My Mom Essay

Many people have a specific person who inspires them, but many people still walk from day to day wondering who there’s is, I know mine is my mother. Anybody can be the person who will inspire you, from a friend, to even a pet dog. A person who inspires you is a person who cares about you and what choice that you make. An adult who inspired me is my mother, she believes in me, cares about me, and always helps me. My mother believes in me, in everything I do, and is always positive about it. Every decision, task, and every level that I concur, my mom is always there, believing in me that I will succeed. Graduating 5th grade and moving up to 6th grade was a big step, just like graduating 8th grade and moving up to 9th grade was. But my mother believed that I would still do well in school and would enjoy it alot. Moving up a grade was always a bit scary, but my mother always had my back, and told me to just do my best, and have fun. With my mothers support I enjoy high school a lo t more than I thought I would. My mother believing in me helped motivate me, and show that I can do everything that I put my mind to. But my mother believing in me isn’t the only way that she inspired me, but that my mom also cared about me. My mother never let a day go by without asking me how my day was or telling me how much she loved me. She always wanted to make sure I’m having fun, and enjoying life, with no distractions. All kids have heard different sayings that their mom says like, call me when you get there which for many kids they hate to hear it. But my mom says them because she cares what happens to me and she wants me to be always safe and doing the right thing. Whenever things get tough I can always come to my mom and get her opinion. Many kids aren’t very close with their mom but I know I can share anything with my mom and that she will support me always. Not only is my mom very caring, and kind but she is also very helpful. A person who believes in me, cares about me, and helps me always would have to be my mother. Through the thick and thin she always has had my back in everything, and trusts me. Like lots of other mothers, she makes sure that I am enjoying life, and that everyday I feel inspired, to do something great. My mother truly believes in me, cares about me, and is always willing to help me with everything. Hopefully you have an adult that inspired you like my mom inspires me.

