Decision making of Sears Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Decision making of Sears - Coursework Example By the year 2014, more than 1600 employees had stopped working for the organization. The company has to make various decisions in order to solve its problems. One of its problem-solving strategies should be based on the consistency theory. It holds that an external and internal system of business should be aligned effectively for it to be successful. One of factors that contributed to firm’ problems included its internal conflicts within the management system. Lack of agreement among managers in the organization made its executives to quit. For the business to increase its efficiency, there should be should be consistency in its decision making process (Jiang, Xiao, Li, et al 4). The other effective strategy that the firm should implement includes increasing public commitments. Public commitment enhances a business success because it positively influences its customers. Public commitment includes increasing the quality of products and offering goods at reasonable prices. Public commitment makes customers to feel secure. It motivates them to spend their money on the company products. Pubic commitment also includes other things such improving customer’s experience by making the good unique from competitors. Sears stores relied on the tradition appearance of its shopping center which failed to attract many customers (Jiang, Xiao, Li, et al 7). Another factor that led to the company failure includes lack of customer engagement. The company should analyze the needs of its customers in order to engage them effectively. Customer engagement enables a company to satisfy their needs effectively. Sears’ lack of this engagement was proved when it failed to teach its customers the new technology. In addition, it ignored the customers’ views. Customer engagement helps a business to create a strong relationship with its customers which in turn helps in increasing their loyalty. Sears also failed because it focused on the wrong

Why minorties lagging behind in healthcare management professions PowerPoint Presentation

Why minorties lagging behind in healthcare management professions - PowerPoint Presentation Example Among the other reasons are a lack of diversity in healthcare leadership and workforce. Minorities are only a small portion of the healthcare professionals, though they are a substantial portion of the population (over a quarter of it!). The lack of diversity causes rigidity and lack of flexibility in terms of methods used and changes to the program of healthcare. This leads to bad communication between officials and the minorities, and also in a system which is poorly designed for minorities, meaning that they arent receiving as much individual attention as they should (Betancourt, 2002). The way to improve this situation is to pay attention to the special needs of minorities, be aware of their differences from others and develop unique healthcare programs which put an emphasis on what they need, instead of incorporating them in the population. This could mean putting focus on diseases which are more prevalent in different minorities. This could also mean taking a step back and examining the fallacies of the healthcare system and see how it is possible to change the current situation and apply new, more innovative techniques and approaches of dealing with minorities, whether it is by education doctors more about special communities concerns and needs, encouraging more people that are minorities to work in this profession or any other way possible (Medige, 2002; Koberg, Boss, Sengem & Goodman,

Describe and explain the value of industrial location models Essay Example for Free

Describe and explain the value of industrial location models Essay What is an industrial location model? [5] 1) A model is a mathematical representation that is used to show why patterns have occurred, or to predict how things will occur in the future. A location model shows why certain things have located in certain spaces and aims to show where they will locate in the future. An industrial location model therefore aims to show why industry has located in the area it has, and where it will locate in the future. The term industry includes primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary sectors. All sides of industry can be incorporated in these models, this includes tertiary and primary as well as secondary employment, although most models are designed with manufacturing specifically in mind. There are many types of industrial location model. Weber designed a model that showed where secondary manufacturing industry would locate based on the weight of raw materials used and the weight of the final product. Smith (1971) built an alternative to Webers model, which is more updated and takes into account new types of transport and industries other than secondary. There are also models such as the behavioural matrix which attempt to show what type of companies are more likely to choose the optimum location for their business. Describe and explain the value of industrial location models [20] 2) A model of industrial location put forward by Alfred Weber in 1909 assumes that industrialists choose a least-cost location for the development of new industry. The theory is based on a number of assumptions. Weber assumes that there is a flat relief, uniform transport, culture, climate, labour costs, political and economic system, and that markets are of fixed size and location. It is also assumed that transport costs are proportional to the weight of the goods and the distance covered by the goods, and that perfect competition exists. One of the main assumptions is that raw materials are either