A Synopsis of the Movie Edward Scissorhands Essay

Edward Scissorhands (1990) tells us a story about an artificial man, Edward ‘Scissorhands’, who was made by a lonely inventor in his mansion atop a hill near a small town. Long after his inventor’s death, Edward is brought into society by Meg, a local resident and encounters many new and interesting things as he attempts to belong in civilization. The text explores concepts of belonging to groups or communities and a sense of belonging in relationships shown by Edward’s endless struggle to find clarity and purpose. A sense of isolation can come from one’s difference to others, whether it be physical, mental or spiritual. Edward’s hands made out of sharp scissors are iconic of his separation from the rest of society. They create a physical barrier between him and others which greatly limits the amount of physical contact Edward can have with others and the rest of the world and in turn creates a sense of isolation. This is carefully and noticea bly communicated by Burton through the use of colour and contrast. Specifically, Edwards initial costume is completely black leather, decorated with metal studs and rings. His hair is jet black and very messy and his face is pale white. This along with Edward’s mansion, a dark place riddled with cobwebs and falling apart, so far away from society, juxtaposes fantastically with the bright and vibrant colours of the town, the houses and the clothes and outfits of the townspeople. He in fact only finds a sense of belonging when he is shown kindness and outreach by Meg. She gives him clothes to wear, which although do not seem to break his theme of darkness and dullness, do still symbolise his inclusion and belonging in their society. She also offers him purpose, letting him use his scissors to trim her garden hedges and in doing this, she turns what Edward, among others, fears to be tools of destruction into tools of creativity and resultantly breaches the barrier between Edward and the world. This gives him a sense of belonging within Meg’s family and the rest of the community. A sense of belonging can also be achieved though relationships with others. Edward finds love when he first lays eyes on Kim, Meg’s daughter. At first she is quite intimidated by Edward and does not quite feel as if he belongs there but she gradually warms to him as everyone else does and shows him deserved kindness, making him feel as if he does belong. However this feeling of connection is eventually lost when Edward is falsely accused by Joyce of sexual harassment and framed for robbery due to his innocence and loyalty to Kim; â€Å"(I did it) because you asked me to.† He is driven out of town after further misunderstandings in which he accidentally hurts few people and it becomes clear that he can’t quite belong their because of the sole fact that the vast majority of the townspeople can’t seems to understand him. His escape from the town and its community is symbolised by Edward tearing off his clothes to reveal his original apparel. Burton uses a motif in the film; the falling of snow-like ice shards as Edward makes ice sculptures with his Scissorhands. This is used to symbolise both Edward’s connection with Kim and his final state and residence in the film. In a key scene, Kim dances under the falling ‘snow’ and this is basically the exact moment she falls for Edward. When he is driven away, he spends his time making sculptures and this has the effect of making snow over the town. Kim as a grandmother tells us â€Å"Before he came down here, it never snowed and after, it did.† The snow is metaphoric of the lack of warmth in his life, as he longs for Kim’s love. Edward’s journey of belonging is full of changes. Through his experiences we can learn and see that one can attempt to belong somewhere, whether they seem to belong there naturally or not but they may not truly succeed.

