Central banks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Central banks - Essay Example al bank delights in the monopoly of accumulating the financial base of a state and also it do prints the national currency which functions and acts as the state’s legal tender. This particular institution is considered to be independent from political intervention though restricted regulation by the executive and legislative bodies does exist. The central bank enjoys supervisory controls over other financial institutions. This helps in decreasing the risk that commercial banks and other financial institutions might indulge in fraudulent practices that may negatively affect a nation’s economy. A depository institution is a financial institution like commercial bank, savings bank and credit union that is lawfully permitted to receive deposits from its customers and provide them commercial credits. The federal depository institutions are controlled by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in the United States. Depository institutions are also regulated by the central bank in a number of ways so as to manage the money supply in the economy. They are also obligated by the central bank to conserve the reserve prerequisite as specified. The central bank functions as a banker, agent and financial advisor to the government. As a banker to the government, it plays the same role as a commercial bank does to its customers. It keeps the accounts of both the central government and the state government. It accepts payments from the government and offers short term credits to the government. It accumulates cheques and drafts put in the government account. It conveys overseas exchange capitals to the government for paying back marginal arrears or in the procurement of foreign goods. As an agent to the government, it collects taxes and other payments on behalf of the government. It also raises loans from the public thus managing public liability. The central bank also represents the government in external financial institutions in conferences. It equally acts as a

Tech Environment Essay Example for Free

Tech Environment Essay The company I am continuing to work with is US Airways Group. There is plenty of hard and soft technology to list for the domestic environment. Some of the hard technology used in the domestic environment is aircraft, security system, and safety gear. Some soft technology used in the domestic environment is management, government regulations that govern the procedures of the company, and training for employees. The hard technology I listed above is the obvious technology the air line company utilizes yet there is more hard technology being used. The soft technology being used is essential to the success of the company which I will capitalize on later. I stated the hard and soft technology of the domestic environment but this same technology is used in the global environment also. Hard technology used within the global environment is aircraft, customs operatives, and safety gear. Soft technology used within the global environment is management, different government regulations than the domestic environment, and guides who help foreign travelers from different countries. Although the hard technology is about the same as it is in the domestic environment you may see some outdated equipment within the global environment. The soft technology used such as guides to assist foreign travelers may not be found within the domestic environment due to a large majority of passengers residing within the domestic environment. There are technological barriers for the domestic and global environments. Within the domestic environment there are flaws such as the security system. People find ways to breach the security system and are able to sneak items that should be able to sneak past the system such as drugs and weapons. Of course we do the best we can but this is the nature of the beast and we can always better our systems. Another technological barrier is that we need more foreign employees that can communicate with foreign passengers who travel within the domestic environment. It can be hard to travel within a location where you do not know anyone and no one understands your language. Within the global environment there are technological barriers also. I stated earlier that the technology in some locations is not as good as it is in the domestic environment. This is unfair to the passengers and to the people who work for the company. There should be up to date equipment for the global environment just as there is in the domestic environment. Another barrier is that customs can be difficult to deal with. I always hear of horror stories dealing with customs because they may take a long time to process certain individuals through or the rules are interpreted differently. The barriers can be overcome in both the domestic and global environments. The flaws within the security system are currently being corrected as we speak according to sourcesecurity.com. They have stated that â€Å"turning security weaknesses into strengths, using perimeter and surveillance solutions together, use of video analytics software and managing airport access control system† will better the security in airports significantly (Smith). I believe if those principles stated are applied then the security in airports will be safe as can be. The fact that we need more translators or guides that can speak other languages can be fixed. We need to create a job that specifically guides passengers from other countries to their next gate or to taxi services to get passengers to their next destination without any issues. The barriers within the global environment can be corrected just as they can be corrected in the domestic environment. The fact that the technology within the global environment needs to be up to the same standards is an issue that should be addressed. â€Å"To raise efficiency or establish a better competitive position, firms’ efforts are oriented towards developing capabilities to absorb, adapt and master technologies often developed elsewhere in a process of technological learning† (Goedhuys, Janz, Mohnen, 2008). I honest believe this is the only remedy for providing up to date technology, the company has to make it a priority to provide the same technology to the global environment. The customs can be corrected by provided a print out of what is allowed and what is not allowed to be brought into or out of a country a passenger is traveling through. The information is available online but some older passengers aren’t as savvy with technology so they may not r eceive the same information. With this tactic there is not any excuse for not knowing what is expected when going through customs. The strategies I stated above will be successful, only if they are applied. Without application the strategy will be a failure. Within the domestic environment the security system can be significantly improved and decrease the risk for terrorist attacks greatly. This technology needs to be protected by requiring a security clearance for all employees who work for the company. This way you have a thorough back ground check on everyone who works for US Airways Group and the risk for inside information getting out to enemies of the United States is low. Within the global environment technology needs to be advanced. The company can protect this technology by only providing the technology to its global counterparts and not the competition.

