Financial Analysis of Lockheed Martin free essay sample

The world of finance in today’s market is one of numerous ups and downs. With the global economy in constant flux, it is more important than every for companies to examine their financial status and compare their position to that of the relative market as well as their fellow competitors. In order to better understand the ways in which today’s managers examine their position on the market and evaluate their current value as a company we will examine the financial data of Lockheed Martin Corporation and perform a detailed financial analysis on the company. In this analysis we will examine financial rations of Lockheed Martin and in turn compare these rations to that of fellow market competitors. Upon completion of our financial analysis we will be able to understand the financial position of Lockheed Martin as well as the position of Lockheed Martin in their respective market, and in turn we will be able to fully comprehend the methods and data used by companies in order to evaluate their company. Before going into an in depth analysis of our company, let us first examine the history behind Lockheed Martin. The Lockheed Martin Corporation traces its roots all the way back to the earliest days of flight. In 1909 aviation pioneer Glenn L. Martin organized a company around a small airplane construction business and transformed it into a major airframe supplier to U. S. military and commercial customers. In 1961 the Glenn L. Martin Company became the Martin Marietta Company after the completion of a merger with American-Marietta Corp. , a leading supplier of building and road construction materials. In 1982, Martin Marietta was subject to a hostile takeover bid by the Bendix Corporation which bought the majority of Martin Marietta shares and in effect owned the company. However, Martin Mariettas management used the short time separating ownership and control to sell non-core businesses and launch its own hostile takeover of Bendix (known as the Pac-Man defense). The end of this extraordinarily bitter battle saw Martin Marietta survive and forced Bendix to be sold off. In 1913, Allan and Malcolm Loughead (name later changed to Lockheed) flew the first Lockheed plane over San Francisco Bay. The brothers later established their own corporation known as the Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company which was later renamed the Loughead Aircraft Manufacturing Company. In 1926, following the failure of Loughead, Allan Loughead formed the Lockheed Aircraft Company in Hollywood, California. In 1929, Lockheed sold out to Detroit Aircraft Corporation. The Great Depression ruined the aircraft market, and Detroit Aircraft went bankrupt. A group of investors headed by brothers Robert and Courtland Gross, bought the company out of receivership in 1932. The syndicate bought the company for a mere $40,000. Ironically, Allan Loughead himself had planned to bid for his own company, but had only raised $50,000 which he felt was too small a sum for a serious bid. The first successful aircraft built in any number by the Lockheed Corporation was named the Vega and was best known for its use in several first- and record setting flights by, among others, Amelia Earhart, Wiley Post and George Hubert Wilkins. In the 1930s, Lockheed spent $139,400 to develop the Model 10 Electra, a small twin-engine transport which sold 40 units in the first year of production. Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, flew this plane on their failed attempt to circumnavigate the world in 1937. The Lockheed Model 12 Electra Junior and the Lockheed Model 14 Super Electra expanded their market. The Model 14 also formed the basis for the Hudson bomber, which was supplied to both the British Royal Air Force and the United States military before and during World War II. In 1995 the these two companies, Lockheed and Martin Marietta, joined together in a merger which created the modern Lockheed Martin corporation, and further expanded with the acquisition of Loral, a defense electronics and systems integration business, in 1996. Today, the Lockheed Martin Corporation is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland and employs 126,000 people worldwide. The company is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of advanced technology systems. Lockheed also serves both domestic and international customers with products and services that have defense, civil, and commercial applications, with their principal customers being agencies of the U. S. Government. In 2011, 84% of their $45. billion in net sales were made to the U. S. Government, either as a prime contractor or as a subcontractor. Lockheed’s U. S. Government sales were made to both Department of Defense (DoD) and non-DoD agencies. Sales to foreign governments (including foreign military sales funded, in whole or in part, by the U. S. Government) amounted to 15% of net sales in 2011. The remainder of net sales was attributable to commercial and other customers. In 2011, net sales at Aeronautics of $13. 