Accounting Essay

Contents 1. Introduction2 2. Main Body2 2. 1 Ratio Analysis2 2. 1. 1 Profitability3 2. 1. 2 Efficiency4 2. 1. 3 Liquidity6 2. 1. 4 Risk7 2. 2 Evaluation of Mulberry’s shares as a potential investment7 2. 2. 1 Revenue and Share price8 2. 2. 2 Return10 2. 2. 3 Risk14 2. 3 Funding and capital analysis15 2. 3. 1 Funding analysis15 2. 3. 2 Working capital18 2. 4 Risk management and governance20 2. 4. 1 Corporate governance of Mulberry20 2. 4. 1 Risk & control management22 2. 4. 3 Information and Communication24 2. 4. 4 Monitoring24 3. Conclusion25 Reference26 1. IntroductionThe company that we chose is Mulberry Group. PLC. This is a company that produces and sells bags and purses, as well as designs them for both individuals and other companies. We have chosen the annual report of Mulberry Group. PLC that gives us an in-depth view of the company’s finance performance, investment potential, capital structure and manage operating during the period of time which from financial year 2010 to 2011. With this annual report, we will try to analyze and critically appraise the company’s accounting information, market report and management control system.The following content will be included in this paper: Ratio analysis, investment return, debt and capital analysis, governance and risk management. 2. Main Body 2. 1 Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis is frequently used in evaluating a company’s financial condition. The financial ratios are able to provide us significant information to analyse the company’s financial performance. Depends on these ratios, we can examine the condition of the company’s finance and check whether the results of the company’s operating meet its targets (Atrill and Mclaney, 2008).Normally, we will use cash flow, income statement and finance position to calculate ratios. In the ratio analysis parts, we will calculate and analyse the core ratios of Mulberry plc, these ratios will also be the base of the follo wing parts of this article. According to Mulberry’s annual report, during the financial year 2010 to 2011, the company has experienced a successful year. Mulberry Group’s business mainly focused on the UK market, and the revenues of this company comprised retail and income of design, as the demand of its products increased strongly during the past financial year, the sales raise rapidly.In this part, we will try to analyze the core ratios of the company and simply analyze the probable reason for the changes of these ratios. 2. 1. 1 Profitability To analyse a company’s profitability, there are three ratios concerned: gross margin, net margin and return on capital employed (Collier, 2009). Firstly, we will look into gross margin. This margin mainly shows the relations between the costs and the price of finished goods. Gross margin (2011: 65. 35%; 2010:58. 97%) Gross margin is: (Sales – cost of sales)/sales * 100% The gross margin in 2011: 79501 / 121645*100 %=65. 35 % The gross margin in 2010:42487 /72052*100%=58. 7 % From the ratio, we can see that the gross margin of Mulberry increased to 65. 35% in 2011 from 58. 97% in 2010. The reasons that can cause changes in gross margin is the changes in prices and costs. In Mulberry’s case, the higher gross margin results from the dramatic improvement in revenue as well as cost of sales. According to Note 5, apart from the growth in sale of goods which caused by the impressive performance in new oversea stores and online stores, the 900,000 income, which disclosed in other income, received on the exit of the New Bond Street lease also contributes to the increase in revenue.Net margin (2011:18. 92%; 2010:6. 74%) Net margin is an important ratio to examine a company’s profitability. The formula is: Net margin=Operating profit / sales * 100%, and the ratio for Mulberry is: The net margin in 2011: 23010/121645*100%=18. 92 % The net margin in 2010: 4856/72052*100%=6. 74% Net margin is closely connected with gross margin. From the information above, we can see that during the last year, the gross margin of this company has increased. But the extant of the increase of net margin is higher than it of the gross margin.The most crucial factor result in the increase of operating profit is the operating profit before exceptional items. Details about those exceptional items can be found in Note 7 that a deferred consideration of ? 1,000,000 has been paid to Challice Limited in terms of the growth in the USA operations. Return on capital employed (2011:55. 54%; 2010:19. 26%) Return on capital employed shows the ability of the company to get rewards which can be added into its equity through company’s operating behaviors (Atrill and Mclaney, 2008)Return on capital employed: Operating profit / assets- current liabilities) * 100% Return on capital employed in 2011: 23010/ (76587-34555)*100%=55. 54 % Return on capital employed in 2010: 4856/ (40284-13819)*100%=19. 26% From the ratio above, it is easy to find that the return on capital has raised rapidly in last year, from 19. 26% to 55. 54%. ROCE increased not only because the growth in operating profit and raised asset which mainly contributed by increased inventories as a result of the demand of growing sales and trade receivables.The trade creditors as well as accruals and deferred income have been included in current liabilities since all of them could be paid within 12 months. Moreover, there are ? 1,000,000 provision for the USA deferred consideration, ? 3,900,000 relating to payroll and bonus payments made post year end cut off and ? 1,537,000 accruals for fixed assets happened in 2011 while there were all nil in 2010. 2. 1. 2 Efficiency Based on Collier’s study (2009), there are three core ratios that are usually used to analyse a company’s efficiency, they are asset turnover, stock turnover and sales per employee.The first two ratios are used to measure the efficiency of t he company’s operating of turning its property to generate marketing behaviors and sales, the sales per employee is try to evaluate the employees’ performance. Asset turnover (2011:5. 90x; 2010:6. 70x) Asset turnover: Sales / non-current assets, from it we can calculate: Asset turnover in 2011: 121645/20620=5. 90x Asset turnover in 2010: 72052/10760=6. 70x The asset turnover has slightly fallen, from 6. 70 to 5. 90. The drop of asset turnover indicates a less efficiency use of shareholders’ assets in terms of sales, although the revenue has increased dramatically.However, according to Note 16, it might because the investment in software of ? 615,000 which cost nil in 2010. It also can be interpreted that the return of investment can be effective and huge if invest on new stores or flagship, however, it could also be inefficient but significant return on investment if invest on software, such as ERP system, which might be expensive and need much more time to gain benefit from them. Stock turn (2011: 1. 9x; 2010:3. 3x) The main business of Mulberry is design and retail, according to Collier’s work (2009), stock turn is one of the most important ratio to evaluate the company’s management of its stock.Stock turn: Cost of sale / stock Stock turn in 2011: 42144/22408=1. 9x Stock turn in 2010: 29565/9090=3. 3x The stock turn in 2011 is lower than it in 2010. That means the stock of Mulberry turns 1. 9 times each year now. The considerably increase in inventories which related to the growing demand of sales of goods has contributed to the decline of stock turn. This ratio should be one of the most important ratios of it (Atrill and Mclaney, 2008). Stock turn stands for how many times the stock will turn in a year.Generally, it is important because some businesses treat too much stock as a waste of sources and a high stock turnover rate will usually be regarded as a sign of good management. Although in 2011, there is a decrease from 3 . 3 to 1. 9, it didn’t necessarily mean the company’s management of stock had some problems because the inventories of the company has increased rapidly as we discussed before. As a retailer, the inventories are very important to ensure its market position and the increase of inventories as a result of preparation for market exploring is reasonable. 2. . 3 Liquidity Atrill and Mclaney (2008) stated that the liquidity stands for the short-term finance ability of the company. The ratios that generally used to analyse liquidity are current ratio, and acid test. Current ratio (2011:1. 62x; 2010:2. 14x) First of all, current ratio stands for the proportion between current assets and current liabilities. It is used to analyse the company’s ability to repay its short-term liabilities. High current ratio means the company has enough property to cover its debt, if the current ratio was below 1, the company could be in danger.However, a too high current ratio might mean t he company doesn’t make full use of its property. Current ratio: Current assets / current liabilities Current ratio in 2011: 55967/34555=1. 62x Current ratio in 2010: 29524/13819=2. 14x According to Note 24, the decrease of current ratio mainly because of the current liabilities has increased more than current assets because of those trade payables in current liabilities that not exist in 2010. Acid test (2011:0. 97x; 2010:1. 48x) Acid test is a ratio which trying to evaluate the company’s monetary asset.Different from current ratio, acid test is focusing on whether the company can repay its short-term liabilities with its monetary assets. Acid test: Monetary current assets / current liabilities Acid test in 2011: 33519/34555=0. 97x Acid test in 2011: 20453/13819=1. 48x Because there is high level of inventory in 2011 in order to support the adequate amount of goods to be sale, it is not unacceptable that the monetary current assets without inventory are less than curr ent liabilities for this year. Furthermore, there are several trade payables occurred in 2011 while nil in 2010 in terms of Note 24. . 1. 4 Risk Interest cover (2011:531. 57x; 2010: 197. 00x) The interest cover has increased as a result of much higher profit since it can be seen in Note 22 that there is no changes in borrowings these two years. Therefore, it can be a good thing to shareholders that interest cover increased healthily. The confusing things we found in the annual report were that there is no debt within these two years, only borrowings can be taken into consideration the risk. The details about borrowings can be found in Note 22 that seems all the borrowings are repayable on demand.So, we can’t analyze the risk of this company through these ratios. The reasons why the company didn’t borrow long-term loans from banks and the advantages as well as disadvantages will be discussed in risk management analysis and funding analysis part. The investor part will b e analysed in next part, in the form of buying shares. 2. 2 Evaluation of Mulberry’s shares as a potential investment Mulberry has experienced a significant growth in revenue from 2010 to 2011 and the basic earnings per share increased by 473% to 29. 8p while it was 5. 2p in 2010, both of which are shareholders would like to appreciate.Moreover, it might be out of question that those figures would attract a good deal of investment. However, it is always necessary to assess whether it is an appropriate timing to invest a company in terms of several financial indicators, such as, market value of equity, the P/E ratio (price earnings ratio), dividend yield as well as gearing (Fonseka and Tian, 2011). This part is going to critically interpret these indicators respectively after an overview on the fundamental financial circumstances and provide a suggestion for investment in the end. . 2. 1 Revenue and Share price |? ’m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Revenue |121,645 |72 ,052 |58,585 |51,174 |45,078 | |Share price (p) |1,333. 33 |183. 33 |64. 52 |133. 33 |187. 5 | (Table 1) Before conducting a thorough analysis of return and risk, it is worth reviewing Mulberry’s revenue for last five years.It can be seen from Table 1 that Mulberry has kept a sustainable growth in revenue since 2007, which indicates the optimistic picture of their financial condition. Furthermore, it is remarkable that Mulberry group performed satisfyingly as usual even when other organisation experienced a depressing year result from the financial crisis happened in 2009. [pic](Figure 1) However, comparing the FTSE All-Share, which is a market-capitalisation weighted index of all shares traded listed on the London Stock Exchange’s main market (Ince and Porter, 2006), Mulberry group’s share price has changed significantly since May 2011.As can be seen from Figure 1, the share price has increased dramatically after May in 2010 while the FTSE All-Share index has g one up slightly with fluctuation. [pic] (Figure 2) Furthermore, according to Figure 2, which clearly shows Mulberry’s share price combined with FTSE All-Share index from 2007 to May 2010, the performance of Mulberry basically enable the share price to track market all the time. Although the price touched bottom in 2009 due to the financial crisis, when there has been an uptrend in market between April in 2009 and April in 2010, Mulberry seemed to catch that opportunity and in April 2010, he price went up to the price peaked point in 2007. It is crucial to mention that the marketing strategy as well as the performance of Mulberry group has contributed most to the significant increase since the second half year of 2009. According to Mulberry’s annual report and financial statement for the year ended 31 March 2010, they have continuously invested their business both in the UK and internationally, using retained profit and cash flow.For example, the showrooms opened in New York and Paris could be successful attempts, both of which have played an important role in the growth of profit. In terms of the strategy has made an initial success, it can be assumed that there might be an unpredictable potential market share for Mulberry to explore. Actually, the assumption has been approved with the significant increase in revenue and share price for the next half year in 2010 and continued in 2011. [pic] (Figure 3) Figure 3 shows Mulberry’s one-year share price associated with FTSE All-Share index comparison starting with June in 2010.As can be seen from this chart, the price of Mulberry increased too enormously to see the change of FTSE All-Share index, which means Mulberry performed outstanding when the general financial background was not optimistic. Although it is rare to see the share price recover and grow in such a short time after the financial crisis, the increase of Mulberry’s might had already been predicted and both managers and shar eholders are confident enough to take more market share. Consequently, the ambitious attempts of opening 9 new stores and on-line shop during the next half year of 2010 have been achieved successfully.Fortunately, the dramatic revenue increase harvested by those new stores and flagship indicates the significant demand of Mulberry’s products and services existing in market. In addition, the remarkable performance attracts more investors. However, it is crucial for them to weigh if it is a good timing to invest even though the performance of Mulberry after the financial crisis is extraordinary brilliant. Thus a depth analysis in terms of both return and risk will be conducted in the following sections. 2. 2. 2 ReturnPrice / earnings ratio (P/E Ratio) Price earnings ratio indicates that the common stock of a company is priced in terms of the ability to generate earnings of this company. Meanwhile, it also can be used to examine whether a stock is cheap or expensive (Muresan and Wolitzer, 2001). |? ’m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |P/E Ratio (adjusted)|45. 20 |27. 60 |14. 30 |22. 20 |23. 