Various types of leadership and change management - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2769 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Management Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Change processes and change projects are the milestones in any organizations history. Due to the dynamics in the external environment, many organizations find themselves in nearly continuous change. The scope reaches from smaller change projects in particular sub business units up to corporation-wide transformation processes. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Various types of leadership and change management" essay for you Create order Similarly many risks are associated with change process. To overcome such risk organizations requires having effective change agent. Anyone can be change agent unless they possess certain qualities. As a multidisciplinary practice, Organizational Change Management requires for example: creative marketing to enable communication between change audiences, but also deep social understanding about leaderships styles and group dynamics. As a visible track on transformation projects, Organizational Change Management aligns groups expectations, communicates, integrates teams and manages people training. It makes use of metrics, such as leaders commitment, communication effectiveness, and the perceived need for change to design accurate strategies, in order to avoid change failures or solve troubled change projects. An effective change management plan needs to address all above mentioned dimensions of change. This can be achieved in following ways: Putting in place an effective Communicat ion strategy which would bridge any gap in the understanding of change benefits and its implementation strategy. Devise an effective skill upgrading scheme for the organization. Overall these measures can counter resistance from the employees of companies and align them to overall strategic direction of the organization. Personal counseling of staff members (if required) to alleviate any change related fears. Change management is a basic skill in which most leaders and managers need to be competent. There are very few working environments where change management is not important. When leaders or managers are planning to manage change, there are five key principles that need to be kept in mind: Different people react differently to change Everyone has fundamental needs that have to be met Change often involves a loss, and people go through the loss curve Expectations need to be managed realistically Fears have to be dealt with Here are some tips to apply the above principles when managing change: Give people information be open and honest about the facts, but dont give overoptimistic speculation. I.e. meet their OPENNESS needs, but in a way that does not set unrealistic expectations. For large groups, produce a communication strategy that ensures information is disseminated efficiently and comprehensively to everyone .E.g.: tell everyone at the same time. However, follow this up with individual interviews to produce a personal strategy for dealing with the change. This helps to recognise and deal appropriately with the individual reaction to change. Give people choices to make, and be honest about the possible consequences of those choices. Ie meet their control and inclusion needs Give people time, to express their views, and support their decision making, providing coaching, counselling or information as appropriate, to help them through the LOSS CURVE Where the change involves a loss, identifies what will or migh t replace that loss loss is easier to cope with if there is something to replace it. This will help assuage potential fears Where it is possible to do so, give individuals opportunity to express their concerns and provide reassurances also to help assuage potential fears. Keep observing good management practice, such as making time for informal discussion and feedback even though the pressure might seem that it is reasonable to let such things slip during difficult change such practices are even more important. Where you are embarking on a large change programmes, you should treat it as a project. That means you apply all the rigours of project management to the change process producing plans, allocating resources, appointing a steering board and/or project sponsor etc.. The five principles above should form part of the project objectives. Some of the effective change agent qualities are describe below. Task 1 Depending on factors like corporate culture, strategic relevance of project, acceptance of project among management and staff, timeframe, resources etc, change agents either may need good project management capabilities in order to guarantee timely progress, or they should be good leaders with the ability to motivate people. Change agents always need the ability to get all people affected by the project involved, to ensure their support and commitment. This requires a high competency as the basis for acceptance as well as soft skills, which are often summarized as emotional intelligence. This includes the ability to communicate, to understand and to take into account opinions and doubts of others. Change projects involve a great variety of factors and forces. These factors do not only comprise the reasons and objectives for change, but also the existing state of the organization, values, beliefs and routines of the people there. Many change projects challenge the existing cultur al framework of an organization. Efforts to change such lasting values, however, lead to resistance and denial. More than in technology-related projects (e.g. implementation of new software), it takes the acceptance and the support of all people affected by such projects to make them succeed. It is the change agents task to generate this acceptance in order to implement change with the people, not against them. 15 Key Competencies of Change Agents Despite the multi-faceted and ever changing demands on professionals as change agents, there are definable competencies that can be understood and learned. the successful change