ubiquitous or localised. Ubiquitous raw materials are found everywhere and are evenly distributed, and therefore would affect industrial location e.g. water and clay. Localised raw materials are not evenly distributed. Weber suggested that raw materials and markets would attract the location of an industry due to transport costs. Industries with a high material index would be pulled towards the raw material. Industries with a low material index would be pulled towards the market. The material index is calculated by dividing the total weight of raw materials by the total weight of the finished product. A material index of much greater than 1 indicates that there is a loss of weight during the manufacturing process; for example butter making. The factory should therefore locate near to the raw material. A material index of less than 1, where weight is gained during manufacturing, would locate near to the market. An index of less than 1 could be achieved by an industry using largely ubiquitous materials, like water, as in the brewing industry. Once a least-cost location has been established through the material index, Weber considers the effect of labour costs in deflecting industry away from the least cost location. Isodapanes are constructed to determine the area within which an industry can locate without losing money. The critical isodapane is the greatest distance an industry can locate from the least-cost location without losing money. If a source of cheap labour lies within an isodapane below the critical isodapane, it would be more profitable to choose the site with low labour costs rather than the least transport costs location. Weber also takes into account agglomeration of industries, the model suggests that some factories locate within critical isodapanes of other factories, to share resources labour and transport costs. Webers model doesnt relate well to modern conditions. This is because it doesnt take into account many recent developments such as reduced costs of transport and government intervention. Weber assumes a lot of things that in reality wouldnt be found e.g. perfect knowledge of the market, and physical geography is ignored. Weber also ignores changes in costs and sources of raw materials over time. Overall Webers model is largely applicable to heavy industries only. In 1971 David Smith provided an alternative to Webers model of industrial location. Smith suggested that as profits could be made anywhere where the total income is greater than total costs, then although there is a point of maximum profit, there would be a larger area where production is possible and profit is still made. Smith suggested that industries rarely located at the least-cost location, but more often at a sub optimum and practical location. He suggested that this was due to imperfect knowledge about production and market demand, imperfect decision makers, who can be influenced by other factors, or may not act rationally, or a government policy, which may tempt industry to locate in areas of high unemployment or development areas. Smiths model takes into account all types of transport although a circular margin of profitability is rarely produced in real life. Where Webers model can only be used for secondary manufacturing Smiths model can easily be modified to include all types of industry. However Smiths model is based entirely on money and other factors such as employees needs are not taken into account. The UK iron and steel production is a good example of industrial location compared to Weber and Smiths models. Before the 1600s, iron making was found near to outcrops of ore, where there were plenty of trees, e.g. Forest of Dean, because transport was poor and they were unable to move raw materials large distances. This fits Webers model because iron making would have a material index of greater than one, due to iron ore being much greater in weight than the iron produced as the finished product. However Webers model says that a resource such as trees will be ubiquitous, which is not the case here. After 1700 coke began to be used to smelt iron more efficiently. The new furnaces were located near coalmines, where coal would have been the heaviest raw material to transport e.g. Sheffield and South Wales. This fits Webers model. Today the coalmines have run out, but the industry hasnt relocated because good transport systems mean that ores and coal can be transported in from abroad. This complies with Smiths model because profit has been made in a sub optimum location. Other reasons for the iron and steel industry remaining in the same areas are large amounts of labour and agglomeration, which are covered in Webers model.

Effects of Excessive Sugar Intake in the Human Body

Effects of Excessive Sugar Intake in the Human Body HeeSung Kim Sugar Alert: The Friendly Assassinator â€Å"Sweet!† People use the word as a replacement for awesome as much as they love sweet things. Indeed, sweetness is the first taste a newborn baby recognizes, and it is crucial for living; it gives energy and is important as the sole energy source of the brain (Sigelman Rider 184). While people have heard that sugar can be dangerous, it seems they do not much care about it. In fact, it is not widely known how bad it is or the consequences, yet people can access sugar products very easily. In a cultural context, sweet things are usually used as a reward or a gift; there are even candy holidays such as Valentine’s Day, Easter and Halloween. But most of all, America is surrounded by processed and fast foods that contain enormous quantities of sugar. People may claim that they are fine because they do not have a sweet tooth. But the truth is that there are so many hidden sources of sugar that people cannot be free from