Fetal Heart Rate and Defects Essay

Electronic fetal heart monitoring is commonly used for tracking how well the baby is doing within the contracting uterus and for detecting signs of fetal distress. External fetal heart monitoring is performed by attaching external transducers to the mother’s abdomen with elastic straps. The transducers use Doppler ultrasound to detect fetal heart motion, and the information is sent to the fetal heart monitor which calculates and records the fetal heart rate on a continuous strip of paper. More modern fetal heart monitors have incorporated microprocessors and mathematical procedures to improve the fetal heart rate signal and the accuracy of the recording. An echocardiography can be used before birth to accurately identify many heart defects. The mother can be treated with medications that may restore normal heart rhythm in the fetus if the test shows that a fetus’s heart is beating too fast or too slow (Emitting & Waves, R.C., n.d.). The fetal heart starts as a tube which folds and fuses in a complex structure that results in a muscular pump with four chambers and four valves. It is not surprising that small errors in development can lead to a wide variety of structural abnormalities in the 4 chambers, the 4 heart valves, the veins and great arteries. During fetal monitoring, a nurse will evaluate the strip for continuity and adequacy for interpretation, identify the baseline fetal heart rate and presence of variability, determine whether there are accelerations or decelerations from the baseline, identify patterns of uterine contraction, and correlate accelerations and decelerations with the uterine contractions. This will allow the nurse to determine whether the fetal heart rate recording is reassuring, non-reassuring, or ominous (Children’s Heart Federation, n.d). Fetal Heart Rate and Defects The normal fetal heart rate is between 110 to 180 beats per minutes (BPM), but can vary. Fluctuations of the fetal heart rate (usually associated with fetal movement) during different periods of the day are common and often rise above 160, going as high as 180 to 190 and are considered normal. Listening to a normally beating heart using a fetal ultrasound Doppler as early as 8 weeks can offer reassurance and cut down on a lot of stress and help assure that the developing fetus is healthy. While miscarriage occurs in only about 15 percent of apparently normal pregnancies, it only occurs in about 1 percent of pregnancies where a normal heartbeat has been seen or heard (Medscape, n.d). Recent studies conclude that changes in pregnant women’s heart rate and blood pressure due to chronic stress and anxiety can have an effect on the fetal heart rate. The study did not report any negative effects on fetal health but confirmed that emotional based changes in a woman’s cardiovas cular activity can have â€Å"real-time effects† on a fetus. A previous study has shown that stress during pregnancy can cause an increase in the risk of low-birth weight and premature birth. More importantly, increased evidence suggests that pregnancy stress can actually affect the baby’s behavior and functioning later in life (NT: Detection Rate CHD, n.d.). The ability for expectant mothers to listen to the fetal heart rate with a fetal Doppler offers a safe method of early fetal bonding which was previously only available at prenatal appointments with a medical professional. With its approval for in home by the FDA expecting parents have increasingly been opting to rent or purchase fetal Dopplers to help relieve some of the stress associated with the unknowns of early and late pregnancy. Fetal Doppler rentals are currently available through many online retailers at very affordable rates. Fetal heart rate monitoring is the process of checking the condition of a baby during labor and delivery by monitoring his or her heart rate with special equipment. Electronic fetal heart rate monitoring (EFM) was first introduced at Yale University in 1958. Since then, continuous EFM has been widely used in the detection of fetal compromise and the assessment of the influence of the intrauterine environment on fetal welfare (Evans and Niswander, 2000). There are two methods of fetal heart monitoring in labor. External fetal monitoring is done through the skin and is not meant to be invasive. Sensitive electrodes (connected to monitors) are placed on your abdomen over conducting jelly. The electrodes can sense the fetal heart rate (FHR) and the presence and duration of uterine contractions. Usually, the results of this test are continuous and are printed out, or they appear on a computer screen. Internal fetal monitoring involves placing a electrode directly on the fetal scalp through the cervix. The health care provider may use this method of monitoring your baby if external monitoring is not working well, or the information is inconclusive. Both types of tests are performed to evaluate fetal heart rate and variability between beats, especially in relation to uterine contractions. The tests also indicate the frequency and strength of uterine contractions (Belmont, 1998). Fortunately, fetal heart monitoring tests can detect numerous abnormal situations or conditions during pregnancy, such as reduced blood flow to the developing baby (cord compression), block of electrical signals within the heart muscle, causing an altered heart beat (fetal heart block), incorrect positioning of the baby (fetal malposition), too little oxygen supply to the developing baby, suggest the presence of infection, too little oxygen exchange between the uterus and the placenta, fetal distress, placenta abruption, and severe anemia in the developing baby. Most common heart defects, such as holes between the chambers (atrial septal defect, ventricular septal defect) and even more complex conditions such as transposition of the great arteries and tetralogy of Fallot, can be successfully managed after birth (Belmont, 1998). Many of the aforementioned situations detected during a fetal heart monitoring could mean that the baby has a congenital heart defect. There are many types of congenital heart defects which is why it is so important that the fetal heart monitoring be done before and during labor. A fetal heart defect means that the baby will be born with a problem in the heart’s structure. Learning of the child’s congenital heart defect can help to understand his or her condition and what you can expect in the coming months and years. Some congenital heart defects are simple and don’t need treatment. Other congenital heart defects in children are more complex and may require several surgeries performed over a period of several years. Heart-related complications can be temporary or may affect the child long-term (Emitting & Waves, R.C, n.d.). One examples of a congenital heart defect is pulmonary atresia, which is when no pulmonary valve exists, so blood can’t flow from the right ventricle into the pulmonary artery and on to the lungs. The right ventricle acts as a blind pouch that may stay small and not well developed. The tricuspid valve is often poorly developed, too. An opening in the atrial septum lets blood exit the right atrium, so venous (bluish) blood mixes with the oxygen-rich (red) blood in the left atrium. The left ventricle pumps this mixture of blood into the aorta and out to the body. Pulmonary atresia occurs in about one out of every 10,000 live births (Pulmonary Atresia, n.d.). Another type of congenital heart defect is congenital heart block, when detected at or before birth in a structurally normal heart, is strongly associated with autoantibodies reactive with certain proteins. In this defect, the heart’s electrical signal doesn’t pass from the heart’s own natural pacemaker in the atrium to the lower chambers. When this occurs, an independent pacemaker in the lower chambers takes over. The ventricles can contract and pump blood, but at a slower rate than the atrial pacemaker. Complete heart block is most often caused in adults by heart disease or as a side effect of drug toxicity. Heart blocks can be present at birth (Belmont, 1998). Continuous lumbar epidural anesthesia is commonly used for analgesic treatment during labor and delivery; It is still a matter of controversy whether epidural anesthesia has direct or indirect side effects on the fetus. It has been reported that local anesthetics can cause changes in the fetal heart rate patterns in the sense of direct myocardial side effects (Evans and Niswander, 2000). It is apparent that there are marked cardiovascular changes that occur in the fetus with a congenital heart defect compared with the normal healthy fetus. Without the use of fetal heart monitoring tests, we would be unable to determine if the fetus has a congenital heart defect which could drastically delay treatment of the condition. Treatment varies widely with the type of disease, the effect that pregnancy has on the disease, and the effect that the disease has on pregnancy. If it is the fetus that has a problem, serial ultrasounds may be performed. Fetal heart rate monitoring may be necessary, or amniocentesis may be required. In addition, it may be essential to give the mother medications to act on the baby (Belmont, 1998). Summary A fetal heart defect is an abnormality in any part of the heart that is present in an unborn child. Approximately 35,000 infants are born with heart defects each year in the United States. An echocardiography can be used before birth to accurately identify many heart defects. The mother can be treated with medications that may restore normal heart rhythm in the fetus if the test shows that a fetus’s heart is beating too fast or too slow. In most cases, scientists do not know what makes a baby’s heart develop abnormally, but genetic and environmental factors appear to play roles.