agents have the ability to: Diagnose problems Understanding both the business drivers and the organization well enough to identify performance issues and analyze their impact on short and long term business results Build relationships with clients Forming partnerships with mutual responsibility for the outcomes of the change effort. Because the risk is higher than with most other HR roles the level of trust required is much higher. Management consultant Ric Reichard uses a simple formula to describe the issues which are usually at play RISK Often the client and the change agent over emphasize one or the other (competency or relationship) especially when the risk increases while the challenge is to balance both to achieve the necessary level of trust. Ensure that the Vision is Articulated Interpreting the hopes and motivations of the workforce through the Vision statement. Set a Leadership Agenda Defining the ongoing role for leaders, such as communications, role modeling, reinforcement of desired behaviours etc. This requires the HR executive to understand intimately the dynamics, history and competencies of the leadership team and to have the tenacity to insist on the agendas accomplishment. Solve Problems Recommending solutions, a common expectation of HR professionals is not the same as solving problems. When it comes to the change agent role, the problems encountered are often loaded with emotional and political dynamics. The change agent must possess the insight to recogn ize the problem, the sensitivity to see its importance to those involved, the courage to take honest and often difficult measures to resolve it and the credibility to be heard. Implement Plans to Achieve Change Goals Successful organizational change on any significant scale can be attributed to the right strategy and appropriate change in organization culture. Culture change, in turn, relies heavily on aligned and supportive people policies, systems and processes. In short, the implementation plan is an HR plan for both the HR function and for management. Complementing the competencies identified above, we would add the following as essential for effectiveness as a change agent: superb communications ability in all directions knowledge of the business; products/services and core work processes keeping a business perspective both macro (mission/vision) and micro (what line managers cope with) planning and project management skills ability to tolerate ambiguity managing resistance risk taking managing conflict It is apparent that these are a blend of personal attributes and developed skill sets. A change agent working at the strategic level cannot be effective without them. Having a clearly articulated competency model for the change agent role is one thing; acquiring the knowledge and skills to function effectively in this role is another. Effectiveness in any role is a combination of competence and confidence Following are four elements that are essential in developing both: Education and Training Formal education and training that is comprehensive enough to really equip an HR professional for the change agent role is quite limited in this country. However, several Universities, such as University of Toronto and Queens University are now offering change management programs within their Executive Development divisions. These range from 3 days to 15 days of professional development sometimes with a practicum component. Practice Opportunities Five years ago we would have encouraged HR professionals to find some neutral territory for practicing their new skills. Today this is clearly impractical as organizations demand that the skills be put to use immediately. The change agent is not exempt from this reality but the practicing is often more visible and the risk higher than in other aspects of the HR role. This is where the next two elements come into play. Feedback Reflection Good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgement the simple (however painful) truth in that expression is familiar to everyone The most important thing you can experience as a change agent is not success. Nor is it failure. It is honest feedback about your performance and impact and the time to reflect on and learn from it. Support System For executives functioning as change agents, there is often no one inside the organization to talk to. The issues are often too strategic or too sensitive to discuss openly. A support system should include people who know the nature of your work and the satisfactions, stresses and risks associated with it. One of the most important people in your support system will be the colleague whom you can count on to challenge you, help you see your shortcomings and follow-up on what specifically you are doing about them Objectives 1. Sensitivity to changes in key personnel, top management perceptions and market conditions, and to the way in which these impact the goals of the project. 2. Setting of clearly defined, realistic goals. 3. Flexibility in responding to changes without the control of the project manager, perhaps requiring major shifts in project goals and management style. Roles 4. Team-building abilities, to bring together key stakeholders and establish effective working groups, and to define and delegate respective responsibilities clearly. 5. Networking skills in establishing and maintaining appropriate contacts within and outside the organization. 6. Tolerance of ambiguity, to be able to function comfortably, patiently and effectively in an uncertain environment. Communication 7. Communication skills to transmit effectively to colleagues and subordinates the need for changes in the project goals and in individual tasks and responsibilities. 8. Interpersonal skills, across the range, including selection, listening, collecting appropriate information, identifying the concerns of others, and managing meetings. 9. Personal enthusiasm in expressing plans and ideas. 10. Stimulating motivation and commitment in others involved. Negotiation 11. Selling plans and ideas to others by creating a desirable and challenging vision of the future. 