Compare and Contrast Presentation Outline Essay

While spending time thinking about the goal in my life, the only one answer coming up in my mind is to achieve success. But what exactly the word ‘success’ should be defined? Thinking considerably, there are at least two fundamental achievements in life that inspire people. One is to be rich, while another one is to be famous. Though these two words are somehow closely related if you think about the celebrities who are famous and rich at the same time, there are some others who only have high recognition but not rich, such as Mother Teresa who devoted her whole life doing charity for the poor. Therefore, the topic that I am really interested in is about whether to be rich or to be famous is the key word for success. Being famous does not necessary mean bring rich, and vice-versa. Both generally bring satisfaction if brought to one in a positive manner, or in a way he/she intended it to. Because being famous and being rich are both signs leading to success, which in most cases, is the human’s ultimate goal. Being just either rich or famous, other than being a positive thing, could produce highly negative and unwanted end results too. A huge percentage of people are famous as a result of all sorts of negativity, such as criminal acts and negative politics. At the same time, a good part of the world’s drug lords and terrorism-driven groups are fairly rich too. So when does being rich or famous become a good thing? Usually, a combination of being rich and famous, surprisingly, doesn’t do as much harm to coexisting peers, as the former would. Although criminals who fall under lists such as ‘FBI’s Most Wanted’, turn out to be rich and famous, regardless of how they got to where they are. But a bigger portion of the ‘rich and famous’ category are occupied by highly paid movie stars and sportsmen, neither of whom does much harm to the society. What I expect from contrasting their difference is that the readers will realize being famous is the sustainable way to achieve success rather than being rich. In other words, money cannot be used to buy the fame. Though being rich is another sign of success, without being famous, one can be forgotten easily. On the other hand, being famous is eternally recognized by people. Even if they died, the world still praise and remind of their accomplishments. By standing on this opinion, people will not just look forward to making money, but will try themselves on inventing new things, creating beautiful arts, and doing whatever they are interested to become well-known by others and then succeed in their lives. The key word to success should start from being famous and will prove that it is true by giving examples about people who were quite poor but famous and successful in their lives. The contrast presentation will be controlled differently in each slide depending on famous area of those people. As a result, this presentation is worthy to compose because it will be such a good lesson to teach everyone, including myself, to understand the regular basis of being successful in life. Trying to be famous is the first step to achieve sustainable success.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Technology

Good afternoon everyone. The topic for our debate is that technology is making us less alienated, more sociable and more human. We, the negative team believe this statement is true. The first speaker Lily of the affirmative team has tried to tell you that†¦ this is wrong because†¦ the second speaker Lin of the affirmative team has tried to tell you that†¦ this is wrong because†¦ the third speaker of the affirmative team Moha has tried to tell you that†¦ this is wrong because†¦ our first speaker Bob has told you that†¦ he also spoke to you about†¦ our second speaker MB has told you that†¦ e lso spoke to you about†¦ our third speaker Ahemed has told you that †¦ he also spoke to you about†¦ so, in conclusion, our team†¦. We cannot escape from the absolute need of technology in our daily life. We are so dependent on technology that we cannot do without them. Starting from computers to keeping fit, we require technology at e very step. Technology helps us to keep in touch with people who are away from us. We use the telephones and computers to talk to them and even see them. Our daily office work is also technology based. No longer do people use the pen and paper to complete their work.We maintain our health by going to the gyms. There are machines in the gym which help us reduce our weight and keep fit. The use of technology has made our life comfortable. We cannot think of a life sans technology. We get to keep a lot of information in a small device and use it when we like. Cars have also become better with the use of technology. Thus technology is undeniably an important of our life. Communication has been made easier for example the internet has brought email and chatting facilities. Instead of sending letters to respective destinations, it is very easy to send an email which will be received instantly.

Counselling Psychology Essay

From the term’s meaning itself, â€Å"existence† is the primary keyword that identifies the idealisms imposed through understanding the deep meaning of existential personality. It could not be denied then that unlike other theories of psychology and human behavior, existential personality theory has not been founded by any prominent personality in the field of human sciences, rather, the theory was introduced as a collaborative understanding that has been brought to existence through close observation of several individuals who have definite purpose in living in comparison to those who may have the hardest time identifying the reasons as to why they are living. With the many things that identify human life at present, â€Å"purpose† is one particular aspect that keeps one on the focus of facing the different challenges of living as they come. Considerably, an individual who knows what or for whom he is living for strives harder to survive the challenges of living as much as they could since they do know that there are others caring about them or there are others sorely needing their existence. Being needed is the key reasoning that brings about the possibility of this theory coming into existence. Every person needs to feel the possibility that he is needed by others. Through this, he is able to draw the meaning of life to him which in turn motivates him to remain where he is even though there might be huge heaps of challenges that tend to break him down every day. Noticeably, the life of people who have purpose does have a distinctive difference in comparison to those who may not have the people around them who they see as someone to live for. To explain the matter further, take for example the situation of a young woman who lives by herself and a young woman who has become a young mother. A young independent woman does have all the time in her life she would like to spend with herself, her family, her friends and her career; whereas, a young mother needs to balance the attention that she is giving for herself and her child. In a mirror sense, it may seem that it is only the time that each other has for themselves that may be different in the scene. However, if examined closely, this situation focuses more on the capability of the two individuals to face the challenges of the coming years in their lives. The young woman is noted to be susceptible to several heartaches or disappointments that she may meet in the future. Why is this so? Because she only needs to care for herself, she only needs to make sure that she is fine and that is the end of the line. Meanwhile, a mother of a young child would care less of herself but would focus more on the needs of her child, the demands of her role being a mother to her young. Through this reason for existence, the young mother turns out to be more powerful as she tends to exert effort not only for herself but for the life that depends on her for survival . IT always pays to have the rightful realization that someone needs the other. IT is rather comforting to know that even though one has taken many mistaken steps and decisions in the past, the motivation to push through comes from the fact that people live for others and not for themselves alone. This is the true essence of the existence personality theory. References: Milton, M. (1994) HIV Related Psychotherapy and Its Existential Concerns, Counselling Psychology Review, V9

Human resourse practice in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human resourse practice in China - Essay Example It also focuses on identifying the connections among these practices and highlighting the cultural dimensions of China. 1.1 Recruitment and selection In historical perspective, recruitment and selection of employees had little significance in China. They were following an iron rice bowl system, which has no policy of external labor market. All practices of HR such as recruiting, training, compensation and performance appraisal were handled by this one single system. However, after 1995, many countries started working on free labor market including China. This involved recruiting from all levels such as universities, colleges and schools, which is a common practice nowadays in China and many other developed countries. Presently, researches have noted that mostly in organizations 80% of employees get jobs on the basis of sources such as relatives, family, and friends etc. this is an illegal practice. This large amount of percentage should be reduced and other people should also be pref erred while recruiting and selection process. It have also been noted that most of the companies in China also prefer to transfer managers internally in order to fill the vacancies rather than hiring a person from outside (Child J, 2000). A selection criterion of China differs as compared to the other western countries. It focuses more on its cultural values i.e. guanxi, which means that there should be relationship among companies, employees and the government. Then only an organization leads to success. This culture focuses on the idea that employees should know that they are obliged to create a fit in their job and company should be able to retain the excess staff in case of new positions. This results to over employment in an organization. In recruiting and selection process companies should have more focus on skill and experience of a person rather than identifying that a person is Chinese or a foreigner, which is the common practice of Chinese companies. 1.2 Training and devel opment Education, training and development of employees lead to efficiency in performance and provide various benefits to the enterprise. In past it was identified that about 1.5% of workers in china had a suitable qualification, 27.3% studied till high school and 7.8% workers had technical knowledge. This shows that Chinese workers had lack of skills and were untrained. But after centralization of economy, China has concentrated more on the training and development of employees. Workers were provided internships and technical education in order to make them skilled persons. But a major problem identified in this program was that during training it resulted that most of the workers mismatched with their job, which lead to less work and productivity. Training programs were more concentrated on political issues in order to enhance the culture of China rather than technical education. This led to a drawback and indicates that the training system of China is mostly linked to theory rath er than practice. Workers are provided very narrow training aspect and they lack the ability to solve a problem in a practical way. Therefore, it can be said that the training and development process of China is passive and it does not produce creative and dynamic workers (Wei L & Lau C, 2005). Talented employees switch their jobs on two condition i.e. good salary or better carrier opportunities. But research indicated that in China employees are switching job because of better environment, compensation, knowledge, respectful position and carrier growth. In order to cope up with this situation Chinese management association introduced various courses on the education of management systems in many

Intuitive Eating Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intuitive Eating - Assignment Example After further reading, however, I came to the conclusion that the book was making a very serious contribution to the field of nutrition, and that it was based on some good scientific evidence. The first chapter made it clear to me that the starting point of the book was one of the biggest problems faced by readers who have difficulty achieving and maintaining a healthy weight: a process that I would describe as diet fatigue. From my own experience I know that it is very difficult to stick to any diet and that there is a tendency for dieters to have a cycle of enthusiasm, initial weight loss, failure to maintain momentum, and finally a regaining of the pounds that have been lost and a search for a new diet. It was a new idea for me to consider this issue from the angle that dieting is the problem and not the solution. In fact the term that the authors use for this is â€Å"diet backlash† (Tribole and Resch, 1995, p. 2). The authors make the point that serial dieting is not only unsuccessful, it is actually harmful because it teaches the mind and the body to acquire all kinds of bad habits that counteract any good effects of the changes made in calorie intake. So far I was convinced by the argument, but I had a nagging worry that the authors would need to come up with something special to replace the tried and tested means of dieting for those who want to achieve a healthy body weight. Chapter two was an interesting exploration of different personality types which are reflected in eating habits. The three main categories of â€Å"Careful Eater, Professional Dieter and Unconscious Eater.† In my opinion this is an over-simplification because I have encountered many different personality types, both in my professional life and in my private circle of friends. The value of the descriptors is, however, that it encourages the reader to focus on the underlying motivations for people’s behavior in relation to food. I have one friend, for example,