A Zara Supply Chain Strategy

A Zara Supply Chain Strategy The theoretical scope of this literature review is distributed by purchasing strategy and by supply chain strategy prospective. This part of the literature is founded on the Internet and from the articles in the Burch International University library. Through searching for the adequate informations, definitions, articles, journals etc; research was being executed with the keywords such as purchasing strategy or supply chain strategy or management or just Zara supply chain management. There are different datas, articles and web sites that were funded by the Internet about the Zara, and all offers different ideas of the research direction. In order to collect lot of useful and accurate material of Zara, I obtain from friend who works as a seller manager in Azel store. A Zara supply chain strategy was the key term of my research and was an important part of my theoretical focus on supply chain strategy. The aim of this research is to give a clear picture of the theoretical research and to be able to manage analysis of the Zara case study showing how company purchase and which supply chain strategy perspective is the most convenient for such a company. The purpose of use of review in this research is based on the explaining and verifying the role and impact of purchasing and supply chain strategy of the Zara industry and how its making successful. The effects of supply are particularly fundamental in fashion industries of marketing research. Although through this review also it will be described different aspects of supply chain points in the fast fashion industry. INTRODUCTION This review however will be based on the two sections; describing and analyzing the structure of the Zaras stores and on understanding the influence of purchasing of supply chain strategies. The manufacturing ZARA clothing company has an excellent development of supply chain, practical and innovative distribution channel processes. Brief description of supply chain management In usual supply chain management (SCM) is studied issue in marketing practices and theories as well. Supply chain management is a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, and stores, so that merchandise is produced and distributed at the right quantities, to the right locations, and at the right time, in order to minimize system wide costs while satisfying service level requirements. The supply chain management is the active management of supply chain activities to maximize customer value and achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. It represents a conscious effort by the supply chain firms to develop and run supply chains in the most effective efficient ways possible. Supply chain activities cover everything from product development, sourcing, production, and logistics, as well as the information systems needed to coordinate these activities. The organizations that make up the supply chain are linked together through physical flo ws and information flows. Physical flows involve the transformation, movement, and storage of goods and materials. They are the most visible piece of the supply chain. But just as important are information flows. Information flows allow the various supply chain partners to coordinate their long-term plans, and to control the day-to-day flow of goods and material up and down the supply chain. Zara Zara is one of the perfect examples of fast fashion industry. There are six moths time of waiting for training production supplier, while for the fast fashion industry it takes only four to eight weeks that have much faster speed of supply chain productions. However, Zara control to drop new lines into its stores floor twice in a week. The major success of ZARA Company is its dynamic supply chain with its specified outcome of focusing on a shortest response time. Using the supply chain management ZARA products generate its instant fashions being cheap, stylish and trendy by using a high wage form and it doesnt necessarily means poor quality. Therefore this means that the fast fashion industry involve requirements such as: low raw material costs, high productivity, low labor costs, good quality and mostly recognizing what the consumers wants of fashion products; which means it meets the customer satisfaction. Zara has developed a supply chain which is efficient of getting a trend from the catwalk from their stores in period of one month, while for four to twelve months from its company competitors. According to this the strategy of reducing the quantity manufactured creates scarcity. Thus, this is productive for Zara because of two reasons; first the less availability leads to highest desirability and from the secon d reason, with fewer amounts being produced in any time means that there is less to be added at the end of season sales. An overall discount of Zara is about 18% of its total operation range, where half of the level its competitors. In order to get their supply chain integration Zara operates with decent level of sharing data and integration between retailers, manufacturer and third party researchers as essentials. In addition Zara is able to accept cost source of the customer quickly, have close enough manufacturing so that fast trendy replacement can be competed, higher tools of technology which means faster market sampling test provide the opportunities to gather and analyze market response from new products for the suppliers and of course include the online retailing to provide quicker customer feedbacks on both products satisfaction and customer behavior