Tuesday, December 31, 2019

The Importance of Cardiovascular Conditioning - 3006 Words

Cardiovascular fitness shows how the heart and lungs supply oxygen-rich blood to the working muscle tissues and the ability of the muscles to use oxygen to produce energy for movement. The ability to deliver oxygen to the muscles is affected by many physiological parameters, including heart rate, stroke volume, cardiac output, and maximal oxygen consumption. Cardiovascular conditioning utilizes and transports the necessary oxygen and nutrients to body tissues. In order for the body to deliver adequate oxygenated blood and nutrients to the muscles, the body has to be well conditioned. By the body being well conditioned it improves the muscles capacity to use extra oxygen. Cardiovascular training is the most important style of training both†¦show more content†¦The warm up is the most important part of cardiovascular conditioning. Warming up before an intense exercise helps to gradually increase the heart rate and prevent abnormal heart rhythms. Warming up also helps with prev enting straining on the heart muscle and heart attacks from abnormal heart rhythms. The warm up period should last about five to ten minutes. During this time the body is preparing for the exercise activities. Warm up exercises prepare the body for exercising by increasing the blood flow to the muscles allowing them to loosen up, which can raise the flow of oxygen to the muscle cells. Doing this gradually increases the bodys temperature. This then increases the speed and force of muscular contractions, because nerve impulses travel faster at higher body temperatures, and muscles become less stiff or more pliable. They also help to gradually increase the heart rate and ensure that the demand made on the circulatory and metabolic systems is gradual as well. In a safe and gradual way they allow blood to be diverted away from other parts of the body such as the digestive system to the muscles being exercised. This initial part of your exercise session helps to improve neural function and co-ordination, protect major joints as it takes time to increase the supply of lubricating synovial fluid and to thicken the articular cartilages – the body’s shock absorbers. The warm ups intensity should cause perspiration but not cause fatigue. The typeShow MoreRelatedObesity Is Popular Modern Society1579 Words   |  7 Pagesobesity and chronic illness. Thus, it is of great importance in modern society, for both children and adults. There are three main types of learning principles, known as classical conditioning, ope-rant conditioning and observational learning. Each of them plays an important role in shaping diet. This essay mainly talks about the importance of dietary in modern society and application of learning principles in shaping diet. Dietary is of great importance in modern society, for both children and adultsRead MoreWhy do you think it is important to set fitness goals for yourself and strive towards a high level1300 Words   |  6 Pagesa graph, you would see a consistent positive increase. On a grander scale beyond improvements in my beep test score, I also found improvements in the functioning of my cardio-pulmonary. This has resulted in great strides in my strengthening and conditioning endurance. Areas that I note require improvements are my muscular endurance and muscular strength. (especially in my arms).When I am participating in activities that require muscular endurance and muscular strength (such as push-ups), I found thatRead MoreAtp Computer System And The Atp Pc System1500 Words   |  6 Pagesstrengthening circuit in our preseason training session where we focused on strength over cardiovascular training. Further research also showed that about 80% of the energy used in a game of softball is p rovided by the ATP-PC system, 15% from the Lactic Acid System while a mere 5% is used aerobically according to D Szymanski’s Strength and Conditioning Journal. This research further suggests the high importance of power, speed and strength and emphasising the training of the anaerobic system. ChapterRead MorePassive Anaerobic And Aerobic Exercise Assist System For The Inactive And Sedentary Population2066 Words   |  9 Pagessystem’s executed together (simultaneously or subsequently). The system, primarily houses a: Passive Aerobic Cardiovascular Workout Unit, Passive Anaerobic Exercise Unit and Perspiration Workout Unit. However, here we consider only the Perspiration Workout Unit and the literature reviews focusing on the effects and the clinical implication of this method as a Passive Aerobic Cardiovascular Workout / Exercise System are yet scarce. The purpose of this literature research was to determine, whether usingRead MoreThe Importance Of Change In Health81 5 Words   |  4 Pagesindividuals to keep up with various disease screenings that should be a part of one’s regular regime. There is a lack of information, promotion, and awareness for the preventative measures that can be done in order to protect against certain cancers, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. People who are at risk, might not even know they are, or life circumstances can arise that make people want to take action but they don’t know where to start. By implementing certain strategic