Macroeconomics Song Essay

The poem’s major theme revolves around the unravelling of the US financial sector – and particularly its impact on investment banks – in the wake of the recent global economic recession that affected the US and most of the world economies. Some of the macroeconomic concepts addressed – tacitly and explicitly – include: executive compensation, and the business cycle (Paxton, 1). The crisis is said to have primarily been triggered by the sub prime mortgage crisis. Traditionally, investment banks and other lending institutions have financed their customers’ borrowings from the deposits they collect from the members of the public. With the demand for credit finance to purchase essential items such as homes rising exponentially, the deposits became inadequate to finance the borrowing requirements and many of these financial institutions resorted to innovative financial products such as the securitization model or mortgage backed securities. Here, the financial institutions sell bonds. Those buying the bonds are guaranteed of getting their money back after a certain duration plus an attractive interest, and the money raised from floating these bond is advanced to the borrowers (in this case, prospective homeowners). The bondholders will be paid back their money whether the borrowers pay the bank back or default. Thus, it can be seen that the investment banks here shoulder substantial risks (Zeese, 1; Rasmus, 3; BBC, 1). The main problem was that these loans were made out to a segment of the market that is considered risky due to its low income and poor credit history. This segment has been referred to as the sub-prime mortgage segment. As long as the prices of homes continued to rise, this model of financing home purchases made sense because the borrowers could refinance their home purchases. However, and against all expectations, the real estate bubble that had been so prolonged in the country burst, and home prices began trending south at a dramatic rate. The import of all these is that the sub prime mortgage borrowers were unable to pay back what they had borrowed. They defaulted, leading to massive foreclosures (Zeese, 1; Rasmus, 3; BBC, 1). The loans that had been made out by the financial institutions were in the tune of billions of dollars. When these borrowers defaulted, the banks were left holding toxic assets, which they wrote down leading to massive losses. A number of them were pushed to the brink of bankruptcy. These include: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Goldman Sachs, AIG, Merrill Lynch, Bears Stearns and Lehman Brothers (Zeese, 1; Rasmus, 3; BBC, 1). It is this backdrop that provides the context for the poem. The poet parodies the false sense of security that these institutions had projected – for long, investment bankers such as Lehman Brothers had been viewed as beacons of stability in the American economy, doling out priceless advice to Americans on maters economic. But as the poet shows, the sub prime mortgage crisis unmasked them for who they are, left them at a loss of what to do, and they have turned out to be â€Å"the blind leading the blind†(Paxton, 1). One wonders how, with all their wisdom, the investment bankers could have hedged their risks upon such a risky market as the sub-prime mortgage segment. One of the immediate responses to the financial crisis was the rollout of a bailout package by the US government (whose worth was â€Å"seven hundred million grand,† in the words of the poet) (Paxton, 1). The failing institutions were major beneficiaries of this bailout package. According to Nanking (1), Bears Stearns was bought by JP Chase for $236 million, with the Federal Reserve Bank providing a staggering $30 billion to facilitate its purchase. Courtesy of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, the government is said to have put in some $400 billion in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The AIG on its part received at least four cash bailouts, all of them amounting to $180 billion in total (Nanking, 1). The poet strongly questions the ethics behind these bailout packages, given that the crisis that affected the investment banks was largely self-inflicted. For example, apart from poor judgment resulting in the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the problems which the banks faced were also catalyzed by poor management practices such as excessive executive pay. The problems facing the banks also broke out at a time the issue of executive pay was coming under the spotlight. For example, Linn (2) writes that in 1970, top executives were earning 44 times what subordinate workers got and that by 2007 this had jumped to 344 times what the subordinate employees got. More telling is the fact that the CEO’s of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, two of the failed investment bankers, received a total of over $117 million in spite of leading their organizations down the drain (Bass and Beamish, 1). Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sach’s top honcho, got $54 million, when the bank made a loss, with the 116 investment banks that had been short listed for aid under the bailout package having paid a cool $1.6 billion as bonuses to their CEO’s. AIG was mulling paying its CEO $165 million, when it had made a loss of over $60 billion (Bass and Beamish, 1). Given that these banks had been advanced cash under the bailout plan (which itself is from taxpayer funds), it is logical to assert that it is the average American (who earns 344 times less what the CEO gets) who is being made to pay for the mistakes of the CEO’s. It is this obscenity that the poem seems to rant about. Listen to the poet: â€Å"And it said that failure was the only crime. If you really screwed things up, then you were through; Now––surprise!––there is a different point of view. All that crazy rooty-tootin’ And that golden parachutin’ Means that someone’s making millions––just not you!† Works Cited: BBC. (2007). The downturn in facts and figures. 21 Nov 2007. 28 May 2010.   http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7302341.stm Bass, Frank and Beamish, Rita. (2008). AP Study Finds $1.6B Went To Bailed-Out Bank Execs. 22 Dec 2008. 29 May 2010.   http://corridornews.blogspot.com/2008/12/investment-bank-executives-pork-out-on.html Linn, Allison. (2009). â€Å"AIG flap gives ammunition to critics of high pay.† MSNBC. Mar 20th 2009. 29 May 2010. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29791834/ Nankin, Jesse. (2009). History of U.S. gov’t bailouts. 1 Nov 2009. 29 May 2010. http://www.propublica.org/special/bailout-aftermaths#penncentral Paxton, Tom. â€Å"I am changing my name to Fannie Mae.† Rasmus, Jack. (2008). Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac: phase two of the financial crisis. Sep 2008. 28 May 2009. http://www.zcommunications.org/zmag/viewArticle/18717 Zeese, Kevin. (2008). The causes of the auto crisis. 25 Nov 2008. 28 May 2009. http://www.countercurrents.org/zeese251108.htm

