Free Essays on The Preservation Of A Precious Culture

The Preservation of a Precious Culture The institution of slavery was very trying for newly captured Africans. They had to survive the â€Å"middle passage† and legions of cruelties and atrocities committed against them before they even faced the hardships of America. Once in the new world and on the plantations Africans had to deal with the continual pressures of enslavement and dominance from another culture. Slave masters intervened continually in the lives of their slaves, from directing their labor to approving or disapproving marriages. Some masters made elaborate written rules, and most engaged in constant meddling, directing, nagging, threatening, and punishing. Many took advantage of their position to exploit slave women sexually. What slaves hated most about slavery was not the hard work to which they were subjected, but their lack of control over their lives, their lack of freedom. Slaves developed their own way of life and struggled to increase their independence while their masters strove to limit it. Enslaved African Americans developed a sense of racial identity. They naturally drew together, helping each other in danger, need, and resistance. The resource that enabled slaves to maintain such defiance was their culture: the body of beliefs and values born of their past and their present. It was not possible for slaves to change their world but by drawing strength from their culture they could resist their condition and struggle against it. In the face of this type of adversity, one would imagine that it would be hard to retain ones culture, much less ones sanity. Yet through, storytelling, religion and music African Americans managed to preserve their culture. Slaves used these mediums, among other things to, lift their spirits, let out their sorrows, pass down tradition, and give them hope for the future. Many times they infused European inventions, such as Christianity, with their own brand of African wo... Free Essays on The Preservation Of A Precious Culture Free Essays on The Preservation Of A Precious Culture The Preservation of a Precious Culture The institution of slavery was very trying for newly captured Africans. They had to survive the â€Å"middle passage† and legions of cruelties and atrocities committed against them before they even faced the hardships of America. Once in the new world and on the plantations Africans had to deal with the continual pressures of enslavement and dominance from another culture. Slave masters intervened continually in the lives of their slaves, from directing their labor to approving or disapproving marriages. Some masters made elaborate written rules, and most engaged in constant meddling, directing, nagging, threatening, and punishing. Many took advantage of their position to exploit slave women sexually. What slaves hated most about slavery was not the hard work to which they were subjected, but their lack of control over their lives, their lack of freedom. Slaves developed their own way of life and struggled to increase their independence while their masters strove to limit it. Enslaved African Americans developed a sense of racial identity. They naturally drew together, helping each other in danger, need, and resistance. The resource that enabled slaves to maintain such defiance was their culture: the body of beliefs and values born of their past and their present. It was not possible for slaves to change their world but by drawing strength from their culture they could resist their condition and struggle against it. In the face of this type of adversity, one would imagine that it would be hard to retain ones culture, much less ones sanity. Yet through, storytelling, religion and music African Americans managed to preserve their culture. Slaves used these mediums, among other things to, lift their spirits, let out their sorrows, pass down tradition, and give them hope for the future. Many times they infused European inventions, such as Christianity, with their own brand of African wo...

Definition of the Triangle Trade (Rum and Slave Trade)

Definition of the Triangle Trade (Rum and Slave Trade) In the 1560’s, Sir John Hawkins pioneered the way for the slave triangle that would take place between England, Africa, and North America.   While the origins of the slave trade from Africa can be traced back to days of the Roman Empire, Hawkins voyages were the first for England. The country would see slave trade flourish through more than 10,000 recorded voyages up through March 1807 when the British Parliament abolished it throughout the British Empire and specifically across the Atlantic with the passage of the Slave Trade Act. Hawkins was very cognizant of the profits that could be made from the slave trade and he personally made three voyages. Hawkins was from Plymouth, Devon, England and was cousins with Sir Francis Drake. It is alleged that Hawkins was the first individual to make a profit from each leg of the triangular trade. This triangular trade consisted of English goods such as copper, cloth, fur and beads being traded on the African for slaves who were then trafficked on what has become to be known as the infamous Middle Passage. This brought them across the Atlantic Ocean to then be traded for goods that had been produced in the New World, and these goods were then transported back to England. There was also a variation of this system of trade that was very commonplace during the  colonial era in American History. New Englanders traded extensively, exporting  many commodities  such as fish, whale oil, furs, and rum and followed the following pattern that occurred as follows: New Englanders manufactured and shipped rum to the west coast of Africa in exchange for slaves.The slaves were taken on the Middle Passage to the West Indies where they were sold for molasses and money.The molasses would be sent to New England to make rum and start the entire system of trade all over again. In the colonial era, the various colonies played different roles in what was produced and used for trade purposes in this triangular trade. Massachusetts and Rhode Island were known to produce the highest quality rum from the molasses and sugars that had been imported from the West Indies.   The distilleries from these two colonies would prove to be vital to the continued triangular slave trade that was extremely profitable. Virginia’s tobacco and hemp production also played a major role as well as cotton from the southern colonies.   Any cash crop and raw materials that the colonies could produce were more than welcome in England as well as throughout the rest of Europe for trade. But these types of goods and commodities were labor intensive, so the colonies relied on the use of slave for their production that in turn helped to fuel the necessity of continuing the trade triangle. Since this era is generally considered to be the age of sail, the routes that were used were chosen due to the prevailing wind and current patterns. This meant that is was more efficient for the countries situated in Western Europe to first sail southward until they reached the area known for the â€Å"trade winds† before heading west towards the Caribbean in lieu of sailing a straight course to the American colonies. Then for the return trip to England, the ships would travel the Gulf Stream and head in a Northeast direction utilizing the prevailing winds from the west to power their sails. It is important to note that the triangle trade was not an official or rigid system of trade, but instead a name that has been given to this triangular route of trade that existed between these three places across the Atlantic. Further, other triangle-shaped trade routes existed at this time. However, when individuals speak of the triangle trade, they are typically referring to this system.

