Economics for Business and Management

Question: Write an essay on Economics for Business and Management. Answer: Ratio analysis is also known as the financial statement analysis. This analysis helps a management accountant to study and analyze the financial statements of an organization. The detailed analysis helps the accountant to analyze the financial condition of the firm and its position in the competitive market. Therefore, the ratio analysis is considered as a quantitative analysis. The financial statements are analyzed based on all the financial statements of an organization. These include the balance sheet of the firm, the cash flow statement and the income statement. The analysis of the financial statements helps in evaluating the various aspects of the financial and operating performances of an organization. These include liquidity, efficiency, profitability and profitability. The data and information available from the financial statements of an organization vary from one firm to another. Thus, depending on the availability of the financial data and information the types of ratios are calculated for a particular firm in order to analyze its financial position and condition in the competitive market. As per the case study of the organization named Watley, the ratio analysis has been performed in order to determine its financial condition and financial position in the market. The financial data and information has been gathered from the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement of the organization. Based on the provided data, the liquidity ratio, profitability ratio, activity ratio and gearing ratio of the firm has been calculated. Depending on the availability of the financial information and data, the current ratio has been calculated under the liquidity ratio, total assets turnover ratio has been calculated under activity ratio, return on equity ratio has been calculated under profitability ratio and equity ratio has been calculated under gearing ratio. The calculations and the formulae of each ratio have been provided in the following calculation table. Types of Ratio Formulae 2014 2015 Ratio of 2014 Ratio of 2015 Liquidity Ratio: Current Ratio Current assets 300 480 1.111111111 2.285714286 Current liabilities 270 210 Activity Ratio: Total Assets Turnover Ratio Net Sales 3290 3520 2.122580645 2.213836478 Average total assets 1550 1590 Profitability Ratio: Return on Equity Ratio Net Income 3290 3520 3.655555556 3.259259259 Shareholder's Equity 900 1080 Gearing Ratio: Equity ratio Equity 1080 1220 0.696774194 0.748466258 Assets 1550 1630 The ratio analysis has been performed for the organization Watley for two years i.e. 2014 and 2015. Liquidity Ratio The liquidity ratio indicates the liquidity of a firm that is it indicates the ability of an organization to pay off both the long-term liabilities and current liabilities of the organization. It can also be said that the particular kind of ratio indicates the cash levels of an organization and also its ability to payback its debt and obligations on time. Therefore, it indicates that the higher will be the liquidity ratio, it will be better for the firm. For the company Watley, current ratio has been calculated in order to analyze the financial condition of the firm. The current ratio is defined as a type of liquidity ratio that also indicates the efficiency of a company which measures the ability of the firm to pay off the short-term liabilities along with its current assets. Therefore, the current ratio is also termed as an efficiency ratio that indicates the efficiency of an organization. This particular ratio is considered as a most important measure for liquidit y as the short-term liabilities remain due within the next year. In this case study, the current ratio of the organization Watley has been calculated in order to determine its liquidity as well as efficiency for the future prospect. From the calculation it has been found that the current ratio of the firm has increased from 1.11 in the year 2014 to 2.28 in the year 2015 due to the increase in the current assets of the firm in comparison to the current liabilities. This indicates that the firm has a strong financial condition as the capability of the particular firm of paying back the money has increased with the passage of time. Activity Ratio The activity ratio helps to measure the ability of an organization to convert the various accounts within the balance sheet into sales or cash. This ratio measures the firms efficiency on the basis of the usage of its leverage, assets or other items of balance sheet. This ratio is considered as one of the most important ratios as it helps to determine whether the management of an organization is doing well or not in generating cash and revenue from its resources. For the company Watley, total assets turnover ratio has been calculated in order to analyze the financial condition of the firm. The total assets turnover ratio is an activity ratio that indicates the efficiency of the firm and measures the ability of an organization in order to generate the sales of the company from its assets by comparing the net sales along with the average total assets. It can also be said that this particular ratio helps an organization to show its efficiency in generating sales. For the firm Watley, the assets turnover ratio has been calculated in order to calculate the net sales as a percentage of assets in order to represent the process of generating sales from every dollar of the assets of the firm. The above calculation shows that the total assets turnover ratio of the firm Watley has increased from the year 2014 to 2015. The value of the particular ration in the year 2014 was 2.12 and it then increased to 2.21 in the year 2015 due to the increase in the net sales of the firm with