ratio in GhannabyAmidu and Abor (2006). In this study 20 listed firms of Ghana Stock Exchange were used as a sample which shows 76% of the total listed firm in Ghana Stock Exchange. Researchers have taken the Payout Ratio as controlled variable and explanatory variables includes risk, profitability, cash flow, corporate tax, institutional holding, sales growth, and market to book value. It was foundthat more profitable firms paid more dividends and profitability is positively related to dividend payout. In addition, cash flow and taxes are also positively related to dividend payout. Further, they also concluded there is a positive relationship between increase in liquidity and dividend payout. Results suggested negative relationship of dividend payout with growth, market to book value, risk, and institutional holding. The firms with the earning instability found hard to pay low and no dividends. Al-Malkawi (2007) worked on determinants of corporate dividend payout policy in Jordan. Researcher used a firm level panel data of all publicly traded firms on the Amman Stock Exchange for the year 1989-2000. Researcher used dividend payout as a depended variable and agency cost, Ownership, annual share turnover, market to book ratio, market capitalization of common equity, financial leverage ratio, profitability ratio, and taxes as independent variables. By using Tobit specification researcher concluded that positive relationship between size, age, and profitability with dividend payout and negative relationship between signaling device, ownership, and taxes in Jordan. Fairchild (2010) worked on Dividend policy, signaling and free cash flow: an integrated approach. Researcher has tried to examine the dividend policy by taking only two hypothesis signaling and free cash flow. In order to understand the composite environment of dividend policy, signaling game is developed in which most of the information possesses by managers than investors about the quality of the firms. The signaling hypothesis shows that asymmetric information between managers and investor, dividend work as signal regarding current performance and future prospect. The study found that high dividend has positive effect on the firm performance, in term of providing a positive signal for current performance and as will as future scenario. In addition, dividend payout reduces the free cash flow problem, which may attract the manager to invest in negative NPV project for personal interest. But if the project shows positive NPV so investment opportunities are available which lead toward the higher dividend in future. Gill, Nahum, and Rajendra (2010) worked on determinants of dividend payout ratio in United States. In this study researcher extend the Amidu and Joshua, and Anil and Kapoor finding for the American service and manufacturing firms. Researcher took same variables into account such as profitability, tax, market to book value, cash flow, and sale growth. The sample size was 266 out of 500 financial reports. According to the researcher dividend payout ratio of manufacturing firms is the function of profit margin, tax, and market to book value ratio. It was also found that result differ when the dividend payout ratio was defined as the ratio between after tax cash flow and cash dividend, not considering after tax earning of the companies. Reddy (2006), studied the dividend behavior of Indian companies, movement, and determinants and struggled to decide the behavior of the companies listed at Bombay Stock Exchange with theassist of trade off theory and signaling theory hypothesis. According to researcher analysis of dividend trend depicted that stock traded on New York Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange indicated that percentage of companies paying dividend has declined from 60.5% in 1990 to 32.1% in 2001 and there is only few companies paying dividend constantly. Beside that firms paying dividend are more profitable, large in size, and having enough growth. Indian context did not represent corporate tax and ax preference theory. Lastly the dividend change indicated signal to current and lagged earning performance rather than future earning performance. Baker, Farrelly and Edelman (1986) studied New York Stock Exchange 318 firms. According to the researchers main determinants of dividend payments were expected future earning and picture of past dividend. Gitman and Pruitt (1991) asked 1000 largest US firms financial managers and concluded present and precedent year earning were significant determinants effect dividend payment. According to Baker and Powell (2000) survey companies listed on New York Stock Exchange were industry explicit and predicted level of future income was the main factor of dividend payout Anil and Kapoor (2008) studies Indian information technology sector for determinants of dividend payout ratio. The phase for study 2000-2006 encompass both recessionary and booming phase of Indian information technology sector. Researcher concluded that beta and liquidity was discovered a notable determinant of dividend payout ratio. In addition, authors concluded that due to recession from 2003 onwards IT sector observed exponential growth, and it was anticipated linear growth in IT sector after 2006. Recently in Pakistani perspective, Ahmed and Attiya (2009) investigated sample of 320 non-financial firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange from 2001 to2006.Researchers concluded Pakistani companies dependent more on current earning than past dividend. In addition, authors highlighted few predictors that may affect payout policies. Firstly, the finding demonstrated companies containing high profit with consistent earning can manage larger amount of free cash flow as a result to payout larger dividend. The firms having larger investment chance can easily affect and have a significant role in determinants of dividend payout policy in Pakistan. The companies paid more dividends to shareholders where inside ownership exist. Ownership structure has considered major factor in determining dividend policy in Pakistan. Beside that dividend payout was not affected pay growth of the firms and market liquidity has a significant impact on dividend payout. Furthermore, size was significant determin ants for dividend payout that means companies invest in assets relatively paying dividends to its stockholders. 