Investigation of Enthalpy Change When Mg is added to HCl Essay

Research Question: How is the enthalpy change of the reaction between Mg and HCl affected when different amounts of Mg are added to a constant amount of HCl? Variables: Independent: Mg Dependent: Temperature Control: HCl Controlling Variables I will use three different masses of Mg: 0.02g  ± 0.001g, 0.03g  ± 0.001g, 0.04g  ± 0.001g I will measure the temperature using a colorimeter made from a foam cup, a lid, and a thermometer I will keep HCl at a constant volume of 10mL of 1M HCl Procedure: Step 1: Measure out 10mL of 1M HCl Step 2: Pour HCl into foam cup and place lid on cup Step 3: Measure the initial temperature and record data Step 4: Add in 0.02g of Mg into cup and measure the finial temperature Step 5: Calculate change in temperature by subtracting the initial temperature from the finial temperature Step 6: Repeat steps 1-5 8 more times for a total of 9 trails changing the mass of Mg in step 4 every 3 trails from 0.02g  ± 0.001g to 0.03g  ± 0.001g to 0.04g  ± 0.001g. Conclusion and Evaluation The results depicted a small correlation between the enthalpy change in the reaction between Mg and HCl when different amounts of Mg are added to a constant amount of HCl. The average enthalpy change of the different masses of Mg are not consistently changing. When the amount of Mg shifts from 0.02g  ± 0.001g to 0.03g  ± 0.001g the average enthalpy changes from 453.27 kJ/mol to 406.77 kJ/mol but when it shifts form 0.03g  ± 0.001g to 0.04g  ± 0.001g the average enthalpy changes from 406.77 kJ/mol to 418.4 kJ/mol. Now the answer to the question -How is the enthalpy change of the reaction between Mg and HCl affected when different amounts of Mg are added to a constant amount of HCl? – Is there is an effect to the enthalpy change when different amounts of Mg are added but it is irregular and the change in the enthalpy isn’t steady in its rise or decline. The experiment was done using different foam cups and a calorimeter and the amount of time that the chemicals temperatures were recorded were different. If I was to improve this experiment I would use the same kind of foam cups and lids for each trial and I would also measure the temperature for each chemical under a specific time limit which would be the same for each trial. Investigation of Enthalpy Change When Mg is added to HCl

New York Times vs. Sullivan

Issue: Does Freedom of Speech protect a newspaper when it makes false defamatory statements about the conduct of a public official if the statements were not made with knowing or reckless disregard for the actual facts? The holding does not match the issue. If the fourteenth amendment is going to be incorporated in the holding, then it has to be in the issue. Also, the issue needs to be posted in a constitutional way.   For example: By not requiring Sullivan to prove that the advertisement personally harmed him and dismissing the same as untruthful due to factual errors, did Alabama’s libel law unconstitutionally infringe on the First Amendments freedom of speech and freedom of press protections? Statement of the Facts: The New York Times published a full page ad soliciting funds to defend Martin Luther King, Jr. In the ad were accusations of brutal force employed by the Montgomery police force against King’s followers. L.B. Sullivan, the police commissioner at the time, claimed the ad maligned his character. He sued for, and won, damages from the lower court. The Holding/Decision of the Court: The Court held that the First and Fourteenth amendments protected a publisher from libel only if the false and derogatory statements were not made with knowing or reckless disregard for the truth. Reasons/Rationale: The Court made its decision based on three closely-related facts: †¢ First, the commercial nature of the advertisement; †¢ Second, the existence of actual malice; and, †¢ Finally, the tendency for the alleged libel to be connected to the plaintiff. The New York Times was paid to publish the ad. However the fact that it was a paid advertisement does not make it a ‘commercial ad' in that it waives constitutional guarantees of Freedom of Speech. To consider it as such would discourage newspapers from accepting â€Å"editorial advertisements† which would have a dangerous tendency to shut out this form of information promulgation. Furthermore, it would curtail freedom of speech and shackle those who do not own publications.   This would be in violation of the First Amendment, which aims to secure â€Å"the widest possible dissemination of information from diverse and antagonistic sources†. There was no actual malice in this case although negligence can be ascribed to the NY Times for not exercising due diligence in ensuring the facts published. The paper had merely published a paid advertisement. The publisher cannot be accused of knowingly publishing falsehoods. Being a public official, Commissioner Sullivan had to accept the reality that his work would be under constant scrutiny. A higher level of proof is necessary to prove that the defendant printed material with intent to malign Sullivan’s character, especially since the alleged criticism was about his official functions as the police commissioner. Finally, the alleged libelous ad did not bear any mention of his name. While the ad criticized the activities and â€Å"brutality of the police†, there was never any direct mention of Sullivan or the office of the police commissioner. It could not then be said that the ad was a directed, defamatory and malicious attack upon him. In fact, the acts described in the ad – the padlocking of the dining hall, among others – were not even directly ascribed to the police, much less the police commissioner. On a side note, there is even suggestion that the commissioner manifested a guilty conscience in respect of the acts protested in the ad. The court therefore ruled in favor of freedom of speech over the right of a public official to defend himself from attack. Such cases have often been cited as jurisprudence to justify the level of criticism that can be inflicted on a government official. For acts related to his official functions, there is virtually no limit to the attacks that can be levied so long as they are not done with reckless disregard for the facts. Justice Black concurs on the basis that the 1st and 14th amendments do not merely delimit a state's power to award damages to officials for criticism of their official conduct but completely prohibits a state from exercising this power.   He is of the opinion that the defendants had an absolute constitutional right to publish their criticisms regardless of whom they were aimed at. It is regrettable that the court stopped short of a holding unequivocally protecting our free press. Justice Goldberg concurs on the privilege to criticize official conduct, despite the harm which may flow from excesses and abuses and consistent with the prized American right â€Å"to speak one's mind†.

An Education in Liberal Arts

Liberal arts is a universal education that provides a strong foundation of knowledge in many subjects.  Liberal arts can observe the capabilities as well as the limitations of each field of study. This allows students to find connections between different fields of study, to explore them, and to discover new theories and/or inventions. Liberal arts also allows students to investigate areas of interest and to make new ones by combining diverse subjects.  A liberal arts education provides students with a broad spectrum of information enabling them to expand their knowledge and to advance society in a positive direction.      It is imperative that a liberal arts posses the basic knowledge of the many fields. With this knowledge, students can combine different subjects to formulate new ideas and concepts. As in mixing colors, a new color can only be created by combining various colors. The same is true for liberal arts education, the resulting idea(s) and/or concept(s) is derived from the combination used to create it.      A liberal arts education provides a strong foundation of knowledge in many fields allowing students to create new theories and inventions. With this foundation, there are endless possibilities that students can expand and build on what others have learned rather than wasting time on what has already been discovered.       In order to illustrate, Ill use the example of the telephone. The telephone was an ingenious invention that was combined with the innovation of a free thinker, Alexander Graham Bell. Bell created the first working telephone and the impact of the telephone on society, over the past 100 years, is immeasurable. The result of the telephone revolutionized communication, advancing society to another level. Inventions that advance society, such as this, demonstrate the value of a liberal arts education. In years past, more and more scientists, from an array of various fields, have elaborated upon the basic telephone by inventing different components to be used along with the telephone such as the facsimile machine and computer modems which enable communication via the internet.       In short, a liberal arts education provides students with a strong foundation of universal knowledge that allows them to think without restrictions or barriers. Liberal arts allow imaginative thoughts to develop freely. Such imaginative thoughts lead to discoveries and inventions which, in turn, advance society to higher levels. It is evident that a liberal arts education is one of societys tools for advancement in a positive direction. Plagiarism Detection >

Answer the questions according to reading Essay

Answer the questions according to reading - Essay Example These four studies demonstrate the power of institutions in shaping gender identities through the dominant theme of power between the dominant racial male and the dominated female and other male racial groups, and in order to attain meaningful racial and gender equality changes, the causes of heteronormativity must be determined, followed by recommendations that impact individual mindset and institutional paradigm changes. Powerful institutions create specific gender and race identities and images of sexualities by designing and implementing oppressive gendered and sexualized beliefs, attitudes, policies, and practices. Lindsey Feitz and Joane Nagel understand the connections among race, gender, and sexuality in â€Å"The Militarization of Gender and Sexuality in the Iraq War.† They assert that the American government, specifically through the U.S. Army, produces and reproduces sexual and racial repression through its wartime practices, specifically the sexualization of female soldiers and the promotion of â€Å"female masculinities† (Feitz and Nagel 201). These sexual relations and identities reinforce ideas of heteronormativity, despite the rising number of women soldiers in the U.S. military. Furthermore, what is clear in the sexual industries is the gender and ethnic differences between the dominant racial man and the oppressed sexualized woman, thereby intersecting gender and race issues. Feitz and Nagel underscore gender and race in seeing minorities as sexual objects and as tools of the war. Private First Class Jessica Lynch has gender and race that opposed that of her kidnappers, where the media showed how â€Å"American men [saved] a pretty, young, white American woman from the possible sexual and personal assault by dark and dangerous Iraqis† (Feitz and Nagel 206). The impact of the media coverage in Lynch’s staged rescue attempt is the formulation of racialization in war, apart from the gendering of military women in war. These examples show the role of the military in expressing and implementing oppressive gendered, racial, and sexualized beliefs in their practices. War rape becomes a method for suppressing other races through gender exploitation. The same intersection of ethnicity and gender is present in â€Å"‘Check Me Out’: Queer encounters in Sharif Waked’s Chic Point: Fashion for Israeli Checkpoints.† In this article, Hochberg shows the impact of institutionalized racism on repressed gender and race identities. Sharif Waked’s Chic Point: Fashion for Israeli Checkpoints shows how checkpoints are a new arena of power play for political and gender subjugation because they seek to â€Å"produce the Palestinian body both as a symbol of imminent danger (â€Å"the terrorist†) and as the object of complete subjugation lacking any political agency (â€Å"the occupied†)† (Hochberg 578). These checkpoints demonstrate the sexualization of power even a gainst men, where the othering of Palestinian men (and women) is performed through stripping them and removing them of their privacy, perhaps even dignity. Their racial identities are then sexualized for political purposes that seek to marginalize them and make them feel powerless, physically, sexually and psychologically. These articles demonstrate that these practices and institutions promote oppressed gender and