Business Finance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Finance - Research Paper Example The Financial Review is where business performance is quantified in dollars The Financial Review has two major parts: Discussion and Analysis, and Audited Financial Statements. A third part might include information supplemental to the Financial Statements. In the Discussion and Analysis, management explains changes in operating results from year to year. This explanation is presented mainly in a narrative format, with charts and graphs highlighting the comparisons. The Operating results are numerically captured and presented in the Financial Statements. (http://www.terry.uga.edu/akefalas/courses/mirrors.htm 2005) The balance sheet represents the financial picture as it stood on one particular day, December 31, 19X9, as though the wheels of the company were momentarily at a standstill. Typical Manufacturing's balance sheet not only includes the most recent year, but also the previous year. This lets you compare how the company fared in its most recent years. The balance sheet is divided into two sides: on the left are shown assets; on the right are shown liabilities and shareholders' equity. Both sides are always in balance. ... Current liabilities Accounts payable $60,000 $57,000 Notes payable 51,000 61,000 Accrued expenses 30,000 36,000 Income taxes payable 17,000 15,000 Other liabilities 12,000 12,000 Total current liabilities $170,000 $181,000 Long-term liabilities Deferred income taxes $16,000 $9,000 12.5% Debentures payable 2010 130,000 130,000 Other long-term debt 0 6,000 Total libilities $316,000 $326,000 Shareholders Equity Preferred staock $5.83 cumulative,$100 par value authorized, issued and outstanding60,000 shares $6,000 $6,000 Common stock $5.00 par value,authorized 20,000,000 shares,19x9 issued 15,000,000 shares,19x8 14,500,000 shares 75,000 72,500 Additional paid-in capital 20,000 13,500 Retained earnings 249,000 219,600 Foreign currency translation adjustments 1,000 (1,000) Less: Treasury stock at cost (19x9-1,000; 19x8-1,000 shares) 5,000 5,000 Total shareholders' equity $346,000 $305,600 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $662,000 $631,600 Typical Manufacturing Company Inc. Consolidated Income Statement December 31,19X9 and 19X8 (dollars in thousands) 19X9 19X8 Net sales $765,000 $725,000 Cost of sales 535,000 517,000 Gross margin $230,000 $208,000 Operating expensesDepreciation and amortization 28,000 25,000 Selling, general and administrative expenses 96,804 109,500 Operating income $105,196 $73,500 Other income (expense) Dividends and interest income 5,250 9,500 Interest expense (16,250) (16,250) Income before income taxes and extraordinary loss $94,196 $66,750 Income taxes 41,446 26,250 Income before extraordinary loss $52,750 $40,500 Extraordinary item: Loss on early extinguishmentof debt (net of income tax benefit of $750)

Focus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 9

Focus - Essay Example Organization The introduction of the essay is eye catching to the reader as the author makes a sounding impact with the first statement. Clearly, the reader can tell the intentions of the author from the introductory statement. As Regal introduces his essay, â€Å"For most of recorded history, the half-man, half-wolf lycanthrope reigned supreme as the creature travellers most feared encountering in the woods and along dark roads at night† (Regal 1). The statement points out to the reader that the topic in discussion is in the past. Though he is referring to these creatures at present, they are part of history which he talks about. The body explains the major points covering the topic of discussion to support his reasoning. Adequately, he explores the possibilities that could have led to the vanishing status of these creatures from the earth. In a candid way, Regal articulates historical and scientific possibilities that could have been the resultant factors to this condition. Conclusively, he has pulled all the major points together to summarize his work. In the conclusion part of the essay, the writer manages to conclude that Darwin’s theory of evolution could have been the biggest contributing factor to the loss of these creatures from the world. However, he fails to incorporate the historical beliefs ideologies to the conclusion part despite having focused on them in the body of the paper. Despite this though, the main points in the body of the paper have not been repeated but highlighted to give a summary. Support In the essay, the use of the Darwin theory backs the author’s ideas and opinions, making his arguments concrete and real. The assumption that a number of factors could have caused the loss of the werewolves in the world... In the past, people created all sorts of pictures and images for different reasons. The author has backed on this historical information and stories by the people of this time to draw a conclusion that these creatures actually existed. However, any type of information could have cropped up as a result of beliefs and practices by different people and societies. Regal (2) claims that these creatures were believed to have been as a result of witchcraft and black magic. This cannot scientifically be proven especially in a world that relies on science and evidence to prove various events and occurrences as well as phenomena. The author chose to take the claims of the people who existed in these times, legends and the film creativity as a fact, therefore drawing the conclusion that these creatures were in existence. Personally, I feel that this was a wrong move, as history can hardly prove that these creatures ever existed. Any form of scientific evidence to prove that these creatures ever existed could have given the author solid bargaining grounds. However, the use of a scientific theory successfully proves that somehow these creatures were in existence and vanished through the evolution process. According to Regal (5), the same forces of nature that led to the extinction of creatures like dinosaurs were responsible for the extinction of the Werewolves. In the essay, the author believes that these creatures were in existence in the world, and were a menace to the people especially the travelers.

An Engineering Product Development Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

An Engineering Product Development Plan - Essay Example An approximate potential size (volume) reduction of 20-30% can be achieved in notebook devices and up to 70% in desktop PCs. There are fewer security threats since the device is memoryless once its power supply is turned off and there is a clear privacy edge since a user's full computer would reside in the user's pocket, key chain, or the like depending on the used storage medium. The development does not target major hardware and enclosure re-designs. It is in the proof of concept's advantage to virtually eliminate hardware re-design and minimize same for enclosures. Motherboards designed for desktops can be used with minor adaptation for the reduced desktop configuration as well as a desk/kiosk mountable configuration for public use. The laptop motherboard layout would still be used for smaller laptops, possibly with more creative enclosure design to reduce the overall carry-on size, while maintaining a reasonable screen size. The product development plan is organized as follows. ... The laptop motherboard layout would still be used for smaller laptops, possibly with more creative enclosure design to reduce the overall carry-on size, while maintaining a reasonable screen size. The product development plan is organized as follows. Section 2 provides a topical product description that caters for the main newly introduced issues by the UC concept. Section 3 discusses specifics of alternative technologies to be used in the implementation. Section 4 presents the business case and market segmentation. The development plan and the related funding and financial plan are described in Sections 5 and 6, respectively. Section 7 discusses potential economic and technological risks. A conclusion is provided in Section 8. Product Description The UC physical architecture is similar to that of a desktop or a laptop, except that in either case the processor box is much smaller. Other peripheral input and output devices; namely screen, keyboard, and mouse are not subject to change; but may be subject to subsequent creative adjustments that could take advantage of the size reduction. The processing box may consist of one PCB (we may still call it a mother board) with the following components: Processor with cache memory RAMs NVRAM containing machine language device drivers VGA card or equivalent Audio drivers and outlets A minimum of 4 USB 2.0 or Firewire interfaces: one for each of the mouse and keyboard, and 2 for portable external storage units (alternatively Bluetooth could be used for the mouse and keyboard) Network drivers for Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth The following devices are taken outside of the box: The hard disk(s)-replaced by external

Employee resourcing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Employee resourcing - Essay Example Recruitment is the process of attracting a pool of applicants to fill current and future vacancies. A vacancy may result if an employee quits the job, is promoted, or new vacancies due to restructuring or improvements. After recruitment, the selection process begins whereby the right candidates are selected from the pool of applicants to fill the vacancies using various methods and techniques. The recruitment and selection process is important as it ensures quality and productivity, reduces labor turnover, as well as saving time and money needed for future recruitment practices (eHow, 2011). The paper will discuss the various recruitment and selection methods as well as develop a recruitment strategy for an organization. Organizations have become very particular about recruiting candidates for employment due to recession and high unemployment in UK. Recruiting is therefore very important in ensuring success of the organization and is an overall HR planning strategy. Recruitment is the process of attracting potential candidates to fill in vacant positions or for future placements. Mathis and Jackson (2010) acknowledge the need for organizations to carry out strategic recruiting so as to achieve organizational effectiveness. This entails determining the industry where to recruit qualified individuals, being aware of competitors’ strategies so as to identify the key to success, forming relationships with the sources of prospective employees, and promoting the company brand (p.178). Due to many issues concerned with employment laws, the recruiters should also be trained on the laws. For recruitment to be successful it should be an ongoing process and the management should decide the method to use based on costs and effectiveness. There are various recruitment methods such as; promotion, job rotation, former staffs, employee referrals, job centers,

Amy Cuddy, TedTalk Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Amy Cuddy, TedTalk - Assignment Example Can you really fake it till you make it? This is true to some extent as it depends on the person and their motivation to achieve what they want. Actually what our body experiences can change what we think in our minds resulting in a change in our behaviors. The moment our behaviors change, the outcome is likely to be the ones we desire. There is so much faking that takes place in the business field. Most of the time people say some things about themselves that would be viewed as pure fiction. This practice is common among the entrepreneurs. People tend to exaggerate their experience, knowledge, compensation and accomplishments. They associate themselves with success in every area of their lives. They go to the extent of posting some of these online for the general public to read. These are made up allegations since they never have hard evidence to support whatever it is they write about. Some of these people actually end up achieving some of the things they fake if they focus very well. Fake it till you make it worked for my brother. When we were young he used to make toy cars and drive them around the neighborhood. He used to imitate the engine using his mouth. He would say that he had a real car that could take him where he wanted to go. The moment he got employed, he bought a car with the same model as the toys he used to