Differentiating Between Market Structures Essay

We live in a world where a person is describe by the technological gear that they carry. Whether they carry a beepers, flip phones, or the revolutionized smart phones, people are always characterizing themselves and others with the cellular devices they carry. Apple has created a phenomena when they released the innovated iPhone to the world in 2008 which took this company to new heights. Apple Inc started its revolution of the technological industry in 1976 with its found Steve Jobs. Apple Inc has evolved throughout the many years; starting with motherboards for personal computers to later developing their own systems. Apple has always been making strides to becoming the leading provider for personal devices. Upon the success of the iPods, Steve Jobs developed a new pioneering product that would take the cell phone industry to the next level, in 2007 Steve Jobs stood in front of a panel of consumers and demonstrated his new creation of the iPhone First Generation. The crowd stood up and gave a roaring applauds that echoed throughout the room. After that day, he worked to perfect his creation with adapting it to many different functionalities through his various versions of the project. Apple has always been in a leauge of their own until other companies decide to compete with the iPhone. The smart phone uproar has begun with companies like Samsung, LG, Pantech, and HTC started to develop their own interpertation of a smart phone. Companies utilize their consumer’s different personality to find them a perfect suit for their needs. Apple started their smart phone as a monopoly for the first couple months until the release of the first Samsung smart phone to combat the epidemic of the phone that could do it all. Apple has created and released their phone in many different versions (iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPhone 5S). The current phone is the iPhone 5S which sold over 6.5 million devices in the first month of it†s launch. Apple deemed this to be a huge success for the end of the quarter for their company. Apple’s strategy for the sales are to keep consumers cosntantly guessing to what the new phone will feature and when their device will launch; this tactic creates a massive demand for the product. Upon release, the iPhone was a monopoly for the simple fact that it was the first phone with the largest display screen as compared to the typical screen size on  the other phones. For the first time a phone did not incorperate a keypad and a full touch screen to include dialing and sms features. Apple also insured their products would reach new heights when they intergrated the iPod into their phones to allow whatever the consumer downloaded prior to the phone to be played all on the same device where they make phone calls. The smart device market is a oligopoly for the simple fact that few companies manafacture and distribute cellular phones. Their are many different tech companies but there are only a handful that are major competitors to Apple Inc. On the release of the device, AT&T was the first company to carry the device in the United States to make the company a monopoly of the phone which increased the business of the company and also developed a strong partnership until the release of the iPhone 4 where Apple Inc allowed most carriers to carry the device. Upon it’s release in 2007, Apple struggled to keep up with the demand of the device and they accepted they were faced with a increased demand with a limited supply With the proper reseach and manafacturing tactics being in place, Apple Inc released the iPhone 3G in 2008 and sold over one million phones. Although it was a major success to the company, it was speculated amongst their analyst that it could have became a bigger release if they had no restraint on the supply and distrubution aspects. The supply of the iPhone 3GS had room for improvement although the lessions of previous deevice should have been implemented. It took an unusual five business days for the phone to fully ship to consumers who preordered the device versus the promised 24 hours. This device has became a pioneer not only within the United States but it became a growning phenom amongst the major continents such as Asia and Europe. The reason behind the shortage was the increasing demand of the consumers outside of the United States. On average, a company has a gap of 100,000 units each year but it was driven up to one million units demanded due to the higher international demand. If Apple Inc had kept up with all their demand needs, they would have gained more sales over the many years. Throughout Apple Inc years of manafacturing iPhones, the demand and supply has affected the price of the devices. Normally when a company has a increase in demand they create a limited amount of inventory and sell the  units at a higher price, in Apple Inc they intially released the device at a full retail value when their pioneer device was released but they view the area of oppurtunity was to target the middle class. With that research, they allowed the iPhone 3G to be release with a contract in AT&T whcih allowed the device to nearly drop more than half of the price of the first device. This strategy was used to compete with competitors that were advertising their products as being more affordable to the average Americans versus Apple Inc. Apple’s price cut was a strategy to appeal to more buyers at a larger demographic and with that release they reduced the price of the previous one which gained the late bloomers for the device. Apple Inc’s iPhone price strategy can be defined as a inter-temporal price discrimination. Inter0temporal price discrimation is when a company sets a high price for a product to consumers in order to identify the success of a product with the highest willingness to purchase the products and then lower the price to attract the consumers with lower willingness to purchase it. Once Apple Inc has decrease their product they notice a increase of their products from 4.7 million to 15 million iPhone sold. Yes, Apple Inc has risen to their ranks by themselves but along the way they have partnered with many different companies. Apple Inc has embraced their very first partnership with AT&T communications to becoem the first carrier to carry the device. With the release of the iPhone 4S, Apple Inc has reached out to a company called SRI International who made a very interactive feature for the iPhone which elevated what a smart phone is capable of doing. They introduced SIRI, which is a personal assistant who can make notes, set alarms, make witty remarks and much more. This partnership soon became a merger where apple purchased the company and became an Apple Inc branded company. Where there were partnerships there were also enemies that have been made. With the release of the operating system IOS 6, Apple removed anything that had connections to Google and replaced it with their very own platforms. In conclusion, Apple Inc has revolutionized the communication business with the very esquisite device of the Apple iPhone. With the many companies that try to perfect the idea, Apple Inc took the cell phone industry to a whole  new level. In Microeconomics, its all about understanding consumers and why they make the decision in which they do. Apple Inc had discovered a new way to incorperate an entire market, formulate a way that everyone can be involved in this innovention and make this a revolutionizing product.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace Research Paper