The Impact of the Ottoman Empire on Europe's and Turkey's Essay

The Impact of the Ottoman Empire on Europe's and Turkey's architecture, gouvernment and life - Essay Example The major areas where the Ottoman caused impacts in Europe and Turkey include architecture, government, and general life of the citizens. This research paper focuses on how the Ottoman Empire changed and influenced the architecture, politics and social life in Europe and Turkey. The Ottoman Empire constituted one of the three empires that were most outstanding in the world. The other two empires of the world along with the Ottoman Empire were the Roman Empire and the British Empire1. The Ottoman Empire acquired several benefits from the already established states of Turkey. The states had already underwent a lot of establishment, thus, the Ottoman Empire used some of their resources for internal growth and development. One unique feature about the empire was that it was always attracted to ways of life of the West. Additionally, the Ottoman Empire did not have any prejudgements about anyone and bore with all forms of religious and ethnic groups within its operation regions. The founding, rising and advancement of the Ottoman Empire underwent actualisation using a well-designed plan and program. The plan for actualisation was founded on the principles of both spiritual and worldly realities in the state philosophy. The success and influence of the Ottoman Em pire was possible due to sharing the central and local leadership responsibilities with all ethnic and religious colleagues. The history of Ottoman Empire has its tracings back to a Turkish tribal chieftain known as Othman (Osman). The Seljuk Empire in Anatolia collapsed in the late thirteenth century, which led to it being divided into many states. Sogut was one of the states and its founder was Ertugrul. Osman was his son and it is after his death he took over and built the Ottoman Empire. The empire was grounded on the Islam religion. It was during the fourteenth century that he founded this empire originally known as Osmanli, but later through an evolution in

What constitutes a quality research proposal Essay

What constitutes a quality research proposal - Essay Example Proficiency in research proposal writing cannot counteract an unsound project, yet it can offer the supplementary gauge of quality that discerns a premium research proposal with its competition (Levinson 2000). Basically a research proposal is the demonstration of a plan that an individual aims to pursue. A quality research proposal supposes that the researcher have already deliberated about his/her project and have allocated substantial time and effort in collecting relevant information, analysing and then structuring his/her ideas. A good research proposal is not a hastened task (Saunders 2006). Therefore, one could think that the research proposal is a subsequent step, after the topic selection. The actual research proposal will specify the analytical question a researcher aims to investigate. The groundwork of a quality research proposal is a viable research problem. Moreover, a quality research proposal has nine components, and each part is essential in a successful presentation. The particular outline and content of the components could differ (Marcoulides 1998). In order to demonstrate what constitutes a quality research proposal it is important to discuss the research components. Above all, the statement of the problem should incorporate a definite and short statement of the objective or purpose of the plan. In a business research proposal, this section is made up of the particular question/s to be studied, a succinct description of the significance of the study, and an account of how the findings will contribute to the present literature (Marcoulides 1998). Second, a good research proposal should indicate the researcher’s analyses of relevant literatures and where particularly his/her investigation stands in that framework. This section has not to be long, though it should be wide-ranging. It should outline the fundamental issues in the literature, emphasise key areas of conflict, and demonstrate a critical

Y-parents questionnaire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Y-parents questionnaire - Essay Example That's why we moved into a closely knit community where all the residents take part in helping educate and instill the correct social values in our children. That is how we, as parents, were able to instill in the value of family in our children. Since most of the children attending Choate shall be staying in the Rosemary hall as residents, we believe that our daughter will be able to influence them positively by showing them the true value and importance of family life, even when one is living away from home. We raised our daughter to be independent yet mindful of the feelings and needs of others by respecting their individuality and embracing what makes them unique as a person. We raised her to understand what discrimination is and why it is something that should not be done to others. We believe Choate can help develop these values in our child. What qualities would you like to see your child develop while at Choate?1000 Characters left in your response -- We believe in the leader ship abilities that our daughter possesses and shown us glimpses of in her daily life. As a student at Choate, we would like to ask the school to help us further develop, hone, and polish her leadership skills. We see the school doing this by encouraging her to join in and experience diverse activities that can call upon not only her leadership, but also teamwork abilities. After all, in order to become an effective leader in the future, our daughter will have to learn all about becoming a valuable team member first. Choate offers her an abundance of these activities. That is why we are looking forward to seeing our daughter continue to develop her positive thinking, widening her perspective about life, and developing a healthy mind. All of which will hopefully result in our daughter developing a much nobler character than we can ever expect of her. Ownership of the decision to come to Choate can play a significant role in a student's success. Please describe how the decision was re ached to apply to Choate. 1000 Characters left in your response -- We already have one daughter attending Choate. Helena, Julia's older sister, has shown us how educational, happy, and challenging student life can be at Choate. Helena has us that the other students and teachers at Choate can continue to provide the kind of positive influence that we desire for our children. Helena has shown us that she has been positively influence by her peers and mentors at Choate by working hard to achieve her academic goals. That is an endeavor that, although challenging, Helena meets with the most positive attitude that we have ever seen. That is the kind of influence that we hope to expose Helena's younger sister, Julia to. Julia is a child who enjoys a challenge and enjoys reaping the benefits of her successes. We believe that Choate is the best place to help Julia achieve all her goals due to the remarkable person that her older sister has become since attending Choate. What event would you consider the most significant in your child's life? 1000 Characters left in your response -- The most significant event to have recently happened in Julia's life would have to be the decision to send her to school in the United States. We explained the importance of studying abroad to her before we packed her up and shipper her off to the U.S. but that did not mean that she was fully prepared for the move. She went to the United States without knowing much about the culture and people of the Americans. She spoke some English but not as proficiently as she would have wanted to. Worst of all, she was living in a dormitory on her own for the first time, living with other foreign students. This time, she was fully independent and needed to learn to manage her dorm room, her

Capstone Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Capstone Paper - Essay Example The economic system is a well-structured forum through which a state apportions its resources to all parts of the country for the well-being of its people. On the other hand, the political system is a legal institution that is set to govern a state. Currently, every other country in the world has its own political and economic system. However, all these systems are structured towards the well being of their citizens. Therefore, good governance is influenced by the good political system, the same case with strong economic systems. This paper will focus on comparing the political and economic systems of USA to that of China and South Africa. Political systems In most cases, a political system of any society is structured in a constitution. Unites States of America constitution has been in existence since 1789, 200 years down the line. It is known to be the most stable of all constitutions in the world since it has been amended for only 27 times. It divides the government into three independent bodies which are: the legislative, executive and judiciary. The legislative power is manifested by the congress that comprises of 100 senates and 435 members of the house representatives. The congress is a law making body, as well as, the state finance managing body. The senate serves for six years while the house representative serves for two years. The president of the United States of America, his vice president and the ministers forms the executive arm of government.

Projet 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Projet 4 - Essay Example The variances reflected the amount that needed to be earmarked for the vacation in Hawaii, life insurance of children, and the funds needed for the Christmas vacation, as identified under financial goals (Part 1). When these were not yet reflected in the Income and Expenses Statement for September, there was a surplus of $750. However, given that additional savings were needed for the planned expenses, no surplus was therefore reflected for October. Discuss what you learned about the budgeting process from this exercise and whether you feel you need to make any adjustments to your monthly budget. I realized that to finance planned vacations and other financial needs, the family needs to earmark an exact amount per month to save for these projected expenses. As shown from our comparative income and expense statements, the additional savings wiped our any surplus previously reflected. In this regard, in order to have a surplus amount, we should review some financial accounts and make l ittle adjustments in our monthly budget. The budget for food allowance, transportation and miscellaneous could be adjusted to give way for surplus in the future statements. B. Retirement Savings Needs In estimating the retirement savings needs, a quick response to the Ballpark Estimate indicates that â€Å"Based on the assumptions you entered, you have now saved enough to allow you to replace 6 percent of your final wages (this includes income from Social Security). The percentage of total salary you will need to save from now until retirement age to achieve your desired income replacement rate is 140 percent. The dollar amount you will need to save this year is $46,924† (Choose to Save, 2011). Information from the Social Security Online indicated that for Retirement, â€Å"Your estimated monthly benefit amount, beginning at age 62 and 1 month in 2040, is $2,729.00. For your estimate, we assumed future increases in prices or earnings† (Social Security Online, 2011). Th is information indicate that I need to earmark more funds for savings for my retirement. At the current monthly salary being received, the projected monthly benefit from the Social Security is only $2,729, which is below what I currently receive from my salary. Given that I do not need to support our children at that age, I still need to support and sustain daily living needs, including health and medications. C. Revised Goals Worksheet A. Describe the Goal B. Dollar Amount Required? C. Deadline Date? D. Date to Start Saving?   Number of Months to Save? (C - D) Monthly Savings Amount Long term goals: Vacation in Hawaii Retirement Fund $5000 $32,400 Dec. 2012 Jan. 2012 Oct. 2011 Dec. 2038 16 months 324 months $312.50 $100 Intermediate LT Goals Life insurance for the children $3000 Oct. 2016 Oct. 2011 60 months $50 Short Term Goals House fund Christmas vacation Summer

