Ethics and Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethics and Leadership - Research Paper Example The ethical issue concerning the employees of global fashion plant was that the owners and management of the company were observed to render insignificant consideration to think about the volatile effects due to their actions. The leaders of that plant were observed to lack in terms of awareness regarding ethical managerial conduct that states the minimum behavior required from them towards the employees. The code of conduct can be classified as Deontology which can be defined as actions that are in accordance with moral principles or certain rules. It further states that rules or principles are derived from rationality that is justified to each and every employee. In Kathie Lee’s fashion plant there were various rules which directly created a negative impact on the working environment of the organization inhibiting the moral conscience of the leaders. For instance, the women workers were asked to raise their hands for taking permission to use the bathrooms that were kept locked. They were allowed to use the washrooms two times a day only, once in the morning and again in the evening. Furthermore, the women were searched physically as the company prohibited from bringing any snacks that could stain the garments. The employees were also tortured mentally to work faster and produce as many apparels as possible within a limited working hour. It was observed that in eight man-hours, a group of sixty-five women stitched nearly eight hundred pairs of Kathie Lee pants (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights).... In Kathie Lee’s fashion plant there were various rules which directly created a negative impact over the working environment of the organisation inhibiting the moral conscience of the leaders. For instance, the women workers were asked to raise their hands for taking permission to use the bathrooms that were kept locked. They were allowed to use the washrooms two times a day only, once in the morning and again in the evening. Furthermore, the women were searched physically as the company prohibited from bringing any snacks that could stain the garments. The employees were also tortured mentally to work faster and produce as much apparels as possible within a limited working hour. It was observed that in eight man-hours, a group of sixty five women stitched nearly eight hundred pairs of Kathie Lee pants (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, 1996). Thus, it can be observed that the process performed by the management at Kathie Lee’s plant violated the standards o f human and labour rights in its Honduras plant where they made the workers work more than the standard time specified by the labour organisations, only to meet the orders demanded by Wal-Mart. The ethics imbibed in the behaviour of the superiors play an imperative role while motivating or maintaining a happier working environment. It can specifically be described as a character trait of a human-being that is required to flourish and lead a healthier life which can also be quite beneficial to facilitate a productive working environment encouraging employees to participate in the overall growth of the company (Hindman & Smith, 1999). Thus, a leader of an organisation should possess virtuous skills in their behaviour towards the subordinates. In the case of Kathie Lee’s

Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid Essay Example for Free

Marketing to the Bottom of the Pyramid Essay Professor C. K. Prahalad’s seminal publication, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, suggests an enormous market at the â€Å"bottom of the pyramid† (BOP)—a group of some 4 billion people who subsist on less than $2 a day. By some estimates, these â€Å"aspirational poor,† who make up three-fourths of the world’s population, represent $14 trillion in purchasing power, more than Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, and Japan put together. Demographically, it is young and growing at 6 percent a year or more. Traditionally, the poor have not been considered an important market segment. â€Å"The poor can’t afford most products†; â€Å"they will not accept new technologies†; and â€Å"except for the most basic products, they have little or no use for most products sold to higher income market segments†Ã¢â‚¬â€these are some of the assumptions that have, until recently, caused most multinational firms to pay little or no attention to those at the bottom of the pyramid. Typical market analysis is limited to urban areas, thereby ignoring rural villages where, in markets like India, the majority of the population lives. However, as major markets become more competitive and in some cases saturated—with the resulting ever-thinning profit margins— marketing to the bottom of the pyramid may have real potential and be worthy of exploration. One researcher suggested that American and European businesses should go back and look at their own roots. Sears, Roebuck was created to serve the lower-income, sparsely settled rural market. Singer sewing machines fashioned a scheme to make consumption possible by allowing customers to pay $5 a month instead of $100 at once. The world’s largest company today, Walmart, was created to serve the lower-income market. Here are a few examples of multinational company efforts to overcome the challenges in marketing to the BOP. Designing products for the BOP is not about making cheap  stuff but about making technologically advanced products affordable. For example, one company was inspired to invent the Freeplay, a windup self-power–generating radio, when it learned that isolated, impoverished people in South Africa were not getting information about AIDS because they  had no electricity for radios and could not afford replacement batteries. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY The BOP market has a need for advanced technology, but to  be usable, infrastructure support must often accompany the  technology. For example, ITC, a $2.6 billion a year Indian conglomerate, decided to create a network of PC kiosks in villages. For years, ITC conducted its business with farmers through a maze of intermediaries, from brokers to traders. The company wanted farmers to be able to connect directly to information sources to check ITC’s offer price for produce, as well as prices in the closest village market, in the state capital, and on the Chicago commodities exchange. With direct access to information, farmers got the best price for their product, hordes of  intermediaries were bypassed, and ITC gained a direct contact with the farmers, thus improving the efficiency of ITC’s soybean acquisition. To achieve this goal, it had to do much more than just distribute PCs. It had to provide equipment for managing power outages, solar panels for extra electricity, and a satellite-based telephone hookup, and it had to train farmers to use the PCs. Without these steps, the PCs would never have worked. The complex solution serves ITC very well. Now more  than 10,000 villages and more than 1 million farmers are covered by its system. ITC is able to pay more to farmers and at the same time cut its costs because it has dramatically reduced the inefficiencies in logistics. The vast market for cell phones among those at the BOP is  not for phones costing $200 or even $100 but for phones costing less than $50. Such a phone cannot simply be a cut-down version of an existing handset. It must be very reliable and have lots of battery capacity, as it will be used by people who do not have reliable access to electricity. Motorola went thorough four redesigns to develop a low-cost cell phone with  battery life as long as 500 hours for villagers without regular electricity and an extra-loud volume for use in noisy markets. Motorola’s low-cost phone, a no-frills cell phone priced at $40, has a standby time of two weeks and conforms to local languages and customs. The cell-phone manufacturer says it expects to sell 6 million cell phones in six months in markets including China, India, and  Turkey. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES CREATIVE FINANCING There is also demand for personal computers but again, at very low prices. To meet the needs of this market, Advanced Micro Devices markets a $185 Personal Internet communicator—a basic computer for developing countries—and a Taiwan Company offers a similar device costing just $100. For most products, demand is contingent on the customer  having sufficient purchasing power. Companies have to devise creative ways to assist those at the BOP to finance larger purchases. For example, Cemex, the world’s third-largest cement company, recognized an opportunity for profit by enabling  lower-income Mexicans to build their own homes. The company’s Patrimonio Hoy Programme, a combination builder’s â€Å"club† and financing plan that targets homeowners who make less than $5 a day, markets building kits using its premiumgrade cement. It recruited 510 promoters to persuade new customers to commit to building additions to their homes. The customers paid Cemex $11.50 a week and received building  materials every 10 weeks until the room was finished (about  70 weeks—customers were on their own for the actual building). Although poor, 99.6 percent of the 150,000 Patrimonio Hoy participants have paid their bills in full. Patrimonio Hoy at tracted 42,000 new customers and is expected to turn a $1.5 million profit next year. 8/27/10 2:14 PM Cases 3 Assessing Global Market Opportunities One customer, Diega Chavero, thought the scheme was a scam  when she first heard of it, but after eight years of being unable to save enough to expand the one-room home where her family of six lived, she was willing to try anything. Four years later, she has five bedrooms. â€Å"Now I have a palace.† Another deterrent to the development of small enterprises at the BOP is available sources of adequate financing for microdistributors and budding entrepreneurs. For years, those at the bottom of the pyramid needing loans in India had to depend on local moneylenders, at interest rates up to 500 percent a year. ICICI Bank, the second-largest banking institution in India, saw these people as a potential market and critical to its future. To convert them into customers in a cost-effective way, ICICI turned to village self-help groups. ICICI Bank met with microfinance-aid groups working with  the poor and decided to give them capital to start making small loans to the poor—at rates that run from 10 percent to 30 percent. This sounds usurious, but it is lower than the 10 percent daily rate that some Indian loan sharks charge. Each group was composed of 20 women who were taught about saving, borrowing, investing, and so on. Each woman contributes to a joint savings account with the other members, and based on the self-help group’s track record of savings, the bank then lends money to the group, which in turn lends money to its individual members. ICICI has developed 10,000 of these groups reaching 200,000 women. ICICI’s money has helped 1 million households get loans that average $120 to $140. The bank’s executive directory says the venture has been â€Å"very profitable.† ICICI is working with local communities and NGOs to enlarge its reach. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES EFFECTIVE DISTRIBUTION When Unilever saw that dozens of agencies were lending microcredit loans  funds to poor women all over India, it thought that these would-be microentrepreneurs needed businesses to run. Unilever realized it could not sell to the bottom of the pyramid unless it found low-cost ways to distribute its product, so it created a network of hundreds of thousands of Shakti Amma (â€Å"empowered mothers†) who sell Lever’s products in their villages through an Indian version of Tupperware parties. Start-up loans enabled the women to buy stocks of goods to sell to local villagers. In one case, a woman who received a small loan was able to repay her start-up loan and has not needed to take another one. She now sells regularly to about 50 homes and even serves as a miniwholesaler, stocking tiny shops in outlying villages a short bus ride from her own. She sells about 10,000 rupees ($230) of goods each month, keeps about $26 profit, and ploughs the rest back into new stock. While the $26 a month she earns is less than the average $40 monthly income in the area, she now has income, whereas before she had nothing. Today about 1,300 poor women are selling Unilever’s products in 50,000 villages in 12 states in India and account for about 15 percent of the company’s rural sales in those states. Overall, rural markets account for about 30 percent of the company’s revenue. In another example, Nguyen Van Hon operates a floating sundries distributorship along the Ke Sat River in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta—a maze of rivers and canals dotted with villages. His boat is filled with boxes containing small bars of Lifebuoy soap and  single-use sachets of Sunsilk shampoo and Omo laundry detergent, which he sells to riverside shopkeepers for as little as 2.5 cents each. At his first stop he makes deliveries to a half dozen small shops. He sells hundred of thousands of soap and shampoo packets a month, enough to earn about $125—five times his previous monthly salary as a junior Communist party official. â€Å"It’s a hard life, but its getting better.