it. The excessive sugar intake that causes physical , mental, and social problems is underestimated and people should be aware of its hidden danger. Physical problems from excessive sugar involve a wide range of symptoms from tooth decay or nutritional imbalance to serious diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular related diseases, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, inflammation, suppressing immune system, Alzheimer’s, and cancer, etc (Syed and Davidson; Quillin). In fact, three undesirable things are happening once sugar is inside the body: it is broken down abnormally fast, produces potential harmful substances, and depletes body nutritional resources. In its natural state, sugar exists as a part of whole organism like sugar cane, and it is digested and nurtures the body in a normal way, like other foods. But refined sugar is nothing but a crystallized chemical of glucose and fructose molecules. Once it loses its components, it cannot follow the normal pathway of digestion and nutrition. Normally, fibers help to regulate digestion speed and let body systems work on their own timing. But once sugar, which has no fibers or other nutritional factors but empty calories, rushes in, the body gets high workloads and becomes tired or begins malfunctioning. For example, the pancreas is tired due to too much secretion of insulin to regulate high blood sugar, and eventually loses its endocrine function, which leads to diabetes. Also excessive sugar is turned into excessive fat, which causes many problems in the body. The liver converts the excessive fructose into fat after using up the needed amount of carbohydrates from sugar and the excessive fat is stored in liver, body cells, and pushed out into the blood, which causes a fatty or dysfunctional liver, obesity and related diseases, and high blood pressure along with cardiovascular diseases such as heart attack and stroke (Cohen; Goldwert). Generally, dietary fat has been believed to be the culprit for causing obesity. In the 1980s, scientists blamed dietary fat in food as the major reason for obesity and cardiovascular disease (Syed Davidson). So food companies started to eliminate fats from food and to compensate for its cardboard-like taste, they started to put in more sugar, mostly in form of cheap High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), which became the food industry’s savior. But for 30 years with less fat, cases of obesity and diabetes have only in creased in number. These two graphs show the relationship between a) fat vs. obesity (Willett 557s) and b) sugar vs. diabetes and obesity (Taubes Couzens 1). The first one shows dietary fat and obesity with little correlation, while the second one shows that obesity and diabetes have strong direct proportional relationship with sugar consumption. It is not just because people eat more sugar through processed/fast foods, but also HFCS convolutes the body signal system by never informing brain to stop eating. It suppresses the hormone Leptin, which sends a signal to the brain â€Å"full,† so people eat more than they need and it results in prevalent abnormal obesity (Bray). Even more sad news from nephrologist Richard Johnson is, sugar rush depletes body energy and makes it harder for people to move, holding true to the term, couch potato (Cohen). Regarding cardiovascular disease, high sugared blood hurts the blood vessels and it makes it easy for the dangerous LDL cholesterol to invade and cause plaque that leads to heart attacks or strokes (Lund University). Also, a recent finding from the University of California-Davis reports that LDL cholesterol, the byproduct of excessive fat storage, can be elevated significantly in just two weeks of drinking four sugary beverages in a day, which is a likely average known range for consumption level (Stanhope, et al.). A rarely known factor of breaking down refined sugar molecules is that sugar steals the body’s calcium, vitamins and minerals, and this leads to osteoporosis and mineral deficiency related disease (Gaby 1). Normally food needs digestion supporters like vitamins and minerals to accomplish its digestion and usually the whole food brings its own supporters, but sugar is already refined and nothing but a chemical, which steals body resources to break itself down. Consequently, insufficient minerals and vitamins hinder the normal body function and cause inflammation and acidify body fluids. Moreover, it leads to immune system inactivity. Depleted vitamin C by sugar intake makes white blood cells sluggish and it results in weak immune control (Poulton). One study found that two tablespoons of sugar makes the immune system slow down 92% for up to five hours (Walker). The following pictures are captured from a video that examines the normal blood cells vs. after eating normal breakfas t including banana, soda, Pop-Tarts and yogurt so forth. Normal blood looks clear and active, but 10 minutes after eating, the blood stream becomes gooey, sedentary and makes â€Å"Spicules† structure which is a mutation of platelet caused by sugar (â€Å"How Sugar†). Also, one study found that sugar deteriorates the pathogen engulfing capability of white blood cells significantly for at least five hours (Sanchez). Unlike people’s general degree of awareness on the physical downside of sugar, mental problems of sugar are seldom known. Sugar weakens blood sugar levels due to its roller-coaster effect that is caused by high blood sugar compensation by insulin, and it affects the brain directly, which causes emotional imbalance, depression, moods and mental problems because of the stress hormone (McGonigal; Mayo). By disturbing neurological patterns, sugar leads to mental illness or violent behavior. It lowers BDNE, a