Franklin Denalo Roosevelt’s new deal program Essay Example for Free

Franklin Denalo Roosevelt’s new deal program Essay The prosperity and harmony which was prevailing in the United States of America during the 1920s came to an abrupt halt with the stock market crash in 1929. This was pursued by the Great depression. The great depression rendered people unemployed and endangered their jobs, investments, assets, farms, houses and other belongings. During 1930’s America suffered from the greatest economic depression of the history. It was unique in its sternness and the consequences. It shook the establishment of the western capitalism and prevailed through the 1930s. When the depression was at its peak one worker in four daily lost his job. On October 24, 1929 a day came known as â€Å"black Thursday†. On this fateful day the stock market crashed and so did the economy. Unemployment increased on a rapid pace and millions of Americans became jobless and were out of money. The nation surrendered to one of the fiercest events of the history. Franklin Roosevelt was the governor of New York at that time and was well aware of the situation and the need to take some major steps about it. He won the elections and assumed presidency. And soon after taking charge he spoke about the New Deal. Which he said could be a new and better start towards the improvement of America’s economy. He claimed that the New Deal program would solve all the problems and would successfully guide America during those dark times and would put a stop to the great Depression prevailing at that time. The new deal was considered a ray of hope during those dark and difficult times. Although the economic set back continued through the 1930s, the new deal lessened its impact to a great extent. ‘The new deal’ was a program launched by the US president Franklin Roosevelt from 1933 to 1939 of liberation, revival and restructuring. The new deal program’s main objective was to solve the ever rising economic problems of the United States of America during the great depression. The new deal aimed at motivating industrial recovery, help the people affected by the great depression, and take steps to avoid future economic crisis. Low employment rate, increasing unemployment, and the actuality that 20% of the schools going children were underweight and ill asked for desperate and prompt action. Franklin Roosevelt said Firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itselfnameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror. (1) This statement might have seemed quite ridiculous at that time. But there is a lot more to this saying of Roosevelt. He meant that as long as the whole nation would remain paralyzed by fear and not take any steps to help themselves, their condition won’t be improved. The country needs and, unless I mistake its temper, demands bold persistent experimentation. It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it freely and try another. But above all else, try something! † (2) By this Roosevelt wanted to forge the message of action into his nation’s mind. He wanted to tell everyone that until and unless people wont work at improving their own condition and won’t make efforts for their own development they would never succeed. Many Americans looked up to Roosevelt and had great faith and confidence in him. They believed that Roosevelt could guide them during those times of despair and could help them in curbing the misery and pain they were in. Mr. Greifer, a spring valley, New York farmer wrote a letter to Roosevelt; which shows how highly some people thought about him.

