Organizational behavior Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organizational behavior - Research Paper Example rence to the values regarding the management of the organization and embacing the spirit of mutual trust and respect among all levels of employees will set the foundation for employee hapiness (Rook, pg. 254). This will come through constant communication to the leaders on the importance of uphelding the values of the organization. Good job design and work content will ease operations and reduce job stress leading to greater appreciation. Proper staffing by adopting excellent recruitment methods will assist in having the right people for the various jobs resulting to reduced ineficiencies that prevents excessive supervision. Good work relationships ensure low chances of conflicts between workers. All theses steps will amount to employee satisfaction leading to happy business environment free from conflict and characterized by greater co-ordination. Fair evaluation of performance refers to a systematic approach used in assessing the performance of employees in an organization (Rynes, Gerhart and Parks 571). This considers important factors such as employee level of education, training and experience. A fairly, conducted evaluation exercise uphelds the principle of equity by treating all employees equally and appropriately targeting the specific attributes desired and within the goals and objectives of the organization. Every organization that aims at ensuring high motivation in its employees provides rewards and compensation depending on the level of performance of the individual employees. A fair evaluation system enables the company to identify the right individuals performing well and pushing the organization’s agenda (Rynes, Gerhart and Parks 571). If the compensation goes to the right persons then this will improve the morale leading to increased innovation and productivity. A poor evaluation system will not identify the right persons and this will demoralize the hardworking employees causing poor performance. With an unfair evaluation system, it is

Product life cycle Essay Example for Free

Product life cycle Essay Identify and assess the relevance of the ‘product life cycle’ to the notion of employee engagement. Employee engagement can be viewed through the four stages of the product life-cycle Step one is the introduction of the concept of employee engagement, its principles, strategy for enhancing engagement and involving employees, process of change to ensure engagement is fully embedded into the organisation. Step two is growth and growing the concept of engagement through a number of mechanisms: * Support from senior and line managers * Development of line managers in engaging staff * Clear communication and involvement strategy * Involving staff in organisational and job design * Encouraging self and career development planning * Identifying mechanisms for continuous staff feedback * Evaluating and adapting engagement strategies. Step three is reaching maturity and embedding and maintaining the above factors through continuous involvement, participation, communication, evaluation and action And finally, step 4 is the inevitable decline, even though there is a decline it is still important to retain key employees, and their skills and knowledge, and therefore to continuously involve them in managing the change and future strategy. The employee engagement life cycle is an important tool for HR professionals to use to assess how the engagement product fits with the business’s objectives and strategy. Evaluate the future for employee engagement in the UK and global economic context. Future action plans include: * Involving workers in identifying factors that will engage them further * Consideration of the demographic data and identification how to engage staff from all backgrounds at different levels * Further evaluation of the link between engagement practices and performance * Development of managers that can motivate and inspire staff Monster (2011) the online job advertising website conducted an international survey on employees’ views of their line managers and uncovered the following results: * Only 10% described their manager as ‘brilliant’ * 73% feels their manager does not invest in their self-development * 70% believe that they could do their manager’s job to a higher standard * 41% of UK workers felt their managers were totally incompetent Line managers are pivotal to enhancing engagement through empowering, motivating, inspiring, coaching and helping the employee develop themselves to enhance performance. Key areas where managers require further development include: * Responding to grievances and confronting issues * Empowering and involving workers on decisions that impact on them * Treating all team members equitably and with respect and providing constructive feedback * Recognising and appreciating efforts (particularly discretionary effort) * Being driven to deliver on commitments and promises made. Assess the future role of the HR professional and the HR function so far as the sustainable implementation of employee engagement practices is concerned. In order for HR to become more strategic, they need to ensure the HR strategies and the business strategies are aligned and both contribute to the overall business aim and objectives. If this is achieved then HR can be a driving force for creating an organisational strategy for competitive advantage. HR practitioners can determine organisation capability and engagement levels to flexibly adapt to changing environmental and customer needs through an evaluation of: the current resources in terms of skills, knowledge and behaviours; and organisation design and development. Once the HR practitioner is vertically integrated within the business, they will be able to take advantage of future opportunities by becoming a key player in the strategic decision making process through providing extensive knowledge in terms of organisational capability in taking the opportunity to grow into new markets, or determining future strategies and actions required.

Nuclear Weapons Essay -- Threats To World Peace

Nuclear Weapons A Nuclear weapon is any weapon that gets its destructive power from the transformation of matter in atoms into energy. They include missiles, bombs, artillery shells, mines and torpedoes. Another name for nuclear weapons are Atomic bombs or Hydrogen bombs. The United States was the first country to ever use a Nuclear weapon in battle against Japan. The major arguments for a test ban was first proposed in the 1950Õs. Today, however, the stopping of radioactive fallout and the superpower arms race are still in negotiation. Nations have sought to limit the testing of nuclear weapons to protect people and the environment from nuclear radiation and to slow the development of nuclear weapons. In 1963, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States negotiated the first test limitation treaty, the Limited Test Ban Treaty. The TreatyÕs signers agreed not to test nuclear weapons in the atmosphere, in outer space, or underwater. The only testing that was allowed was underground testing. Attempts to control the number of nuclear weapons in the world began about 1970. The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks(SALT) was a convention held by the United States and the Soviet Union to limit the numbers in nuclear weapons. In 1982, the United States and the Soviet Union began the Strategic Arms Reduction Talks(START). Unlike the SALT talks, these were aimed at the number of nuclear weapons each country could obtain. Then there was another treaty signed in 1987 which was called the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces(INF). This treaty called for the dismantling of ground-launched nuclear missiles. A major obstacle to controlling nuclear weapons has been a lack of trust between the two principal powers; the United States and the Soviet Union. The relationship has improved though in the late 1980Õs after President Gorbachev introduced the principles of glasnost and perestroika to the Soviet Political System. In 1989 and 1990, democratic reforms spread spread across Eastern Europe. These reforms have greatly reduced tensions. The country of China still wants to test their nuclear explosions for mining and for some construction. For two years China has successfully held up the 38-na... ...s are considered necessary. In conclusion, Nuclear Weapons arenÕt safe for any country no matter their stability amongst others. Testing Nuclear weapons destroys the well being of our Earth. So many treaties have been passed but it still seems that the likes of a Nuclear war is still stagable. The United States has the most known nuclear tests having a record of 1,030 tests. The closest country next to us is Russia with 715 tests. As you can clearly see it will take a lot more than treaties to negotiate. LetÕs just hope this will all end before that ozone layer breaks down on us!!!! BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Budanski, Stephen. "Ban the bomb? Not quite." U.S. News and World Report 17 June 1996: 30 2. Cohen, James. Nuclear arms. Pittsburgh 1979. 3. Mitchell, Alison. "Clinton and Yeltsin Accentuate the positive at Summit Meeting." Newsweek 22 May 1990 A7 Column 1 4. Von Hippel, Frank. "Bombs Away." Discover April 1992: 32-35 5. Zimmerman, Tim. "Nuclear Fiction." U.S. News and World Report 24 August 1996: 20