Abandoning or Keeping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Abandoning or Keeping - Essay Example Upon reaching the new destinations, immigrants experience many problems such as the new culture adaption and keeping up with different local customs. The imminent question from the experiences then is reason behind abandoning own native culture and people and facing challenges in new environments. The realization of blood is thicker than water becomes evident from the experience of immigrants in new regions. According to Gary Shteyngart’s memoir; â€Å"Little Failure† and a movie named â€Å"Everything Is Illuminated†, immigration is not only a population movement and change. On a more important note, there are implications based on the political, cultural and economical aspects of a population migration. An appreciative perspective is on the cultural angles where multicultural consequences results from migrations. From the Shteyngart’ memoir; â€Å"Little Failure†, Shteyngart articulates his story and experiences through a sickly Soviet childhood, middle-school bullying, and own insecurities prior to his success. Shteynagart’s background was that of a typical Russian-Jewish immigrant based family. Shteyngart tried to join the American life but his parents were Russian traditionalists. This reciprocated to Shteyngart experiencing many problems while he lived in America as an immigrant. After he graduated from the university, he tried working as a paralegal for a civil rights law firm but was unsuccessful. However, it was his parent’s dream to achieve the American dream. His parents pushed him towards attaining the American Dream in multiple occasions. Shteyngart tried establishing himself within a new environment in order to get rid of the immigrant geared mentality (Shteyngart 4). Shteyngart embraced the an old proverb that postulates that ‘When in Rome do as the Romans do†. He recalls reminding himself and internalizing inwardly â€Å"Where am I? I am in Manhattan, the chielborought of New York City, the biggest city in America. Where am I not? I am

Assignment 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 9

2 - Assignment Example The questions are appropriate for use when there is no time available for a comprehensive research. They are also used when marketing researchers want to obtain data on consumers’ background information. Their purpose is to elicit specific information in a simple way and use the data to ascertain the statistical significance of other market survey results (Reid & Bojanic, 2010). Open-ended questions are investigative, and they provide rich qualitative data. It allows respondents to give answers they think are most appropriate. The questions provide marketing researchers with the opportunity to gain insight into various opinions on topics they are not conversant with. Due to the questions’ qualitative nature, they cannot provide sound statistical significance necessary for a conclusive research. They are appropriate for use when doing marketing research that involves small groupings of people. They can also be used when a researcher wants to gain preliminary information before he or she can proceed to a quantitative research. The questions main purpose is to help marketing researchers obtain in-depth information and facts about a product (Reid & Bojanic,

Market Demand Essay Example for Free

Market Demand Essay The calculation above shows that Bonia Group practice elastic demand for the previous 10 years. This is mainly due to strong competition among competitors. Bonia Group, which target the mid-high price range market encounter a few international branding competitor like Calvin Klein, DKNY, Paris Hilton, Armani Exchange and Lacoste in the market and were highly competitive for years. Bonia Group was advised to avoid price increase for the coming years as sales figures for the past 10 years show that Bonia Group were in elastic demand. In order to increase yearly sales amount, the Group could actually remain or decrease price as in elasticity demand, sales growth is oppositely proportional to price. They are always encourage to remain or decrease the price, and at the same time remain the quality and material of goods to boost up the sales quickly and to show immediate results. Besides that, the mid-high price range in Bonia Group show that their products are actually inferior goods. In order to overcome the coming economic crisis and recession, lower down the price range to normal goods is another way to avoid for profit losing. Economists predict that beginning from this year, it would be another recession coming ahead. During recession, the average salary for population will decrease and unemployment increase. People will try to find out substitute for expensive goods. Thus, Bonia as an inferior goods brand will encounter sales decrease during recession. It is good to change from inferior goods to normal goods so that they can still gaining profit during recession.