The property market at world level ( credit crunch affected ) and How Essay

The property market at world level ( credit crunch affected ) and How this goes for Hong Kong market - Essay Example Thus the impact of this is far reaching and can provide insight into the future of Hong Kong’s property market as well as its overall financial infrastructure and how they can be affected. The reason for choosing this topic is therefore to study as to how this credit crunch will affect the world markets in general as well as Hong Kong Market in particular. Current credit crunch is largely perceived as the main reason behind the collapse of the property market in international system. The reason as to why credit crunch resulted into the collapse of the property market can be traced back to the subprime mortgage crises which emerged due to the imprudent lending practices of the bank. By definition, a subprime borrower is a borrower whose credit has not been entirely satisfactory due to historical defaults on payments against loans taken. (Budworth,2009). However, such borrowers offer more lucrative options for the banks and financial institutions to lend because of their higher risk. High risk borrowers are often charged high rates therefore there is always a chance to earn high on such relationships. Based on this simple principle of risk and return banks and financial institutions started to lend to their subprime borrowers especially in mortgage markets. However, banks and other financial institutions, at the same time, also started the process of securitization through which the mortgage portfolio held as security with the bank were bundled and securities were sold out against such collaterals in the open market. The basic purpose was to recoup the liquidity lost in making the loans to subprime borrowers. Crises in property markets started to emerge when subprime borrowers started to default on their commitments and as such banks have to pay out to the holders of mortgage backed securities through other means as with the default of the borrowers a mismatch in cash flows were created. The

Contrast Studying Alone to Studying in a Group Essay Example for Free

Contrast Studying Alone to Studying in a Group Essay Do you like to study alone or study in a group? Maybe some people will like to study alone, and other people will like to study in a group. Like studying alone, studying in a group will make you learn a lot of new things. Then studying alone and studying in a group can help you to gain knowledge and renew you information. Although they have some similarities, they still have some differences. Studying in a group makes your study easier, spends you time less, and makes you more actively. First, studying in a group will make your study easier. Studying alone and studying in a group have different styles. If you study in a group, you may have some co-workers. If you can’t understand or answer the questions, those co-workers will help you to resolve the problems. This kind of study style will make your study easier. In contrast, If you study alone and have some questions, you can not easy to find someone to help you. You may feel alone and helpless. Therefore, although you can study in any of these two ways, you will feel more helpful when you study in a group. Second, studying in a group will spend your time less. When you study, you may want to spend less time learning more things. These two ways will bring different outcome. Studying in a group means you and others people work together, and all of you need to think about the same problems. You can devide one work from different parts, of the work. You will finish the job more quickly. In contrast, when you study alone, you have to finish your work by yourself. You will take more time to finish it. Therefore, studying in a group can save you time on study. Finally, studying in a group will make you more actively. Whatever studying alone or studying in a group, you want to learn. When you work with others, you will get some information from others. At this time, you will think about their idea and absorb the good things from them. In contrast, when you study alone, you just know what you think and can not improve from others. When you study, you just study what you have known. Therefore, studying in a group will improve and increase your thinking. To sum up, studying in a group can make your study easier, spend your time less, and make you more actively. These two ways both can help you to study. Sometimes, studying in a group will help you a lot; sometimes, studying alone also can help you a lot. If you want to be a good student, you can choose these tow ways to use in different time. You will get help from these two ways.