Coca Cola/Pepsico Strategy Analysis

16/10/2012 Saxion University of Applied Science Module International Business Plan – Mr. J. Oude Rengerink IBMS Project 6 – Gr. C1 Analysis International Strategy; Part 1 – Second Version Tim Herbers (153139) Angelika Kuhn (147613) Sebastiaan Prins (112381) Luc Zijlmans (149689) Saxion University of Applied Science Module International Business Plan – Mr. J. Oude Rengerink IBMS Project 6 – Gr. C1 Analysis International Strategy; Part 1 – Second Version Tim Herbers (153139) Angelika Kuhn (147613) Sebastiaan Prins (112381) Luc Zijlmans (149689) | Coca Cola & Pepsi| Analysis International Strategy|Coca Cola & Pepsi| Analysis International Strategy| Index 1. Analysis International Strategy3 2. The Coca-Cola Company & PepsiCo4 3. Marketing5 3. 1 Marketing mix of Coca Cola5 3. 2 Marketing mix of Pepsi7 3. 3 Brand differentiation8 3. 4 Coca-Cola & Pepsi Worldwide8 4. Management9 4. 1 Management Coca-Cola9 4. 2 Management PepsiCo11 4. 3 Management co mpared12 5. Financial Position12 5. 1 Profitability13 5. 2 Liquidity14 5. 3 Solvency15 6. Production16 6. 1 Comparison Production17 7. Research and Development18 7. 1 Research and Development & Sustainability20 8. In Overall21 9. Coca-Cola Company or PepsiCo21 0. References22 1. Analysis International Strategy Before it could be determined whether the Coca-Cola Company or PepsiCo is most suitable for entering a new market, a thorough examination and evaluation of their current (internal) strategy has be performed. Several variables will be researched upon, including Human Resource Management, sustainability and ethics, management aspects (financial part of the business plan), and strategic international marketing position. During this first part we will be answering the question ‘What are the strengths and weaknesses of the companies Coca-Cola and PepsiCo? . 2. The Coca-Cola Company & PepsiCo The Coca-Cola Company Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink that is sold in stores, re staurants, and vending machines available in more than 200 countries throughout the world. Nowadays it is rather difficult to think of a country where it is not available. With a portfolio of more than 3,500 beverages, from diet and regular sparkling beverages to still beverages such as 100 per cent fruit juices and fruit drinks, waters, sports and energy drinks, teas and coffees, and milk-and soy-based beverages, their variety spans the globe.The company has 146,200 employees around the world and operates its business for 126 years respectively. Its headquarters is located in Atlanta, USA. In financial circles, Coca-Cola has been one of the strongest and most reliable trading stocks, showing a steady return in all of its years of existence but one. However, Coca Colas market share has slipped, but still dominates in much of Europe and South America. PepsiCo The carbonated soft drink producer sells its products in nearly 200 countries throughout the world. Their product assortment i ncludes 22 brands that each generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales.The company employs 297,000 people around the globe and is twice as much as that of Coca Cola and sells its products under the name of Pepsi Cola since 1898. Its headquarters is located in Purchase, USA. Pepsi mostly dominates in Asian markets as compared to Coca Cola. In financial circles, Pepsi is known to provide a steady growth when it comes to sales revenue as well as profit. Their sales revenue in 2011 is one third higher than that of 2008 and a disruption in that trend is not expected by sales forecasts. 3. Marketing 3. 1 Marketing mix of Coca Cola ProductThe Coca-Cola Company’s products consist of beverage concentrates and syrups, with the main product being the finished beverages and can be seen as both business and consumer products. The type of consumer product the Coca-Cola Company creates is convenience product. Convenience products normally require a wide distribution in order to sell sufficient quantities to meet profit goals In addition, the Coca-Cola Company often pays a certain amount to retail stores to resell their product. Therefore the Coca-Cola Company products can be considered a business product.The Coca-Cola Company has a fairly large product mix which contains about 400 brands, including diet and light beverages, waters, juice and juice drinks, teas, coffees, energy, and sports drinks. Since 1960 they have increased their product mix continuously. Place Coca Cola is sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. The headquarter is located in Atlanta, Georgia. Promotion Advertising According to Gary Armstrong and Philip Kotler, â€Å"Advertising is any paid form of non-personal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor. Coca-Cola has used advertising to build an image for its company. Here are some of the types of advertising that Coca-Cola uses: * Television commercial; ga in good marketing coverage by appealing to consumer's senses. * Magazines; geographically and demographically select consumers that it wants to target. * Outdoor advertising; strategic placements achieve high repeat exposure. * Internet; allows customers to become interactive through various games, contests, shopping. Public Relations Coca-Cola handles public relations by including a press centre on its website.This section of the website allows consumers to view press releases, executive speeches, and statements made by the company regarding current information. In the statements, Coca-Cola can address law suits, rumours, stories, new products, and activities. Personal Selling Coca-Cola has many salespeople, who are individuals representing the company to communicate, sell, service, and build relationships with customers. These individuals form close relationships with the customers and visit them not unusual many times per week. Sales promotionCoca-Cola often runs sales with store s to quickly increase sales. Coke gives its product to the retailer for a lower price, and in-turn the retailer sells the product on sale. To advertise for these sales, the retailer generally runs an ad in their store sales circular at attract consumers. Direct Marketing Coca-Cola uses direct marketing in many ways. First, the company partners with various restaurants, movie theatres, etc. to carry its product. This way, when a customer orders a drink, the only brand they are offered is Coca-Cola, which forces them to buy a drink from that brand.By doing this, Coke forces out other competition, and keeps the restaurants, or other businesses, purchasing their product over and over again. Price Average price in the capitals for one can 350ml (2011): Greece, Spain, Belgium: $1. 74 Switzerland:$1. 72 United Kingdom:$1. 54 United States:$0. 79 Russia:$1. 07 India:$0. 36 China:$0. 26 3. 2 Marketing mix of Pepsi Product The Pepsi-Cola drink contains basic ingredients found in most other si milar drinks including carbonated water, high fructose corn syrup, sugar, colourings, phosphoric acid, caffeine, citric acid and natural flavours.The caffeine free Pepsi-Cola contains the same ingredients but no caffeine. Pepsi’s most popular product range include Diet Pepsi, Gatorade, Mountain Dew, Thirst Quencher, Tropicana, Aquafina Bottled Water, Sierra Mist, Fritos Corn chips, Cheetos, Ruffles Potato Chips, Lays Potato Chips, Tostitos, Doritos. Place Pepsi is sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in nearly 200 countries. The headquarter is located in Purchase, New York. Promotion Advertising Likewise Pepsi has used advertising to build an image for its company. * Television commercial; gain good marketing coverage by appealing to consumer's senses. Magazines; geographically and demographically select consumers that it wants to target. * Outdoor advertising; strategic placements achieve high repeat exposure. * Internet; allows customers to become interactive t hrough various games, contests, shopping. Public Relations Pepsi gets involved in Public Relations via social networks like Facebook. Community services as well as social campaigns are addressed on the company’s internet page. Personal Selling In order to keep up with the core competition, Pepsi’s salespeople are inevitable building similar relationships with customers like Coca Cola.Sales promotion Sales promotion is similar to that of Coca Cola. Direct Marketing The direct marketing strategy is equally to that of Coca Cola. Price Average price in the capitals for one can 350ml (2011): United Kingdom:$0. 38 United States:$0. 79 Canada:$1. 02 Egypt:$0. 66 India:$0. 12 China:$0. 10 3. 3 Brand differentiation Brand differentiation takes place after understanding what the customers wants and therefore meeting the core need. Pepsi and Coca-Cola are popular black soft drinks and mostly contain sugar and water with a slightly difference in taste.Although the ad campaigns run by both companies would have people think otherwise, the soft drink similarities are striking. A study found that 80 per cent of people cannot differentiate a sample of Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) from a sample of Pepsi. In essence, it does not matter how the DNA of the product looks like, but how it is presented. On the one hand there is Coca-Cola, the secret inventor of cola, the original product since the establishment on the market. Pepsi, on the other hand, was born a few years after Coke and stands for something new. It markets its product being committed for a new generation.Pepsi does have a slight advantage over Coke in diversification. Pepsi has snack food brands such as Frito-Lay and Quaker. They also own the brands that make beverages such as Gatorade, Tropicana and Naked Juices. While Coke hasn’t tapped the snack food market, they do have some beverage diversification. Dasani bottled water, PowerAde and Minute Maid juices are all part of Coca-Cola. 3. 4 Coca-Cola & Pep si Worldwide The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo both have very successful drinks. Although Coca-Cola is greater than PepsiCo as a company as well as the amount of brands/drinks, their drinks are quite similar and therefore comparable.They also have a wide range of promotional activities. They use practically all communication mediums there are and invest huge amounts in building customer relationships. Coca Cola and Pepsi are sold in around the 200 countries worldwide. Both headquarters are located in the United Stated. The price of Coca Cola is more expensive than Pepsi in most countries. Since most people cannot taste the difference between the two, the difference in price lies with that Coca Cola is more known and wins from Pepsi on image. It is seen as a slightly ‘better' brand. . Management 4. 