Family firm going public Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Family firm going public - Essay Example The family business is flourishing in many developed and developing countries throughout the world. It is a particular breed of business that can be more clearly understood by keeping in mind the idea of two interconnecting but separate systems. The family and the business are two systems in that the goals, needs and tasks of each are not identical. Because of the ambiguous nature of the interconnection, problems can and do arise. Methods for sorting out the roles and rules for the two systems need to be consciously developed and understood (Bogod & Leach, 1999). The advantages of running a family business are worth reiterating. They bear closed resemblances to those voiced by entrepreneurs generally – a feeling of freedom, a provision of income and capital, a sense of creativity. Family businesses can be a satisfying way to provide a living and for family members to feel collectively rewarded for their personal sacrifices. Under the best of circumstances, the family firm can provide a basis for meaningful and enduring family connections. Although there are many advantages, the concept of family business is not free from disadvantages. One such disadvantage arises when the procurement of capital comes into picture. Few, family firms reach this stage, which comes about when the business needs additional capital to continue its operations (Sitorus, 2001). Capital is procured by going public, usually concurrent with the introduction of professional management.... referred to as the primary market and the subsequent trading as the secondary market (Monteith, 1995). It is important to an economy that both markets operate efficiently. Similarly, a liquid a transparent secondary market will encourage investors to participate in the stock market and should again increase the availability of equity capital and lower investors' required returns. (Sitorus, 2001) Until recently limited liability was only available to limited companies, which ruled out sole traders because the company had to have at least two shareholders (Kline, 1994). Many traders go round this by setting up private limited companies, with another member of the family holding nominal accounts of shares to qualify for company status. They remained, in reality, one person business. There is now the possibility of limited liability for shareholders companies. There is no upper limit to the number of shareholders. Many family businesses are organized as limited companies but others prefer the informality of remaining unregistered (Marchisio, 2003). Many family businesses have been started on this basis and some have grown to considerable size within this format. The main limitation is that shares cannot be made available to the public, which restricts the company's power to raise additional capital through new shares (Bogod, 1999).By inviting members of the public to subscribe to the business, it enjoys much wider opportunities to raise funds. Going public also gives existing shareholders greater liquidity as they can now realize the value of their shares by selling them on the open market (Newman, 1985). Since the shareholders in a family

Is Article 5 of the OECD's Model Tax Convention still fit for purpose Coursework

Is Article 5 of the OECD's Model Tax Convention still fit for purpose given the changes in world trade since the Article was fir - Coursework Example Raising personal income taxes or the goods and services tax any further would be extremely unpopular with the people. There is widespread anger in the UK and in other OECD countries about the tax avoidance practices of large multinational corporations. In the UK, the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament questioned senior executives of Starbucks, Amazon and Google on their tax avoidance practices which were held to be against the spirit if not the letter of the law 2. Multinational Corporations (MNC) accounted for over $33 trillion in global sales in 2010 with a value addition of over $16 trillion, representing one-quarter of the world GDP. Many of the MNC from the Fortune 100 list have bigger revenues than several of the emerging economy countries around the world and most of these MNC are headquartered in the OECD countries 3. 1 Browne, J. and Roantree, B., â€Å"A Survey of the UK Tax System†, IFS Briefing Note BN09, October 2012. accessed 20 March 2013. 2 Knight, L., â⠂¬Å"Corporate tax avoidance: How do companies do it?† BBC News, 4 Dec 2012. accessed on 20 March 2013. 3 UNCTAD Report, â€Å"World Investment Report 2011†, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development accessed on 20 March 2013. ... ve definition, a sovereign state is made up of three core elements â€Å"people, territory and a government† and the government of a territory has the sovereign right to tax people living in that territory 4. A Multinational Corporation, by definition, operates in multiple countries and there is the perennial challenge of determining which government has taxation rights over the MNC and for what part of its income. 2. The Evolution of the OECD Model Tax Convention The Organization for European Economic Cooperation which later became the OECD first published a draft double taxation avoidance agreement in 1958 with the objective of preventing individuals or companies being taxed in both the country of residence (Country R) and the country of source for the income (Country S) and for the prevention of tax evasion. This document has served as the basis for over 3000 bilateral tax treaties in force around the world 5. The Model Convention has been periodically updated by the OECD a nd a draft 2012 revision is currently in circulation. Many developing countries around the world felt that the OECD model convention was unduly favourable to the advanced economies and lobbied the United Nations to evolve an alternative Model Double Taxation convention which was first issued in 1977. 4 Ring, D.M., â€Å"Democracy, Sovereignty and Tax Competition: The Role of Tax Sovereignty in shaping Tax Cooperation†, Boston College Law School, 28 Jan 2009. accessed on 20 March 2013. 5 Bennett, M., â€Å"The 50th Anniversary of the OECD Model Tax Convention†, 2008. accessed on 20 March 2013. This model has also been periodically updated. The UN model gives the source country greater rights to tax income than the