Marks & Spencer SWOT and PEST Essay

Marks and Spencer is the British multinational retail company that specializes on producing clothing and high-quality food. Being the dominant force on the UK market Marks and Spencer owns 600 stores in the home country and over 225 stores worldwide. Bird (1986) claims Marks and Spencer to be the most powerful image of Great Britain; the company currently being the most profitable UK organization also is one of the most innovative in the world. Two main features of the Marks and Spencer are centralization and simplicity. The firm tends to use centralized organizational structure and tries to keep everything simple avoiding the complexity in any aspect of systematic applications (Howells, 1981). Strengths: Marks and Spencer has been known for its highest standards of fair-trading, which include acquiring strong contacts with current suppliers, producing and proposing high-quality food, being friendly to the staff and having a flexible exchange policy for existing customers (Grayson, 2011). Having a stable and positive reputation is inevitable for the big worldwide brands. The company being initially only focused on producing garments lately diversified its market to the other sectors, such as food, electronics and furniture (Hamil, Crosbie, 1990). Diversification guaranteed bigger amount of customers for the company and expanded its growth. The company tends to locate its stores in the high streets which leads to obtaining large amount of customers every day and therefore larger profit. (Bird, Witherwick, 1986). Furthermore, Marks and Spencer does not rent the premises, it owns stores eliminating the possible rental costs. Marks and Spencer is an international retailer which owns more than thousand shops approximately in forty countries, covering market of such a big size is beneficial for the company’s income (Salmon, Tordjman, 1989). According to Doyle (1982), Marks and Spencer is the Britain’s strongest and most successful brand that makes company well known around the world and differentiates it from competitors making it unique. Weaknesses: Marks and Spencer due to diversification and operating in more than one market (garments, food, furniture) is not concentrated on any particular segment, unlike its main competitors such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s which  retail only food (Lewis, Thomas, 1990). The lack of the focus and concentration may lead to the reduced innovations and scarcity of the expertise in one particular market area. When Marks and Spencer tried to expand their market adding the clothing line for younger people, it experienced loss and failure, as it wasn’t able to follow latest fashion trends to satisfy younger audience and kept a reputation of the retailing brand mainly for elder women (Fletcher, 2007). According to Alon (2000), Marks and Spencer experienced lack of inventory control which led to the underperforming other major British companies by 25% in 1998. The average price comparison made by Telegraph in 2008 has shown that the prices on the Marks and Spencer’s food exceed thos e in Asda by 3.6%. The company is considered high-priced and looses large amount of customers from middle and lower class, who prefer daily shopping in other big retail chains like Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco, where prices are much cheaper and more reasonable (Avery, 2011). Political factors: Each company which desires to maximize its profit should develop within the governmental policies. Marks and Spencer is not an exception, as the company believes that engagement with the government is beneficial for the organization’s income. According to Marks and Spencer’s official website, company tends to communicate with the political audiences either directly or through the trade memberships. After the â€Å"green† governmental policy in 2008, Marks and Spencer introduced the 5p charge for the plastic bags across its stores (Vaughan, 2011). Marks and Spencer is located in the UK, which has stable political background and tax policies (McGrattan, 2005). However, in 2005 the company experienced losses in the EU area and appealed to the court for the opportunity to deduct international losses from its UK tax bill (European Commission Legal Services, 2005). After European Court of Justice announced that Marks and Spencer and other UK companies have the right to counterpoise British tax bill, Marks and Spencer has won this case receiving 30 million tax relief (BBC, 2005). Economic factors: The majority of international companies are considering the USA a perfect area of franchising due to the big population and large size of the market. Marks and Spencer was among the first British retailers who considered  expanding its business to the North America (Alexander, 1995). However, the September 11 attacks have caused economic crisis and change in the purchasing behavior of American citizens which led to the extreme losses experienced by Marks and Spencer throughout the following year imposing the company to close the non-core branch in North America (BBC, 2002). Due to the financial crisis taking place in 2007-2008 (Barrel, 2008) and later severe crisis in Eurozone, the sales of Marks and Spencer has significantly decreased, as the salaries of the middle-class didn’t math the high-priced food and garments offered by the retailer (Rayner, 2008). Social factors: According to Marks and Spencer’s official website, company is focused on applying ethical trading, producing nontoxic food and employing responsible use of an energy, as the company believes that adapting CSR is vital for the development of business. Company is especially focused on the animal welfare, being the first UK retailer to sell only free-range eggs in its stores (Jones, 2005) and along with several other British retailers promotes food without additives (Jones, 2007). However, several years ago Marks and Spencer was accused in using the child labour in Morocco which might have damaged the company’s reputation (Frankental, 2001). According to Moore (1995) and Campbell (2010) Marks and Spencer over the past years has increased the amount of advertisement using different types of commercials. Nevertheless, the company was not been able to satisfy customers’ needs, while producing their clothing line for young people which led to the losses of profit (Jobbe r, 1999). Technological factors: According to Butler (2013), Marks and Spencer is the only big British food retailer that does not have an online shopping service, while other companies like Sainsbury’s and Morrison are making millions of pounds through the web. The company for the long time is using RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology that helped to achieve more efficient supply chain system. After the success with Marks and Spencer other British supermarkets implemented this technology in order to reduce costs and improve customer service (Jones, 2005). In 2012 Marks and Spencer announced  the new marketing plan that included the wi-fi connection throughout its stores, planning that the customers would be able to see the full stock of products on their devises which would simplify searching for the preferable item (Raddick, 2012). Conclusion: Marks and Spencer is the powerful international retailer that can maximize its future profit taking into consideration further opportunities and threats of substitutes. Marks and Spencer should consider adding online shopping for its food products, as the other British food retailers like Tesco and Sainsbury’s already have this feature that gives a big percentage of companies’ income. Another way for developing company may be expanding to the Asian market which can guarantee huge profit due to the big size of population. One of the main threats caused by economic crisis both in USA and European Union is the loss of bargaining power of customers. People find it hard to afford the high prices offered by Marks and Spencer and therefore try to search for a cheaper alternative. Retailer in future should adapt to the social changes when producing their clothing line for younger people in order to satisfy this audience.