techniques, we can target groupsRead MorePersuasive Essay Football759 Words   |  4 Pages agility, endurance, and hand-eye coordination. In an article by Steve Silverman titles â€Å"What Are the Health Benefits of Being a Football Player?,† it lists the benefits that come along with playing football. The benefits it lists are: cardiovascular conditioning, strength training, confidence, speed, and quickness. These are important because in todays society, obesity is a growing epidemic and by allowing my child to play a physically demanding sport, youre promoting a healthy lifestyle forRead MoreThe Importance of Social Support on Health1488 Words   |  6 Pages{NAME} The Importance of Social Support on Health {INSTRUCTOR} {DATE} Although social interaction is complex, some believe that it is vital to human health, both mentally and physically. The nature of social behavior is that many people find it hard to open their hearts and share their feelings and problems. However, social interaction where people can talk out their problems and feel accepted and understood is very beneficial to mental health. It is influenced by the numberRead MoreNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration1056 Words   |  5 Pagesmentioned previously, mental fatigue can get in the way of the ability to make quick and accurate decisions. When you are constantly working in unique and stressful situations, being mentally alert and sharp minded would seem to be of the utmost importance. The physical fatigue can take a variety of forms. There is a 2012 study that surveyed â€Å"550 EMTs and found 18% of them reported an injury when severely fatigued and 90 % reported safety-compromising behavior due to fatigue.†(Journ al of EmergencyRead MoreLate Adulthood And Death Of An Individual Across The Life Span Development Process1474 Words   |  6 Pageswill examine late adulthood and death of an individual across the life span development process. Discuss ageism and stereotypes, evaluated how an individual can promote ones health and wellness to mitigate the negative effects of aging, Analyze the importance of relationships and social interactions nearing the end of life. Finally I will identify cultural and personal attitudes related to death and dignity in late adulthood. Ageism is known as a prejudice or discrimination based solely on one’s ageRead MoreThe Agent For Heart Failure1524 Words   |  7 Pagescan help boost the pumping action of a weakened heart and improve the client’s exercise tolerance. Thesis Statement: Dobutamine treatment and physical therapy can benefit clients with heart failure, enhance overall cardiopulmonary conditioning. Beale, Hollenberg, Vincent, Parillo (2004, p. 455) identifies inotropes as a class of drugs responsible for facilitating and improving myocardial contractility for critically ill patients; one of these drugs is Dobutamine;

Monday, December 23, 2019

Employment Discrimination In The Workplace - 1851 Words

A lot of people in the world have a reason as to why they wake up early in the morning and come out of the house, some sleep late at night while others have to stay online with their machines.Majority do this to earn a living from their jobs.Different jobs have different schedules and one has to keep their schedules right by doing what is expected according to their company policy.This is what one has to read and understand, later sign with the employer for the work schedule to kick off.Employers must treat all employees equally without discrimination and work towards a specific goal which is company related. This is not the case to most companies.Some companies tend to favor some employees while others discriminate and they end up†¦show more content†¦The company ended up violating American with Disability Act (ADA) which advocates protection of people with different disabilities both job seekers and employees in a company.The employers should also not enquire of any of its employees disabilities if its not work related.(U.S Department of Labor, n.d) COMPARISON WITH CLASS ACTION LAW SUIT Ideally the issue of privacy and medical records is very vital according to the law.It is there the right of every employer to respect the patients privacy as far as the work relation agenda is attained.Various employers tend to discriminate and fire employees due to lack of disclosing their medical reports yet they are not among the third party list of disclosure.It is so unlawful and therefore the employer must face allegations and compensate theShow MoreRelatedEmployment Discrimination Within The Workplace1079 Words   |  5 PagesEmployment Discrimination in Indonesia As stated on wikipedia.org, discrimination is action that denies social participation or human rights to categories of people based on prejudice. This includes treatment of an individual or group based on their actual or perceived membership in a certain group or social category, in a way that is worse than the way people are usually treated. This could be done directly or indirectly. Direct discrimination could arise from punishments and indirect discriminationRead MoreWorkplace : Employment And Pregnancy Discrimination1821 Words   |  8 Pages Women in the Workplace: Employment and Pregnancy Discrimination Shenea Abraham Barry University â€Æ' Introduction Law and