CORPORATE FINANCE - ASSIGNMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

CORPORATE FINANCE - ASSIGNMENT - Essay Example mpany is evident and the company has declared a relatively high dividend of 57p per share in the year 2008 which is a significant improvement as far as last 3 year dividends declared are concerned. All in all, our mathematical method of computing WACC suggests that GSK is highly inclined towards debt financing, which is a prime reason behind the increment in WACC. We also conclude the fact that floating interest rate due to the current economic condition reduces the WACC and also consider the company’s performance which reflects on the net income which ultimately reflects on the dividends declared. It is prime evidence of the fact that the management takes all necessary measures to reduce the cost of doing business which is a major consideration for any and every business. The operating, investing and financing activities of a company are very handy and useful information for the users of financial infrmation, such as creditors, investors, financial analysts, etc, because these activities change the financial position of the company. Let us now look upon some of the important activities that make some impression on GSK’s financial position. GSK’s management has adopted sound business strategies in order to ensure smooth and efficient running of its operational activities. These strategies have expanded the cash generation from operations to  £ 9,055m in the year 2008 in comparison to previous years. The reason behind this high figure of  £9,055 million are the two reclassifications; the cash generated from operations is  £106 million lower than that given in GSK’s unaudited or projected accounts issued on 5th February 2009. Also keeping in view that drop-off in liquid investments for the current year has been reclassified from financing activities to investing activities. Some accounting heads that create changes in the trade payables may have been a result of the growth of products that the company introduced. GSK management computes inventories on a

Religion, Spirituality and Supreme Being Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Religion, Spirituality and Supreme Being - Essay Example Suffice it is to say that Chinese believe in a Supreme Being, the greatest and the only force that takes care of the functioning and evolution of the Cosmos. Turn the pages of Chinese history; one sees the interplay of different religions and their lasting impact on the Chinese psyche, under one spiritual umbrella. A truly spiritual man reposes faith on a tree, a mountain, a river or any facet of nature. Viewed from this angle the Chinese are spiritual. Religion comes next. Religion though basically faith-related, is to comply with a set of rules and regulations and rituals that have evolved as customs and traditions over a long period. So much so, that the individual loses sight of the intrinsic spiritual worth of that custom and follows them blindly. When one is member of a single organization and views all other faiths/organization with suspicion to start with, and contempt to follow, one develops fanaticism. A man without an abiding faith is not a truly religious individual. With out such an affirmation one will not be able to confine to ethical levels, which sustain the healthy growth of the society. Without faith, downward spiral of the society commences that will ultimately lead to uncontrollable social ills. Western vs. Chinese Religions To the Chinese, religion is not mere the view of life, but the way of life. Confucianism has been the eternal bridge that connects the peoples of a vast country like China. One may hail it as a philosophy and/or a religion. According to Confucianism heaven is the ultimate authority. That transcendental power engulfs everything, physical, secular, spiritual, nature and destiny. Shao Yong, Confucian scholar of the eleventh century CE, argues, â€Å"Error in human knowledge is due to the fact that we observe things from our own experience†¦.we must view things, not with our physical eyes, but with our mind, and not even with our mind, but with the principle inherent in things. When the boundary between subject and obj ect disappears, we will be able to see things as they are.†( xi, xii) Some of the western books on philosophy and religion are kindergarten stuffs as compared to the profundity of the Chinese spiritual lore. It is not necessary that the entire populace of the country needs to practice one faith; what is important is what type of people that faith molds! Religion and faith make it easier for the human being to reach the level of spirituality. Religions of China lay more importance on the inner development of an individual. Each individual contributes to the health of the Nation, just like each brick contributes to the strength of a magnificent mansion! Did religion exist in China prior to engagement with the West? This question is rather an affront to the people of China. China is the homeland of some of the greatest philosophies and religions in the world like, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism and Folk Religion. Even when Religion is associated with faith in a Supreme Being and membership in a single organization variable belief systems exist within that faith. Some intellectuals argue that Chinese people are not very religious. But the ground reality is, religious culture has, at all times, a profound effect in molding the psyche of the Chinese people. Not China, but the West has learned many finer aspects of religion and spirituality with interaction with the Chinese scholars and people. Shao Yong argues, â€Å"Christian missionaries and those influenced by Christian images of the eastern tradition have continuously played an important