preferences which needs to ensure that Zara sales operations are running successfully. All these characteristics means that the informations sharing can help so that supply chain move faster. In the case of Zara the time is one of the primary drivers to reach the competitive advantage, where an agile of supply chain management is created. Zara is being focused on the flexibility and market sensitive, until to comparisons of the ordinal method of being forecast driven. Presence of the ZARA in the fashion world has pressurized competitors of entering their supply chains to keep the track with Zara; therefore it does recognize the importance for the quick response. With quick response system Zara is able to respond its customers wants better than its competitors. ZARA industry is focused on the ultimate consumer with allocating a huge emphasis on implementation of backward vertical integration to perform the strategy into a fashion follower, before than to accomplish production efficiencies. Zaras accepts a quick response strategy communication that is effective expected to its management and collective culture. The continuous processes of information between managers provide the company to keep its customers satisfied, which in turn results in raising the sales. Furthermore, Zaras centralized issuing offer the chain a competitive progress by decreasing the lead-time of their goods. Reducing the time to increase the delivery speed transportation is scheduled by time zones and its loaded by way of air and place of land. The advantages of ZARA delivery time outside the Europe is around one or to two day approximately. Based on Zaras strategy centered on fewer advertising cost is one another advantages over its competitors. Investments advertising cuts minimize a total expense that makes the international expansion more profitable. According to this company relies mostly on its stores to project their image, so it is clear why Zara is familiar for its essential real estate locations. Nowadays people all around the world have far higher access in world fashion because as the result of the e-commerce and internet. Company of Zara recognize this and use it to their advantages by offering the latest clothing trends to their customers. However, Zara has a successfully developed business model which distinguishes itself from its competitors, (H,M, Benetton etc.) but it also has disadvantages that can have influence on its sustainable growth. Therefore there are some weaknesses that strategy of Zara creates. Furthermore, vertical integration is considered by many authors as a strategy which potentially raises profits and decrease risks, where the defects are still equally considerable to recognize. Thus, vertical integration often brings to the inefficiency to acquire economies of scale. Reflexive introduction and focus on speed of new products incurs increase costs as well. Hence they have greater research and development costs. Also they have increased costs due to th e constant transformation of production techniques to make out their different clothing lines. In general todays highly competitive fashion and apparel market place where quick changing of fashion trends forces the fashion industries to make responsiveness to the market need as much as possible. Supply chain strategy is a primary performance driver for these companies to attain the competitive advantage in the marketplace. Purchasing and supply chain management operates with the nuts and bolts in Zara industry. Implementing purchasing and supply strategies can help in saving the costs and in optimizing the ways in which companies integrate suppliers, manufacturing and transportation. In addition to this they used to increase response time in market over lead time reductions, provide availability and flexibility of supply in response to customer desires, and connect supply chain strategy with e- commerce in order to accomplish efficiency and profitability. The importance of improving the efficient customer and quick response is vertical information integration and adjustments over the supply chain with information and communication technology. Within the fact that it can control the entire supply chain closely to the better end, which gives opportunity to the company to be in position to produce the most trendy fashion styles roughly in real time to respond in the fast changing customers tastes. More accurate market information and update data are always needed to avoid unsold inventory and markdown cost as fashion and custom products are with volatile demand and highly unpredictable. An effective way of aligning right supply chain strategy is to match product unc ertainty. Postponement strategy can considerably reduce inaccurate forecast risk and do a responsive supply chain strategy. Zara has accomplished the benefits of agile and flexible supply chains for its innovative fashion items. Although, Zara overcome its competitors todays in terms of profit margins, without any stock out rates keeping the industry leader in the market. As a result the purchasing and supply chain strategy has a major role in this type of the company. The success of Zara is that it has attach the problem of the highly consumable fashion items in controlling and streamlining their supply chains so that they is capable to greatly decrease their lead time and thus to respond faster enough on the very fast changes in the fashion customer needs and wants in real time minimizing the fashion risks. Zaras excellent responsiveness to new fashion trends definitely needs to their optimal supply chain strategy.