society is a multi-disciplinary field of study within the broader field of legal studies. The question is what is law? There is no single definition of law. The most influential definition of law is by Max Weber which states that â€Å"laws are an order of rules that are externally guaranteed through physical (or psychological) coercion by an authorized â€Å"staff† of people whoRead MoreEmployment Discrimination Can Wear Many Faces In The Workplace.1703 Words   |  7 PagesEmployment discrimination can wear many faces in the workplace. Three common workplace discriminations are in the categories of age, weight, and sexual orientation. Only age discrimination has a specific law named after it. The law is called the Age Discrimination Act (ADA). Weight discrimination is linked with the Americans with Disabilities Act in order to be enforced. Sexual orientation (Gender identity) is linked with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. There is a new regulation called the LGBT emp loymentRead MoreThe Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009—Ensuring Equality in the Workplace for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Workers1485 Words   |  6 Pageshave no laws on record preventing discrimination against gender identity or expression—commonly known as transgender. While these statistics may be disheartening for many gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) individuals, it is not all doom and gloom. Employment protections and rights for GLBTs have grown exponentially in the past two decades. Fortune 500 companies have helped lead the charge for securing equality for gays and lesbians in the workplace. In 2009, more than 85% of FortuneRead MoreUsefulness Of The Future Managers1213 Words   |  5 Pagesstartups may violate one or more aspects of the employment law. The book is useful in training prospective future managers and employers since the workplace discrimination scenario is a rapidly changing issue that requires a more intellectual approach. The risks of violating the discrimination rules are devastating to both the employer and organization. Knowledge is power, and the prospective managers will gain the knowledge surrounding employment discrimination and harassment and are thus informed of theRead MoreEthics of Workplace Discrimination Essay1434 Words   |  6 PagesWorkplace ethics are standards or codes that determines right and wrong moral behavior in the work environment. Discrimination is defined as â€Å"the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.† (Oxford Dictionary) Workplace discrimination deals with issues such as religion, race, gender, disability, age, and sexual orientation. Covering all of these issues is beyond the scope of this paper, therefore, I will focus onRead MoreWorkplace Discrimination : Discrimination And Discrimination1205 Words   |  5 Pages Workplace Discrimination Employment discrimination manifests in a variety of forms. The most common scenario is when the employer unfairly treats job applicants and employees because of their gender, race, age, disability, nationality or familial status. Often, employment discrimination that emanates from familial status occurs because of events such as pregnancy. The employers usually take adverse and cruel actions against these employees or rather potential employees. Contextually, adverse actionRead More Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) Essay757 Words   |  4 Pagesdisabilities (Hernandez, 2000). . The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination based upon their disability (Bennett-Alexander, 2001). The protection extends to discrimination in a broad range of activities, including public services, public accommodations and employment. The ADAs ban against disability discrimination applies to both private and public employers in the United States. Not all individuals with disabilities are protectedRead MoreWhen People Think Of Discrimination, They Tend To Think1254 Words   |  6 Pagespeople think of discrimination, they tend to think back to older times of slavery, racism, and an underdeveloped country. Sadly, discrimination actual plays a large role in the workplace of today. Discrimination is defined as â€Å"treating a person or particular group of people differently, especially in a worse way from the way in which you treat other people, because of their skin color, sex, sexuality, etc.† according to the Cambridge Dictionary (Cambridge University Press 1). Discrimination comes in manyRead MoreThe Community Of Lgbt Workers Essay1583 Words   |  7 PagesSince the beginning of their existence and in today’s society, the community of LGBT workers are not being treated fairly or getting their fair share that they deserve in the workplace. They are victims to high rates of workplace discrimination. Instead of being judged as workers and what they bring to their jobs and how they work, they are being judged by their sexual preferences and appearance. Being a gay or transgender worker causes them to be mistreated, not judged for the actual workers they

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Supplier Relationship Management Free Essays