the passage of time compared to the average total assets. This indicates that the particular firm has a strong financial condition. Profitability Ratio The profitability ratio helps in measuring the total amount of profit earned by an organization. In other words it can also be said that the profitability ratios are used in order to assess the ability of an organization to generate the earnings in comparison to its various relevant costs and expenses that incurred during the particular time period. Thus, it can be said that the higher will be the ratio, it will be better for the firm. For the company Watley, return on equity ratio has been calculated in order to analyze the financial condition of the firm. The return on equity ratio also measures the ability of an organization in order to generate profits from the investment of the shareholders. It can also be said that the ROE indicates the amount of profit the company earns from every dollar of the equity of the common stockholders. Here, for the company Watley the ROE has been calculated in order to determine ability of the firm in generating profits. It has been found that the profitability ratio of the firm has decreased with the passage of time. The return on equity ratio was 3.65 in the year 2014 but it decreased to 3.25 in the year 2015. This indicates that the shareholders equity has been decreased slightly with the passage of time. Thus, it represents that the firm has a weak financial condition. Gearing Ratio The gearing ratio is defined as terminology that describes the financial ratio and compares the equity of the owner with the borrowed funds. In other words it can also be said that the gearing ratio helps to measure the financial leverage and demonstrates degree to which the activities of an organization are funded by the funds of the owner versus the funds creditors. For the company Watley, equity ratio has been calculated in order to analyze the financial condition of the firm. The equity ratio is defined as a solvency or leverage ratio that helps in measuring the quantity of assets that are financed by the investments of the owners by relating the total equity of the firm to its total assets. For Watley, this particular ratio has been calculated in order to determine the solvency of the firm. It can be said from the above calculation that the equity ratio of the firm Watley increased from 0.69 in the year 2014 to 0.74 in the year 2015 due to the increase in equity c ompared to the assets of the firm. This indicates that the firm Watley had a strong financial condition and thus has a strong financial position in the market. Therefore, it can be concluded that the company Watley has a strong financial condition as all the ratios like liquidity ratio, activity ratio and gearing ratio except the profitability ratio of the firm have increased with the passage of time from the year 2014 to 2015. Thus, it can be suggested that the profitability ratio of the firm Watley should increase in order to run the business effectively and efficiently in future. The profitability ratio of the firm can be increased with the increase in the sales or revenues of the firm, by reducing the cost of production and by increasing the net income of the firm in order to run the organization successfully.

Why There Is No Peace In Israel

Introduction The book How Israel Lost analyzes four areas that have affected people of Israel and Palestine for several years. The author has divided the book into four parts. The first and the third parts discuss about Israel. The second part discusses about Palestine, and the last part wraps all the ideas together and comes up with viable solutions.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Why There Is No Peace In Israel? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Among the issues and questions answered by the book, there is the following: Why is there no peace in Israel? In this area, the writer gives his own views why Israel has not lived peacefully with Palestine. I found this area of discussion most interesting. This paper discusses why there is no peace between the two neighboring nations. Useful Discussions in the Book According to Cramer (2004), border crisis is the cause of unrest in Israel and Palestine. Israel attacks Palestine at bounder while Palestine attacks Israel for the sake of revenge. This has led to suffering of the Israelites and the Palestinians living in Gaza and west bank and, as a result, a long-term crisis between the two nations. According to Cramer (2004), as the Israelites attack Palestine to gain more land and resources from the land occupied by Palestinians, they become victims just like the Palestine. This means the war between the two nation will only oppress their citizens whether the Palestinians or the Israelites. According to Cramer (2004), Jews living in Israel seem to have forgotten the principles found in the state. Their goals and standard were to become the light on democracy and peace to whole world. It would be observed that this is not the case in the current Israel. The country is not at peace at all either internally or externally. They are always fighting and oppressing Palestine. This is not in line with the principle the nation was found in. Therefore, acco rding to Cramer, this is the reason why there is no peace in Israel. The soldiers after coming home from the war do not live in peace. According to Cramer (2004), there is no peace in the country. This is because the soldiers after breaking homes and killing innocent individuals at Palestine bounder do not live at peace with one another.Advertising Looking for report on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The young individual learn to oppress those how do not belong to their group. This has a far-reaching impact in the society since