12. Negotiating with key players for resources, for changes in procedures, and to resolve conflict. Managing up 13. Political awareness in identifying potential coalitions, and in balancing conflicting goals and perceptions. 14. Influencing skills, to gain commitment to project plans and ideas form potential skeptics and resisters. 15. Helicopter perspectives, to stand back from the immediate project and take a broader view of priorities. Source: D. Buchanan D. Boddy: The Expertise of the Change Agent: Public performance and backstage activity. Prentice Hall. 1992 Task 2 Reflecting upon my own attitudes values and behaviour I have identified the areas of change required to be an effective change leader. To become such I need to focus on all factors describe in task 1 .In addition to that I need to have full knowledge of the organization and the staff frame of mind working there including its market customer and relationship. There is always more than right solution so I must be able to evaluate facts from different view eg from customer and competitors point. To motivate and guide the staff to become effective change agent I need to focus on their behaviour and attitudes towards their role in organization. Should be able to find out who can be assest to company doing so and how. Task 3 Plan of action to maintain effectiveness as change agent is outlines below: Communication: Communication with possible change agents is necessary via meeting to find out their action plan and goals for future. To find out in what ways can staff and units will be more productive and welcoming. Are they looking at different ways to handle most difficult clients for better outcomes? The solution here would be to focus not only handling these clients but to reduce stress on overall staff solving the clinical issues. Address the work Change Agents are doing in their productivity plans. Some change agents will take one to two weeks or less depending on interest, motivation and time. More than likely supervisors will want to adjust productivity time based on performed work. So change agent here should know exactly what is needed in order to meet the productivity requirements. Meetings: It is important for change agent to attend monthly and quarterly meetings to have an idea on obtaining training around the made action plans and to know how to implement at work scenario. Beside these change agent should Educate staff on strategies, customer care, assessment etc. Participate in case discussions about re-occurring disorders. Provide updates and training to the staff. Create the implementation of Action plan/policy to improve general quality of the service. Task 4 Any changes made in the organization must be integrated with other business and management disciplines. Integration primarily occurs in one of two ways. First, introduction of the importance of change management and second making a commitment to build change competence and utilizing changes on every project as an standard practice. When change management is started at the beginning of a project, the activities can be fully integrated. The first step will be to develop a change management strategy based on the characteristics of the particular change and the attributes of the organization that is being changed. Change readiness assessments will help you decide on your strategy and how you will customize the change management plans you are going to develop. The following steps describe below will give a clear picture of how integration should be carried out. Start phase Define objectives and project benefits with project sponsor Set the timeline and milestones Initial budget preparation Team selection and team building Define communication system within the project Identify the main stakeholders and members of project holding committee Planning Make draft of the plan Review with sponsor Finalize the plan Schedule first meeting with committee Prepare presentation for committee and review it with sponsor Data collection Gather all data collection requirements Delegate responsibilities among team members Conduct managers and employee interviews Conduct customer surveys Identify main competitors and non competitors Prepare all research report Again prepare presentation for committee reviewing with sponsor. Design solution Review all detail of the findings Define principles and concepts for the future Create documents for system and technology requirements Define the change required and the new roles and responsibilities Make a draft of solution design and finalize Prepare presentation for meeting with key committee and sponsor Gap analysis Conduct gap analysis between as-is and to-be phase Determine cost savings and revenue growth from new solution Also estimate for system and technology Implementation cost for project should be clearly estimated Outline business case for new design and compare with initial objective and ensure the alignment With accounting group review the financial calculation. Involve the committee and sponsor in the final review of project Solution development Buy the required system and technology Conduct the trial Collect feedback Detail job description is needed and review with HR and legal department Training requirements should be defined and curriculum should be develop. Solution implementation Develop control process Train new employees on new process and tools/systems Collect employee and manager feedback Modify the solution according to feedback If any issues arises during implementation process track and resolve. Ensure the alignment with business strategy Measure the performance outcome and compare Conclusion Change management can be applied to many types of business improvement programs from radical changes like BPR, mergers and acquisitions or new product releases to incremental changes like continuous improvement processes or Six Sigma. Change management is the process and tools such as communications, sponsorship, coaching, and training and resistance management plan for addressing the people side of change. Change management is not an event it is a process of helping individuals understand, internalize and support a change.