Condominium Living in Malaysia

Condominium Living in Malaysia The concept of condominium living in Malaysia is already promoted for few years before and almost all the people in the city will accept this type of housing. Due to the rapid rate of urbanisation and scarce of land available, condominium become the most popular housing types which lead to maximise the usage of land available with providing the facilities. Condominium living has become more common in a feature of the residential landscape in many parts of the country, especially in densely populated areas such as Kuala Lumpur and Penang. This is mainly cause by the scarcity of land in big cities and rapid urbanisation due to massive population migration. Other than population migration, the needs of people and changing lifestyle have also contributed to the development of the high-rise building over the country. Limited land has driven up the prices of properties, especially the place such as those in the Kuala Lumpur city centre and the fast developing corridors in the Klang Valleys (The Star, 2004). Since Malaysia is now promoting a policy, housing-owning democracy with a target which every family will own a house. With this policy, there is an opportunity to let the people choose what kind of housing is likely to be bought. Condominium living can open up an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between three major ethnic for racial integration. It is to help the political and economic stability in the country. All the residents will share their responsibility and give their effort over the common areas and facilities such as corridor or the recreational facilities within the condominium. There are many reasons why people make their homes in condominiums. Some is because their children have grown up and moved out, and their homes are now too large. Others consider it because it is cheaper to buy a unit in a condo rather than a landed property in the location they want (National House Buyers Association, 2009). Living within the condominium where neighbours can be easily call upon when problems arise will increase the mutual understanding between the neighbours. Condominium living is about lifestyle and buying a condominium is actually investing in a lifestyle (Chan, C. K., 1991). Some rich people will buy the condominium just because of the facilities it is provided. They can just rent the condominium in term of it location or equipped by good facilities such as 24-hour security, swimming pools and barbecue pits. From this chapter, we will understand concept of condominium development, definition of condominium, the types of condominium, basic instrument for purchasing condominium, the units, common areas, Strata Title Act (1985) and Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 (Act 663). The Concept of Condominium Development: Condominium means to control (dominion) a certain property jointly with (con) one or more persons (Chan, C. K., 1991). This housing development is a form of co-ownership over a multiple-unit property, for instance flat. The co-ownership will own a unit and have their own interest in the air space and an undivided interest in the common area, such as corridor, lobbies, playground, garden, swimming pools and car park. Condominium development is to be introduced and solved the problem because of the rapid urbanisation and limited of land available. Due to these problems, condominium is more popular in the crowded city such as Kuala Lumpur. Desa Kudalan project was the first project launched in Kuala Lumpur which was located in the up-market area of Jalan Pekeliling (Chan, C. K., 1991). Demand of condominium is rise in crowded cities and there will be some of the factors that contributed to the demand such as scarcity of land and high land cost. Because limited land available in cities, it driven up the land price goes up. Condominium developments help the citizen to have their own house which in the multiple-unit property, condominium where each individual has their own interest known as unit. As the population rise, some cities are facing shortage of housing. Multiple-unit property will help the citizen to have their own house which fulfilled the housing democracy which now promoting by the government where every citizen owns their house. People nowadays are more educated and they will meet and satisfy their need to fulfil the life they want to be. Changing lifestyle is one of the factors for the contribution of condominium development. There are many facilities provided by living in condominium such as24-hour security and swimming pool. The types of condominium development are different in the form of low rise and high rise, integrated linked type, cluster of repetitive nature, in varying community density, in more central urban region and the suburban as well as areas of resort, in varying cost values; but in all cases, the concept of mutual benefitting community living remains the basic (Sze To, K. Y., 1979). The concept