Marketing Audit For Coca Cola Enterprises

Marketing Audit For Coca Cola Enterprises This report provides a complete comprehensive analysis of The Coca-Cola Company which includes an overview of the industry the company operates in, a PEST Framework analysis of the industry then moves on to analyzing the company itself. Company analysis includes a history of The Coca-Cola Company, a SWOT analysis of the segments The Coca-Cola Company operates through, a look at the customer, competitor stakeholder analysis of the company, to derive a strategic assessment of the same to finalize a conclusion a set of recommendations which can be implemented by Coke for a better market share. The Coca Cola is licensed to produce, sell distribute a range of beverages. The company owns the trade marks for most of these, supplies the concentrates is largely responsible for consumer marketing. The most popular product of the Coca-Cola Company is the Coca-Cola invented by pharmacist John Pemberton in 1886. Asa Candler brought the brand formula in 1889 that incorporated the Coca-Cola Company in 1892. Besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage, Coca-Cola currently offers more than 500 brands in over 200 countries serves 1.6billion servings each day. Corporate social responsibility Council (CSR) makes Coke a more competitive company, responsibly manage the social, economic environmental impacts, manage risks, capture opportunities, innovate, reduce costs improve reputation with all groups of stakeholders. The results of Cokes latest marketing shift is still under evaluation but arguably the strongest most pervasive marketing distribution system in the world with Coke being the first soda drunk in outer space, even the sky may not be the limit. TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NO Executive Summary 1 Introduction 4 1.1 Looking at the Industry 4 1.2 Brief Profile of the Industry 4 1.3 Products Brands 4 2 Current Environment and Operations 5 2.1 PEST Analysis 5 2.1a Political aspects 5 2.1b Economic aspects 6 2.1c Social aspects 7 2.1d Technological aspects 7 2.2 SWOT Analysis 8 2.2a Strengths to bulid upon 8 2.2b Weaknesses to overcome 9 2.2c Opportunities to exploit 10 2.2d Threats to overcome 11 2.3 Customer Analysis 11 2.4 Competitor Analysis 12 2.5 Stakeholder Analysis 12 3. Strategy Assessment 13 4. Recommendations and Conclusions 13 LIST OF REFERENCES 15 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Looking at the Industry: The Coca-Cola Company is a beverage retailer, manufacturer marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates syrups. Founded in Atlanta in 1886, Coca-Cola grew steadily from a local business to a multinational institution. In the last century, Coke became the ubiquitous symbol of American business in virtually every country around the world. (www.coca-cola.com/index.jsp, 2010) 1.2 Brief Profile of the Industry: Coca-Cola, started in 1883, has successfully kept its brand relevant for over 100 years. Revenues in 2003 topped $21billion. The Coca-Cola Company only produces syrup concentrate which is then sold to various bottlers throughout the world who hold an exclusive territory. The company operates a franchised distribution system dating from 1889. The Coca-Cola Company owns its anchor bottler in North America, Coca-Cola Refreshments. The current chairman of Coca-Cola is Muhtar Kent. The Coca-Cola headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Its stock is listed on the NYSE is part of DJIA, SP 500 Index, the Russell 1000 Index the Russell 1000 Growth Stock Index. By the end of 2006, juices, waters other health functional beverages represented almost 1/3rd of their sales to meet changing consumer needs. Coca Cola aims to be a preferred supplier to its customers, to deliver superior financial results to its stake holders to provide its employees with a safe, healthy inclusive workplace. (Coca-Cola HBC, 2006) 1.3 Products and Brands: The Coca-Cola has 400 brands in about 200 countries besides its namesake Coca-Cola beverage. The first diet soft drink attempted by Coca-Cola was Tab, whose sales have dwindled since the introduction of Diet Coke. It also produces Fanta Sprite this drink was produced by Max Keith during World War II. The German Fanta Klare Zitrone (Clear Lemon Fanta) variety became Sprite, another of the companys bestsellers its response to 7Up soft drink. Valpre Bottled water was also released in South Africa. Due to the growing demand of healthy beverages from the consumers Coca-Cola introduced some more brands like Minute Maid Juices, Powerade sports beverage, flavoured tea Nestea which was a joint venture with Nestle, Fruitopia fruit drink Dasani waters. () The rest of the report is organized in the following way: Section 2: Current Environment Operations. Section 3: Strategy Assessment. Section 4: Recommendations Conclusion. 2. CURRENT ENVIRONMENT OPERATIONS: For a clear analysis of Coca colas environment the report focuses on PEST, SWOT, Customer, Competitor Stakeholder analysis of the company, thus to develop a set of marketing objectives of the company. 2.1 PEST analysis of Coca Cola: 2.1a Political aspects: Coke comes under FDA, food category, as being a non-alcoholic beverage. The government plays a role within the operation of manufacturing these products in terms of regulations. There are potential fines set by the government on companies if they do not meet a standard of laws. The following are some of the factors that could cause companys actual results to differ materially from the expected results described in their underlying companys forward statement:- Changes in laws regulations, including changes in accounting standards, taxation requirements, (including tax rate changes, new revised tax law interpretations) environmental laws in domestic or foreign jurisdictions. Political conditions, especially in international markets, including civil unrest, government changes restrictions on the ability to transfer capital across borders. Their ability to penetrate developing emerging markets, which also depends on economic political conditions, how well they are able to acquire or form strategic business alliances with local bottlers make necessary infrastructure enhancements to production facilities, distribution networks, sales equipment and technology. (, 2010) 2.1b. Economic aspects: The U.S. economy was strong nearly every part of it was growing doing well, however things changed. Most economists loosely define a recession as 2 consecutive quarters of contraction, or negative GDP growth. The non-alcoholic beverage industry has high sales in countries outside the U.S. According to the Standard and Poors Industry surveys, For major soft drink companies, there has been economic improvement in many major international markets, such as Japan, Brazil, Germany. These markets will continue to play a major role in the success stable growth for a majority of the non-alcoholic beverage industry. 2.1c. Social aspects: Many U.S. citizens are practicing healthier lifestyles. This has affected the non-alcoholic beverage industry in that many are switching to bottled water diet colas instead of beer other alcoholic beverages. Also, time management has increased is at approximately 43% of households. The need for bottled water more convenient healthy products are important in the average day-to-day life. http://www.cdf-mn.org Consumers from the ages of 37-55 are also increasingly concerned with nutrition. There is a large population of the age range known as the baby boomers. Since many are reaching an older age in life they are becoming more concerned with increasing their longevity. This will continue to affect the non-alcoholic beverage industry by increasing the demand overall in the healthier beverages. 2.1d Technical aspects: The effectiveness of companys advertising, marketing promotional programs is crucial task. The new technology of internet television is the use special effects for advertising through media. They make some products look attractive. This helps in selling of the products. This advertising makes the product attractive. This technology is being used in media to sell their products. Introduction of cans and plastic bottles have increased sales for Coca-Cola as these are easier to carry can bin them once they are used. CCE has instituted an internal carbon tax on air travel and encouraged the use of video conferencing internet document sharing. As the technology is getting advanced there has been introduction of new machineries. Due to introduction of these machineries the production of the CCE has increased tremendously than it was few years ago. (, 2007) CCE has 6 factories in Britain which use the most stat-of-the-art drinks technology to ensure top product quality speedy delivery. Europes largest soft drinks factory was opened by CCE in Wakefield, Yorkshire in 1990. The Wakefield factory has the technology to produce cans of Coca-Cola faster than bullets from a machine gun. 2.2 SWOT of Coca Cola: 2.2a Strengths to build upon: An extremely recognizable branding is one of the greatest strength of Coca-Cola. Out of the 5 leading soft-drink brands being sold worldwide, the company produces sells 4 of them, Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta Diet Coke. Consumer loyalty to the company its products remains high, which is evident from the high market acceptance of  Coca-Colas introduced products newly.  Coca-Cola Zero, which was introduced in the North American market in 2005, garnered a 1% market share in supermarkets in the year of its launch. Enjoyed more than 685m times a day around the world Coca-Cola stands as a simple, yet powerful symbol of quality and enjoyment was stated by Allen in 1995. The company has been entering other non-alcoholic beverages segments to widen its presence in the beverages market like sports drinks juices which has been successful. Minute-Maid is presently available across 80 nations, its share in several juice markets in the world improved with 11% increase in sales volume of Minute-Maid products in 2005. The annual per-capita consumption of the companys products is increasing worldwide stood at about 32 servings (1 serving = 8 US fluid ounces of finished beverage) in 1985, increasing to 55 servings in 1995. In 2005, the average consumption per-capita was 77 servings. In North America, companys products stood at about 413 servings in 2005. (, 2010) 2.2b Weakness to overcome: In January 2004,  CCE has introduced the Dasani brand of bottled water in the UK. By March 2004,  Coca-Cola  recalled the product owing to the discovery of excess levels of bromate in the product, which could cause side effects including cancer in human beings. This resulted in recall expenses of $32m for the company. Coca-Colas sales have been hampered to a certain extent by rumours myths about the company its products. The companys sales in the Middle East were affected by rumours alleging that  Coca-Cola  is a Jewish company its trademark carries anti-Muslim messages. The companys sales in South Asia, particularly in India, were affected in recent years due to allegations of  Coca-Colas drinks containing pesticides. These rumours myths have impaired the companys image to some extent. (, 2010) The companys bottling activities are predominantly carried out by 3rd parties or bottling partners. The companys 2nd largest contributor to revenues (close to 19% in the 1st quarter of 2006) was its Bottling Investments segment.   Coca-Cola does not have any control over its bottling partners financial positions, which could be affected by market trends, competition their accessibility to capital resources. Though Coke has the right to unilaterally change prices of its syrups concentrates, the changes could be enforced only if its bottling partners have the ability to pass on the price increases to their consumers. In light of the bottlers high contribution to  Coca-Colas revenues, the company is more vulnerable to the threat of revenue impairment than its peers with more direct distribution activities. (, ND) 2.2c Opportunities to exploit: Coca-Colas products are being consumed, only 1.3b times a day. Furthermore, though Cokes products reach over 200 nations owing to its comprehensive distribution network, there are countries where the average per-capita consumption remains below 50 servings per day. Countries that fall in this category include the worlds 2 most populated nations, India and China. These markets provide tremendous growth opportunities for  Coca-Cola. The company has identified strategic areas for its expansion, which would complement its core business of manufacturing carbonated soft-drinks. In this regard, the company integrated its strategy, innovation and marketing efforts pumped in additional financial resources of $400m in 2005. It  is also expected to enter the freshly brewed coffee and tea businesses, on a trial basis, under the banner, Far Coast. (AsiaPulse News, 13 February 2004) The company modified its revenue growth strategy by adopting the best practices that were followed in its systems in Brazil Argentina. The company is also working with the bottling partners for better implementation of its revenue growth strategy, to increase profitability from case volume sales improving efficiency in worldwide operations. The company also foresees greater potential for growth in the immediate-consumption channel drafted an immediate-consumption strategy for its worldwide operations. The company worked with its suppliers bottling partners to develop advanced equipment, which would offer a new beverage experience to the immediate-consumption channel. Coca-Cola  is also benchmarking best practices in its top immediate-consumption markets to be implemented in other worldwide markets. 2.2d Threats to avoid: The increasing awareness about obesity among consumers, particularly youngsters, triggered by the consumption of non-diet carbonated soft drinks, is expected to dampen demand for the companys beverages from the youth segment in the future. In the recent past, consumer forums in the US threatened to file lawsuits against  Coca-Cola   other carbonated soft-drink producers, for pursuing deceptive practices associated with contracts for selling carbonated soft drinks in schools. The main ingredient in most of  Coca-Colas products is water, a scarce resource in many countries due to a host of factors including pollution of water bodies, inefficient water management and overexploitation of water resources. (Klebukov P, 22 December 2003) The soft drink industry is very strong, but consumers are not necessarily married to it. Tea, coffee, juices, milk hot chocolate are possible substitutes that continuously put pressure on Coke. It  faces tough competition not only from global players such as  PepsiCo, but also from local players. Competitors for  Coca-Cola include Cadbury Schweppes, Nestlà ©, Kraft Foods  Ã‚  Groupe-Danone. The companys efforts towards consolidating its market position could be restrained by the increased competition from these players. 2.3 Customer analysis: In a survey conducted recently by Coca Cola, a sequence of consumers purchasing preference is recorded which is Taste, Brand name, Packaging, Price, Easy availability and advertisement. The intensity of colour the flavour are the key drivers behind consumer acceptance of beverages then the packaging labelling, says a new study involving DANONE. 10 to 20 year age groups are consuming more Coca Cola than any other age segmentation. The customers loyalty for Coca-Cola has always been consistent though cokes price is slightly higher to that of Pepsi other brands. In response to the growing consumer preference for low calorie products, Coke launched Coke Zero, Diet Coke other health drinks whose sales are on top throughout the world. (Khermouch G Brandy D, August 4, 2003) 2.4 Competitor analysis: Coca-Colas direct competitor is PepsiCo whose strength is low carbonated energy drinks, weakness is snack foods. PepsiCo uses celebrities to attract customers. 60% of its profits come from snack foods 40% from drinks, PepsiCo has growing profits by 15% per annum. With Coca-Colas strength being in fizzy drinks, competitors would try to capitalize on its weaker products. Coca-Cola has recently acquired Subway soft drink business, which was previously served by Pepsi. Coke is the most popular beverage in the world, while Pepsi enjoys it only at home. By comparison, rival Pepsi-Colas brand value is a mere $11.78b. (Marketing, December 18 2003) 2.5 Stakeholder analysis: Most businesses have to consider the impact of their activities on stakeholders Coca-Cola is no exception. Coca-Cola identified its stakeholders as its employees, civil organizations, governments, regulatory authorities, non-governmental organizations, suppliers, consumers, investors, shareowners analysts. Understanding stakeholder concerns perceptions is essential to operating a successful business like Coke these positive long-term relationships built on the basis of trust common goals help them create a sustainable business growth. In 2006, engagement with stakeholders focused on key strategic issues like addressing obesity, water resource, packaging waste management, tackling climate change. In response to the employee engagement survey the company implemented action plans developed engagement internal communications. The company also worked with government agencies, NGOs industry peers to increase recycling protect water bodies. Coke has set up CRIS-consumer response i nformation centres in every country to address consumer enquiries. Regular communications with shareholders include road-shows, web-casts briefings. (, ND) 3. STRATEGY ASSESSMENT: Coca-Cola now gets 2/3rds of its revenues from outside the United States. Its easier to name the countries where coke is not available. Everywhere else including such tricky markets as Pakistan, Cambodia, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Liberia Colombia Coke is a beloved consumer staple. The brand is so strong entrenched that even the anti-American sentiments of 9/11 after have not hurt the sales. Coca-Colas brand valuation increased from $68.95b in August 2001 to $70.45b in 2003. Coca-Cola remains the top global brand, achieving the top ranking in BusinessWeeks Global Brand Scorecard once again in 2003. A small set of recommendations would help achieve Coke attain greater heights as discussed below. (Wamer F, April 2003) 4. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS: With the help of PEST, SWOT other analysis, the internal external environment of CCE has been analysed. Coca-Cola operations extend across 28 countries establishing, developing emerging markets according to business infrastructure, economic development growth prospectus. Through innovation acquisition, Coca-Cola owns operates 81 bottling plants, 64 soft drink plants, 3 juice plants 14 mineral water plants. The strength of Coca-Colas system allows infinite growth in the global market. They have the resources available for this opportunity but they must develop marketing strategies that have local appeal as this is essential for their success. Through their brand reputation vast marketing experience, Coca-Cola has the ability to extend the recognition of their brand logo. However it would be best to leverage brand equity their financial resources, to accelerate global market penetration with a view to long term profits. Coke must continue to evolve its market share. The effectiveness of TV ads is declining due to media fragmentation use of devices like TIVO that let viewers zap commercials. So it is advisable for Coke should divert money previously spent on TV towards more experimental activities like setting up of lounges in teen malls offer exclusive music videos, video games sell coke drinks from Coke machines. (Faust D, p.77, March 1, 2004) With the threat of political economical instability, Coke must consider each countrys unique cultural, political, legal economic environment to extend its market share. With the threat of increasing health consciousness among consumers, it is advisable for Coke to further resource their fruit drink product lines as this market sector is growing rapidly. In laying out an appropriate marketing mix, Coke must consider product, distribution, promotion price, therefore developing a marketing mix for each customer group. In a fairly saturated slow moving beverage industry if Coca-Cola can diversify expand on these products globally they would gain a huge market share a great competitive advantage that would allow for greater long-term profits increase dominations into the next century. LIST OF REFERENCES www.coca-cola.com. Coca-Cola HBC 2006, Social Responsibility report 2006, www.coca-cocahbc.com, Greece. Viewed 5 December 2010, Viewed 5 December 2010, Viewed 5 December 2010, Viewed 6 December 2010, Viewed 6 December 2010, Dean Faust, Coke:Wooing the TiVo Generation, BusinessWeek, March 1, 2004, p.77. Paul Klebukov, Cokes Sinful World, Forbes, December 22, 2003, p.86. Coca-Cola Japan to Debut Beer-flavoured Soda Next Month, AsiaPulse News, February 13, 2004. How Coke Moulded our view of Santa Claus to Fuel Winter Sales, Marketing, December 18, 2003. Gerry Khermouch and Diane Brandy, The Top 100 Brands, BusinessWeek, August 4, 2003. Fara Wamer, Chris Lowe Time To Get Real, Fast Company, April 2003.