The Marketing And Sales Departments :: Business Marketing

Marketing and sales department is responsible for making sure customers know about the business. This may include market research, advertising and sales promotions, the creation and development of a website (although it maintenance maybe undertaken by I.T support staff). The sales departments responsible for selling the items to the customer and keeping sales records. The areas of responsibility are Market Research, Promotional Activities and Sales. Market research aims to find out customers needs and views on new products and services also old products and service, Promotional Activities is because businesses need to promote their products and services otherwise customers would be aware that they exist, the range of available methods including advertising, sales promotion etc, sales, merchants are employed by companies making house hold products to visit supermarkets to persuade them to stock their brands. The advantages of the marketing and sales department is that they will research information find new trends that will sell, also promote products that are attractive as well as best selling. The problems that occur within the marking and sales department are the research being wrong so instead of profit they lose, products could be out of date and rotten also the advertisements for a product will cost money The marketing and sales department helps achieve the aims and objective of EA^T by making profit margins larger and to increase stock if products sell fast and by that happening it could happen it could help them reach their target price. The departments communicate two ways internally and externally, I will give two examples of internal and external communication. Internally they communicate by informing customer’s service department of a new product that they will sell and this would be communicated either by telephone or e-mail, they would communicated it this way because this are the ways that new products are most seen or heard because they are not really avoidable i.