00 | (Table 2)Table 2 shows the adjusted P/E ratio of Mulberry between 2007 and 2011. Comparing with the persistence increase in revenue, the P/E ratio, which related to shareholders as well as potential investors, still has declined since 2008. However, the decrease is completely reasonable because the share price was influenced by the unpleasant economic circumstances. In addition, to some extent, it is the financial crisis that reminds Mulberry to consider expand their business internationally rather than focus on UK local market in order to distract risk.According to Mulberry’s five-year P/E ratio, the expansion strategy enables the company not only to recover from the financial crisis but also to double their share price. However, it is also indispensible to take the probability of continuous earnings growth into account, regardless of the appealing dou bled return indicated by the P/E ratio. In terms of Mulberry’s following strategy will concentrate on production capacity expansion to meet the growing demand, the considerable ability of generating earnings may be guaranteed and remained, even though it seems impossible to gain the similar incredible increase in revenue next year.Consequently, although Mulberry is a company worth investing since it has extraordinary performance in reacting to crisis, as well as the considerable demand for their products in the market, the best timing of investment in Mulberry has already lost. Market capitalisation (value of equity) The market value of equity is a measurement of present value of all future cash flows to shareholders from both assets and future investment opportunities (Adam and Goyal, 2008). It can be calculated by P/E ratio time earnings which is the profits after tax. |? m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Share price (p) |1,333. 33 |183. 33 |64. 52 |133. 33 |187. 5 | |Mark et value of equity |771. 11 |81. 97 |36. 89 |76. 37 |91. 54 | |P/E Ratio (adjusted) |45. 20 |27. 60 |14. 30 |22. 20 |23. 00 | |Profits after tax |17. 06 |2. 7 |2. 58 |3. 44 |3. 98 | |Equity |42. 03 |26. 47 |24. 38 |22. 52 |16. 87 | (Table 3) According to table 3, the market value of equity changed with share price instead of the number of equity. However, it is remarkable that even when the market value of equity decreased by half in 2009, it still surpassed the equity in that year. Additionally, with the dramatic growth in revenue, the market value of equity has increased by nearly 95% to 771. 1 million between 2010 and 2011, which gives the confidence not only to shareholders but also some potential investors. Nevertheless, if investors decided to invest Mulberry now, it is possible to have two results in terms of return. Firstly, investing for short-term, investors would buy shares with an extremely higher price than two years ago whereas the return would be incredibly smaller. S econdly, investors may harvest a steady return in a long-term investment and there might be another significant increase when Mulberry conducts some other expansion strategies.Dividend yield Dividend yield can be calculated by taking the dividend per share and divide by the share price. To analysis the investment opportunity with dividend yield, this part applies Burberry as a competitive objective. Even though Mulberry’s share price overweighed Burberry’s slightly in 2011, Burberry has a much longer history with high share price as in a same industry. Table 4 provides the share price, dividends per share as well as dividend yield for Mulberry and Table 5 shows Burberry’s. Mulberry group plc: |? m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Share price (p) |1,333. 33 |183. 33 |64. 52 |133. 33 |187. 5 | |Dividends per share |4. 00 |2. 20 |2. 00 |2. 00 |1. 50 | |(p) | | | | | | |Dividend yield |0. 30% |1. 20% |3. 10% |1. 50% |0. 0% | (Table 4) Burberry group plc: |? ’ m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Share price (p) |1,176. 47 |700 |279. 07 |444. 44 |656. 25 | |Dividends per share |20. 00 |14. 00 |12. 00 |12. 00 |10. 50 | |(p) | | | | | | |Dividend yield |1. 70% |2. 00% |4. 0% |2. 70% |1. 60% | (Table 5) With comparing Table 4 and Table 5, it is obviously that Mulberry has not adjusted their dividends instantly when the share price increased significantly, which results in the unpleasant dividend yield this year. In this circumstance, Burberry seems a wiser investing choice since the 5 times dividends per share of Mulberry’s, which will generate more returns for investors. However, Kothari and Shanken (1997) argues that a considerable increase in share price is possible to result in not only the large positive returns but a downward in yield as well.In addition, according to Akhigbe and Madura (1996), managers’ expectation to alter performance strategy would be a factor contributed to the dividend adjustment. Consequently, Mulberr y needs more time to balance share price and dividend. Burberry has been mature in its global marketing expansion, while Mulberry has just started to occupy its international market share, and therefore there are more potential opportunities for Mulberry’s global development. Thus, Mulberry could be the company suitable and profitable to be selected as a long-term investment. 2. 2. 3 Risk Gearing Gearing (%) |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Mulberry |n/a |n/a |0. 54 |0. 14 |23. 05 | |Burberry |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a | |ASOS |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a | (Table 6) It seems strange that Mulberry does not have debt which results in the incalculable gearing.However, it is a common phenomenon in rag and accessories trade industry in terms of the gearings of the other two companies presented in Table 6 are unavailable. As a result, the risk of investment on Mulberry would be limited. However, considering the high share price this time, it would be a better decision to invest Mulberry for a long time instead of short time. 2. 3 Funding and capital analysis In this part, we are going to identify the sources of funds, analyse the capital structure of Mulberry Group PLC and try to evaluate its suitability.It is easy to witness from its balance sheet in 2011, the company did not have any non-current liabilities. This situation can be triggered by a wide range of reasons, we will try to figure them out in this essay. 2. 3. 1 Funding analysis To begin with, it is necessary to draw on the annual report of Mulberry Group PLC in 2007, and to compare the different data in the two years. According to Mulberry’s annual report, in 2007, the quantity of total non-current liabilities was ? 3. 99 million, composed by borrowings (? 1. 25 million), preference shares (? . 564 million), deferred tax liabilities (? 149 thousand), and obligations under finance leases (? 27 thousand). Therefore, the gearing in 2007 is 19%, which was quite low. So, the relevantly large proportio n of funds, used for maintaining the enterprise’s operation, was from internal financial resources. Besides, it also lowered the financial cost, which is used to pay the interest to the financial institutions. In terms of the cash flow in 2007, it was clearly stated in the balance sheet, the cash generated from operation was ? ,926 thousand and, after the corporation taxes, interest and preference dividends were paid, the net cash from operating activities was ? 5700 thousand. Afterwards, the primary use of cash lied in the investing activity, with ? 3,518 thousand. Finally, the cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2007 was ? 10,271 thousand, with a big increase of ? 2,989 thousand. This absolutely intensified the repayment ability and liquidity, when we compare this data with the number of non-current liabilities. Apart from that, the retained profit in this year surged from ? 4,562 thousand to ? ,186 thousand, acting as a significant role in the sources of funds (annual report 2008). By contrast, in 2011, the company had no non-current liabilities. So we use the current liabilities to calculate the gearing of this year, which is 45%. The cash generated from operation was ? 26,264 thousand and the net cash from operating activities was ? 22,724 thousand. At the end of 2011, the cash and cash equivalents fairly increased from ? 12,171 thousand to ? 21,373 thousand. The increase in raw materials (? 13,318 thousand) and purchases of property, plant and equipment (? 1,176 thousand) were the important components of cash outflow in this year. When it comes to retained earnings, the data increased by ? 16,080 thousand to ? 30,696 thousand. | |Gearing |Non-current liabilities |Net increase in cash and cash|Cash and cash equivalents at the end|Retained profits | | | | |equivalents |of the year | | |2007 |19% |? 3,990 thousand |? 2,989 thousand |? 0,271 thousand |? 8,186 thousand | |2011 |0 |0 |? 9,202 thousand |? 21,373 thousand |? 30,696 thousand | It is ob viously displayed in the table above that Mulberry’s sources of funds and the capital structure are greatly distinct from each other. The gearing of Mulberry in 2007 was 19% due to the existence of Non-current liabilities. By contrast, since there were no non-current liabilities at all in 2011, the gearing of Mulberry this year was 0.This definitely lowered the financial expenses which were incurred by bank loans, and the company did not need to face the financial risk triggered by bank loans as well. Furthermore, the operating profit in 2007 was ? 6,672 thousand and the interest payable of that year was ? 298 thousand, the interest cover ratio in 2007 was 22. 4 times. By contrast, due to the dramatic increase in operating profits (? 23,110 thousand) and the large drop in interest payables (? 44 thousand), the interest cover rate in 2011 became as high as 525. times. As Gillespie et al(2000) stated that high operating profits could be seen as the company has abilities to cont rol its costs effectively, or the volume of sales are increasing faster than operating cost. Currently, Mulberry has got a much better capacity in paying the interests to the financial institutions, those financial institutions may become more willing to lend money to Mulberry now. Although the retained profits in 2007 played an greatly important role as the major internal funds, but taking the non-current liabilities (? ,990 thousand) into consideration, the level of its significance is partly weakened when we compare it with the situation in 2011, because Mulberry currently just use retained profits as the primary source of their funds for operation. It is worthwhile to mention that, one of the Non-Executive Directors, Melissa Ong, who was appointed on 7 September 2010, her parents held about 57% voting rights of the company. Although it is not clarified in the annual report, we can easily deduct that her parents input a large amount of investment for Mulberry, which is also a mai n source of funding.Inventories acted as another source of funding in Mulberry. The stock turn of Mulberry in 2011 was 1. 88x, so the stock turn period was 194 days. The period was relatively long when we compare it with the one (130 days) in 2007, this was partly due to the striking increase in the quantities of inventories, from ? 6,688 thousand to ? 22,408 thousand. However, as mentioned in the annual report, the demand of the market surged in recent years, so the high level of stock is beneficial for Mulberry. When the company suffers from the shortage of cash, they can simply turn their large amount of stocks in to the form of cash.Apart from that, a relatively large proportion of inventories were occupied by the finished goods with ? 20,069 thousand. For Mulberry, which used internal funds as the major source of funding, the high level of inventories is reasonable. However, the reason why Mulberry stopped acquiring long-term funds from banks can be quite complex. As we all kne w, the overwhelming Subprime Crisis happened in the year of 2007,forcing a wide range of banks to close down, simultaneously the interest for applying for long-term loans from financial institutions rocketed since then. The telegraph 2007) This big trend of the economic environment might lead to Mulberry Group’s cease of issuing new loans from the bank. Also, there may be some other reasons. It is fairly clear in the table above, the net increase in cash and cash equivalents in 2011 is about 8 times more than 2007, the balance of cash and cash equivalents in 2011 is approximately 3 times more than the previous and the similar situation also happens in the retained profits and inventories of these two years.Therefore, it seems quite normal for Mulberry to cease the long-term creditors and use its retained profits, inventories and the short-term loans as their source of funds, which can also lower the financial expenses for the enterprise. 2. 3. 2 Working capital In order to fi gure out the suitability of the current financial structure, it is necessary to calculate the number of the working capital and the working capital cycle. Broadly speaking, working capital is a measure of capability for the company which can pay its debt in the short-term liability.It is certainly important to distinguish between positive and negative working capital (Dyson, 2011). The amount of the working capital is equal to the total amount of receivables, payables, stock of raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods. As what we mentioned above, we can calculate the working capital of Mulberry in 2011. Receivables: ? 12,186 thousand Payables: ? 11,949 thousand Stock of raw materials: ? 1,684 thousand Work-in-progress: ? 655 thousand Finished goods: ? 20,069 thousandIn 2011, the total working capital of Mulberry was ? 22,645 thousand. From the composition of the working capital, it is apparent that a comparably large amount was occupied by the form of inventories (? 22,408 thousand). As the manufacturer, designer and the seller of their own products, it is normal for Mulberry to hold such a proportion of working capital in the form of inventories, thereby meeting the needs of customers and quickly reacting against the sudden change of market’s demand, like the big increase in seasonal demand.When we compare the amount of working capital (? 22,645 thousand) and the retained profits (? 30,696 thousand), it seems that there are not any problems for Mulberry to cover the working capital with their retained earnings, due to the considerable gap between them. Taking the cash and cash equivalents (? 21,373), this indicates that the cash in Mulberry was allocated in operating activities appropriately and there was no idle cash existing in the company, which would lead to an opportunity cost to Mulberry.In terms of the working capital cycle, we need to draw on some other data from the income statement and the cash flow statement. Sales of goods: ? 121, 645 thousand Cost of sales: ? 42,144 thousand Material cost: ? 13,318 thousand Bought-in service: ? 11,176 thousand So the working capital cycle of Mulberry in 2011 was 85 days. The credit given cycle was 37 days, comparatively a short period when we compare it with the data of credit taken cycle (178 days). This means that Mulberry just spent 37 days getting the cash back for the portion of which was sold to customers on credit.Also, it could guarantee that Mulberry got enough time to enhance the balance of cash, in order to cover the following trade payables and avoid the running out of cash at the mean time. In another aspect, the liquidity of Mulberry was intensified at the same time as well. However, if we take the company’s long-term strategy into consideration, keeping more cash is not the bad thing for Mulberry, as stated in the annual report, they are planning to continually expand the international market and opening more and more retailing and flagship stores throu ghout the world. Expansion at such a fast rate may call for a large amount of cash.So, even though there are no problems at all currently for Mulberry to utilize retained profits and short-term creditors as the only source of their funds, issuing some long-term funds, like bank loans, will not bring any disadvantages, although this may incur some charges on financial expenses. From the long-term perspective, it will be beneficial for the company to get some long-term and stable external funds, thereby avoiding the shortage of cash and funds during the process of expansion. 