Many customer-supplier relationships were weakened or damaged during the economic downturn. To rescue them, both sides need to acknowledge past mistakes, identify the causes of those problems, take corrective action, and monitor the results. As of this writing, all signs are pointing toward recovery, and economic indicators (take your pick) are suggesting a better ending to 2010 than we experienced in 2009. We will write a custom essay sample on Supplier Relationship Management or any similar topic only for you Order Now Optimistic whispers in the first few months of this year became clearly audible announcements when Quarter 1 earnings were released. Demand is on the rise, lashed capacity is beginning to fill up, and at many companies, earnings will exceed expectations. Despite the fact that business is improving in most industries, companies will continue to struggle for some time to overcome the effects of the recession on their supply chains. This is especially true for those that made drastic decisions and acted in ways that altered their supply chain capacity and supplier services. Customer-supplier relationships have been caught up in this turmoil and have often suffered as a result. The economic upheaval of the past 18 months has left many relationships weakened, damaged, or even severed. With demand increasing, now is the time for buyers and suppliers to assess the current state of their relationships and then address or resolve any concerns. This can be accomplished through a four-step process that includes acknowledging what has happened, identifying the causes of any problems, agreeing on and implementing corrective actions, and following up and maintaining the improved relationship. These steps should be carried out within your company’s supplier relationship management (SRAM) program. SRAM is a formalized process through which companies build strong, collaborative relationships with their vital suppliers to make improvements and achieve their mutual supply chain goals. If you do not already have a formal SRAM program, then following these steps can serve as the foundation for this type of initiative. Customers and suppliers that adopt this process and commit to continuing it in the future will not only reaffirm and strengthen their partnerships but will also ensure that they create an effective, flexible supply chain. Step 1: Acknowledge past mistakes Start out by evaluating your current relationship with your most critical suppliers. This assumes that you have already segmented your supply base and identified your most important suppliers. You can follow this process for all suppliers, of course, but to maximize the value of your efforts, it’s a good idea to address the most essential suppliers first. Once the top suppliers have been singled out, you can assess the current state of your relationship with each of them individually. The most important part of this first step is to identify and acknowledge the mistakes that were made on both sides. Ask the following questions and examine your answers carefully: Is this relationship in turmoil? If so, what were the actions that created this tension, and position are you or your suppliers in now as a result? How does the supplier feel toward you, and how do you feel toward the supplier? Do you deem the relationship to be weakened, damaged, or severed? Is the relationship meaningful for your company, and will improving that relationship bring value to both parties? By answering these questions, you will define the roadman toward reconciliation and improved effectiveness?or to accepting a separation, if that proves necessary. Once you have determined that the relationship is worth repairing or saving, it is time to pursue open and honest communication with that supplier. Integrity and trust are he basis for any relationship, and addressing difficult topics in a frank and objective manner will be appreciated by everyone involved. Coming to the table in an open manner is Just the beginning, however. The magnitude of the strife in the relationship will dictate the level of effort required to address it. Weakened relationships, while still requiring direct and concerted effort, can be more easily repaired than those with damaged elements or those that have been severed. A special note on severed relationships: If you are not sincere about reconciliation, then do not waste your time or your supplier’s time. The amount of time and audience required to rebuild a previously severed relationship can be substantial, and if either party lacks commitment, true reconciliation becomes doubtful. Step 2: Find the real source of the problem The most delicate part of this process involves identifying the root cause of the problems. Bringing in a neutral third party to help both sides review the current relationship and past experiences is one way to maintain objectivity during these discussions. In this type of conversation, emotions and personal involvement tend to rise to the surface, and the â€Å"effect† part of â€Å"cause and effect† often becomes the focal mint. This is a situation you should strive to avoid. If participants fail to consider the root of a problem, only the symptom will be treated, and another one that may be even more harmful to the relationship will inevitably appear. In reviewing the events of the last 18 months, many customers and suppliers may point to the economy and decreased demand