Two behavioural finance problem sets related to Temporal Discounting Assignment

Two behavioural finance problem sets related to Temporal Discounting and Bayesian Learning vs Reinforcement Learning in Financial Decision making - Assignment Example The exponential discounting graph has a positive slope due to its positivity index. This person should sign an agreement in period zero due to income effect and substitution effect. The high interest rate increases income a certain amount of time. Therefore, increase in consumption during the first and second period makes the income effect of the borrower to be negative in the period. Additionally, due to substitution effect, the gross interest rate is relative to consumption price during period zero compared to period 1 and 2 (Nielsen, 2005). Hence, it will be more expensive in the first and second period compared to period zero. As such, for a person, a rise in interest rate in the first or second period may rise or reduce the rate during period zero. Assuming that Mr. Spout has an expected payout of $1 when he invests in stock A, Mr. Spout will not choose the guaranteed stock A. Stock has an expected uncertainty of 1/3; therefore, Mr. Spout will take his chances and invest in stock B. He will not have preference between investing in either stock A or investing in stock B (Forbes, 2009). To state this in a different way, Mr. Spout will later select the investment that has a higher expected return. Mr. Spout, will invest in stock B in future, since he does not consider taking into account the investment risk in his decision. As a Bayesian learner, Mr. Spout decision will be influenced by uncertainty knowledge and the time is linked through the process of learning of the stocks. As a risk neutral investor, Mr. Spout will be indifferent between investing in stock A or in Stock B. Since he has an experience in stock A, Mr. Spout will invest in stock B. As a Bayesian investor, Mr. Spout experimented in the first period and observed the results. Therefore, he will invest in stock B due to its uncertainty element attached to the stock. He will not have preference between

Vent Fresh Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vent Fresh - Essay Example he essay aims to examine and identify the value and service that a proposed new product, Vent Scents, will provide to customers and also customer needs. Team Blue, a creative group of five enterprising individuals, innovatively developed and designed Vent Scents, a scented filter product that aims to freshen, deodorize and purify the air through providing fragrance for residential and commercial establishments. The group’s motto, â€Å"Enjoy everlasting freshness with Vent Scents, a scented filter that delivers your favorite fragrance throughout your home or office. Vents Scents are available in a variety of sizes and aromas†, emphasize its unique feature of providing freshness through giving not only array of aromatic scent choices, but more importantly, the capacity to deodorize, disinfest and purify the air in one’s home or office. Research has proven Vent Scents to be safe and environmental friendly. The mission of Team Blue is to market a line of scents that will catch the noses of the individual users, while giving you many of choices. In today’s complex, competitive and super saturated market, it is truly a challenge to introduce a new product successfully. Completely new products are hard to come by and putting a new twist on an already existing product is difficult. We intend to perfect our product to obtain recognition over current brands on the market. Team Blue will offer its product at an afford price that will persuade the market locally and