brain hormone that helps to maintain healthy neurons, memory, and stimulates new nerve growth. Low BDNE levels result in depression, schizophrenia, and brain damage. Often, eliminating sugar is the first step to cure psychological problems (Ilardi). Also sugar can also cause violence due to the drastic fluctuation in blood sugar levels which cause â€Å"nervousness and irritability and provoke ‘a full-blown aggressive outburst’† (Holden). But the trickiest part of the sugar controversy is its addictiveness, and the dependence on sugar is highly related to other kinds of addictions. Some say that after quitting smoking, people look for a replacement habit, to distract and pacify their instinct for smoking, and often turn to sweet things. Why does this happen? In the brain, there are neural receptors for Dopamine, the â€Å"pleasure hormone† (Cohen). They react to sugar the same way they react to morphine, heroin, cocaine, and nicotine (Pikul). And Dopamine down-regulates its own receptors that build up tolerance levels, making people want more sugar the next time, leading to sugar addiction (Lustig, â€Å"The Sugar-Addiction†). Furthermore, sugar addiction also serves as a â€Å"gateway drug† that leads to other addictive substances including alcohol, nicotine, and cocaine (Avena, Rada Hoebel). Sugar’s serious physical and mental problems eventually lead to social problems. Today people pursue more and more instant, quick response and easy ways to solve problems. They say, â€Å"right now!† As a matter of fact, a chocolate bar can be an instant hunger solver. Seeking short satisfactions and even more sensations the next time, people’s behavior patterns resemble how sugar acts in the body, and this invaded culture and society now seeks more sensual and superficial stimulants. But there is a more serious problem here. Endocrinologist Robert H. Lustig from the University of California at San Francisco, notes that sugar-related diseases are costing America around $150 billion a year and 75% of US healthcare money is spent on treating those diseases (â€Å"Public Health† 28). It makes sense that sugar related diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and white blood disease are considerably placed as America’s leading causes of death (â€Å"Leading Causes†). Despite these life-threatening outcomes of sugar, most people still underestimate its danger because of poor social awareness of the danger of sugar, along with its addictive nature or its slow/indirect consequences. In fact, the danger of sugar is not as widely known as the danger of dietary fat. This is the problem of all problems. It is especially dangerous for poor people living in blind areas of information, and easy access to cheap foods, which mostly contain lots of sugar. And because of its strong addictive nature, people are more likely to choose sugar than fat (Lustig, â€Å"The Sugar-Addiction†). People would rather choose sweet stuff right now, than be aware and cautious for their future health. Also its downsides show up slowly or sneakily, it makes it hard to blame sugar directly and people are easily misled. Food companies spend a lot of money on lobbying to keep the facts under wraps (Syed Davidson). Moreover, they make food packages deceptive ; Sugar can be d isguised by more than 50 different names: HFCS, molasses, corn syrup, dextrose†¦(Pikul) or by word play, like Sugar-free or No-added-sugar beverage does not necessarily mean not sweet at all rather it means that it either used artificial sweeteners or already contains enough sugar, like fruit juices. Even something considered to be healthy has a lot of sugar in it such as yogurt, green tea, whole-grain crackers, and energy bars. One Yoplait yogurt has 31g of sugar, which is 8 teaspoons, and a serving of SoBe green tea has 12.5 teaspoons of sugar in it. Also processed food such as pasta sauce has 12g of sugar per half-cup (â€Å"Best Pasta†). Yes, it is almost impossible to escape sugar; 77% of packaged foods contain sugar (Lustig, â€Å"The Sugar-Addiction†). But people do not know the facts well. Americans’ average sugar consumption is 22 teaspoons per day, while The American Heart Association suggests only 6 teaspoons for women and 9 for men (â€Å"Suga r 101†). Sugar seems like a pleasure trap that is hidden everywhere and some people willingly seek it, but because of its slow and accumulating effect and its omni-existence, people do not know or ignore the fact that that trap will lead them to many problems. Can anybody eat 16 sugar cubes at once? Yes, they can if they drink a bottle of soda at once. They may be pleased for now, but might face a sweet death as a result of being a sugar lover. People are living with a secret killer, which endangers them physically, mentally and socially because of its lovely first approach and addictive nature. But most of all, people do not know much about what sugar really does. Sugar intake should be carefully watched and we need to take control of it because sugar seems to be far from â€Å"wellness,† but close to â€Å"illness† (Lustig, â€Å"The Sugar-Addiction†). As people have changed the history of fat consumption, now sugar is the next turn. Numerous studies prove that people have been misled and more information about the harm caused by sugar should be more widely known. Awareness and being cautious with overeating sugar will make a change to the food industry, government and society. Rather than being a sheep, f just follo wing what is given without thinking further, we need be a smart and proactive eater to be saved from the friendliest toxin. The more people get educated on this threat, the better chance America has to be free from these serious problems from sugar. Works Cited Avena, Nicole M., Pedro Rada, and Bartley G. Hoebel. Evidence for sugar addiction:  Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake.National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 18 May 2007. Web. 02 Apr. 2014. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2235907/>. Cohen, Rich. Sugar. National Geographic. National Geographic Society, Aug. 2013. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/08/sugar/cohen-text>. Best Pasta Sauces.Consumer Reports Magazine. Consumer Reports, Aug. 2012. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2012/08/best-pasta-sauces/index.htm>. Bray, George A., Samara Joy Nielsen, and Barry M. Popkin. Consumption of High-fructose Corn Syrup in Beverages May Play a Role in the Epidemic of Obesity.† The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. American Society for Nutrition, Apr. 2004. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/79/4/537.full>. Gaby, Alan R. Osteoporosis: What You Eat Affects Your Bones.Nutritional Medicine. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. http://www.healthy.net/Health/Article/Osteoporosis_What_You_Eat_Affects_Your_Bones/1240>. Goldwert, Lindsay. Sugar is as addictive as cocaine, and causes obesity, diabetes, cancer  and heart disease: Researchers. NY Daily News. NYDailyNews.comN.p., 02 Apr. 2012n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/researcher-sugar-addictive-cocaine-obesity-diabetes-cancer-heart-disease-article-1.1054419>. Holden, Constance. Sugar: Gateway Drug to Violence?Science/AAAS. American  Association for the Advancement of Science, 1 Oct. 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2009/10/sugar-gateway-drug-violence>. â€Å"How Sugar Affects Your Blood Live Blood Analysis. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 11 Mar. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xXTKZOrOHs>. Ilardi, Stephen. â€Å"Dietary Sugar and Mental Illness: A Surprising Link.† PsychologyToday. Sussex Publishers, LLC, Sep.2009. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-depression-cure/200907/dietary-sugar-and-mental-illness-surprising-link>. Leading Causes of Death.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease  Control and Prevention, 30 Dec. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm>. Lund University. Hyperglycemia: New Mechanism Underlying Cardiovascular Disease  Described. ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, LLC, 12 December 2009. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091207150438.htm>. Lustig, Robert H. The Sugar-Addiction Taboo.The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 02 Jan. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/01/the-sugar-addiction-taboo/282699/>. Lustig, Robert H., Laura A. Schmidt, and Claire D. Brindis. Public Health: The Toxic Truth  about Sugar.Nature482.7383 (2012): 27-29. Print. Mayo Clinic Staff. Chronic Stress Puts Your Health at Risk.† MayoClinic. Mayo  Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 11 July 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/stress-management/in-depth/stress/art-20046037>. McGonigal, Kelly. Stress, Sugar, and Self-Control.† PsychologyToday. Sussex  Publishers, LLC, 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-science-willpower/201111/stress-sugar-and-self-control>. Pikul, Corrie. Give Up Sugar: The One Crazy Thing All Nutritionists Agree Is a Good  Idea. The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/29/give-up-sugar_n_4673992.html>. Poulton, Claire. Refined Sugar Destroys Health. Nutrition2Success. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. http://nutrition2success.com/sugar.php>. Quillin, Patrick. Cancers Sweet Tooth. Mercola. N.p., Apr. 2000. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. http://www.mercola.com/article/sugar/sugar_cancer.htm>. Sanchez, Albert, et al. Role of Sugars in Human Neutrophilic Phagocytosis.† The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. The American Society for Clinical Nutrition, Inc, Nov. 1973. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/26/11/1180.abstract>. Sigelman, Carol K., and Elizabeth A. Rider.Human Development Across the Life-span. Belmont Calif.: Wadsworth, 2011. Print. Stanhope, Kimber L., et al. Consumption of Fructose and High Fructose Corn Syrup Increase Postprandial Triglycerides, LDL-Cholesterol, and Apolipoprotein-B in Young Men and Women. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology Metabolism Vol 96, No 10. Endocrine Press. Web. 01 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. http://press.endocrine.org/doi/abs/10.1210/jc.2011-1251>. Sugar 101.Sugar 101. American Heart Association, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyEating/Sugar-101_UCM_306024_Article.jsp>. Syed, Ronna, and Allya Davidson. The Secrets of Sugar the Fifth Estate CBC News. Online posting.CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 26 Mar. 2014. http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/episodes/2013-2014/the-secrets-of-sugar>. Taubes, Gary and Cristin Kearns Couzens. Big Sugars Sweet Little Lies. Mother Jones.  Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, Nov-Dec, 2012. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/10/sugar-industry-lies-campaign>. Walker, Steven C.S.T. Sugar Research Heath Science. Sugar Research Heath Science. N.p.,  n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. http://www.heathscience.org/sugar-research>. Willett, W. C. Is Dietary Fat a Major Determinant of Body Fat?The American Society for  Clinical Nutrition67.3 (1998): 556s-62s. Print. Corporate Author. â€Å"Nutrition Label of name of product.† City, State of Manufacture. Year.  For example:  Kraftfoods. â€Å"Nutrition Label of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.† Banbury, UK.