as the cause of relationship strife and discontent. There’s no denying that the economy was an underlying factor. As orders plummeted, original equipment manufacturers (Moms) reduced capacities to attempt to match output and expenses to very weak demand. Many suppliers were unaware of the dramatic steps taken by Moms and were left with buildup in their inventories of up to 50 percent? with no buyers for that stock in sight. These high inventory levels caused a variety of problems for suppliers and, in the worst cases, resulted in bankruptcy. While the economy and declining demand clearly play a role here, poor customer-supplier relationships and the lack of strong communication channels appear to be a major cause of the devastating inventory buildup. This might have been avoided by improving forecasting tools or enhancing operational capabilities to more quickly spend to downward shifts in demand. Both are sound actions to pursue at any time, but neither will resolve the lack of customer- supplier communication that will continue to cause problems in the future. An important question to ask here is: â€Å"Were there warning signs before the problem occurred? † As both customer and supplier consider this question, they should reflect upon quantitative (on-time measurements that may have signaled trouble ahead. Discussing these measurements or signals as well as the customer’s and supplier’s responses to those developments will help to establish where specific problems originated. Step 3: Identify and implement corrective actions Now that the root causes of relationship strife and their leading indicators have been identified, the next step is to define and implement corrective actions. These actions can include procedural changes, changes in safety stocks, increased communication requirements, or even changes in personnel. Observe the impact of these corrective actions on the original symptoms (the â€Å"effect†) and ensure that the resulting improvements can be objectively measured and quantified. For example, a procedural change could reduce the amount of time required to process a orientation, therefore the number of transactions per hour will increase. Moreover, increasing safety stock and boosting communication requirements (such as sending status updates more frequently) may yield higher service levels, which can also be measured. It’s wise to avoid subjective measurements, which may invite interpretations that lead to more disagreements and conflicts. Be sure to incorporate these measurements into an existing customer-supplier scorecard process, or if none exists, take the opportunity to create one that can be reviewed periodically. The solutions you develop can and should vary based on the type of relationship you eave with your supplier: A strictly transaction-based relationship that focuses on only one or two activities is likely to be rekindled by focusing attention solely on improving those specific activities. ?Tactical relationships may benefit from solutions that span both upstream and downstream from the basic operational transactions. These relationships may have multiple touch points, and resolving each relationship conflict at each touch point may be an extensive, time-consuming process. Strategic partnerships call for the most complex activities and coordination to revive a distressed rela tionship. Moreover, strategic partnerships frequently span multiple organizations at all levels. So, although most efforts may start at the top of the organizational chart, it is important to address all levels when rebuilding trust and good will. Carrying out the solutions you agree on most likely will involve increased sharing of operational and business information, such as supply inventory levels, point-of-sales data, and market trends that are beneficial for both customer and supplier. Frequently, an investment in information technology software can facilitate and enhance this kind of extensive data sharing. Step 4: Monitor and maintain the allegations After implementing corrective actions, you’ll need to conduct management reviews in which progress is discussed, milestones are recognized, and changes to planned milestones are decided upon when necessary. It almost goes without saying that these reviews should be carried out in a timely fashion. The definition of â€Å"timeliness,† however, depends upon what activities are being measured and on their inherent cycle times. The review should occur within a time frame that allows sufficient data points identifying change to be generated. A premature review will show lack of progress and can lower confidence levels. At the same time, a late review or prolonged periods between reviews can Jeopardize momentum or even introduce been introduced since the previous review. Matching management reviews to meaningful data generation will help avoid these pitfalls and keep the momentum toward positive relationship change. The successful repair of a customer-supplier relationship will heavily depend on the involvement of the leadership teams and the commitment of both sides to the process. If continuing the relationship will bring value to both parties, then their commitment to achieving success (and to maintaining the relationship) should be explicit. In other words, leadership’s