Methods of Investment Appraisal and Financial Statement Analysis

Methods of Investment Appraisal and Financial Statement Analysis The purpose of this report is to assess various method of investment appraisal and financial statement analysis and and finaly recommendation on choosing stratefic portfolio. Task 1 Forcasting There are various to forecast from the past result and find out what is going to happen future The simplest method for forcasting revenue and cost through time series analysis with simple moving average for example Using moving average the forcast for next months will be Forcast jan+febà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..to dec divided by 12 months and answer is for July the forcast would be 31.58 or 32 and so on. Trend is systermatic (gradual) increase or decrease in average over time while seasonal forcasting is the predictable short term cycling behaviour for whatever reason day month week etc For example assume the following market share of tesco in the next year Seasonal Factor Average Seasonal factor Month 2007 2006 2007 2006 Jan 31 30.6 1.02 1.02 1.02 Feb 32 30.4 0.99 1.03 1.01 Mar 35 30.6 0.91 1.02 0.96 Apr 33 31 0.96 1.01 0.98 May 31 31.4 1.02 0.99 1.01 Jun 29 31.5 1.10 0.99 1.04 Jul 30 31.6 1.06 0.99 1.02 Aug 31.4 31.4 1.01 0.99 1.00 Sep 33.1 31.2 0.96 1.00 0.98 Oct 32.2 31.4 0.99 0.99 0.99 Nov 32.34 31.4 0.98 0.99 0.99 Dec 31.1 31.4 1.02 0.99 1.01 Average  £31.76  £31.16 Now if we want to find market share of tesco in January of 2008 January forcast = Average forcast multiply by seasonal factor which is 1.02 If average mothly forcast for the year is 30 then forcast for January will be 30*1.02 = 30.6 Task 1 part 2 Its very know and understandable fact that start a new business or growing it require a lot of hard work ,planning and right kind of financing with a team of dedicated peoples. There are all source of finance which can be used to finance but each of them has some benefit or edge over in some way or other. Therefore deciding which source of financing should we use is a lots home work together ability to face issues coming up and ability to take decisions. Money (Capital) is life blood of any business and business cannot survive without capital. Keeping plan flexible Thinking big and move fast Business should move on when raising capital Strong management team What amount capital required depended what we want to achieve and our experience e and credit worthiness and stage of growth at which we stand together general factor such market trends and economic condition. There are various sources of finance depend on business 1) Self Financing: Self Financing Financing through credit card and is the most riskiest option and costly as interest rate on credit cards are very high and amount available is normally low subject credit evaluation conducted by bank. Start up Financing is another method whereby a business can put cash into the new business generated through various different source till it is reach to level to generate further financing itself. 2) Commercial Financing by Bank Business can get commercial financing if they have track record or they have something to give as security to bank. Commercial financing is very important and fundamental way to finance a specific project and normally bank will agree to finance if there is home work done with regards to feasibility. The disadvantage is company has to bear risk of loss and bank will charge interest which is great cost Though these are disadvantages still commercial finance through bank most widely use to finance a specific project. 3) Share Issue A newly establish company can issue Initial public offering to raise finance from public but a lot of home work require. Private Companies can issue new shares in the form rights issue or bonus issue but cant advertise them. Initially company can finance itself equity investment by investors. Later on merger or acquisition of limited company is very good source raising finance by issuing shares. Share issue is quite unusual way to raise money for specific project its time consuming and lengthy process but its one the less riskiest way. 5) Finding Investor/Partner Finding a person, group or organization to fund business is another form of financing to raising capital .the advantage if this method is risk is shared between partners and disadvantage is worth generates from business is divided between one more peoples according partnership agreement. There are many other sources of finance for small business like local government initiatives on lending program and commercial companies providing finance etc. Some big companies are really cash rich and therefore they look opportunities to invest cash and therefore they can act as strategic investors. Task 2 There are vaious method appraise financial returns on various competing project. The most important of them are 1) Payback period 2) Net present value 1 Pay back period Lets take a example if there are two projects where initial investment is 60m while one give return as following Year Amount 1 10 2 25 3 30 4 28 While another project give returns as Year Amount 1 13 2 20 3 25 4 50 Solution Project One Year Amount Remaining Investment 0 60 1 10 50 2 25 25 3 30 25 4 28 Project Two Year Amount Remaining Investment 0 60 1 13 47 2 20 27 3 25 2 4 50 2 iniital investment returne The first project here pay its entire investment in three years while the second projecgt pay its entire investment four year time so according payback period method project two should be selected. Payback period doesnt account for time value of money therefore not very effective method 2. Net Present Value Taking the same example above if we analyse them (we need discount factor which cost of capital to discount future cash flows. Lets assume it as 10% Year Amount Discount Factor Present Vaue 0 1 10 0.909 9.09 2 25 0.826 20.65 3 30 0.751 22.53. 4 28 0.683 19.124 71.394 Project Two Year Amount Remaining Investment Present Vaue 0 1 1 13 0.909 11.817 2 20 0.826 16.52 3 25 0.751 18.775 4 50 0.683 34.15 81.262 The Net present value of second project is more than first one therefore e according to npv method second project is more profitable. Select appropriate and relevant financial information for use in the process of making strategic decisions on investment There are vaious ways to analyse investment each has it own merit and demerit but mostly to analyse investment we required some basic information to make our decision on. If we are comparing two or more competing projects we can do by using investment appraisal techniques like net present value etc We need some basis information to calculate and appraise and finally take investment decision which Approximate amount of total investment required for the project The future cash flow whether inflow or outflow that can be generated from the project. The minimum required return . If we are going to invest in a company we need to focus on two main factor which are how much dividend it pays through ratios called dividend cover and dividend yield and how much capital gain we can get by movement in share price relevant ratios are price earning ratio, earning per share etc. For the above calculation we need exact amount of Dividend paid during the year Share price Profit after tax Number of ordinary share issued This information can be drawn from the financial statement of targeted company. The future investment can be based on basis of past performance of selected companies The investment in company to acquire needs other consideration which is based on various financial as well as non financial factors but mostly following factors are taken into account . Company financial health through calculation of various ratio profitability, gearing , liquidity and efficiency etc The vision, mission , goals and objectives of the acquiring company and strategies to achieve those and many more. Therefore decision regarding acquisition or mergers required comprehensive analysis. Make recommendations based on a post-audit appraisal on the appropriateness of selected investment project decisions The payback period is simplest method to decide between competing project which one is the best but it ignore time value of money Net present value account for time value of money and is one of the mostly used way to appraise competing projects but it is complex and and require some figures to give correct answer like discount rate etc For investment in the shares of company we need financial information such as share price dividend eps etc but selection of company to invest in its share depends on many other factors like if the investing entity want to invest for long term or short term For long term investements share price moment is more important than dividend or vice versa. Task 3 Financial Statements Analyse financial statements using relevant techniques to assess the financial viability of an Tesco for 2008 The financial statement of any organization can be analysed by calculation of ratio and each ratio has its own significance and importance. There is hard and fast rule and no parameters to judge performance of each and every company against but its very subjective and depend on company and industry in which it operates. Let assume the following financial statement belong to company called Simon Sparks and analyse its financial statement. Simon Sparks Profit and Losss Account the period ended 30June 200X  £  £  £ Sales 292,000.00 Less Sales returns 13,800.00 Net Sales 278,200.00 Carriage outwards 15,000.00 263,200.00 Less cost of good sold S Opening stock 15,100.00 Purchases 135,600.00 Less Purchase returns 5,200.00 130,400.00 Less Closing Stock 16,200.00 129,300.00 Gross Profit 133,900.00 Bad debts 2,200.00 Advertising 6,000.00 Electricity Gas 11,100.00 Salaries and wages 37,200.00 Insurance 5,700.00 Motor expenses. 16,600.00 Postage stationery 2,400.00 Rent rates 20,900.00 102,100.00 Net Profit 31,800.00 Less Drawings 15,800.00 Retained Profit Balance Sheet as at 30 June as of 30 June 200X Non Current Asset ( . Fixtures Fittings @ cost 60,300.00 Motor vehicle @ cost 42,000.00 Total Non Current Asset 102,300.00 Current Asset Cash 600.00 Trade debtors 24,000.00 Closing stock 16,200.00 Total Current Asset 40,800.00 Total Asset 143,100.00 Liabilities and Owners Equity Capital 83,800.00 Retained Profit 16,799.00 100,599.00 Non Current Liabilities Current Liabilities Bank Overdraft 5,600.00 Trade Creditors 36,901.00 Total liabilities plus capital 143,100 126,699.00 All businesses exist to make profit in some way or other and to measure profitablilty we have many ratio to analyse same data from different aspects. Retuen on capital employeed is a primary ratio to assess profitablitly of any orgnization and its one of most widly used ratio.It is calculated by Dividing Profit before interest and tax with capital plus long term liability In the case of Simon spark it is 32% which can be assume as very good performance interims of profitability but ratio cant be analyses in standalone way they must be compared with some industry average competitor or past performance to evaluate and we dont ant information available here. Simon Park has managed to generate gross sale of  £292,000 which is really commendable as long as data is reliable and comparable. The Gross profit ratio shows companys profit margin when selling price is compared with cost of sale. The GP ratio of Simon spark is 51% which is really commendable and appreciatable but remember we are assuming that data is not only reliable but trustable. The other factor to measure profitability is net profit 6% here we see how effectively and efficiently day to day operation are run by management. Surprisingly the net profit margin is just 6% it is definably not very good indication of good performance but due to limitation of information for comparison we are unable to give conclusive remarks but 6% is very low and it shows though company is earning profits but its not working efficiently and effectively. The most significant expenses are salaries and wages followed by rent and rates. We dont know if its inefficient management but definitely I think there is enough room for improvement Liquidity Liquidity ratios are very important as company can be profitable but if not liquid enough can run to insolvency or at least find it self in big problems. Liquid assets are those which can easily convert in to cash with in short duration of time. The examples are cash, debtor, stock etc. The most important of liquidity ratio is current ratio which shows current assets as number of times to current liabilities and it is very widely used in business world. There is no specific ratio which can be said as good enough or bad as it varies from industry to industry and company to company. Simon Sparks current ratio is 1.5 times it mean it has 50% more liquid asset to meet it immediate needs. Its not bad but considering limitation of information we can assume its up to standard of industry. But there is more important ratio coming out of current ratio it is quick ratio. In quick ratio we dont consider stock as quickly convertible into cash asset and therefore remove it. The quick ratio of simpn spark is 0.94 times which cant be said either good enough or bad for the reason mention above. Carry out a performance audit of an organisation including reference to internal and external factors Performance audit is audit of mainly(management operations ,function or procedures of) not for profit or governmental organization to ensure value for money (economy efficiency and effectiveness ) in utilization of resource by using systematic professionally designed and conduct methodologies which are generally accepted and well structured. Few benefits of performance audit is Improving organisational performance A tool to increase efficiency Policy and performance Legal imperative Performance audit may include detection of fraud and error but its not included everytime there fore scope of permance audit must define and given in writing prior to start of work Performance audit using internal factors might be for example in production it may number of units produce in a one hour compare with standared or ideal performance For financial performance profit can be compare from period to another with cost of sale and revenue to ensure resource are used properly and generate value for money External factors to consider for performance audit are comparision of per unit cost with major competitor to ensure VFM (value for money economy, efficiency and effectiveness is achieved . Comparision of number of staff with equivalent or similar company or employee productivity with similar organization Performance audit is not define in any standered and can include anything but it is different from performance measurement. Use appropriate calculations to improve the quality of financial information used The quality of information is very important because its not reliable and relevant than its useless most business try to spend thousand to avoid the lost of money but unfortunately lack of focus on right cause more loss. The reliable and timely financial information is essential for success and to avoid loss and making wrong decision on the basis of misleading information. Financial in itself is very vast and full of useful information but its generall and everyone has to take this information and use it assess their own purpose for example a company can generate huge profits say Company A has revenue of  £100 million while gross profit is  £50 million and net profit  £25 million. A lay men can conclude fromthis information that companys is performing really well and generating good profits but what if we got data the competitor of same size earn profit  £1000 m with Gross profit ratio of 70% unlike our 50%. Even worse can happen like company is generating huge profits but its running out of cash to pay its immediate liabilities . Creditors have right to appeal in court and prove company as defaulter and therefore cease its existence. So calculation of various ratio from the broad set of financial statement help in understanding actual position of company regarding its competitors. I Make recommendations on the strategic portfolio of an organisation based on the interpretation of financial and ancillary information The world is moving very fast and there is increasing competition with increasing globalization and opening of borders therefore organization need to update themselves with latest information and predict future and prepare for it Organizations have many reason to believe that they have to prepare themselves before the storm and therefore they are required to identify, find and use the required information whether financial or other to prepare themselves for the future. There are various strategies an organization can follow to achieve its objectives. A company should diversify if they have access to adequate resource (financial or other)and technical capability to achieve success. Diversification bring competitive advantages as with mergers as economies of scale and information asymmetry can achieved . Strategic portfolio may include developing and investing in new technologies to achieve competitive advantage as technology as key to success. The factor which can be consider for strategic portfolio is to develop new products and or improve exsiting one to compensate those products whose lifecycle is about to finish . Partnership with international companies or local companies to enter new ventures is also a great option and by doing this organization can not diversify but loss in case of failure is share between partners and there will be access to new and usesful information by working with another organization. These are the few reformation which an organization should consider to develop there strategic portfolio and its quite subjective and can vary from one organization to another. 30.6 30.4 30.6 31 31.4 31.5 31.6 31.4 31.2 31.4 31.4 31.4