Capital Investment Decisions: the Case of Diamond Plc

Capital Investment Decisions: The case of Diamond PLC CONTENT PAGE PAGES 1. 1 – Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 1. 2 – Literature review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4-6 2. 1 – Advantages and disadvantages of Net Present Value†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 6-7 2. 2 – Advantages and disadvantages of Internal Rate of Return†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7-8 2. – General formulas†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9-14 3. 1 – Critical Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15-17 4. 1 – Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 17-18 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 19-20 1. 1 – Introduction This assignment is based on Capital investment deci sions: the case of Diamond Chemicals plc. A critical analysis of this case study will examine the characteristics and concerns in the case study. This research will discuss the use of Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) techniques known as Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), which are the two most popular and important techniques in investment decisions. Although these two techniques are closely-related, they have fundamental differences between each other. â€Å"The IRR is the discount rate that makes the present value of a future stream of cash flows equal to the initial investment(s). Arnold 2008. Whereas, NPV is the â€Å"difference between a project’s value and its cost† Breadley, Myers and Allen, 2006. 1. 2 – Literature Review Three research articles will be reviewed focusing on the performances of NPV and IRR relating to real cases in investment evaluation. â€Å"Do managers of South African manufacturing firms make optimal capital investment decisions? † †“ E. Gilbert, 2003. The purpose of the study was to investigate capital budgeting behaviour of firms in South Africa. It reveals that majority of manufacturing firms use only the NPV technique when evaluating their capital investment projects, and of the DCF techniques used, the NPV technique is used more often than the IRR. Research shows that manufacturing firms adjust the discount rate used in their NPV calculations to incorporate the project specific risk; according to the results of this research, majority of firms do this. It considers that the majority of firms use only the NPV technique when evaluating their capital investment projects (i. e. no other techniques are used at all). However, on average, the IRR technique is used more often than NPV (48% versus 47%). Nevertheless, in summary, the study suggests that manufacturing firms in South Africa deviate from the behaviour prescribed by corporate finance theory because they do not use NPV in isolation with projects specific risk adjusted discount rates when evaluating capital investment projects. The next article titled â€Å"Capital budgeting practices in the US. Forest product industry: A reappraisal† – L. S. Hogaboam and S. R. Shook, 2004. This study observed the capital investment practices of publicly owned forest roduct firms in the U. S. in 2001by replicating research reported by Cubbage and Redmond in 1985. In this research Baile et al (1979) conducted a survey and case study of capital budgeting in the forest products industry and found that most forest products companies had formal budgeting systems, but these companies lacked post audit procedures, did not account for risk and utiliz ed primitive risk adjustment methods. The researchers correlated the use of NPV and IRR to the size of the firm, finding that firms that had smaller gross sales revenue primarily used payback period for their projects. Nine firms ranked NPV either first or second in evaluation criteria importance, whereas IRR was considered most important evaluation criteria in the Idaho survey mutual exclusive projects. Financial literature indicates NPV is best for capital rationing, and 7/15 of firms indicated that IRR was their primary choice in case of rationing. This survey specifies that the IRR technique is most popular for the evaluation of mutually exclusive projects, even though most financial literature considers it to be inaccurate when compared to NPV. The third article â€Å"Capital Budgeting Practices: A Survey in the Firms in Cyprus† investigates: 1. the methods used by the Cyprus companies to evaluate investments, and 2. the approach adopted to handle important estimation problems inherent to the use of these methods. It was found that 54. 43% of projects evaluation is done by means of a simplified evaluation technique and that 36. 71% of the companies use the payback period technique. Among the methods that take into account the time value of money concept, the NPV method is the one most companies prefer, and only 8. 86% of them use IRR. In this study Hatfield, Horvath, and Webster (1998) investigated the importance of payback, average rate of return, IRR, and NPV capital budgeting techniques for the performance and value measures of firms. They found that firms analyzing all projects have higher share prices on average. They also found, in contrast to the theory of finance, that the NPV technique is not maximizing the value of the firm. Their results indicated that it is best not to rely on any single capital budgeting technique but instead to apply all of them or as many of them possible for a project evaluation. 2. – Advantages and Disadvantages of Net Present Value (NPV) NPV is a very popular method of project appraisal; starting with the advantages; According to Pike and Neale (2006), the NPV rule accepts all investments offering positive NPVs when discounted at the equivalent market rate of interest. This results in an increase in the market value of the firm and thus the increase of the shareholder†™s stake in the firm. NPV takes into account the time value of money – It recognises that ? 1 today is greater than ? 1 tomorrow; Breadley, Myers and Allen explain that it is because today can be invested to start earning interest immediately. They also argue that NPV rule allows thousands of shareholders who may have vastly different levels of wealth and attitudes toward risk to participate in the same enterprise and to delegate its operations to a professional manager. â€Å"One of the rules of Capital budgeting demands that managers be able to consider one project independently of all others – this is known as the value-additivity principle, it implies that the value of the firm is equal the sum of the values of each of its projects. † – Copeland, Weston and Shastri (2005). Arnold states that NPV finds out not only which project gives a positive return, but which one gives the greater positive return and that one of the major elements that leads to the theoretical dominance of NPV is that it takes into account the scale of investments. NPV is a superior technique to IRR because it has fewer limitations. Those limitations include the fact that both inflows and outflows are measured in form of present dollars, not as percentage, many people find it complicated to work with a dollar return rather than a percentage return. Another limitation would have to be the requirement of an estimate of the cost of capital to be able to calculate the NPV. William Megginson considered that financial managers find it hard to use NPV because it does not measure benefits relative to the amount invested. Though the NPV formula is constructive in evaluation of investment opportunities, the process is not faultless. 