of condominium development is consider quite success in the crowded city compare to rural area. This has helped to create a market for condominium housing and citizens have more choice to choose according to their favourite. Definition of Condominium: Con-dominium is derive from two word which mean joint sovereignty or in the more historical sense joint control of a State by other States. In housing development, it is referred to subsidiary title coupled with common title or as defined under the National Land Code in previous days (Sze To, K. Y., 1979). The word condo or condominium comes from the two Latin words- con means together and dominium, means property. A condominium can be an apartment, house, townhouse or a unit in an apartment house in which the units are individually owned. Hence, there is always common property owned with others- recreation areas, lawns, basement, garage as well as the individual units are owned outright ( Kalia, A., 2007). Others than that, condominium is the home ownership that owned by the individual units, which is known as condominium units. Undivided interest means a share or right that owned by the unit holder, but the ratio or the share cannot be defined apart from the whole (Holeman, J. R., 1980). Each unit owner has the same interest which is called shared rights towards the common areas that used together, for instance swimming pool, car park, barbecue pits, elevator and others. Management of the condominium is responsibility to well manage the common area in order to provide a harmonies environment within the condominium. An amount of money, which is management fee, will be paid by the unit owners every month in order the property management are sufficient money to manage the common areas. Normally, home owners will form an association, to maintain and manage the common areas. There are various types of design unit within a condominium, such as studio unit, penthouse and duplex. Penthouse and duplex are expensive condominium living and normally rich people will purchase this kind of condominium to match their luxury lifestyle. Studio unit is consists of dining, living and bedroom that combined together to become a large room. The kitchen facilities as a part of the central room. Bathroom in this unit has its own smaller partition. Penthouse which high classification in the condominium is located at the top of the building. It is separate from with others building to have privacy by unique design such as high ceiling. Duplex consist of two floors connected by internal staircase in condominium. Types of Condominium: There are several type of condominium such as residential condominium, non-residential condominium, standard condominium and phase condominium. Residential condominium is owned by the individual units which the owner will occupy for living purpose. Some of the owner will rent out to others to earn the rental income. They will pay monthly maintenance fee to management department of condominium for maintaining and managing the common area that all the owners have the shared right on it. There is also non-residential condominium can be found in the property market such as hotel, services apartment, retail shop and office building. The structure is the same with the residential condominium but the difference is the usage of the building. Standard condominium is just a general type of condominium that can be found in any country. This kind of condominium is subdivided into units and common area. Hence, this kind of owner will own different but inseparable entities. One is the well defined space that used for residential purpose; one is the common area which the owner have shared interest on it. This shared interest between the owners cannot be defined from the whole part. Phased condominium is a condominium developed according to stages. Normally, the time to complete the development will not exceed 10 years. Hence, the condominium development size will increase from time to time until the development is complete. The advantage of this type of condominium is the purchasers do not have to wait for so long for the development to complete. There is also a benefit for the developer which the income does not influence by the period to occupy or awaiting title. This type of condominium will use phase one to be the name that completed first. The owners is also own different but inseparable entities. Basic Instrument for Purchasing Condominium: Before the condominium can be purchased, there are three instruments used in order to purchase condominium, deed of Mutual Covenant, declaration of condominium and bylaw of condominium association. Deed of Mutual Covenant: When a person purchases a property where there are common areas that need all the involvement of all the unit owners, the owner will asked to enter into a Deed of Mutual Covenant (DMC) while the Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) is signed upon. Deed of Mutual Covenant is an agreement of mutual involved between the developer and the purchaser. The contents different from developer to developer, and they are distinctly separate from those in the SPA (National House Buyers Association, 2004). Housing Development Act does not regulate the contents in DMC compare to Sale and Purchase Agreement. The contents consist of the clauses which assure the purchaser and the developer. There are some clauses are as follows: Maintenance Charges. The maintenance charges are the agreed amount that valid for a period. After the period, the agreed amount will be increased to a reasonable amount. Undertaking Not To Lodge A caveat. DMC restrict the purchaser or owner to lodge any caveat on the property. Right of the developer to cease