Societal Needs:Diversity and Equity Essay -- essays papers

Societal Needs:Diversity and Equity The purpose of this paper is to examine diversity and equity issues regarding education. More specifically, this research paper will take an in-depth view of affirmative action and its policies. A non biased view was enacted to present the pros, cons, and hotly debated issues regarding affirmative action at the university level. Additionally, the paper will examine the validity and possible biases in alternatives to affirmative action that have recently been issued. Simply stated, affirmative action is an active commitment to enhance employment and educational opportunities for minorities and women. Affirmative action’s origins stem back to the 1960s when the government began to progressively take steps in redressing decades of racial discrimination against blacks (â€Å"affirmative action†). Women and minorities, mostly Hispanic and Native Americans, subsequently were covered in this new remedy. Affirmative action forced private as well as public institutions of higher education to alter their traditional ways regarding the recruitment and admission of students (Lowe 13). Colleges and universities developed organized methods to help attract black students. Increased representation of black students on campus now became a commitment at all schools. Admission and financial aid were altered to help eliminate existing barriers to access. As a result, numerous minorities who previously may not have been admitted to institutions of higher learning were now being accepted in increasing numbers (Fullinwider). This new commitment and responsibility of institutions, however, was not welcomed by everyone. At what cost would universities go to wh... ... â€Å"Universities Need to Take A Stand and Defend Affirmative Action.† Black Issues in Higher Education 17.4 (2000): p42 Lowe, Edward, Jr. (1999). Promise and Dilemma. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. McClafferty, K. â€Å"Challenges of the New Sociology of Urban Education.† Albany: State University of New York Press, 2000. 3-15 Pg. 9 Miller, Geralda. â€Å"Study: Racial Prejudice is Reason For Affirmative Action Resistance† Black Issues in Higher Education 17.2 (2000): p14. Plous, S. (2003). Ten Myths about Affirmative Action. In S. Plous (Ed.), Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination (pp.206-212). New York: McGraw-Hill. Symonds, William C. â€Å"College Admissions: The Real Barrier Is Class.† Business Week 3828 (2003): p66. Zwick, Rebecca. â€Å"Eliminating Standardized Tests in College Admissions.† Phi Delta Kappan (1999): 320-325.

Instructor’s Resources Essay

1.Philosophy Behind the Strategic Management Course Strategic Management is the capstone course for business administration majors. Students learn new strategy formulation, implementation, and evaluation concepts and techniques. Students use this new knowledge, coupled with knowledge acquired from other courses, to chart the future direction of different organizations. Strategic Management students analyze firms in different industries, make objective strategic decisions for companies, and justify those decisions through oral or written communication. Students recommend strategies for the organizations studied and specify how those strategies could best be implemented. Strategic Management is a challenging and exciting course for students. Strategic Management is an interesting course to teach because the problems and issues of strategic management cover the whole spectrum of business, including finance, marketing, management, management information systems, production operations, economics, and statistics. Strategic management is an emerging and rapidly developing discipline. Weighing the pros and cons of alternative strategies entails a total enterprise perspective and a talent for judging how all relevant factors fit together. This is quite a contrast to other required and elective courses, which are generally concerned with a narrower, more specialized body of knowledge. Although the features of Strategic Management pose an instructional challenge, there is plenty of opportunity to make the study of strategic management the best course in the business curriculum. There are different ways to teach a good course in Strategic Management. Some instructors supplement the text with a management simulation game; some instructors assign outside readings; some use experiential exercises in class; and some instructors invite guest speakers to class. Most Strategic Management professors use cases. The amount of class time devoted to lecture and case analysis varies considerably among instructors. If you are experienced in teaching Strategic Management, you may have resolved many pedagogical issues to your own satisfaction. However, if this is the first time you are teaching Strategic Management, then the information provided in the next few pages could help you structure your own course. 