2 billion represented 29% of their total net sales. Aeronautics has three principal lines of business and the percentage that each contributed to its 2011 net sales was 68 percent combat aircraft, 20 percent air mobility, and 12 percent in other aeronautics programs. At December 31, 2011, we operated in 545 locations (including offices, manufacturing plants, warehouses, service centers, laboratories, and other facilities) throughout the United States and internationally. Of these, we owned 43 locations aggregating approximately 30 million square feet, and leased space at 502 locations aggregating approximately 26 million square feet. We also manage or occupy various government-owned facilities under leases and various other arrangements. The U. S. Government also furnishes equipment that we use in some of our businesses. We operate in four principal business segments: Aeronautics, Electronic Systems, ISGS, and Space Systems. Lockheed organizes their business segments based on the nature of the products and services offered. The following table presents net sales and operating profit of their four business segments. Now that we have established the background of the Lockheed Martin Corporation, let us now analyze the ratios which provide us insight into the financial status of the corporation. The first ratio which we will look at is the current ration of Lockheed Martin. Using the current ration, we will be able to determine if Lockheed will be able to satisfy the amount of current liabilities based upon their current assets. When looking at the Lockheed’s balance sheet for 2011, we see that they have 11. 157 million dollars in current liabilities and 12. 851 million dollars in current liabilities. In order to compute the current ratio of Lockheed we then take the current assets of 12. 51 million and divide this number by the current liabilities of 11. 157 million thus giving Lockheed a current ratio of 1. 15% for 2011. When looking at this ratio over a period of 2 years we began to see that the ratio calculated for 2011 has decreased . 01 percent from 2010. In examining this ratio, we a re able to conclude that Lockheed has a fairly constant liquidity rate which could tell us that the company is relatively stable at this point in time. The second ratio which will help us in evaluating the financial status of Lockheed Martin Corporation is the inventory turnover ratio. This ration will allow us to examine how efficiently Lockheed manages its assets and uses those assets to create income. In order to calculate this ratio we must find the companies net sales and divide this figure by the inventories that the company has on hand. After examining Lockheed’s financial statements, we find that they reported 45. 803 million dollars in net sales and 2. 378 million dollars in inventories for 2011. After plugging these figures into our equation, we find that Lockheed had an inventory turnover ratio of 19. 26. This tells us roughly that Lockheed’s inventory is sold out and restocked roughly 19. 26 times per year. When examined over a two year period, we find that the ratio of sales to inventories when compared to the 20. 15 ratio calculated in 2010, had only fallen by . 89. When compared to the rival Boeing Company, we find that Lockheed’s inventory turnover ration is considerably higher than the 1. 386 that Boeing reported over the same period. This could lead to the conclusion that Lockheed Martin is in considerably better position than the majority of the other companies with in the same market. The next ratio that we will examine is referred to as the debt ration. This ratio allows us to examine the percentage of funds provided by current liabilities and long term debt. In order to calculate this ratio, we will need to take the total liabilities and divide this figure by the total assets. When examining the financial documents provided by Lockheed, we find that Lockheed reported a total liability of 31. 59 million and a total asset of 35. 067. As we plug this data into our equation we find that Lockheed Martin has a debt ratio of 89. 43 percent for 2011. When interpreting this outcome we must remember to examine the data from two separate per spectives. From the perspective of a creditor, a high debt ratio allows for less cushion against losses in the event that liquidating occurs. This could discourage creditors from lending to the company due to the fact that it poses a greater risk to the creditor. On the other hand, stockholders generally like to see a higher debt ration due to the fact that it magnifies the amount of return that they receive. Therefore, it would be wise for a company to maintain a debt ration which is fairly close to 50 percent due to the fact that it allows creditors to feel comfortable while satisfying the desires of the stockholders. Another ratio which provides valuable insight into a company’s financial status is the Gross Profit Margin. When calculating this ratio we must first find the amount of sales, then subtract this number by the cost of goods sold and divide this number by the amount of sales during that period. As we examine the financial data using our Gross Profit Margin formula, we find that Lockheed had a gross profit margin of 10. 2 percent. This number tells us that Lockheed had a gross profit of 10. 2 percent per dollar of sales before any other expenses are deducted. When compared to rival aeronautical company Boeing, we find that Boeing had a gross profit margin that was 11. 9 percent higher than Lockheed. This suggests that Boeing is turning a higher profit margin than Lockheed and thus does not need to sell as much product in order to generate the same amount of income as Lockheed. By having a lower profit margin than their competitor, Lockheed must have a higher amount of sells in order to keep their place within the market. The final ratio which we will examine is the Price per Earnings ratio or the P/E Ratio. By looking at this ration we are able to identify how much investors are willing to pay per dollar of reported profit. Looking at Lockheed’s current price per share and earnings per share data we find that they are able to maintain a ratio of 28. 