2.1 Dividend irrelevance theory: Miller and Modigliani (1961) proposed that dividend policy is irrelevant to the shareholder and stockholder wealth was constant in the world of perfect market condition and any growth in the current payout is financed by literally priced stock sales. The basic assumption was that management paid 100 percent payout in every period. Other assumptions were as follow. First, market is perfect capital market that means there were no taxes on transaction cost, single buyer and seller not influenced price and everyone have free access to information. Second, investors are rational and value of securities was based on the discounted future cash flow to investor. Third, manager act as a agent of shareholders, and there was no uncertainty about the investment policy of the firm. 2.2 Bird-in-hand theory: Al-Malkawi (2007) emphasized that dividend valued differently from retained earnings (capital gains) in world of ambiguity and irregularity information. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A bird in hand (dividend) is valued more than two in the bush (capital gain)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Investors always preferred dividends to retained earnings due to uncertainty of future cash flow. Although, this controversy has been extensively condemned and has not get strong empirical base, but, it was supported by Gordon and Shapiro (1956), Lintner (1962), and Walter (1963). The basic assumptions were as followed Firstly, investors have inadequate information regarding the profitability of a firm. Secondly, cash dividend was taxed at a higher rate when capital gain was realized on the sale of share. Thirdly, dividend serves as a signal of expected cash flow. 2.3 Agency cost and free cash flow theory: Ross (2008) define agency cost is the cost of the conflict of interest that exists among shareholders and management. It was happened when management act for own interest rather than shareholders interest who own the firm. This could be direct and indirect. It was in contrast to assumption of Millar and Modigliani (1961) that mangers act as an agent of shareholders. This is somewhat dubious, as the owners of the firm are different from the management. Managers are bound to carry out some activities, which could be costly to shareholders, such as undertaking unprofitable investments that would yield excessive returns to them, and unnecessarily high management compensation (Al-Malkawi, 2007). These costs are borne by shareholders; therefore, shareholders of firms with excess free cash flow would require high dividend payments instead. Agency cost may also arise between shareholders and bondholders: while shareholders require more dividends, bondholders require fewer dividends than shar eholders by putting in place a debt covenant to ensure availability of cash for their debt repayment. Easterbrook (1984) also identified two agency costs: the cost of monitoring managers and the cost of risk reluctance on the part of managers. Jensens free cash flow/overinvestment hypothesis (1988) provides a surrogate description for the positive association between the direction of the dividend change and the stock price reaction. Jensen argues that managers tend to hold cash to invest in negative NPV projects for their own utility maximization. The agency costs that result from this overinvestment decrease the value of the firm. Like the signaling hypothesis, the FCF argument suggests there should be a positive relationship is the direction of the dividend policy change and the stock price reaction. However, the FCF argument differentiates itself with respect to the level of growth opportunities faced by the firm. If a firm initiated a cash dividend, FCF arguments postulate there are fewer funds available for costly overinvestment. Likewise, if company didnt pay dividend, the strongest form of a decrease would reduce the value of the firm because there are more funds available to invest in less present value projects. The FCF hypothesis assumes larger stock price volatility for the firms who have few growth opportunities as compared to the firms with many growth opportunities. There is disagreement between different researchers on dividend policy. Allen and Rachim (1996) in Australia found no significant association between stock price volatility and divided policy. According to Gordon (1963) the stock price volatility is influenced by dividend payout. The firms who pay large dividend have minimum risks in terms of stock price value. Some of hypothetical mechanism also suggests the universal relationship of dividend yield and dividend payout ratio with stock price volatility. Jensens and Meckling (1976) developed Agency cost argument which proposed that dividend payout lower the cost of funds and increase the cash flows for the company. The company after paying cash dividends to stock holders would have less cash in hands of the managers to invest at below the cost of capital. According to Asquith and Mullin (1983), Born, Moser, and Officer (1984) and Miller and Rock (1985) dividend declaration provide information to the share holders to forecast the financial position of the company and the present firms earnings. This also depends on the source of information that either it is doubtful or not to respond on announcement of dividend. Hence, there remains disagreement till yet, the relation of dividend yield and stock price volatility and it is still unexplained and is considered as debatable in corporate CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS 3.1 Method of Data Collection Required data was collected from Karachi Stock Exchange as given by State Bank of Pakistan in publication of Balance Sheet Analysis of Joint Stock Companies Listed on the KSE (2005-2009). The period of study covered five years, 2005-09. The sample size of 100 non-financial firms was taken from all non financial firm listed at KSE. The required sample was chosen on the basis of cash dividend paid by firms at-least for two years. The sample represents major industry. 3.2 Sample Size Sample of 100 non-financial firms was collected from KSE. Sample consisted of firms which paid cash dividend for at least two years. Firms that was selected for study represented all major industries functioning in Pakistan and listed at KSE from 2005-2009. The impact of the cash flow and profitability on dividend payout was examined on selected sample of 100 non-financial firms. 3.3 Research Model Developed There were various financial factors of the non-financial firms which affected the Dividend payout of the firms. This research study investigated the impact of free cash flow and profitability on the dividend payout. 3.3.1 Dividend payout Dividend payout and dividend amount are taken as the dependent variables. Since dividend payout is the generally used alternative for dividend policy, almost every financial researcher has used payout as a proxy for corporate dividend policy (See for example Gugler, 2003; Reddy and Rath, 2005; Papadopoulos, 2007; Al-Malkawi, 2007; Ahmed Attiya, 2009). In order to calculate dividend payout was calculated as cash dividend per share divided by earning per share. 