Big Industries Essay Example for Free

Big Industries Essay Many things that happened in history had a major impact on the world, especially when the development of big industries came about. Such things as Go-Getters, people credited for bringing the country together, and railroads, which interconnected things, all helped begin the Industrial Revolution. It was started mainly in Western Europe- England. One of the greatest things established was the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, which made it easier to travel ocean to ocean from a month, to a week. The only problem was that there was no way to tell the exact time of departure and arrival. People counted on the sun, which was not most accurate. After a while, people relied on Philadelphia time, which still had its defaults. Shortly after, men were sent to go fix the problem, and in 1883, at noon, everyone set to Standard Time, (One of 4 time zones. ) This made it easier for people who used the train as transportation, to know the exact times of departure and arrival. Another development involved in railroad transportation was the invention of, Standard Gauge, created by George Stevenson. This was a gauge set at 4 feet, 8. 5 inches, that showed how far apart rails had to be from each other. By 1869, the Transcontinental Railroad was completed in standard gauge. The South changed over to it as well in 1886, and the entire nation used it. Later on, a Go-Getter named Rockefellar, made his fortune through oil. He organized companies into pools, where all prices were the same, and there was no competition. He made it so that there was no conspiracy, which was anything that involved different prices. He built a company, known as the Trustee, which controlled all the businesses. The first trust, was called Standard Oil. Two other Go-Getters were Morgan and Carnegie. Morgan was a rich organizer who bought all bankrupted companies, and Carnegie was poor, but made money in grain trading. Shortly after, he moved into the steel industry. In 1900, he made 25 million dollars in the steel business. Morgan offered to buy his steel business for 420-480 billion dollars, and soon after, he produced 60% of the countries steel. When rock oil came along, it changed the world. A man named Bissell opened a rock oil company in Western Pennsylvania. This company was used for medicinal purposes; it was not a moneymaker. He gave a Yale professor named Ben Sillimah, 500 dollars to figure out what to do with it. He figured out that if the oil was distilled, it could operate better than kerosene used as a lubricant. Their problem was getting oil, because it could only be found in lakes, so Bissell sent Edwin Drake to find another way to drill for oil. He stopped in Titusville, and found a man named Uncle Billy Smith to drill for him. It took him 3 months to get 70 feet below the surface. One day, he found oil, and it began the oil rush. Pennsylvania became an oil field. Rockefellar started his business in Cleveland, Ohio. He bought his first oil refinery in 1865. He went to a railroad company and said that he needed to transport barrels of oil, and if they did not help him with the expensive price to do so, he would go to another company to help him, and make them bankrupt. They agreed, and gave him a rebate. After that, he went to a little company and told them to sell their company to him, but they gave him practically nothing. Soon after, he built his own pipeline, where he manufactured oil lamps, and sold it to the Chinese. The oil industry grew and exploded when automobiles were invented. Between the years of 1860 and 1910, 23 million people immigrated from Europe. In 1860, the government passed a law, making a 10-hour workday for every worker, but no one went around enforcing it. People usually worked 12 hours. In 1868, an 8-hour workday law was passed, but it only applied to government work. Usually people got paid in piecework, which was that they would get paid for the amount of products they made. This was favorable for young people. Later on, a man named Fredrick Taylor developed Efficiency Work. In 1881, he examined the factories and everyones job, and put they into tasks. He put a time on each part of the task, which meant that they could not do as they pleased and everything was a on a time scale. There was also a product/craftsmen relationship. Workers were seen as machines. They worked in a strict environment. There was much noise, poor ventilation, and poor lighting. In 1882, there were up to 675 people killed a week. Woman also worked, but had poorer jobs, and poorer pay. They had simple task jobs, such as sewing. There was no room for advancement. In 1890, the U. S. conducted a census. 9% of the population owned 75% of the wealth. This caused resentment against workers. Cooperation instead of competition began in Europe in 1830. Karl Marx wrote a communist manifesto. Most people turned to trade unions. In 1837, a panic came about, and it was a year of depression. After the Civil War, unions came about more. They provided for members during hard times. In the 1860s and 1870s unions began to nationalize. In 1869, the Knights of Labor erupted. It organized many different groups, such as farmers, factory workers, office workers- skilled and unskilled, and African Americans. Many members believed in strikes, and won the strike against a railroad company, which boosted membership to over 700,000. It controlled money, votes, and fields of work. This was called the American Federation of Labor. A man named Samuel Gompers took people of one skill, and broke them down into specific areas. In 1892, he gained 250,000 members, but women and Africans were excluded. They felt that women took away bargaining power from the union. Employees working in a factory believed in collective bargaining, which instead of one person doing the same thing at a time to negotiate demands, one did everything for all. They tried to get closed shops, which was a place where you had to join the union to work there. Employers believed in forbidding meetings, and firing union organizers. They made workers promise to not join the unions, and refused to recognize union representatives. They thought that workers most powerful tool was a strike, which was a risk to ones entire life. In 1877, B O Railroad spread across the entire country, and demanded better working conditions and better pay. In 1892, the Homestead Strike was developed in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The Pinkertons were called upon to break up union strikes. The last of the great strikes was Pullmans Strike. Pullman was a train/car maker, who built for his workers. In 1894, he laid-off and cut wages, which made people very angry. His workers went to protest, so he fired 3 out of 5 of them. The strike spread throughout the country, so employers turned to the government and President Grover Cleveland for help. All laborers had to go back to work by the force of troops that had been sent. This started a trend so that whenever workers went on strike, owners could go to the federal government for help. A man named Thomas Edison, who started out in a city to improve technology for the stock ticker, received a bonus of 40,000 dollars, and left to open a business in New Jersey. He invented many things, but his favorite of them all was the Phonograph. He invented the light bulb with the help of Lewis Latimer, and hooked up New York City buildings to a power plant. By 1890, power plants were everywhere. He came up with a direct current, that went only 1 mile, but a man named Westinghouse had made a current that was alternating, and was a transformer. By 1898, there were 3,000 power stations powering over 2 million light bulbs. The affects that it had on daily lives were the birth of appliances, such as the refrigerator, and jobs were created. The development of the Industrial Revolution changed many things, and helped a good portion of them. Americans lives were made easier, and the good that it brought out is still used today. Great accomplishments will continue to occur, and make history such as the big explosion of the development of big industries.