† Now, he â€Å"has enough to pay his daughter’s schools fees and soon . . . will have saved enough to buy  a bigger boat, so I can sell to more villages.† Because of aggressive efforts to reach remote parts of the country through an extensive network of more than 100,000 independent sales  representatives such as Hon, the Vietnam subsidiary of Unilever realized a 23 percent increase in sales last year to more than $300 million. BOP MARKETING REQUIRES AFFORDABLE PACKAGING As one observer noted, â€Å"the poor cannot be Walmartized.† Consumers in rich nations use money to stockpile convenience. We go to Sam’s Club, Costco, Kmart, and so on, to get bargain prices and the convenience of buying shampoos and paper towels by the case. Selling to the poor requires just the opposite approach. They do not have the cash to stockpile convenience, and they do not mind frequent trips to the village store. Products have to be made available locally and in affordable units; fully 60 percent of the value of all shampoo sold in India is in single-serve packets. Nestlà © is targeting China with a blitz of 29 new ice cream  brands, many selling for as little as 12 cents with take-home and multipack products ranging from 72 cents to $2.30. It also features products specially designed for local tastes and preferences of Chinese consumers, such as Nestlà © Snow Moji, a rice pastry filled with vanilla ice cream that resembles dim sum, and other ice cream flavors like red bean and green tea. The ice cream products are distributed through a group of small independent saleswomen, which the company aims to expand to 4,000 women  by next year. The project is expected to account for as much as 24 percent of the company’s total rural sales within the next few years. BOP MARKETING CREATES  HEALTH BENEFITS Albeit a promotion to sell products, marketing to BOP does help improve personal hygiene. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that diarrhea-related diseases kill 1.8 million people a year and noted that  better hand-washing habits—using soap—is one way to prevent their spread. In response to WHO urging, Hindustan Lever Company introduced a campaign called â€Å"Swasthya Chetna† or â€Å"Glowing Health,† which argues that even cleanlooking hands may carry dangerous germs, so use more soap. It began a concentrated effort to take this message into the tens of thousands of villages where the rural poor reside, often with little access to media. â€Å"Lifebuoy teams visit each village several times,† using a â€Å"Glo Germ† kit to show schoolchildren that soap-washed hands are cleaner. This program has reached â€Å"around 80 million rural folk,† and sales of Lifebuoy in small affordable sizes have risen sharply. The small bar has become the brand’s top seller.

Functions of Investment Banks

Functions of Investment Banks A Critical Discussion of the Major Functions  Performed by Investment Banks. Glossary (Jump to) Abstract   Chapter 1 –The Major Functions of Investment Banks   Summary Bills of Exchange   Corporate Finance Investment Management   Chapter 2 – Conclusions and Recommendations Bibliography Abstract Investment banks evolved as a result of lucrative merchant centers located in the north of Italy, Belgium as well as Holland from the 17th through 19th centuries. During that period Europe’s most influential merchant families moved to the United Kingdom as it was becoming the merchant and banking center of the region. Said list included the Barings, Rothchilds, and Warburg families and their interests (Kuhn, Robert. 1990)[1]. Developments in the United States resulted in that country becoming the center of financial activity in the late 20th century and saw the rise of JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs Merrill Lynch and Morgan Staley joining the ranks of the older investment powers (Carosso, 1970)[2]. Investment banking represents a broad spectrum of financial services that are dispensed by various specialists in conjunction with global investment banks. The services performed by these institutions includes (Lott, 2001)[3]: Underwriting, Distribution, The maintenance of markets in bonds, shares and securities issued by public entities and businesses, as well as Other services In contrast to the services provided by commercial banks, where the principle functions are to accept deposits and make loans to consumers and business on a short-term basis, investment banks engage in four important functions (Lott, 2001)[4]: Assist in the arrangement for the provision of funds to corporations and governments through underwriting as well as distributing new securities issues, Maintenance of markets for securities through the trading and execution of orders for secondary market transactions, Administer advice with respect to the purchase, sale and issuance of securities as well as other financial areas, The creation and management of varied investment vehicles. In addition to the foregoing, investment banks also perform a number of other important transactions and functions that are the subject of discussion in this paper. Chapter 1 –The Major Functions of Investment Banks 1.1 Summary Investment banking consists of a broad array of financial transactions. Some of the more familiar are (Lott, 2001)[5]: Underwriting, Syndication, Corporate Demand Capital Tenders and, Investment banking functions