2. 4 Risk management and governance 2. 4. 1 Corporate governance of MulberryAt the beginning of the corporate governance part, the company states itself as an AIM (Alternative Investment Market) member and complying with the Corporate Governance Code is not required (Mulberry, 2011). AIM is a second board enables smaller  companies  to  float  shares with more flexible stipulations (Tricker, 2009). Still, Mulberry follows the fundamental principles of the code (Mulberry, 2011), and importantly, they fit the code contents with their individual situations. Based on this state, our analysis still follows the UK Corporate Governance Code primarily and detects any issues contrary to the code.Besides, comments and debates are connected with the company’s own factors. In the board of Mulberry, the chairman and CEO is the same person. This person, named Godfrey Davis, has been in charge of this company for nearly ten years from November 2002. This setting goes against the UK Combined Code which states, â€Å"The role of chairman and chief executive should not be exercised by the same individual† (the UK Corporate Governance Code, 2010:13). In this case, we doubt that if Godfrey’s power is over-concentrated, which makes him have too strong influence on decision making process in the board (Goyal and Park, 2002).Consequently, strategies may be generated subjectively. Howev er, a specific explanation is not given in the report. Instead, they only point out several criteria of director selection should be carefully assessed, as a way of reduce the possibility of the problems addressed above. But actually, this state explains nothing about the problem, which conversely doubles our doubts. Next, the numbers of Executive Directors and Non-executive Directors are unbalanced, with five Non-executive Directors and only two Executive Directors.The five Non-executive Directors are not entitled to govern company routine affairs and the specific running plans while these two Executive Directors actually do (Mallin, 2004). Hence it is doubtful that if these two people really execute independently or just execute generally. Moreover, combining the fact of Godfrey Davis’s acting as both chairman and CEO, it especially intensifies our thought on the existence of subjective decision making process (Mallin, 2004), or even the over-centralized management in the c ompany.On the other hand, these outside directors, instead of actually contributing to the company’s strategy and policy making relating to its performance, they are actually â€Å"pushed into a conformance and compliance mode† (Tricker, 2009) and do not take much positive effect. Conversely, McKinsey (2002) debates that a sensible structure is combined with a majority of Non-executive directors because they are indeed independent and can result in an effective evaluation. On the other hand, it is found in the profile of directors that, both the executives have the FCA background.Obviously, it enables them to detect and control the financial risk better, by using their financial knowledge (Dionne and Triki, 2005). Conversely, we may also suspect they are fully capable to use professional financial tricks to disguise the poorer performance areas, and at the same time, make their stewardship looks proper. On the other side, according to the UK corporate governance code ( 2010), audit committee is required to monitor the financial performance and check the company’s risk assessment.Chris Robert, the chairman of the Audit Committee, as another financially educated director, suits the requirement of responsibilities stated in the code. Considering the independence of Non-executives, several problems which may raise suspicions are found referring to the code. Firstly, all the Non-executives except Melissa Ong, have been appointed for more than 6 years. Especially Robin Gibson, this person has been in this position for more than 14 years since 1996. These facts raise some questions about the independence of the board and no explanations are given by Mulberry.Additionally, both Steven Grapstein and Bernard Lam Kong Heng are presently serving in Como Holding Group, though in different subsidiary company. This relationship particularly could pose a negative impact on the independent base (Mallin, 2004). Thirdly, Melissa Ong, who is quite young at 37, was newly appointed in 2010. This lady does not directly hold any shares for Mulberry, however, her parents are â€Å"beneficially interested approximately 57% of the Company’s total voting rights† (Mulberry, 2010:14). In other words, Melissa though not own the huge amount of share, she’s actually represent a significant shareholder indirectly.In contrast, according to the code (UK corporate governance code, 2010), some aspects are shown to enhance independence of the Non-executives. For example, no bonus was paid for these Non-executives during the year and none of them was included in the company’s pension contributions (Mulberry, 2011). The company’s internal ‘watchdogs’, three recommended sub-committees (Audit, Remuneration and Nomination) (Pierce, Personal Communication, 2011) are established by Mulberry, with a combination of Remuneration and Nomination body.Additionally, both committees are chaired by Non-executives and effects of the committees are related to the independence of these Non-executives (Mallin, 2004) which has been discussed above. Moreover, the responsibility appointing is reasonably complying with the code (2010). In specific, the Audit Committee is entitled to check issues regarding to the company’s financial affairs, while Nominations and Remuneration is responsible for employment terms and conditions and the remuneration (Mulberry, 2011).However, the numbers and identities of other committee members are not mentioned in the report, which interfere our assessment of Mulberry sub-committee structure and quality. 2. 4. 1 Risk & control management In this part, COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework (COSO, 1994) is sited as the principal structure to consider Mulberry’s risk control and management. Control Environment A formal system is required make sure the risks are appropriately evaluated and controlled in board level (Tricker, 2009). It is manifested in the report that the Board is fully responsible for Mulberry’s internal risk (Mulberry, 2011).Specifically, Directors pay great attentions to the control throughout the comprehensive aspects of the company’s business running and make it available in practice. These states, though quite simple with only few sentences, clarify the Board’s serious attitude to risk control. Additionally, increasing literature viewpoints in recent years call for â€Å"a formal system to ensure that risk is properly assessed board to give assurances that systems are in place to handle corporate risk in their regular corporate governance reports to shareholders† (Tricker, 2009:328).For Mulberry, the control system was established and the report model well fit the requested as mentioned. Specifically, the control system mainly consists of subsystems including budgeting, actual running results comparison, forecast and review (Mulberry, 2011). Also, the information is reported to shareh olders twice a year (Mulberry, 2011). Risk assessment and control activity First of all, as a result of continuous recession in the UK economy which leads to sales reduce in domestic market, Mulberry considers relieving from the decrease risk by international expansion (Mulberry, 2011).It is reasonable that they concern about the negative impact of recession in the UK (OECD, 2010). However, it seems lack considered by their merely switching to international market because the international market is much more complex with various risks involved (Hollensen, 2006), for example, local regulation limitations, economic environment in foreign market, competitors, customer preference diversity and so on (Kotler, 1994). Also, failure of the global risk transfer may occur that leads to even serious financial crisis for Mulberry. Secondly, terrorist attack, as regarded a principle risk by Mulberry, is related to warehouse disruption.The company tries to prevent it by developing â€Å"a busin ess continuity plan† (Mulberry, 2010). However, it is illogical to take terrorist attack as a major risk, which is a rarely happened incident. Moreover, there is no any further explanation about the so called ‘business continuity plan’ solution. Conversely, an improved warehouse control and management system accompanying an emergency program may be a better approach to prevent the risk. Besides, the risk may be more sensible to be associated with stock disruption or supply chain failure (Aon, 2007) rather than terrorist attack as is stated.On the other hand, key personnel loss is mentioned in the report with simple solutions of remuneration review and succession preparation. However, either the reasons or the details are not revealed. So it is uncertain that if the methods are valid or not. For example, if the loss was caused by unreasonable decision making caused by the arbitrary executive as we mentioned above, then either these ways can hardly solve the problem . As to the online system establishment and accomplishment, Mulberry involves more senior managers for supervising and impose carefully test to reduce the risk of system implement failure which is quite reasonable.With increased attention paid by senior managers, staffs in relative department will do the task more carefully. Also, comprehensive test further guarantees the system implemented successfully. Finally, it is mentioned in the report that the company intends to solve the risk by building a ‘natural hedge of Euro and US Dollar denominated sales and purchases’ (Mulberry, 2011:12). This sector involves professional knowledge about the currency policies and financial operating. Unfortunately, we are lack of knowledge in this area. Hence we would not analyse this issue in depth. . 4. 3 Information and Communication The company includes an information and reporting subsystem in the integrated internal control procedure (Mulberry, 2011), which obviously, is used for c ollecting and conveying relative information. Furthermore, since the internal control is taken charge by the Board at the top of the company’s management layer, it is essential to ensure the effectiveness of information collecting and communication in time according to COSO framework (1994). However, relative details are not mentioned for the assessment and herefore, the facts for the effectiveness are unsure. 2. 4. 4 Monitoring According to COSO Framework (1994), there are two approached for monitoring, one is undertaking it along with the ongoing activities, the other is put it into a separate process. Mulberry adopts the later approach by putting the monitoring process separately. However, a combination of both approaches is recommended in COSO framework (1994), in order to ensure the effect of internal control. In other words, it can be more sensible for Mulberry to develop monitoring affairs in the whole business running procedure.Moreover, the internal audit is function ed by the Board (Mulberry, 2011), for which the details are not given in the report. For example, factors like how the deficiencies been detected and conveyed upstream to the Board are not revealed. Thus the monitoring effect of Mulberry internal control can not be evaluated comprehensively through the report itself. 3. Conclusion From the information above, we can see Mulberry made efforts for market place on the Uk market during the year of 2010 to 2011 and managed each aspect of overseas development.In 2010, Mulberry has become aggressive in invest oversea markets and online stores. As a result, the income of Mulberry has created its new page for share price. However, as other companies, Mulberry has its flaws and drawbacks. Firstly, there is no debt existed in Mulberry; therefore, the investment could be limited. The main funding of Mulberry is internal funding. Mulberry has experienced extraordinary successful times since 2009, which contributed to the significant increase in s hare price. However, the higher share price can be a double-edge sword which might attract many investors as well as scare them.After analyzing the probability of return and the extent of risk, Mulberry is a company worth investing. Nevertheless, it is necessary to mention that it would be much better to choose a long-term investment than a short one. And Mulberry has a series of solutions to solve the risks that existing in its operating process and markets. Reference Anderson, R. 2004. Risk Management and Corporate Governance: The Importance of Independence and Financial Knowledge for the Board and the Audit Committee Anonymous. 2007. The body shop design: An evolving retail brand identity†, Strategic Direction, 23(11), p9-11. Aon (2007), â€Å"Enterprice Risk Mangement-Aon Insurance Bookers† [Online]. Available  from: www. aon. com/us/busi/risk_management/risk_consulting/ent_risk_mgmt/default. jsp [Accessed  on:  4/12/2011]. Adam, T. & Goyal, V. K. 2008. Ã¢â‚¬Ë œThe Investment of Opportunity Set and Its Proxy Variables’. The Journal of Financial Research. 31, 1, 41-63. Akhigbe, A. and Madura, J. ,1996. ‘Dividend Policy and Corporate Performance’. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting. 23, 9&10, 1267-1287.COSO Framework 1994 Collier, P. M 2009, Accounting For Managers. Interpreting Accounting Information for Decision-Making. Third Edition. Dyson, J. R. (2001). Accounting for non-accounting students, Essex: Pearon education Limited. Fonseka, M. M. and Tian G. L. , 2011. ‘What factors motivate the analysts stock recommendation in a small emerging market? Evidence from Sri Lanka’. African Journal of Business Management. 5, 26, 10908-10920. Gillespie, I. & Lewis, R. &Hamilton, K. 2000. Principles of financial accounting, Essex: Pearon education Limited. Goyal and Park,2002.Board leadership structure and CEO turnover, Journal of corporate finance, 8, p49–66. Governance Code 2010, The UK Corporate Govern ance Code, Financial Reporting Council, London. Hollensen, S. 2006. Marketing Planning: a global perspective, Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill Education. Ince, O. S. and Porter, R. B. , 2006. ‘Individual Equity Return Data from Thomson Data Stream: Handle with Care! ’. The Journal of Financial Research. 29, 4, 463-479. Kotler, P. 1994. Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning, Implementation, and Control (8th Ed. ). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc. Kothari, S.P. and Shanken, J. 2003. ‘Book-to-market, dividend yield, and expected market returns: A time-series analysis’. Journal of Financial Economics. 44, 169-203. Mallin, C. A. 2004. Corporate governance, New York: Oxford University Press Inc. Tricker, B. 2009. Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies, and Practices, New York: Oxford University Press Inc McKinsey, C. 2002. Investor opinion survey on corporate governance. London: McKinsey &CO. Muresan, E. R. and Wolitzer, P. Organize your Financial Ratios Analysis wi th PALMS (September 20, 2004). EMuresan Working Paper No. 2-01. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn. com/abstract=375880 or doi:10. 2139/ssrn. 375880 OECD (2011), OECD Economic Surveys United Kingdom MARCH 2011 Pierce, B. 2011. Personal Communication, Course Lecture 1 Nov 2011. Sheffield: The University of Sheffied. The telegraph,2007, Crisis may make 1929 look a ‘walk in the park'. [Online]. Available  from:http://www. telegraph. co. uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/2821629/Crisis-may-make-1929-look-a-walk-in-the-park. html [Accessed  on:  01/12/2011]. Annual report of Mulberry plc. 2011 Annual report of Mulberry plc. 2007