supply of utilities. Developer has the right to cut the utilities such as electricity and water supply, in case of any default or delay payment by the resident. Consent fees. National House Buyers Association (2004:1) stated. The amendment to the Housing Regulations, effective Dec 1, 2002, developers can only charge a sum of 0.5% of the purchase price or RM500, whichever is lower. This is regardless of when the SPA was signed. The amended Housing Regulations also states that: No housing developer shall collect any fee by whatever name called for giving his consent to any purchaser or subsequent purchaser of a housing accommodation to assign his rights and benefits to and in the contract of sale to any financial institution providing a loan for such purchaser to finance or part finance the purchase of the housing accommodation Period of validity of the DMC. The validity period of DMC is the strata titles have been issued to the each unit owners and the management corporation is formed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many dispute causes by the clauses between developers and buyers. The maintenance charges will be increase to a reasonable amount after certain period. Some buyers do not check during signing the DMC or do not understand what is the reasonable amount will be stated. The disputes begin with developers after certain period when buyers realise they have to pay more for maintenance charges. Although the buyer is owned the property, he is no right to enter any caveat to his own property to secure his rights. Government should solve the dispute between developers and buyers by standardize contents of DMC like Sale and Purchase Agreement to ensure the equilibrium balance between developers and buyers. Declaration of Condominium:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The declaration of condominium (also known as the declaration of restrictions or master deed) establishes the definition of the private and common elements within the condominium community, and outlines the rights and obligations of the owners. It is actually a legal instrument recorded that create a condominium development under law. This declaration of condominium will set up a fund to maintain the property, and creates the condominium association. Instructions for how amendments are to be when the change of conditions of demand should be given by the declaration of condominium. For instance, the developer has to prepare a declaration of condominium to fully state the ownership rights of the owners according to their units (Holeman, J. R., 1980). Articles of Incorporation:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Constitution condominium community is a set of rule and regulation which same as the articles of incorporation and declaration of condominium. The articles of incorporation will constitute the rule and regulation for the purpose of condominium and it will be stated there whether it is for investment purpose or just for resident occupation. The condominium will operate according to the rules and regulation when the article of incorporation is legally bound while condominium by-law will establish the guidelines of condominium. Membership requirements, election procedures, and the powers and duties of the directors and officers are regulated by by-law. They determine how the finances are to be handled, and how the project is to be maintained, insured, and restricted. By-law will continuous change and amend to meet the suitable condition (Holeman, J. R., 1980). Bylaw of Condominium Association; By-law should be abided by the condominium unit owners. Developers or the purchaser of the units are generally draft the rules and regulation of condominium in by-law of condominium. Normally, by-law will establish the electing officers or board members procedures of the condominium association, inform the member when the meeting is being held, and also responsible for the building maintenance and insurance in common areas. Some of the restrictions may impose to restrict unit holders to do something against the rule and regulation or penalties for not compliance to the rules (Answer Corporation, 2009). Rules and Regulation; Rules and regulations are required by managing the condominium as the by-law gives the rules for living together with harmonies. These rules and regulations will determine and enforce by the board of Director. Some of the rules and regulations are stated as below: Homeowners Dues. The monthly homeowners due must be paid according to the period that has been determined. Condominium may take some action towards homeowners who are refused to pay it. Common Elements. The homeowner or residents are not allowed to making loud noise which will disturb other residents within the period that has been determined. The balconies must be neat and clean in appearance. No any blocking items or store room are allowed to be place at common area. Parking. Vehicles have to be parked in the designated parking spaces. Vehicles are not allowed to park their vehicle at the prohibited area such as in front of garage. Pets. Some of the condominium may allow the residents to have their pets. Some condominium will not. If allowed, it must consistent with the responsibilities associated with living in a condominium. The Unit: Unit is the description which usually contained in the declaration of condominium. The most important element is boundary described, because homeowners are responsible to maintain, manage, insure and decorate their own unit. Each unit owner shall be entitled to exclusive possession of his apartment, subject to the provisions of the condominium documents (Holeman, J. R., 1980). Common Areas: The documents refer to