It is this last area that shall for the basis for examination. Bills of Exchange (Williamson, 1988)[6] These are independent instruments of debt that carry the signature of the customer (debtor). In summary, it is an order that directs a specific sum is to be paid to a specific individual. This instrument safeguards that a bill is accepted so that control is not lost of the item(s) involved. A ‘bill of exchange’ contains a stated date of payment that must be concluded on that date irrespective of any disputes concerning the item named. There are legal measures to prevent payment, termed ‘non-honoring’, which are subject to differing rules depending upon the country involved. Corporate Finance (Williamson, 1988)[7] This aspect of investment banking represents a specific finance area that deals with corporate financial decisions as well as the tools and analysis formulas and processes utilized to arrive at these decisions. It is divided into ‘short-term’ and ‘long-term’ techniques and decisions whereby the objective is to enhance corporate value through ensuring the ‘return on capital’ is more than the ‘cost of capital’. The equation rests on a conservative application of risks. Corporate finance is related to managerial finance, although the latter is larger in scope as it entails financial techniques that are possible in all business forms, whether they are corporate or non-corporate. IPO’s (efmoody, 2005)[8] Termed ‘Initial Public Offerings’, IPO’s represent the beginning of a publicly listed company and as such those investors whom are in position at this stage are poised to reap almost immediate gains if the stock rises on opening day. Similarly, these same investors stand to lose money if the opening price drops substantially. During the last few years the offering prices have tended to average out as being overpriced. This is borne out by the fact that the closing price, on average, the day of opening generated an annual return of just 2%. In terms of profitability, IPO’s generate large fees for the participating firms and represent the most profitable underwriting area. Fees generally average seven percent (7%). After the various splits between managing underwriters, brokerage firms, law firms and staff the profit hovers in the 34% through 40% range. This service is a cornerstone in aiding firms to float securities needed to expand or underwrite operations and as such represents one of the more important functions performed by investment banks. Rights Issues (Constantinides et al, 2002)[9] These are equity issues whereby shareholders of record have the right to purchase new shares that have a fixed exercise price. Mergers Acquisitions (Allen et al, 2000)[10] Investment banks act in the capacity as advisors in merger and acquisition deals. In working with both the target(s) of acquisition as well as the acquirer(s), investment banks provide their information expertise to help arrive at the ‘reservation price’. They also calculate the potential for gains and the risks in the transaction. And while investment banks have a vested interest in these deals, their pragmatism is an effective counter weight in maintaining a balance between undervaluing and overvaluing. Operating under banking regulations, investment banks represent a sort of intermediary that engenders public trust in the legitimacy of the transaction and is a part of a system that represent checks and balances over these types of transactions. Commercial banks might have potential conflicts of interest in these types of deals, so even while they have recently taken on this role, the majority of these transactions are still funneled through investment banks. Investment Management (Williamson, 1988)[11] As the term implies, investment management is also known as portfolio management as well as money management. It is a segment of investment analysis that examines the management of money relating to securities purchases as well as their sale. High Net Worth Individuals (Williamson, 1988)[12] Investment banking services for individuals of high net worth has been a long standing feature for an elite group whose banking investment needs exceed the capabilities of commercial banks and traditional specialists. The complex variable regarding the client’s return targets and relative degrees of risk along with long as well as short-term requirements represent specialized analysis. The resources of an investment bank are suited to meet the demanding requirements of these types of individuals as well as confidentiality. The extremely sophisticated variables comprising recommendations and placement in various instruments are crafted to fit an approved plan of action. Because high net worth individuals have access to their own channels of information, the demands of these types of clients in terms of sophistication requires the resources of a specialized institution. Corporations (Williamson, 1988)[13] The investment management of corporations entails handling a number of asset management areas. As is the case with high net worth individuals, it entails an extensive analysis of the goals and objectives desired as well as the cash availability requirements for specific periods of time. The preceding represents a valuable service as a result of the high level contacts and access to specialized information, opportunities and rates of return with moderate risk that investment banks can avail themselves of. Pension Funds (Williamson, 1988)[14] These funds represent extremely large sums that require placement in investment avenues that contain high degrees of safety as well as meeting return rates in established parameters. The important nature of these retirement funds requires an institution to pay close attention to risk avoidance as well as any potential changes and shifts in the market that could potentially affect the money in the Fund. Mutual Funds (Williamson, 1988)[15] In terms of mutual funds, there are literally hundreds of fund types to select from as a result of the classifications within this group. One particular type of fund which investment banks have an advantage over commercial banks is in hedge funds. These types of funds are unregulated and usually governed by unconventional strategies. Hedge funds trade in equities, money