The Inenvention of the Wheel

The invention of the wheel is the single most important invention in the world. The wheel did not only shape our world in transportation but it helped evolve many inventions. The wheel is estimated to have been invented in 3500 B. C. (Reynolds). There have been many changes to the wheel that have made it a more advanced invention and changed into newer inventions. The wheel has shaped our world geographically, economically, and culturally. The evolution of transportation became capable with the invention of the wheel.Without the wheel the wagon would never had been invented (Reynolds). The invention of the wagon was the first of many inventions that came from the wheel that helped the transportation of goods for trade (Reynolds). The steam engine train was also another break through of technology from the wheel. The steam engine train made it possible to transport items from a greater distance, faster delivery, and it also made transporting goods for trade less expensive which led to a greater profit for the merchants (â€Å"Transportation Revolution†).With the capability of transporting goods over land quicker the economics of the world turned for the better. With the invention of vehicles people were beginning to be able to see the more of the world. The wheel helped many people see the amazing geography of their surroundings. In 1845 most vehicles had wooden and steel tires (Colvin). Robert Thomas invented the pneumatic tire which gave people and smoother and more enjoyable ride to see the places they wanted to visit (Colvin).The first type of wheel that was being used on vehicles was made of peer rubber, but later John Dunlop improved the solid rubber wheel into an air filled rubber wheel (Colvin). Even in China during 2000 BC wheels were put on chariots to carry kings and emperors around to see their kingdom (â€Å"Wheel†). Still today vehicles are the main source of getting around quickly. Many people travel the country in RVs to see at that is to see. Even the airplane would not be able to land without a wheel at the bottom.Without the invention for the wheel there would be no other way of getting around on land to see the sites that the world has in store for us. There are many inventions that use the same basic idea as the wheel. The pottery wheel never would have been invented if the wheel was never developed. The pottery wheel is an invention that has simply changed a few things about the wheel to make it work. The potter’s wheel is estimated to have been invented in 3000 BC and is a very important feature to the culture of nearly every country (Bryant).Pottery is one of the only ways we can tell how the ancient towns had worked. Many archeologists work for weeks if not months to try to dig up ancient pottery so that we can better understand the ancient culture. Pottery is not the only thing that the wheel affected. The wheel also helped the sport of racing become a big part of our culture. On April 23, 191 1 the world first of the world’s fastest mile was completed in 25 seconds (Carter). This was the start of many races in the US. Today without the ever being invented the sport of NASCAR never would have been thought up.Many people in the US enjoy watching this port and have made it a huge part of their life. The wheel is not only a great invention put it has shaped our would in so many different ways. The wheel has not only been changed many times but it has evolved into the greatest invention of man kind. The wheel has helped the world economically, geographically, and culturally for the better. This is why the wheel is considered to by the best invention in the world.Works Cited Bryant, Victor. â€Å"The Origins of the Pottery Wheel. † Ceramics Today. 26 Jan. 1996. Web. 14 Nov. 2009. . Carter, C. F. , and Isaac Marcosson. â€Å"Man’s Fastest Mile: The Automobile Age. † A. D. 1911. The Great Events by Famous Historians, Vol 21. Harrogate, TN: The Nationa l Alunmi, 1926. World Book Advanced. Web. 22 Nov. 2009. Colvin, Howard A. â€Å"Tire. † World Book Advanced. World Book, 2009. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. Reynolds, Terry S. â€Å"Invention. † World Book Advanced. World Book, 2009. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. â€Å"Transportation Revolution. † World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2009. Web. 28 Oct. 2009. . â€Å"Wheel. † The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia. com. 15 Nov. 2009 .