the nation will be composed of individuals who do not co-exist with one another hence there is lack of peace. This means that morality of the Israelites is affected by war against Palestine. Therefore, as long as war persists, there will be no peace in Israel. Israel’s aggression against Palestine is hurting the Israel military. According to crammer (2004), as long as Israel fights the Palestine, the military will be weakening day after day. This is because more soldiers are constantly killed and resources are used to support the war rather than being used for development purposes. Crammer argues that the war between the two nations is not helping none of them but brings more harm to their military. According to Cramer (2004), the Israelites have lost the moral standards and goals. This is because they treat Palestine more harshly. Though the Israelites have been subjected to violence for several decades, Cramer believes that the Israelites should be kind to Palestine. This is because they have suffered for more than half a century and, probably, know how it feels to be oppressed. This is not the case with the Israelites. The reason is because their moral standards have been degraded. According to Cramer, the continued lack of morality among the Israelites is the main reason why there is no peace in Israel. Cramer (2004) wonders how just and humane nation can trea t the Palestinians so harshly. This is because of demolition of homes in the west bank and Gaza. The homes belong to the Palestinians. This also led to the killing of innocent individuals together with the targeted Palestinians. Cramer wonders how the Israeli Supreme Court does not bother to assist Palestine. This shows how the democracy and justice have degraded in this nation. According to Cramer (2004), the lack of social justice and morality among the citizens is the reason why there is no peace in Israel.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Why There Is No Peace In Israel? specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The two nations have been in bounder crisis for so long. This has affected everybody in the two societies. Each society accuses the other for the crisis. This has made it difficult to get a long lasting solution to this crisis. In the last part of the book, Cramer tries to give solutions to these problems. He calls upon the leader of the two nations, that is Ariel Sharon, of Israel and Yasser Arafat, to come together and settle disputes peacefully. This was the only solution to bring peace in Israel but it did not happen. The two did not get long-term solutions of the bounder crisis. This has worsened insecurity at the bounder. The Jews and the Palestinians are affected alike. The more Israel oppresses the Palestinian, the more the situation worsens. The Palestinians formulate the ways of defending themselves, revenge, while the Israelites formulate ways of attacking Palestine, and occupy the areas that they believe belongs to them. During the operation, homes especially for the Palestine are destroyed. People, especially children and women, are killed. This act is condemned by Cramer (2004) since he wonders how the Israelites are treating Palestine so harshly. Cramer states that the morality among the Israelites has disappeared in the recent past. Conclusion According to Cramer (2004), the principle of Israel as a nation was to be the light unto the nations of the word. According to Cramer’s observation, Israel does not live by this principle. Basing the argument on this point, Israel will only have peace when they observe the principle forming the state. This is because without the moral standards being observed, the war against the Palestine will go on and, consequently, no peace in Israel. According to Cramer, the goals of the nation have been overlooked as the nation fights with Palestine. This shows that the nation has not settled down to serve the people. This is the major reason why even within the nation there is no peace. The book has explained how young individuals at their tender ages learn how to destroy property. This is something that does not belong to them. As well, young individuals learn to oppress the defenseless and the less fortunate in the society. This means that they do not learn what democracy is. This has propagated the degree of immorality in the nation. With such immorality, the nation cannot be at peace.Advertising Looking for report on history? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Reference List Cramer, R. (2004). How Israel lost: the four questions. New York: Simon Schuster. This report on Why There Is No Peace In Israel? was written and submitted by user Edith Martin to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Biography of Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe

Biography of Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe has been the president of Zimbabwe since 1987. He attained his job after leading bloody guerrilla warfare against the white colonial rulers of what was then Rhodesia. Birthdate Feb. 21, 1924, near Kutama, northeast of Salisbury (now Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe), in what was then Rhodesia. Mugabe quipped in 2005 that he would remain president until he was a century old. Personal life Mugabe was married to Ghanian national Sally Hayfron, a teacher and political activist, in 1961. They had one son, Nhamodzenyika, who died during childhood. She died of kidney failure in 1992. In 1996, Mugabe married his onetime secretary, Grace Marufu, who is more than four decades younger than Mugabe, and with whom he had two children while his wife Sallys health was failing. Mugabe and Grace have three children: Bona, Robert Peter Jr., and Bellarmine Chatunga. Political affiliation Mugabe leads the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front, a