Bhopal Disaster Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bhopal Disaster - Case Study Example These include non-compliance with safety rules, lack of employee training to deal with safety standards, location of the plant close to a densely populated area and other reasons that surfaced right after the disaster. Business ethics refers to the corporate philosophy and mindset about the rights, obligations, duties, responsibilities and conduct for doing business. There is no universal principle for ethics, however several theories were proposed. Right after the disaster, Union Carbide (UCC) and their local partners in India, Union Carbide of India Limited (UCIL) started blaming each other and tried to pass the buck in hope of saving themselves for being responsible for the disaster. Hence, they failed to display Duty Ethics that refers to carrying out activities based on objective duties and obligations. The Golden Rule of ethics is to act in a way one wants others to act towards him/her. Similarly, 'the professional ethic' paradigm 'asks to take actions that a disinterested panel of professional colleagues would view as proper' (Laczniak, 1983). The Utilitarian Principle for ethics refers to acting in a way that is best for the greatest number. However, as seen from the case, UCC made no real effort to ethically justify their actions in the Bhopal disaster. Though they maintain that they acted in the best interests of the public after the disaster, yet there is no independent confirmation of this claim. They even failed to pass the TV test as Laczniak (1983) defines as 'Would I feel comfortable explaining to a national TV audience why I took this action' After the disaster, UCC remarked that it 'had never had a presence in India and that UCIL was essentially an autonomous operation' (Sharplin, 1989); although, Browning (1993) explained that 'UCC owned over 50% of the plant that was operated by UCIL'. UCC has never apologised to Indian people regarding the incident and carelessness on behalf of both the principals and the operators. Subsequent forensic investigations identified a serious lack of commitment by management to ensure implementation of health and safety standards at the plant. Many observations were noted by scientists and plant auditors, yet none of these was implemented till the disaster struck. These facts show that the company seriously violated ethical standards of utilitarianism and ethics of duties; they showed lack of respect for a large population of Bhopal and never accepted their responsibility towards doing their jobs, that is to ensure the safety standards at the plant. Corporate Social Responsibility The corporate social responsibility concepts require that companies take the responsibility to ensure the safe and secure environment for the benefit of general public. In addition, these call for establishing a standard to contribute to the society in general, and then compliance with that corporate social policy or standard to enhance the quality of life for general public in the area where a company operates. However, as evident, no such responsibility was exhibited by either

Impact of Organization Culture on Applying Total Quality Management Essay

Impact of Organization Culture on Applying Total Quality Management - Essay Example The provision requires a set of structural procedure to identify the problem and accord the needed entity that presents alternatives in efficiency generation. In the organization culture, the measure involves the measurement of the members’ practices in completing the missions set within the structure. Achieving TQM may require strategies that are included in finding solutions to available problem. The relationship of organization culture and TQM may be found in the application of the strategies that involve acquiring best practice. The TQM entity has been applied to deliver the changes required in achieving progress and changing the organization’s outlook. However, there is no single measure to apply the strategy because each organization requires varied approach in the implementation. The impending question is included in the strategy applied to achieve TQM in relation to the organization culture. The need may be to change the culture of the organization or apply exis ting culture to achieve the phenomenon. Despite the disparities that are evident in articulating the contribution of organization culture to achieving TQM, the measure is granted that the former has an impact on the implementation of the later. Literature review Irani, Beskese and Love (2002) explain that organizations have implemented the strategies witnessed based on existing organization culture to achieve TQM. ... The culture being the ability of a cohesive relationship within members to share experiences and expertise to perform tasks may be the needed strategy in acquiring TQM. The need to perform tasks according to the presentations included by the policy makers in delivering outcomes may require a given strategy. The selected strategy would qualify as the organization culture implemented during the events presented in delivering efficiency. A stable organizational culture is witnessed in the performance and the desire to deliver substantial outcomes (Tsung-Hsien & Yen-Lin, 2010). This is the leading strategy in deliberating effective TQM that would direct results to achieve the company’s mission. The contribution of the company culture would be witnessed in their efforts to articulate the necessary strategy in deliberating best practice to fix internal and external problem (Irani, Beskese and Love, 2002). Conversely, Pool (2000) explains the relationship of organizational culture wi th TQM to be linked to the learning outcomes. TQM has generated efficiency in the organization and service delivery of variable organizations (Pool, 2000). Before the culture is established, the training included to provide a substantial relationship within the organization members. The learning outcomes would establish the relationship to create the organization culture to be practiced in solving problems. To learn as a group would contribute to a problem solving practice that would be reflected as the company’s norm (Pool 2000). These are the needed strategies to link TQM and organization culture in achieving progress in service delivery. Methodology To support their claim, Irani, Beskese