3.3.2 Earning per share According to Hafeez and Attiya (2009) high profitability with constant earnings can manage to pay for larger free cash flows as a result to pay out larger dividends. The earnings per share after tax were used as independent variable. Earning per share after tax was used because dividend has been paid after interest, taxes and after depreciation and calculated as net earnings divided by number of shares. H1: There is significant impact of earning per share on dividend payout 3.3.3 Return on Equity This variable is used in different previous studies such as: Abor (2005), Miller (2007), Al-Ajmi et al. (2009), and Ebaid (2009) etc. Some authors measured profitability or performance by three measurements such Gross profit margin (GPM), Return on Equity (ROE), and Return on Assets (ROA) and same predictors Ebaid (2009). Likely results with this variable are same as revealed by Abor (2005) and Ebaid (2009) such as: Significance and positive relationship with dividend payout. Return on Equity is considered best measure of firm profitability. Return on Equity (ROE) is one measure of how efficiently a company uses its assets to produce earnings. ROE was calculated by dividing Net Income minus preferred dividend by Share holder equity H2: There is significant impact of Return on Equity on dividend payout. 3.3.4 Free Cash flow According to Jensens (1986) free cash flow hypothesis, companies choose to use their cash resources to invest in profitable projects first; dividend is paid out of residual. From a companys point of view, cash generated from operations plays an important role in deciding the level of payout, among all three sources of cash flows i.e. operating; investing and financing, cash generated from operations is considered as most desirable source of funds for the company for distribution of dividends. Anil and Sujjata (2008) also found cash flow from operations as the most significant determinant of dividend policy in Indian IT industry. A  measure of financial performance calculated as Net income minus depreciation minus change in working capital minus change in capital expenditure. Free cash flow (FCF) represents the cash that a company is able to generate after  placing out the money required to maintain or expand its asset base.  Free  cash flow is important be cause it  allows a company to  pursue opportunities that enhance shareholder value. H3: There is a significant impact of free cash flow on dividend payout. The model developed was a linear model and its specifications are provided below: Div payout = a0 a1EPS + a2ROE + a3FCF + ц Dividend payout = Dividend per share divided by earning per share EPS = Net income divided by number of share outstanding ROE =Net income minus preferred dividend divided by common shareholder equity FCF =Net income minus Depreciation minus change in working capital minus change in Capital expenditure à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ = error term 3.4 Statistical Technique Multiple Linear Regression Analysis (MLR) technique was used for this research study to examine the impact of the distinctive financial characteristics of the non-financial firms on their dividend payout of the selected firms; Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the examination of the secondary data. CHAPTER 4: RESULT The sample of 100 non-financial firms from Karachi Stock Exchange was taken into consideration. This research study used multiple regression analysis (MLR). Researcher examined the behavior of non-financial firms of KSE about dividend payout. The selected technique was used to study the impact of cash flow and profitability on dividend payout. 4.1 Finding and Interpretation of the results In the beginning, the regression technique was applied on collected data by using SPSS, and there was no single variable was significant. It was clear from the result that there was the high co-linearity among the independent variables of the dividend payout and this means there was strong interrelationship present among the predictors. Return on assets and net profit margin was omitted from the data, thus, the issue of co-linearity was resolved. Now, proceeding with the analysis of the results because issue of co-linearity was addressed. The interpretation and analysis is presented in the next sections of this research study. Table 4.1: Model Summary Mod R R Sq. Adj. R Sq. 1 .289 .084 .078 Tables 4.1 depict the summary about the regression model. The R square of 8.4% showed that all the predictors of dividend payout together explained 8.4% variation in the dependent variable and the remaining variation was unexplained or hidden predictor were not included in the model. TABLE 4.2:ANOVA Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 31503.936 3 10501.312 15.236 .000a Residual 345316.428 501 689.254 Total 376820.364 504 The table 4.2 checked the significance of the linear regression model in such a way that the reliability of the data file regarding the applicability of the regression technique can be understood from the above table; however, ANOVA table was reliable test of checking the linear regression models ability to explain any variation in the dependent variable of liquidity. This was perfectly obvious from the sig value of .000 that meant that the linear regression model was highly significant for the data collected for the research study conducted. In addition, ANOVA explained that all means are not equal. In table4.3 the final model of regression included only three independent variable that were free cash flow, earning per share, and return on equity These variables were included in the model due to highly significantly describing the relation with dependent variable dividend payout. Returns on equity and free cash flow have positive impact on dividend, while earning per share has negative impact on dividend payout. 