socialist party founded in 1987. Mugabe and his party are also heavily nationalist with left-wing ideology, favoring land seizures from white Zimbabweans while claiming that doing so counters the nations imperialist past. Career Mugabe holds seven degrees from South Africas Fort Hare University. In 1963 he was secretary general of the Maoist Zimbabwe African National Union. In 1964, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for subversive speech against the Rhodesian government. Once released, he fled to Mozambique to launch a guerrilla war for independence. He returned to Rhodesia 1979 and became prime minister in 1980; the next month, the newly independent country was renamed Zimbabwe. Mugabe assumed the presidency in 1987, with the prime minister role being abolished. Under his rule, annual inflation has soared to 100,000%. Future Mugabe has faced probably the strongest, most organized opposition in the Movement for Democratic Change. He accuses the MDC of being Western-backed, using this as an excuse to persecute MDC members and order the arbitrary arrest of and violence against supporters. Instead of striking terror into the citizenry, this could further galvanize opposition against his iron-fisted rule. Action from neighboring South Africa, deluged by Zimbabwean refugees, or world bodies could also pressure Mugabe, who relies on the war veterans militia to help him keep his grip on power. Quote Our party must continue to strike fear in the heart of the white man, our real enemy! - Mugabe in the Irish Times, Dec. 15, 2000

Google Alerts

Google Alerts Google Alerts Google Alerts By Simon Kewin Most writers will have typed their name, or the title of something theyve written, into a search engine at some point. This can be a useful way of finding references to or reviews of your work that you didnt know about. Google Alerts is an invaluable (and free) system for automating this process. Using it, you can set up the search terms youre interested in : your name, say, or the title of your novel, short story, poem or article. Google will then automatically email you if it finds any new references to the terms youve provided. As well as keeping tabs on your own works, you could use the system in numerous other ways: for updates on a favourite writer, for example, or on an agent you are interested in contacting. Or you could use it to find updates on a particular period or location you are researching for a novel. The system gives you some control over which web sites it will check on your behalf. For example, you can tell it just to look at blog posts, or videos, or simply to look everywhere. You can also specify how frequently alerts are to be sent to you: daily, weekly, or as they are discovered. The success with which the system works depends very much on the search terms you use. If you provide a commonly-used term, youll probably get lots of false positives. A more distinctive term the exact title of a novel say will work better. The web site for setting up these alerts is here. The system lets you set up as many as you like (up to a maximum of 1000), although note that you do have to register with Google to use the system. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Handy Expressions About HandsAt Your DisposalWord Count and Book Length

Reaction of a certain article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reaction of a certain article - Essay Example The median is a measure of central tendency in that it is a statistic that generalizes the typical values of members of a sample or population. The median as a measure of central tendency and location parameter is robust and resistant to the effects of outliers, compared to the mean and mode. A data set can be symmetric or skewed. When a data set is symmetric, the right and left hand sides of the distribution are to a great extent balanced around the mean (Stuart 62). Typically, a symmetric distribution is one in which the mean, mode and median are equal or almost equal. The left and right tails of the distribution, therefore, have more or less the same length. On the other hand, when a data set is skewed, the right and left hand sides of the distribution are not balanced around the mean (Rider 149). The measures of central tendency associated with the distribution also tend to be unequal. Furthermore, the tails of the distribution tend to be unequal; one longer than the other. Generally, the skewness of a distribution may hint to the presence of outliers or measurement errors. In his article, The Median Isnt the Message, Jay Gould rightly defines median as â€Å"the half-way point† (Gould par. 2). Gould also rightly notes that the median is a measure of central tendency which, like the mean, can be exploited to one’s advantage when generalizing situations (Gould par. 2). In his article, Gould seeks to convince his audience that the median is not a perfect measure of a distribution and may be subject to misinterpretation. The author also seeks to clarify that in as much as the median is a measure of central tendency, its interpretation depends on whether or not the distribution is normal or skewed, and, if skewed, the direction of the skew. In his case for example, he would have assumed that he had just about eight months to live owing to his medical