2.Importance of Strategic Management Cases Strategic Management cases represent the most commonly used method for applying strategic-management concepts and techniques in different types and sizes of organizations. A Strategic Management case typically describes the external conditions and internal situation facing a firm and presents sufficient information to develop, analyze, and choose among alternative  strategies. Strategic Management can be a very exciting course with the use of just text and cases alone. The 29 Strategic Management cases in the Thirteenth edition of Strategic Management represent the most up-to-date compilation of cases ever assembled in a policy text. The cases cover a broad spectrum of business and industry situations. All of the cases in this text are undisguised. The cases are about real organizations and real people. Most of the cases concern well-known firms. Using the cases in this text, students do not have to put themselves back in time to understand the economic and political conditions surrounding the strategic decisions to be made. Students can go to their college library and easily find additional information to supplement all of the cases in this text. Students find current cases more interesting, more exciting, and more realistic than older cases. This fact adds a great deal of life and realism to Strategic Management when the Strategic Management text is used. All of the cases in this text have been class tested to ensure that they are interesting, challenging, and effective for illustrating strategic-management concepts. I believe you will find the collection of cases to complement any approach you use in teaching Strategic Management at the undergraduate or graduate level. You will also find the teachers’ notes in the Case Solutions Manual to be exceptionally well done. The 29 cases in this text are listed along with the respective case authors and their school affiliation. The industries represented by the cases are also given. The cases are listed below in the order in which they appear in the text. The case manual contains information about the topics that the individual cases cover. Cases Included in the Thirteenth Edition of the Textbook 1. Walt Disney Company — 2009, Mernoush Banton 2. Merryland Amusement Park — 2009, Gregory Stone 3. JetBlue Airways Corporation — 2009, Mernoush Banton 4. AirTran Airways, Inc. — 2009, Charles M. Byles 5. Family Dollar Stores, Inc. — 2009, Joseph W. Leonard 6. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. — 2009, Amit J. Shah and Michael L. Monahanat 7. Whole Foods Market, Inc. — 2009, James L. Harbin and Patricia Humphrey 8. Macy’s, Inc. — 2009, Rochelle R. Brunson and Marlene M. Reed 9. Yahoo! Inc. — 2009, Hamid Kazeroony 10. eBay Inc. — 2009, Lori Radulovich 11. Wells Fargo Corporation — 2009, Donald L. Crooks, Robert S. Goodman, and John Burbridge 12. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) — 2009, John Burbridge and Coleman Rich 13. Starbucks Corporation — 2009, Sharynn Tomlin 14. The United States Postal Service (USPS) — 2009, Fred and Forest David 15. National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK) — 2009, Kristopher J. Blanchard 16. Goodwill of San Francisco, San Mateo and Marin Counties — 2009, Mary E. Vradelis 17. Harley-Davidson, Inc. — 2009, Carol Pope and Joanne Mack 18. Ford Motor Company — 2009, Alen Badal 19. Kraft Foods Inc. — 2009, Kristopher J. Blanchard 20. Hershey Company — 2009, Anne Walsh and Ellen Mansfield 21. Johnson & Johnson — 2009, Sharynn Tomlin, Matt Milhauser, Bernhard Gierke, Thibault Lefebvre, and Mario Martinez 22. Avon Products Inc. — 2009, Rochelle R. Brunson and Marlene M. Reed 23. Molson Coors — 2009, Amit J. Shah 24. PepsiCo — 2009, John and Sherry Ross 25. Pfizer, Inc. — 2009, Vijaya Narapareddy 26. Merck & Company Inc. — 2010, Mernoush Banton 27. Nike, Inc. — 2010, Randy Harris 28. Callaway Golf Company — 2009, Amit J. Shah 29. Chevron Corporation — 2009, Linda Herkenhoff A question that arises concerning cases is the appropriate number of cases to cover in an academic term. That can vary depending on factors such as whether a Strategic Management simulation game is used, how many written  comprehensive case analyses are assigned, whether the class is divided into teams of students, and whether outside readings, class speakers, or videotapes are used. I personally find 10 cases to be an appropriate amount to cover, as indicated in the course syllabus presented in a few pages. 3.The McDonald’s Cohesion Case This edition features a new Cohesion Case on McDonald’s Corporation. The Cohesion Case allows students to apply strategic-management concepts and techniques to a real organization as chapter material is covered in class. This integrative or cohesive approach readies students for case analysis. The Cohesion Case provides a continuous illustration of the interdependence of parts of the strategic-management process. Assurance of Learning Exercises at the end of each chapter apply concepts to the Cohesion Case. 4.Assurance of Learning Exercises This is about the only Strategic Management text that offers strategic-management Assurance of Learning Exercises both on-line and at the end of chapters. The end-of-chapter Assurance of Learning Exercises are designed to get students involved, to increase students’ interest in the course, and to aid students in learning how to apply important concepts and techniques. The