Working Capital Affect on Performance of Retail Industry

Working Capital Affect on Performance of Retail Industry 1.1 Introduction: The main aim of this dissertation is to study how working capital management affects the performance of retail industry. This dissertation concentrates on one of the important areas of finance the working capital management. Working capital management is the management of both the current assets and current liabilities. Management of working capital is considered as an important function for any kind of organization. Without proper management of working capital the company cant perform their day to day operations smoothly. So each organization in the industry performs several activities to manage their working capital as efficiently as possible in order to compete from each other. Companies in retail industry depends heavily on working capital for their daily operating activities and therefore it is essential for managing their working capital in order to gain profitability and also to avoid solvency. Improper management of working capital can also lead to bankrupt and there are also some retail companies in the past to explain this fact is true. The main problem and issue in working capital management it is to determine the optimum level to be maintained in the current assets and current liabilities and also to determine whether the firm should invest heavily in current assets or in fixed assets. These issues can seriously affect the profitability and liquidity of the organization and it should be carefully considered in order to compete in the industry. It is very necessary for the organization to know the level of funds to be invested in each component of the current assets such as cash, inventory, accounts receivable and marketable securities. Funds invested in current assets are generally turned back into cash in the end of the working capital cycle which is normally within one year. Therefore investing high or low in current assets affects the profitability and liquidity of the firm and it should be maintained in such a way which satisfies the exact needs of the business. It is also necessary to know how to investment these currents assets which are either by short term financing or by long term financing. For these decisions to be made efficient working capital management is essential. It has been discussed in many journals that working capital management has a direct relationship with the profitability and liquidity of the organization. Therefore managing the working capital components is very critical to maintain the firm profitability and liquidity. For example in the case of cash which the company holds if it holds more it is going to lose the profit which can be earned by investing the excess cash in current assets and if the company has low level of cash it is going to miss the business opportunities when they arrive. In the case of inventory investing more in inventory can reduce the profit if the company cant able to sell the goods quickly and also investing less in inventory can lead to loss of sales. Accounts receivable and account payable also has a huge impact on the profitability of the firm. The company credit policies have a great impact on the volume of good sold. If the firm grants a longer credit period for the customers it is going to encourage the sales which thereby increase the profit. On the other hand companys which delays the payments to their suppliers can use that cash for in some other asset and could earn from that investment. But delaying the payment should not exceed the granted period given by the suppliers otherwise the firm may lose the discounts provided by the supplier for early payments. The main objectives of this study is to, To measure the working capital management performed in retail companies and then analysing the performance of retail companies. To determine the working capital cycle for the retail company. To determine what kind of working capital policy is practiced in retail industry. To determine whether the working capital management practices really affects the profitability of the firm. The first chapter of this dissertation is the introduction which is a short description explaining the basic idea behind this research. It will give the problems and issues associated with the research topic and it also explains the aims and objectives accomplished by this research. The second chapter is the literature review which discussed the theoretical concepts in working capital management. This chapter explains the importance of working capital management, the working capital cycle and the different working capital approaches followed in different industries. It also explains the management of each of the working capital components such as cash, inventories, accounts receivable and marketable securities in detail and the objectives satisfied by managing these working capital components. In the end of this chapter the various sources which finance the working capital are discussed. The third chapter is the research methodology which explains the research methodology adopted for this dissertation. It explains what kind of research method followed in this dissertation and also shows the different data collection methods and tools used to complete the dissertation. The fourth chapter is the findings and analysis. In this chapter the performance of the retail industries is analysed and then the findings are discussed. The different analyses performed in this chapter are ratio analysis, correlation analysis and regression analysis. By ratio analysis the performance of the retail companies are analysed and then by correlation and regression analysis it is analysed to see whether the inventory holding days, accounts receivable days, accounts payable days and cash conversion cycle affects the return on capital employed. Finally the last chapter concludes and gives recommendation based on the results analysed. 1.0 Working Capital: Working capital is the capital which satisfies the short term financial requirements of any business enterprise. It is capital which is engaged in the operations of the business for not more than one year. Every organization whether it is profit oriented or not needs working capital for the day to day operations of the business. Managers when making investment decisions not only plans for the long term such as buying new building or machine but also considers the need to have additional current assets in the short term for any expansion of activity that the organization is planning to do. For example if the organization is planning to increase the level of production the organization needs to hold a greater level of raw materials similarly if the organization increases the sales there will be an increase in level of debtors. All these investment decisions can bring the organization to level of risk. So it is very necessary for an organization to manage this working capital effectivel y to avoid the company fall into risk (Mclaney 2006). 1.1 Importance of Working Capital Management: The management of working capital is very important for several reasons. According to Padachi (2006), working capital management is very important for the financial health of the business of any size. He also suggested that the funds invested in the working capital are high in proportion to the total assets employed. Therefore it should be managed in effective and efficient way. Also working capital management directly affects the liquidity and profitability of the firm. Therefore managing the working capital should be done in such a way that it should create a balance between the liquidity and profitability (Falope, I and Ajilote, T 2009). The main advantage of working capital management is the flexibility of it. That is it has the ability to change with the rise and fall in seasonal demands of the product or service, and with the rise and fall in economic and market conditions (Mathur, B 2003). Largay, A and Stickney, P (1980) studied the bankruptcy case of a large retail store in the year 1980. From their study they found that the bankruptcy should have occurred because of the poor cash flow from their operation during the last few years of their bankruptcy. So managing the working capital is very necessary for the survival of the business 1.2 Components of Working Capital: Working capital which is also called as current capital or circulating capital is the capital that the managers put it to work for the day to day operations of the organization. There are two important concepts in the working capital management that is the gross working capital and the net working capital. Gross working capital is the capital that includes only the current assets used in the day to day operations of the organization and net working capital is the capital which includes the current assets less the current liabilities. The components which comprise the current assets are the following, (Brigham, F and Houston. F 2007). Cash Marketable Securities Inventories Accounts Receivables These currents assets are financed using the following sources such as, Accruals Accounts Payable Short term bank loans Commercial paper etc. The degree to which an organization invests in current assets depends on several factors such as the type of business and products the organization do. For example retail companies mostly invest a lot of funds in their current assets such as inventory and they invest less in long term assets such as buying plant and equipment. But in the case of some manufacturing companies more is invested in long term assets such as machines and equipment as they are very necessary for the organization. The length of operating cycle also is an important factor. The longer the operating cycle the more is invested in the current assets. The level of uncertainty in the business also is one of the important factors. So depending upon the industry practices the organization invests more in current assets or in long term assets (Fabozzi, J 2003). . 2.0 Working capital cycle: Working capital cycle is the time taken for the capital invested by the organization turning back into cash. Generally the working capital cycle for a manufacturing business starts when the organization buys the raw materials on credit followed by working on these raw materials to produce the final goods, and selling of the finished goods. During this cycle the organization also needs to pay the creditors. As the organization sells the final product on credit, the debtors are increased and when the customers started to pay it will increase the amount of cash in the business (Myddelton, D 2000). Retailers Supplier Inventory Supplier Merchandise Supplier Merchandise Supplier Merchandise Supplier Merchandise Customers Payment Payment Payment Payment Figure1: Working capital cycle of a Retail Business (Reynolds, Cuthbertson and Bell 2004) The above figure shows the general working capital cycle of a retail business and it explains how the operating process is performed in a retail business. The first stage in the operating process is where the suppliers provide the merchandise to the retailers. Large retail companies manufacture their own products under their brand name. After all the merchandise is received from the suppliers the retailers makes the store ready, and other arrangements for the received products to be sold. The products which are available to be sold become the inventory. In the next stage the customers buys the products which generates cash into the company (Reynolds, Cuthbertson and Bell 2004). 2.1 Cash Conversion Cycle: An important cycle which is embedded in the working capital cycle is the cash conversion cycle. When the organization buys raw materials from their suppliers they dont pay them immediately. They usually have a credit period contracted by the supplier and before that they need to pay. This is known as the creditors payment period. Also not all customers pay the cash immediately when they buy a product. Some buy them on credit and they should pay the certain amount within a particular period. This period which is granted by the business to the customer is known as the debtors payment period. The gap between these two periods is known as the cash conversion cycle. It is the cycle where the invested cash that is the cash invested in the suppliers turns back into cash when the customers pay the money during the debtors collection period (Arnold 2005). Raw Material Stock Period Work-in Progress Period Finished goods inventory period Debtor Collection Period Creditor Payment Period Stock Conversion Period Cash Conversion Cycle Figure2: Cash Conversion Cycle (Arnold 2005) The above figure shows the cash conversion cycle. The length of the cash conversion cycle depends on three factors, Stock conversion period Debtor collection period Creditor payment period Stock conversion period is the period where the raw material bought from the supplier are processed and converted into finished goods. Therefore the duration of a cash conversion cycle is found by, Cash conversion cycle = Stock Conversion period + Debtors collection period – Creditors payment period In an article Jose, Lancaster and Stevens (1996) suggest the importance of cash conversion cycle in the profitability and liquidity of the organization. They explained that for an aggressive approach to liquidity management the organization should reduce the cash conversion cycle by reducing their inventories and debtor collection period while increasing their creditors payment period. Managing the cash conversion cycle this way may involve tradeoffs between liquidity and profitability. If the business reduces the inventory and the debtors collection period they will lose the sales because of stock running out so early and also losing customers who usually buys in credit. Also if the firm increases the creditor collection period they will lose the discounts available for early payments and also the flexibility of pay debts in the future. So cash conversion holds an important role in maintaining the liquidity and profitability of the organization. 3.0 Working capital policy: Working capital policy is the policy made by the organization for making decisions on two important things, which are how much should the firm invest in each component of current assets and how these investments should be financed. Any business for managing their working capital efficiently should make decisions on what level of cash they should hold, what level of inventory they should maintain, what level of accounts receivable can be allowed and they should also decide whether to finance these current assets either with short term funds or with long term funds. These decisions made by the organization together make up the working capital policy (Correia et al. 2007). According to Vishnani and Shah (2007) working capital policies had a great impact on the firms performance. They suggest the importance of working capital policies for maintaining the firms liquidity and profitability. An unnecessary investment in current assets can reduce the rate of return thereby affecting the prof itability. Also it is very necessary for maintaining the liquidity for a normal running of the business. If the firm holds too much liquidity it explains that the firm is not using its funds efficiently and on the other hand if they have inadequate liquidity it will affect their credit worthiness. So it is very essential to determine the optimal level of working capital. 3.1 Permanent and Temporary Working Capital: A working capital policy is affected because of the firms varying requirements of current assets. The working capital requirements of a firm do not always remain stable through out the year and it varies from time to time. Because of the seasonal demands of some product the firm changes their level of production and holdings of inventories. Due to these conditions the currents assets in the firm also varies. But a certain amount of current assets is always maintained regularly in the business to meet the minimum day to day operations of the business to continue without any difficulties. This minimum requirement of current assets is known as the permanent working capital. On the other hand the amount which is invested in current assets due to the varying seasonal requirements is known as the temporary working capital (Van Horne, C and Wachowicz, M 2008). Amount of working capital Permanent working capital Temporary working capital Time Figure 3: Permanent and Temporary working capital (Source: Van Horne, C and Wachowicz, M 2008) Generally permanent working capital remains the same for whole year and the temporary working capital is the one which varies over time. But for some growing business the permanent working capital also rises steadily over time to meet the expansion activities of the business which is described by the figure above. 3.2 Approaches in Working Capital Policies: There are three different approaches in working capital policies and they are moderate, aggressive and conservative approaches. A firm which follows a moderate approach uses both long term and short term financing to finance their assets. The main aim of this moderate approach is to create a balance between the risk and the return. The firm which follows an aggressive approach tends to use a more of short term funds and less of long term funds to finance its current assets. Even though short term interest rates are lower than long term interest rates short term financing is more risky than long term financing because they should be paid off in a short time period. Therefore following an aggressive approach increases the risk of liquidity and it also increases the possibility of higher profits. The firm which follows a conservative approach uses a less of short term funds and more of long term funds. Therefore it reduces the liquidity risk and also the possibility to achieve higher pr ofits (Gallagher, J and Andrew, D 2007). Weinraub, J and Visscher (1998) examined the relative relationship between the aggressive and conservative approach by studying on ten different industry groups and found that each of these industries were following a unique and different working capital management polices. From their research they also found that the relatively aggressive working capital management appear to be balanced by the relatively conservative working capital management. 3.3 Factors Determining the Working Capital Requirements: Financial managers should manage their working capital in such a way that it should not be surplus or excessive. For this the managers the managers need to know the working capital requirements of the organization to make sure to provide the perfect financing. The working capital requirements of any business depends among several factors and generally some of the factors which should be considered while determining the working capital requirements are the following (Banerjee 2005), Nature of the business: The general nature of the business itself affects the working capital requirements of the business. In the case of manufacturing industry they will invest significantly in both fixed and working capital. But in other industries such as trading and financing firms invest a small amount fixed assets and a large in working capital. Some firms needs to have a large amount of inventory and debtor balances because of their nature of business. Growth and Expansion of Business: The level of investments in working capital depends upon the size of the business. The more the business expands its activity the more working capital requirement is needed. Production Cycle: Production cycle is the period where the raw materials are converted into their finished product. The longer the period to convert these raw materials into finished product the larger is the working capital. Business Cycle: The business cycle is an important factor in considering the working capital requirement. The business has to pass through a period of good times and bad times such as recession. During the good times where the business is growing the business needs to increase their working capital requirements because of the increased sales and during the bad times the business needs to reduce their working capital because of reduced sales. Production Policy: The demands of certain products are seasonal in nature. So during the peak season the working capital requirements are higher while during the off-season the working capital is kept lower. Therefore depending upon the seasonal demands of the product or service the working capital requirements varies. Credit Policy: Credit policy has a direct impact on the working capital requirements. When the business reduces the credit period it will reduces the volume of sales which leads to the reduction of working capital requirements. But when the business grants a longer credit period it encourages the sales and there by needing to increase the working capital requirements. Price Level Changes: The varying price level also affects the working capital requirements. When the price level increases the business also needs to increase their working capital to maintain their same volume of activity. Operating Efficiency: Operating efficiency is an important factor to be considered by the business. The business can maintain their working capital to a minimum level only when they are able to manage or control their operating costs and utilise their working capital efficiently. 4.0 MANAGEMENT OF CURRENT ASSETS: As discussed before working capital management is the management of both current assets and the current liabilities. The main objective of working capital management it is to maintain an optimum balance of each of the working capital components and to develop the optimum level between the current assets and the current liabilities. The optimum level is the level where a balance is created between risk and efficiency (Filbeck and Krueger, M 2005). In the following paragraphs the management of currents assets such as cash, marketable securities, inventories and accounts receivables are discussed. 4.1 Cash Management: Cash management is defined as the management of cash inflows and cash outflows. The cash flows out of the firm when the business buys goods and services from its suppliers and cash flows into the firm when the customer pays for the product they purchased. The term cash refers the cash like assets like currency, bank balances etc. The cash is often considered as non earning assets because they do not provide earnings but the cash provides safety from insolvency. Cash is very important for the day to day operations of the business and to meet the liabilities when they are due (Besley and Brigham 2005). There are several reasons for a business to hold cash (Besley and Brigham 2005), Transaction balance: Cash balance is very essential for the operations of the business. Cash is used for paying their employees wages, buying raw materials, fixed assets, and also to pay their taxes. Compensating balance: It is the minimum bank balance that the firm should maintain for the services provided by the bank such as check clearing and cash management advice. Precautionary balance: It is the cash kept as reserve by the firm because the company cannot predict the future cash flow. The amount which is kept as reserve depends upon the predictability of the cash flow. The less cash predicted the more cash balance is maintained. Speculative balance: These are cash maintained by the firm to take advantage of any profit opportunity when arises in the business. Ferreira, A and Vilela, S (2004) suggest that the level of cash holdings is positively affected by the investment opportunity and cash flows of the firm and it is negatively affected by the liquid assets, leverage and size of the firm. Firms with high investment opportunity needs to hold a high level a cash to take the benefits of the immediate opportunities available to them and also if the firm has a unpredictable cash flow the firm holds a high levels of cash. On the other hand firms which has high level of liquid assets holds low level of cash because the firm convert the liquid assets into cash when they are needed. Also firms with higher leverage that is the ability of the firm to raise debts will hold less level of cash. And at last the size of the firm affects the level of cash holdings. Large firms hold less level of cash than smaller firms because borrowing funds by smaller funds is expensive when compared to larger firms. So smaller tend to hold more cash to avoid borrowin g funds. The two main goals of cash management practices is (Fabozzi, J 2003) To have adequate cash in hand to meet the immediate needs of the firms and To receive the cash from those to owe it as early as possible and to pay the cash which the business owes as late as possible. To determine the level of investment in cash is a very important function. The firm cannot hold too much cash because of the holding cost associated with it. Holding cost is the cost that the business would have earned if the cash is invested in some form of asset. The level of investment in the cash depends upon the firms liquid assets, debt levels, and rate of return and economic conditions. There are two models used by the firms to determine the adequate level of cash needed to be maintained. One is the Baumol model which assumes that the cash is used uniformly through the period and based on this assumption the amount of cash to be maintained is measured. But by the second model which is called as Miller model assumes that the cash flow varies in an unpredictable manner and based on this assumption the amount of cash to be invested is measured. These two models help in satisfying the first goal of cash management (Fabozzi, J 2003). To achieve the second goal of cash management which is to reduce the period cash inflow and to increase the period of cash outflow, several ways are being followed. The following techniques help reduce the period of cash inflow (Shim, K and Siegel, G 2000). Lockbox System- In this system the customer instead of mailing the check to the firm send their checks to a nearby post office box which is controlled by the firms bank. The firms bank then collects the check from the post office and deposits the check. Due to this process the time the check spends in the mail and also since the bank itself receives the check it avoids the time the check spends when received by the firm and thus saves the processing time of the checks in the firm. Pre-Authorised Debits- In this system the cash is collected from customers by obtaining permission from customers to have pre authorised debits automatically charged to their bank accounts. Thereby it eliminates the time the check spends in the mail and the processing time of the check. Wire Transfer- In this system the cash is transferred quickly between banks and thus eliminates the transferring time of the cash. Wire transfers are done though computer terminal and telephone. So far we have discussed the ways to reduce the period of cash inflow. Now lets discuss the ways to increase the period of cash outflow. Zero-balance account- Zero balance account as the name suggest it requires no balance. It is an arrangement between the bank and the firm to achieve controlled disbursement which is to pay exactly what the company owes. When the check is offered to the bank the bank just transfers the money from the firms account. By this system the firm can pay the exact amount which covers the check. This system also increases the period of cash flowing out (Bragg, M 2007). Payable through drafts- Payables through drafts is similar to the checks. But a draft works in a different way. When a draft is offered to the bank the bank sends to the firms which issued the draft and waits for its approval. Only after receiving the approval from the firm the bank deposits funds into the receivers account. Due to complex procedure when using drafts it takes a long time for the amount to be transferred in to the receiver account (Shim, K and Siegel, G 2000). 4.2 Management of Marketable Securities: Management of marketable securities is just a continuation of cash management. We know that cash does not earn any return so instead of holding these cash firms just invest these cash in marketable securities for a short period of time. When the firms feel that they need some they just convert these marketable securities back into cash. Depending upon the yield curve the security earns the return. When the yield curve rises the firm gains a higher return. For example if the firm invest in a security for one year period of time then the return it would be getting is measured by (Puxty, G and Dodds 1988) R = P2 P1 + I P1 Where R is the return, P2 is the maturity value of the security, P1 is the purchase price and I is the interest paid. There are several factors which the firms consider when investing on securities and they are as follows (Chandra 2005), Safety – The most important factor which the firm consider when investing in any kind of security is safety. The firm before investing in any security first checks whether they will get back the amount invested. T-bills or the treasury bills are considered as the safest investment because the obligation are promised by the government. But investing in other securities depends upon the type of security and the issuer. Liquidity- The liquidity refers to the ability of the investor to convert the security back into cash without acquiring any loss. For a traded security a large and active secondary market ensures liquidity while a non traded security liquidity risk is high. Yield- The yield represents the return which the security is going to gain by way of interest, dividend and capital gain. Maturity- Maturity represents the expiry time of the security. The longer the maturity period the higher will be the yield. But securities like t-bills provide a fixed return when they are matured. Some of the marketable securities where the firms generally invest are the following, (Fabozzi, J 2003) Treasury Bills- These are securities issued by the US government and as a maturity period of one, three and six months. Investing in this type of security is risk free but it provides a lower rate of return. Certificates of deposits- These are debts issued by the bank in large amounts and have a maturity period up to one year. Investing in this type of security is highly risky because some times the issuer will not pay the interest and principal as promised. Commercial paper- These are debts issued by firms in large amounts and have a maturity period generally up to thirty days. Investing in this security is also risky but this risk is minimized by the back up lines of credit offered by commercial banks. Commercial paper is very attractive because of the higher returns it provides than when compared to the return provided by t-bills. Holding cash and marketable securities offers both advantage and disadvantage for a firm. The advantage is, it reduces the transaction cost because there is no need to issue security or borrow cash and holding cash or marketable securities provides opportunities to take advantage of immediate growth opportunities. The disadvantage of holding cash and marketable security is the after tax return of both cash and marketable security is considerably very l