Argumentative Essay: Gun Control Violates The Second Amendment of the Constitution :: Second Amendment The Right To Bear Arms

Civilian ownership of firearms has for more than two hundred years been the very cornerstone upon which the liberty of the public has been supported. The very reason that Americans have never suffered a tyranny on the scale of Nazi-Germany has been due to the proliferation of firearms in the hands of the general public. The Second Amendment to the Bill of rights of the United States Constitution states "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed." In order to understand that right, the modern reader must understand the semantics of the eighteenth century. The term "Well Regulated" meant well trained according to James Madison, the principle author of the Constitution. The term militia, according to the Militia Act of 1792, referred to all able-bodied male citizens. The meaning then of the Second Amendment is made quite clear. It is meant to serve as a chain upon the government to prevent the infringement of government power upon the Civil Liberties of Americans. Further proof of this can be seen in a quote from George Madison. "I ask, Sir, What is the Militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials." (George Madison, Three Elliot, Debates at 425-426). R ichard Henry Lee, in his Additional Letters from the Federal Farmer of 1788 stated, "A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves.and include all men capable of bearing arms." Title Ten section 331 of the U.S. code states "The Militia of the United States consists of all able bodied men at least seventeen years of age." The founding fathers of the United States believed that government is a necessary evil. They wrote the Bill of Rights, as stated earlier, to serve as a chain, which would limit government power over its citizens. Civilian ownership of firearms would, in the founding fathers' view, be the " American Peoples' liberty teeth." (George Washington). This is to say that, despite attempts by some hypothetical future government to impose a tyranny, the American people would be able to resist it without armed force. The same founding fathers had only thrown off the yoke of tyranny during the revolution. They knew full well the value of an armed citizenry in fighting off tyranny. The minutemen assembled at Lexington and Concord to prevent the Royal Fusiliers from seizing the munitions of the militia as General Gage had ordered (Order of General Gage, April 18,1775).

Plagiarism and the Internet :: Cheating Education School Essays

Plagiarism and the Internet To plagiarize, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, means â€Å"to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own† or to â€Å"use (another’s production) without crediting the source (Merriam-Webster OnLine).† To plagiarize is a major offense, and many schools and workplaces take it very seriously, or so they claim. For example, at the College of New Jersey, a strict Academic Integrity Policy promises severe punishment to those caught plagiarizing, more severe for intentional violations than unintentional (â€Å"Academic Integrity†). But punishment cannot be given if the person plagiarizing cannot be caught, and throughout the years, many new and easier ways to plagiarize have come about. The invention of the Internet gave students an easier way to copy another’s work and use it as their own. Along with this easier way to plagiarize, however, have come new ways to detect plagiarism. But in spite of all this, plagiarism continues to occur. On many college campuses and in many workplaces, a student or employee must follow an academic integrity policy or an honor code. When one plagiarizes, he goes in direct violation of these policies, doing something that is not only unethical, but also illegal. Copyright laws protect many major pieces of literature and many ideas, making those illegal to copy, but it is also immoral to copy the works of un-copyrighted authors. There can be severe consequences for a plagiarizer if he is caught, and if his professor or employer is willing to follow through with the consequences. People plagiarize, despite the immorality of it and the possible consequences, because it is easier than coming up with their own ideas. Also, when following a strict deadline, plagiarizing can be a fast way to finish a paper or a project. With new technology, plagiarizing has become even easier than it was in the past. With the birth of the World Wide Web came new ways to plagiarize. With a few clicks of the mouse, entire passages can be taken from a web page and placed into a student’s paper in Microsoft Word. With a few minor word changes and alterations, a student might think that he is safe, and that no one will be able to catch his plagiarism.