common area shared by condominium owners as that part of the projects exclusive of all private units. The ownership of each condominium unit includes an undivided interest in, as well as rights and title to these common areas (Holeman, J. R., 1980). The common areas are divided into two: general common interest and limited common elements. Generally, common areas include the land, main walls, foundations, roofs, hallways, elevators, swimming pools and other recreational areas and parking lots. Detached carports and garages are sometimes owned by the association and assigned to individual unit owners, and sometimes they are owned with the unit (King, B., 2003). Limited common elements are a physical part of the common areas, but are for the exclusive use of a particular unit owner or group of owners. Limited areas usually refer to parking spaces, patio space, Storage space, and entrances ways (Holeman, J. R., 1980). Neighbourhood Link (2009:1) explained. Limited common elements could also be any air conditioning or heating units, chute, flue, duct, wire, conduit, bearing wall, bearing column and other fixture, whether located within or outside of the boundaries of a unit, which serve only that unit or are allocated solely to that unit. Any shutters, awnings, window boxes, doorsteps, stoops, porches, decks, balconies, entryways, patios, exterior doors and windows, other fixtures designed to serve a single unit, but located outside the Units boundaries are limited common elements allocated exclusively to that unit. Strata Title Act (1985): The interest of unit holders and developers are subjected in sub-division of building for subsidiary titles (Strata Titles). This legally abided title has contributed a more effective implementation when some of the disputes are arise (Kok, S. T., 1979). The Federal and Director Generals Land and Mines Department (2009:1) explained that strata Title was first introduced in 1966 by the Malaysian National Land Code 1965, to better cope with the legal ownership of multi-storey buildings. Previously, it was known as subsidiary titles by reference to the buildings erected on alienated land. By 2007 strata title legislative amendment, the strata titles concept was extended to be applied for land parcels created on alienated land. Definition: Strata title is a form of ownership for multi-storey buildings or blocks or multi layer of land on a piece of alienated land. The Strata part term refers to subdivided units being on different levels (The Federal and Director Generals Land and Mines Department, 2009). Management Corporation is formed under Strata Title Schemes where combination the individual parcels and common property with a self-governance of Strata Corporation. The individual parcel is indicating condominium, apartment, town house, and each of the individual units will be hold a different title. Management Corporation is formed automatically when the strata title is registered by opening of a Book of Strata Register (The Federal and Director Generals Land and Mines Department, 2009). The Management Corporation has to elect a council who responsible to perform the MCs duties and powers and carry out the MCs business. The council is consisting of not less than three and not more than fourteen proprietors of multi-storey building. Under section 41 of Strata Title Act 1985, the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) must be conducted within one month after expiration of the initial period. Initial Period is the period commence from the day of the MC is formed and the end on the day on which there are at least one- quarter of aggregate share units, not including the proprietor of the lot who known as original proprietor of Master Title (Tan, R., 2007). By-Laws: By-laws under the Third Schedule of Strata Titles Act, 1985 are applicable to all subdivided buildings. Additional by-laws and continuous amendment can be made by management corporation so that by-laws does not contracting with the Third Schedule of the Strata Titles Act, 1985. All owners in Management Corporation must comply the additional by-laws as long as the law is applicable. And the additional by-law shall be publishing in the public for their awareness. Records of all such by-laws must be properly kept by Management Corporation for inspection (National House Buyers Association, 2009). Requirement of Subdivision of Building: Homeowner will be given a separate title which is sub-divided any building into each individual title of the proprietor of the land with approval of The Federal and Director Generals Land and Mines Department. Any building which intends to sub-divide to an individual title has to be subject to some of the conditions as follow: The land is only held as one lot under registry title. Building must have 2 or more storeys above the ground level, with an area at least 5,000 square feet. The building must approved and certified by a Licensed Surveyor. The boundary of the lot with will be examined carefully by him. The sub-division does not contravene any restriction in interest in the land or any requirement that has been gazetted in title. The building has to be constructed in accordance with the plan submitted where the planning permission was required by for the building and it should certified by Architect(register under the Architect Ordinance 1951). here is no item of land revenue is outstanding in the respected land. Formation of Management Corporation: MC is the medium through which the proprietors control and manage the strata scheme pursuant to the Strata Titles Act 1985 and the Rules made there under. If it is a subdivided building or multi-storey building, it is automatically register under strata title. The