Drawing The Boundaries Of The Ethical Self Essay -- Philosophy Ethics

Drawing The Boundaries Of The Ethical Self This paper evaluates some philosophical views regarding the self who is an ethical deliberator and agent-specifically the traditional atomistic individualist self and the expanded biocentric self of deep ecology. The paper then presents an alternative manner of thinking about the ethical self which avoids some of the philosophical difficulties of the foregoing views. This alternative draws on the recent work by Val Plumwood and Donna Haraway. Haraway's cyborg identity is a kind of self-in-relation (Plumwood's term) which allows for ethical deliberations that take relations with others seriously without losing individuality in problematic holism (as deep ecology does). Self-in-relation is defined by the relation of intentional inclusion. This relation is given a functionalist, non-mentalistic interpretation. The notions of ontological foresight and moral foresight are introduced to enable determinations of moral responsibility without falling back into the problematic universalism whi ch otherwise results from the functionalist view of cyborg self-in-relation. Ethical deliberation does not typically begin with an explicit articulation of the concept of self which underlies such deliberation. But a self is assumed, and usually in Western ethical thought it is an atomistic egocentric individual self. Ethical deliberation, whether deontological, utilitarian, or otherwise, assumed a self/other boundary of some kind, and such an assumption imports bias into our ethical conclusion. Ethical deliberations frequently focus on the interests or rights of individuals, without justifying the assumption of an egocentric individual self. If the traditionally-assumed egocentric individual self ci... ... the self which avoids the difficulties which result from the universalization of the deep ecology modes as well as those which result from individual egocentrism. Cyborg selves are neither isolated egos nor world-souls which merge individuals. Cyborg selves are contingent, multiple, adaptive, connected. The mutable character of cyborg selves points out the necessity for acknowledging, rather than assuming, the boundaries of the self as a part of ethical deliberation. References Haraway, Donna J. 1991. Simians, Cyborgs, and Women: The Reinvention of Nature. New York: Routledge. Plumwood, Val. 1995. "Nature, Self and Gender: Feminism, Environmental Philosophy, and the Critique of Rationalism." in People, Penguins, and Plastic Trees: Basic Issues in Environmental Ethics, 2d ed., eds. Christine Pierce and Donald VanDeVeer. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

USA Vs. Russia: Missile Defense :: essays research papers

National Missile Defense: USA Vs. Russia For the past several years, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and most congressional Republicans have wanted to set up a national missile defense system, designed to defend the United States against a small number of long-range missiles. The Clinton administration maintained that there was no current or potential missile threat to the United States that would justify the deployment of such a defense. At the same time the administration has pursued its "3+3" plan to spend three years developing a national missile defense -- by 2000 -- that could then be deployed in another three years -- by 2003, if a decision were made to deploy. George W. Bush, upon being elected, has given 6 months notice that the US is going to back out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty signed in 1972 (which clearly states that we cannot build a national missile defense), in order to establish our national missile defense system. The reason simply being the fear of attacks from countries with long range missiles as well as other nuclear weapons. Countries such as China, North Korea, and Iraq. Russia, among other countries, were angered by the US's decision to back out of the treaty, therefore adding to the conflict. Most people are not clear on what exactly the missile defense system is, or what it does. Basically it's, as Bush puts it, a system for intercepting other countries nuclear missiles aimed for us with a dummy non-explosive missile of our own. For example, if North Korea invaded South Korea and the US threatened to intervene, North Korea could threaten us back with a nuclear missile aimed for New York, Los Angeles, or any major city or landmark in our country. Bush would be willing to take the risk of the missile defense system intercepting the enemy missile, even though more than half the tests of the system have not worked correctly. Russia's view on the United State's construction of a missile defense system is naturally not a positive one. Peter Kilfoyle, a loudmouth critic of Russia's defense policies has been a persistent thorn in the side of the government on defense issues. He criticised the "unilateralism" of the US administration in pressing ahead with the missile defence plan, warning that the Russians had been left feeling "peeved and let down", while the Chinese were about to quadruple their stock of intercontinental ballistic missiles.