Climate Change Global Warming - 870 Words

The earth as we know it is steadily changing. Weather its evolution, technology, weather or our environment, nothings is what it used to be. Climate is a major factor that is changing. This has been going on for quite some time yet, not taken seriously. Our planet has been much warmer in the past 2 centuries then ever before and scientist are working frantically to reduce this trend, During winter, we expect low temperatures, longer nights and snow and in the contrary, during summer we expect shorter nights and higher temperatures. As the world expands, everything else changes within it especially our season temperatures. these changes are referred to as Climate Change. Precipitation, wind patterns, heat waves are all effected by climate change. Another term closely associated and similar to this is called Global Warming, Global warming is considered one aspect of climate changer and basically revolves around the increasing average globally of the earths temperature by gases emitted in the air(epa.gov). The earth is receiving a higher level in gases. These elements are becoming more abundant than usual thus is the main reason as to why our climate is warming up drastically. Changes like these are dangerous and can lead to catastrophic events in our planet over the next hundred years. Scientists that have been observing climate changes over the last century have noted that global warming is the effect of the human population s overly excessive usage of carbonShow MoreRelatedGlobal Warming And Climate Change974 Words   |  4 Pagesabout global warming, whether it is true or false. Is there evidence to prove that global warming has impacted the climate due to the rise in the earth’s temperature? 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This means that, no matter what policies, processes or actions are implemented, the Earth as we know it will never be the same again. There is significant evidence to support this hypothesis. The dilemma becomes whether we can limit the damage and adapt to a new status quo or not. Rising sea levels and the damage caused by this phenomenon has irreversible impacts on coastlines worldwide. Damage to sensitive reef systems cannot be fixed. This alsoRead MoreClimate Change And Global Warming1022 Words   |  5 PagesWhat = Climate Change Who = Emma, Aoife, Julia, Rachael, Mariah and Cà ©line What is it? Climate Change is a change in the demographic distribution of weather patterns, and related change in oceans, land surfaces and ice sheets, happening over time scales of decades or longer. It’s the world’s greatest threat. Climate change is the change in temperature over a period of time. It involves the greenhouse effect and global warming. Where is it? 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Business Stock Market Business Interest Flow

Question: Describe about the Business Stock Market for Business Interest Flow. Answer: Introduction The research topic is to examine "what is the impact of the high interest rates on the Australian stock market". In order to effectively resolve the research issue, in-depth understanding will be developed by exploring the existing literature. The available literature will be explored by considering the following topics, which are based on the identified research questions: Assessment of the impact of interest rates on the stock market. Relationship among the interest rate, cash flow, and value of stocks. Challenges that are faced by Australian companies due to volatile interest rates. Additionally, the below are the hypothesis that would be considered throughout the completion of this study. Hypothesis 1: Interest rates negatively affects the stock market by impacting on returns and stock prices. Hypothesis 2: There is a negative relationship exists among interest rates, return on the stock, and cash flow. Hypothesis 3: Volatile interest rate creates several challenges for the companies. Impact of Interest Rate of the Stock Market The term interest rate is defined by Jha (2011), as a cost and expenditure incurred by an enterprise for borrowing fund. It is an important element of borrowing costs. Borrowing costs include different charges, and interest on borrowing money and bank overdrafts as an adjustment of interest cost in accounting. The borrowing cost or interest rate are fluctuated and depends on the demand of money in the market and on Federal Reserve monetary policy. If the demand of loan and money increased then it will prompt banks to increase the charges on borrowing money that will raise the borrowing cost of money. Here, the loan or borrowed money assumed as a product and the interest rate known as its price, where the price of a product depends on the demand of that product. It is also depicted by Reifner and Schroder (2012), that the interest on long term debts and short term debts are included in borrowing cost as incurred cost by an individual and an organisation. If, an organisation is incurri ng additional costs such as commission, brokerage, charges of stamp duties, and any other related costs for the arrangement or collection of required capital, then this part of cost will be calculated as a fraction of borrowing cost. Interest rate is the important element of borrowing cost. Therefore, if the interest rate increases then borrowing cost will also increase. Interest rate directly affects stock market because the stock price depends on the companys profitability and performance. In contrast