The Purpose of Shoes Essay -- purpose essays

Shoes are not only worn to protect the human feet. They are also worn because they add the final touch to the style you are trying to create. The history of shoes is very long and nobody really knows when the first shoes were created but we do know that they were originally made to warm the feet. Now, there are many different types and each kind helps you function a different way. The shoe is also made up of many parts and every kind of shoe has different parts then other types. Year by year, shoes have been improving and becoming more and more popular. Now, we have all the equipment and all the materials we need to make the shoe better than ever. The very first pair of shoes was created many years ago. Its purpose was to protect the feet from rocks and debris and also to provide warmth. It was created in a very simple form. People used to make shoes by wrapping their feet in dried grasses, straws, cowhide and leathers. Later on, pieces were developed from an oval piece of leather which was bound by a piece of strong leather strings. This may have looked like one of today’s sandal...

The finacial crisi of the French Revolution :: essays research papers

â€Å"How Serious Was The Pre-Revolutionary Financial Crisis Between 1786-88, And How Significant Was The Clash Between The Notables And Calonne In Failing To Solve It?† On the twentieth of august 1786 Charles Alexandre de Calonne, comptroller-general of the royal finances, informed King Louis XVI that the state was on the verge of a financial meltdown. Whilst not having exact details to the financial figures to show the full extent of the problem, it is never the less recognized that France was in serious financial difficulty. What then did Calonne propose to sort this financial mess out? How was he to convince the King and the Notables that France was in financial danger and to give backing to his solutions? This essay will attempt to answer such questions by examining the financial crisis France was in and by looking at Calonne’s proposals in which to solve it. We shall also examine his failure to convince the Notables and the steps to his acrimonious dismissal. First then lets look at the financial situation: according to Calonnes calculations the total revenue for France in 1786 would amount to 475 million livres. The problem was though, that expenditure would come to a total of approximately 587 million livres. That meant a deficit of 112 million – roughly a fifth of the entire annual revenue. This rise in deficit was due to a huge increase in state borrowing since 1777. As a result of the huge amounts of money the state was borrowing there was also the huge rise in the annual interest and repayments that the treasury had to dispurse. Indeed since 1777, Calonne claimed that ariubd 1,250 million livres had been borrowed. A lot of this borrowing was due to financing the various wars that French kings of the eighteenth century were prone to fighting. The last one, French involvement in the American Civil War between 1778-83, had a crippling effect on the economy and was substantial in rendering it down to the situation that Calonne ha d announced to Louis XVI. What then did the comptroller-general propose to do? To be fair to Calonne he was not lucky enough to have a myriad of options for him to work with. For instance it would be natural to think that in a time of economic crisis, an increase in tax would be an obvious step- yet not so for Calonne. France was already regarded as one of the most highly taxed states in Europe, and the average Frenchman was already feeling the burden of the Kings’ borrowing. The finacial crisi of the French Revolution :: essays research papers â€Å"How Serious Was The Pre-Revolutionary Financial Crisis Between 1786-88, And How Significant Was The Clash Between The Notables And Calonne In Failing To Solve It?† On the twentieth of august 1786 Charles Alexandre de Calonne, comptroller-general of the royal finances, informed King Louis XVI that the state was on the verge of a financial meltdown. Whilst not having exact details to the financial figures to show the full extent of the problem, it is never the less recognized that France was in serious financial difficulty. What then did Calonne propose to sort this financial mess out? How was he to convince the King and the Notables that France was in financial danger and to give backing to his solutions? This essay will attempt to answer such questions by examining the financial crisis France was in and by looking at Calonne’s proposals in which to solve it. We shall also examine his failure to convince the Notables and the steps to his acrimonious dismissal. First then lets look at the financial situation: according to Calonnes calculations the total revenue for France in 1786 would amount to 475 million livres. The problem was though, that expenditure would come to a total of approximately 587 million livres. That meant a deficit of 112 million – roughly a fifth of the entire annual revenue. This rise in deficit was due to a huge increase in state borrowing since 1777. As a result of the huge amounts of money the state was borrowing there was also the huge rise in the annual interest and repayments that the treasury had to dispurse. Indeed since 1777, Calonne claimed that ariubd 1,250 million livres had been borrowed. A lot of this borrowing was due to financing the various wars that French kings of the eighteenth century were prone to fighting. The last one, French involvement in the American Civil War between 1778-83, had a crippling effect on the economy and was substantial in rendering it down to the situation that Calonne ha d announced to Louis XVI. What then did the comptroller-general propose to do? To be fair to Calonne he was not lucky enough to have a myriad of options for him to work with. For instance it would be natural to think that in a time of economic crisis, an increase in tax would be an obvious step- yet not so for Calonne. France was already regarded as one of the most highly taxed states in Europe, and the average Frenchman was already feeling the burden of the Kings’ borrowing.