Xenotransplantation Essay -- Medical Research Transplant Donor Essays

Xenotransplantation Physicians today are faced with a growing list of patients awaiting transplants for organs that have failed, but there are not enough donors to meet these needs. Countries all over the world have a â€Å"human organ shortage† and the waiting lists for organ transplants only seem to grow longer (Melo 427). In the United States 62,000 patients needed a kidney, liver, or pancreatic transplant in the year 2001. Xenotransplantation, which refers to the transplantation of organs, cells, or tissues from animal species into human beings, has been heralded as a promising technology that will help us save more lives and lessen the dire shortage of transplantable organs. Organs from pigs, goats, monkeys, chimpanzees, and baboons have been used in xenotransplant experiments conducted so far. It promises to be a good treatment option for patients with end-stage organ failure (Williams 12). The transplant surgery could be scheduled at the patient’s convenience rather than scheduling an emergency surgery as soon as the human donor is found. Patients would be able to receive transplants when they first need them rather than having to wait until a transplant is the only remaining option that can save their lives. When transplants are conducted earlier, the patient will be stronger and have a better chance of recovering. Xenotransplantation appears to have several advantages as a medical procedure, but like any medical procedure it is not without its risks. Before we embrace xenotransplantation as yet another boon of science, we need to consider the ethical dilemmas surrounding this medical technology. History of Xenotransplantation The concept of using animal organs in human beings is not a new one. On... ... Xenotransplantation.† Bioethics. 2001 Vol 15 Number5/6. Nelson, James Lindemann. â€Å"Transplantation through a Glass Darkly.† Hastings Center Report. Sept-Oct 1992: 6-8. [Online] http://online.sfsu.edu/~rone/GEessays/Transplantation.htm â€Å"The Ethical Implications of Xenotransplantation.† American Medical Association. CEJA Reports 2000-2002. [Online] http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/upload/mm/369/ceja_report_113.pdf Veatch, Robert M. The Basics of Bioethics. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000. Williams, Rebecca D. â€Å"Organ Transplants from Animals.† FDA Consumer. June 1996, Vol 30 Issue 5. [Online] http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/596_xeno.html Windsor, Roger G. â€Å"Spare Body Parts from Animals.† Spectrum: The Wholistic News Magazine. Mar-Apr 1997. â€Å"Xenotransplantation.† Natural Life. Jan-Feb 2000, Issue 71. [Online] http://www.life.ca/nl/71/xeno.html

Canadian Tire Sw

Canadian Tie is one of Canada’s most-shopped general retailers, offering everyday products and services to Canadians through more than 1,700 retail and gasoline outlets from coast-to-coast. Canadian Tire Corporation has many strengths as an organization. First and foremost, they enjoy a strong and loyal customer base. Their long history as a Canadian company has helped them in this regard, as many of the existing Canadian competitors have been purchased by foreign corporations over the years. They also have one of the most recognizable trademarks in the country. Another strength of the company is its diversity.They currently provide a wide range of goods and services to their customers – including automobile parts and service, financial services, clothing, hardware, and housewares. They also have one of the longest-running customer rebate programs of any retailer – that is, the Canadian Tire money that customers receive after making their purchases. The major wea kness of Canadian Tire is that in the past, they have periodically lost their focus on customer service. They have taken their customers for granted, assuming that the customer would always return to the store regardless of how they were treated.Because of this, they have occasionally lost market share. The company has also failed to recognize the changing demographic of Canada (immigration, different cultures). The stores tend to focus on their historical customer – the adult white male. They have failed to widen their focus to women and different nationalities such as Chinese and Indian customers. Another weakness of the company is its failure to expand successfully beyond Canada. This has put limits on the company’s growth. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths: †¢ Has a very strong and loyal clientele. Offer a range of goods and services that meet life’s everyday needs, including general merchandise such as clothing, petroleum and financial services. †¢ Offers a chain of automobile parts and professional automotive installers. †¢ Offers shopping on line. †¢ Canadian Tire bank provides greater marketing flexibility for using its credit card. Weakness: †¢ Prices have gone up. †¢ They have lost their focus on customer service. †¢ failed to recognize the changing demographic of Canada (immigration, different cultures) †¢ failure to expand successfully beyond Canada.

Apple Online Store Strategy

GROUP B _Choose three core competencies of Apple Inc. How did these competencies allow Apple to make sense out of the recorded music industry in the early 200’s? How did they set the company up for robust first user advantage? How stable do those advantage seem now? (See Jay Barney’s Looking Inside for Competitive Advantage; Zook’s Finding Your Next Core Business). As the Internet based recorded music segment continues to evolve into other devices, will Apple’s competencies continue to generate advantage versus suc competitors as Research in Motion and Dell Inc.? Apple today is the leading player in the internet music industry with over 6 billion songs downloaded since the launch of its iTunes online music store, which today contains more than 10 million songs. Apple introduced iTunes and its online music store in 2001 when there were several major players, such as Amazon and Napster, competing for the market. However, Apple was able to outperform these co mpetitors with its three main core competencies, software, retailing and branding. In 2003, Apple introduced the iTunes online music store that allowed customers to purchase and download songs directly from the store to their computer through iTunes, and then transfer them directly to their iPods. By that time, most of Apple’s competitors offered their customers songs through subscriptions, however they did not provide customers full control of the songs they purchased, i. e. , songs purchased would be lost once customer no longer subscribed. Apple was able to offer customer a whole new way of selling songs to customers. They allowed customers to buy songs like CDs, cassettes in store and never had their songs lost since there were no subscriptions required. In addition, Apple also allowed the customer to preview the songs they intended to purchase in order to avoid downloading the wrong songs. In order to be able to allow customers to purchase songs for a low cost, Apple managed to negotiate a landmark deal with biggest five music companies in the world, Warner, Universal, BMG, Sony and EMI. Songs offered by Apple were using DRM (Digital Right Management) technology to prevent the songs to be unlimited shared. However, the songs could be used to burn unlimited CDS and transferred to unlimited iPod. Since 2001, Apple had gained tremendous branding reputation for its iPod MP3 players. Since then, it has become the most popular MP3 player in the world. When iTunes online music store was introduced in 2003, Apple had provided an extremely convenient way for legally purchasing songs and transferring them directly to customers’ iPods. Therefore, Apple’s iTunes online music store was widely welcomed and accepted by a large number of customers. Apple was a pioneer in combining online music store and music management in one software that allow customers to conveniently purchase and manage their music. Since iTunes was introduced along with the first iPods, it has been well known for simplicity and user-friendly interface. Therefore, iTunes had largely contributed to the success of Apple’s online music store and the elimination of its competitors. As the internet based recorded music segment continues to evolve into other devices, Apple has taken another new strategies in selling music to customers. In June 2009, Apple has more than 10 million songs in its online music store, and since 2006, Apple started to take DRM off their songs and offer customers DRM-free songs. Eight million songs was DRM-free since June 2009 and Apple has been making effort to offer all of their songs free of DRM. Today, Apple does not have only iPod as their MP3 players, but they also have other devices such as iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, that can all utilize the iTunes online music store. The introduction of iPhone and iPod Touch has provided Apple an opportunity to expand its iTunes store beyond a simple online music store to become an online entertainment store, which offers numerous varieties of movies, music, TV episodes, games, applications and books. This has made Apple become the leading brand in innovative technology and its brand ranking has been going up in recent years. ITunes itself also has gone through remarkably improvement in order to offer customers a simpler, more interesting and interactive way of browsing the online store. In general, despite intense competitions from other player such as Research in Motion and Dell Inc. , Apple has been able to outperform them and offer customers the most unique and efficient way of purchasing music and other online entertainment contents. This has been proved by growing stock prices, and increasing profit figures since Apple iTunes online music store was introduced in 2003.