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History -wk3 - Essay Example Functionalism was more interested in how the mind worked, and how it is used by an organism in order to adopt to it’s environment (Schultz and Schultz, 2004). These researchers were concerned with how the mind functioned in the real world. Psychology was interested in the functioning of the entire human being which is the reason why they tended to function under functionalism instead of structuralism. Darwin believed that natural selection meant that some organisms would survive in their environments while others would not and that this may be inherited (Schultz and Schultz, 2004). According to Weiner, this natural selection has changed in that it now means that individuals are attempting to maintain the genetic pool so that individuals do not develop those characteristics that will not promote the maintenance of the species. Although these two theories are similar, it seems that contemporary evolutionary theory gives more understanding of why some children survive and some do not whether this is in childbirth or afterwards. In other words, perhaps some defects are detected early on in a species and therefore the organism is eliminated before it has a chance to grow because it does not promote the species. I am interested in the concept of Gestalt psychology and how it has been used in counseling and therapy. I would like to begin with an understanding of what Gestalt psychology is and how it has developed over time. I would like to include an understanding of its influence for Wundts work and how it was influenced by the Zeitgeist in physics. I am fascinated by the idea that some of these theories have grown into the opportunity to use it in therapy. I will discuss some of the major contributors to Gestalt psychology including Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler, Kurt Lewin. I will then discuss how Frederick Perls eventually coined "Gestalt Therapy" in order to show that therapy could be

Strategic planning at Canon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Strategic planning at Canon - Essay Example Canon is a firm that is already well established in the global market. The success of the firm can be considered as the result of a well structured strategic planning process where the needs of the firm’s departments are aligned and are appropriately served through flexible strategic measures. At the time when the firm established – in 1957 – the use of strategic planning for the promotion of a firm’s interests was limited. Through the years, the firm managed to improve its strategic plans responding to the customer demands but also to the global competition – which has been increased at quite high levels the last decade. The firm has chosen to apply three different – in terms of their duration - strategic plans. In the short term, the improvement of the firm’s finances has been set as a priority – the pressure of the global competition is clear. In the medium term, however, the firm chooses to focus on its goals and its resources (both capital and human resources). In the long term, the criteria for the development of the firm’s strategic choices are going to be reviewed; the improvement of the firm’s position in the global market (1st position in the specific industrial sectors worldwide) would be then an achievable target. The success of the strategic planning process used by the firm can be proved primarily by its performance. In accordance with the figures related with the firm’s activities – as included in its financial statements – the sales of Canon have been increased to 3,468 billion (2004) from 4.2 billion in the first year that the firm entered the particular industry (in 1950). The particular elements of the firm’s strategic planning process can be identified in Figure 5 (Appendix). The range of the firm’s products is significant including computer, optical products, photocopiers and cameras. The significant advantage of the firm towards its competitors can be identified to its

Justice and Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Skipper Charter Airline - Research Proposal Example The company started a few years ago with the main of growth and expansion to international flights. Skipper airline charter is a unique air charter organization that strives to be creative and pioneering leaders in the field of airline transport. Skipper Airlines is the largest provider of fly in fly out services in Bahamas and Florida. This company operates nearly hundred flights per week. The company’s main mission is to attain customer satisfaction and seek and challenge future opportunities for the company’s prosperity. The company also aims to provide high quality services to its clients through partnerships in order to remain focused on the opportunities. All these visions, missions, and objectives can be attained through an efficient marketing plan. Skipper Charter Airline has been in the industry for almost half a decade and has never failed to achieve customer satisfaction. With the aircrafts at the clients’ disposal, customers can depart at their own wi ll and timetable even within minutes after arrival at the company’s airport. The company is conscious about the customer’s time and no more can a customer miss a flight. With Skipper Charter Airlines, the customer has the power to fly to and fro without the inconvenience of waiting flights or linking flights through a major airport. When taking into account a business trip or vacation trip, a customer should think about the benefits that Skipper Airline provides which include; cost effectiveness, comfort, and high quality services. As noted earlier, the major aim of any business to increase its growth and market share. Skipper airlines key customers are tourists and business clientele. Skipper Charter Airlines has a wide range of aircrafts that suit the different client requirements. Skipper Charter Airlines offers a single VIP passenger aircraft only an hour away for the tourists or business clientele or a 50 passenger aircraft. The corporate Skipper Charter Airlines team ensures that customers’ travel experience runs on time and budget. In order to attract more customers, Skipper Charter Airlines needs to invest more in its marketing communication. The company can employ advertising, public relations and direct marketing and offer discounts. Skipper Airlines can heighten its advertising through increasing budget for its marketing. The company needs to foster for increased frequency of both audio and visual adverts in the local radio and television stations. This will assist in increasing awareness among the target customers and lead to increased customers. The company can as well endorse a celebrity or a renowned business individual in its advertising. This will make customers want to be associated with the celebrity and in turn lead to increased market share. In addition, incorporating direct marketing will assist the company get a response from customers on their needs and devise ways on how to improve customer service. Moreover, Skipp er Charter Airlines may be involved in public relations through sponsorships or being involved in corporate social responsibilities. This will assist in creating a better reputation for the company among the customers and in turn contribute to increased sales and market share. Skipper Airlines has been providing air transport services to Bahamas and Florida for almost half a decade. The company’

Fiduciary Duties for Directors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fiduciary Duties for Directors - Essay Example 4). The law specifies that some of the fiduciary duties of a director are care, loyalty and good faith. In Charitable Corp v. Sutton, it was explained that directors of corporations would be regarded as agents and trustees who were required by law to act with ‘fidelity and reasonable diligence† (p.6). These three duties also give rise to a fourth, but equally important duty, that of disclosure. Duty of disclosure means that directors are required to disclose full and truthful information when they are communicating with stakeholders. The Delaware Court of Chancery has in the past stated that â€Å"an obligation to the community of interest that sustains the corporation, to exercise judgment in an informed, good faith effort to maximize the corporation’s long term wealth creating capacity† (p.12). Directors of corporations that are facing insolvency owe fiduciary duties to the corporation itself and to shareholder, never to creditors. Duty of Loyalty This fid uciary duty can be traced back to the Guth v Loft case in which the state Supreme Court passed that â€Å"corporate officers and directors are not allowed to use their position of trust and confidence to further their private interests† (p.22). ... It is the way in which a director handles the corporation’s affairs that will determine whether or not his conduct led to a breach in loyalty duty. The Delaware fiduciary law lays out some of the situations in which duty of loyalty may be implicated. Thee include: contracts between the company and directors or other corporations in which the director may have some material interest, dealings between a parent company and a subsidiary, management buy outs, corporate reorganizations or acquisitions which may result in differing interests between the majority and minority stakeholders, insider trading, taking over corporate opportunities and competition by the directors with the company. If directors fail to act when faced with a known duty, they can be charged with violating duty of loyalty (p.24). Duty of Care Directors in corporations are obligated by Delaware law to seek ample information before making any business decision. They are also required to â€Å"act with the requis ite care in making such decisions† (p.32). Although the directors are requires to act with utmost diligence and highest level of due care, they are not obligated to read or to know each and every particular of a contract or any related legal documents. They only need considerable information about a particular situation so as not to make any careless decisions. If the directors are found to have made a decision out of gross negligence, then they can be charged in court for a breach in the duty of care. In order to act diligently, the law in Delaware requires that directors should regularly attend board meetings. They are also required to take their time to review, understand and evaluate all information that they have at their disposal and they should ensure

California Laws on Meals and Breaks Research Paper - 1

California Laws on Meals and Breaks - Research Paper Example From this paper it is clear that there is evidence that many organizations violate this law and are unwilling to provide this free time to the employees. Besides, some organizations provide these breaks at irregular time while others attach strict conditions regarding the utilization of this period. Therefore, it has become increasingly important to determine how the law should be implemented within the work environment and the role that the employees should play in contributing to the implementation of this law. Evidently, the government needs to support this work policy to reduce the various violation instances in the country. California’s breaks and meals laws provide employers with a framework on how to organize the working and rest period for their employees. According to the law, employers are required to provide their workers with 30 minutes break after every five working hours from the start time if the total working period exceeds 6 hours. Organizations that provide l ess than 6 working hours are exempted to this law as the government considers this working period considerably short. The implication is that if the workers have to work for more than ten hours, they must be awarded more than two breaks as a resting period. The law strictly requires that the five hours rule be adhered as part as obedience to the law. During the break, the employees are free to use this time for their personal duties rather than work. They are not limited to stay within the work premises and may leave to go to other places. However, they must return as soon as this break period is over to continue with their day work.