1 Management Coca-Cola Management Every company needs a strategy, to ensure that everything goes well within the firm. Strategic management affirms the company being well organized a nd no detail being left out. It is essential to make sure that the company is doing well internally. Business start up Coca-Cola was first introduced by John Smyth Pemberton. The distribution took place by carrying the product in a jig down the street to Jacob’s Pharmacy, where people were buying the drink for five cents at the soda foundation. StrategyNowadays, the Coca-Cola Company operates in more than 200 countries and markets more than 500 brands. Hereunder, four of the world’s top five soft drinks brands, which explains the enormous success and makes them to the world’s largest beverage company. The unique brand is consistently offering products of the highest quality and delivers creative and innovative marketing programs worldwide. The global availability and ongoing innovation, continually provides its consumers with new product offerings, with each country having its own unique needs and requirements.Mission * To refresh the world†¦ * To inspire m oments of optimism and happiness†¦ * To create value and make a difference. | Vision * People: Be a great place to work where people are inspired to be the best they can be. * Portfolio: Bring to the world a portfolio of quality beverage brands that anticipate and satisfy people's desires and needs. * Partners: Nurture a winning network of customers and suppliers, together we create mutual, enduring value. * Planet: Be a responsible citizen that makes a difference by helping build and support sustainable communities. Profit: Maximize long-term return to shareowners while being mindful of our overall responsibilities. * Productivity: Be a highly effective, lean and fast-moving organization. | Values * Leadership: The courage to shape a better future * Collaboration: Leverage collective genius * Integrity: Be real * Accountability: If it is to be, it's up to me * Passion: Committed in heart and mind * Diversity: As inclusive as our brands * Quality: What we do, we do well Structu re The Coca-Cola’s primary business consists of manufacturing and selling beverages.The company sells their concentrates and syrups to bottling partners, which have the authorization of manufacturing, distribution and selling branded products to consumers around the globe with supreme quality and service. The relationship with its bottlers worldwide is a key source of strength and is referring to ‘the Coca-Cola system’. Culture The organizational culture describes the way a business does things, including patterns of behaviour and relationships. Therefore, the employees of the Coca-Cola Company are the most important asset, highlighting teamwork and empowerment.Not only employees, but also customers and bottling partners feel valued in this friendly, trustful and innovative culture and their motivation provides the engine that drives the Company’s growth. Based on relationships, The Coca-Cola Company provides a number of open communication channels as mont hly leadership team meetings and employee team briefing sessions and surveys to monitor employee views and feelings. 4. 2 Management PepsiCo Business start up Pepsi was first introduced as ‘Brad’s Drink’ by Caleb Bradham in 1893. The drink was produced and sold in his drugstore. StrategyThe company operates in more than 200 countries. PepsiCo has competitive advantage in the beverage industry  because of big brands, proven innovation and differentiated products. Their strong brand, socially responsible employees and corporate beliefs continues its stance as one of the most powerful companies in the world. Mission Our mission is to be the world's premier consumer products company focused on convenient foods and beverages. We seek to produce financial rewards to investors as we provide opportunities for growth and enrichment to our employees, our business partners and the communities in which we operate.And in everything we do, we strive for honesty, fairness and integrity. Vision â€Å"PepsiCo's responsibility is to continually improve all aspects of the world in which we operate – environment, social, economic – creating a better tomorrow than today. † Our vision is put into action through programs and a focus on environmental stewardship, activities to benefit society, and a commitment to build shareholder value by making PepsiCo a truly sustainable company. Goals and Values Ensure high levels of associate engagement and satisfaction compared with other Fortune 500 companies * Foster diversity and inclusion by developing a workforce that reflects local communities * Encourage our associates to lead healthier lives by offering workplace wellness programs globally * Ensure a safe workplace by continuing to reduce lost time injury rates, while striving to improve other occupational health and safety metrics through best practices * Support ethical and legal compliance through annual training in our code of conduct, whic h outlines PepsiCo's unwavering commitment to its human rights policy, including treating every associate with dignity and respect Structure This adaptive organization is continuously seeking for improvement and keeping new ideas in the marketplace. PepsiCo has a decentralized organizational structure. Operational decisions are being made within the separate business units while being governed by policies at the corporate level. Culture PepsiCo offers a culture that encourages initiative, risk taking and access to decision makers.Employees have superior opportunities to pursue their goals. The company considers their culture as fairly uniform. â€Å"Extremely competitive and very focused†. Trust, respect, fairness and teamwork are being valued. Managers must be able to attract, retain and develop talents in order to achieve efficient and effective results, which are significant for PepsiCo’s expectations. Benefits as bountiful retirement packages, tuition reimbursement and legal assistance programs are being praised by their employees. 4. 3 Management compared Each company tries to outdo each other and tries to produce the best product. The battle of the two companies gives life to the industry.Both companies have a long history and have been tried and tested. The two are showing social responsibility in the community and have invested heavily in recycling programs. However, The Coca Cola Company is the market leader. It has built internal and external structures to support the delivery of its business goals. It has the best structure of supporting growth, allowing attention to local requirements and building on a clear strategic direction from the centre at the same time. To build its growth on, the company has a firm foundation of relationships and open communication channels. 5. Financial Position What is the financial position of PepsiCo?The last year’s PepsiCo has been a very financially healthy company. But like many companies also P epsiCo suffered a bit from the financial crisis. If we first look at the income statement of PepsiCo we can see that PepsiCo is now recovering from the blow they took from the financial crisis and are increasing their revenue and profits. They are recovering by spending more money on their marketing in their home market and also doing more investments then the years before. In 2009 investments were only 2. 1 billion and in 2011 their 3. 4 billion. This strategy is helping them to get back on track. We can see this strategy back in their cash flow statement and in their balance sheet.What is the financial position of Coca-Cola Company? The Coca-Cola Company has always been market leader with their coke and has always been a very strong company, not just financially but also their brand name is very strong. Even though they have a very strong brand name they took a blow in 2008 with the economic crisis and had to cut their costs and investments substantially. In 2011 their managed to get their revenue up by 11 billion but their profit stayed the same as in 2010. This was because they started to invest more; this is something that the competitor PepsiCo did as well. So both companies are recovering and doing well. 5. 1 Profitability PepsiCo Inc. , profitability ratios   | Dec 31, 2011| Dec 25, 2010| Dec 26, 2009| Dec 27, 2008| Dec 29, 2007|   | Return on Sales| | Gross profit margin| 52. 49%| 54. 05%| 53. 51%| 52. 95%| 54. 30%| | Operating profit margin| 14. 48%| 14. 41%| 18. 61%| 16. 09%| 18. 19%| | Net profit margin| 9. 69%| 10. 93%| 13. 75%| 11. 89%| 14. 33%|   | Return on Investment| | Return on equity (ROE)| 31. 29%| 29. 86%| 35. 38%| 42. 47%| 32. 83%| | Return on assets| 8. 84%| 9. 27%| 14. 92%| 14. 29%| 16. 34%| Coca-Cola Co. , profitability ratios |   | Dec 31, 2011| Dec 31, 2010| Dec 31, 2009| Dec 31, 2008| Dec 31, 2007|   | Return on Sales| | Gross profit margin| 60. 86%| 63. 86%| 64. 22%| 64. 39%| 63. 4%| | Operating profit margin| 21. 82%| 2 4. 06%| 26. 56%| 26. 44%| 25. 13%| | Net profit margin| 18. 42%| 33. 63%| 22. 02%| 18. 18%| 20. 73%|   | Return on Investment| | Return on equity (ROE)| 27. 10%| 38. 09%| 27. 52%| 28. 37%| 27. 51%| | Return on assets (ROA)| 10. 72%| 16. 19%| 14. 02%| 14. 33%| 13. 82%| In the table’s you can see the most important profitability ratios for PepsiCo and Coca-Cola Company. The gross profit margin indicates the percentage of revenue that is used to cover operating and other expenses. For the last years Coca-Cola always had the better profit margin ratio because they do not have such a diverse product range as PepsiCo does.PepsiCo also works in other markets like cereal and potato chips where the gross profit margins are usually lower. This accounts for all of the return on sales ratios. The return on investments are not very different for both companies but PepsiCo did some major investments in equity the last few years and they still managed a very high return on equity which a good result. Both companies have good returns on their investments. We can clearly see that Coca-Cola has a higher profitability; a big difference is the net profit margin where they score much better then PepsiCo. But both companies are doing very well profitability wise. 5. 2 Liquidity PepsiCo Inc. , liquidity ratios   | Dec 31, 2011| Dec 25, 2010| Dec 26, 2009| Dec 27, 2008| Dec 29, 2007| | Current ratio| 0. 96| 1. 11| 1. 44| 1. 23| 1. 31| | Quick ratio| 0. 62| 0. 80| 1. 00| 0. 79| 0. 89| | Cash ratio| 0. 24| 0. 40| 0. 47| 0. 26| 0. 32| Coca-Cola Co. , liquidity ratios |   | Dec 31, 2011| Dec 31, 2010| Dec 31, 2009| Dec 31, 2008| Dec 31, 2007| | Current ratio| 1. 05| 1. 17| 1. 28| 0. 94| 0. 92| | Quick ratio| 0. 78| 0. 85| 0. 95| 0. 62| 0. 58| | Cash ratio| 0. 58| 0. 61| 0. 67| 0. 38| 0. 33| The current ratio of PepsiCo is a shock because looking at this number they have serious liquidity problem. It took a major blow from the economic crisis looking at numbers from 2007 and 2008 when the current ratios were at a much more healthy level.Also Coca-Cola’s current ratio’s is much lower than it used to be but when we look at the current ratio in 2008 and 2007 the ratio was lower than it is now so it might be that this is not an unusual position to be in for Coca-Cola . The quick ratio shows if a company can currently pay back their current liabilities. Both companies are not able to do this but for big companies like Coca-Cola and PepsiCo this is a normal quick ratio and they do not have something to worry about. The Cash ratio of PepsiCo is much lower than Coca-Cola this might also be the cause for their low current ratio they do not have a lot of cash on their bank but they use it mostly for investments. Overall the liquidity position of Coca-Cola is better and Pepsi might need to reconsider to improve their liquidity position. 5. 3 SolvencyPepsiCo Inc. , debt and solvency ratios |   | Dec 31, 2011| Dec 25, 2010| Dec 26, 2009| Dec 27, 2008 | Dec 29, 2007| | Debt to equity| 1. 30| 1. 18| 0. 47| 0. 68| 0. 24| | Debt to capital| 0. 57| 0. 54| 0. 32| 0. 40| 0. 20| | Interest coverage| 11. 32| 10. 12| 21. 35| 22. 41| 35. 12| Coca-Cola Co. , debt and solvency ratios |   | Dec 31, 2011| Dec 31, 2010| Dec 31, 2009| Dec 31, 2008| Dec 31, 2007| | Debt to equity| 0. 90| 0. 76| 0. 48| 0. 45| 0. 43| | Debt to capital| 0. 47| 0. 43| 0. 32| 0. 31| 0. 30| | Interest coverage| 28. 43| 20. 43| 26. 20| 18. 14| 18. 37| PepsiCo finances their company more with equity and capital than Coca-Cola Company does.You can see this when you look at the debt to equity and debt to capital ratio which are much higher in the case of PepsiCo especially the debt to equity this is because of the big investments in equity that PepsiCo did this year and last year. Even though the Coca-Cola Company is financed more by loans, this is not a problem for Coca-Cola because their interest coverage ratio is very high and their profits have been an in stable grow th as where PepsiCo has a much lower interest coverage ratio which is declining every year since the start of the economic crisis. 