67. When viewing this data, we are able to conclude that Lockheed has a fairly strong growth prospect when other things are held constant. When we compare this number to the smaller rival Northrop Grumman and find that Lockheed has a P/E that is 19. 69 higher. When looking into the reasoning behind this difference, we can conclude that Northrop is regarded as being a much riskier company than Lockheed and thus could receive less support for creditors. This places Lockheed Martin at an advantageous position due to the fact that they are viewed as a more stable company. This allows them to control more of their respective market and in turn secures their market share for future years. Now that we have viewed the financial ratios of our company and have interpreted the data based upon Lockheed’s market and past financial data, let us now look at the Beta coefficient. When stockholders examine which companies they wish to invest in, they generally seek to invest in companies with the smallest amount of risk possible. In doing so, Stockholders greatly minimize the amount of risk that they themselves accrue and in turn provides confidence within the market. However, we must have a way in order to evaluate the relative risk of a particular companies stock and for that we use the Beta coefficient. In order to calculate the Beta coefficient we will need two sets of data, the closing price for the stock we are examining and the closing prices for the index we’re using. As we look at the Beta value of . 98 for Lockheed Martin and compare it industry rival Boeing’s 1. 31 and Northrop Grumman’s 1. 08 we find that Lockheed has a lower Beat value than both of its major competitors. This suggests that Lockheed is a less risky company to invest in and thus could create greater capitol available through the sale of stock for the company. In addition to drawing potential investors to the company, having a lower Beta value could cause creditors to be more willing to lend money to the company. This would allow a greater possibility for Lockheed’s future expansion in the industry and could serve to propel them to the top of the Aeronautic market. If this were to occur, I forecast that the dividend structure within the company would increase due to the increased amount of wealth that the company is generating yearly. By having more funds available for allocation to stockholders, the company would be more willing to pass this added revenue to the stockholders thus promoting more investors to purchase stock. Upon examining the numerous financial data available on Lockheed Martin we are able to determine that the financial status of the company is sound. Lockheed Martin maintains a current ratio of 1. 5 percent which tells us that the company is able to cover the cost of their current liabilities 1. 15 times using their current assets. This tells us that the company does not have any problematic debt at the current time and therefore generates a profit at the end of every operating period. The second indicator of Lockheed’s current and future success is their ability to turn over inventory. In our calculations we discovered that Lockheed had an inventory turn over ratio of 19. 26 percent which told us that they were able roughly able to sell all of their products and restock at least 19. 26 times per year. When viewing this from a financial standpoint this figure is encouraging because it represents a steady profit within the company. The next ratio analysis performed, the debt ratio, informed us that the company had a debt ratio of 89. 43 percent. This high number could serve costly to the company if they ever need seek loans from creditors, but it does satisfy the shareholders by providing a higher amount of leverage. Another ratio that we analyzed for Lockheed Martin was the gross profit margin. After computing this ratio, we found that Lockheed had a gross profit margin of 10. 2 in 2011 which means than Lockheed earned retained 10. 2 percent of every dollar earned. The final ration analysis that we performed on Lockheed’s financial statements was a profit per earnings ratio. After performing this ratio, we found that Lockheed had a better profit per earnings than its rivals thus making it a more desirable company to invest in. This could attract future investors and in turn create more profit for the company. From this analysis, I have concluded that Lockheed Martin could not handle much more debt in the near future due to the fact that their debt ration is already considerably high. If the company were to take on much more debt, creditors would become unwilling to provide financial support for the company and the company could risk taking on more debt than their assets could cover. This would cause the overall value of the company to fall and cause the Beat coefficient to ri se to a much higher level. In order to further improve the company from the position that it is in, I believe that the company should take steps to lower the debt ratio. This would cause the creditors to be more willing to invest in the company as well as keep the stockholders satisfied with the amount of leverage the company has. Also, by lowering the debt ratio, the companies eat coefficient would fall even further making the desire to invest in the company even higher. If Lockheed were to take this step, I believe that the companies stock would continue to rise and the company could in turn increase the amount of dividends that it provides.