Assurance of Learning Exercises allow students to test newly learned theories, concepts, and analytical techniques. The exercises also help students make the transition from school to work more easily. The Assurance of Learning Exercises can be used for homework assignments, individual class work, group assignments, or extra-credit work. They offer a great change of pace in class. On average, there are five exercises at the end of each chapter. A couple of the exercises apply chapter material to the McDonald’s Cohesion Case. At least one exercise applies chapter material to the student’s own college or university and at least one exercise instructs the student to contact or visit a local business to explore important strategic-management topics. You will not be able to do all of the Assurance of Learning Exercises, due to time limitations in class, but take the time to do as many as possible. I personally devote about 15 minutes of each class to Assurance of Learning Exercises and assign students one exercise homework assignment for each class. Ask students to put answers to the Assurance of Learning Exercises either in their notes or on a separate sheet of paper rather than writing in the text itself. This would present a problem in usage of the text in later semesters if answers to the exercises were written in the text. The Assurance of Learning Exercises Included in the Thirteenth Edition Chapter 1: Exercise 1A: Gathering Strategy Information Exercise 1B: Strategic Planning for My University Exercise 1C: Strategic Planning at a Local Company Exercise 1D: Getting Familiar with SMCO Chapter 2: Exercise 2A: Evaluating Mission Statements Exercise 2B: Writing a Vision and Mission Statement for McDonald’s Corporation Exercise 2C: Writing a Vision and Mission Statement for My University Exercise 2D: Conducting Mission Statement Research Chapter 3: Exercise 3A: Developing an EFE Matrix for McDonald’s Corporation Exercise 3B: The External Assessment Exercise 3C: Developing an EFE Matrix for My University Exercise 3D: Developing a Competitive Profile Matrix for McDonald’s Corporation Exercise 3E: Developing a Competitive Profile Matrix for My University Chapter 4: Exercise 4A: Performing a Financial Ratio Analysis for McDonald’s Corporation Exercise 4B: Constructing an IFE Matrix for McDonald’s Corporation Exercise 4C: Constructing an IFE Matrix for My University Chapter 5: Exercise 5A: What Strategies Should McDonald’s Pursue in 2011-2013? Exercise 5B: Examining Strategy Articles Exercise 5C: Classifying Some Year 2009 Strategies Exercise 5D: How Risky Are Various Alternative Strategies? Exercise 5E: Developing Alternative Strategies for My University Exercise 5F: Lessons in Doing Business Globally Chapter 6: Exercise 6A: Developing a SWOT Matrix for McDonald’s Exercise 6B: Developing a SPACE Matrix for McDonald’s Exercise 6C: Developing a BCG Matrix for McDonald’s Exercise 6D: Developing a QSPM for McDonald’s Exercise 6E: Formulating Individual Strategies Exercise 6F: The Mach Test Exercise 6G: Developing a BCG Matrix for My University Exercise 6H: The Role of Boards of Directors Exercise 6I: Locating Companies in a Grand Strategy Matrix Chapter 7: Exercise 7A: Revising McDonald’s Organizational Chart Exercise 7B: Do Organizations Really Establish Objectives? Exercise 7C: Understanding My University’s Culture Chapter 8: Exercise 8A: Developing a Product-Positioning Map for McDonald’s Exercise 8B: Performing an EPS/EBIT Analysis for McDonald’s Exercise 8C: Preparing Projected Financial Statements for McDonald’s Exercise 8D: Determining the Cash Value of McDonald’s Exercise 8E: Developing a Product-Positioning Map for My University Exercise 8F: Do Banks Require Projected Financial Statements? Chapter 9: Exercise 9A: Preparing a Strategy-Evaluation Report for McDonald’s Corp. Exercise 9B: Evaluating My University’s Strategies Chapter 10: Exercise 10A: Does McDonald’s Have a Code of Business Ethics? Exercise 10B: The Ethics of Spying on Competitors Exercise 10C: Who Prepares a Sustainability Report? Chapter 11: Exercise 11A: McDonald’s Wants to Enter Africa. Help Them. Exercise 11B: Does My University Recruit in Foreign Countries? Exercise 11C: Assessing Differences in Culture Across Countries Exercise 11D: How Well Traveled Are Business Students at Your University? 5. Description of the Supplements for the Thirteenth Edition Supplements are available for adopting instructors to download at www.pearsonhighered.com/irc. Registration is simple and gives the instructor immediate access to new titles and new editions. Pearson’s dedicated technical support team is ready to help instructors with the media supplements that accompany this text. The instructor should visit http://247.pearsoned.com/ for answers to frequently asked questions and for toll-free user support phone numbers. Supplements include: Instructor’s Manual—This manual includes lecture objectives, outlines, and answers to all end-of-chapter material and Assurance of Learning exercises. In addition, several supplemental Assurance of Learning exercises and answers are included. Case Instructor’s Manual—this solutions manual includes abstracts, discussion questions, and audits for each case. PowerPoint