Australian Legal System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Australian Legal System - Essay Example What constitutes the common law is not so much actual decision in a particular case as the principles upon which that decision is based (Gifford & Gifford, 1983 p5). According to Corkery (1999, p105), all law is not judge made law and there is more and more codification in Australia now. The intention of the parliaments is to tidy up the law and replace the common law subsisting before the passing the code. Therefore, the most of new law is likely to reliance on legislation today. Under the Australian State Court Hierarchy, the courts can be categorized into three different types: the Magistrates Courts, the Distinct/County Courts and the Supreme Courts. The highest judicial tribunal in Australia is the high Court and mainly deal with constitutional challenges, however one thing should be noted that the High Court can overruled the previous decision. Under the doctrine of precedent, it does not have to follow the any previous decision made by the lower courts. In order to understand the current common law system, it is essential to know the advantages and disadvantages of doctrine of precedent relied on by the common law. Even if the Common law has described as emasculated form today, compare to the statute law, there must be weaknesses and strengths together rather than only weaknesses. According to Chisholm and Nettheim (1997, p46), common law is still remained as an essential method where nobody is sure what the law is, and where the occurred cases are quiet new. Decision should be made by Judges for these kinds of particular cases such as R v Elizabeth Manley [1933] 1 KB 529 (very uncommon case) because no similar case has ever been decided. The decisions of courts play a large part in determining and changing laws and this circumstance indicates the importance of common law. In addition, Victoria law foundation (2007) stated that the most of trials nowadays are having precedents and these good precedents are making the law more consistent, because earlier judicial decision guided judges in later similar cases. Besides, a judge today must apply the reasoning used in the precedents made in higher courts when they decide a similar case. Both factors reinforce the doctrine of precedent operation as its strength. Another advantage of doctrine of precedent stated by Bird (1993, p268), using the system of doctrine of precedent could additionally be good enough to save time and resources. As mentioned above, it provides not only a guideline to narrow the decision against the 'palm tree' justice, but also offer an opportunity to save time and resources. On the contrary, precedent operation of the common law needs to be more flexible to overcome its weaknesses. In modern society, flexibility tends to be one of the most important criteria, because yesterday's solutions might not be good enough to adapt for the rapid social changes. Chisholm and Nettheim (1997, p46) argued that the English or Australian system is sometimes criticised for tying the judges too much to the past. The case of Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562, by the time the judge made the decision, he has considered the social condition changed, the judge have developed the law of negligence which has benefits every customer, where Grant v Australian Knitting Mills Ltd

Communicative Language Teaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Communicative Language Teaching - Essay Example   Communicative Language Teaching is effective since it focusing on determining what the student can do in functional terms and practically. It involves the use of thorough evaluations and helps students to identify things that are useful to them in a practical sense. It enables the students to complete the required grade or level of the curriculum successfully to meet the required national standards when it comes to education, and especially foreign education. It is a practical approach to foreign language students and applies to them all the way from kindergarten up to university. Communicative Language Teaching is important for students because it helps to make students understand what they can do after completing a certain level of education. The use of this teaching method enables a learner to use and apply certain strategies that may apply to the particular student.Since Communicative Learning Technology does not support one particular theory or working method, it can draw id eas from many practical methods such as sciences, psychology and the use of second languages. It embraces the different approaches that apply to helping the learner to meet their learning goals. Moreover, using this learning model has effectively enabled accommodation of different students who have different personalities and needs for learning. The practicality of this teaching brand appears in the way that it requires the frequent interaction between the learners to create a suitable atmosphere for the students to perfect their language skills.

Commentary on the eco friendly shoes Essay Example for Free

Commentary on the eco friendly shoes Essay Blackspot Sneaker and Nike considered. The best way to have the biggest share of the market is not really by advertisements or sweet talks; it can only be done by the use of economic friendly products. The product that every Tom, Dick and Harry would be able to afford without going for a loan. Commenting on the economic friendly shoes of Blackspot and Nike, apart from producing a user friendly shoes, they also put other factors into consideration and it is in view of this that made them dominate the shoe industry. Why will a buyer purchase a pair of shoe for the same price he/she can purchase 3 pairs? Since those two companies put the end users into thought by producing shoes that would be durable, cheap and firm, they have been able to control the target market and every advertisement rolled out to the audience is accepted as a contract or agreement to purchase a pair or more of the advertised shoes and this has really increased their sales not for a particular manufactured shoes but all shoes on which Kalle Lasn or Nike is written on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In an excerpts from Blackspot website,   Kalle Lasn, CEO, Blackspot, said â€Å"all shoes manufactured by Blackspot are earth friendly, anti sweatshop, cruelty free and prograssroots   and he ended it by saying that Blackspots are the only rough and ready shoes that has the ability to beat NIKE†. When a shoe company comes out with a good product, and at the same time a relatively cheap product, it is very certain that the demand will be higher than the supply because everybody will like to be seen with the product on his feet. As this increases, the shoe company will continue to make name and refrain other competitors from coming to the market scene.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Conclusively, it could be seen that the society has really impacted in the advertisement and sales of eco friendly shoe producers because without the society there would be no turnover.