4.2 Hypothesis Assessment Summary The hypothesis of research was unique financial factors had significant impact on the non-financial firms dividend payout decision. These financial characteristics were cash flow taken as free cash flow of firms and profitability taken as earning per share and return on Equity of firms. This research tasted individual financial characteristics and concluded the result as follow. TABLE 4.4: Hypothesis Assessment Summary S.No. Hypothesis ÃŽÂ ² SIG. RESULT H1 There is significant impact of free cash flow on dividend payout. .001 .005 Accepted H2 There is significant impact of Return on equity on dividend payout. .216 000 Accepted H3 There is significant impact of Earning per Share on dividend payout. -.123 .016 Accepted H4 There is significant impact of Return on Assets on dividend payout. .340 .170 Rejected H5 There is significant impact of Net profit margin on dividend payout. -.034 .530 Rejected CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS, IMLICATION, FUTURE RESEARCH AND CONCLUSION 5.1Conclusion It was concluded with support of results of this research study return on equity, earning per share, and free cash flow were significant independent variables in Pakistani market. These result were matching with the study under taken by Hafeez and Attiya (2009) in Pakistani context, Researchers concluded firms with high profitability and with stable earning can afford larger free cash flow therefore pay out larger dividends to its shareholder. In addition, Talat and Hammad (2010) examined the ownership structure and cash flow as determinants of dividend policy. Researchers concluded that companies in which high proportion of share were occupied by managers and individual were more reluctant of pay high dividends. In contrast, companies in which managerial and individual ownership is low paid less dividends. It was also concluded that companies having high operating cash flow increase companies potential to pay high dividend and it was considered cash flow sensitivity reduce the compa nies payout but still it was not determined as potential determinants of corporate payout in Pakistan. 5.2 Discussions Profitability and free cash flow could lay significant impact on dividend payout in Pakistani context. Hafeez and Attiya(2009) was also considered profitability as significant determinant of dividend payout, But study conducted by Talat and Hammad (2010) concluded operating cash flow cannot consider significant determinant of dividend payout in Pakistani market.This research considered that free cash flow and profitability measured through earning per share and returns on equity have significant impact on dividend payout of the companies. 5.3 Implication and Recommendations This research was encompasses non-financial companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange Pakistan. The required data collected from 100 non-financial firms listed at KES for the period of 2005 t0 2009. Only firms were included in samples which were paid cash dividend for atleast two years. It is recommended that such type of study should be carried out in other countries of Asia. Further, it also recommended that other determinants except one analyzed in this study should be researched in more extensive manner so the dividend payout policy and its dynamics became clearer. 5.4 Future Research This research addressed the problems of investor, management and other researcher conductor in examining and observing the behavior of firm regarding their payout decisions. Research students who want to work further on dividend payout could be benefited by this study. In addition, all non financial firms will get benefit from this study because this research study taken all major sectors into the consideration and study clarified the impact of free cash flow and profitability on dividend payout. Cash Flow and Profitability of Dividend Payout Cash Flow and Profitability of Dividend Payout CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Overview The issue of dividend has been studied comprehensively in last few decades. Still it remained as one of the most debatable issue in the field of Finance. The contradictory nature and massive importance 0f dividend in finance had made it one of the most discussable topics for researchers. Researchers in the past enclosed many aspects of dividend; few among them are views about dividend, dividend payment effects on firm value, dynamics and determinants of dividend policy, and dividend movement of different markets. Lintner (1956) study the allocation of income of corporations among dividends, retained earnings and taxes by taking data from the years 1918 to 1941 as a training period and data from the years 1942 to 1951 as the testing period. Researchconcluded that the basic origin of dividend changes werenet earning and preceding year dividends. In addition, firms attempt to continue a constant stream of dividend and influence to make a regularly partial adjustment to a target payout ratio relatively hysterically changing their payout when a change in income occurs. In the short run, dividends are consistent to avoid frequent changes. This dispute is rooted back to the significant effort of Miller and Modigliani (1961), in which it was challenged in a perfect market condition dividend policy did not affect the value of firm. In contrast, Lintner (1962) and Gordon (1963) based à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Bird-in-handà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? theory and argued that in the world of ambiguity and imperfect information, hig h dividend payment is linked with high firm value. In addition, Black (1976) called dividend as great puzzle which need extensive researched. Furthermore, the Brealey and Myers (2005) listed dividend as one of the top ten significantvague topic in advance corporate finance. According to Anil and Sujjata(2008) emerging consensus was that no individual factor alone can describe dividend behavior. The existing corporate theories supported that cash flow and profitability have significant impact on dividend. The aim of this study was to know the impact of cash flow and profitability on dividend payout of non financial firms in Pakistan market. This study considered free cash flow and profitability was most important for non financial firm in Pakistan market. Talat and Mirza(2010) conducted research related to ownership structure and cash flow as predictor of dividend payout policy. According to that personal ownership, cash flow delicacy, size, and leverage were negatively associated with dividend payout policy. In contrast, profitability and operating cash flow was found as determinants of cash dividend. In addition, Researcher concluded that executive ownership, personal ownership, operating cash flow, and size were important determinants of dividend while, leverage and cash flow delicacy did not contribute considerably in determining the level of corporate dividend payment. DeAngelo and DeAngelo (1990) found significant relation between cash flow and dividend changes. Problem Statement In the field of corporate finance, the dividend was considered as one of the most noteworthy issues. The main purpose to study the impact of cash flow and profitability on dividend payout of non financial firm in Pakistani market was to analyze the cash dividend behavior of developing countries firm. In addition, study was conducted to find out how strongly these two variables free cash flow and profitability have impact on the dividend payout because, profitability