markets and bonds and offer yields as well as risks that exceed traditional long stock and bond methodologies. The secretive nature of these funds and the fact that they cater to institutions, corporations and high net worth individuals only is within the purview of investment banks. The mutual fund classifications contains a number of differing types, these are as follows: Objective Oriented Growth This type is structured so that it appreciates in value over time by investing principally in the common stock of companies that have shown or are showing a high growth potential. Income These are structured to generate dividends on a regular basis as the priority, with growth in value as the secondary selection criteria. Balanced These funds are a balance between growth and income funds thereby providing investors with dividend payouts while the fund appreciates in value as a result of the growth in the corporations selected. Market Oriented Specialized Through limiting holdings in one industry sector these ‘sector growth’ funds place their emphasis on one industry classification. The preceding entails risks if that classification or segments of that classification perform poorly. The reverse is also true if the sector experiences growth. Bond Funds These tend to be conservative investments, principally in debt securities, with the objective of providing income while preserving capital. The focus is similar to Income Funds, which is the payment of dividends. Municipal These types of bonds can be either short or long term and represent state and or local government issuances. Corporate These funds are composed of bond issuances by corporations and are guaranteed by companies to pay out both interest as well as principle. Zero-coupon These are bonds that are sold to investors at a discount and payout only on the maturity of the face value. Because the investor purchased these at a discount, the face value represents the gain. International These are composed of the debt securities of corporations and governments located in other nations. As some countries pay higher rates, the gains can be interesting depending upon currency fluctuations and conversion rates. Convertible Securities These funds invest in securities (debt) that permit conversion of their bonds into stock. The objective is the preservation of capital yielding growth and income. Money Market Money market funds invest in the short-term obligations, debt, of both governments and corporations and are structured by and large to permit smaller investors to participate for amounts starting at approximately $500, depending upon the fund. Without the fund, direct participation requires increments of $10,000. The pooled sums are then invested and managed. Multifunds This type of fund invests in the performance of other types of mutual funds. All Weather These are designed to weather all types of business and economic phases. Emerging Growth These types of mutual funds invest in companies with high growth potential. Precious Metals As the name indicates, these are funds that take positions in various types of valuable metals. Green A newer category within this classification, Green Funds select growth companies that have a record of being responsive on environmental issues and adhere to policies within that arena. Chapter 2 – Conclusions Investment banks serve a valuable purpose in financial and business markets through their handling of public offerings (IPO’s) and private placements. These functions help corporations with their liquidity requirements and the issuance of securities. As investment banks can sell stock in an IPO as well as secondary offering and private placements they represent a centralized location that is able to fill the needs of corporations, governmental entities and high net worth individuals. The decades, and in some cases centuries of participation in high level finance has resulted in connections within finance arenas whereby investment banks maintain ties and associations at participation levels that are beyond commercial banks. In addition, this sector represents the top of the talent pool in finance, thus the intelligence factor exceeds the personnel employed in commercial banking. Because investment banks are primarily paid on a success basis, their commitment to the deals is higher and so are the monetary rewards. Typically, the compensation in the industry ranges 50 through 60% of profits paid out to partners and employees. Investment banking executives, analysts, junior bankers and junior partners generally earn twice their commercial bank counterparts as their jobs entail making money for the firm as well as performance reviews for themselves. The high pressure and performance nature of these positions means only the brightest in their fields work in this sector, thus the reason for investment banks receiving the biggest and the best of deals in all of the service function areas mentioned above. The preceding emphasis on profits, earnings, fees and performance might seem like a focus on greed, however it is geared to bring out the best, through competition among firms, which benefits investors, the general public and the economies of the countries in which these firms operate. Bibliography Allen, Linda, Jagtiani, Julapa, Sauders, Anthony. The Role of Bank Advisors in Mergers and Acquisitions. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Supervision and Regulation. Carosso, Vincent. 1970. Investment Banking in America, A History. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. ISBN: 0674465741 Constantinides, George, Harris, Milton, Stulz, Rene. 2002. Investment Banking and Securities Issuance. Handbook of the Economics of Finance. ISBN: 0444513639 efmoody.com. 2005. IPO’s. http://www.efmoody.com/investments/ipos.html Kuhn, Robert. 1990. The Library of Investment Banking. Dow-Jones Irwin, Homewood, IL. ISBN: 1556232993 Lott, Tom. 2001. Vault Career Guide to Investment Banking. Vault. ISBN: 1581311338 Williamson, Peter. 1988. The Investment Banking Handbook. John Wiley Sons. ISBN: 0471815624 1 Footnotes [1] Kuhn, Robert. 1990. The Library of Investment Banking. Dow-Jones Irwin, Homewood, IL. ISBN: 1556232993 [2] Carosso, Vincent. 1970. Investment Banking in America, A History. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. ISBN: 0674465741 [3] Lott, Tom. 2001. Vault Career Guide to Investment Banking. Vault. ISBN: 1581311338 [4] Ibid [5] Lott, Tom. 2001. Vault Career Guide to Investment Banking. Vault. ISBN: 1581311338 [6] Williamson, Peter. 1988. The Investment Banking Handbook. John Wiley Sons. ISBN: 0471815624 [7] Ibid [8] efmoody.com. 2005. IPO’s. http://www.efmoody.com/investments/ipos.html [9] Constantinides, George, Harris, Milton, Stulz, Rene. 2002. Investment Banking and Securities Issuance. Handbook of the Economics of Finance. ISBN: 0444513639 [10] Allen, Linda, Jagtiani, Julapa, Sauders, Anthony. The Role of Bank Advisors in Mergers and Acquisitions. Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, Supervision and Regulation. [11] Williamson, Peter. 1988. The Investment Banking Handbook. John Wiley Sons. ISBN: 0471815624 [12] Ibid [13] Ibid [14] Williamson, Peter. 1988. The Investment Banking Handbook. John Wiley Sons. ISBN: 0471815624 [15] Ibid

J.R.R.Tolkien: Master of Fantasy Essay -- John Ronald Reuel Tolkien Bi

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (J.R.R.Tolkien) was a philologist in the very strict sense of the word. This term, philologist, comes from Greek [φÎ ¯ÃŽ »ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (philos) and ÃŽ »ÃÅ'ÃŽ ³ÃŽ ¿Ãâ€š (logos)] and literarily means ‘love for words’. According to the Oxford Dictionary, it is â€Å"the scientific study of the development of language or of a particular language†, which is precisely what Tolkien did all through his life. Tolkien was, as has been said, a profound lover of words, which he begun developing from a quite early age. In 1900, when he and his family had to move to Birmingham in order to be closer to King Edward’s School, Tolkien discovered Gaelic, a language toward which he showed a great interest and which â€Å"opened him to another linguistic world† (â€Å"le abrià ³ otro mundo lingà ¼Ãƒ ­stico†, Carpenter, 2002:37). When he returned to King Edward’s, after a year in St. Philip’s School, he started learning Greek; he already knew Latin as his mother had taught him at home. When his literature teacher read The Canterbury Tales, by Geoffrey Chaucer, in the original Middle-English â€Å"he decided to learn more about the history of the language† (Carpenter, 2002:39), â€Å"why languages are as they are† (â€Å"por quà © eran como eran† Carpenter, 2002:46). His discovery of Anglo-Saxon was also an important element in his approaching to philology. As can be seen, his encounter with these ‘new-old’ languages was continuous: Old Norse, Gothic, etc. It was also the starting point of his creation of private languages (Naffarin). Thanks to his deep study of these languages we have today works like The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, or The Lord of the Rings, as Tolkien’s imagination came not from any other place but from language itself, as Segura (2008) states saying that â€Å"his imagination was... ...o. -Carretero, M. -â€Å"Catastrophe†. Oxford Learners Dictionaries. 2014. http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/catastrophe -Coleridge, S.T. 1984. Biographia Literaria. P.6. Princeton: Princeton University Press. -â€Å"Eucatastrophe†. Oxford Dictionaries, Language Matters. 2014. http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/es/definicion/ingles/eucatastrophe -Lewis, C.S. 2002. On Stories and Other Essays on Literature. EE.UU: Mariner Books. -Segura, E. 2008. J.R.R.Tolkien: Mitopoeia y Mitologà ­a, reflexiones bajo la luz refractada. Spain: Portal Editions. -Segura, E. 2001. El Viaje del Anillo: Mapa narrativo de la Tierra Media. -Tolkien, J.R.R. (lecture given in 1939). On Fairy Stories. -Tolkien, J.R.R. 19. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. -Olsen, C. 2010. On Fairy-Stories. http://www.festivalintheshire.com/journal5hts/5tolkienprofessor.html

Should the United States Adopt the Metric System

Should the United States Adopt the Metric System? Donielle Allen NCSU Maths 103 Ms. Blackman June 29, 2010 Abstract This paper is to inform my readers on the question â€Å"Should the United States Adopt the Metric System? † In this paper you will see the difference between the US and the Metric System. You will also see how easier it is the go with the Metric System instead of the US System. The Metric System makes life easier for everyone.I think the United States should adopt the Metric System, because nearly every other major country in the world uses it as their primary system of measurements of distance, volume, temperature, energy and so forth. It is comparatively simple to make conversion in the Metric System as the system was designed for making conversions. It will greatly simplify life for us students when we have only to learn that a kilometer is 1000 meters instead of learning that a mile is 5280 feet.The Metric System would not only simplify life for us students, it will also simplify life for Scientist and engineers, making their computations less error prone and consequently, the products better and cheaper. The question is always been asked, why not use the US System instead of switching to the Metric System. But it is always known that the Metric System is better. To compare both systems here, I will list all English Imperial units in use, and all SI units describing the same range of the same physical quantities. These are: Length, area, volume, mass, force, pressure, energy, power and temperature.For a fair comparison, we omit those SI units which are commonly used in both systems, like second, ampere, volt, ohm etc. To measure the above mentioned quantities in the English Imperial system, all the following units can occur: * Length: inch, foot, yard, mile, fathom, rod, furlong, league, mil, pole, perch, hand, link, chain * Area: square inch, square foot, square yard, acre, square mile, township, square fathom, square rod, square furl ong, square league, square mil, square pole, square perch, square hand, square link, square chain. Volume: gallon, liquid quart, dry quart, liquid pint, dry pint, fluid ounce, teaspoon, tablespoon, minim, fluid dram, gill, peck, bushel, cubic inch, cubic foot, cubic yard, cubic fathom, cubic rod, cubic furlong, cubic mile, cubic league, cubic mil, cubic pole, cubic perch, cubic hand, cubic link, cubic chain.