Case Stud Powell Logistics

Assignment #3: Powell Logistics Case Study A. Defining the issue The immediate issue is to make a decision on the future of the family company. B. Analyzing the Case Data * The truck transportation industry is a vital part of the Canadian economy with $43 billion in sales annually and employing 400,000 people * The for-hire sector accounts for 40% of the transportation industry in Canada * The for-hire sector has 2 service offerings: TL – Truck load, only full load between 2 locations and LTL – Less than load, pick up from various locations reorganize then deliver to end customer.Traditionally LTL charge more. * Trucking industry experiencing 3 major issues * Cost of fuel, increased operating costs forced to implement fuel surcharge * Canadian dollar value increase over US dollar, affected cost advantage of Canadian manufactured goods, decreasing transfer of goods between Canada and US * Shortage of qualified truckers with aging workforce, increasing wages * Strong comp etition in trucking: Traveller’s Transportation Services, long standing same market as Powell, service offering included small customer orders using vans which Powell did not offer * Yellow Transportation, global competitor, publicly traded with large financial resources, high technology using online tools reducing costs * Powell in operation since 1979, with steady growth, with a fleet of straight trucks, tractor trailers and brokerage services. * License to carry general freight throughout Canada and the US. Midsized company showing significant profitability, focusing on LTL services for higher margins even though more effort and expertise was required to manage the loads * Advanced technology including dispatch and satellite tracking in place as well as extensive trucking experience * Family business with eldest son acting as Vice President of Operations with many years of experience and no formal business training, daughter with formal education heading up the Human Resou rces section of the business and the youngest son responsible for Sales and customer relationships. Current operations included year round business with little seasonal fluctuations * 80 drivers working 5 days per week * Loads were picked up from location A and delivered to one of 5 warehouses, placed on another truck with optimized route for location B (software driven route optimization) * Sales growth would trend the same for the next year as the previous. C. Generating Alternatives 1) Buy New Warehouse and Combine Operations Pros: Reduction in costs including rent, labour, fuel, and administration salary costs.Cons: A total $10 million investment was required to cover $2 million for the land and $5 million loan financed at 5% annually. 2) Sell the Business Pros: There is interest, business is overall doing well and the timing is right in order to get as much value through selling. Cons: Direct access to cash flow stops and the family members work future is jeopardized. 3) Pass t he business on to his children Pros: The 3 Powell children are and have been heavily involved in the family business each having their own expertise. Cons: Who to select as the CEO from the 3 Powell children.D. Selecting Decision Criteria: * John Powell wants to retire * The family’s interest is of utmost importance * Improve financial position of PLI * Decrease operating expenses through streamlining operational costs * Decrease liabilities and pay down on debts to improve leverage. * Maintaining their competitive advantage/specialty in the LTL transport service. * Provide continued employment for the Powell children. * Maintaining their loyal customers. E. Assessing Alternatives: 1. Buy New Warehouse and Combine Operations STRENGHTHS| WEAKNESSES| Industry experience * Decrease operating costs| * Long term debt * Some additional long term debt from other Powell companies still outstanding throwing off debt ratio| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Streamline Operations| * Economic do wnturn * Competition| 2. Sell the Business STRENGHTHS| WEAKNESSES| * Interest from 3rd party * Pay off all Powell Debt | * Family member work future questionable * Cash flow| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Partnership possibility| * Economic downturn| 3. Pass the business on to his childrenSTRENGHTHS| WEAKNESSES| * John Powell retires * Powell children available and able to take on the family business * Customer base remains * Restructure and plan to streamline and gain on debt ratios | * Multi site inefficiencies still exist| OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Plan to achieve financial position to support new warehouse in the future * Restructure plan development| * Economic downturn| F. Selecting the Preferred Alternative Passing the business on to his children is the preferred alternative. Financial Analysis Although PLI is forecasted for continued growth with revenue expected to reach 28 million dollars in 2010, PLI still faces the problem of shrinking net income due to significant increases in their operating expense. * Closer examination shows that PLI’s expenditures in Administrative Wages and Benefits are rising dramatically, and they’re the main contributor to the increase of Operating Expenses. Operating Expenses as a percentage of Total Revenue is out pacing the growth of Gross Revenue, and it won’t be much longer before Operating Expenses negate Gross Revenue and put PLI in the red. The Balance Sheet shows the asset values for ‘related companies’ has decreased by 19. 9% from 2006 to 2007, but the debt these ‘related companies’ have incurred has increased dramatically by 93. 1%, This is obviously putting a tremendous strain on PLI’s financial health. * A combined warehouse/main office will reduce salary costs with savings projected at $60,000 per year. If PLI were to take a 10 million dollar loan amortized over 25 years to realize an increase of $60,000 per year to their Operating Income, they would be well sh ort of their $400,000 annual principle payment. Additionally, PLI would most likely only be able to obtain a high risk interest rate a lending institution would not approve this loan given the slim profit margins of PLI in an extremely competitive market. * When reviewing the financial ratios, we find PLI highly leveraged, and they will be in a very precarious position if there was a margin call on their debts. * The increasing debt of PLI will most likely negate any possibility of a leveraged expansion. G. Developing an Action and Implementation Plan Who| What| When|John Powell| Frank Powell named as successor and President of PLI| Nov 2007| Frank Powell| Corporate restructure announcement to reduce staff, wages and/or operating expenses| Jan 2008| Frank Powell| Sell Powell related businesses that are increasing debt burden on PLI. Sales proceeds pay down debt and any costs associated to restructure| Dec 2008| Frank Powell / Ryan Powell| Review and implement new rates and service o fferings to ensure these compete with competition| Jan 2009 to July 2010| Frank Powell| Revisit $10 million expansion project| July 2010|

Does Ghost Exist in Real Life?

Does ghost exist in real life? It has been a popular question been ask for few decades. Some people encounter the supernatural phenomena, some not. So there are people who believe and people who disbelieves. Therefore, here are some introduction of what ghost really is, where we can find their existence, how can we feel their presence and does science proof the existence of ghost.In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost (sometimes known as a spectre (British English) or specter (American English), phantom, apparition or spook) is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to realistic, lifelike visions. The deliberate attempt to contact the spirit of a deceased person is known as necromancy, or in spiritism.The region that ghosts, demons, devils, and negative energies occupy or come from, varies depending on their spiritual power, capabilities and so on. Any being such as human being or subtle body that feels comfortable in their respective region because their frequencies correspond to that region. With increasing spiritual power, the ghosts become even more subtle and are found in progressively deeper negative regions. Thus ghosts who have the least spiritual power are found in the Nether region.The ghosts that exist in the deeper rungs of Hell are progressively more powerful and evil. There are few theories about ghosts. Many believe that non-reactive apparitions of people that seem to do the same things over and over are some form of energy-imprint on the environment. This type of ghost manifestation is known as a non-intelligent haunting or a residual haunting, and is called such due to the lack of interaction between the ghost and the living. This type of ghost is not dissimilar to a video playing over and over, ever seeming to repeat itself.Could these t ypes of ghosts have been produced by strong thoughts created by people while living, and continuing to exist within the atmosphere in some form or fashion? This theory concerning ghosts remains unproven. We ponder if it is also possible that this type of ghost is just trapped in time, unable to communicate or interact with the living due to severe emotional trauma – a self-created mental prison, if you will. Both ghost theories regarding non-reactive ghosts will have to be worked on in the future to see which has merit.Another type of ghost is called a poltergeist, which many believe to be the projected psychokinetic energy of a living person that creates movement of objects and various noises. Though the word â€Å"poltergeist† is German for â€Å"noisy ghost,† this type of phenomenon is not attributed to ghosts by those who have studied such accounts. It seems true poltergeist haunting activity is typically centred around a female adolescent in the home who is unwittingly producing the disturbance. The disturbance typically ceases over time, as the adolescent ages.A theory regarding ghosts centres around the previously described condition the earthbound spirits find themselves in. For these reasons, we believe many a haunting occurs, as ghosts are suffering and in need of assistance in easing the emotional pain. We believe that we are finding most ghostly activity, such as noises, dreams, visible appearances, various disturbance, communications, touching, and even attacks, can all be explained by coming to understand the desperate minds of pained, disembodied spirits. They are simply people in need of spirit rescue.Ghosts exist in a variety of places on Earth. They can create a centre for themselves in living and non-living objects. By centre we mean a place where they store their black energy. The centre acts as an entry point and a point of receiving or transmitting their black energy. Ghosts generally create a centre for themselves in people, trees, houses, electrical equipments etc. When they create a centre for themselves in people, it is to fulfil their desires such as eating, drinking, smoking, sex or to settle a give-and-take account.Since the ghosts are made up of the Absolute Air element, one cannot see them without subtle vision. When people repeatedly experience various forms of inexplicable distress, around a place, person or object, it is very likely that the place, person or object is affected or possessed by a ghost. Feelings of distress include feeling of apprehension, feeling a presence, feeling like one's entire energy is being sucked out or repeated mishaps happening in a certain place, without any apparent reason. The actual presence of the ghosts is however evident only to those with an activated sixth sense.The ghosts there cause distress to those who come in the vicinity or possess them, especially those who are vulnerable psychologically such as anxious and depressed or spiritually whereas people with low spiritual level are easy to get affected or possessed by ghosts. Nowadays, modern technology has rushed to the rescue by providing ghost hunters with myriad devices to capture the images, videos, and voices of ghosts. Unfortunately, tricksters and frauds have used the same technology to fool a number of people. No wonder that genuine evidence that ghosts exist is being dismissed as fraud material.People, especially those with a scientific or rational background, tend to dismiss any explanation that ghosts exist with disbelief and amusement. There are some scientific proof that ghost exist in the form of energy. The law of thermodynamics, if examined from a different angle, could prove that ghosts exist. Even if it cannot be taken as proof, it could give rise to a number of questions. If these questions are taken seriously and attempts made to find answers to them, we might very well come up with proof that ghosts exist. The law of thermodynamics is the most significa nt law among the gravitational laws.A careful study of it reveals the fact that science has already proved that ghosts do exist. According to this law â€Å"Energy can neither be created nor destroyed; it can only change form. † Let us now analyze this law carefully. Energy never dies, according to this important law; instead, energy shifts from one form to the other. Accordingly, the energy that we are is not destroyed by death; it just changes form. Skeptics would say that our bodies would be decomposed by the action of the microorganisms, and this is how human energy would change form. But, what about the intelligence that gives us an identity?Just consider the amazing nature of our minds and bodies. Would all this just end up as being fodder for the microbes? Does this sound like a fair exchange? The more one questions, the more one feels that there is more to life than what meets the scientific eye. In conclusion, other theories regarding ghosts do exist, such as ghosts being simply the creation of the overactive mind, hallucinations, carbon monoxide poisoning, exposure to low frequencies, etc; but we are seeing too many pieces of the puzzle come together that cannot be explained away in total by the various, sceptically theories.We ask ourselves the age-old question, â€Å"Do ghosts exist? † But in the end, realistically it's impossible to say whether ghosts are real or not. It's all down to the beliefs of the person themselves. To me and my experience of Ghosts or Spirits is of that they do exist, because of some experiences I have had in the past. However to many others with no experience it may be seen as total rubbish.