was most likely used as determinants of dividend payout in most of the previous researches but free cash flow was not taken too much in previous research. Furthermore, how these two variables serve as an indicator for dividend payout. Hypothesis This research study has tested the following hypothesis to fulfill the objective of the research. H1: There is significant impact of free cash flow on dividend payout. H2: There is significant impact of return on assets on dividend payout. H3: There is significant impact of return on equity on dividend payout. H4: There is significant impact of earning per share on dividend payout. H5: There is significant impact of net profit margin on dividend payout. Outline of the Study The research structured follows. Chapter one was consist on the introduction of the thesis, it is essential to review the views and theoretical background of dividend, the statement o problem, scope and objective, hypothesis. Chapter two consisted of literature review given by various authors, theories on dividend and impact of cash flow and profitability on dividend payout. Chapter three explained methodology, it consisted of explanation of the selection of the variables, the sampling and research design, the data technique and hypothesis. Chapter four represents the analysis of results after processing the data. Chapter five composed of final result, conclusion and recommendation. Chapter six consisted of references. CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW Since 1956, dividend has always considered one of the most interested and investigated topic in world of finance.Lintner (1956) analyzed the allocation of earning of corporation among dividends, retained earnings, and taxes by taken data into consideration for years 1918 to 1941. It was found the basic determinants of dividend change are net earning and preceding year dividends. In addition, firms tried to continue a stable flow of dividend and likely made a regularly limited adjustment to a target payout ratio instead radically changing payout when earning changed. Jensen and Meckling (1976) paid attention toward agency cost hypothesis and described that dividend restricted the funds under management control, as a result putting them under strict capital market examination. Owner responsibility was reduced to deal with the quality of investment and to handle the expenditure on manager prerequisites. Marke, Langrehr, and Hexter(1998) conducted research on dividend policy determinants. Researchers had taken focus of firm, natural log of sales of firm, inside ownership for firm, no of common shareholder for firm, free cash flow for firm, sales growth of firm, and standard deviation of returns o f firm as determinants of dividend policy. Authors concluded that corporate focus has negative impact on dividend payout. While inside ownership had also negative impact, according to researcher the firms have greater inside ownership have small dividend payout. In addition, the firms with higher free cash flow have higher dividend payout and lower payout ratio of firms with higher standard deviation of returns. William and Nanda (1994) conducted research on free cash flow, shareholder value, and the unallocated profits after tax of 1936 and 1937. In this study researcher tried to explore the investor reaction toward the anticipated decrease in free cash flow presented to corporate managers. In addition, researchers suggested agency costs as partial determinants of dividend policy. To avoid the agency problem corporate have to pay higher dividend and imposed higher tax on undistributed profit so the problem of agency cost handled efficiently. The study conducted on determinants of dividend payout ratio in GhannabyAmidu and Abor (2006). In this study 20 listed firms of Ghana Stock Exchange were used as a sample which shows 76% of the total listed firm in Ghana Stock Exchange. Researchers have taken the Payout Ratio as controlled variable and explanatory variables includes risk, profitability, cash flow, corporate tax, institutional holding, sales growth, and market to book value. It was foundthat more profitable firms paid more dividends and profitability is positively related to dividend payout. In addition, cash flow and taxes are also positively related to dividend payout. Further, they also concluded there is a positive relationship between increase in liquidity and dividend payout. Results suggested negative relationship of dividend payout with growth, market to book value, risk, and institutional holding. The firms with the earning instability found hard to pay low and no dividends. Al-Malkawi (2007) worked on determinants of corporate dividend payout policy in Jordan. Researcher used a firm level panel data of all publicly traded firms on the Amman Stock Exchange for the year 1989-2000. Researcher used dividend payout as a depended variable and agency cost, Ownership, annual share turnover, market to book ratio, market capitalization of common equity, financial leverage ratio, profitability ratio, and taxes as independent variables. By using Tobit specification researcher concluded that positive relationship between size, age, and profitability with dividend payout and negative relationship between signaling device, ownership, and taxes in Jordan. Fairchild (2010) worked on Dividend policy, signaling and free cash flow: an integrated approach. Researcher has tried to examine the dividend policy by taking only two hypothesis signaling and free cash flow. In order to understand the composite environment of dividend policy, signaling game is developed in which most of the information possesses by managers than investors about the quality of the firms. The signaling hypothesis shows that asymmetric information between managers and investor, dividend work as signal regarding current performance and future prospect. The study found that high dividend has positive effect on the firm performance, in term of providing a positive signal for current performance and as will as future scenario. In addition, dividend payout reduces the free cash flow problem, which may attract the manager to invest in negative NPV project for personal interest. But if the project shows positive NPV so investment opportunities are available which lead toward the higher dividend in future. Gill, Nahum, and Rajendra (2010) worked on determinants of dividend payout ratio in United States. In this study researcher extend the Amidu and Joshua, and Anil and Kapoor finding for the American service and manufacturing firms. Researcher took same variables into account such as profitability, tax, market to book value, cash flow, and sale growth. The sample size was 266 out of 500 financial reports. According to the researcher