6. Production Intangible resources Coca-Cola is the absolute leader in the carbonated soft-drink market and is recognised as the most valuable brand worldwide. The company? greatest strengths are in its intangible resources. Because of the great reputation and image, they differentiate themselves from competitors like Pepsi. Coca-Cola can be bought in almost every country worldwide and is available in practically all snack shops, supermarkets, train stations, and so on. This success exists because the huge investments in marketing and Coca-Cola's distribution systems. Customers of Coca-Cola are generally very loyal, more loyal than the Pepsi customers. Coca-Cola also gains competitive advantage by excelling in their brand image (strategy). They invest a lot in marketing and brand awareness, (Coca-Cola is a lifestyle†).Another competitive advantage is the 400 licenses and patents on different formulas (ingredients Coca-Cola) and other drinks and brands which fall under the Coca-Cola Company. PepsiCo is also operating on a global basis. The competition between the two is heavy and just like Coca-Cola, Pepsi drinks are available in almost every nation, in almost every food and drink store. Although fulfilling a similar position as Coca-Cola in their market, PepsiCo has a rough opponent with Coca-Cola. The past several years, PepsiCo is not as profitable as before and has more and more trouble with competing with Coca-Cola, also because of the high investments of Coca-Cola in marketing. Therefore, their brand equity is developing negatively. Also PepsiCo’s intellectual property is great.Coca-Cola is more seen as a phenomena than a brand, and this is a competitive advantage for PepsiCo as well. Many establishments over the world offer Cola, and provide customers with PepsiCo mainly because this is less expensive. As already mentioned earlier, most people cannot distinguish Coca-Cola from PepsiCo, therefore gains PepsiCo competitive advantage at the expense of Coca-Cola. Human Capital The whole Coca-Cola Company has over 140,000 employees worldwide. Remarkable is that PepsiCo around the 30% greater workforce has, although their market share is considerably smaller. Unless the efficiency rate per employee of PepsiCo is much higher than that of Coca-Cola, this causes the company to have very large expenses in labour terms.To safeguard future long-term objectives, the companies both choose to keep a diverse workforce. Employees get relatively much responsibility (empowerment) and are encouraged, inspired and challenged to learn, be innovative, be original, and to promote themselves within the company. This creates extra value for both companies because employees are more loyal. Physical capital The physical capital of Coca-Cola is huge. The Company owns over many facilities in more than 200 countries worl dwide where the bottling, canning, syrup manufacturing, and administrative aspects are being dealt with. Only the bottlers where the products are manufactured and distributed mounts up to 275 facilities over the world.All those facilities are brought under five geographic operating segments (North America, Africa, Asia, Eurasia and the Middle East, and Latin America) and one corporate segment. The bottling partners are local companies, totally integrated and operating in line with their local markets. Also PepsiCo’s distribution system covers a wide range of certified bottlers, selling products in over 200 countries on six continents to businesses and institutions, including retail chains, supermarkets, restaurants, small neighbourhood grocers, sports and entertainment venues, schools and colleges, etc. 6. 1 Comparison Production These good resources ensure overall quality, flexibility and responsiveness in respect to local markets.They are integrated in their market worldwid e with continuous supply. Brand image and human capital are aspects which safeguards profitable future prospects with a sustainable competitive advantage. Both Coca-Cola and Pepsi have a massive amount of employees working for the company worldwide. This is also necessary because the employees contribute for a large part to business successes. Remarkable is the 30% greater workforce of PepsiCo. This is an alarming situation because the expenses of labour is large. Because they are both very successful and such immense companies, brand image, presence in geographical markets, distribution systems are all well-organised and difficult to compare.The end results of Coca-Cola in financial-, as well as non-financial aspect are better than those of PepsiCo on almost every terrain. 7. Research and Development How sustainable is PepsiCo? (Continuous improvement/New flavours) PepsiCo is a company with a wide variety of products and in all their market segments they are an A brand. When it com es to research and development you can see that PepsiCo is one of the best. They have multiple research and development facilities especially in the United States with many highly skilled scientists working there every day trying out new flavours and new products. The company even has its own university to train their staff.At this university which was opened in 2011 the scientist of PepsiCo receive training about 8 main items which are: packaging, Nutrition, Food Safety and Regulatory, Ingredient Application Science, Human Research and Science, Experience Design, Product Development and Process Engineering. They create new flavours every day and they launch a new flavour a couple times a year. They carefully create their flavours for specific markets so they meet the exact needs of the customers in that country. Another thing that PepsiCo strives to do is continuously improve their existing product and their existing processes. They do this for instance by giving training to their employees and giving their mangers goals to make sure they improve every year. How sustainable is the Coca-Cola Company? Continuous improvement/New flavours) Coca-Cola might not have as many R;D facilities as PepsiCo but their output of new products and new flavours is bigger than PepsiCo. This mostly caused by the fact that the Brand Coca-Cola is much more than just a brand. They also sell T-shirts and other product of their brand that they develop. Things like vending machines and packaging are things that Coca-Cola focuses on with their R;D while PepsiCo is more focussed on their product range. Coca-Cola is so settled as a brand that the most of their R;D is almost marketing. Like new cloth lines and new packaging for their products and off course new vending machines which will not only benefits the customers but also carries a message.Of course Coca-Cola Company also develops new flavours and new product they do this the same way as PepsiCo they look at the specific needs of th e inhabitants of a country and create a new flavour or product based on those needs. Coca-Cola also PepsiCo strives to do is continuously improve their existing product and their existing processes. They do this for instance by giving training to their employees and giving their mangers goals to make sure they improve every year. Does PepsiCo have a green vision? PepsiCo is fully committed to protecting the earth's natural resources through innovation and the efficient use of land, energy, water and packaging in all our operations.As a global business, they rely on the earth's natural resources. And as they grow, they strive to use only methods and tools that are, socially responsible and economically sound. PepsiCo has multiple categories where they are becoming more and more sustainable, the first category in which they have goals for improvement is water usage. PepsiCo's goal to improve water-use efficiency by 20 per cent per unit of production by 2015 . PepsiCo has already impro ved water-use efficiency by 18. 7 per cent for foods manufacturing, and 17. 8 per cent for beverage manufacturing. These conservation efforts translate to a water savings of nearly 13. 8 billion litres.Also waste management is very important for them. In 2010, PepsiCo generated an estimated 1. 25 million metric tons of solid waste from the manufacturing facilities. Of that total, only 15. 4 per cent was discarded to a landfill, and 84. 6 per cent of waste generated was sent off-site for beneficial use, such as recycling. In the future they are still looking to improve those numbers. Also they keep a close eye on their carbon emission. They have multiple on-going projects in many different countries that will help them decrease their Co2 emission and their effect on the global climate change. They have set 4 worldwide goals for their company. * Reduce carbon intensity in our operations Invest in carbon reduction technologies, including renewable fuel technology and clean development mechanisms * Reduce fugitive emissions * Work with supply-chain partners to reduce their emissions You can see that PepsiCo is company that has very sustainable supply chain and is still trying to improve their sustainability and decrease their emissions. Does the Coca-Cola Company have a green vision? Coca-Cola company is the largest beverage producer in the world and because of that they feel that they have responsibility to make the world a little bit better. They invest a huge amount of money in project on sustainability all over the world.Every year they also create a sustainability report about all they project and what they have achieved that year, also they describe their new project and they set goals for the coming year. In the figure to the right can be seen that they have created a visual concept of the Coca-Cola lifecycle which perfectly shows the way they work on their sustainability. 7. 1 Research and Development & Sustainability Both companies are constantly working on a better position in the market, improve the production and distribution processes, become more sustainable through innovation and participation onto the market. As it comes to sustainability PepsiCo is far behind on Coca-Cola even tough PepsiCo is already a very sustainable company Coca-Cola is really trying to make the world a better place.In total we can see that Coca-Cola is a more sustainable company than PepsiCo, and gives more back to the community. This is also one point why Coca-Cola is a brand which more people adore. 8. In Overall Although the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo seem to be quite similar in operating, distributing, production, marketing, and naturally the drinks themselves, they differ from each other on several aspects. Below, a table which gives an overview of important differences between the two competitors. | Strength| Weakness| Coca-Cola| 1. Over 500 brands in product line2. Strong global presence3. Excellent brand recognition4. Industry leader in marke t| 1. Negative publicity2. Supply is restricted3.Low profits in strong areas4. Decline in cash flow| Pepsi| 1. Company Image2. Quality Conscious3. Market Share4. Sponsorships| 1. Decline in taste2. Short term approach3. Weak distribution4. Low consumer knowledge| 9. Coca-Cola Company or PepsiCo We have seen all the strong and the weak points of both companies in all the analyses in this project. We have decided to go on with the Coca-Cola Company. This is mainly because of better financial position that Coca-Cola Company has over PepsiCo. Especially profitability and liquidity wise they have a much better position than PepsiCo does and we think this will be an advantage when we are going to write a business plan.PepsiCo also has a more diverse product mix than Coca-Cola because PepsiCo also has brands in markets like breakfast cereal and potato chips whereas Coco-Cola is only active in markets like soft drinks and sports drink where they have a lot of experience. We think that exper ience that they have because the specialized in drink markets only will be a huge advantage over PepsiCo when they are going to enter a new market. These are the two main differences between the very similar companies that made us decide that Coca-Cola Company is the better option to attack a new market. 10. References http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values. html http://www. pepsico. com/annual11/downloads/PEP_AR11_2011_Annual_Report. pdf http://www. ehow. com/about_5089164_business-resources-definition. html http://premiumwritingservice. om/attachments/article/491/CocaColaInternalAnalysis. pdf http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/ourcompany/pdf/COBC_English. pdf http://www. scribd. com/doc/28092994/Comparative-Analysis-of-Pepsi-and-Coke http://www. pepsi. com/ http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values. html ——————————————â€⠀œ [ 1 ]. http://www. pepsico. com/annual11/downloads/pep_ar11_2011_annual_report. pdf [ 2 ]. http://www. stock-analysis-on. net/ [ 3 ]. http://www. stock-analysis-on. net/ [ 4 ]. http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/ourcompany/innovation_marketplace. html [ 5 ]. http://www. pepsico. com/Purpose/Environmental-Sustainability/Climate-Change. html