Stock and Long Term Trend

Team 1 Monmouth Case 1. Is Robertson a good candidate for Monmouth (assuming the price is right)? Why? Yes. Robertson Tool Company had been going through a few years of low sales and profit, and, coupled with conservative financial and accounting practices, was far behind the normal growth rate for companies in its industry. Robertson’s 50% control of the market for clamps and vises, along with its good position in the scissors and shears’ $200 million market, let it compliment the diverse holdings of Monmouth.These are attractive attributes of Robertson, but the selling point lies in the distribution network consisting of 2,100 wholesalers and 15,000 retail outlets. The Robertson products are sold in 137 countries worldwide. This avenue to market Monmouth and Robertson products across resources could lead to above average growth and profits. 2. Estimate a WACC for the acquisition. Invested Capital| ? | $37,696,000 | ? | ? | ? | Debt| | $12,000,000 | | | ? | Equity| | $ 25,696,000 | | | ? | ?| | | | | ? | Current market price| | $44 | | | ? |Shares outstanding| | 584,000| | | ? | ?| | | | | ? | Unlevered Beat of Comparables| | 0. 725| | | ? | Debt/Capital of Comparables| | 32%| | | ? | Levered Beta| | 0. 86| | | ? | Risk free rate| | 4. 10%| | | ? | MRP| | 6. 0%| | | ? | ?| | | | | ? | Cost of equity| | 9. 28%| | | ? | ?| | | | | ? | Sources of capital| | | Weights| | After-tax cost| Debt| | | 31. 83%| | 3. 64%| Equity| | | 68. 17%| | 9. 28%| ?| | | | | ? | YTM| 6. 070%| Tax Rate| 40%| WACC| 7. 5%| 3. Discuss whether you think the forecast prepared by Vincent and Rudd is reasonable. Why? Be specific.We think the forecast is not reasonable since they forecast was too optimistic and subject of their sales growth. a) The growth rate estimate in the future they use is approximately 6%. The current growth rate is just 2% that cannot be increased as 2 times as large in a short time, although it might increase due to the sales increase after the merge and acquisition of the Monmouth and Robertson. b) NWC should be as a percentage of sales. c) Terminal Growth rate shouldn’t be zero but around 2%. d) The estimations of SG&A cost and COGS are reasonable.The merger and acquisition will result the percentage SG&A and COGS of sales respectively gradually decrease by increasing the manufacture efficiency and inventory turnover. Therefore, we decided to change the growth rate from 6% to 3% in the pro-forma, we will have the value of the firm calculated out from the pro-forma is $50 million instead of $56 million. 4. Prepare a value estimate for Robertson equity using the DCF method and info from steps 2 and 3 above. ?| Actual| Forecasts| ?| 2002| 2003| 2004| 2005| 2006| 2007| ?| | | | | | ? | NOPAT| 1. 8| 2. 4| 3. 1| 3. 8| 4. 2| 4. 4|Plus: Depreciation| 2. 1| 2. 3| 2. 5| 2. 7| 2. 9| 2. 9| Less: CAPEX| | -4| -3. 5| -3. 6| -3. 8| -2. 9| Less: Change in NWC| -1. 4| -1. 5| -1. 6| -1. 6| 0. 0| Firm Free Cash Flow| -0. 7| 0. 6| 1. 3| 1. 7| 4. 4| ?| | | | | | ? | ?| | | | | | 81. 9| Firm Value (millions)| 85. 95| | | | Terminal g| 2%| Less: Debt| 12| | | | | ? | Equity Value| 73. 95| | | | | ? | Shares Outstanding| 584000| | | | | ? | Price per share| 12. 66| ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | 5. Estimate a value for Robertson equity based on the comparables approach. | Actuant Corp. | Briggs & Stratton| Idex Corp. | Lincoln Electric| Snap On Inc. Stanley Works| Robertson Tool Co. |   | | | | | | |   | Collection Period (days)| 55| 77| 47| 61| 96| 77| 53| Inventory % Sales| 12%| 18%| 13%| 17%| 18%| 16%| 33%|   | | | | | | |   | Operating Margin % Sales| 17%| 13%| 20%| 15%| 10%| 15%| 5%| Return on Capital| 21%| 9%| 10%| 12%| 11%| 14%| 4%|   | | | | | | |   | Times Interest Earned| 3. 8| 3. 2| 7. 1| 11. 5| 7. 8| 9. 3| 3. 5| Debt % Capital| | | | | | |   | ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   balance sheet values| 98%| 52%| 30%| 27%| 29%| 40%| 28%| ? market values| 29%| 37%| 20%| 17%| 19%| 24%| 37%| Bond Rating| BB-| BB+| BB B| -| A+| A| -| | | | | | | |   |Value of Firm ($ mil)| $ 712| $ 1,443| $ 1,191| $ 1,145| $ 1,861| $ 3,014| $ 29| EBIAT ($ mil)| 55| 119| 98| 90| 129| 234| 1. 80| EBIAT Multiple| 12. 8| 12. 1| 12. 2| 12. 7| 14. 4| 12. 9| 16. 1|   | | | | | | |   | Share Price| $ 42| $ 42| $ 29| $ 22| $ 26| $ 27| $ 30| Earnings Per Share| 2. 80| 3. 20| 2. 00| 1. 78| 1. 80| 2. 32| 2. 32| Price/Earnings| 15. 0| 13. 1| 14. 5| 12. 4| 14. 4| 11. 6| 13. 5| Average p/e multiple is 13. 5 Use the p/e multiple to multiply Robertson’s earning per share=13. 5*2. 32=31. 