In Defense of Liberty and Individuality Essay -- Essays Papers

In Defense of Liberty and Individuality It is a little-known fact that for the past century, every American president has been given a copy of John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty[1] upon entering office. Since its publication in 1859, On Liberty’s discussions of liberty and individuality have been a foundation for modern Western political thought and for the liberal democracy. Mill brings to light a unique perspective on the relationship between liberty and individuality, and in the end, on tolerance. According to Mill, individual liberty should be limited by one, and only one thing: the self-preservation of society and other individuals. To that end, man should be free to act and even more so to think in any form he wishes, without the suppression of ideas or opinions, as long as it does not prevent others from doing the same. This liberty will diversify society and allow individuality to flourish. For Mill, liberty—based on a recognition of man’s fallibility and right to self-preservation —breeds individuality, which in turn leads to the betterment of individual character and of society as a whole. Mill begins On Liberty by stating his goal explicitly: a discussion of civil or social liberty and more specifically, what power society or government can legitimately wield over the people—â€Å"the struggle between Liberty and Authority† (On Liberty, 3). As will be shown in more detail later, Mill seems to find himself, and the developed world, in a period of transition. He notes that historical liberty was based on seeking protection against the political tyranny of leaders who did not rule by the will of the people or for the good of the people. Reformers, unsatisfied with the state of affairs, tried to limit the r... ...nt of recognizing all sides of the truth, are principles applicable to men’s modes of action, not less than their opinions† (On Liberty, 58). He argues that liberty and individuality are not only related, but are inseparable. He grounds his reasoning in the utilitarian view that because man is not perfect, no opinion or life should be taken as correct or incorrect unless given a chance to be tested, and that society and individuals can only progress if these tests are allowed. Mill remarks that society is currently being dominated by an emerging conformity and mediocrity. He sees individuality as the only hope to curb this dangerous progression, and liberty as individuality’s creator and protector. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. The Modern Library: New York, 2002. In Defense of Liberty and Individuality Essay -- Essays Papers In Defense of Liberty and Individuality It is a little-known fact that for the past century, every American president has been given a copy of John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty[1] upon entering office. Since its publication in 1859, On Liberty’s discussions of liberty and individuality have been a foundation for modern Western political thought and for the liberal democracy. Mill brings to light a unique perspective on the relationship between liberty and individuality, and in the end, on tolerance. According to Mill, individual liberty should be limited by one, and only one thing: the self-preservation of society and other individuals. To that end, man should be free to act and even more so to think in any form he wishes, without the suppression of ideas or opinions, as long as it does not prevent others from doing the same. This liberty will diversify society and allow individuality to flourish. For Mill, liberty—based on a recognition of man’s fallibility and right to self-preservation —breeds individuality, which in turn leads to the betterment of individual character and of society as a whole. Mill begins On Liberty by stating his goal explicitly: a discussion of civil or social liberty and more specifically, what power society or government can legitimately wield over the people—â€Å"the struggle between Liberty and Authority† (On Liberty, 3). As will be shown in more detail later, Mill seems to find himself, and the developed world, in a period of transition. He notes that historical liberty was based on seeking protection against the political tyranny of leaders who did not rule by the will of the people or for the good of the people. Reformers, unsatisfied with the state of affairs, tried to limit the r... ...nt of recognizing all sides of the truth, are principles applicable to men’s modes of action, not less than their opinions† (On Liberty, 58). He argues that liberty and individuality are not only related, but are inseparable. He grounds his reasoning in the utilitarian view that because man is not perfect, no opinion or life should be taken as correct or incorrect unless given a chance to be tested, and that society and individuals can only progress if these tests are allowed. Mill remarks that society is currently being dominated by an emerging conformity and mediocrity. He sees individuality as the only hope to curb this dangerous progression, and liberty as individuality’s creator and protector. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Mill, John Stuart. On Liberty. The Modern Library: New York, 2002.