2. 2 – Advantages and Disadvantages of Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Financial managers prefer IRR because it is attributable to the general isposition of business people toward rates of return rather than actual dollars as interest rates, probability and so on are most often expressed as annual rates of return, making it an advantage of this technique. The calculations of IRR is an advantage, meaning the fact that IRR is simply the discount rate that make the NPV equals to Zero is important because it tells us how to calculate the returns on more complicated investments (Ross, Westerfield, Jordan â₠¬â€œ 2006). IRR indicates the rate of return receivable when money is put into a project. Arnold (2008) acknowledges that IRR describes how much the cash inflows exceed the cash outflows on an annualised percentage basis, taking into account of the timing of those cash flows. Like NPV, IRR also has the advantage of being a ‘time-adjusted’ measure of profitability. ‘Financial Theory and Corporate Policy’ by Ross, Westerfield and Jordan recognises that â€Å"the IRR rule errs in several ways. It does not obey the value-additivity principle, and consequently managers who use the IRR cannot consider projects independently of each other. Second, the IRR rule assumes that funds invested in projects have opportunity costs equal to the IRR for the project. This implicit reinvestment rate assumption violates the requirement that cash flow be discounted at the market-determined opportunity cost of capital. Finally, IRR rule can lead to multiple rates of return whenever the sign of cash flow changes more than once. † may give the wrong ranking of mutually exclusive projects that differ in economic life or in scale or required investment. 2. 3 – General Formulas for Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Net Present Value (NPV) formula Where CF0 = cash flow at time zero (t0), and CF1 = cash flow at the time one (t 1), one year after time zero. The decision rules for net present value are: NPV[pic]0 Accept NPV < 0 Reject Formula applied to cash flow suggested by Frank Greystock |Year |Cash flow (? m) |Discounted cash flow (? m) | |0 |-9 |-9 | |1 |1. 4 |? 1. 27 | |2 |2. 66 |? 2. 0 | |3 |3. 09 |? 2. 32 | |4 |3. 06 |? 2. 09 | |5 |3. 02 |? 1. 88 | |6 |2. 49 |? 1. 41 | |7 |2. 47 |? 1. 27 | |8 |2. 45 |? 1. 14 | |9 |2. 43 |? 1. 03 | |10 |2. 1 |? 0. 93 | |11 |1. 68 |? 0. 59 | |12 |1. 68 |? 0. 54 | |13 |1. 68 |? 0. 49 | |14 |1. 68 |? 0. 44 | |15 |1. 68 |? 0. 40 | | | |Total (NPV) ? 9. 00 | Internal Rate of Return (IRR) formula The internal rate of return, r, is the discount rate at which the net present value is zero. It is the value for r which makes the following equation hold: Formula applied to cash flow suggested by Frank Greystock The following tables show the percentages utilized for the trial and error phase, in order to produce an NPV of zero. |Table 1 | | | | | | | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? ) |Discounted Cash Flow (? m) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 00 |-9. 00000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 11111 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 67549 | | |3 |3. 9 |1. 54471 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 21406 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 95094 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 62227 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 48990 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 8566 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 30358 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 23895 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 13220 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 10492 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 08327 | | |14 |1. 8 |0. 06609 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 05245 | | |26% |Net Present Value (? m) |-0. 02441 | | | | | | Table 2 | | | | | | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? m) |Discounted Cash Flow (? ) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 0 0 |-9. 00000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 12000 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 70240 | | |3 |3. 09 |1. 8208 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 25338 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 98959 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 65274 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 51800 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 41104 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 2615 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 25877 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 14431 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 11545 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 09236 | | |14 |1. 68 |0. 07389 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 5911 | | |25% |Net Present Value (? m) |0. 29926 | | | | | | Table 3 | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? m) |Discounted Cash Flow (? m) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 00 |-9. 0000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 07692 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 57396 | | |3 |3. 09 |1. 40646 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 07139 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 81337 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 1587 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 39363 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 30034 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 22915 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 17482 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 09374 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 7211 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 05547 | | |14 |1. 68 |0. 04267 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 03282 | | |30% |Net Present Value (? m) |-1. 14726 | | | | | | | |Yearly |Cash Flows (? ) |Discounted Cash Flow (? m) | | |Intervals | | | | | | | | | |0 |-9. 00 |-9. 00000 | | |1 |1. 40 |1. 09375 | | |2 |2. 66 |1. 62354 | | |3 |3. 9 |1. 47343 | | |4 |3. 06 |1. 13994 | | |5 |3. 02 |0. 87894 | | |6 |2. 49 |0. 56616 | | |7 |2. 47 |0. 43876 | | |8 |2. 45 |0. 34001 | | |9 |2. 43 |0. 6346 | | |10 |2. 41 |0. 20413 | | |11 |1. 68 |0. 11117 | | |12 |1. 68 |0. 08685 | | |13 |1. 68 |0. 06785 | | |14 |1. 68 |0. 05301 | | |15 |1. 68 |0. 4142 | | |28% |Net Present Value (? m) |-0. 61758 | | | | | | Interpolation illustrates that there is a yield rate (r) which lie between 25 per cent and 26 per cent which will produce an NPV of zero. The way to find that discount rate is to first find the distance between points A and B as a proportion of the entire distance between points A and C. 3. 1 – Critical Analysis â€Å"Greystock included in the first year of his forecast preliminary engineering costs of ? 