dividend payout ratio of manufacturing firms is the function of profit margin, tax, and market to book value ratio. It was also found that result differ when the dividend payout ratio was defined as the ratio between after tax cash flow and cash dividend, not considering after tax earning of the companies. Reddy (2006), studied the dividend behavior of Indian companies, movement, and determinants and struggled to decide the behavior of the companies listed at Bombay Stock Exchange with theassist of trade off theory and signaling theory hypothesis. According to researcher analysis of dividend trend depicted that stock traded on New York Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange indicated that percentage of companies paying dividend has declined from 60.5% in 1990 to 32.1% in 2001 and there is only few companies paying dividend constantly. Beside that firms paying dividend are more profitable, large in size, and having enough growth. Indian context did not represent corporate tax and ax preference theory. Lastly the dividend change indicated signal to current and lagged earning performance rather than future earning performance. Baker, Farrelly and Edelman (1986) studied New York Stock Exchange 318 firms. According to the researchers main determinants of dividend payments were expected future earning and picture of past dividend. Gitman and Pruitt (1991) asked 1000 largest US firms financial managers and concluded present and precedent year earning were significant determinants effect dividend payment. According to Baker and Powell (2000) survey companies listed on New York Stock Exchange were industry explicit and predicted level of future income was the main factor of dividend payout Anil and Kapoor (2008) studies Indian information technology sector for determinants of dividend payout ratio. The phase for study 2000-2006 encompass both recessionary and booming phase of Indian information technology sector. Researcher concluded that beta and liquidity was discovered a notable determinant of dividend payout ratio. In addition, authors concluded that due to recession from 2003 onwards IT sector observed exponential growth, and it was anticipated linear growth in IT sector after 2006. Recently in Pakistani perspective, Ahmed and Attiya (2009) investigated sample of 320 non-financial firms listed on Karachi Stock Exchange from 2001 to2006.Researchers concluded Pakistani companies dependent more on current earning than past dividend. In addition, authors highlighted few predictors that may affect payout policies. Firstly, the finding demonstrated companies containing high profit with consistent earning can manage larger amount of free cash flow as a result to payout larger dividend. The firms having larger investment chance can easily affect and have a significant role in determinants of dividend payout policy in Pakistan. The companies paid more dividends to shareholders where inside ownership exist. Ownership structure has considered major factor in determining dividend policy in Pakistan. Beside that dividend payout was not affected pay growth of the firms and market liquidity has a significant impact on dividend payout. Furthermore, size was significant determin ants for dividend payout that means companies invest in assets relatively paying dividends to its stockholders. 2.1 Dividend irrelevance theory: Miller and Modigliani (1961) proposed that dividend policy is irrelevant to the shareholder and stockholder wealth was constant in the world of perfect market condition and any growth in the current payout is financed by literally priced stock sales. The basic assumption was that management paid 100 percent payout in every period. Other assumptions were as follow. First, market is perfect capital market that means there were no taxes on transaction cost, single buyer and seller not influenced price and everyone have free access to information. Second, investors are rational and value of securities was based on the discounted future cash flow to investor. Third, manager act as a agent of shareholders, and there was no uncertainty about the investment policy of the firm. 2.2 Bird-in-hand theory: Al-Malkawi (2007) emphasized that dividend valued differently from retained earnings (capital gains) in world of ambiguity and irregularity information. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“A bird in hand (dividend) is valued more than two in the bush (capital gain)à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬?. Investors always preferred dividends to retained earnings due to uncertainty of future cash flow. Although, this controversy has been extensively condemned and has not get strong empirical base, but, it was supported by Gordon and Shapiro (1956), Lintner (1962), and Walter (1963). The basic assumptions were as followed Firstly, investors have inadequate information regarding the profitability of a firm. Secondly, cash dividend was taxed at a higher rate when capital gain was realized on the sale of share. Thirdly, dividend serves as a signal of expected cash flow. 2.3 Agency cost and free cash flow theory: Ross (2008) define agency cost is the cost of the conflict of interest that exists among shareholders and management. It was happened when management act for own interest rather than shareholders interest who own the firm. This could be direct and indirect. It was in contrast to assumption of Millar and Modigliani (1961) that mangers act as an agent of shareholders. This is somewhat dubious, as the owners of the firm are different from the management. Managers are bound to carry out some activities, which could be costly to shareholders, such as undertaking unprofitable investments that would yield excessive returns to them, and unnecessarily high management compensation (Al-Malkawi, 2007). These costs are borne by shareholders; therefore, shareholders of firms with excess free cash flow would require high dividend payments instead. Agency cost may also arise between shareholders and bondholders: while shareholders require more dividends, bondholders require fewer dividends than shar eholders by putting in place a debt covenant to ensure availability of cash for their debt repayment. Easterbrook (1984) also identified two agency costs: the cost of monitoring managers and the cost of risk reluctance on the part of managers. Jensens free cash flow/overinvestment hypothesis (1988) provides a surrogate description for the positive association between the direction of the dividend change and the stock price reaction. Jensen argues that managers tend to hold cash to invest in negative NPV projects for their own utility maximization. The agency costs that result from this overinvestment decrease the value of the firm. Like the