Can Genetically Modified Organisms Save the World Essay

Can Genetically Modified Organisms Save the World - Essay Example Today, the process of genetic modification is rapidly advancing throughout the planet. In 2004, 8.25 million farmers in 17 nations (Ahmed, 30) grew the crops. The production and marketing of GM foods are due to the superficial benefits they hold either to the producer or to consumption of these genetic foods. In the beginning, GM seeds developers needed their products to be accepted by producers and focus on innovations that have direct benefit to the farmers and the food industry at large. For example, the International Rice Research Institute located in the Philippines manufactured the GM golden rice to help people in the South East Asia that were lacking food. GMO foods are unavoidable and we cannot live without them. The WHO, the Food, Drug Administration, and other scientific bodies in the world have strongly advocated for the use of GM foods, since they do not have any harm to the human health. Additionally, research shows that the risks to human health that may be brought about by the consumption of GM foods are the same as those that are brought about by the consumption of non-GM foods. Moreover, the GM foods are safe to use as they tested for food safety and passed the safety assessment. Some people believe that GM foods should be eliminated due to the risks they have like the health issues. It is a fact that people have eaten some of the GM foods unknowingly, but no complains of serious concerns (Ahmed, 18). By 2040, the world’s population is predicted to increase significantly and this therefore means that there are more resources to use and more people to feed. This growing human population entails to being open to new ideas and the use of new technology to curb food insecurity. Moreover, with this new technology, there are many benefits that the genetic modification has in terms of dealing with malnutrition, food security, and agricultural

John Steinbeck and his book Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

John Steinbeck and his book Of Mice and Men Essay John Ernst Steinbeck was born on February 27, in 1902 in Salinas, California, He came from a reasonably well off family. He worked his way through college at Stanford University, but never graduated, so in 1925 he set off to New York where he tried to start his career as a writer, but he failed to have any of his writing published and returned to California. He then published a few books and short stories. His first novel, Cup of Gold was published in 1929, but attracted little attention. The readers also poorly acknowledged his following two novels, The Pastures of Heaven and To a God Unknown. Steinbeck then married his first wife, Carol Henning in 1930. But he still wasnt recognised in the world of literature until 1935 when Tortilla Flat was published. It received the California Commonwealth Clubs Gold Medal for best novel by a California author, and then his work became recognised far and wide. Steinbeck then went onto produce some of his greatest novels, including Grapes of Wrath, which was a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1939. The greatest prize Steinbeck was awarded for his writing was the Nobel Prize for Literature, in 1962. John Steinbeck died on December 20th, 1968, in New York. The first book I read by John Steinbeck was Of Mice and Men and it is about two men who are immigrant American labourers. Together they have a dream to settle down and farm their own land rather than work for other people. So they join a group of farmers to earn the money, so that they can buy the farmland for themselves. These two friends are completely unlike each other. One of them, who is called George, is a small intelligent man, and the other, Lennie, is a big, clumsy, caring, but child-like man. The two men have been friends since they were children. But Lennie was not always stupid, but became like this after an accident that happened when he was young. George is always with Lennie for comfort, friendship, but mainly as he is very strong and can work on a farm better than most people. George supports him, helps him and puts thoughts into his head, to try to him motivated. Lennie trusts George with everything and really values their friendship. When the two friends finally get the money to make their dreams come true George takes advantage of Lennie and kills him, so that his dream is secured. In this book you are made to feel sorry for Lennie, as he was very caring, and even when he killed the animals, and bosss sons wife, you know that he was only being friendly and caring, and just wasnt aware of his own strength. At the beginning of the book George seems to be Lennies friend, but by the end you realize that he is only using Lennie to fulfil his own dreams. The second book by Steinbeck I read was East of Eden. This book was set in the period between the American Civil War and the end of World War I. It is about the conflicts of two generations of brothers. The opening chapters describe Samuel and his family, and what living in Salinas Valley is like for them. The first generation is the kind, gentle, caring Adam Trask and his wild brother Charles. Adam eventually marries Cathy Ames who is a wicked, manipulative, but very beautiful prostitute. Cathy betrays Adam, with his brother Charles on the very night of their wedding. Later, after giving birth to twin boys, she shoots Adam and then leaves him to return to her former job. With the help of their Chinese servant Lee, Adam raises their sons, the fair-haired, charming, yet stubborn Aron, and the mysterious, clever Caleb, without telling them about their mother. The second generation of brothers compete for their fathers approval. In resentment Caleb reveals the truth about their mother to Aron, so he then leaves to join the army. At the end of the story, Lee makes a great effort to help keep the Trask family together, when Adam is lying in his bed dying, Caleb is overwhelmed with guilt because Aron has been killed in the army. Lee believes that if Adam gives Caleb his blessing for indirectly killing his own brother, he will able to move on in life, and not always feel so guilty. In this novel, although he is not a main character, Lee, their servant is a good friend to Adam, and helped him at his worst times, and managed to hold the family together, so the story wouldnt have turned out the same without him. The third book I read by John Steinbeck was The Grapes of Wrath. The book is set in California and it follows the terrible misfortunes of the Joad family, who like many others have given up their lives in Oklahoma in search of employment in California. The book follows both their hopes and setbacks creating a true account of the American dream of the 1930s, as we observe their struggle to try to get by with what little money and possessions they have. When the Joad family leave the Hooverville, which is an independent migrant camp and move to a government camp, because they cannot find a job at Hooverville. This camp is clean and has a local government made up of migrant workers. For the first time since arriving in California, the Joads find themselves treated as human beings. However, when the work runs out they had to move on. Tom ends up killing a man who is responsible for the death of is good friend John Casey. They have to flee and find work picking cotton, and Toms presence there is soon spotted, and Tom has to go into hiding. The ending of this book, even though not dreadfully clear, does suggest a little hope for the Joads, but more so hope for humanity. I enjoyed this book because I saw a lot of things that all of these books have in common, and the most obvious thing was that each book was about underprivileged people who were fighting to keep their lives and families together through many misfortunes. In Steinbecks books there is always an inferior character that keeps the people together, for example in The Grapes of Wrath Ma Joad tries as hard as she can to keep her family together, but apart from that you dont know much about her. And also in East of Eden the servant, Lee, holds the family together, and helped to bring up Adams children. The struggle between good and evil is the most dominant theme in these books. John Steinbeck shows that everyone has the potential to be a good person, or completely immoral. An example of this theme is in East of Eden, as Adam is a very kind and caring person, but Cathy is nasty and pitiless. Also in Of Mice and Men, Lennie is a gentle loving man, whereas his friend George turns out to be a horrible, ruthless person. Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath have a connection between the type of work the people do because they are both about people trying to make ends meet working on farms, trying to fulfill their own dreams. Love is another issue that all these books have in common, because whenever love is missing from a specific part of the story, the results become disastrous. The three of Steinbecks books that I read all have a very detailed and descriptive writing style, which adds to your satisfaction of his books, as you are given persuasive glimpse into the lives of others. The characters in Steinbecks books seem to come to life because of the vast understanding of human courage to be able to choose between what is right and wrong Steinbeck has. I enjoyed reading all of these books, because even though in some ways they were very similar, they all had a different storyline, so I didnt find the second and third story boring after reading the first one.