involvement in supplier relationship management demonstrates the importance of this activity to the organization. Nevertheless, sustaining the relationship can be difficult even when there is great support from the leadership of both customer and supplier. It makes sense, therefore, to consider turning the relationship management activities that have been developed to address specific problems into a formalized program supporting continued improvement. Leverage the scheduled reviews, progress metrics, and milestones to shape the content of a formal customer- supplier management process. Expand team and individual involvement to other levels of the organization as appropriate. Remember that a customer-supplier relationship is a two-way street? throughout the â€Å"monitor and maintain† phase, both sides should be openhanded and go out of their way to learn from each other. For example, the customer can teach the supplier that it needs to provide more than Just the right product at the right price, and the supplier can teach the customer that it requires more information than a basic forecast if it is to support the customer’s supply chain success. Relationships: The foundation of success Now is the time to assess your customer-supplier relationships, as your company recovers from the Great Recession and prepares for an upturn in business. If those relationships are weakened, damaged, or severed, consider taking the following steps: Objectively acknowledge the past and open a clear communication channel with the sincere intent of building a mutually beneficial relationship. Discuss and discover the sources (the â€Å"cause†) of the problems and develop corrective actions. Be careful not to fall into the trap of addressing symptoms (the â€Å"effects†). Follow through tit corrective actions and continue to monitor and maintain the relationship. To improve the likelihood of success, ensure that there is leadership support from both customer and supplier. Remember, solid, healthy customer-supplier relationships form the foundation of an enterprise’s success. Companies that continue to suffer because of weakened, damaged, or severed relationships will surely lose to their competition. Justine Brown is principal at the consulting firm Tompkins Associates. An organization spends substantial portion of every dollar on the purchase of raw materials, components, and services. In fact, 60% of cost goods sold are consisted of purchased goods. Therefore, supplier quality can substantially affect the overall cost of a product or service. One of the keys to obtaining high-quality products and services is for the customer to work with suppliers in a partnering atmosphere to achieve the same quality level as attained within the organization. Customers and suppliers have the same goal?to satisfy end user. The better the supplier quality, the better the supplier’s long-term position, because the customer will have better work together as partners to maximize their return on investment. There have been number of forces that have changed supplier relations. Prior to the sass, procurement decisions were typically based on price, thereby awarding contracts to lowest bidder. As a result, quality and timely delivery were sacrificed. One force, Deeming fourth point, addressed this problem. He stated that customers must stop awarding business based on the low bidder because price has no basis without quality. In addition, he advocated single suppliers for each items to help develop a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust. These actions will lead to improved products and services. Another force changing supplier relations was the introduction of the Just-in-time TIT) concept. It calls for raw materials and components to reach the production operations in small quantities when they are needed and not before. The benefits of SIT is that inventory-related costs are kept to minimum. Procurement lots are small and delivery is frequent. As a result, the supplier have many more process setups, thus becoming a SIT organization itself. The supplier must drastically reduce setup time or its cost will increase. Before there is little or no inventory, the quality incoming material must be very good or the reduction line will be shut down. To be successful, SIT requires exceptional quality and reduced setup time. The practice of continuous process improvement has also caused many suppliers develop partnership with their customers. A final force is ISO 9000, which is mandated by the major automotive assembly firms. Specifically, first tier and tiers subsequent to the Moms must maintain supply chain development through three key factors: zero defects, 100% on-time delivery, and a process for continuous improvement. These forces have changed adversarial customer-supplier relationship into mutually beneficial partnerships. Joint efforts improve quality, reduce costs, and increase market share for both parties. Dry. Koru Chickasaws has suggested 10 principles to ensure quality products and services and eliminate unsatisfactory conditions between the customer and the supplier: 1 . Both customers and the suppliers are fully responsible for the control of quality. 2. Both the customer and supplier should be independent of each other and respect each other’s independence. 