signaling hypothesis, the FCF argument suggests there should be a positive relationship is the direction of the dividend policy change and the stock price reaction. However, the FCF argument differentiates itself with respect to the level of growth opportunities faced by the firm. If a firm initiated a cash dividend, FCF arguments postulate there are fewer funds available for costly overinvestment. Likewise, if company didnt pay dividend, the strongest form of a decrease would reduce the value of the firm because there are more funds available to invest in less present value projects. The FCF hypothesis assumes larger stock price volatility for the firms who have few growth opportunities as compared to the firms with many growth opportunities. There is disagreement between different researchers on dividend policy. Allen and Rachim (1996) in Australia found no significant association between stock price volatility and divided policy. According to Gordon (1963) the stock price volatility is influenced by dividend payout. The firms who pay large dividend have minimum risks in terms of stock price value. Some of hypothetical mechanism also suggests the universal relationship of dividend yield and dividend payout ratio with stock price volatility. Jensens and Meckling (1976) developed Agency cost argument which proposed that dividend payout lower the cost of funds and increase the cash flows for the company. The company after paying cash dividends to stock holders would have less cash in hands of the managers to invest at below the cost of capital. According to Asquith and Mullin (1983), Born, Moser, and Officer (1984) and Miller and Rock (1985) dividend declaration provide information to the share holders to forecast the financial position of the company and the present firms earnings. This also depends on the source of information that either it is doubtful or not to respond on announcement of dividend. Hence, there remains disagreement till yet, the relation of dividend yield and stock price volatility and it is still unexplained and is considered as debatable in corporate CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS 3.1 Method of Data Collection Required data was collected from Karachi Stock Exchange as given by State Bank of Pakistan in publication of Balance Sheet Analysis of Joint Stock Companies Listed on the KSE (2005-2009). The period of study covered five years, 2005-09. The sample size of 100 non-financial firms was taken from all non financial firm listed at KSE. The required sample was chosen on the basis of cash dividend paid by firms at-least for two years. The sample represents major industry. 3.2 Sample Size Sample of 100 non-financial firms was collected from KSE. Sample consisted of firms which paid cash dividend for at least two years. Firms that was selected for study represented all major industries functioning in Pakistan and listed at KSE from 2005-2009. The impact of the cash flow and profitability on dividend payout was examined on selected sample of 100 non-financial firms. 3.3 Research Model Developed There were various financial factors of the non-financial firms which affected the Dividend payout of the firms. This research study investigated the impact of free cash flow and profitability on the dividend payout. 3.3.1 Dividend payout Dividend payout and dividend amount are taken as the dependent variables. Since dividend payout is the generally used alternative for dividend policy, almost every financial researcher has used payout as a proxy for corporate dividend policy (See for example Gugler, 2003; Reddy and Rath, 2005; Papadopoulos, 2007; Al-Malkawi, 2007; Ahmed Attiya, 2009). In order to calculate dividend payout was calculated as cash dividend per share divided by earning per share. 3.3.2 Earning per share According to Hafeez and Attiya (2009) high profitability with constant earnings can manage to pay for larger free cash flows as a result to pay out larger dividends. The earnings per share after tax were used as independent variable. Earning per share after tax was used because dividend has been paid after interest, taxes and after depreciation and calculated as net earnings divided by number of shares. H1: There is significant impact of earning per share on dividend payout 3.3.3 Return on Equity This variable is used in different previous studies such as: Abor (2005), Miller (2007), Al-Ajmi et al. (2009), and Ebaid (2009) etc. Some authors measured profitability or performance by three measurements such Gross profit margin (GPM), Return on Equity (ROE), and Return on Assets (ROA) and same predictors Ebaid (2009). Likely results with this variable are same as revealed by Abor (2005) and Ebaid (2009) such as: Significance and positive relationship with dividend payout. Return on Equity is considered best measure of firm profitability. Return on Equity (ROE) is one measure of how efficiently a company uses its assets to produce earnings. ROE was calculated by dividing Net Income minus preferred dividend by Share holder equity H2: There is significant impact of Return on Equity on dividend payout. 3.3.4 Free Cash flow According to Jensens (1986) free cash flow hypothesis, companies choose to use their cash resources to invest in profitable projects first; dividend is paid out of residual. From a companys point of view, cash generated from operations plays an important role in deciding the level of payout, among all three sources of cash flows i.e. operating; investing and financing, cash generated from operations is considered as most desirable source of funds for the company for distribution of dividends. Anil and Sujjata (2008) also found cash flow from operations as the most significant determinant of dividend policy in Indian IT industry. A  measure of financial performance calculated as Net income minus depreciation minus change in working capital minus change in capital expenditure. Free cash flow (FCF) represents the cash that a company is able to generate after  placing out the money required to maintain or expand its asset base.  Free  cash flow is important be cause it  allows a company to  pursue opportunities that enhance shareholder value. H3: There is a significant impact of free cash flow on dividend payout. The model developed was a linear model and its specifications are provided below: Div payout = a0 a1EPS + a2ROE + a3FCF + ц Dividend payout = Dividend per share divided by earning per share EPS = Net income divided by number of share outstanding ROE =Net income minus preferred dividend divided by common shareholder equity FCF =Net income minus Depreciation minus change in working capital minus change in Capital expenditure à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ = error term 3.4 Statistical Technique Multiple Linear Regression Analysis (MLR) technique was used for this research study to examine the impact of the distinctive financial characteristics of the non-financial firms on their dividend payout of the selected firms; Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for the examination of the secondary data. CHAPTER 4: RESULT The sample of 100 non-financial firms from Karachi Stock Exchange was taken into consideration. This research study used multiple regression analysis (MLR). Researcher examined the behavior of non-financial firms of KSE about dividend payout. The selected technique was used to study the impact of cash flow and profitability on dividend payout. 