Cosi – Louis Nowra

Cosi by Louis Nowra conveys significant ideas about human nature. Through the play Cosi, the audience witnesses the lives of mentally ill people unfold before them. Central characters Lewis, Doug and Julie each show and express a different view upon the world and work towards their own idea of reality. They each express their individual ideas of the norm and work together to escape reality. Many themes such as love and infidelity as well as change are conveyed throughout the play. Cosi is a comic play written by Australian playwright, Louis Nowra. An interesting feature of the play is the use of the ‘play within a play' device, which gives the play a distinctive quality. This allows the issues and concerns of the play to be reflected and commented upon in he other play as both plays are juxtaposed. The themes of â€Å"Cosi Fan Tutte† deal with love, sex and fidelity are illustrated and commented upon in the modern context as seen through Henry's emotive language â€Å"Free love, women are not to be trusted† His opinion is generated through various experiences and general knowledge. The theme of love and fidelity causes controversy as the characters have different opinions which differ from each other. One of the main themes in Cosi, is the central idea of personal growth. All characters experience growth, however, Lewis' personal growth is the most significant as his simple dialogue states â€Å"no one can sing† exemplifying his negatively towards the patients. This is juxtaposed to his dialogue. â€Å"This comes first† when Lewis begins to see the play as his top prority. His transformation is outlined through Lucy's dialogue â€Å"Working with these people has changed you. showing Lucy's thoughts concering Lewis. Lewis' inner journey has provided him with a new understanding of not only himself but the world around him. Lewis is the protagonist of the play. To begin with, Lewis lacks confidence; the stage directions describe him as â€Å"not knowing what to say,† and talking â€Å"hesitantly† and â€Å"uncertainly. † Puttin g on the play for Lewis is motivated by his need for some quick cash. ‘What if someone forgets to take their medicine and-‘Is one of the many quotes that Lewis says that expresses his uncertainty. The play opens to a dark stage. This darkness is symbolic of many things. Firstly, it represents Lewis entering into a new world- very different from his own. The juxtaposition of light and dark represents his understanding of each world. The second idea represented is the loneliness of the patients within the institution. Like a child pulling the bed covers over his head, afraid of what he can't see and therefore could be lurking in the dark, society feared and misunderstood these people, keeping them locked away. Out of sight and therefore, seemingly out of mind. The final idea is that this opening symbolises Lewis entering into this world and shinning a light into their darkness. That is, coming into a world that he did not understand and therefore feared and offering the patients improvement in their lives and the potential for belonging, understanding and friendship. Doug is a pyromaniac – a firelighter – both in reality and symbolically. His actions threaten to get the show cancelled in its early stages when he sets fire to a toilet. Doug is the most sexually frank character asking questions like: â€Å"Was Lucy a virgin when you first had her? † and â€Å"How many did Lucy have before you? † He comes across as a crass character but his questions serve an important purpose. Like fires, his frank questions tend to spark actions or reactions. They are catalysts for thought. It’s Doug who reveals to Lucy that Julie has â€Å"gone for† Lewis, which leads to the final confrontation between Lucy and Lewis. Julie’s character is significant in a number