Stem cell research Essay Example For Students

Stem cell research Essay Within the past few years, scientist have made several breakthroughs with Human Stem Cells. These breakthroughs have catapulted the issue of Stem cell research Essay into the middle of a national debate. Most people have no problem with the research itself, however the source of the Stem cells (adult or human embryos) used in research is the primary cause of the debate. Some people fell that destroying an embryo is comparable to murder, even if the research it promotes may help people with serious illnesses. Other believe that an embryo is not a person and therefore research on an embryo is the same as research on any other group of cells. He and his company are so confident about these cells, not only have they obtained a government patent on the process by which these specific cells are separated from other cells, they have also patented the cells themselves. They have even convinced Sandoz Ltd. (a giant Swiss drug-and-chemical company) to purchase 60 percent of the stock for SyStemix for a reported 392 million dollars. Stem cells are very valuable for many reasons, some of which are as follows: by giving patients the ability to make an entirely new supply of blood, they make it possible for the immune system to regenerate itself. In doing this, it could feasibly allow medical breakthroughs for treating diseases like cancer and AIDS. There is much controversy over who actually should have taken credit for the discovery of stem cells. Back in the 1960s James Till and Ernest McCulloch (from the Ontario Cancer Institute in Toronto ) discovered that after mice were injected with bone marrow cells their spleens developed nodules on them, and, upon studying these nodules they noticed that they were loaded with white and red blood cells. They also discovered that, additionally, these cells were able to reproduce themselves. These men said that, All blood cells arise from a few hematopoietic stem cells, which are hidden away in bone marrow(2). On the average, these cells produce an ounce of new blood (260 billion new cells) every day. Weissman was studying medicine at Stanford when the before mentioned men developed their theory, and it fascinated him. He decided to pursue the study and see where he could go with it. He soon began to study white cells backwards, from maturity to early cells. At the same time, the rest of the researcher were discovering the same thing. One man, in particular, Jan Visser, developed a strategy for separating these stem cells from other cells in blood. He fine tuned his strategy by making small changes in what he was doing, which broke down the number of cells to smaller and smaller groups, until finally, he narrowed it down and he figured that there is approximately one stem cell per 10,000 cells. Visser had his original results published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine in 1984, and four years later, Weissman announced in the journal Science that he and his colleagues had found the mouses stem cell. It was Weissmans article that drew headlines, while Vissers only drew polite praise. Visser notes ironically, The Journal of Experimental medicine is considered scientifically one of the best journals. Science is more popular. It was the Weissman team that took a much more narrow approach to separating the cells, they used a variety of monoclonal antibodies, each with a specific ability to single out certain proteins on certain cells. In my opinion, this is how science works. Science is based on someone figuring something out, and another person comes along later and makes it better. It is called advancement. Speech: Education and New School Term Essay The problem with what Weissman did, was that he claimed all responsibility for discovering stem cells and separating cells and gave no credit to Visser or anyone else who had made huge leaps forward with the advancement of stem cell research. Since being called on doing that, it has been noted that Weissman now acknowledges Vissers work. Weissman claims to have been so wrapped up in his own research that he didnt know that Visser had done so much with stem cell separation. He likened it to what I think a child might say, I stopped reading the literature. I didnt want to .