Fast food restaurant Essay Example for Free

Fast food restaurant Essay Description of Great Burger GB is the fourth largest fast food chain worldwide, measured by the number of stores in operation. As most of its competitors do, GB offers food and combos for the three largest meal occasions: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Even though GB owns some of its stores, it operates under the franchising business model with 85 percent of its stores owned by franchisees (individuals own and manage stores, pay franchise fee to GB, but major business decisions (e.g. , menu, look of store) controlled by GB). McKinsey study As part of its growth strategy GB has analyzed some potential acquisition targets including Heavenly Donuts (HD), a growing doughnut producer with both a U. S. and international store presence. HD operates under the franchising business model too, though a little bit differently than GB. While GB franchises restaurants, HD franchises areas or regions in which the franchisee is required to open a certain number of stores. GBs CEO has hired McKinsey to advise him on whether they should acquire HD or not. 1. What areas would you want to explore to determine whether GB should acquire HD? The team started thinking about potential synergies that could be achieved by acquiring HD. Here are some key facts on GB and HD. Exhibit 1 |Stores |GB |HD | |[pic]Total |5,000 |1,020 | |[pic][pic]North America |3,500 |1000 | |[pic][pic]Europe |1,000 |20 | |[pic][pic]Asia |400 |0 | |[pic][pic]Other |100 |0 | |[pic]Annual growth in stores |10% |15% |. |Financials |GB |HD | |[pic]Total store sales |$5,500m |$700m | |[pic]Parent company revenue |$1,900m |$200m | |[pic]Key expenses (% sales) | | | |[pic][pic]Cost of sales |51% |40% | |[pic][pic]Restaurant operating costs |24% |26% | |[pic][pic]Restaurant property equipment costs |4. 6% |8. 5% | |[pic][pic]Corporate general administrative costs |8% |15% | |[pic]Profit as % of sales |6. 3% |4. 9% | |[pic]Sales/stores |$1. 1m |$0. 7m | |[pic]Industry average |$0. 9m |$0. 8m | [pic] 2. What potential synergies can you think of between GB and HD? 3. The team thinks that with synergies, it should be possible to double HD’s U. S. market share in the next 5 years, and that GB’s access to capital will allow it to expand the number of HD stores by 2. 5 times. What sales per store will HD require in 5 years in order for GB to achieve these goals? Does this seem reasonable? Use any data from Exhibit 1 you need, additionally, make the following assumptions: †¢ Doughnut consumption/capita in the U. S. is $10/year today, and is projected to grow to $20/year in 5 years. †¢ For ease of calculation, assume U. S. population is 300m. 4. One of the synergies that the team thinks might have a big potential is the idea of increasing the businesses overall profitability by selling doughnuts in GB stores. How would you assess the profitability impact of this synergy? 5. What would be the incremental profit per store if we think we are going to sell 50,000 doughnuts per store at a price of $2 per doughnut at a 60 percent margin with a cannibalization rate of 10 percent of GBs sales? Exhibit 2 |Sales and profitability per store | | |Units of GB sold per store |300 thousand | |Sales price per unit |$3 per unit | |Margin |50 percent | | | |Units of HD sold in GB stores |50 thousand | |Sales price per unit |$2 per unit | |Margin |60 percent | |Cannibalization rate of HD products to GB products |10 percent | 6. You run into the CEO of GB in the hall. He asks you to summarize McKinsey’s perspective so far on whether GB should acquire HD. Pretend the interviewer is the CEO–what would you say?