Presentations – The PowerPoint slides highlight text learning objectives and key topics and serve as an excellent aid for classroom presentations and lectures. Test Item File – This test bank features for each chapter on average 50 True/False questions, 50 Multiple-Choice questions, and 10 Essay questions with page references and difficulty level provided for each question. The Test Item File has been written specifically for this edition and is provided in MS Word, so that instructors can easily incorporate select questions into their own tests. TestGen (test-generating program) – The test bank is also available on TestGen, a test-generating program that allows instructors to add, edit, or  delete questions from the test bank; analyze test results; and organize a database of exams and student results. Videos on DVD—The DVD contains video segments that illustrate the most pertinent topics in management today and highlight relevant issues in the news, demonstrating how people lead, manage, and work effectively; ISBN 0-13-612547-6. Video Guide – The video guide provides a brief summary of each clip and suggested questions for discussion followed by possible answers. MyManagementLab – MyManagementLab provides help beyond homework with a range of assessment options and tutorial resources that help students learn from their mistakes. Allowing you to teach a course your way, use this as an out-of-the-box resource for students who need extra help, or take full advantage of its advanced customization options. For more information, go to www.mymanagementlab.com.

Indiana Building Supplies

Indiana Building Supplies – Comment An analysis of these ratios shows that both Clemens and Willis are right. All of the profitability ratios for IBS are higher than the industry average. Thus, IBS seems to have done well. And indeed, it was done well for its shareholders in 2005. Note, however, that the current and quick ratios have generally been trending downward and are significantly lower than the industry averages as well as the stipulations in the loan covenants. Thus, liquidity is poor. Moreover, inventory is turning over very slowly and the average collection period has increased significantly.These figures are manifestations of IBS’s policy of raising prices and focusing almost exclusively on Indiana customers who are relatively price-insensitive but have a more uncertain demand. It seems like IBS is charging a sufficiently high price to overcome a sales level that is significantly lower than it was in 2004. In fact, it has probably been lucky to encounter a r obust demand from its Indiana customers (it is reasonable to assume negligible demand from Ohio and Missouri), so that it did not experience a more precipitous decline in sales relative to its 2004 sales.In addition to this, IBS has also experienced very high volatility in its liquidity and inventory turnover ratios during 2005, another development that is consistent with its pricing strategy. The lengthening of the collection period seems to indicate that Indiana customers are more risky in the sense that they don’t pay as promptly as the average customer. What does this mean for the bank? Peter Willis is correct in being concerned. What IBS seems to be doing is to adopt a strategy of increasing risk for the possibility of higher profit.Raising the prices of its outputs is equivalent to concentrating on the Indiana market and excluding the Ohio and Missouri markets. This means changing its market in such a way that IBS now faces a riskier demand schedule for its products, bu t one that yields it higher profits if it is â€Å"lucky†. Since the bank is simply repaid what it is owed, it does not benefit from this higher profit-higher risk strategy. If IBS is successful in selling off all that it produces (i. e. , if the Indiana customers exhibit sufficiently high demand), then all of the extra profits go to IBS.On the other hand, if demand is poor and IBS cannot unload its finished goods inventory, the bank may not be repaid and could be left holding a mix of finished goods, work-in-progress and raw materials inventory. So, the bank absorbs much of the risk associated with IBS’s pricing strategy. This is a classic example of moral hazard related to risky debt. Note also that IBS’s debt ratio has been increasing since 2000, and now it is well above the industry average as well as what is permitted in the loan covenants. This also hurts IBS’s creditors since their risk exposure is increased.Moreover, as we saw in our discussion of capital in this chapter, a decline in equity capital relative to total assets increases the firm’s incentive to take more risk at the creditors’ expense. So, Clemens’ willingness to go along with Klinghoffer’s suggestion now is not that surprising. Note that the benefits of increased profitability are skewed more in favor of IBS’s shareholders; for 2005 the return on the net worth of IBS is 299 basis points above the industry average, whereas its return on total assets is 70 basis points above the industry average.Let us now see if IBS could generate enough cash internally to repay FNBB its old loan as well as the new loan. As we saw in our earlier discussion, there are