Important Tips About Roomate Essay Sample

Important Tips About Roomate Essay SampleIf you have never written an essay for college or for a professional interview, you can find a stanford roomate essay sample to help you. A writing sample will help you take the concepts and techniques of good essay writing and apply them to your own situation. And you will discover that a bit of extra practice will go a long way towards preparing you for the admissions office.You will have to be honest about your personal qualities, work experience, the length of your time in school, and whether you are choosing to take courses to graduate or get a degree for job training. A roomate essay sample can show you the best way to present your topic and demonstrate your ability to develop an interesting essay.You will not know how well you do on college applications until you look at your roomate essay and write it yourself. Look at different examples and use your common sense when you begin to feel stumped. Once you have found something that makes you want to move forward, then you can build on that concept in your own essay.Roomate samples are also helpful for students who prefer to write essays over the Internet. While doing research, you will discover that many of the popular writing samples are based on essay questions rather than classroom exercises. With your roomate essay sample, you can easily create a ready-made form for your writing.Roomate essays need to be unique. The purpose of the roomate essay is to bring your individuality to the surface, not to make a standard. For example, if you enjoy an ethnic cuisine, you will want to emphasize this in your roomate essay and include your favorite ethnic delicacies in your future application essay.If you are not afraid to try out things, you will find that yourroomate essay is a much more interesting and less boring exercise. In fact, you will find that you can handle this type of essay much easier than you would do an essay for credit.However, when you choose to submit yo ur roomate essay through your computer, you should learn how to place your essay on your personal webpage so that it will appear only to you. After all, your personal website should reflect your personality, not the personality of your professor.In conclusion, roomate essays are essential for all students in the classroom and for college applicants as well. Students who are looking for examples of great writing will be very happy to find them here. If you are comfortable with basic writing, then the roomate essay sample is just what you are looking for.

Mao - China Essays - Chinese People, Mao Zedong, Anti-Revisionists

Mao - China By 1918, Mao had graduated from the Hunan First Normal School and had gone to Peking, the national capital, where he worked briefly as a library assistant at Peking University. Mao lacked the funds to support a regular student status and, unlike many of his classmates, mastered no foreign language and did not go abroad to study. It may be partly due to his relative poverty during his student years that he never identified completely with the cosmopolitan bourgeois intellectuals who dominated Chinese university life. He did establish contact with intellectual radicals who later figured prominently in the Chinese Communist party. In 1919, Mao returned to Hunan, where he engaged in radical political activity, organizing groups and publishing a political review, while supporting himself as a primary-school principal. 1920, Mao married Yang K'ai-hui, the daughter of one of his teachers. Yang K'ai-hui was executed by the Chinese Nationalists in 1930. In that year Mao married Ho Tzu-chen, w ho accompanied him on the Long March. Mao divorced her(1937), and in 1939 he married Chiang Ch'ing. Music Essays

Editing of a Gangster Film Essays

Editing of a Gangster Film Essays Editing of a Gangster Film Paper Editing of a Gangster Film Paper Stephanie Guzman #0714293 Film 1 | Professor Daughdrill 16 November 2011 Capture. Feel. Enhance. The Secret? Editing. Bonnie Clyde portrays the love filled action story of an amazing duo. This movie was one of the first to depict actual violent scenes, as well as intensely frisky ones. During the 1960’s, the French New Wave directors began influencing a vast majority of films, Bonnie Clyde being one of them in 1967. With so many tones and action filled scenes, the technique and style of the editing in the film is an important factor which helps set up the entire tone of the movie. The film Bonnie Clyde, by Arthur Penn, utilizes pace, rhythm, and certain French New Wave editing techniques to portray and enhance tranquil, frisky, intense and even violent tones in scenes throughout the movie. The rhythm of slow paced shots in the film are used several of times to illustrate scenes which do not include much action, more over include tranquil moments. This would include scenes when Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were simply driving or waiting in their car, for example, when they were waiting in the car for C. W. Moss to get back from buying the â€Å"light bulbs† for his dad. That scene started with a long lengths medium long shot. In addition, the movie opens with Bonnie Parker standing and wandering around in her room. As she roams around, there is a series of