Michel Foucault's Theories Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Michel Foucault's Theories - Essay Example This is usually understood that people are dominate by big social groups and are unable to resist the power of institutions which control day-to-day lives. In the last ten years, the ideas of Foucault has been taken up and use not only by students, but also by professionals in numerous areas. Looking on the three major Foucault's themes in account of prison - power, subjectivity and surveillance - is vital to understanding ideas of Foucault. Foucault's works deal with discipline and instructions. He traces the workings of power at the micro-level and distinguishes his approach from studies of power that focus on the dominating role of the institutions. Foucault writes that it is necessary to cut off the king's head, to understand that power is not the property of the might, but rather the set of forces which establish positions and ways of behaving that influence people in everyday life (Grovier 2005). Foucault has distinguished his understanding of power by noting that there is no right and no wrong way of reasoning, and people are capable of making sense of the world through their own reasoning. However, the human understanding of the self and lives is always filtered though the ideas and institutions that constitute the society (Danaher 2000). Penal system is the s... Foucault devotes a lot of his writings to presenting the genealogy of the prison. IN particular, he writers about the changes in penal procedures in France in late 18th- early 19th centuries. The key change was the abandonment of the torture and public executions, the development of the incarcerating practices and regulating prisoners by practices of surveillance (Eribon 1991). Foucault relates these changes to the Enlightenment - the emerging philosophies based on humanistic virtues of reason and justice. Thus, the changes in prison system were the reflection of the idea that prisoners were aware of their failings. Thus, the old concept of power was replaced by the new physical power which Foucault associates with discipline. He offers two ways of understanding discipline - one tied to punishment, and the other to skills and knowledge. The second concept of discipline is like the set of qualities which humans need to master in order to be recognized and values within the particular field (Danaher 2000). If from the first perspective, discipline is negative, from the second perspective discipline is seen as the positive force tied with self-empowerment and achievement. Disciplinary power gives the person the space within the institution as well as the rank within the system. This ranking enables the institution to regulate the movement of people throughout the space as well as to regulate the progress they can make from one task to another. Foucault further notes that discipline was not simply imposed from above and people submitted themselves to be able to operate effectively in the social con ditions (McNay 1994). It is important to note that Foucault has collected the material

The Effects on GPA Essay Example for Free

The Effects on GPA Essay The academic performance of high school students always constitute a major source of concern for educational practitioners as a result, any factor that could potentially improve this performance is worth considering (Everson and Roger, 2005). The importance of high school education derives from the fact that it provides an essential platform for academic and non academic accomplishments, psychological growths, the foundation for subsequent higher education and future life (Marsh and Kleitman, 2002). Consequent upon this perceived importance, factors that could potentially inhibit or improve high school students performance are worthy of in depth investigation. One such factor that has been shown to considerably influence high school performance is the participation in extra curricular activities. To a large extent, participation in extracurricular activities in high school is generally considered as a vital component of the educational experience (Galiher, 2006). However, the influence of participation in extracurricular activities has not been clearly defined. While some studies have linked positive academic outcomes with extracurricular activities, such as the study carried out by Cairns, Farmer, and Mahoney (2003); others have shown that there exist no significant relationships and even in some cases, some studies have reported negative relationship. As a result, the effect of extracurricular activities on high students performance has become a topic of educational, political, and community debate for more than a century (Marsh and Kleitman, 2002: 465). This paper intends to contribute to this debate by reviewing the several literatures on the topic. Historical Overview Fujita (2005) noted that the early adoption and development of extracurricular activities in high schools was slow. During those early years, most educators saw it as a fad that will fade away with time. For example, Marsh and Kleitman (2002) observed that before the turn of the twentieth century, educators were critical of participation in school extracurricular activities. To these early educators, high schools should be focused on solely on narrowly defined academic outcomes, because, non academic activities were believed to be primarily recreational and of no educational value. Some even contented that such recreational activities could be detrimental to the academic performance of high students. As a result, extracurricular activities participation for high students was discouraged in the early 1900s. Burnett (2000) provides an indepth review of the history and early developments of extracurricular activities in high schools. However, over the course of the last couple of decades, educational practitioners and researchers have adopted a more positive perspective of extracurricular activities; with most of then contending that these activities positively impact psychological developments of students and at the same time help improve academic performance. This change in perception is not unrelated to the large and growing body of research that have continually examined the links and relationships between extracurricular activities