Play Therapy Essay

Sometimes children go through difficult passages in their lives. It therefore becomes prudent to provide them with effective ways of helping them ease through these passages. Infact, children are good teachers and they know what they want and what is right for them (Kottman, 1993). All they need is just space to do it. Play therefore becomes very important in releasing these pent-up emotions, feelings of anxiety, fear disappointment, aggression and insecurity (Chethik, Morton. 2000). This brings us to the issue of play therapy. What is play therapy? Play therapy refers to a method of psychotherapy with children in which a child’s fantasies and symbolic meanings of his/her play are used as a medium for understanding and communication with him/her (Landreth, 2002). Through this method, the child is helped to control his/her emotions, thoughts, wishes and needs using games, toys and mediums such as clay, drawings and paint. By doing so, the child is helped to understand the muddled feelings and upsetting events that he/she has not had a chance or skill to sort out properly. Thus through this symbolic representation, the child gains a sense of control over events that in reality, seem uncontrollable. Unlike in adult therapy where one has to explain what is troubling him, children use play to communicate at their own level and pace without any feeling of interrogation or threat using toys as their words and play as their language (Landreth, 2002). Rationale for play therapy In play therapy, the symbolic of function play is vital in providing children with a means of expressing their inner world. This use of play therapy is rooted on a development understanding of children. According to Piaget (1962), children at the pre-operational stage (2-7 yrs) are acquiring language in which symbols represent mental objects. A child’s play in this stage becomes increasingly imaginary and fantasy-driven. The child is internally improving his/her understanding and knowledge but lacks the external ability to communicate this enhanced way of processing within the world. Play thus becomes the medium through which the child communicates this internal awareness of self to others. Piaget further asserts that during the concrete operational state (8-11 yrs) the child grows in his/her personal ability to reason logically and organize thoughts coherently. He/she is unable to express certain complicated emotions such as resentment or guilt due to the need for abstract thought to understand them. Play then helps the child bridge the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought. Landreth (2002) identifies basic principles necessary in play therapy. These include that children’s natural language is play, that they have an inherent tendency towards growth and maturity and lastly, and are themselves capable of positive self-direction since they posses the capacity to act responsibly. Play is a natural language from which children express themselves (Landreth, 2002). And as stated earlier, developmentally, it bridges the gap between concrete experience and abstract thought. Children gain a sense of control through play and also learn coping skills (Chethik, Morton. 2000). At times, children also receive other types of treatment. Children for instance that are unable to control their attention impulses, have a tendency to react violently, or experience severe anxiety would be included in play therapy. The therapy addresses the child’s psychological symptoms (Chethik, Morton. 2000). The child will also receive play therapy to alleviate low self-esteem feelings, excessive worry, incompetence and helplessness (Chethik, Morton. 000). In play therapy, toys are viewed as the child’s words and play as the child’s language – a language of activity. Play is then to children what psychotherapy is to adults. The use of toys enables the child to transfer his anxieties, fears, fantasies from his own feelings and guilt to objects rather then people. Through this process, the safety of children from their own feelings is guaranteed because it enables them to distance themselves from those traumatic experiences. By acting out a frightening experience symbolically through play, or reversing the outcome in play activity, the child moves towards an inner resolution and then he/she is able to cope with or adjust to problems (Axline, 1989). Through the play processes, the child is allowed to consider new possibilities not possible in reality thus greatly expanding the expression of self (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Also, within the safety of the play therapy experience, the child explores the unfamiliar and develops a knowing that is both experiential – feelings and cognitive. In a nutshell, the unfamiliar becomes familiar and the child expresses outwardly what takes place inwardly. Therefore, a major function of play in play therapy is the changing of what may be unmanageable in real life to a manageable situation via symbolic representation, through which the child is provided with opportunities for learning to cope (Axline, 1989). The process of play therapy The initial focus of therapy is in building a relationship between a child and the therapist. This relationship is what provides dynamic growth and healing for the child. It is therefore a very important tool because a child will readily express himself every time he/she feels respected and accepted. According to Landreth (1991), there are principles that should provide guidelines for establishment of a therapeutic relationship. Some of the guidelines include that the therapist is genuinely interested in the child. Also, the therapist experiences unqualified acceptance of the child and does not wish that the child were different in some way. He further creates a feeling of safety and permissiveness in the relationship so the child feels free to explore and express himself/herself totally. Landreth further asserts that the therapist should always be sensitive to the child’s feelings and gently reflect those feelings in a manner that encourages the child to develop self-understanding (Landreth, 2002). Additionally, the therapist should deeply believe in the child’s capacity to act responsibly and respect the child’s ability to solve personal problems and give him the opportunity to do so. He should also trust the child’s inner direction and to lead in all areas of relationship and avoid directing the child’s play. This therapist should appreciate the gradual nature of the therapeutic process in a slow manner, and finally he should establish only the therapeutic limits that help the child accept personal and appropriate responsibility. The primary objective of the process is not only to solve the problem but to help in the growth of the child. The therapist primarily meets with the child alone and arranges time to meet with parents separately or with the child depending with the situation. The structure of the sessions should be consistently maintained to provide a feeling of stability and safety for the child. In the session, the therapist uses specific techniques to assess how a child experiences his/her world and how he/she communicates and reacts to events and people in his/her own world. The child is led to become aware of what he/she is feeling and opportunities are given to express these feelings. Awareness is thus a very important aspect in play therapy because without it, change is not possible (Chethik, Morton. 2000). Throughout the therapy, the child is empowered and supported to learn more about who he/she thinks she/he is, to talk about things that are frightening or painful, to be self supportive as well as to experiment new behavior (Bratton. Et al. 2005). Since the child’s world is a world of action and activity, the therapy provides the therapist with an opportunity to enter the child’s world. The child lives out the past experience and related moments at the moment of play. Without the presence of play materials, the therapist could only talk with the child about aggressive behavior exhibited in the recent past. In play therapy however, whatever reason for referral, the therapist has the opportunity to experience and actively deal with that problem immediately. By so doing, the child plays out feelings by banging them to the surface, getting them out in the open, facing them and either abandoning them or learning to control them. Toys and materials Since toys and materials are part of this communicative process for children, careful attention must be given to their appropriate selection. The rule here is selection rather than accumulation. Please note that random assortment of acquired toys and materials often appear like junk rooms and they therefore doom the therapy process to failure. They should then be carefully selected for the contribution they make to accomplish the play objective and the extent to which they are consistent with the play therapy rationale. Some general guidelines to consider are that the tools should be durable and should communicate a message of â€Å"be yourself in playing† rather than â€Å"be careful. † They should provide children with a variety in choice of medium of expression. (Eliana, G. 1994). However, they need not be elaborate and above all they should not be complex. Remember that the first toys to be used were sticks. The tools should be age appropriately manageable so that the child will not be frustrated in his efforts to express himself/herself. No toy should require the child to seek the therapist’s help to manipulate. Landreth (1991) asserts that the toys and materials should facilitate establishment of a positive relationship with the child, testing of limits, exploration of real-life experiences, development of positive image, self-undertaking, expression of a wide range of feelings and opportunity to redirect behaviors unacceptable to others. These toys can be grouped into three basic classes viz; real-life toys such as a doll, a small cardboard box with rooms indicated by tape strips or felt pen markers, doll house furniture, pacifier and a small car. Secondly, there are those acting out or aggressive release toys such as handcuffs, toy guns, dart gun and toy soldiers, aggressive puppets, rubber knife and punching bags. Finally, there are toys for creative expression and emotional release such as crayons, newsprints, blue scissors, hand puppets, plain mask, and also sand trays. Setting limits in Play Therapy This is a very crucial part of this process. The structure of the therapeutic limits is what helps to make the experience a real life relationship (Eliana, G. 994). Limits in play therapy have advantages both practically and therapeutically since they preserve the therapeutic relationship; facilitate the child’s opportunities to learn self responsibility and self control. Provide the child with emotional security and physical safety and thus enabling the child to explore and express his/her inner emotional dimensions that perhaps have remained hidden in his/her other relationships (Axline, 1989). Boundaries are necessary here to provide predictability and thus the children are not allowed to do anything they want to do. The play therapy relationship has minimum limits (Eliana, G. 1994). Exploration is encouraged, messiness accepted and persistence is the guiding principle. Play therapy is a learning experience and thus limits are not set until they are needed. The limits are worded in such a way that the child is allowed to bring himself under control. Research and Results Play therapy is an approach based on well thought out, philosophically conceived, developmentally based and research supported approach to assisting children cope with and overcome the problems they experience in life (Bratton. Et al. 2005). It has therefore been demonstrated to be effective in a variety of children’s problems including, but not limited to, abuse and neglect, aggression and acting out, autism, fear and anxiety, grief, hospitalization, learning disabilities, chronic illnesses, withdrawn children and burn victims. In the case studies reported by Landreth, the views that play therapy requires a long-term commitment is totally unfounded. Conclusion Play therapy can thus help a child to become aware of his feelings and how those feelings manifest into his/ her behavior (Bratton. Et al. 2005). He/she learns to become better at regulating emotions and expressing them in constructive ways. This combination of skills may help a child to become more assertive, self confident and to have self respect and respect for others. He/she then get this assurance that he/she will be understood and accepted.

How to Use Italian Definite Article Forms

How to Use Italian Definite Article Forms The Italian definite article (articolo determinativo) indicates something well defined, which is assumed to be already acknowledged. If, for example, someone asks: Hai visto il professore? (Have you seen the professor?) they are alluding not to any professor, but to one in particular, that both the speaker and listener know. The definite article is also used to indicate a group (luomo à ¨ dotato di ragione, that is, ogni uomo- man is endowed with reason, every man), or to express the abstract (la pazienza à ¨ una gran virtà ¹- patience is a great virtue); to indicate parts of the body (mi fa male la testa, il braccio- my head hurts, my arm), to refer to objects that belong strictly to oneself mi hanno rubato il portafogli, non trovo pià ¹ le scarpe- they stole my wallet, I cannot find my shoes), and is also used with nouns that signify something unique in nature (il sole, la luna, la terra- the sun, the moon, the earth) and the names of materials and matter (il grano, loro- wheat, gold). In certain contexts the Italian definite article functions as a demonstrative adjective (aggettivo dimostrativo): Penso di finire entro la settimana- I think Ill finish by the end of the week (or later this week); Sentitelo lipocrita!- Listen to him the hypocrite! (this hypocrite!) or a demonstrative pronoun (pronome dimostrativo): Tra i due vini scelgo il rosso- Between the two wines I choose the red, (the one thats red); Dei due attori preferisco il pià ¹ giovane- Of the two actors I prefer the younger (the one thats younger). The Italian definite article may also refer to individual members of a group: Ricevo il giovedà ¬- I receive it Thursday (every Thursday); Costa mille euro il chilo (or al chilo)- It costs a thousand euro a kilogam (per kilogram), or time: Partirà ² il mese prossimo.- Im leaving next month (in next the month). Italian Definite Article FormsIl, iThe form il precedes masculine nouns beginning with a consonant except s consonant, z, x, pn, ps, and the digraphs gn and sc: il bambino, il cane, il dente, il fiore, il gioco, il liquorethe child, the dog, the tooth, the flower, the game, the liquor The corresponding form for the plural is i: i bambini, i cani, i denti, i fiori, i giochi, i liquorithe children, the dogs, the teeth, the flowers, the games, the liqueurs Lo (l), gliThe form lo precedes masculine nouns that begin: with s followed by another consonant: lo sbaglio, lo scandalo, lo sfratto, lo sgabello, lo slittino, lo smalto, lo specchio, lo studiothe mistake, the scandal, the evicted, the stool, the sled, the enamel, the mirror, the office with z: lo zaino, lo zio, lo zoccolo, lo zuccherothe backpack, the uncle, the clog, the sugar with x: lo xilofono, lo xilografothe xylophone, the engraver with pn and ps: lo pneumatico, lo pneumotorace; lo pseudonimo, lo psichiatra, lo psicologothe tire, the collapsed lung, the pseudonym, the psychiatrist, the psychologist with the digraphs gn and sc: lo gnocco, lo gnomo, fare lo gnorri; lo sceicco, lo sceriffo, lo scialle, lo scimpanzà ©the dumpling, the gnome, to play dumb; the sheikh, the sheriff, the shawl, the chimpanzee with the semivowel i: lo iato, lo iettatore, lo ioduro, lo yogurtthe hiatus, the evil eye, the iodide, the yogurt NOTE: Nevertheless, there are variations, especially before the consonant cluster pn; for example, in contemporary spoken Italian il pneumatico tends to prevail over lo pneumatico. Also, before the semivowel i the use is not constant; in addition to lo iato there is liato, but the elided form is less common. When preceding the semivowel u, its necessary to distinguish between Italian words, which take the article lo in the elided form (luomo, luovo), and words of foreign origin, which take the form il: il week-end, il whisky, il windsurf, il walkman, il word processorthe weekend, the whiskey, the windsurfer, the Walkman, the word processor. With plural nouns the forms gli (gli uomini) and i (i walkman, i week-end) are used respectively. For words starting with h use lo (gli, uno) when preceding an aspirated h: lo Hegel, lo Heine, lo hardwarethe Hegel, the Heine, the hardware. And use l when preceding a non-aspirated h: lhabitat, lharem, lhashishthe habitat, the harem, the hashish. NOTE: In contemporary colloquial Italian there is a preference for the elided form in all cases, since even foreign words with an aspirated h (for example the aforementioned hardware, as well as hamburgers, handicap, hobbies, etc.) usually have an Italianized pronunciation in which the h is muted. However, in adverbial phrases the form lo (instead of il) is common: per lo pià ¹, per lo meno, corresponding to the use of the definite article in early Italian. The form lo also precedes masculine nouns that begin with a vowel, but in this instance it is elided to l: labito, levaso, lincendio, lospite, lusignolothe dress, the fugitive, the fire, the guest, the nightingale. As previously noted, before the semivowel i there is typically no elision. The form corresponding to lo in the plural is gli: gli sbagli, gli zaini, gli xilofoni, gli (or also i) pneumatici, gli pseudonimi, gli gnocchi, gli sceicchi, gli iati, gli abiti, gli evasi, gli incendi, gli ospiti, gli usignoli NOTE: Gli can only be elided before i: glincendi (but more frequently the entire form is used). The gli form is used instead of i before the plural of dio: gli dà ¨i (in obsolete Italian gliddei, plural of iddio). La (l), leThe form la precedes feminine nouns starting with a consonant or the semivowel i: la bestia, la casa, la donna, la fiera, la giacca, la ienathe beast, the house, the woman, the fair, the jacket, the hyena. Before a vowel la is elided to l: lanima, lelica, lisola, lombra, lunghiathe soul, the propeller, the island, the shadow, the fingernail. The form corresponding to la in the plural is lei: le bestie, le case, le donne, le fiere, le giacche, le iene, le anime, le eliche, le isole, le ombre, le unghiethe animals, the houses, the women, the fairs, the jackets, the hyenas, the souls, the propellers, the islands, the shadows, the nails. Le may be elided only before the letter e (but this happens rarely, and almost always as a stylistic device in poetry): leliche- the propellers. With nouns starting with h, unlike the masculine form, the non-elided form predominates: la hall- the hall, la holding- the holding company.