close-up shots, which run slower-paced than most shots. Then, the moment Bonnie spots Clyde Barrow, an extreme-close-up of her eyes occurs. The calmness and boredom of Bonnie Parker is portrayed through the steady but slowly paced close-up shots. The following immediate shot to her eyes show and mark one of the most important moments of the film, when Bonnie and Clyde first lay eyes on each other. The use of shots in this sequence enhanced the projection of the tone as well as the tranquil, calm moods of the story. In order to create a frisky, affection filled scene, Arthur Penn uses a mixture of medium long shots and medium close-ups to capture the intense atmosphere of the romance filled scenes. The part of the film where Bonnie and Clyde attempt to make love for the first time, really gave viewers an inside look at what each individual thought at the moment, bringing the viewer to a deeper understanding of the atmosphere that was taking place. During that scene, the couple is disputing about what is safest for Bonnie, when she decides that she does not care what is right, she just wants to be with him. Clyde suddenly attempts to give making love a try and begins to caress Bonnie. Eventually he realizes he could not proceed and turns away from her. Throughout the scene, a series of fairly medium and faster paced shots begin to sequence, showing medium close-ups of each characters face, with medium long shots in between. By doing so, viewers are able to see and feel each character’s emotions, bringing the viewer into the tone of the film through its style and choice of edited shots and sequences. Since the Movie was produced in 1967, the French New Wave was of some influence on the editing of Bonnie Clyde. The style of jump cuts is seen sporadically through out the movie. The first time is from the start, when Bonnie is at her house, bored and roaming around her room naked. As Bonnie lies down on her bed, a jump cut occurs and she is suddenly banging on the metal frame of her bed. Penn uses the jump cut technique to take away time that is pointlessly and slowly passing by, as well as to show the boredom of Bonnie Parker. Another place was on the scene where Clyde was wrestling the butcher man from the market, and they ended up falling on top of some boxes and groceries. As Clyde and the Butcher Man attempt to stand back up, the scene automatically jumps from being on the floor, to Clyde standing up and running out of the store, on his way. Jump cuts are noticeably used throughout the movie and are there to strengthen certain tones, which scenes are trying to portray and aware the audience of what is going on. Lastly, Penn’s movie truly displays the new intense tones of the century’s violence through its various rapid, short length cuts. The best example is at the very end of the film when Bonnie and Clyde are trapped and meet their final end. On their way from leaving the town center, they run into C. W. ’s papa Ivan Moss out on the road. During the entire ride from the market place, Clyde is driving while Bonnie is eating an apple and sharing it with him. When the duo sees Ivan Moss stranded by the roadside, they park their vehicle and Clyde walks over to help Moss. Seconds after, right before another car is about to cross paths with them, Ivan turns suspicious and as he looks around, black crows fly out of the bushes, Ivan runs under his truck to duck, and Bonnie and Clyde realize that there is someone in the bushes and that their ends had finally come as they attempt to run to each other and be together once more before they breathe their last breaths. That scene begins with long length shots of medium close-ups which show them just driving down happily, not much going on. Moving forward to the end of the scene, their bodies are completely being shot at all over, and the entire scene is all being played by a series of several medium long, medium close up, and a couple of long shots. Combining those series of shots and by making them fast-paced short length shots, Penn was able to create an intense edit to enhance the violence, making one feel as if they were there first hand to witness it themselves and giving the viewer a full and thorough understanding and perspective. Again, clearly setting the intense and dramatic tone of the story for that particular scene. By using several of the editing techniques such as the pace and patterns of shots, including the types of shots, and the French New Wave editing techniques, Penn is able to create several tones throughout the film, which relate to the situations or to the attitude/moods of the given circumstances. For action scenes, fast-paced close-ups are ideal to reveal a detailed picture to the viewer so that they can feel that adrenaline rush and the action or violent tones of the scene. As well as for scenes, which have more dull characteristics, longer lengthened shots are put together to enhance the simplicity of the scene. Even the jump cut technique is put into action in scenes to skip time and enhance whichever tone the scene may portray. These editing techniques and use of shots have created the moods which Penn envisioned the viewer to feel, capturing the viewers attention and enhancing the excitement, rush, or other feelings simply through the technique and style of editing.