00,000, which had been spent over the preceding nine months on efficiency and design studies of the renovation. † The preliminary costs of ? 500,000 were irrelevant because it would not have been incurred if not for the possibility of Greystock going ahead with the renovation; therefore it was a sunk cost. The development cost of ? 500,000 should be ignore because they are bygones and are of the past as it was incurred nine months before and does not need to be added into the cash flow. â€Å"The corporate manual stipulated that overhead costs be reflected in project analyses at the rate of 3. % times the book value of assets acquired in the project per year†. According to Arnold (2008), not all overhead costs are incremental; when trying to assess the viability of a project only the incremental costs are incurred by going ahead are relevant. Those cost which are unaffected therefore irrelevant. Meaning that the capital projects which should reflect an annual pre-tax charge amounting to 3. 5% of the value of the initial asset investment for the project – it should be entered in the incremental cash flow because it is an irrelevant overhead cost. Rotterdam sales are producing negative results due to the decision made by Greystock to shift capacity to Rotterdam away from Merseyside. His new business decision is having a negative effect on Rotterdam because all the expenditure is coming from Merseyside as he has decided to renovate it, cannibalizing Rotterdam. Even the director of sales recognised there was â€Å"oversupply in the works†, which means that too much is being supplied for the project. In view of adjustment of cash flow must be consistent with inflation forecast imbedded in discount rate. The treasury staff was concerned because the project would impound a long-term inflation of 3% per year. The unrelated EPC project is not relevant as it would only increase prices when recession ended despite the ? 1 million pound renovation ; the criterion is that each individual investment promises an IRR greater than 10%, not that multiple projects promise an average return above this hurdle. Before submitting a project for senior management, at least three performance â€Å"hurdles† had to be met in order for proposal to be considered. -Impact on earnings per share = ? 0. 018 -Payback = 3. years -Discounted cash flow (NPV) = ? 9 Million Although the Merseyside project met all the criteria, Morris should have considered dividing the proposal into requires and desire expenditure ( relating to April Novelties). Concerns and characteristics – Merseyside The main concern for Merseyside is the old production process and how it is not continuous at times, and it has a â₠¬Å"higher labour content than its competitors’ newer plants. However, regardless of these limitations the Merseyside plant has many good characteristics such as: †¢ Receiving positive cash flows immediately Higher cash flows in the beginning †¢ Relatively short payback period Concerns and characteristics – Rotterdam The lack of flexibility and commitment to plant project are concerns for the Rotterdam plant as it is not being renovated and we remain unsure as to whether Greystock will take on the project of renovation at Rotterdam. On the other hand, the fact that the polymerization process has become continuous is major strength, and also that the payment schedule is flexible (over four year period). In addition the Japanese technology has proven to be successful in Japan. . 1 – Conclusion This assignment has summarized the Case study while emphasizing important details of the concerns and characteristics of the Merseyside and Rotterdam plant. Opportu nities such as Land value and Use of right of way can enable Rotterdam to develop positively, despite German technology posing as a threat and also losing right of way. Overall the Merseyside plant offers numerous opportunities to increase outputs and lower costs, while also increasing competitiveness for their competitors. Nevertheless Merseyside faces a very big threat where they would have to close for 45 days causing their customers to buy from their competitors, although the lost market share can still be regained. The investment appraisal process requires the use of sophisticated evaluation techniques such as Net present value (NPV) and Internal rate of return (IRR). These techniques help ensure that all relevant cost and other factors have been considered. The calculations of NPV and IRR are quite challenging, especially regarding the trial and error method IRR. The calculations to obtain –NPV=0- was time consuming and more than twice as long as the NPV method. If risk adjustment is made through the discount rate there may be more than one cost of capital and the sponsor then has to classify the project into say high or medium or low risk categories etc. Finally, it can be argued that the process of capital budgeting is a time-waster because the fundamental information used is seen to be undependable. As the estimates of cash proceeds are just guesses and that the use of anything other than the easiest technique of capital budgeting is as unsuccessful as making use of any complicated formulas. For example, in 1974 K. Larry Hastie published his classic paper, â€Å"One Businessman’s View of Capital Budgeting. † His position is that firms should avoid excessively complex measurement techniques. He states: â€Å"Investment  decision making  could be improved significantly if the emphasis were placed on asking the appropriate strategic questions and providing better assumptions rather than on increasing the sophistication of measurement techniques† (1974, p. 36). This research establishes that NPV and IRR are two major investment decision methods, which gratifies the criteria for the accurate evaluation of capital projects. REFERENCES Hogaboam, L. S. , Shook, S. R. (December 2004) ‘Capital Budgeting practices in the U. S. forest product industry: A reappraisal. ’ Forest products journals. Gilbert E. (May 2003) ‘Do managers of South African manufacturing firms make optimal capital investment decisions? ’ Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town. Lazaridis T. L. October 2004) ‘Capital Budgeting Practices: A Survey in the Firms in Cyprus’ Journal of Small Business Management Richard A, Breadley, Stuart C. Myers, Franklin Allen (2008) ‘Principles of Corporate finance’ 9th edition McGraw-Hill, London Richard Pike, Bill Neale (2005) ‘Corporate finance and investment: decisions of strategies’ 5th edition Financial time prentice hall Thomas E. Copeland, J. Fred Weston, Kulde ep Shastri (2005) ‘Fiancial theory and Corporate policy’ 4th edition Pearson Addison Wesley, London Megginson, William L. (1997) ‘Corporate finance theory’ Addison Wesley Stephen A. Ross, Randolph W. Westerfield, Bradford D. Jordan (2006) ‘Coporate finance: Fundamentals’ McGraw-Hill, London Glen Arnold (2008) ‘Corporate financial management’ 4th edition Financial times prentice hall, England Investopedia (2010) Available at: www. investopedia. com/study-guide/cfa-exam/level-1/corporate-finance/cfa13. asp Fao corporate document repository (1997) ‘Chapter 6: Investment decision – Capital budgeting’ Available at: www. fao. org/docrep/w4343e/w4343e07. htm QFinance (2007) Available at: www. qfinance. com/cash-flow-management-best-practice