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace - Research Paper Example The author of the paper states that sexual harassment consists of any unwanted sexual behavior including suggestive look, words, gestures, sexual jokes, physical touching or pressure for sexual favors. There are two types of sexual harassment: quid pro quo harassment and hostile environment. The quid pro quo harassment occurs when sexual favors are requested or demanded in exchange for tangible benefits like advancement and pay increase or to avoid tangible harm viz., loss of job, demotion and so on A more subtle and possibly more pervasive form of sexual harassment is "hostile working environment". It occurs when someone's behavior in the workplace creates an unexpected environment that makes difficult for someone of a particular sex to work." (Bhuyian and Rabbani, p 1). It has been a serious concern in the contemporary work-environment that the issue of sexual harassment in the workplace has not been efficiently dealt with and there are several cases of unwanted sexual behavior in the modern business context.  Although there have been several steps to deal with this social evil, various studies, as well as media reports, confirm that the issue is still a serious concern in the United States. According to Barry S. Roberts and Richard A. Mann, On-the-job sexual harassment has been an important problem affecting the industrial and business sectors of the country. "Despite widespread publicity about the perils of sexual harassment," they maintain, "surveys demonstrate that many businesses operating in the United States have yet to address the problem. Moreover, recent news reports indicate that sexual harassment has reached the highest levels of management. Although businesses know it exists, they appear unsure of what to do about it. As a result, the specter of employer liability for sexual harassment continues to loom over the workplace." (Roberts and Mann) It is essential to realize that the failure to adopt a pro-active and aggressive stance on this issue c an damage employee morale, apart from various kinds of financial and legal liabilities. Importantly, the number of sexual harassment cases filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), as well as in federal and state courts, has increased dramatically in the recent years and on-the-job sexual harassment remains a serious threat to social justice today. Therefore, sexual harassment in the workplace presents a continuing and mounting risk to businesses operating in the United States and it is fundamental to check the rising problem of sexual harassment in the workplace.  