Financial Analysis of Two Company

07. 7. 2012 Bilal Elarslan 2007432031| Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Business Business Administration ManagerialFinance| Financial Analysis of Ulker &P? nar Sut| List of Contents Introduction 3 1. Ulker 4 1. 1 History of Ulker 4 1. 2 About Ulker5 1. 3 Shareholder Structure 6 1. 4 Subsidaries6 1. 5 Wacc of Ulker7 1. 6 Leverage8 1. 7 Operating and financial leverage of Ulker8 1. 8 Beta Analysis9 1. 9 Ulker’s Beta Coefficent†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 1. 10 Additional financial Information & key ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦10 2. P? nar Sut†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 2. History Of P? nar Sut†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 2. 2 General Overview of Company†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦. 13 2. 3 Shareholder Structure†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 15 2. 4 Wacc of P? nar Sut†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦16 2. 5 Leverage†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 17 2. 6 P? nar Sut’s Beta coefficent†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦18 2. 7 Additional informations & key ratios†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦19 Appendix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦20 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦22Introduction In this research paper I prepared the financial ana? ysis of Ulker & P? nar Sut. While preparing this report firstly I have to choose two company Which are; * Ulker * P? nar sut While preparing this report I really mentioned about what we learned during manegerial finance lessons. As a result; with this aim, I prepared my term project by combining both acconting methods and my knowledge about finance. 1. ULKER 2. 1 History of Ulker 1944- Ulker Biskuvi was established in the Eminonu district of Istanbul. It started out as a small bakery with just three workers, producing 200 kg of biscuits per day.A few years later, the Company relocated to the Topkap? district of Istanbul. 1948- Producing a total of 75 tons of biscuits in 1944, Ulker Biscuits tripled its capacity at its Topkap? factory, built in 1948 specifically in order to increase the production volume. 1955- Ulker Biscuits decided to distribute its products throughout Turkey at factory prices and achieved a huge production increase with this innovation. 1970- In line with the growth strategy, Anadolu G? da Sanayii A. S. was founded in Ankara as a multiple-shareholder company and the production capacity of Ulker Biscuits was doubled. 974- The first biscuit export was made after choosing the Middle East as the target market. Opportunities for international competition were increased with the constitution of the R&D department in the same year. 1979- Ulker products began to be packed in cellophane-based packaging. 2003- Ulker Biskuvi merged under its own title with Anadolu G? da, whose shares have been quo ted on Istanbul Stock Exchange since 1996. 2008- Within the scope of Corporate Governance, the Articles of Association were amended and Corporate Governance and Audit Committees were set up.At the beginning of 2008, Ulker Biskuvi took part in the acquisition of the premium chocolatier brand, Godiva, with a 25. 23% share. 2. 2 About Ulker As the first company established within Y? ld? z Holding, operating its core business for 64 years, Ulker Biscuits serves as the flagship of the Holding both in terms of sales turnover and profitability. According to the Istanbul Chamber of Industry (ICI) in 2009 list of Turkey’s Top 500 Industrial Enterprises, Ulker Biscuits was ranked 104th. Ulker Biscuits produces biscuits, crackers, chocolate covered biscuits and wafers at its factories in Istanbul/Topkap? and Ankara.As the indisputable leader in the Turkish biscuit industry, Ulker Biscuits also takes its place among the giant food producers of the world, with its 280 assorted biscuit and cracker products that are supplied to both the local and international markets. In 1996, Ulker Biscuits received the ISO 9002 certification for quality standards in production; and in 2001, it was awarded the HACCP certification for quality standards in food safety. In 2002, it won the top mark of â€Å"High Level† in an analysis made by the Europe-based quality certification firm BRC, which further secured its successful position in the field of quality control.Ulker Biscuits develops new products in its independent laboratories, employing an experienced and innovative R&D staff, always keeping its quality-focused approach. Introducing an average of 60 new products per year to the market, Ulker Biscuits has continued to excel in innovation, thus making Ulker one of the top food brands. Ulker Biscuits products are exported mainly to the Middle East, Russia and Central Asian Republics, as well as to Europe, Africa and the United States. Ulker Biscuits not only contributes to Turkey’s economy through its exports, but it also successfully represents Turkey’s approach to quality on a global scale.Ulker Biscuits has an effective quality control system that injects synergy into the entire process from production through consumption; and it continues its investments based on its strategy that is focused on sustainable and profitable growth. Ulker Biscuits is a consumer-focused company that satisfies its consumers’ needs and expectations at the maximum level, and it has formed a harmonious and lasting relationship with its target group. Surveys conducted in recent years attest to the high levels of loyalty to the Ulker brand.In the â€Å"Brands 2008† survey by AC Nielsen, Ulker was ranked first in the biscuit category, and second and third in the categories of â€Å"top-of-the-mind† brands and those that consumers feel closest to, respectively. Local distribution of biscuits and chocolate covered products produced by Ulker Bi scuits and its subsidiaries is undertaken by its subsidiary, Atlas G? da Pazarlama, and other marketing companies of Y? ld? z Holding, Esas Pazarlama, Merkez G? da Pazarlama and Rekor Pazarlama. 2. 3 Shareholder Structure Shareholders of Ulker company dated 31/12/2010 is as follows.Shareholders Share(TRY) (%) Y? ld? z Holding A. S. 106. 999. 435 39,84 Others 161. 600. 565 60,16 Capital 268. 600. 000 100 1. 4 Subsideries Ulker Biscuits, the flagship of Y? ld? z Holding, associated with a number of companies within the Holding, It has developed a strong portfolio synergistic structure with both vertical and horizontal integration. Under this mutually beneficial structure, Ulker Biscuits and other companies within Y? ld? Holding, each occupy a leading position in their sectors. In addition to various biscuit facilities in cities in Anatolia, Ulker Biscuits has developed a dynamic production process that reaches into all branches of the food industry, including high quality flour, butte r and packaging facilities. 1. 5 Weighted Average Cost of Capital Corporations create value for shareholders by earning a return on the invested capital that is above the cost of capital. WACC is an expression of this cost and is used to see if certain intended investments or strategies or projects or purchases are worthwhile to undertake.WACC is expressed as a percentage, like interest. WACC of Ulker Company is %12,1. This means that investments should be made that give return higher than the WACC of %12,1. WACC= (Wi x ri) + ( Wp x rp) + ( Ws x rn) Tax rate: 20% 1. 6 Leverage Leverage refers to the effects that fixed costs have on the returns that shareholders earn. By â€Å"fixed costs† we mean costs that do not rise and fall with changes in a firm’s sales. Firms have to pay these fixed costs whether business conditions are good or bad.A firm with more leverage may earn higher returns on average than a firm with less leverage, but the returns on the more leveraged fi rm will also be more volatile. Managers can influence leverage in their decisions about how the company raises money to operate. The amount of leverage in the firm’s capital structure the mix of long-term debt and equity maintained by the firm can significantly affect its value by affecting return and risk. The more debt a firm issues, the higher are its debt repayment costs, and those costs must be paid regardless of how the firm’s products are selling.Because leverage can have such a large impact on a firm, the financial manager must understand how to measure and evaluate leverage, particularly when making capital structure decisions. Operating leverage is concerned with the relationship between the firm’s sales revenue and its earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) or operating profits. When costs of operations (such as cost of goods sold and operating expenses) are largely fixed, small changes in revenue will lead to much larger changes in EBIT. Financial leverage is concerned with the relationship between the firm’s EBIT and its common stock earnings per share (EPS).On the income statement, you can see that the deductions taken from EBIT to get to EPS include interest, taxes, and preferred dividends. Taxes are clearly variable, rising and falling with the firm’s profits, but interest expense and preferred dividends are usually fixed. When these fixed items are large (that is, when the firm has a lot of financial leverage), small changes in EBIT produce larger changes in EPS. Total leverage is the combined effect of operating and financial leverage. It is concerned with the relationship between the firm’s sales revenue and EPS. 1. Operating and Financial Leverage of Ulker in 2011 Sales Revenue 10. 445. 022. 950 Less: COGS (9. 243. 511. 780) Operating Leverage Gross Profit1. 201. 511. 170 Less: Operating Expenses(46. 450. 461) EBIT1. 155. 060. 709 Total Less: Interest18. 799. 809 Leverage Net profit before tax1. 136. 260. 900 Financial Leverage Less: Taxes 137. 983. 993 Net profit after taxes 998. 276. 907 Less: Preferred stock dividends (518. 995. 890)Earnings available for common (EAC) 479. 281. 017 1. 8 Beta Analysis Systematic risk beta coefficient is a measure of a security. In other words, it is the relationship the performance of securities market with the average performance. It is coefficient of the change in response to a unit change in securities market. The market beta coefficient is accepted to be 1 for every time. In theory, all forms of securities in the market can be said that the beta coefficient equal to 1 in the totals. We can make 3 different beta coefficient is interpretation. 1- Beta coefficient of 1, – Beta coefficient is higher than 1, 3- Beta coefficient is lower than 1. 1. 9 Ulker’s Beta Coefficient Ulker beta coefficient is higher than 1 that is 1,02. So it represents the market price of securities will rise or fall more than the market. Beta coeffi cient that is higher than 1 is more risky than less than 1. Hence the beta coefficient of securities is less than 1 also reduces the risk of the portfolio. Therefore, in emerging markets (bull market), while beta coefficient higher than 1 which is providing higher returns than stock market, in falling market (bear market) makes a higher damage.For this reason, the falling stock markets prefers beta coefficient less than 1. ? >1 the share movement is faster than the index (high risk and high volatility). And volatility is average price of a security or market fluctuation feature that is shown in a short time interval. Volatility of a high-speed change in the price of securities and properties of extreme volatility are seen. The higher the beta coefficient causes increasing in volatility of securities. Ford coefficient is high and its volatility is increasing of securities. ParameterParameter | Coefficient| Standard Error | T- value| A| 0. 42 | 0. 54| 0. 77| Beta| 1. 02 | 1. 027 | 0. 99| F=92. 616472228 r2=0. 614915957 STD error=0. 155688307 1. 10 Additional Information on financial Instruments a) Capital risk management The Group controls its capital with the liability / total capital ratio. Net liability is divided by total capital in this ratio. Cash and cash equivalents are substracted from total loans to calculate the net liability. The shareholder’s equity is added to net liabilties to calculate the total capital. ) Liquidity risk management The Group manages liquidity risk by maintaining adequate reserves, banking facilities and reserve borrowing facilities by continuously monitoring forecast and actual cash flows and matching the maturity profiles of financial assets and liabilities. The funding risk of the current and prospective debt demands is managed by maintaining the availability of lenders with high quality and in sufficient number The following table presents the maturity of Group’s non-derivative financial liabilities. The table in cludes both interest and principal cash flows. . PINAR SUT 3. 