Explore the Sombrero Galaxy

Explore the Sombrero Galaxy Way out in the direction of the constellation Virgo, some 31 million light-years from Earth, astronomers have found a most unlikely looking galaxy that is hiding a supermassive black hole at its heart. Its technical name is M104, but most people refer to it by its nickname: the Sombrero Galaxy. Through a small telescope, this distant stellar city does look a bit like a big Mexican hat. The Sombrero is incredibly massive, containing the equivalent of 800 million times the mass of the Sun, plus a collection of globular clusters, and a broad ring of gas and dust. Not only is this galaxy huge, but its also speeding away from us at a rate of a thousand kilometers per second (about 621 miles per second). Thats very fast! What is That Galaxy? At first, astronomers thought the Sombrero might be an elliptical-type galaxy with another flat galaxy embedded within it. This is because it did look more elliptical than flat. However, a closer look revealed that the puffy shape is caused by a spherical halo of stars around the central area. It also has that huge dust lane that contains starbirth regions. So, its most likely a very tightly wound spiral galaxy, the same type of galaxy as the Milky Way. How did it get that way? Theres a good chance that multiple collisions with other galaxies (and a merger or two), have changed what may have been a spiral galaxy into a more complex galactic beast. Observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Spitzer Space Telescope have revealed a lot of detail in this object, and theres a lot more to learn! Checking Out the Dust Ring The dust ring that sits out in the brim of the Sombrero is very intriguing. It glows in infrared light and contains most of the star-forming material of the galaxy - such materials as hydrogen gas and dust. It completely encircles the central core of the galaxy, and appears pretty wide. When astronomers looked at the ring with the Spitzer Space Telescope, it appeared very bright in infrared light. Thats a good indication that the ring is the central starbirth region of the galaxy. Whats Hiding in the Nucleus of the Sombrero? Many galaxies have supermassive black holes at their hearts, and the Sombrero is no exception. Its black hole has more than a billion times the mass of the Sun, all packed away into a tiny region. It appears to be an active black hole, eating up material that happens to cross its path. The region around the black hole emits a tremendous amount of x-ray and radio waves. The region extending out from the core does emit some weak infrared radiation, which could be traced back to heating activity fostered by the presence of the black hole. Interestingly, the core of the galaxy does appear to have a number of globular clusters swarming around in tight orbits. There may be as many as 2,000 of these very old groupings of stars orbiting the core, and may be related in some way to the very large size of the galactic bulge that houses the black hole. Where is the Sombrero? While astronomers know the general location of the Sombrero Galaxy, its exact distance was only recently determined. It seems to be about around 31 million light-years away. It does not travel the universe by itself, but does appear to have a dwarf galaxy companion. Astronomers are not quite sure if the Sombrero is actually part of a grouping of galaxies called the Virgo Cluster, or may be a member of a smaller associated group of galaxies. Want to Observe the Sombrero? The Sombrero Galaxy is a favorite target for amateur stargazers. It takes a little doing to find it, and it does require a good backyard-type scope to view this galaxy. A good star chart shows where the galaxy is (in the constellation Virgo), halfway between Virgos star Spica and the tiny constellation of Corvus the Crow. Practice star-hopping to the galaxy and then settle in for a good long look! And, youll be following in a long line of amateurs who have checked out the Sombrero. It was discovered by an amateur in the 1700s, a guy by the name of Charles Messier, who compiled a list of faint, fuzzy objects that we now know are clusters, nebulae, and galaxies.

Labor Unions During the Great Depression

Labor Unions During the Great Depression The Great Depression of the 1930s changed Americans view of unions. Although AFL membership fell to fewer than 3 million amidst large-scale unemployment, widespread economic hardship created sympathy for working people. At the depths of the Depression, about one-third of the American workforce was unemployed, a staggering figure for a country that, in the decade before, had enjoyed full employment. Roosevelt and the Labor Unions With the election of President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, government - and eventually the courts - began to look more favorably on the pleas of labor. In 1932, Congress passed one of the first pro-labor laws, the Norris-La Guardia Act, which made yellow-dog contracts  unenforceable. The law also limited the power of federal courts to stop strikes and other job actions. When Roosevelt took office, he sought a number of important laws that advanced labors cause. One of these, the National Labor Relations Act of 1935 (also known as the Wagner Act) gave workers the right to join unions and to bargain collectively through union representatives. The act established the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to punish unfair labor practices and to organize elections when employees wanted to form unions. The NLRB could force employers to provide back pay if they unjustly discharged employees for engaging in union activities. Growth in Union Membership With such support, trade union membership jumped to almost 9 million by 1940. Larger membership rolls did not come without growing pains, however. In 1935, eight unions within the AFL created the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO) to organize workers in such mass-production industries as automobiles and steel. Its supporters wanted to organize all workers at a company - skilled and unskilled alike - at the same time. The craft unions that controlled the AFL opposed efforts to unionize unskilled and semiskilled workers, preferring that workers remain organized by craft across industries. The CIOs aggressive drives succeeded in unionizing many plants, however. In 1938, the AFL expelled the unions that had formed the CIO. The CIO quickly established its own federation using a new name, the Congress of Industrial Organizations, which became a full competitor with the AFL. After the United States entered World War II, key labor leaders promised not to interrupt the nations defense production with strikes. The government also put controls on wages, stalling wage gains. But workers won significant improvements in fringe benefits - notably in the area of health insurance  and union membership soared.

Discussion 6 Thinking Critically About Architecture Essay

Discussion 6 Thinking Critically About Architecture - Essay Example The Supreme Court was created to be a government courthouse. The structure was designed by American Cass Gilbert in the neoclassical style (U.S. Supreme Court 1, 2011). The courthouse has several Greco-Roman influences. The building uses symmetry, standard Corinthian column types, roof entablature, building wells, and basilicas. The use of Greco-Roman architecture is a benefit to the functionality of the courthouse and its purpose. The great size of the building is used to house four floors of judicial service. The ground floor is used for offices and public services. The first floor is occupied by Justices’ chambers, offices for law clerks and secretaries, the East and West Conference rooms, and several other rooms of utility for officers of the court. The second floor is mostly office space and the Justices’ library and dining rooms. The third floor is where the Supreme Court Library is located. Neoclassical architecture is defined as classical architecture of ancient Greece and Roman influence that is likely to have symmetrical shape, columns that rise to the full height of the buildings, triangular pediment, and/or a domed roof (Neoclassical Architecture, 2011). This style is apparent in the exterior structure of the Supreme Court. There are sixteen exterior columns that rise to the top of the building and there is triangular pediment visual in the front end. The Supreme Court uses several types of columns from Greek order. The courthouse uses Corinthian columns topped with entablatures supporting the exterior of the building. These columns are present in the center entrance of the main building. There is a definite symmetry of the building as it peeks in the middle and skews to either side. Entablatures are present on the exterior of the courthouse embodied below the pediments and above the columns. These dà ©cor are typical of Greek culture and dramatic in design. Inside the Supreme Court uses what is known as the building

Statistics 401 Mod 5 Case - Multiple Regression Analysis Coursework

Statistics 401 Mod 5 Case - Multiple Regression Analysis - Coursework Example In the normal regression analysis, we usually use regression to establish the relationship between a variable and another variable. In such a case, it is establish whether or not the changes in one of the variables affect the other variable. The one which is affected is the dependent variable because it depends on the changes of the other so as to have its changed value. The one which is being depended upon to change is the independent variable because it changes on its own. This is for instance in the case where harvest from a corn field is being tested to establish whether or not it has a relationship with the amount of rainfall in the year. The harvest is the dependent variable while the rainfall amount is the independent variable. In the case of multiple regression analysis, the independent variables are more than one. ... In this analysis where in this case assignment we were looking at housing starts again, this time we added another variable to the equation.   The historical values above give interest rates, lumber prices (dollars per board-foot) and number of starts.  Ã‚  We computed a  multiple regression equation  using these variables, with starts as the DV.   Interest and price are the IVs.  Ã‚   From the computation of the regression analysis, I obtained the results shown above using the excel multiple regression. The regression analysis involved using the Housing stats as the Y variables in the excel regression file, and both the interest rate and the Price per board foot as the X variables. Based on the results of the regression as shown in the excel except above, the regression formula that I computed is of the form Y = a1*X1 + a2*X2 + b Where Y = number of housing starts X1 = interest rates a1 = regression coefficient of interest rates X2 = lumber prices a2 = regression coeffic ient of lumber prices b = constant. The values of a1 and a2 correspond to the values on the Regression coefficients table shown above. The value of a1 is that on the interest rates coefficients which is -1203318. Likewise, the value of a2 is that on the price per board foot coefficient which is -17836.8. The value of the constant b is also found on the coefficients table. It is the value of the sample estimate of the standard deviation of the error In this case it has the value 155138.1. X1 and X2 are of course variables that correspond to the interest rates and the price per board foot respectively. In turn, the formula thus becomes:- Y = -1203318*X1 + -17836.8*X2 + 155138.1 Using this formula, it is now much easy to do