Quantitative business and management journal Essay

Quantitative business and management journal - Essay Example elaborates that the relation of transfer of knowledge and contribution with the motivational level in the different network structures. The involvement of the employees in the knowledge sharing makes them feel their importance in the firm and the decision making of the company and hence increase the motivational level of the employee. The motivational level of the employees is increase as with their involvement in the knowledge sharing along with that when the involvement is done from every employee the contribution is of wide variety and different aspect of knowledge is contributed which is beneficial for the company as a whole. The research of this paper is aimed as to determine the different network structures in which the contribution from different and variety of sources improves the quality of the research and information and how different collaborating sources improve the motivational level of the employees. The knowledge sharing within the organization is seemed to be benefic ial for the company as a whole or not by including the motivational level increase within the employees and the benefits of the contributions as a variety of angles and perspective. Theory The theory in this paper is that the motivational level either intrinsic or extrinsic leads to the connectedness of the employees. There are several factors that lead to intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. The internal satisfactory factors that leads the sharing of knowledge of an individual leads to intrinsic motivation. The internal satisfaction may be of different intensity and thus they have the relative impact upon the sharing of knowledge of the individual. The extrinsic motivation comes along the external satisfactory conditions which are in terms of reward which may not necessarily be quantitative. The theory in this paper has been studied before as to the individual extent only where the motivational level relation with the connectedness of knowledge sharing of the individuals within the social circle. In this paper the research includes the involvement of the employees in the knowledge sharing of the company which shall be beneficial for the company as whole. The connectedness of the employees with the organization comes along with their involvement in the knowledge sharing of the employees as it enhances the motivational level of the employees. the employees’ extrinsic motivational and connectedness is dependent upon the rewards, hence as long as the employee is employee is rewarded then the contribution and the sharing of knowledge continues but as the reward is not awarded then the sharing of knowledge stops. In this paper the implication of the motivational level of the individual within the organization as the sharing of knowledge is dependent upon the network of the organization. Thus the implication of the motivational level and the connectedness within the organization is done. Quantitative Method and Analysis The connectedness of the empl oyee within the organization in terms of sharing of knowledge is related with the intrinsic motivation of the employee. Employees within the organization develop a social circle where the connectedness and sharing of knowledge is enhanced. As the theory elaborated the sharing of knowledge is done when the full innovative transfer of knowledge network is provided to the employee the motivation of the employee enhances. The hypothesis that the intrinsically motivated employees are well connected provided with the network of innovative transfer of knowledge is carried upon and tested with the practical implication within the organization. Hypothesis The hypothesis in this research is the relationship between the connectedness and intrinsic motivat

Managerial Economics - Production Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Managerial Economics - Production - Essay Example Inputs are the resources used in the production of goods and services. Inputs are classified into labour, capital and land or natural resources. Inputs are also classified as fixed or variable. Fixed inputs are those that cannot be readily changed during the time period under consideration, except perhaps at very great expense. Variable inputs are those that can be varied easily and on very short notice. The time period through which at least one input is set is called the short run, while the time period when all inputs are variable is called the long run. The length of the long run depends on the industry. In the short run, a firm can increase output only by using more of the variable inputs together with the fixed inputs. In the long run, the same increase in output could likely be obtained more efficiently by also expanding the firm's production facilities. In the long run, technology usually improves. A production function is an equation, table, or graph showing the maximum output of a commodity that a firm can produce per period of time with each set of inputs. Both inputs and outputs are measured in physical rather than in monetary units. For simplicity we assume hear that a firm produces only one type of output (commodity or service) with two inputs, labour (L) and capital (K). Thus the general equation of this simple production function is Q = f (L, K). The quantity of output is a function of, or depends on, the quantity of labour and capital used in production. "Output" refers to the number of units of the commodity produced, "labour" refers to the number of workers employed, and "capital" refers to the amount of the equipment used in production. An explicit production function would indicate precisely the quantity of output that the firm would produce with each particular set of inputs of labour and capital. Optimal Use of Variable Input The firm should employ an additional unit of labour as long as the extra revenue generated from the sale of the output produced exceeds the extra cost of hiring the unit of labour (i.e., until the extra revenue equals the extra cost). The extra revenue generated by the use of an additional unit of labour is called the marginal revenue product of labour (MRPL). This equals the marginal product of labour (MPL) times the marginal revenue (MR) from the sale of the extra output produced. This is MRPL = (MPL) (MR). The extra cost of hiring an additional unit of labour or marginal resource cost of labour (MRCL) is equal to the increase in the total cost to the firm resulting from hiring the additional unit of labour. That is, MRCL = TC/L A firm should continue to hire labour as long as MRPL > MRCL and until MRPL = MRCL. Optimization Analysis Optimization analysis can best be explained by examining the process by which a firm determines the output level at which it maximizes total profits. While the process the firm maximized total profit was determined above by looking at the total-revenue and total-cost, it is more useful to use marginal analysis. Indeed, marginal analysis is one of the most important concepts in managerial economics in general and in optimization analys