Analysis of Two Views of the River by Mark Twain Essay

Wisdom and knowledge takes the poetry from our hearts.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Two Views of the River† is an essay that depicts the passing over of an individual from innocence to wisdom and how things loose their significance when they cease to be something new, and later on, what we thought we wanted will become something trivial and insignificant in our eyes as we discover what it truly is. The way Mark Twain said â€Å"the language of the water† reminds me of things in our lives, perhaps trades that we are trying to become the world’s experts of. Indeed, we try to work on our goals and become as great as we could be. We learn every facet of that object, as the river was to him. Referring to his mentioning of romance, it is comparable to falling in love. When people fall in love, they are in a fantasy world where everything is seen in rose-tinted glasses. Seeing only all the wonders of that world and refusing to see all the bad side. Once the glasses are removed, you can still remember all the memories and reminiscing all the thrills and happiness that those memories made you feel just as he recalled the way he was when he first fell in love with the river. When he learned everything he wanted to know, he discovered that what he has found was something worthy but in the process, he lost a part of himself that he could never ever regain nor recapture again and perhaps it is his ability to dream. What he has found disillusioned him. But then he remembers the way he was and the way he used to view things. All the beauty he once saw has turned jaded. It is perhaps his perspective that changed but even, it makes him sad to realize that. Maybe, he also realized that he has become cynical, if you will view his loss of passion in relation to life, politics even. He was reminiscing the way he had first seen the river, like someone â€Å"bewitched† and in awe of all the beauty that he saw and he said that instead of seeing the beauty of it, he should have seen the harm it could do. But then, he said that he slowly saw the beauty in a different light or maybe, he started to take that beauty for granted. In life, there are many times when we get disillusioned. We follow dreams and fantasies as though they are the best thing on earth, only to realize later on that the dream was never quite the way we envisioned it once it turns into reality. A lot of times, people get so absorbed in the chase of one rainbow after another to realize what they really want, in much the same way that in an individual’s pursuit of knowledge in his field of passion, they eventually loose their enthusiasm. There were cause and contrast in Twain’s essay which could be seen in the way he described the river, which differs from the way he described it as someone you would call naà ¯ve to his next paragraph, which I would interpret as a man who has gained knowledge and was disillusioned by that knowledge. In view of life, it is like the passing over of humans and learning the harsh facts of life. The world is still the great place that we know it is, and life is still a precious jewel that matters more than anything in this world. But in our daily lives, we forget to stand back and see the world’s beauty because we have encountered its dark pits, in much the same way that we find life so hard to appreciate because of the irony and unfairness of it. Mankind was all born idealists and optimists, but eventually, that idealism and optimism is lost as the person goes through the hardships of life. The experiences will teach him a great many things and it will leave him equipped to handle the obstacles that he has encountered in the past and overcome the obstacles of the present. But this will take some of the beauty from his eyes. Viewing the essay in different angles and in relation to aspects of society and humanity, it is indeed easier to remain innocent and left with our dreams and not know of all the dark angles because knowing can only hurt as dreams are indeed better than reality.

moderization essays

moderization essays After 1500 there were many signs that a new age of world history was beginning, for example the discovery of America and the first European enterprises in Africa. This "new age" was dominated by the astonishing success of one civilization among many, that of Europe. There was more and more continuous interconnection between events in all countries, but it is to be explained by European efforts. Europeans eventually became "masters of the globe" and they used their mastery to make the world one. That resulted in a unity of world history that can be detected until today. Politics, empire-building, and military expansion were only a tiny part of what was going on. Besides the economic integration of the globe there was a much more important process going on: The spreading of assumptions and ideas. The result was to be "One World." The age of independent The history of the centuries since 1500 can be described as a series of wars and violent struggles. Obviously men in different countries did not like another much more than their predecessors did. However, they were much more alike than their ancestors were, which was an outcome of what we now call modernization. One could also say that the world was Europeanized, for modernization was a matter of ideas and techniques which have an European origin. It was with the modernization of Europe that the unification of world history began. A great change in Europe was the starting-point of modern history. There was a continuing economic predominance of agriculture. Agricultural progress increasingly took two main forms: Orientation towards the market, and technical innovation. They were interconnected. A large population in the neighborhood meant a market and therefore an incentive. Even in the fifteenth century the inhabitants of so called  ³low countries ² were already ...