three sources of internal cash generation: (i)net income and depreciation, (ii)reduction of accounts receivables, and (iii)reduction of inventory. Now, suppose that we can get IBS to bring its ratios in line with industry averages. How much cash will this generate? (i) Net income a nd depreciation: Assuming cash flows from earnings and deprecation in 2006 remain the same as in 2005, we have cash flows from earnings plus deprecation = $202,500 + $72,000 = $274,500. ii)Reduction of accounts receivables: In 2005, IBS’s average collection period was 49 days, whereas the industry average was 37 days. Current accounts receivable = $600,000 (Average collection period = 49 days) Projected accounts receivable = (Sales / day) * 37 days = ($4,500,000/365) * 37 days = $456,164 where ($4,500,000/365) is sales/day for 2005. If IBS could reduce its average collection period by 12 days, it could generate $600,000 – $456,164 = $143,836 (iii)Inventory: In 2005, IBS’s inventory turnover ratio was 5, whereas the industry average was 8. 5.If IBS could increase its ratio to the industry average by reducing its inventory, then this would generate $900,000 – $529,412 = $370,588, where $900,000 is the actual 2005 inventory and $529,412 = year 2005 IBS sales / 8. 5. Adding up these three sources gives us $788,924 (=$274,500 + $143,836 + $370,588). If a new loan were to be extended, IBS would owe FNBB $473,000 + $220,000 = $693,000, assuming a 10% interest on the new loan and no new interest accumulation on the old loan. Thus, if sufficient preventive measures could be taken, IBS could generate enough cash internally to pay off the bank. A word of caution, though.The $788,924 is a very optimistic estimate since it assumes that IBS can bring its ratios in line with industry averages without affecting its profit margin. This is unlikely. We would recommend not calling the old loan and extending the new loan, but asking IBS to do the following: 1. Reduce sales prices so as to be competitive with sellers in Ohio and Missouri. 2. Pursue a more aggressive marketing strategy to reduce inventories and accounts receivables. 3. Cut back on production to ensure inventory does not get stockpiled. 4. Get tough in collecting old accounts from Indiana customers even if it means sacrificing some future business. .Provide some augmentation of equity by cutting back on dividends and possibly issuing some more new equity at an appropriate time. Get the debt ratio down. 6. Do not take on new debt to replace the $200,000 that will be paid off with the bank loan. 7. Secure the bank loan with specific (inside) collateral if not already done so. 8. Design a realistic periodic loan repayment plan. 9. Consider the possibility of asking for a personal loan guarantee from Bob Clemens. We have assumed that the accounting practices of other firms in the industry are comparable to IBS’s, so that a comparative ratio analysis like this is meaningful.

Impacts of Casinos

The Negative Impact Many people do not want the casinos in their town and feel that having one will only bring chaos and criminal activity. Some of the misconceptions how a casino will affect a town range from addiction to industry centralization. In the website that Greg Saris has written he states that â€Å"we don't want to get into slot machines and hard-core gambling because it is addictive and destructive in people's lives† (Saris, 2003). It is believed that the impact of a casino coming into a town would be morally ND ethically irresponsible.The people that go to this facility are sometimes categorized as gambling addicts with alarming numbers of them. In California back in 2002 it is said that there were over 1. 2 billion addicts in that state. It is a widespread belief that with the casinos will increase the â€Å"crime, suicide, addiction and human misery' (Saris, 2003). In the article that Kevin Fagan has written it can be seen the comparison between gambling addic tions and a drug (crack-cocaine) (Fagan, 2007). A person may start out n Bingo (class Ill in Nevada) or a simple form of gambling and then may be introduced to slot machines.It is believed there is a great need for medical help since it is referred to as â€Å"a medically designated psychological disorder in its most severe, pathological form† (Fagan, 2007). Douglas Walker has written a book to help us to understand the economics of gambling and the arguments presented. It is general misconception that casinos are an â€Å"industry centralization, the â€Å"factory-restaurant† dichotomy, export base theory of growth, money inflow (mercantilism) (Walker, 2007). Positive Argument There many positive impacts on a towns economics that have been proven over history.Will the positive affects be greater than the negative? Through studies and research it can be seen how beneficial casinos can affect the economic industry. It is believed that casinos will be able to draw in to urists and more income to a city through marketing and incentives to those across the U. S. It will bring more income to a town that otherwise would not have had visitors (Walker, 2007) (peg. 36). Both revenue and income for a small town is greatly increased when a casinos are created. (Ask. Com, n. D. )