MC is known by the name appearing in the book of the strata register relating to the subdivided building (National House Buyers Association, 2009). It is a body corporate having perpetual succession and a common seal. It is not necessary to register it under the Societies Act 1966 or any other law. In the case of a subdivided low-cost building, however, the MC does not come into existence automatically with the opening of the strata register. Under section 64 of the Strata Titles Act 1985, the MC comes into existence upon the completion of the transfer of strata title in respect of all the parcels by the original proprietor. On the other hand, the proprietors, other than the original proprietor, having share units totalling more than half of the aggregate share units of all the parcels may apply o the Director of Lands and Mines for an order to establish the management corporation as provided for under section 64A. Duties, Powers and Responsibilities of the Management Corporation: Normally, the duties, powers and responsibilities of MC are under section 43 of the Strata Title Act, 1985. National House Buyers Association (2009) stated that the MC should exercise their duties, powers and responsibility according as below: To collect the contributions from parcel proprietors. To purchase the movable property for the use as common property. To secure the repayment and the payment interest. To do all things necessary for the performance of its duties. To manage and maintain the common property. To insure and keep insured the subdivided building against fire and other risks. To pay insurance premiums, quit rent and other rates. To comply with any notices or orders given by an public authorities to execute any works in respect of the reasonable time. To prepare and maintain a strata roll for the subdivided building. To be the custodian of the issue of the document of title of the relevant land. Tot purchase additional land, grant or accept an easement. To provide an appropriate receptacle for postal deliveries. Financial Management: Management Corporation has to establish a management fund in order to manage and maintain, control the common properties, paying taxes, rates and insurance. Some acquisition and investment activities may also allowed for MC to proceed. MC will decide the amount of homeowner to levy the contribution according to their respective share unit and the interest rate whoever homeowner is in respect of late payment of contribution for maintain the management find accounts. A portion of money from the management fund account are distributed for painting the building, purchasing movable property for the purpose of common property, replacement of fixture and fitting in common property and others expenditure for maintenance. Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 (Act 663): Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 (Act 663) was first came to enforce on 12 April 2007. It is an Act to provide for the proper maintenance and, management of buildings and common property, and for matters incidental thereto (Lee, S. S., 2007). There are some problems during the duration after vacant possession is delivered by developer to purchaser and before the establishment of the Management Corporation. Hence, this present law is to cover what is inadequate in addressing the problems during that period. The developer is responsible for the maintenance and management of the common property before the formation of the Management Corporation (Lee, S. S., 2007). The maintenance and management of building and common property under the Building and Common Property Act 2007 covers all types of building that will be or have been subdivided and issued with strata titles namely residential buildings such as condominiums flats, apartments and gated community developments, commercial buildings such as office blocks, shopping complexes, service apartments, mixed developments and industrial buildings. In respect of building with strata titles, it includes all parcels, accessory parcels and common property (Maidin, A. J., 2007). According to the section 4 of the Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 (Act 663), a Joint Management Body is formed which comprise the developer and purchasers to administer the maintenance and management of the building during the initial period before the Management Corporation fully takes control of the common property of the development from the developer (Soong, D., 2007). Joint Management Body: The first meeting of the Body has to be convoked by developers no later than 12 months from the commencement of the act for the building concerned was completed before the commencement of the Act. In cases where the building is completed on or after the commencement of the Act, the meeting must be held no later than 12 months from the delivery of vacant possession to the purchasers. Unlike the Management Corporation, the developers duty to convene the first meeting of the Body is effectively tied to the delivery of vacant possession to the purchasers and not effected by how long it takes the developer to apply for and procure the opening of the strata register for the development or whether the developer has sold and transferred 25% of the development to purchasers (Soong, D., 2007). Formation of Joint Management Body: Before the JMB is established, the developer has responsibility to carry out the maintenance works and to ensure the building is free others risks. Developer has the duty to have a first meeting with all the purchasers within specified period. If developer fails to do so, the developer will be fined not more than RM25, 000 or imprisonment in a period not more than three months or