* Mass: pound, apoth. pound, ounce, apoth. ounce, dram, apoth. dram, grain, spoth. scruple, pennyweight, short hundredweight, long hundredweight, short ton, long ton. * Force: pound, ton. Pressure: pounds per square inch, pounds per square foot, pounds per square yard, pounds per acre, pounds per square mile, pounds per township, pounds per square fathom, pounds per square rod, pounds per square furlong, pounds per square league, pounds per square mil, pounds per square pole, pounds per square perch, pounds per square hand, pounds per square link, pounds per square chain, tons pe r square inch, tons per square foot, tons per square yard, tons per acre, tons per square mile, tons per township, tons per square fathom, tons per square rod, tons per square furlong, tons per square league, tons per square mil, tons per square pole, tons per square perch, tons per square hand, tons per square link, tons per square chain. Energy: calorie, inch-pound, foot-pound, yard-pound, mile-pound, fathom-pound, rod-pound, furlong-pound, league-pound, mil-pound, pole-pound, perch-pound, hand-pound, link-pound, chain-pound, inch-ton, foot-ton, yard-ton, mile-ton, fathom-ton, rod-ton, furlong-ton, league-ton, mil-ton, pole-ton, perch-ton, hand-ton, link-ton, chain-ton.* Power: horsepower, inch-pound per second, foot-pound per second, yard-pound per second, mile-pound per second, fathom-pound per second, rod-pound per second, furlong-pound per second, league-pound per second, mil-pound per second, pole-pound per second, perch-pound per second, hand-pound per second, link-pound per second, chain-pound per second, inch-ton per second, foot-ton per second, yard-ton per second, mile-ton per second, fathom-ton per second, rod-ton per second, furlong-ton per second, league-ton per second, mil-ton er second, pole-ton per second, perch-ton per second, hand-ton per second, link-ton per second, chain-ton per second. * Temperature: degrees Fahrenheit. To measure the same range of the same quantities in the metric system, only the following units can occur: * Length: meter * Area: square meter (are) * Volume: cubic meter (liter) * Mass: gram (metric ton) * Force: newton * Pressure: pascal * Energy: joule * Power: watt * Temperature: kelvin (degrees Celsius) Now, by looking at the list above we can all come to an agreement that the Metric System is way easier than the US System, and that the United States should adopt it. The best thing about the metric system is that it is easily divisible and convertible.Instead of having to remember that there are 12 inches in a foot, three feet in a yard, and 5280 feet to a mile, you just have to remember that there are 10 millimeters to a centimeter, 10 centimeters to a decimeter, and 10 decimeters to a meter. It is much easier to remember and much easier to convert.Reference Stans, M. (1971). Should The U. S. Approve Pending Recommendations To Adopt Officially The International Metric System? PRO. Congressional Digest, 50(12), 298. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database. The Historian, Initials. (2007, December 26). Metric system. Retrieved from http://scienceray. com/mathematics/mathematical-theory/reasons-why-the-united-states-should-adopt-the-metric-system/

Corporate finance Essay

1 Bonds (3 points) A company aims to takeover one of its suppliers valued at 2 million Euros and is planning to fund the takeover by issuing three-year zero coupon bonds, each with face value C1000. After having their credit rating checked, executives have decided that they need to issue 2400 of these bonds to raise the 2 million needed to fund this takeover. What is the YTM of the bonds issued by the company? (a) 5.79% (b) 7.13% (c) 6.27% (d) 5.34% If the company’s credit rating changes due to recent earnings announcements and the YTM of the bonds should now be 4.4% how many bonds must the company issue to raise 2 million Euros? (a) 2351 (b) 2276 (c) 2248 (d) 2302 Suppose that the company may default on these bonds with a 25% probability. In case of default, bondholders will receive 60% of the face value of bonds. If the price of the bonds is same as in part (a), what is the YTM in this case? (a) 3.1% (b) 2.9% (c) 2.6% (d) 3.4% 1 2 Financial statements (4 points) Use the following information for ECE incorporated: Assets Shareholder Equity Sales $200 million $100 million $300 million If ECE reported $15 million in net income, then ECE’s Return on Equity (ROE) is: (a) 5.0% (b) 7.5% (c) 10.0% (d) 15.0% If ECE’s return on assets (ROA) is 12% , then ECE’s return on equity (ROE) is (a) 10% (b) 12% (c) 18% (d) 24% If ECE’s net proï ¬ t margin is 8% , then ECE’s return on equity (ROE) is: (a) 10% (b) 12% (c) 24% (d) 30% If ECE’s earnings are $10 million, its price-earnings ratio is (a) 10 (b) 5 (c) 20 (d) Cannot be determined 2 3 Capital budgeting (3 points) Fancypants Fashion is going to purchase new sewing machines worth 50 million Euros to manufacture purple trousers for the coming ï ¬ ve years, after which purple trousers will be out of fashion and no longer in demand. The machines will be depreciated on a straightline basis over ï ¬ ve years, and after ï ¬ ve years will be sold at an estimated 20 million Euros. The company estimates that the EBITDA from the sale of purple trousers will be 12 million Euros per year for the coming 5 years. The company’s earnings are subject to a corporate tax rate of 40%. If the ï ¬ rm’s equity cost of capital is 9.6% what is the NPV of this project? (a) 0.48 million Euros (b) 0.72million Euros (c) 0.26 million Euros (d) 0.92 million Euros Instead of selling the machines after ï ¬ ve years, the company can use them to produce grey trousers starting in year 6. If they do so, using these machines the company will generate free cash ï ¬â€šows of 2 million Euros per year in perpetuity, since grey trousers are classics and never go out of fashion. What is the NPV of the project if the company chooses this option? (a) 5.89 million Euros (b) 5.72 million Euros (c) 6.36 million Euros (d) 6.07 million Euros Suppose that the company has decided that they will use the machines to produce grey trouse rs after ï ¬ ve years. The company can ï ¬ nance the purchase of new sewing machines entirely by debt by issuing 