3. The customer is responsible for providing the supplier with clear sufficient requirements so that supplier can know precisely what to produce. 4. Both the customer and the supplier should enter into a non adversarial contract with respect to quality, quantity, price, delivery method, and terms payments. 5. The supplier is responsible for providing the quality that will satisfy the customer and submitting necessary data upon customer’s request. 6. Both the customer and the supplier should decide the method to evaluate the quality of the product or service to the satisfaction of both parties. 7. Both the customer and the supplier should establish in the contract the method by which they can reach an amicable settlement of any disputes that may arise. 8. Both the customer and the applier should continually exchange information, sometimes using multifunctional teams, in order to improve the product or service quality. . Both the customer and the supplier should perform business activities such as procurement, production, and inventory planning, clerical work, and systems so that an amicable and satisfactory relationship is maintained. 10. When dealing with business the end user in mind. Although most of the principles are common sense, a close scrutiny shows that a true partnering r elationship exists with long-term relationship, where each party preserves their identity and independence. How to cite Supplier Relationship Management, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Causes of Defaults in Microfinance Institutions in Sub Saharan Africa

Question: Discuss about theCauses of Defaults in Microfinance Institutions in Sub Saharan Africa. Answer: Introduction Background of the Study Financial institutions have played an important role in various parts of the world. Despite this there have been problems of loan defaults among the microfinance bank than main banks especially in developing countries. We want to establish whether the microfinance institutions contribute significantly to the causes of the defaults. In reference to Otero (1999), microfinance refers to providing or making financial services available to low-income poor people. Microfinance first came on the limelight in 1970s with the construction of Grameen Bank courtesy of Muhammad Yunus (Robinson, 2001). Before then from 1950s the role of the current microfinance was being played by donors and governments. Unfortunately the idea was met by myriad of challenges which resulted in high rate of default and hence losses to the government and the donors (Robinson, 2001). Research by (Schreiner, 2003) asserts that by 1996 there were about 1000 MFIs in about one hundred countries with an estimation of 1000 members. Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have recently seen an increase in the number of microfinance institutions due to high demand for microcredit for SMEs and poor business people in urban and rural areas. The governments have also facilitated the rate at which the microfinance institutions are being established by liberalizing the economies. Whereas the main aim of any microfinance is not only lending but also making profit, high class competition in the sector has led to most of the microfinance institutions compromising on the critical aspects of lending leaving them exposed to high risk of default. The soaring rates of non-payments in microfinances impact badly on the extent of private investment and restrict operations of the institutions credit to borrower as they have to cater for the defaults. On the other hand, success of any microfinance is measured by delinquency loan as a fraction of gross lending. To salvage the delinquency loans, there is need for the microfinance institutions to lay down robust mitigation strategies such as more strict credit policies, an elaborate loan appraisal procedures and proper default recovery procedures. The subsequent chapters of the proposal will include literature review and methodologies that will be used in the actual research. Literature Review Default in microfinance The core objective of this study is to come up with a model to predict loan default among micro-borrowers in Africa. It will then be proper for the study to define or explain the term default. Default in the context of this research study refers to failure of individual borrower to repay a due installment at the right time. Many microfinances have of late been struggling with the problem of default. This has been occasioned by the level of competition in the market which drives them to lend money without proper loan appraisal. It is an issue of concern since it is affecting the operation of many of those institutions. When defaults are minimal or repayment rates are high, the MFIs are able to increase the amount of money they disburse to lenders. They are also able to offer their loans at lower interest rates and even charge lower processing fees (Acquah Addo, 2011). There have been debates as to the causes of loan defaults but a conclusive result is yet to be found. It has been said that some of the reasons that are likely to encourage poor repayments or default are poor management procedures, using loan for unintended purpose, lack of will by the borrower to repay and other economic factors (Wongnaa, 2013). According