of ways. Firstly, her views about love seem to be in direct opposition to Lucy’s (Lewis’ girlfriend). Julie has, â€Å"always thought that love was being foolish and stupid. It’s about being on the edge and I like being on the edge. † Whereas Lucy sees love as well down the list of priorities in life: â€Å"After bread, a shelter, equality, health, procreation, money comes maybe love. † However, interestingly, their characters are also similar. Julie says about men and fidelity: â€Å"I don’t like men’s double standards, I guess. Men want women to deceive them because it’ll prove their worst thoughts about women†¦Ã¢â‚¬  While Lucy says that men want women to â€Å"pretend they’re true and faithful† because â€Å"that’s how they want us to be, even if they’re not true and faithful themselves. † Julie, in a way, is an altered version of Lucy in the world of the mental institution. She is the character who completely brings Lewis into this new, strange world. Her kiss with him in the dark marks the full transition of Lewis. † I like the dark,† Julie says; because it’s in the dark that you can be who you really want to be.

Analysis Of Wendell Berry s The Pleasures Of Eating

A Reality Difficult to Stomach The food industry is devouring us. Big food corporations fixate on profits rather than the quality of their products, and humans have become victim to them. Humans are constantly looking for the most effortless way to obtain their next meal, whether it’d be from a fast food establishment or a frozen precooked dinner. Simultaneously, the big food corporations mass produce low-quality products and manipulate their prices to appeal to consumers. These eating habits yield negative effects to their health, paving a pathway to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other diseases. Humans no longer have an eye for the quality of the food they consume. For instance, in Wendell Berry’s â€Å"The Pleasures of Eating†, Berry discusses how humans are passive consumers of the food industry; meaning they lack insight regarding where their food is from or how it is produced. Additionally, Michael Pollan writes about the surplus of corn in America and how A mericans unknowingly consume immense amounts of it in his article entitled â€Å"When a Crop Becomes King†. Furthermore, â€Å"If You Pitch It, They Will Eat† by David Barboza is about how the food industry’s propaganda negatively affects today’s youth by advertising unhealthy eating habits tied into their favorite television shows, movies, video games, et cetera. Essentially, humans are ignorant because of their passiveness in purchasing products from the food industry. Humans are ignorant due to their lack of concern aboutShow MoreRelatedCooked, By Michael Pollan1782 Words   |  8 PagesEarth while walking through the supermarket pushing a shopping cart filled with an assortment of western dietary staples? Probably not, right? If you ve recently watched the Netflix documentary Cooked, released in early February 2016, this self-analysis may be a part of your shopping trips for the foreseeable future. Cooked was produced by Alex Gibney, and narrated by the man whose book, by the same name, inspired the series itself, Michael Pollan. Michael Pollan is a professor of journalism atRead MoreMarketing Management130471 Words   |  522 Pages Marketing management – an introduction Unit structure: 1. Introduction 2. Learning Objectives 3. Marketing Management 3.1. Evolution of marketing management 3.2. The Role of Marketing 3.3. Marketing concepts 3.4. The Marketing Mix (The 4 P s Of Marketing) 3.5. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Ethics in Marketing 4. Have you understood type questions 5. Summary 6. Exercises 7. References 1. INTRODUCTION: The apex body in United States of America for the Marketing functions, American