both. Duties of Joint Management Body Joint Management Body is a body corporate, hence there are boned to be sued if anything found in default. The duties of the JMB are, among others, to: Maintain the common property and keep it in good serviceable repair. Fix and impose charges for the maintenance works. Insure the building and apply insurance moneys received for rebuilding and reinstatement. Prepare and maintain a register of all purchasers. Ensure that the Building Maintenance Fund (BMF) is audited and provide financial statements to purchasers. Enforce house rules (Wong, A. F. H., 2009). Powers of Joint Management Body: Joint Management Bodys powers under Building and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act 2007 (Act 663) are almost the same with those of the Management Corporation under Strata Titles Act. The Body is essentially a form of Pre-management Corporation (Soong, D., 2007). In essence, the Body is required to perform all acts required for the proper maintenance and management of the building, such as maintaining audited accounts and enforcing house rules for the proper maintenance and management of the building. The JMB is empowered to: i. Collect maintenance charges from purchasers. ii. Authorise expenditure for carrying out the maintenance works. iii. Recover monies due from purchasers. iv. Acquire property for use by purchasers in connection with the common property. v. Secure the services of a person to undertake the maintenance works. vi. Make house rules (Wong, A. F. H., 2009). Building Maintenance Account: Financial statements which include the maintenance and management of the development are specified by the Act has to be maintained by developer and the Body before the account is being passed to the Management Corporation. Ensuring funds to be audited which held for the maintenance of the development and provide the audited financial statements for the information to purchasers is part of the duty of the Body (Soong, D., 2007). In each development, developer is required to open a Building Maintenance Account before vacant possession is delivering to homeowner. Other than that, developer also required to deposit all the money received for the purpose of Building Maintenance Account which the money does not go directly to developer. Building Maintenance Account must to be audited by a public and professional auditor, and the auditors report must be attach and report to Commissioner within 14 days. Commissioner has the power to engage their own auditor to investigate the entire document related, such as account of the developers company. Under Part IV Section 16, before delivery of vacant possession, the developer of a strata development must open a Building Maintenance Account (BMA) in the name of the strata development for each development. This applies to all newly completed strata development where the vacant possession has not been delivered to the purchasers as of 12th April, 2007. For developments where vacant possession has been given but the management corpora

Universal Code of Software Ethics Essay -- Computers Software Technolo

Universal Code of Software Ethics Introduction Software organizations are growing along with the international businesses they service. Driven by universalism, the world is becoming a single workplace and marketplace. Like all professionals, Software professionals who work within these organizations regularly face problems of an ethical and moral nature. In making decisions, what cultural, social and ethical norms should apply - those of the professionals’ home culture or those of the culture in which they are working, and indeed, are these two choices necessarily different? [6] "Each Nation has many customs and practices which are not only unknown to another nation but barbarous and a cause of wonder," says Michel de Montaigne. The field of computing is generating many difficult ethical questions and the variation in the ethical and social norms across the globe merely adds to the level of complexity in finding answers to these questions. How can issues be answered if the "rules" are not fixed? How, for example, can an ethical or moral question about the content of a web site be considered when a hypertext link in that web page may not only take the user to a different part of that site, but to "a site in another part of the world" where different ethical values may prevail? [6] Professions have adopted ethical codes and codes of conduct. Physicians, lawyers, and engineers have moral responsibilities and know to whom they are responsible. Professionals in the information systems field need similar guidance. Unfortunately, multiple professional standards in the field are offered by individual organizations. Many of the precepts in these codes are similar, but some are not. This paper presents the principles of f... ... 15 Jun 2000, [Online], Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/world_lectures/mazrui_lect.shtml. [9] Oz, Effy Ethical Standards for Information Systems Professionals: A Case for a Unified Code 1992, [Online], Available: http://www.misq.org/archivist/vol/no16/issue4/effyoz.pdf. [10] Pohl, Karl-Heinz [1999] Beyond Universalism and Relativism – Reflections on an East-West Intercultural Dialogue. Paper to the International Conference on Universal Ethics and Asian Values, 4-6 Oct 1999, Seoul, South Korea, [Online], Available: http://www.unesco.or.kr/kor/science/project/universal_ethics/asianvalues/pohl.htm. [11] Rosenfeld, Jack [1997] IFIP Publishes Book on Ethics of Computing from an International Perspective. ACM SIGCHI Bulletin, Vol. 29, No. 1, Jan 1997, [Online], Available: http://www.acm.org/sigchi/bulletin/1997.1/international.html.