Medical Terminology Paper

Medical Terminology Paper #1 A Friend of mine went to a girls basketball game with his daughter one night a couple of weeks ago. While they were there, his daughter Nia was complaining of CRAMPING in her right GASTROCNEMIUS, it got so bad at one time her Dad (Scott) told her to point her toes upward to try and stop the CRAMPING. When she did, she had temporary PARALYSIS in her legs and fainted. He then took her home where she seemed to be fine for a while.After a while had passed she then went to get up to do something and fainted again. He then called the rescue squad who came and took VITAL SIGNS and with their DIAGNOSIS brought her to the Glens Falls Hospital Emergency Department to be assessed in the TRIAGE room. After several blood samples and ANGIOGRAPHY there PROGNOSIS was she was full of THROMPLIC OCCLUSIONS from her ABDOMIN CAVITY to her TOES.At that time the PHYSICIAN decided to send her by helicopter immediately to Albany Medical Center where they have a NEUROLOGY SPECIALT Y GROUP. Once she was assessed in TRIAGE there they immediately ran a PHLEBOGRAPHY along with a DUPLEX ULTRASOUND, and lots of bloods samples that checked ERYTHROCYTES, HEMOGLOBIN, LUEKOCYTES, THROBOCYTES, LYMPHOCYTES MONOCYTES, NEUTROPHILS, among many other things.The SURUM is very important in a blood sample of this sort because it is used to find FRIBRINOGEN AND PROTHROMBIN which is CLOTTING PROTEINS. After the test where done they started her on an ANTICOACULANT to prevent any more clotting, and a DEEP VEIN THROMBOSIS TREATMENT to break up the clots she had. After a few days the THROMBUS were gone and she was able to come home. She is still seeing SPECIALIST because they have not found out why this has happened. All they know is that it is a Factor #5 defect.

Pavlov vis-à-vis Piaget Essay

Looking at the history, many names flourished in the area of psychology in the desire to learn about man and behavior.   These names have contributions that are of significance even to the present-day studies in the field of psychology. This paper deals with two of the notable names in this realm – Ivan Pavlov and Jean Piaget. Ivan Pavlov was a Russian psychologist, physician, and physiologist. He had substantial contributions to the various fields of neurology and physiology. His researches were mostly focused on conditioning, temperament and involuntary reflex actions. He bagged the 1904 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for his researchers and experiments on digestion which became the foundation of a more extensive research on the digestive system. In his work on involuntary reactions to stress and pain, he broadened the description of the four temperament types: phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine, and melancholic. The study of TMI or transmarginal inhibition was also started by Pavlov and his researchers. TMI is the body’s instinctive reaction of shutting down when exposed to overwhelming stress or pain. Of his contributions, Pavlov is widely recognized for his demonstration of classical conditioning or Pavlovian conditioning. Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning started while he was working on his study of the digestive process in dogs. He observed that the dogs salivated before they received their food. Even just at the sight of the lab attendant, the dogs salivated. He called this phenomenon ‘psychic secretion.’ He made an experiment on this and used a bell and meat powder. He hit the bell and followed the ring with the meat powder. At the onset, only the meat powder made the dog salivate, but after repeating the practice, the ring of the bell made the dog salivate. Even when the meat powder was eliminated, the dog continued to salivate at the ring of the bell. In this theory, a living being learns to correlate one stimulus with one another. It is learned that the first stimulus is an indicator for the second stimulus. In the above experiment, the ring of the bell cued the dog that food might be coming. The following are the key concepts of Classical Conditioning:  · Unconditioned Stimulus (UCS) – a stimulus that can already elicits a response, like the food in the experiment.  · Unconditioned Response (UR) – response that is elicited by the unconditioned stimulus, like the salivation of the dog in the experiment.  · Conditioned Stimulus (CS) – a new and neutral stimulus that when matched up with a UCS elicits a similar response, like the bell in the experiment.  · Condition Response (CR) – the learned response when the neutral CS is paired with the UCS, like the salivation of the dog to the ring of the bell after repeated pairing of it with the food. (www.niu.edu) Although many evaluators criticize Pavlov’s theory as being tested only to animals, classical conditioning can actually be observed to a person’s behavior, even without the purpose. A person who experienced a traumatic vehicular accident would be frantic about the sound of screeching tires even at a normal situation. That person’s mind was condition that screeching tires mean accident. Jean Piaget was a biologist who was born in Neuchatel, Switzerland in 1896. He originally was studying mollusks but shifted to the study of developmental psychology and human intelligence from which he became a significant experimenter and theorist. At the age of 10 he published his first paper and at the young age of 22 he received his Ph.D. in science from the University of Neuchatel. Although he was technically a biologist and a philosopher, he regarded himself as a â€Å"genetic epistemologist.’ His interest was mainly focused on how an individual comes to know things. The thought process that lies beneath reasoning was his interest, particularly in the development of thinking.   Piaget believed that children have different way in responding compared to adults because of the difference in reasoning.   He started observing children of various ages and began working on his theory on the process of cognitive development. According to his theory, the development of children’s thinking is not a smooth process.   Before children learn new areas and abilities, there are particular stages at which it â€Å"takes off† and move to those new learning. These transitions transpire at about 18 months, 7 years and 11 or 12 years. Piaget’s key ideas include: schema, assimilation, accommodation, adaptation, egocentrism, and equilibrium. Schema are the set of sensori-motor skills which dictate the manner in which an infant discover his environment resulting to gaining more information of the world and more complicated exploratory skills.   These are the â€Å"representation in the mind of a set of perceptions, ideas, and/or actions, which go together.† (www.learningandteaching.info) Assimilation is â€Å"the process by which a person takes material into their mind from the environment, which may mean changing the evidence of their senses to make it fit.† (www.learningandteaching.info) Accommodation is â€Å"the difference made to one’s mind or concepts by the process of assimilation.† (www.learningandteaching.info) Adaptation is â€Å"learning† in layman’s term. Piaget believed that adaptation or learning is a biological process from which the two sides are assimilation and accommodation. Egocentrism is a part of the early stage of psychological development. It is a â€Å"belief that you are the center of the universe and everything revolves around you: the corresponding inability to see the world as someone else does and adapt to it.† (www.learningandteaching.info) According to his theory, there are four stages of cognitive development: sensori-motor stage, pre-operational stage, concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage. The first stage, sensori-motor stage, lasts from birth to about 2 years of age. In this stage, the infant makes use of his motor abilities and senses to grasp his environment. During the end of this stage, the infant develops more complicated combinations of his sensori-motor skills. The second stage, pre-operational stage, lasts from about 2 until about seven years old. Because of the child’s new abilities, this is a short step to symbol usage. The child now has a clear idea of past and future. This is the stage, though, that a child is egocentric, seeing things only from his point of view. The third stage, concrete operational, lasts from about 7 to about 11. Aside from the representational use of symbols, a child already has the ability to manipulate those symbols sensibly in the context of tangible situations. In this stage is also where a child develops the skill to conserve length, number and liquid volume. The fourth stage, formal operations stage, takes place from about 12 and up. This is the stage where a child develops hypothetical thinking, or the use of logical operations in the abstract, instead of the concrete. Both of these theories talk about learning. Basically, Pavlov and Piaget believe that learning can be directly influenced by the stimuli found in the environment of an individual. Both of them also imply that an individual has an innate and natural response to a stimulus, the unconditioned response (UR) for Pavlov and the schema for Piaget. What differs one from another is the processes and methods of how an individual learns. In Pavlov’s theory, a new learning is acquired through mind conditioning. A normal response of an individual to a normal stimulus can be altered through introduction of another stimulus from which the normal stimulus can be associated to, like what transpire to his experiment with the dog. In Piaget’s theory, on the other hand, learning can also be acquired through exposure to the environment, but at a certain stage, especially to children. A child, for example, won’t have an idea of what is past and future until he reaches the age of around 2, which is called the pre-operational stage. Piaget’s theory implies that the extent of a child’s learning is restricted to the stage or the age of the child. During the early stage of a child, he is said to be egocentric. Having this characteristic, a child’s health and physical condition is put at risk. The schema of grab and thrust is applied by a child to any object, oblivious of any harm that it may cause. He may be used to grabbing his rattle and thrusting it in his mouth, but once he came across a new object, he may use this schema to it, like a small animal or a pointed thing. These two theories are bases of more comprehensive studies of human behavior. Both of them are true in the sense that they can be observed and applied. It is proper to say that these theories are two of the most significant concepts in the world of psychology.