to this, Rooij et al (2011) said that company pays its borrowing cost from its profitability which affects its returns. Therefore, if the interest rate increases then it will directly affect the companys profitability as a result of high borrowing cost. In other words, when interest increases then the company needs to pay more for borrowed money, which will lead to low profitability. In this situation, the stock price of the company may also drop. On the other hand, if interest rate declines then the borrowing money for companies will be cheaper in result of low borrowing cost. The lower borrowing cost can influence the stock price of the company as a rise in stock price. In addition, Osborne (2014) notified that there is a significant relation between interest rate and stock market which is not simple to illustrate. The interest rate works as strength for the stock market as well as weakness. Usually, a person seeks to safety and good return. At the time, when interest rates go down then people are unwilling to put their money in banks and more likely they are willing to invest in other obsession like gold or stock market for better return. The lower interest rates makes cheaper to borrowing money. Due to this reason, the investors pay less for borrowing money that increased profits. Therefore, the lower interest rate influences stock market and works as a strength to increase the performance of stock market and nations currency. On the other hand, if the interest rate increases then it reflects theory of economics as cash become more expensive and the prices of stocks may go down. The higher interest may reduce the flow of cash in market and increas e the borrowing costs for companies. As a result of this, the profitability of the company as well as performance will decrease. Moreover, the decreased performance will determine that the higher interest rate is a weakness for stock market. At the same time, it is evaluated from the study by Nissim and Penman (2003) that the changes in the interest rates are related with the stock returns negatively. They also argued that the negative impact is mainly associated with the changes in the discount rate as an impact of the interest rate consequently affecting stock market. Furthermore, the authors also contended that although the interest rate changes are related to subsequent earnings in a positive manner, however the changes in the earnings are not adequate to compensate the changes in the required return. It is the reason that the net impact of interest rates changes on the stock market is negative Concurrently, Madura (2008) also supports the views of the above authors by stating that the risk-free interest rate is one of the most important economic forces driving prices of the stock market. The author also contended that the relationship between stock prices and interest rates is not constant over time, however when the interest rates increased significantly, there can be seen a decline in the most of the biggest stock markets. Additionally, the author also illustrated that in the late 1990s, the rise in the stock market was partly assigned to the low rates of interest during that period. It shows that the rising interest rates have a negative impact on the stock market or vice versa. Thus, on the basis of above authors' views, it can be discussed that interest rates negatively impact on the stock prices due to reduction in the total earnings and firm's profitability position. At the same time, the study by Liu, Di Iorio and De Silva (2014) also suggests that the short term and long term investment rate can create the significant impact on the stock market in Australia. It is because it affects the growth of cash flows and earnings as well as required return on the investment. Thus, it is clear that interests rates have an impact on the Australian stock market as well as stock markets in other countries. Moreover, on the basis of above discussion, it is analyzed that the hypothesis-1 is true as the interest rates negatively impacts on the stock market. It is because it is evaluated that the interest rates have an effect on the behavior of investors and consumers as well as stock market. It can be discussed that the price of a share fluctuated as a result of expectations of people about the company. For instance, if the company is going back in cutting its growth and generating less profits with high debt expenses due to higher interest rates then the future cash flow of the company will drop. This will lead to lower stock price of the company and lower returns on investments. It can also be analyzed that if most of the companies are facing a declining phase in their share prices then the index of stock market will go downward. At the same time, if an investor gets financial expansion at cheaper interest rate with high returns on investments it will lead to higher stock prices and upw ard market index. Thus, it can be concluded that the interest rate has a great impact on the stock market by impacting on return of investment and stock prices. Evaluation of the Relationship exists among Interest Rates, Return On The Stock, And Cash Flow In the views of Reilly and Brown (2011) there is not a direct and uniform relationship exists among interest rates, cash flows and the stock prices. They argued the reason behind this is that along with the changes in the interest rates, the likely cash flows from stocks can change and it is difficult to determine that whether the changes in the cash