5-year bonds with 6% coupon rate sold at par. Assuming this additional borrowing is project-speciï ¬ c and hence will not alter the company’s capital structure, what is the value of the project with the tax shield? (a) 11.56 (b) 11.94 (c) 12.25 (d) 11.12 3 4 More capital budgeting (4 points) Use the following information for â€Å"Iota Industries† (all ï ¬ gures in $ Millions) Iota Industries Market Value Balance Sheet Assets Liabilities Cash 250 Debt 650 Other Assets 1200 Equity 800 The company considers a new project with the following free cash ï ¬â€šows: Iota Industries New Project Free Cash Flows Year 0 1 2 3 Free CFs -250 75 150 100 Assume that Iota Industries has a debt cost of capital of 7% and an equity cost of capital of 14%. Furthermore, it faces a marginal corporate tax rate of 35%. If the project is of average risk and the company wants to keep its debt-to-equity ratio constant, its weighted average cost of capital is closest to: (a) 8.40% (b) 9.75% (c) 10.85% (d) 11.70% The NPV for Iota’s new project is closest to: (a) $25.25 million (b) $13.25 million (c) $9.00 million (d) $18.50 million The Debt Capacity for Iota’s new project in year 0 is closest to: (a) $263.25 million (b) $87.75 million (c) $50.25 million (d) $118.00 million If instead of maintaining a ï ¬ xed debt-equity ratio Iota ï ¬ nances the project with $100 million of permanent debt, the NPV of the project is closest to (a) $44.28 million (b) $48.10 million (c) $53.44 million (d) $48.14 million 4 5 Arbitrage (4 points) An exchange traded fund (ETF) is a security that represents a portfolio of individual stocks. Consider an ETF for which each share represents a portfolio of two shares of International Business Machines (IBM), three shares of Merck (MRK), and three shares of Citigroup Inc. (C). Suppose the current market price of each individual stock are shown in the following table: Stock IBM MRK C Current Price $121.57 $36.59 $3.15 What is the price per share of the ETF in a normal market: Assume that the ETF is trading for $366.00, what (if any) arbitrage opportunity exists? What (if any) trades would you make? 5 6 NPV and exchange rates (2 points) You have an investment opportunity in Germany that requires an investment of $250,000 today and will produce a cash ï ¬â€šow of C208,650 in one year with no risk. Suppose the risk -free rate of interest in Germany is 7% and the current competitive exchange rate is C0.78 to $1.00. What is the NPV of this project? Would you take the project? (1 point) (a) NPV = 0; No (b) NPV = 2,358; No (c) NPV = 2,358; Yes (d) NPV = 13,650; Yes Explain in a few sentences the intuition behind your answer. (1 point) 6 7 Options (4 points) Which of the following statements is false? (a) The option delta, ∆, has a natural interpretation: It is the change in the price of the stock given a $1 change in the price of the option. (b) Because a leveraged position in a stock is riskier than the stock itself, this implies that call options on a positive beta stock are more risky than the underlying stock and therefore have higher returns and higher betas. (c) Only one parameter input for the Black-Scholes formula, the volatility of the stock price, is not observable directly. (d) Because a stock’s volatility is much easier to measure (and forecast) than its expected return, the Black-Scholes formula can be very precise. The current price of KD Industries stock is $20. In the next year the stock price will either go up by 20% or go down by 20%. KD pays no dividends. The one year risk-free rate is 5% and will remain constant. Using the binomial pricing model, the price of a one-year call option on KD stock with a strike price of $20 is closest to: (1 point) (a) $2.40 (b) $2.00 (c) $2.15 (d) $1.45 The risk neutral probability of an up state for KD Industries is closest to: (a) 37.5% (b) 60.0% (c) 40.0% (d) 62.5% Using the risk-neutral pricing model, the price of a one-year call option on KD stock with a strike price of $20 is closest to: (1 point) (a) $2.40 (b) $2.00 (c) $2.15 (d) $1.45 7 8 Financial Distress (3 points) Suppose that you have received two job offers. Rearden Metal offers you a contract for $75,000 per year for the next two years while Wyatt Oil offers you a contract for $90,000 per year for the next two years. Both jobs are equivalent. Suppose that Rearden Metal’s contract is certain, but Wyatt Oil has a 60% chance of going bankrupt at the end of the year. In the event that Wyatt Oil ï ¬ les for bankruptcy, it will cancel your contract and pay you the lowest amount possible for you to not quit. If you do quit, you expect you could ï ¬ nd an new job paying $75,000 per year, but you would be unemployed for four months while searching for this new job. If you take the job with Wyatt Oil, then, in the event of bankruptcy, the least amount that Wyatt Oil would pay you next year is closest to: (a) $45,000 (b) $50,000 (c) $54,000 (d) $75,000 Assuming your cost of capital is 6 percent, the present value of your expected wage if you accept Rearden Metal’s offer is closest to : (a) $133,000 (b) $138,000 (c) $140,000 (d) $144,000 Assuming your cost of capital is 6 percent, the present value of your expected wage if you accept Wyatt Oil’s offer is closest to: (a) $138,000 (b) $140,000 (c) $144,000 (d) $150,000 8 9 Real Options (3 points) You own a small manufacturing plant that currently generates revenues of $2 million per year. Next year, based upon a decision on a long-term government contract, your revenues will either increase by 20% or decrease by 25%, with equal probability, and stay at that level as long as you operate the plant. Other costs run $1.6 million dollars per year. You can sell the plant at any time to a large conglomerate for $5 million and your cost of capital is 10%. If you are awarded the government contract and your sales increase by 20%, then the value of your plant will be closest to: (a) $5 million (b) $8 million (c) $0 (d) $4 million If you are not awarded the government contract and your sales decrease by 25%, then the value of your plant will be closest to: (a) -$1 million (b) $5 million (c) $8 million (d) $0 Given the embedded option to sell the plant, the value of your plant will be closest to: (a) $5.0 million (b) $4.0 million (c) $6.5 million (d) $8.0 million 9