Financial Management Question 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Management Question 1 - Essay Example Taxes by the federal and state have to be paid as required by the law; therefore the lottery has to name the price as 363 million because that's the amount to be won before taxation. The lottery also brings many benefits to the community and the state as a whole such as funding education and therefore people need not to be negative about the price to be won. If the only option available was the annuity payment then Larry could maximize the value of his winning by acquiring a loan from a bank that will be paid within the time limit, Larry would get money that will enable her to invest and an amount that will be payable at an amount of 4,732,962 dollars per year. The interest rate should be the guiding factor in determining the amount to acquire as loan. Winners select the cash option because they are rational and want to maximize the value of their money today, they will opt to have their cash today than for 26 years due to uncertainties about the future, and they also do not want to pay taxes each year for 26 years because this will just reduce the total amount they receive. The winner will want his pay in cash due to the fact that ... options the annuity and the cash option; in any of the options given the amount does not add up to the same amount and therefore the price should not be termed as 363 million. However the lottery in order to attract more people to participate in the lottery they are justified to name the total amount to be won, they should also disclose all the information about the game to the people. Taxes by the federal and state have to be paid as required by the law; therefore the lottery has to name the price as 363 million because that's the amount to be won before taxation. The lottery also brings many benefits to the community and the state as a whole such as funding education and therefore people need not to be negative about the price to be won. 4. if the only option available was an annuity payment plan, what could Larry do to maximize the value of his winning assuming that the risk free rate of interest is 5% If the only option available was the annuity payment then Larry could maximize the value of his winning by acquiring a loan from a bank that will be paid within the time limit, Larry would get money that will enable her to invest and an amount that will be payable at an amount of 4,732,962 dollars per year. The interest rate should be the guiding factor in determining the amount to acquire as loan. 5. Why do most winners select the cash option plan when given the choice Winners select the cash option because they are rational and want to maximize the value of their money today, they will opt to have their cash today than for 26 years due to uncertainties about the future, and they also do not want to pay taxes each year for 26 years because this will just reduce the total amount they receive. The winner will want his pay in cash due to the fact that they want

The Effects of Dual Credit and Dual Enrollment on High School Students Essay

The Effects of Dual Credit and Dual Enrollment on High School Students - Essay Example To resolve this issue of seniors â€Å"blowing off the senior year† due to a lack of any substantial challenge, in 1973 the Project Advance program of Syracuse University was created (Andrews, 2004). Following this development the model was adopted by various institutions and consequently there was an emergence of a multitude of dual credit programs. In 1974, LaGuardia Community College, New York established the Middle College High School program targeting alienated and at risk students in typical high schools who potentially may not succeed in acquiring their diplomas (Lewis & Overman, 2008). Similar programs were adopted by Florida International University in 1982 (Partners in Progress) and Kingsborough Community College in 1984 (College Now). Motivated by the success of the Minnesota dual credit program, Washington State passed the ‘Running Start’ program in 1990 which allowed juniors and seniors with necessary qualifications to take college level courses at te chnical and community colleges without having to pay college tuition. In 1994 this was expanded to incorporate four year universities if there were no community colleges in the high school district (Kim & Bragg, 2008; Board, 2011) In 2004, the legislature founded House Bill 3103 which established federal guidelines tailored to provide assistance to high schools via increasing the magnitude of dual credit programs, expanding the breadth of the curriculum of these programs, and tutoring/mentoring students to aid in a seamless transition into postsecondary educational institutions (Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2005). Definitional Issues Opinion is divided among experts regarding the proper terminology that should be accorded to the opportunity provided to high school students to attend college classes which generate credits at both high school and college levels. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board defines a dual credit course as one that includes academic as well as technical courses. For the present purpose, dual enrollment hereon is defined following Klein (2007, p.23) as â€Å"courses that allow high school students to receive both high school and college credit simultaneo usly†. These modules are typically taught by professors or adjunct instructors belonging to the institution, and the same classes are attended by college and high school students. Concurrent enrollment for early-college high schools is also located on the college campus but only high school students attend class. The Early College High School, founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in 2002 serves traditionally underrepresented students by enabling them to access the simultaneous pursuit of college credits and a high school (American Institute for Research, 2009). Because they are easier to implement as well as less expensive, concurrent and dual enrollments have gained greater popularity (Karp & Bailey, April 2005). Kim & Bragg (2008) additionally distinguish articulated credit courses such as career and technical education, International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement which only allow high school students to apply for the college credits. The present literatur e review will restrict its focus to concurrent and dual credit courses. Notably, these courses have the twin fold benefit of assisting a high school student either to an academic career or into the workforce (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2011). The paper will primarily address the following questions: 1. What are the principal benefits and major concerns for students who participate in dual enrollment/dual credit programs? 2. What are the central advantages and disadvantages for partnering institutions? 3. What

Critically analyse the concept of ' fair and equitable treatment ' in Essay

Critically analyse the concept of ' fair and equitable treatment ' in investment treaties, taking into account recent investment - Essay Example In the context of international investment, inter-state negotiation, inter-governmental treaty drafting, diplomatic exchange, etc. have become frequent and critical. Naturally, the number of disputes between investors and host countries is increasing as well. Hence, the issue of fair and equitable treatment in international investment dealing is gaining momentum very rapidly. There is a need to urge the different countries of the world to avoid activities like confiscation, expropriation, discrimination, etc. in regards of the foreign investors and the objective can be achieved if and only if the basic principles of mutual respect are legally defined and incorporated in the treaty frameworks. This paper is developed through a literature review followed by an analysis phase which will critically evaluate the importance of fair and equitable treatment in relation to the recent trends of investment treaties and the different related arbitration cases. Arbitration case examples have been appended after the analysis, followed by a viable conclusion. The paper also aims to comprehend the present trends in the light of the older developments which have shaped up today’s international investment scenario. ... ovide and ensure â€Å"fair and equitable treatment† is generally put forward, along with certain other standards, as component of protection for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) by the host countries. It is a non-contingent and absolute treatment standard which states that the treatment would be executed in such terms whose exact meanings are well defined, by the means of references to certain situations of application. The â€Å"relative† standards specified in â€Å"national treatment† are not of primary importance in this regard. The standards to determine fair and equitable treatment were developed through multilateral investment and trade instruments, and with the increasing numbers of Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs), these standards became more critical and debated. â€Å"The obligation of the parties to investment agreements to provide to each other’s investments fair and equitable treatment has been given various interpretations by government al officials, arbitrators and scholars.†1 Thus the backdrop of analysis of the concept of â€Å"fair and equitable treatment† must be based on the literature that describes the trends of international investment law. â€Å"International investment law is one of the fastest-growing areas of international law today. Only a decade ago, the current surge in investor–state arbitrations, having cumulated in approximately 300 investment treaty disputes,  1  was beyond imagination. At the same time, investment treaties enshrine principles of international investment law, rather than hard and fast rules. Almost unavoidably, international investment law therefore became coined more by the dispute settlement activities of arbitral tribunals which entertain claims between foreign investors and host states brought under investment

The Effects of Dual Credit and Dual Enrollment on High School Students Essay

The Effects of Dual Credit and Dual Enrollment on High School Students - Essay Example To resolve this issue of seniors â€Å"blowing off the senior year† due to a lack of any substantial challenge, in 1973 the Project Advance program of Syracuse University was created (Andrews, 2004). Following this development the model was adopted by various institutions and consequently there was an emergence of a multitude of dual credit programs. In 1974, LaGuardia Community College, New York established the Middle College High School program targeting alienated and at risk students in typical high schools who potentially may not succeed in acquiring their diplomas (Lewis & Overman, 2008). Similar programs were adopted by Florida International University in 1982 (Partners in Progress) and Kingsborough Community College in 1984 (College Now). Motivated by the success of the Minnesota dual credit program, Washington State passed the ‘Running Start’ program in 1990 which allowed juniors and seniors with necessary qualifications to take college level courses at te chnical and community colleges without having to pay college tuition. In 1994 this was expanded to incorporate four year universities if there were no community colleges in the high school district (Kim & Bragg, 2008; Board, 2011) In 2004, the legislature founded House Bill 3103 which established federal guidelines tailored to provide assistance to high schools via increasing the magnitude of dual credit programs, expanding the breadth of the curriculum of these programs, and tutoring/mentoring students to aid in a seamless transition into postsecondary educational institutions (Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2005). Definitional Issues Opinion is divided among experts regarding the proper terminology that should be accorded to the opportunity provided to high school students to attend college classes which generate credits at both high school and college levels. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board defines a dual credit course as one that includes academic as well as technical courses. For the present purpose, dual enrollment hereon is defined following Klein (2007, p.23) as â€Å"courses that allow high school students to receive both high school and college credit simultaneo usly†. These modules are typically taught by professors or adjunct instructors belonging to the institution, and the same classes are attended by college and high school students. Concurrent enrollment for early-college high schools is also located on the college campus but only high school students attend class. The Early College High School, founded by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation in 2002 serves traditionally underrepresented students by enabling them to access the simultaneous pursuit of college credits and a high school (American Institute for Research, 2009). Because they are easier to implement as well as less expensive, concurrent and dual enrollments have gained greater popularity (Karp & Bailey, April 2005). Kim & Bragg (2008) additionally distinguish articulated credit courses such as career and technical education, International Baccalaureate and Advanced Placement which only allow high school students to apply for the college credits. The present literatur e review will restrict its focus to concurrent and dual credit courses. Notably, these courses have the twin fold benefit of assisting a high school student either to an academic career or into the workforce (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 2011). The paper will primarily address the following questions: 1. What are the principal benefits and major concerns for students who participate in dual enrollment/dual credit programs? 2. What are the central advantages and disadvantages for partnering institutions? 3. What

Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposal - Essay Example I will use questionnaires for carrying out the research. The whole process will be based on one month. Introduction: LON failed completely and lost all its power when as a result of withdrawal of the member countries, it was left with minimal armed forces that were not enough to help it in making the countries comply with the sanctions proposed by the league. The league came into being to control the aggressiveness practiced by some countries through measures of arms control, settlement and negotiation. LON had no armed forces of its own, owing to which it failed in threatening the aggressive nations with military might and simply failed to enforce its resolutions designed to maintain world peace and World War II initiated. Literature review: According to a research study done by (Buchanan), LON had no other means of making the defiant state abide by its decisions than introducing economic sanctions on that state. For example, when LON verbally threatened Germany to not violate the r ules of the treaty flagrantly and stop moving troops into Rhineland, Germany walked out of the League and gave up membership.