Assessing The Ethical Foreign Policy Makers Politics Essay

Assessing The Ethical Foreign Policy Makers Politics Essay Kant states that we are rational beings; we can free ourselves from the casual necessity of the ordinary world of feelings and inclinations, and can follow the pure moral law, given by reason alone. The debate of means and ends is deeply involved in ethics and ethical foreign policy. Academics suggest that means and goals should be judged by the same set of ethical principles. Often actions that states undertake for a particular purpose can be ethical or unethical. Ethics can be defined as a complete and coherent system of convictions, values and ideas that provides a grid within which some sort of actions can be classified as evil, and so to be avoided, while other sort of actions can be classified as good, and so to be tolerated or even pursued  [1]   If ethics involves a choice between what is morally right and what is morally wrong, the possibility for ethical actions in foreign policy has proven in the past to be quite limited. Ethical foreign policy What passes for ethical standards for governmental policies in foreign affairs is a collection of moralisms, maxims, and slogans, which neither help nor guide, but only confuse, decision  [2]  . DEAN ACHESON Foreign policy is the area of politics that seeks to bridge the boundary between the nation state and its international environment. It refers to decision and actions that involve relations between an independent actor and other actors in the international arena  [3]  . The essential aims of foreign policy are the promotion of safety and prosperity. Sometimes domestic, international and regional actors and factors limit this aims. It has been argued by analysts that morality sits poorly to political action. This is due to the fact that is not always possible to make the best choice, and often the chosen one could be quite far from what is considered the best possible in the political world. Analysts suggest that an ethical foreign policy could be acceptable if: The procedure of the decision- making meets the demands of democratic decision-making. The consequences of the policy alternatives should be more useful than any alternative options examined. The human rights should not be violated. Idealists, Realists, Pragmatists The idealist school of thought states that ethics should govern all relationships. Furthermore, they argue that morality should not be taken in consideration only in domestic political life and ignored where other nations are concerned. Realists such as Machiavelli and Hobbes argue that the state of war is unavoidable in the world politics. The ethical problem of a separation between action and the notion of justice was central to the thinking of Machiavelli. In The Prince, he offers some immoral advice to the new prince: he must know when to act as a beast, how to look only to appearance, how not to be good. Machiavellis ethics consists in recognizing that the existence of human beings is burdened with conflicts  [4]  . Realists sustain that ethics is cultural and therefore variable and controversial. Pragmatists enunciate that foreign policy cannot be based on an absolute ethical ore unqualified national interest foundation. It must be factor in both but not totally reliant in one or another. The Doctrine of Double Effect and decision-making The principle of double effect states that we are responsible of those consequences of our acts which are both anticipated and intended  [5]  . This principle relies on the fact that states are allowed to carry out certain measures conscious from the fact that the measures have possible negative consequences. This Doctrine has later on combined to the Just War tradition related to the humanitarian military interventions. We are aware that is not ethical to attack non-fighting civilians, but according to the tradition it could be that states can attack morally even though the damages to the non-fighting parties can be anticipated. The moral value is determined by the actors intentions and motives. Nevertheless, it is quite difficult to determine the motives. If we take the example of the US attacking Iraq we cannot draw a line between the interests and the real motives, we do not know if the US wanted to free the people from the dictator or to ensure oil supply. Decision-making and evaluations of their consequences are often uncertain. Actors should evaluate better the consequences of their actions, for example, they should consider the effects of a war that could lead to environmental issues , to violence, that often is directed towards civilians and to the development aid which can lead to corruption of the administration. Often actors ignore such considerations in the pre- decision- making process. Decision-making and ethical evaluation remains an issue. In a representative democracy, citizens elect and authorize decision-makers to make decisions for the state to make decision on their behalf. They estimate how the state is promoting national interest; the foreign policy decision- makers represent their morals especially during the election process. Arnold Wolfers states that foreign policy decision making is not beyond moral judgment but rests on moral choices  [6]  . The National interest A democratic definition of the national interest does not accept the distinction between a morality-based and an interest based foreign policy. Moral values are simply intangible interests  [7]  . JOSEPH S. NYE JR. Democratic governments use strategic deceptions by justifying them with the concept of national interest. The division between what is in the national interest and what can be morally justified is often questionable. The national interest is the taking-for-granted base line for foreign policy within all the major parties ( Diana Francis CCTS REVIEW 33). It is a slippery concept, used to describe as well as prescribe foreign policy. It covers five crucial areas of foreign policy: Security, autonomy, welfare, status and prestige and economy. When we speak about national interest we almost always mean the common good of the members of political communities organized as sovereign states not the common good of nations that is, imagined communities of people united by ethnicity, language, history, culture, mythology or kinship (Anderson 1991)  [8]  . The phrase the national interest masks exactly which values leaders are attempting to promote and which they are willing to sacrifice   [9]  . Morgenthau considered as the ultimate realist philosopher, equated interest defined as power  [10]  . He argues that; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦There is a misconception, usually associated with the general depreciation and moral condemnation of power politics that international politics is so thoroughly evil that it is no use looking for moral limitations of the aspirations for power on the international scene. Yet, if we ask ourselves, what political leaders and diplomats are capable of doing to further the power objectives of their respective nations and what they actually do, we realize that they do less than they actually did in other periods of historyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ã‚  [11]   In the last decade, western government policy-makers have considered ethics shifting away from the realist approach, where the national interest was the basis of policy-making. This policy shift has meant that the declarations of ethical foreign policy emanating from the governments of leading world powers are often uncritically taken at face value and assumed to be simply the right thing to do (The Guardian, 27 March 1999). The drive to act in the interests of others, rather than in purely national interests, can be seen in the justifications for a host of new policy initiatives including major international involvement in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, former Yugoslavia, East Timor and Sierra Leone in recent years.  [12]  For many commentators, the new, ethical nature of international foreign policy was given clearest expression in the international communitys support for military intervention in the 1999 Kosovo war  [13]  . The US intervention against Afghanistan in 2001 was framed using an ethical language underlying that the US was caring of others and was not pursuing its national interest. George W. Bush described the bombing of Afghanistan as an action of generosity of America and our allies in the aid of oppressed people of Afghanistan(Bush 2001). The US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld stated that the military action was following previous US-led interventions in Kuwait, Northern Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia and Kosovo, for the purpose of denying hostile regimes the opportunity to oppress their own people and other people he continues adding that We stand with those Afghans who are being repressed by a regime that abuses the very people it purports to lead( Rumsfeld 2001). David Chandler argues that western governments justified their military action to remove the Afghan regime, after September 11, through the condemnation of human rights record of the Taliban government, Tony Blair stated that; Look for a moment at the Taliban regime. It is undemocratic. That, goes without saying. There is no sport allowed, or television or photography. No art or culture are permitted Women are treated in a way almost too revolting to be credible. First driven out of university; girls not allowed to go to school; no legal rights; unable to go out of doors without a man. Those that disobey are stoned (Blair 2001). Tony Blairs statement shows again that the US and UK dont give other solution that military intervention. This was a further hint behind ethics, without taking in consideration the consequences on human rights. According to Mary Robinson ethical goals, like human rights protection are held to be moral duties and therefore the responsibility of everyone ( The Guardian, 23 October 1999) The ethical dimension Non- violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages  [14]   -Thomas Alva Edison On May 1997, the Labour government returned into power in Britain. An immediate change of the new government was the disclosing of the Mission Statement for the FCO. The Statement reads: The Mission of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is to promote the national interests of the United Kingdom and contribute to a strong international communityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ We shall pursue that Mission to secure for Britain four benefits through our foreign policy, the four benefits being security, prosperity, the equality of life and mutual respect. We shall work though our international forums and bilateral relationships to spread the values of human rights, civil liberties and democracy which we demand for ourselves (FCO, 1997a) Robin Cook (Foreign Secretary) seen as the initiating champion of ethical foreign policy strengthened the launch of the Statement: The Labour Government does not accept that political values can be left behind when we check in our passports to travel on diplomatic business. Our foreign policy must have an ethical dimension and must support the demands of other peoples for the democratic rights on which we insist for ourselves. We will put human rights at the heart of our foreign policy. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office ( Ethics and foreign policypg 15-16) Cook made the arms trade an issue. He made the following commitment in 17 July 1997 during his speech; Britain will refuse to supply the equipment and weapons with which regimes deny the demands of their peoples for human rightsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(FCO, 1997c) It was evident that such a policy might have consequences for British prosperity. Prosperity and mutual respect in the Mission Statement are described as a product of national interests. This could bring to the result of a trade-off between the two benefits, in other words one benefit could be scarified in order to achieve the other. Interests is associated with prosperity and ethics with mutual respect. This is the reason why potential conflicts between an interest -based foreign policy and a ethically conducted one are caused. For a long time during his career as Foreign Secretary it was difficult to divert the closure that ethical discussions will be adapted only if they were cost free. Cook allowed arms deals to proceed , the sale of Hawk jets and armoured vehicles to Indonesia are an example that ­ breached any possible notion of ethical exports and respect of human rights. In this case Britain has failed to act as a good citizen because it has placed selfish economic advantag e prior to human rights concerns  [15]  . He did, eventually, resign over Iraq, but he never pointed to the ethical contradiction inherent in being prepared to attack another country on the pretext that it had acquired weapons of mass destruction while his own country had them in abundance and was not honouring its NPT treaty obligations to get rid of them  [16]  . In the Blair government, militarism was the favoured mean of action and used as rhetoric of justification. The air attacks on Serbia and Kosovo and the international occupation of the latter were presented as an ethical intervention that are been morally justified. This justification has been used as a reference point for the later justification of the bombardment, invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq. Tony Blair has argued that it is vital for Britain to have war fighting as part of its way of being in the world. Peacekeeping, he says, is not enough. War fighting is an important element in our diplomac y. But the tone of moral rectitude is ever present  [17]  . The word foreign discourages an ethical approach and is inimical to it. For the British government necessity was the mother of morality. The use of the epithet dimension during the labour government was a wrong move as it has attracted public attention. Unlike previous governments the Labour government created the context for the development of human rights although it has failed in many occasions to live up with these, the labour government had the courage to attempt an ethical dimension to the foreign policy but failed to achieve this. Conclusion To conclude sovereignty is a value. As governments represent a hope and solution for citizens they should pursue an ethical foreign policy. This can aim at a moralizing state behaviour but cannot establish perfection because moral actions are obviously limited by the fear of war and economic collapse, these bring the sates to act in order to prevent threats considering less morality. Before undertaking any kind of actions government need to have a deep expertise of the case and to be morally aware. We can end agreeing with Hoffemann who stated that: the ethical dimension cannot be taken into consideration as todays states are not ready to commit Hara-kiri.