flows will offset or increase the interest rates' changes. The authors explained three potential scenario by considering an increase in the inflation rate in order to determine the relationship among all these variable. The Positive Scenario: As discussed by Reilly and Brown (2011), due to rising inflation, interest rate increases and concurrently business earnings experienced growth as to cover the increased cost, companies are able to increase prices. In this situation, prices of the stock are likely to be fairly stable as the negative effect of rising required rate of return can be offset completely or partially by the increase in the dividends and earnings resulting in the increase in the stock value. Mildly Negative Case: In this scenario, due to inflation, required return and interest rates increase but at the prior rate, it is expected that cash flows continue to grow with the assumption of small increases in the price as compared to increase in the interest rates and the inflation (Reilly and Brown, 2011). This would cause to the decrease in the stock price due to increase in the required return, and constant growth rate of dividend. Negative Scenario: As a result of inflation, the required return and interest rates increase, while the cash flows' growth decreases because during the inflation period, the production cost increases, but many companies are not able to enhance prices at all resulting in major decrease in profit margins. Further, stock prices will decrease significantly because required return will increase and growth will decrease (Reilly and Brown, 2011). It is clear from the above discussion that the changes in the rate of interest affects cash flow position, required return, and earnings that further affects stock market. It also indicates that relationship between stock price and interest rates is not direct. Moreover, the authors also argued that the impact of changes in the interest rate on stock prices depends on what caused the interest rate changes and this event's impact on the alternative common stocks' expected cash flows (Reilly and Brown, 2011). Overall, it can be stated that between interest rates and return on stocks, generally there has been a negative relationship exists. Additionally, it can also be stated that although negative relationship can be true in the context of overall market, however, there can be some industries, which may have positive earnings and cash flow against the changes in the interest rates (Reilly and Brown, 2012). Concurrently, to define the relationship among all these variables, Tas (2008) stated that a negative relationship can be expected between stock prices and interest rates as per the theory of arbitrage. It is because the present value of firms' future cash flows decreases due to higher real interest rates that further causes reduction in the stock prices. The study by Oxelheim and Wihlborg (2008) supports the views of Tas (2008) by stating that there are three reasons due to which changes in the economic value and cash flows occur. In this, the first reason is that changes in the interest rate affect the cost of capital of firms and therefore, impact on the discount rate applied to future cash flows and current interest costs. Secondly, many companies' products' demand depends on the interest rates because the cost of credit impacts on the demand. Lastly, there are also other macroeconomic variables such as inflation, exchange rate, etc, that also tend to be correlated with the inter est rates. Thus, it can be stated that all the three terms are related with each-other. In contrast, Madura (2008) argued that there are three kinds of factors including economic, firm-specific, and market oriented that affect the stock price. In this, the economic factors include economic growth, interest rates, and exchange rate that affect stock prices due to impact on the cash flows of the firms. Thus, it shows that all the three terms such as interest rate, stock prices and cash flows are related to each-other and changes in the one variable significantly impacts on the other variables. Overall, based on the above authors' views, it can be analyzed that the second hypothesis "there is a negative relationship exists among interest rates, return on the stock, and cash flow" is true. It is because it is assessed that continuous increase in the interest rates negatively affects future cash flows that further cause a decrease in the stock prices due to the decrease in the investors' trust. Additionally, based on the above discussion, it can also be concluded that interest rate is an important variable that affects both companies and consumers ability to take credit from the market. Moreover, it can also be discussed that interest rates have the potential to affect firms' cash flow as well as stock prices. Challenges faced by Australian Companies due to Volatile Interest Rates: The volatility of interest rates creates several challenges for the companies around the world. At the same time, it is also a key indicator for the stock market and performance of the company. In the words of Homer and Sylla (2011), the word volatility may be defined as a measure of variability over a particular time of period. The volatility in interest rate can be measured in different ways like how much the rate of interest moves down or up on an average basis, measure through standard deviation, and variance. But essentially, measure through: how the interest rate tends to down and up on an average basis