4 History of P? nar Sut 1975 – P? nar Sut is established in Izmir as the Middle East’s biggest dairy processing complex and Turkey's first UHT (ultra-high temperature processed) milk and packaged dairy products manufacturing plant. 1976 – The company begins producing Turkey’s first processed cheese and chocolate milk. 1978 – P? nar sliced kashkaval cheese and P? nar spreadable cheese are introduced to consumers. 1980 – A Kraft-P? nar joint venture is launched. P? nar Sut introduces its Deram, Raglet, Maribo, and Cheddar cheese varieties. 982 – The company begins exporting milk, cheese, butter, yoghurt, and strawberry milk to Central Europe, Cyprus, and the Middle East. 1983 – P? nar Yem is set up to provide high quality feeds to the P? nar Sut’s raw milk suppliers. P? nar Mayonnaise, Turkey’s first domestically-manufactured mayonnaise goes on sale. P? n ar Beyaz, Turkey’s first spreadable cheese, and P? nar Whipped Topping, a powdered whipped topping both go into production. 1984 – P? nar Sut begins exporting its labaneh, milk, yoghurt drink, butter, yoghurt, cheese, whipped topping, and mayonnaise products to Kuwait, Cyprus, and Germany. 985 – Labaneh is launched in the Turkish market under the name â€Å"P? nar Labaneh†. 1992 – P? nar Sut is awarded the Turkish Standards Institute’s (TSE) â€Å"Golden Packaging† award for the introduction of the first foil-sealed yoghurt container. Form Milk, Turkey’s first low-fat milk, and Cikolasut, chocolate milk made with real, natural chocolate, go on sale. 1993 – P? nar Sut becomes the first company in its sector to be awarded TS ISO 9002 Quality Management System certification. 1994 – P? nar Sut receives another TSEâ€Å"Golden Packaging† award for its 10-liter bag-in-box pack design.Having successfully demonstra ted its compliance with European standards in terms of production, sales, and after-sales services, P? nar Sut becomes the first dairy products company to receive TS ISO 9001 Quality Management System certification. 1995 – P? nar â€Å"long-life† fruit yoghurts and prepared desserts go into production. Turkish consumers are introduced to P? nar light (low-fat) and extra light yoghurts and to low-fat, triangular cheese. 1997 – P? nar Sut opens its Eskisehir plant. 1999 – P? nar Sut introduces its â€Å"Denge† line of lactose-free, high-calcium, and vitaminenhanced milks. 000 – As a result of investments at the Eskisehir plant, P? nar Sut launches the world’s first continuous-process production of cream-top yoghurt. 2001 – UHT milk supplied in plastic bottles goes into production. 2003 – Under an agreement with Sodima, P? nar Sut launches production of fruit yoghurts in Turkey. 2004 – P? nar introduces its Kafela, K aramela, and Cikolasut line of products in packaging specially designed to appeal to young people. P? nar Sut is awarded TS 13001 HACCP Food Safety System certification. 2005 – Turkey’s first organic milk and first prebiotic and probiotic dairy products are introduced to the market. 007 – P? nar’s YOPI line of calcium-, protein-,and vitamin-enhanced dairy products for children goes into production. 2008 – P? nar Sut becomes the first company in Turkey’s dairy industry to undertake a Lean 6 Sigma operational excellence and productivity project. P? nar Milk for Kids, a milk specially designed for child nutrition, is introduced to the market. 2009 – P? nar lemonade and tropical fruit drink are introduced to the market. 2010 – P? nar Kido with Biscuit, Honey Flavored P? nar Kid's Milk, and P? nar Breakfast Cream Cheese products go on sale. 3. 5 General Overview of P? ar Sut The pioneer of many firsts in its sector since the day it was founded, P? nar Sut makes use of the most modern technology available to produce and supply consumers with the milk and dairy products that are essential to good nutrition. The first to introduce the concept of healthy milk and dairy products in Turkey When it was originally founded in Izmir in 1975, P? nar Sut was the most advanced dairy processing complex in Europe and the Middle East. P? nar Sut was the first brand to introduce and entrench the concept of wellness, standardized milk and dairy products in Turkey. The P? ar brand, earning a deserved reputation as â€Å"Source of Dynamism, Health, Pleasure and Life†, became the preferred choice of Turkish consumers while also making huge contributions both to the growth and development of the Turkish Animal husbandry stock raising and food industries and also to the well-being of new generations of children. P? nar Sut’s principal business activity is the production and sale of dairy products (milk, yoghurt, yoghur t drink, traditional and modern cheeses, butter, cream) as well as of fruit juices, mayonnaise, ketchups, puddings, honey, sauces, jams and jellies, desserts, and powdered products.A leading role in increased dairy production in Turkey P? nar Sut introduced the first â€Å"long-life† UHT milk packaged in aseptic containers in Turkey in 1975. Operating from plants located in Izmir and Eskisehir, the company has remained the leading brand in Turkey’s dairy products industry ever since. Making use of the most modern technology available, P? nar Sut produces and supplies consumers with the milk and dairy products while also playing a leading role in increased dairy production through its year-round support for more than 35,000 suppliers of raw milk.P? nar Sut procures its superior-quality raw milk under agreements with more than 200 of Turkey’s biggest dairy farms, which are contractually obligated to produce to EU norms. By serving as these farms’ biggest cu stomer, P? nar Sut fosters its own â€Å"total quality† concepts among them as well. From the moment that it is harvested, raw milk is registered by means of a computerized system that keeps regular track of herd and animal health data throughout all production stages. To ensure its freshness and quality, P? ar Sut picks up its suppliers’ raw milk twice a day (morning and evening) from more than 300 milk collection and chilling centers and it takes it immediately to its processing plant. Individual dairy producers are subject to strict monitoring and controls by local laboratories while all milk must be controlled by the advanced technology equipped laboratories at the company’sIzmir and Eskisehir plants before being accepted. A regional force P? nar Sut is moving rapidly towards becoming a regional force in its hinterland by exporting milk and dairy products to many countries around the world.P? nar Sut’s raw milk collection and chilling centers are insp ected every year for the conformity with the EU standards by an EU commission. The company provides its suppliers with continuous support on the matter of developing and maintaining farms that are free of all diseases, which is a prime requisite for exporting milk and dairy products to EU countries. Through projects conducted jointly with government agricultural agencies in Turkey, an ongoing effort is made to ensure that raw milk production satisfies EU norms.According to the third-quarter 2009 sectoral results of the Turkish Customer Satisfaction Index survey, P? nar Sut ranked first in its sector with the highest (82%) level of customer satisfaction in the milk and dairy products category. This survey, which is conducted regularly by KalDer (Turkish Quality Association) and which also analyzes competition in Turkey, is the second most comprehensive poll of its kind after those conducted in the United States. 3. 6 Shareholder Structure The issued capital of the Company is 44. 951. 051,25 Turkish Lira. Each share of this capital is amounting to 1 Cent, 1. 28. 000 A group registered shares, 1. 260. 000 B group registered shares and 4. 494. 806,325 C group bearer shares 4. 495. 105. 125 shares. The Company does not have any privileges regarding distribution of profit. The Company has privileges regarding voting power in the establishment of board members. The business and administration of the Company is managed by the Board of Directors consisting of 5 or 9 members to be elected within the frame of the provisions of the Turkish Trade Code by the General Assembly among the partners or from outside of the Company.In case the Board of Directors consists of 5 people, 3 members shall be elected from the candidates, which A-Group shareholders shall nominate and 1 candidate which the B-group shareholders shall nominate and 1 candidate, which C-Group shareholders shall nominate. If the Board of Directors consists of 7 people, 4 members shall be elected from the candid ates, which A-Group shareholders shall nominate and 2 candidate which the B-group shareholders shall nominate and 1 candidate, which C-Group shareholders shall nominate.If the Board of Directors consists of 9 people, 5 members shall be elected from the candidates, which A-Group shareholders shall nominate and 3 candidate which the B-group shareholders shall nominate and 1 candidate, which C-Group shareholders shall nominate. If resolved by the Board of Directors, an Executive Director can be assigned. The President of the Board of Directors and the Executive Director is elected among the members representing A-Group shares. THE CAPITAL AND SHAREHOLDER STATUS OF PINAR SUT MAMULLERI SANAYI A. S. SHAREHOLDERS | SHARE RATE (%)| STOCKS AMOUNT (TL)| YASAR HOLDING A. S. 61,18 | 27. 503. 257. 789. 000| 3rd PARTY| 38,82| 17. 447. 793. 461. 000| TOTAL| 100,00| 44. 951. 051. 250. 000| | 3. 7 Weighted Avarege Cost of Capital Corporations create value for shareholders by earning a return on the invested capital that is above the cost of capital. WACC is an expression of this cost and is used to see if certain intended investments or strategies or projects or purchases are worthwhile to undertake. WACC is expressed as a percentage, like interest. WACC of P? nar Sut Company is %12,1. This means that investments should be made that give return higher than the WACC of %11. 6.WACC= (Wi x ri) + ( Wp x rp) + ( Ws x rn) Tax rate: 20% 3. 8 Leverage of P? nar sut Financial leverage is concerned with the relationship between the firm’s EBIT and its common stock earnings per share (EPS). On the income statement, you can see that the deductions taken from EBIT to get to EPS include interest, taxes, and preferred dividends. Taxes are clearly variable, rising and falling with the firm’s profits, but interest expense and preferred dividends are usually fixed. When these fixed items are large (that is, when the firm has a lot of financial leverage), small changes in EBIT prod uce larger changes in EPS.Total leverage is the combined effect of operating and financial leverage. It is concerned with the relationship between the firm’s sales revenue and EPS. 3. 9 Beta Analysis of P? nar Sut 3. 10 Additional Information on financial Instruments a) Financial highlights: (TL million)| 2011| 2010| % change| Total assets| 532. 6| 479. 0| 11. 2| Shareholders’ equity| 384. 8| 350. 2| 9. 9| Financial liabilities| 15. 0| 20. 0| -25. 0| Sales revenues| 577. 1| 480. 7| 20. 1| Profit before taxation on income| 71. 4| 71. 2| 0. 3| Net period profit| 60. 1| 57. 8| 4. 0|Earnings per share (TL)| 1. 3365| 1. 2863| 3. 9| b) Financial ratios | 2011| 2010| Total liabilities/Total assets (%)| 27. 75| 26. 88| Total liabilities/Shareholders’ equity (%)| 38. 41| 36. 77| Return on sales (%)| 10. 41| 12. 03| Current assets/Current liabilities| 1. 92| 2. 17| Equity turnover ratio| 1. 50| 1. 37| Net financing costs/Net sales (%)| 0. 67| 0. 94| Net financing costs/Sh areholders’ equity (%)| 1. 00| 1. 29| c) Revenue & Net Income The tables gives us a brief information related to revenue and net income of P? nar Sut. Appendix i) ii) ReferencesFood Industry Report 2011 GITMAN Lawrence, ZUTTER Chad, Principles of Managerial Finance http://seekingalpha. com/article/427611-ulker-remains-one-of-our-best-ideas http://uk. reuters. com/business/quotes/financialHighlights? symbol=. IS http://www. valuebasedmanagement. net/methods_wacc. html http://www. ulker. com. tr/en/financial-statements. htm http://www. 4-traders. com/PINAR-SUT-MAMULLERI-SANAY-6495545/financials/ http://markets. ft. com/Research/Markets/Tearsheets/Financials? s=PNSUT:IST http://www. pinar. com. tr/ Ulker 2011 Annual Report P? nar Sut 2011 Annual Report