32 Now Robertson issued 584,000 shares So the equity value is 18,290,880 6.What price will be necessary to gain the support of the Robertson family, Simmons, and the majority of shareholders? What are the interests, concerns, alternatives for each group? . | Robertson| Simmons| Majority of SHs| Price| $32. 82| $50| $30| Interest| Distribution system| Interested in electrical equipment, tools, nonferrous metals, and rubber products| To improve the EPS of Monmouth in the next five years. | Concerns| A relatively poor sales and profit performance| NDP Stock price fluctuates| Poor company Performance Relative to the Industtry| Alternatives| NDP, Simmons, Monmouth| 133000 shares| NDP vs Monmouth| . Does Monwouth have an advantage over NDP in the bidding contest? Do you think NDP will raise its offer in response to Monmouth offer? The synergies created by a merger between Monmouth and Robertson are clearly greater than that of NDP. As a publisher and manufacturer of auto parts, the benefits would not be as many as that of Monmouth. NDP must consider how much it is willing to spend or borrow in order to make a bid greater than Monmouth. If Simmons receives his $50/share, he will be accepting of the merger, and support Monmouth.This will turn the favor to Monmouth, as an acquisition by NDP would surely devalue the resources of Robertson instead of using synergies created by mixing markets and offering new, complimenting , product lines. In fact, as Robertson is undervalued in the market because of unsystematic latencies and inefficiencies, the $50/share price demanded by Simmons might be less than the long-term gain inherent in the merger of Robertson and Monmouth. 8. What price can Monmouth pay without harming its long term trend in earnings per share ? Finance texts focus on net present value of cash flow to make investment decisions.Are companies therefore foolish if they make acquisitions based at least in part on earnings per share impact? First, we need to forecast Robertson’s net income if it is acquired by Monmouth, assuming its interest expenses will be $0. 8 million for the next five years. Second, we will forecast Monmouth’s total net income after acquisition of Robertson. Monmouth must raise funds to make this acquisition. The company anticipated making the acquisition by issuing stocks. Thus, we will calculate how many shares Monmouth should issue without harming its long term trend in earnings per share, and total shares outstanding after acquisition.We know that currently stocks of Monmouth and Robertson closed at $24 and $44, respectively; therefore, we can calculate the exchange ratio as $44/$24=1. 83x. If Monmouth acquired the entire Robertson by an exchange of stocks at a price of $44 per share, the shares that Monmouth needs to issue is 1. 07 (1. 83*0. 584) million. As a result, Monmouth’s total shares outstanding after acquisition would increase to 5. 28 (4. 21+1. 07) million. Now we know the total net income and total shares outstanding after acquisition, we can then calculate the after-merge earnings per share of Monmouth.According to the table below, the row in green shows that the after-merge EPS is lower than the before-merge EPS during the first two years, but will become higher in the following three years. Therefore, if we paid $44 per share for Robertson’s stocks, we can acquire the entire Robertson’s stocks wit hout harming Monmouth’s long term trend in earnings per share. Using the same techniques, we can estimate the price range that Monmouth can pay without harming its long term trend in earnings per share.We can use the Goal Seek function in Excel to estimate the highest exchange ratio. As you will see in the table below, the exchange ratio can increase up to 1. 98x without harming Monmouth’s long term trend in earnings per share. Therefore, using the exchange ratio of 1. 98x, we can estimate the per share price paid for Robertson’s stocks. The estimated price would be $47. 52 (1. 98*24) per share, higher than Robertson’s current trading price of $44, therefore will attract the shareholders of Robertson’s to sell; but still on’t harm Monmouth’s long term trend in earnings per share. However, EPS plays very little role in deciding whether an acquisition is good or not, since a company’s net income after acquisition and total shares outstanding can be affected by many factors. Acquisition will bring synergies to the acquiring company, such as cost savings and efficiency. Also, the acquiring company may not need to buy the entire target company’s outstanding stocks to gain control. As a result, EPS could also change due to these factors. Thus, NPV is a better alternative to value an investment.