Business research methods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

Business research methods - Essay Example Research Process essentially involves several important stages such as preliminary steps, problem definition, management dilemma, primary or secondary data collection, literature reviewing, data analysis, presentation of findings and problem solution etc Out of these research process stages, the problem definition stage is perhaps most important one as effectiveness and successful completion of all other stages are largely depending on problem definition stage. Some of the stages in the research process are more critical than others. For instance, problem definition is most important step because it determines how to set the direction for the remainder of the steps that follow (Neelankavil, 2007, p. 57). The problem to be solved in a research or the issue to be identified must be clearly defined so that more appropriate solution to the same problem can be developed and this illustrates why problem definition stage is more important in the research process. What is Problem Definition and Why it is Important? Sekaran (2003, p. 70) defined Problem Definition, or often termed as Problem Statement, as a clear, precise and succinct statement or description of the question or issue that the organization need to investigate with the goal of finding an answer or solution to the same problem.... in to different functional areas in the organization such as sales, purchase, profit, inventory handling etc can be successfully done only if the problem is clearly defined. Malhotra (2008, p. 38) emphasized that problem definition in research process is the most important step because it involves stating the general problems and identifying various components of the research itself. If problem is clearly defined, significant components that can be made use in the research also can be identified. Therefore, it is very clear that the research can be well-designed and conducted properly only if the basic research question is properly defined. As Malhotra (2008, p. 38) noted, none in all the tasks involved in a research project is more vital to the ultimate fulfillment of a client’s needs and requirements than a proper problem definition. Time, efforts and money spent on any research process can be a mere waste if the problem is ill-defined. An example can illustrate how importan t is problem definition in a research process. An organization that experiences less- morale among its employees may need to investigate why its people are less morale and how it can be resolved. In order to investigate this issue, the problem should be clearly defined. If the researcher defined the problem as less efficiency among the employees, or less productivity among the workers or decreased commitment among managers, the problem is not clearly defined and the solution the research may bring would be of no use to the organization. Following are some of the main reasons why problem definition is more important than solution and any other steps in a research. A well defined problem helps the researcher plan all other research steps to be conducted properly, All other steps like data

The 7 wanders of the world Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The 7 wanders of the world - Essay Example â€Å"[The list] was based on guide-books popular among Hellenic sight-seers and only includes works located around the Mediterranean rim† (â€Å"Seven Wonders†, 2006). The seven wonders of the ancient world are listed as the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse at Alexandria. Of these, only the Great Pyramid still exists today (Krystek, 2003). â€Å"For their builders, the Seven Wonders were a celebration of religion, mythology, art, power, and science. For us, they reflect the ability of humans to change the surrounding landscape by building massive yet beautiful structures† (Ashmawy, 2000). While almost none of these structures can be visited today, a closer look what is known about them can inspire some of the same wonder and fascination experienced by those who saw them first-hand. The Great Pyramid at Giza, the only one of the seven great wonders still standing, demonstrates an amazing attention to precision, even by today’s standards and with modern equipment. According to Andrew Bayuk (2005), the base of the pyramid is level to less than an inch and the sides measure almost equal lengths, with fluctuations at less than 1.75 inches. While it seems general knowledge that the average weight of the blocks is approximately 2.5 tons, Bayuk provides more precise detail. â€Å"Many blocks are indeed smaller than this, the blocks toward the top decrease in size. Some of the casing stones at the base are very large, weighing as much as 15 tons. The heaviest blocks are the granite blocks used to roof the king’s chambers and the weight relieving chambers above the king’s chamber. These are estimated to weigh from 50 to 80 tons† (Bayuk, 2005). While it has been widely believed that the