What factors determine a bond's rating Why is the rating important to Essay

What factors determine a bond's rating Why is the rating important to the firm's manager - Essay Example A manager must appreciate that when credit rating of a firm is low; it is more expensive to borrow money since firm has to pay high interest on bonds. As a result higher expenses mean lower earning per share. In the end company will earn low profits and low bond ratings.Calculation of bond rating depends on several factors, these factors are enumerated as under:- 1. If the firm is dependent on debt for its maximum operations its bond rating will be lower. 2. If firm is not making profits, it is obvious that its share value and bond rating will go down. 3. If a firm gives continuous production with little variations in output, its portfolio will be strong and bond rating will be high. 4. Big firms have strong financial reserves, these firms can absorb financial pressures and investors are comfortable to invest in these firms. Big firms have less chances to default than smaller ones therefore bond rating of these firms are generally high. Fortune 500 companies consist of big firms. 5. If loan payback capacity of a firm is high, its bond rating is high. 6. Quantitative analysis is a major factor in determining bond rating of a firm. It includes following assessment :- a. Capacity and ability of a firm to repay its debts and obligations. b. Determination of cash flow, financial stability, balance of payments and returns, capacity to pay interests, capacity to repay principle and financial cushion available to company. c. Evaluation of cash reserves, revenue, investment history and trends, market standing, current and future income trends, safe investment of its capital and projected future profits. d. History to pay back liabilities and projected capacity to pay debts. 7. Qualitative analysis is another factor in determining bond rating. It determines following :- a. Willingness and desire of the company to repay its debts. b. Overall management credibility, ongoing projects and investments, future planning and risk management. Why is the Bond rating important to t he Firm’s Manager. Bond ratings are not static and show variations depending on issuer’s financial position. Ratings are extremely important to a firm’s manager since firm’s existence depends on bonds ratings. Bond ratings are important to the firm’s manager due to following reasons:- 1. Bond rating is an indicator of default risk by the firm and therefore a measure of competence of the manager. 2. Bond rating has a direct influence on interest rate of bond and cost of debt for the firm. Low rated bonds are expensive for the firm and the manager to maintain. 3. Mostly institutions purchase bonds. These institutions are bound by law not to invest in low rated bonds. Therefore it is a matter for survival for the manager and his firm to keep bond ratings higher. 4. If the bond rating is high, investors will have confidence in the firm and invest in bonds. High bond rating indicates that it is less risky to invest in these bonds. 5. In order to succeed , a manager must display thorough understanding of markets where company’s bonds and shares are traded. Although sometimes speculative, bond ratings generally reflect approximate financial picture of a firm. 6. If a bond rating is going down, immediate corrections are required by firm’s manager. A firm manager must re evaluate for Tax shelters and avoid depreciation and losses. He must arrange assets to support borrowings and convert assets to cash if there is a requirement. 7. A manager has to appreciate that bond rating has far reaching implications for the selection and availability of capital structure and ultimate market standing of the firm. 8. A manager must realize that bond rating is an indicator for investors about future financial position of the firm. 9. There is another dimension to importance of bond ratings: many state laws demand minimum bond ratings for presentation as legal investment for insurance, pension funds, trusts and banks. If ratings are lowe r than acceptable value or fall within speculative range, firm’s market standing may collapse. 10. A firm’s desire to access capital markets is also displayed by its choice of bond rating objective.