John F. Nash s A Beautiful Mind Mathematician

Nijatullah Arman Emma Cummings Microeconomics 22 November 2015 John Nash, a Beautiful Mind Mathematician John F. Nash shared the 1994 Nobel Prize with John Harsanyi and Reinhard Selten in economics for their work on the theory of non-cooperative games, in other words John Nash received a Nobel Prize for his work in Game theory. Except for one course in economics that he took as an undergraduate, Nash had not any formal training in economics. John Nash had a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1950, but the Nobel Prize he received four decades later was for the contribution he made to game theory in his 1950 Ph.D. thesis. In his work, he introduced the distinction between cooperative and non-cooperative games. In non-cooperative games every player is self-enforced, and in cooperative games, players can make agreements with other players. Nash’s contribution is the concept of equilibrium for non-cooperative games, which later came to be called a Nash equilibrium. In Nash equilibrium no player can improve his position by choosing a different strategy. Nash explained that as long as mixed strate gies are allowed, for a broad class of games, at least one equilibrium exist. Another Nash’s contribution is his reasoning about â€Å"the bargaining problem,† before Nash, economist thought the share of gains each of two parties to a bargain received was always indeterminate. But Nash got further by suggesting four conditions and showed mathematically that a unique solutionShow MoreRelatedBrothers Grimm and Beautiful Mind1109 Words   |  5 Pages * A Beautiful Mind Film Analysis A Beautiful Mind Film Analysis This movie is based on the true story of the brilliant mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. He made remarkable advancements in the field of mathematics at a young age and had a very promising future. Unfortunately, John Nash had problems deciphering the difference betwe Premium 855 Words 4 Pages * Film Analysis: a Beautiful Mind WEEK 3 A Beautiful Mind Film Analysis xxxxxxRead MoreAnalysis Of John Nash s The Same Name 875 Words   |  4 PagesThe film I will be analyzing in this paper is A Beautiful Mind, a biographical look at the life of John Nash during a period of his life where he struggles with mental illness. The movie itself is based on the novel of the same name by Sylvia Nasar. Although John Nash is a real person who s life is documented in his biography, I will be focusing my diagnosis solely on the events depicted in the film. John Nash is a gifted mathematician who has trouble with being social and forming close relationshipsRead MoreAnalysis of Movie a Beautiful Mind Essay1703 Words   |  7 PagesA Beautiful Mind The movie â€Å"A Beautiful Mind† directed by Ron Howard is based on the real story of mathematician John F. Nash Jr., played by Russell Crow. John Nash was a gifted young man from West Virginia that, while studying in Princeton, created his â€Å"game theory† also knows as â€Å"Nash equilibrium†, which was the break through in modern economics, and for which he got the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics later on in his life. Also except his extraordinary mind John Nash had a psychologicalRead MoreMental Disorders And Illness Of Dr. John Nash1482 Words   |  6 Pagesthat I reviewed was titled. A Beautiful Mind, which was an autobiographical drama which tracked the real life struggles of Dr. John Nash, a famous mathematician. He is responsible for much of the research that was done on Game Theory, Decision Making Process, as well as other economic theories. The film begins with his early collegiate life at Princeton, where he was received with mix feelings by his peers as he was awarded scholarship but did not come from money. Nash had much difficulty making friendsRead MoreVarian Solution153645 Words   |  615 Pagesthe range. 1.1 (3) Suppose that we have 8 people who want to rent an apartment. Their reservation prices are given below. (To keep the numbers small, think of these numbers as being daily rent payments.) Person Price = A = 40 B 25 C D 30 35 E 10 F 18 G 15 H 5 (a) Plot the market demand curve in the following graph. (Hint: When the market price is equal to some consumer i’s reservation price, there will be two diï ¬â‚¬erent quantities of apartments demanded, since consumer i will be indiï ¬â‚¬erent between