Independence for women Essay Example for Free

Independence for women Essay Independence of women Speaking of womens independence, people will think of the image that women determined to fght with men in workplace. This is widely recognized in our life. In fact, the independence not only mean argue with men in the career, its about women find their own position or not. So independence is a self-understanding because it may decide you can get more personal benefit from the economic, ideological or social, and it will make you have a good attitude and new values. Women should be economically independent, and then they have qualified to talk about respect or quality. In order to make a living, unmarried women cant put hopes on marry the rich men. Many girls who always rely on rich men, over time, those men may feel tired. Because of economic problems, the girls boyfriend will have contradiction with you. If there are more and more conflicts, your feeling will fade. Moreover, Women should keep their own Job or still have economic source when they married. In chocolate movie, Josephine because of her identity has problem. She had to rely on her husband. His husband thought her life was saved by him. So he hit and humiliated her all the time. She cant get respect or equality in her family. Ideology determines womens behavior, so only being able to form their own opinions, it will make you behavior gets more approval from others. Womens behavior is their expression of ideology. People often said, wonderful thinking, wonderful life. In chocolate movie, the heroine has her own opinions. She always did everything according to her ideas. Finally she got more attention and help people change old opinions. Besides, Ideology affects womens relationships with others. Even some men like give women suggestions or ideas. If women have different mind to share with them, they may be amazed at womens thinking, and also will praise women. Social independent make women adapt to social development and change, and it leads you have more improve. Women easy to lost goal or mind in the constantly changing society. Women cant expect someone can give you ideas. In the namesake movie, the heroines husband always stays with her, and helps her figure out problems. When she lost her husband, she didnt know how to continue the rest of live. Social independence can attract more attention from others. In chocolate ovie, because of the leading lady was good at independent living, it makes people pay attention to her. Finally, they found, it leads their life to good direction. Therefore, it won more respect and love for her. All in all, women independence doesnt mean completely dependent on others, it is womens self-understanding because it can get more benefit, and it will get more love and attention from other people. So, economic, ideological or social independent is necessary for women. At the same time, I hope every woman have ability to independently, and they can play more and more important role in social life, including myself.

USSC Audit Income

USSC Audit Income Case 1.11 United States Surgical Corporation Q3. Prepare common-sized financial statements for USSC for the period 1979-1981. Also compute key liquidity, solvency, activity, and profitability ratios for 1980 and 1981. Given these data, identify what you believe were the high-risk financial statement items for the 1981 USSC audit. U.S. Surgical Corporation Common Size Income Statement 1979-1981 (000s omitted) 1981 % Sales 1980 %Sales 1979 %Sales Net Sales 111,800 100 86,214 100 60,876 100 Costs and Expenses COGS 47,983 43 32,300 37.5 25,659 42.1 Selling, General And Admin. 45,015 40.3 37,740 43.7 23,935 39.3 Interest 5,898 5.2 4,063 4.7 3,403 5.6 98,896 88.5 74,103 85.9 52,997 87.0 Income Before Taxes 12,904 11.5 12,111 14.0 7,879 12.9 Income Taxes 1,120 1.0 4,226 4.9 2,750 4.5 Net Income 11,784 10.5 7,885 9.1 5,129 8.4 U.S. Surgical Corporation Common Size Balance Sheet 1979-1981 (000s omitted) Current Assts 1981 %Assets 1980 %Assets 1979 %Assets Cash 426 .21 1,243 1.04 596 .85 Receivables (net) 36,670 17.7 30,475 25.6 22,557 31.9 Inventories Finished Goods 29,216 14.1 9,860 8.3 5,685 8.1 Work in Process 5,105 2.5 2,667 2.2 1,153 1.6 Raw Materials 20,948 10.1 18,806 15.8 7,365 10.4 55,269 26.7 31,333 26.3 14,203 20.1 Other Current Assets 7,914 3.8 1,567 2.4 1,820 2.6 Total Current Assets 100,279 48.4 64,618 54.3 39,176 55 Assets 1981 %Assets 1980 %Assets 1979 %Assets Property, Plant, Equip Land 2,502 1.2 2,371 2.0 1,027 1.5 Buildings 32,416 15.6 18,511 15.5 13,019 18.5 Molds and Dies 32,082 15.5 15,963 13.4 8,777 12.4 Mach. Equip. 40,227 19.4 23,762 20.0 12,362 17.5 Allowance for Depreciation (14,953) (9,964) (6,340) Other Assets 14,786 7.1 3,842 3.2 2,499 3.5 Total Assets 207,339 119,103 70,520 Liabilities 1981 %Liability/ 1980 %Liability 1979 %Liability Stock.Eq. Stock. Eq. Stock. Eq. Accounts Payable 12,278 5.9 6,951 5.8 6,271 8.9 Notes Payable 1,596 2.3 Income Taxes Payable 1,685 1.4 Current L-T Debt 724 .35 666 .56 401 .57 Accrued Expenses 5,673 2.7 5,130 4.3 5,145 7.3 Long-Term Debt 80,642 38.9 47,569 39.9 33,497 47.5 Deferred Income Tax 7,466 3.6 2,956 2.5 1,384 2.0 Liabilities 1981 %Liability/ 1980 %Liability 1979 %Liability Stock.Eq. Stock. Eq. Stock. Eq. Stockholders Equity Common Stock 1,081 .52 930 .78 379 .54 Add. Paid-in Capital 72,594 35.0 34,932 29.3 10,736 15.2 Retained Earnings 32,665 15.8 20,881 17.5 13,189 18.7 Translation Allowance (1,086) Deferred Compensation- Issue Restricted Stock (4,698) (2,597) (2,078) Total Stock. Equity 100,556 48.5 54,146 45.5 22,226 31.5 Total Liabilities/ Stockholders Equity 207,339 119,103 70,520 Financial Ratios for U.S. Surgical Corporation 1981 1980 Cash Ratio .0228 .0861 Current Ratio 5.37 4.48 Accounts Receivable Turnover 3.33 2.57 Inventory Turnover 1.11 .75 Gross Profit Percent 57% 62% Profit Margin 11.5 14.1 Return on Assets 7.9 7.4 The common sized income statement was prepared to display all items as a percentage of sales. On the income statement we can see that there was a decrease in cost of goods sold from 1979 to 1980. Cost of goods sold went from 42.1% of sales to 37.5% of sales even though net sales increased. This information along with the increase in the current asset inventory account on the balance sheet indicates a significant increase in inventory held by USSC. Another high risk income statement item was the selling, general and administrative expenses. Included in this category of expenses are research and development costs. The amounts of research and development costs reported dropped significantly. In 1980 they were reported at $3,020,000 and dropped to $1,337,000 in 1981. Also the entire category of selling, general and administrative expenses which included these RD costs decreased as a percent of sales from the previous year. The USSC openly admitted to undergoing a large research and devel opment program to create new products and technology in 1981. The major decrease in costs reported for research and development in 1981 should have caused further investigation by the auditing team. The common sized balance sheet was prepared to display each asset as a percentage of total assets. The percentages for the cash and accounts receivable accounts in 1981 decreased significantly from the previous years while the inventory account increased. This indicates a decrease in liquidity of assets which is also supported by the change in the cash ratio from 1980 to 1981. Another high-risk item would have been the other assets account. United States Surgical Corporation included their patents in this other assets account. They were capitalizing costs associated with the legal defense of a patent that should not have been capitalized. There was a significant increase in this account, $3,842,000 in 1980 to $14,786,000 in 1981. Another red flag would be the significant increase in total long term assets. In 1979 long term assets accounted for 45% of total assets, in 1980 it was 45.7% of total assets and in 1981 long term assets accounted for 51.6% of total assets. USSC was capitali zing costs associated with patents that should not have been capitalized, charging inventoriable production to a long-term assets account molds and dies, and extending the useful lives of some assets and therefore understating depreciation. All of these actions would have caused a significant increase in total long-term assets. A more specific high-risk item was the long-term asset molds and dies. This account doubled in 1981 from the previous year; from $15,963,000 to $32,082,000. The SEC investigation later revealed that USSC was in fact capitalizing production costs and charging them to the molds and dies asset account. Financial ratios were also calculated to determine high-risk items. The current ratio for USSC in 1981 is a little high and has increased from the previous year. In 1981 the current ratio indicated that USSC had $5.37 in current assets for every dollar of current liabilities. This high ratio may indicate that United States Surgical Corporation was overstating their assets. The inventory turnover is low at .75 in 1980 and 1.11 in 1981. The auditing team would have wanted to investigate to find out why inventory was accumulating and not turning over as these numbers indicated. By preparing the common size financial statements and ratios we can identify the high-risk items when performing an audit. The major items for United States Surgical Corporation were the reduced research and development costs recognized despite the increase in research for new products, the major increase in the long-term asset account molds and dies and the other assets account. Q5. Regarding the costs incurred for USSC by Barden, identify (a) the evidence Hope collected that supported USSCs claim that the costs involved tooling modifications and (b) the audit evidence that supported the position that the costs were generic production expenses. What do generally accepted auditing standards suggest are the key evaluative criteria that auditors should consider when assessing audit evidence? Given these criteria, do you believe Hope was justified in deciding that the costs in question were for tooling modifications? Why or why not? The evidence that hope collected that supports USSCs claim that the charges in question were in fact for tooling modifications was the General Manager of Lacey Corporation (A division of Barden Corporation) goes back on his previous statement and confirms that the purchase orders and invoices were in fact for tooling modifications. USSC explained their position and said that they had instructed Lacey to make certain tooling changes that would result in improved efficiency in production of USSC products. When the audit team asked to take a tour of the Lacey plant to examine the actual production process the Lacey General Manger informed the audit team that personnel often mistakenly charge tooling jobs to production. There was more evidence that supported the position that the costs in question were just generic production expenses. Initially the audit team did not notice that the assets were being overstated and there was an issue with the classification. It was the company who does work for USSC that admitted that there were issues with some of the purchase orders and invoices. The Lacey general manager informed the auditors that invoices and purchase orders were being reviewed and that they were for general production work and not tooling modifications as USSC had previously stated. The chairman of the board of directors for Barden Corp. reported that an independent investigation by an outside law firm has concluded that the purchase orders and invoices were in fact for general production work and not for tooling modifications. Finally the Senior Vice President and Treasurer for Barden Corporation refused to sign confirmation that $1 million in charges were for tooling modifications on two occ asions. The key criteria for evaluating audit evidence are relevance, reliability and sufficiency. The evidence must be relevant to audit objective. The auditors must use procedures and documents that are relative to the audit objective. The evidence must be reliable, or must be believable and trust worthy. The sufficiency of evidence has to deal with the quantity of evidence obtained. In my opinion Hope was not justified in deciding that the costs were for tooling modifications. There was not sufficient evidence to come to this conclusion, just some complicated explanations from USSC and inaccurate purchase orders and invoices. The evidence was not relevant to the audit objective. The specific products with modifications should have been traced back to their purchase orders. Instead the auditors just took the explanation of these orders from management. Finally the reliability of the evidence was not high, USSC had a lot to lose if it was concluded that they were indeed general production and the General Manger for Lacey had changed his position numerous times. The only reliable evidence was that of the independent law firm that concluded the purchase orders and invoices were not for tooling modifications. References Knapp, Michael C., United States Surgical Corporation Contemporary Auditing. Real Issues Cases. Sixth Edition (2006), 137-146. Arens, R. Randal, M. Beasley, Auditing and Assurance Services. An Integrated Approach. (2008) 175-176.