4.1 Finding and Interpretation of the results In the beginning, the regression technique was applied on collected data by using SPSS, and there was no single variable was significant. It was clear from the result that there was the high co-linearity among the independent variables of the dividend payout and this means there was strong interrelationship present among the predictors. Return on assets and net profit margin was omitted from the data, thus, the issue of co-linearity was resolved. Now, proceeding with the analysis of the results because issue of co-linearity was addressed. The interpretation and analysis is presented in the next sections of this research study. Table 4.1: Model Summary Mod R R Sq. Adj. R Sq. 1 .289 .084 .078 Tables 4.1 depict the summary about the regression model. The R square of 8.4% showed that all the predictors of dividend payout together explained 8.4% variation in the dependent variable and the remaining variation was unexplained or hidden predictor were not included in the model. TABLE 4.2:ANOVA Model Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Sig. 1 Regression 31503.936 3 10501.312 15.236 .000a Residual 345316.428 501 689.254 Total 376820.364 504 The table 4.2 checked the significance of the linear regression model in such a way that the reliability of the data file regarding the applicability of the regression technique can be understood from the above table; however, ANOVA table was reliable test of checking the linear regression models ability to explain any variation in the dependent variable of liquidity. This was perfectly obvious from the sig value of .000 that meant that the linear regression model was highly significant for the data collected for the research study conducted. In addition, ANOVA explained that all means are not equal. In table4.3 the final model of regression included only three independent variable that were free cash flow, earning per share, and return on equity These variables were included in the model due to highly significantly describing the relation with dependent variable dividend payout. Returns on equity and free cash flow have positive impact on dividend, while earning per share has negative impact on dividend payout. 4.2 Hypothesis Assessment Summary The hypothesis of research was unique financial factors had significant impact on the non-financial firms dividend payout decision. These financial characteristics were cash flow taken as free cash flow of firms and profitability taken as earning per share and return on Equity of firms. This research tasted individual financial characteristics and concluded the result as follow. TABLE 4.4: Hypothesis Assessment Summary S.No. Hypothesis ÃŽÂ ² SIG. RESULT H1 There is significant impact of free cash flow on dividend payout. .001 .005 Accepted H2 There is significant impact of Return on equity on dividend payout. .216 000 Accepted H3 There is significant impact of Earning per Share on dividend payout. -.123 .016 Accepted H4 There is significant impact of Return on Assets on dividend payout. .340 .170 Rejected H5 There is significant impact of Net profit margin on dividend payout. -.034 .530 Rejected CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSIONS, IMLICATION, FUTURE RESEARCH AND CONCLUSION 5.1Conclusion It was concluded with support of results of this research study return on equity, earning per share, and free cash flow were significant independent variables in Pakistani market. These result were matching with the study under taken by Hafeez and Attiya (2009) in Pakistani context, Researchers concluded firms with high profitability and with stable earning can afford larger free cash flow therefore pay out larger dividends to its shareholder. In addition, Talat and Hammad (2010) examined the ownership structure and cash flow as determinants of dividend policy. Researchers concluded that companies in which high proportion of share were occupied by managers and individual were more reluctant of pay high dividends. In contrast, companies in which managerial and individual ownership is low paid less dividends. It was also concluded that companies having high operating cash flow increase companies potential to pay high dividend and it was considered cash flow sensitivity reduce the compa nies payout but still it was not determined as potential determinants of corporate payout in Pakistan. 5.2 Discussions Profitability and free cash flow could lay significant impact on dividend payout in Pakistani context. Hafeez and Attiya(2009) was also considered profitability as significant determinant of dividend payout, But study conducted by Talat and Hammad (2010) concluded operating cash flow cannot consider significant determinant of dividend payout in Pakistani market.This research considered that free cash flow and profitability measured through earning per share and returns on equity have significant impact on dividend payout of the companies. 5.3 Implication and Recommendations This research was encompasses non-financial companies listed on Karachi Stock Exchange Pakistan. The required data collected from 100 non-financial firms listed at KES for the period of 2005 t0 2009. Only firms were included in samples which were paid cash dividend for atleast two years. It is recommended that such type of study should be carried out in other countries of Asia. Further, it also recommended that other determinants except one analyzed in this study should be researched in more extensive manner so the dividend payout policy and its dynamics became clearer. 5.4 Future Research This research addressed the problems of investor, management and other researcher conductor in examining and observing the behavior of firm regarding their payout decisions. Research students who want to work further on dividend payout could be benefited by this study. In addition, all non financial firms will get benefit from this study because this research study taken all major sectors into the consideration and study clarified the impact of free cash flow and profitability on dividend payout.