to (Arene, 1993), a number of factors such as level of education of a farmer, income and experience were better determiners of credit worthiness of a borrower. A research study done in Kwazulu Natal in South Africa by (Mashatola Darroch, 2003) pointed that farm size, loan size, farming experience and level of education affected loan repayment. According to (Eze Ibekwe, 2007) formal education, loan size, size of the family and occupation of the borrower also significantly influenced repayment behavior. Research Questions and Hypothesis Research Questions Could the initial loan appraisal process be the major cause of non-performing loans in microfinance institutions in sub-Saharan Africa? Are the laid down recovery framework and procedures by microfinance institutions be the major cause of defaults in microfinance institutions? What are the lenders factors that could encourage non-performing loans among borrowers in MFIs? Research hypothesis The following is the main research hypothesis of the research project. H0: Microfinance institutions in sub-Saharan Africa contribute significantly to the causes of defaults that they experience. Versus H1: Loan defaults among microfinance institutions borrowers in sub-Saharan Africa have got nothing to do with the institutions themselves. Operational Definitions and Measurements The population of this research will involve established microfinance companies and borrowers from the same institutions in the sub-Saharan Africa. The population will be limited to those microfinance institutions that have been registered by their various governments Central Bank by December 2015. Credit risk managers and loan officers from microfinance institutions will form the population. Research Methodology Sampling Technique The research combines both qualitative and quantitative research design. The quantitative research technique will be used in cases where the some studys test will be done using inferential statistics. This approach method is preferred because of the random nature of the sample from which inference will be made. This design will be used to describe the data and population characteristic.The dependent variable in this case will be default while the independent variables will be loan amount, size of the business, experience with microfinance, level of education of the borrower to mention but a few. Method of Analysis Correlation analysis will also be conducted, to be specific, Pearsons Correlation coefficient will be employed to establish the cross-relationship between the independent and dependent variables; this will be to determine whether there is a significant relationship that exist between a variable and default to the extent that the variable can be an indicator of looming default. During data analysis, multivariate statistical software XL Stats will be used because of its aptness in multivariate analysis. Since the study is having numerous variables, factor analysis will be used since it is able to screen a group of variables depending on the weight of correlation. To add on, the software Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and Excel will be used to solve the multiple regression equation used in this study and to solve descriptive statistics. Research Process The data will be collected through two ways. These are primary data and secondary data. Primary data will be collected through the use of questionnaires so as to get first-hand information. Secondary data on the other hand refers to data from past records, published journals and data from the microfinances that will be used in the study. Though the study will use both primary and secondary, the study will rely heavily on secondary data. On primary data, a simple random sampling will be employed to select the respondents. A self-administered questionnaire will be employed in data collection. This will help the participants have ample time to answer the questions at their own free time since some of them are usually not ready at the time the researcher wants to conduct the interview. Expected Outcomes From the literature review, it is evident that most of the causes of default or non-payment of loans among microfinance institution borrowers comes from the borrowers themselves and not the microfinance institutions in Africa. Such causes are using the money borrowed for other purposes other than the intended purpose. The other cause from the borrowers may be investing the borrowed money in projects that are not viable. Moreover, there are other causes that come from the institutions themselves such as lack of proper loan appraisal. Conclusion The research study will be an important learning material to policy drafters in MFIs as it will guide them on maintaining a quality and performing loan portfolio. When it comes to delinquency management, the document will come in handy for the top managers of financial institutions and the juniors such as loan officers who directly deal with borrowers from the initial stages of recruitment to loan appraisal. Apart from the financial institutions, the outcome of this research will be a point of reference to potential borrowers to make better choices when looking for any loan product. References Arene, C. J. (1993). 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