over a specific time period is widely used to calculate the interest rate. Mclnerney and Zastawniak (2015) depicted that due to volatile interest rates in the economy, it is difficult to make financial planning for business entities. It is because due to continuous changes in the interest rates, companies faces many financial issues related to borrowing capital or maintain a sus tained capital structure that further affect on the business profitability. The main reason is that it becomes hard to plan and predict profits if the rate of interest on borrowed capital is variable. In Australia, volatility in interest rates is used through many business cycles and boom which resulted in rapid inflation in the economy. Thus, in relation to the third hypothesis, it is analyzed that the companies face many challenges due to volatility interest rates. It is because interest rates directly affect the financial position and financial stability of the company. The challenges such as pricing products, maintain growth rate, manage borrowing costs and cost of capital are generally faced by the companies in the situation of volatile interest rates. According to Malley (2014), in the situation of volatility, it becomes difficult to maintain growth of the company and return on investment. For the reason, the companies face different borrowing costs and operating costs which affect the profitability of the company. Additionally, due to unnecessary volatility of interest rates the companies face challenge about planning to adopt a more vigilant approach for their hiring policies in a significant way. It makes difficult to take decisions related to financial investments. Furthermore, a volatile interest rate incr eases the volatility in economy and in a volatile economy a business faces many risks related to its operational activities. The business firm faces risk of long term uncertainties that make strategic planning complicated. The stable and low interest rates are helpful for the companies to increase their leverage. But, in the situation of volatility, many corporate left susceptible and faced a challenge to manag their financial risks. Moreover, Chadha and Holly (2011), depicted that if the interest rate increases it will make companies less price competitive in the global market. It is because due to the increase in the interest rates, companies cannot make an appropriate pricing strategy because it affects the companys profitability and balance sheet. It may be illustrated as diminished export orders, fewer jobs, and lower profits of the company. For example, the decline in export orders creates the challenge of managing business certainty in the competitive market. Thus, it can be concluded that the volatile interest rate is not good for companies because it affects the cost of capital and the financial stability of companies and leads to an unstable capital structure. It can also be stated that many challenges are faced by companies due to the interest rate changes resulting on impacting their profitability position and long-term survivability. Health Care Companies Performance in last 3 years Year Health Care Companies Sales (US$ millions) Share Prices 30th June ($) Dividend per share 2015 Ansell $1645 $24.09 8.4% 2014 $1590 $19.83 12.1% 2013 $1373 $17.63 10.2% 2015 Cochlear Limited 941.9 80.15 190 2014 820.9 61.70 254 2013 715.0 61.71 252 2015 (CSL Limited Australian $) 5733 86.47 1.39 2014 5459 66.55 1.15 2013 5335 61.58 0.95 (Annual Report, 2015) Conclusion After examining the literature on impact of the interest rates on the stock market, it can be concluded that both terms are associated with each-other. It can be concluded that the changes in the interest rates negatively impacts on the stock market. It is because the interest rate changes affect the required rate of return, future cash flows, and firm's profitability and earning position consequently affecting the stock market. For example, it can be stated that the increase in the interest rate reduces the cash flows' growth, and increase the required return causing a decline in the stock market. In addition, it can also be concluded that the changes in the interest rates create several challenges such as unstable capital structure, difficult to pricing the product, and preserve the growth rate. Thus, it becomes essential to maintain stable interest rate in an economy to ensure the success of the companies as well as the stock market. Additionally, it can also be concluded that all the hypothesis are proved. It is because it is found in relation to the first hypothesis that the interest rates changes affect negatively the stock market by impacting on the prices of the stock as well as returns. Similarly, second hypothesis can also be proven as it is found that a negative relationship exists among the variables namely cash flow, interest rates, and the stock market. Lastly, the third hypothesis can also be proven as it is found that companies face various challenges due to the changes in the interest rate. References Annual Report (2015) Available at: https://www.ansell.com/-/media/Files/Ansell/Documents/Ansell-SAR-2015_web.ashx?la=en-US [Accessed: 10th October, 2016]. Annual Report (2015) Available at: https://www.cochlear.com/wps/wcm/connect/2a3956c0-f09d-4ce7-a8c9-8b0ddccf1999/en_corporate_annualreport2015_financial_1.54mb.pdf?MOD=AJPERESCONVERT_TO=urlCACHEID=2a3956c0-f09d-4ce7-a8c9-8b0ddccf1999 [Accessed: 10th October, 2016]. 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