and academic performance of students using a wide array of research methods and tools. To a large extent, the bulk of studies conducted on this topic over the course of time point to a positive relationship between extracurricular activities and a host of academic, social and psychological outcomes, while very few of these studies report negative relationship. However, the primary problem with research in this field is that researchers have often adopted different variables in different research methods making generalization of the effects of extracurricular activities on academic and social performance of high students difficult to make. Relevant Theoretical Literature The basic theoretical framework that underlies the various studies carried out in this field involves correlating students’ academic performance with their participation or lack of, in extracurricular activities. For example, in Galiher (2006), the author collated data about the various extracurricular activities present in a particular high school and the list of students that participate in these activities. The grade point averages (GPA) and cumulative grade point averages (CGPA) for these students was also collated and participation in extracurricular activities was then correlated with students’ academic performance. The basic idea, generally, is that if participation in extracurricular activities positively impacts academic performance, then students involved with these activities would perform better academically, when other factors, such as age, IQ, gender, socio economic status etc have been controlled for. Analyzing the commonly used methodological designs in studying the relationship between social and academic performance and participation in extracurricular activities, Marsh and Kleitman (2002) observed that there are three research designs often employed by researchers. The first involve a one-time data collection research design that correlates extracurricular activities with the selected outcome variables. The second also involved a one-time data collection design, but controls for background variables such as socioeconomic status, gender, and age before correlating extracurricular activities participation with the selected outcome variables; while the third framework involve longitudinal studies where the same outcome variable are measured on multiple occasions so that the actual effect of extracurricular activities on the selected outcome variables are estimated after controlling for earlier outcomes (Marsh and Kleitman, 2002). While, according to Marsh and Kleitman, all of these frameworks are not perfect, they have all been used to show positive relationship between extracurricular activities and social and academic variables. Relevant Research In researching the relationships between extracurricular activities and students academic outcomes, researchers have sought to delineate what constitutes extracurricular activity. In this light, extracurricular activities have been broadly divided into in-school and out-of-school activities. The divisions are self descriptive. Furthermore, out-of-school activities can be subdivided into structured and leisure activities. While structured activities have been described as activities that require active effort from the participating parties and provide an environment for expression of ones identity or interest in sports, performing arts, academic, and leadership activities(Eccles and Barber, 1999 quoted in Marsh and Kleitman, 2002), leisure activities are activities that enjoyable but not demanding (Marsh and Kleitman, 2002) e. g. driving around or talking to friends. Extracurricular activities have also been grouped into formal and non-formal activities (Fujita, 2005). Here, formal activities refer to all structured and organized activity, irrespective of whether it is in-school or out-of-school, while non-formal activities refers basically to out-of-school leisure activities. From this classification, the influences of extracurricular activities on academic performance can be streamlined. For example, it is only reasonable that in-school structured activities will better influence academic outcomes and thus increase GPA than out-of-school activities. In this sense, Gerber (1996) investigating the relationship between academic outcomes and the two type of extracurricular activities reported that there is a greater and more significant positive correlation between in-school extracurricular activity participation and GPA than for out-of school structured activities. This distinction between extracurricular activities notwithstanding, there is ample research studies that point to the academic and social utility of extracurricular activities. In one of the early definitive studies carried out in this field, Marsh (1992) using a large longitudinal study that investigated the social and academic performance of students while in school and two years after graduation, reported that students who participated in extracurricular activities were more likely to have higher school satisfaction, higher internal locus of control meaning that students felt more in control of their lives; higher social and academic self-concepts; and higher educational and occupational aspirations in school and two years after completing high school (Marsh, 1999; Marsh and Kleitman, 2002). Several other studies have reported a positive correlation between participation in extracurricular activities and academic performance. For instance, Marsh and Kleitman after reviewing several previous studies observed that extracurricular activities help in building and strengthening academic performance, even if the activities are not obviously related to academic subjects. Darling, Caldwell, and Smith (2005) after an extensive longitudinal study reported that