An Overview of Third-Wave Feminism

An Overview of Third-Wave Feminism What historians refer to as first-wave feminism arguably began in the late 18th century with the publication of Mary Wollstonecrafts Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792), and ended with the ratification of the Twentieth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protected a womans right to vote. First-wave feminism was concerned primarily with establishing, as a point of policy, that women are human beings and should not be treated like property. The Second Wave The second wave of feminism emerged in the wake of World War II, during which many women entered the workforce, and would have arguably ended with the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), had it been ratified. The central focus of the second wave was on total gender equality -   women as a group having the same social, political, legal, and economic rights that men have. Rebecca Walker and the Origins of Third-Wave Feminism Rebecca Walker, a 23-year-old, bisexual African-American woman born in Jackson, Mississippi, coined the term third-wave feminism in a 1992 essay. Walker is in many ways a living symbol of the way that second-wave feminism has historically failed to incorporate the voices of many young women, non-heterosexual women, and women of color. Women of Color Both first-wave and second-wave feminism represented movements that existed alongside, and at times in tension with, civil rights movements for people of color - a slight majority of whom happen to be women. But the struggle always seemed to be for the rights of white women, as represented by the womens liberation movement, and black men, as represented by the civil rights movement. Both movements, at times, could have been legitimately accused of relegating women of color to asterisk status. Lesbians, Bisexual Women, and Transgender Women For many second-wave feminists, non-heterosexual women were seen as an embarrassment to the movement. The great feminist activist Betty Friedan, for example, coined the term lavender menace in 1969 to refer to what she considered the harmful perception that feminists are lesbians. She later apologized for the remark, but it accurately reflected the insecurities of a movement that was still very heteronormative in many ways. Low-Income Women First- and second-wave feminism also tended to emphasize the rights and opportunities of middle-class women over poor and working-class women. The debate over abortion rights, for example, centers on laws that affect a womans right to choose an abortion - but economic circumstances, which generally play a more significant role in such decisions today, are not necessarily taken into account. If a woman has the legal right to terminate her pregnancy, but chooses to exercise that right because she cant afford to carry a pregnancy to term, is this really a scenario that protects reproductive rights? Women in the Developing World First- and second-wave feminism, as movements, were largely confined to industrialized nations. But third-wave feminism takes a global perspective - not by merely attempting to colonize developing nations with Western practices, but by empowering women to actualize change, to gain power and equality, within their own cultures and their own communities and with their own voices. A Generational Movement Some second-wave feminist activists have questioned the need for a third wave. Others, both inside and outside of the movement, disagree with respect to what the third wave represents. Even the general definition  provided above may not accurately describe the objectives of all third-wave feminists.But its important to realize that third-wave feminism is a generational term - it refers to how the feminist struggle manifests itself in the world today. Just as second-wave feminism represented the diverse and sometimes competing for interests of feminists who struggled together under the banner of womens liberation, third-wave feminism represents a generation that has begun with the achievements of the second wave. We can only hope that the third wave will be so successful as to necessitate the fourth wave - and we can only imagine what that fourth wave might look like.

Solution Outline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Solution Outline - Assignment Example Unfortunately, Emergency mangers have always grappled with communication challenges occasioned by jammed telecommunication lines or/and destroyed infrastructure. On the occurrence of Hurricane Katrina, for instance, many wireless base stations were grounded and a number of communication cables were damaged (Coombs & Holladay, 2012). This resulted in a slower response, difficulty coordination, and, therefore, more damage to infrastructure and loss of life. Secondary data has been the main source of information relating to the communication challenge facing emergency management. Some of these data sources include interviews with disaster managers, and which have been recorded in print media, peer reviewed articles, newspapers, and reports submitted to relevant government bodies. The two major sources are the â€Å"The handbook of crisis communication† by Coombs & Holladay (2012) and information from GAO website (Major Management Challenges and Program Risks) retrieved from: http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-03-113 For instance, following hurricane Katrina and its devastating impacts, it became apparent that the loss was not only huge, but also extreme due to the challenges faced by emergency agencies. As expected, the government needed a report from FEMA to explain the state of emergency management as well as present their findings regarding the heavy loss that was experienced following hurricane Katrina. In the report, it was apparent that the multi-agency operation lacked proper coordination because of the communication challenge occasioned by destruction of telecommunication network. Further on, the decision by government to cut down on its budgetary allocation to emergency management and the concomitant impacts have widely been tackled in peer reviewed articles, print media, as well as online news website. Stakeholders in emergency management include local, state, and federal

A Modest Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

A Modest Proposal - Essay Example 10), and the remainder may be sold on the market as food for wealthy landlords. He analyzes the disposal of poor children as a â€Å"saleable commodity† (Swift, par. 7), and discusses various ways to convert the flesh of children into delectable dishes. According to Swift, his proposal would ensure a reduction in the Irish Catholic population, serve as a source of income for the poor peasant, boost the economy of the country, lighten the financial burden of the parents, â€Å"bring great custom to taverns† (Swift, par. 25), encourage marriage and the good care of children, and boost the export of flesh. He declares that there is a good market for this ‘commodity’. Swift now lists the measures which would improve the conditions of the Irish peasants: the taxation of absentee landlords, the use of locally manufactured goods, the rejection of imported luxuries, the practice of thrift, the fostering of nationalism, unity and virtue, compassion towards the poor tenants, and â€Å"a spirit of honesty, industry, and skill† (Swift, par. 29) in merchants. He concludes his essay on a cynical note, saying that these measures will not be implemented in Ireland and, therefore, his proposal is the only practical alternative. Swift signs off with the affirmation the he is a totally disinterested participant in this debate, as he has no young children whom he could sell