Critical Reflection On Personal Experience With Anxiety Patient Nursing Essay

Critical Reflection On Personal Experience With Anxiety Patient Nursing Essay Boyd and Fales (1983) suggest that critical reflection is the difference between whether an individual repeats the same experience several times therefore developing proficiency in one behaviour or if the person can learn from an experience in such a way that the individual becomes more open to change and development. By using reflection as a tool, many advantages can be gained in the development of nursing care. It is suggested that by encouraging nurses to reflect upon nursing situations, in order to promote the nurses professional development there will be by a process of growth better nursing care for the patients (Gustafson and Fagerberg , 2004). This essay presents a reflective overview of an experience that took place during my clinical placement with the Accident and Emergency Psychiatric Liaison Team and will focus specifically on my experience with a patient who attended the department with an anxiety disorder. I will use the Levitt-Jones (2007) narrative framework to underpin this essay and also aim to demonstrate and implement the Specific Capabilities in Practice (SCiPs) during this reflective process. It is important at this point to review the principles of confidentiality, as detailed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2008), when providing information about a patients care it is important to maintain confidentiality. Therefore the patient will be referred to as Jane (not her real name) for the purpose of this essay. Jane attended the Accident and Emergency department complaining of tightness in her chest, nausea, feelings of dizziness and a dry mouth. She was examined by the medical team who found no underlying physical cause for these symptoms. During the medical assessment process it was disclosed by Jane that she had been prescribed medication for an anxiety disorder by her GP. It was with this knowledge that Jane was referred to the Psychiatric Liaison Team for a mental health assessment. My mentor had suggested that I go and introduce myself to Jane and let her know we would be coming to complete a mental health assessment once her blood results had come through and she had been classified as medically fit. I approached the bed area where Jane was and noted the curtains were partially pulled round the bed, as I approached the bed area round the curtain I started to introduce myself and explain about the mental health assessment, however I was unable to finish my introduction and explanation as Jane shouted go away, get out, I want you out. At this time I am aware I froze, uncertain as how to proceed as this was not what I expected, Jane again stated that she wanted me to go away so I turned and walked away from the bed area and returned to my mentor to report what had just occurred. My mentor advised me that we would wait for Jane to be cleared medically and then she would go and speak to Jane about what had just occurred; my mentor suggested this would give Jane time to calm down and give us an opportunity to request any past psychiatric records. Whilst I was waiting for a fax from Janes GP, I was pre-occupied with what had happened and wondered if Janes reaction was because she had some kind of issue with me, my appearance or what I was wearing. I also questioned if Jane did not want student nurses involved in her care or if she had issues about having a mental health assessment. I also ran through, over and over, what I had said and how I had said it; was I too loud? Did I startle her by coming round the curtain unannounced? My mentor returned to the office after having spoken discreetly with Jane and disclosed to me that as I approached Jane she was in fact experiencing a panic attack and she had become agitated and shouted for me to leave as she was worried I would think she was mental and couldnt bear the thought of a stranger watching her have a panic attack. I had felt relieved and some of my own anxiety was reduced when this information was handed over to me as I had become convinced I had done something wrong to provoke this reaction from Jane; however my mentor suggested that Jane was now willing for me to complete the mental health assessment. During the course of the assessment I was able to identify some key points that required some further exploration with Jane and my mentor encouraged me to sit with Jane and talk through our suggested treatment plan and plan of care. Jane disclosed that her anxiety symptoms had started several months ago following the death of her cousin in a road traffic accident, initially they had been mild but as time had gone on things had got a lot worse. In addition to the symptoms of anxiety Jane had described she also during the course of our assessment identified experiences that could also be defined as symptoms of depression; these included; loss of appetite, early morning waking and low mood. The GP records that had been faxed over indicated that an anti depressant had been prescribed for Jane (Citilopram) months ago but she disclosed she had not taken this on a daily basis as she thought it was just to help when she was really bad. It is reported that despite an increase in the prescribing of anti depressants compliance with antidepressants by patients has been described as a major problem (Pampallona et al, 2002). This can be attributed to many reasons including; fear of dependence, concern of social stigma and also the prescriber giving unclear instructions about how and why the medication should be taken (McMullen and Herman, 2009). Jane had stated that she did not know why she had been given and anti depressant for anxiety and that she was not aware that she should take it every day. Jane also expressed concern that she was going to become addicted to the anti depressants and that she would not want to stay on them for any longer than a couple of weeks. I aimed to reassure and educate Jane by telling her that Citilopram; although a medication from the anti depressant family also, had properties that would treat her symptoms of anxiety and panic. The benefits would only be felt if the medication was taken every day and only after at least a period of 3 to 4 weeks should any benefit be highlighted (NICE, 2009). I was also able to inform Jane that it is recommended that treatment with anti depressants should continue for at least six months, even if she was to feel better, to ensure the chance of relapse and re emergence of symptoms is reduced (NICE, 2009). Jane stated her GP had told her the medication was to make her feel better but not much more information about how often and for how long she should take it, Jane indicated she would now take it every day and see if it helped her. At the end of the assessment Jane thanked me for my help and again apologised for snapping at me. I felt it was important to end the assessment with both myself and Jane feeling the issue was resolved so that our relationship could move so I empathised with her that she was having a very difficult time and her response was understandable in the context of what was happening to her at that time. Berg and Hallberg (2000) suggest that caring for people with mental illness demands an intensified presence, not allowing one to glide away, close the door or just disappear. On reflection I felt that although initially anxious and self critical of my initial interaction with Jane, I was tempted not to return to complete the assessment with my mentor, however I was glad that I did so that a relationship could be established and the outcome became more positive for myself and most importantly for Jane. I was able to spend some time a week later with my mentor and we discussed the outcomes from Janes assessment. Initially I had felt unwilling to proceed with the assessment and admitted to my mentor that I had felt very anxious about Janes initial reaction to me. My mentor identified she was aware that I had personalised Janes response and that I had questioned myself at length about what I had done wrong. My mentor was able to advise me that although it is essential for nurses to reflect on their interactions with patients, it is also important to attempt to obtain balance in the reflective process; which on this instance I had initially failed to do. I had become so focused on what I could have done wrong this was not balanced with what other factors may have influenced the patients reaction. Hem and Heggen (2003) suggest that an important element for mental health nurses was to recognize personal vulnerability in order to survive and develop professionally. The interaction with Jane did make me feel vulnerable; however by spending time with my mentor and by resolving the issues with Jane by understanding the reasons behind her behaviour, I feel that have further developed my skills and self awareness when delivering patient care.