students who participated in school-based extracurricular activities had higher grades compared to those who were not involved in any extracurricular activity. In a more specific study, Galiher (2006) investigated the relationship between students participation in extracurricular activities and their current grade point averages and cumulative grade point averages. The author did not only investigate this relationship, data was also analyzed to see if there existed grade point increments with increasing participation in more than one extracurricular activities. The author concluded that Not only was the analysis consistent with the correlation data but also showed very clearly that students who were participating in one or more activity were getting better grades than students who were not involved in any school activities. The mean grade point average for students who participated in one or more activities was approximately one grade point higher than students who were not involved, which is equivalent to one letter grade (Galiher, 2006: 11-12). This study showed, definitely, that there is a positive relationship between students’ participation in extracurricular activities and their academic performance (indicated by the GPA) and that with increasing participation, students are more likely to get higher grades. Implications for Practice With the decreasing educational achievement recorded in schools nationwide, educational practitioners and researchers are under pressure to find ways to better improve the performance recorded in schools. With this increasing pressure on educators to perform, any factor that shows potential of improving academic performance deserves serious attention. Again, with the decrease in funding available for public schools, coupled with the poor performance of schools, educational decision makers are often under intense pressure to make decisions concerning the continuance or removal of academic and extracurricular programs. From the above, it is apparent that research studies indicating positive correlation between participation in extracurricular activities have two major implications. First, it provides educators with a valid instrument for increasing the academic performance of students. The knowledge that students achieve greater academic and social outcomes with increase participation in extracurricular activities will definitely prompt educational practitioners to promote healthy and effective extracurricular activities tool for enhancing academic achievements. Two, it make the decision process easier for educational decision makers who have to decide concerning the continuation of extracurricular programs. Instead of rationalizing the removal or continuance extracurricular programs, decision makers will be more productively engaged with how to better harness the potentials of these programs. Implications for Inquiry Despite the several positive implications of extracurricular activities that have been reported in several studies, one major that deserves further investigation was raised by Hunt (2005). After studying the relationship between extracurricular activities and academic performance, the author reported no positive outcome, instead, he argued individuals who were academically sound at earlier ages were more likely to participate in extracurricular activities raising the question of whether extracurricular activities indeed influence academic performance or is a result of it. This area still deserves further study. Summary It has been argued that high school experiences provide an essential platform for academic and non academic accomplishments, psychological growths, the foundation for subsequent higher education and future life. Thus, any factor that could possibly influence students ability to perform their best while in high school is worth investigating. Extracurricular activities constitute one of the factors that have been shown to influence students performance in high school. In this paper, several literatures on this topic were reviewed. To a large extent, it was shown that extracurricular activities participation improves students academic performance. Thus, students that participate in one or more extracurricular activities were more likely to have higher GPAs compared to students that did not participate at all. Work Cited Burnett, M. A. (2000). One strike and youre out: An analysis of no pass/no play policies. High School Journal, 84(2): 1-6. Cairns, B. , Farmer, T. , and Mahoney, J. (2003). Promoting interpersonal competence and educational success through extracurricular activity participation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95: 409-419. Eccles, J. S. , and Barber, B. L. (1999). Student council, volunteering, basketball, or marching band: What kind of extracurricular involvement matters? Journal of Adolescent Research, 14: 10-43. Fujita, K (2005). The Effects of Extracurricular Activities on the Academic Performance of Junior High Students. The Masters College. Available at http://www. kon. org/urc/v5/fujita. html [Accessed June 21, 2008]. Everson, T H and Roger E. M (2005). Everyone Gains: Extracurricular Activities in High School and Higher SATÂ ® Scores. College Board Research Report No. 2005-2. Galiher, S (2006). Understanding The Effect Of Extracurricular Involvement. Thesis. School of Education, Indiana University, South Bend. Marsh, H. W. (1992). Extracurricular activities: Beneficial extension of the traditional curriculum or subversion of academic goals? Journal of Educational Psychology, 84: 553-562. Marsh, W. H and Kleitman S (2002). Extracurricular school activities: The good, the bad, and the nonlinear. Harvard Educational Review, 72(4): 464-510. McNeal, B. R (1995). Extracurricular Activities and High School Dropouts. Sociology of Education, 68(1): 62-80.