Types of Buckling

Types of Buckling Engineering is one discipline that is based on several different phenomenon and concepts. Each concept in engineering is as important as other and they all work together to give rise to some new techniques. One phenomenon that is extremely beneficial and widely used in engineering and science is buckling. Buckling is nothing but a phenomenon of mathematical instability, which leads to a special failure mode. When a system in equilibrium is subjected to additional load, it buckles down and gets deformed.This deformation is what is known as buckling. There are several different types of buckling that can take place in objects and those are described as below. Flexural buckling is a special form of buckling that takes place in a special compression member facing a deflection because of the bending of flexure. It occurs mostly in a straight column when the stable equilibrium gets distorted at the critical load. The buckling is shown to occur mainly at the axis and demon strates significantly small radius of gyration.There are different types of flexural buckling that can take place in objects and different equations can be employed for determining the load and the extent of buckling caused due to the same. Lateral buckling is also commonly observed in objects when the deflection goes out of the plane in which the object is functioning at a given time. Any load on the object that leads to the bending in it along the given strong axis, the object is shown to go out of plane and such buckling is known as lateral buckling.The critical value of the applied moment is shown to lead to cause several different out-of-plane displacements in the straight elastic beam. Torsional buckling is yet another type of buckling that commonly takes place in the plates. This particular buckling is very common in the members that are double-symmetric in nature and also simultaneously lead to the occurrence of extremely slender cross-sectional elements. This buckling never occurs in the rolled sections and takes place in the built-up sections.Torsional buckling is combined with flexural buckling to give rise to another type of buckling known as flexural-torsional buckling. This combined form of buckling is shown to take place mostly in the objects that exhibit unsymmetrical cross-section with only one single axis of symmetry. This special case takes place when there is a simultaneous bending and twisting of the object, thus leading to significant deflections.Buckling can take place in different types of objects, including plastic, pipes and pressure vessels. Engineers carry out different studies for determining the level of buckling and there are several equations and numerical models that help in defining and examining the buckling level so that appropriate measures can be taken to minimize destruction. Reference link: http://classof1. com/homework-help/engineering-homework-help

Article Summary: Emerging Giants

Article Summary: Emerging Giants Many local companies lost their market shares or sold off their businesses when global or multinational companies from developed markets such as US, Germany, and Japan got into the emerging markets. However, some local companies held out against and exorcised multinationals.In this article, the authors instantiate this kind of local companies by explaining that Mahindra & Mahindra in India and Haier Group in China have barraged out their own rivals, reset their business strategies, taken advantages of new opportunities, and gained high competencies that enable themselves to do their businesses in global markets very successfully.Also, the authors describe the three strategies these companies employ to make themselves strong, global competitors in spite of facing several difficulties such as financial problems or bureaucratic disadvantages in their home countries, referring the results of their study of emerging giants. First of all, some emerging-mark et companies use their own knowledge of local product markets, resulting in good understandings of local customers’ needs and tastes.This strategy helps these local companies to capture distinctive national advantages. For example, Jollibee Foods in Philippine has profitably succeeded in their businesses against McDonald’s because they know local customers tend to prefer a particular soy and garlic taste that their products have. Secondly, some companies in emerging markets have exploited their knowledge of local talent and capital markets, thus giving services to their customers at home countries and overseas cost-effectively.For instance, Infosys or Wipro in India knew the possibility of providing services to customers abroad very cheaply compared to Western companies did because they had knowledge about where the talents resided and that they can hired technical workers at salaries lower than those in developed markets. Finally, some emerging giants have taken advan tages of institutional voids to create businesses.Old Mutual in South Africa, for example, noticed that South Africa did not have mutual fund and long-term investment product, enabling itself becoming a large financial firm. After I read this article, the company that I came in my mind is Geely Automobile (Geely) in China. Geely actually started their business as a manufacture of refrigerator. The CEO and founder at Geely, Li Shu Fu knew that to achieve the success in China, it was necessary to reduce the cost of anufacturing drastically, enabling local customers to buy their products in China, because when he started his business, in China disposal income among ordinary people was much lower than that in different countries. Therefore, he began to assemble many components from junk dealers because recycled or junk parts were basically cheaper than new components, thus resulting in cost reduction. Then, he stared to produce small motorbikes because at that time, in the end of 1994, it was not still common to buy automobiles in China.That is why at first he decided to focus on manufacturing motorbikes instead of automobiles. After that, finally, they made a beginning of car manufacturing in cost-effectively manner by hiring local workers who knew how to design their products and to manipulate industrial machines. Additionally, he has built networks with local universities and more surprisingly he actually founded several universities to produce competitive but cheap labors. I believe this company is a remarkable and interesting example of emerging giants.