Does Young Goodman Brown Achieve Goodness? Essay -- Young Goodman Brow

Does Young Goodman Brown Achieve Goodness?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nathaniel Hawthorne often emphasizes the ambiguous nature of sin, that good and evil do not exist in parallel with each other but at many times intersect with each other in his fiction. In "Young Goodman Brown," Hawthorne applies what he believes is the virtue of recognizing cosmic irony of taking into account the contradictions inherent in the human condition, to his portrayal of Young Goodman Brown. According to Hawthorne's view, Browns failure to recognize the inherent sinfulness in himself as well as the rest of humanity, results, not in a rewarding life of reveling in righteousness, but in isolation and obscurity. Hawthorne juxtaposes the village of Salem, Massachusetts in the early 1690's, where doctrinal law and Puritan theology rule, with the mystical forest where evil and the supernatural reside to symbolically represent Brown's own misguided perception of the mutual exclusivity of good and evil. Brown connects the world of goodness with his wife Faith, who he believes he is leaving behind in the village while he makes his journey into the wilderness. He describes her as a "blessed angel on earth" to whom he vows to return "after this one night I'll cling to her skirts forever and follow her to heaven"(65, 65). Brown's characterization of Faith indicates that he believes he can travel between the world of sin and the world of goodness and remain unscathed or unchanged by the experience. However, Hawthorne creates the conflict of the ambiguous nature of sin in humanity for Brown with certain key symbols. For instance, Hawthorne uses Faith's pink ribbons, to symbolize the notion that although the world of the village is supposed to be that of goodness and purit... ...able fact that sin is a part of human nature. The inability of Brown and Hilda to recognize Hawthorne's concept that humanity resides not on either the side of evil or the side of virtue, but somewhere in between the two where one can acknowledge one's own sinfulness as well as the sins of humanity, but one can also feel compassion for ones fellow human beings despite the sin, is what causes their weakness. Young Goodman Brown, by not noticing the nature of Faith's pink ribbons and Hilda, by looking at "humanity with angel eyes"(55) rather than with the eyes of a woman, both sacrifice the compassion which would allow them to make meaningful and satisfying connections with their fellow human beings. Works Cited: Hawthorne, Nathaniel. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Julia Reidhead. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1998.

The Audience and Writing Essay -- Audience Definition Essays

The Audience and Writing Audience. Just one word yet it stirs frighteningly confusing images of perplexing thoughts in my mind. The word alone is strange, but when put in context of an essay it leaves me baffled and frustrated[d1] . The questions; â€Å"What is Audience?† â€Å"Why do I need it?† and, â€Å"What purpose does it serve?† are important to my finally some day understanding the concept of Audience, but at this point I can’t answer them fully[d2] . I can grasp the understanding of all the other aspects of writing an essay, although I may not incorporate them well in my paper at least I see why they are important. Audience, to me, is not so easy to understand. After reading The Allyn and Bacon Guide to Writing and the assigned chapters given to us for each writing essay in W131 class[d3] , I am still left with an unclear picture of what to do with Audience in my papers. When thinking about Audience I think of who I’m writing to, just who is my paper directed at[d4] . Is it one person? Am I writing towards a group, or society? Is my essay directed at a large Audience, perhaps an entire culture? Is it good to have a small or large Audience[d5] ? When writing towards a large audience the paper has to cover a larger base of information, since more people means more diversity, and a greater difference in opinions, you must write about enough variety that the entire Audience can understand, follow, and see your paper clearly. Large Audiences can leave the reader confused, or perhaps make them not want to finish the essay at all. For myself I think it’s best if I narrow my Audience down to a small group, or even one person w hen writing my essays[d6] . Although I haven’t done so in the past it’s probably the best... ...le with bone cancer, or even further and go down to a limb with cancer, like hand, or bone marrow, etc. I would have an even more specific Audience which would allow me to get very detailed and intimate with my facts[d18] . A larger Audience would be good if I wanted to write a broad paper that gives only general ideas or facts and doesn’t get to intimate in one area. This leads into the idea of mixing, it’s not wise to mix an Audience, what I mean by this is starting off with a large Audience and then getting very detailed into one aspect of that topic, this would cause the writer to lose a large number of their readers[d19] . Without an Audience one can’t write a paper, it’s like heading out on a trip with no destination in min Work Cited Ramage, John, John Bean. The Allyn And Bacon Guide To Writing. Massachusetts: A Pearson Education Company, 2000[d21] .