Wal-Mart Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Wal-Mart - Research Paper Example For small businesses operating locally the entrance of Wal-Mart would have a series of disadvantages: at a first level, Wal-Mart could provide to consumers products that would not be available through local stores (Hill & Jones 2007). In fact, in Wal-Mart consumers would have the chance to choose among a high range of products; as a result, consumers would prefer to visit Wal-Mart, instead of local stores, for their shopping. Moreover, Wal-Mart, as a megastore, is able to keep the price of its products low (Hill & Jones 2007). The owners of local stores are often unable to decrease the price of their products/ services due to the fact that their sales are at a relatively low level, at least compared to the sales of megastores (Hill & Jones 2007). Wal-Mart has been already accused as leading many owners of small businesses to stop business activities, a fact that is related to the non-potential of these individuals to lower the price of their products (Kotler & Armstrong 2009, p.410). In other words, local businesses would be forced to close in the case of the entrance of Wal-Mart in their market; such decision would be unavoidable mostly due to the following two reasons: local stores would not be able to provide to consumers the high range of products available at Wal-Mart. Also, local stores could not offer their products at the price that Wal-Mart does. The advanced technology available at Wal-Mart could also lead to customer service of high quality, at least compared to local stores (Armstrong et al. 2009, p.380). A problem of unfair competition would possible appear in the above case. At this point, reference should made to the study of Guy (2007) where the following issue is highlighted: before allowing the establishment of a megastore in their town, the authorities of a small town would primarily check whether the structure/ design of their town allows such plan

Why I Deserve the Jennifer Velasco Scholarship Essay Example for Free

Why I Deserve the Jennifer Velasco Scholarship Essay When I made the Sterling Varsity tennis team I set up a goal for myself and it was to be the number one in the team, I started playing tennis when I was a freshman and I also joined the USTA tennis association. Tennis became to be more than a passion to me it was even more than a hobby, I really enjoy spending time in the courts and listening to all my coaches giving me advice of how to get better. From my freshman year to my senior year I practiced tennis every single day of the week I could even on most weekends, I took lessons and I also volunteered to help coaching the 10 and under kids in the last summer with Coach Rene Ronquillo. I got 3rd place on my freshman district tournament and on my sophomore year got 1st place in district, I made the sterling varsity tennis team my junior year and worked really hard to be the in the top 5 of the boys ladder. In January 2011 I got the opportunity to go a whole weekend with the tennis team to Newks Tennis Ranch in New Braunfels, Texas. Which is a professional tennis academy and out of 70 players I got the scholarship for a tennis summer camp at Newks tennis ranch. At the end of the 2011 fall Team Tennis Season I was awarded as the player who made the most improvement to his overall game on the men’s team. I took advantage of the scholarship I got for the Newks Tennis Summer Camp in 2012 and came back and played all my challenge matches and made the number 1 player in the boys ladder for the 2012 fall Team Tennis Season. I was also named first team All-District for the 2012 fall season. In January 2013 I had another opportunity to go to Newks Tennis Ranch for a whole weekend with the tennis team and got the scholarship for a second time out of 74 players. Currently I’ve been playing mixed doubles and we got 1st place on our district tournament. Tennis has definitely made me a better person in life and I thank to all the people who have support me through all my 4 years of tennis in high school. I hope I can win the Jennifer Velasco scholarship because it means a lot to me and I have worked very hard to get on where I am right now and I can say that all the effort was well worth it.

Is Profit Maximization Consistent With Wealth Maximization Finance Essay

Is Profit Maximization Consistent With Wealth Maximization Finance Essay The objective of the firm is to make profits by meeting the needs of stakeholders. Generally, ceteris paribus, the objective of the firm is to maximize its ultimate value through profit maximization, while incurring the lowest costs. Basically, the ultimate objective of the firm is to acquire maximum profits and wealth for its shareholders. It is important to note that, the value of the firm is signified by the existing market prices of the corporations common stock market. In this respect, the maximization of the shareholders wealth is enhanced by the acquiring of maximum profits at the lowest level of expenditure. As it has been revealed, there exists a very strong co-relation between profit maximization and wealth maximization, where each of them forms part of the objective of the firm. In this case, the total earnings do not represent the ultimate value of the corporation but the profits accrued from the employed resources. Generally, any firm would be run towards acquirement of high profits which represent its actual wealth for its shareholders (Westerfield 23-75). Firms exist to meet the needs of stakeholders and to provide an efficient way of producing in a non-price environment. Firms exist to meet the needs of the populace in an efficient and a sustainable manner. 2. Is profit maximization consistent with wealth maximization? Why or why not? Profit maximization is not consistent with wealth maximization. It has some drawbacks and cannot be used for effective evaluation on the performance of the firm. On the other hand, wealth maximization, which is also known as the net present worth of a firm can be used to evaluate the performance of the firm. Wealth maximization is seen as more comprehensive and superior than profit maximization. Profit maximization deals with minimizing short term profits and is not forward-looking. Again, the profit maximization objective does not factor in time value of money considerations. Therefore wealth maximization is superior because it is a long term objective and considers the time value of money by discounting cash flows to the present time. Additionally, wealth maximization considers uncertainty by discounting at the required rate of return and considering the other stakeholders of the firm. Profit Maximization Wealth Maximization It is not clear on when the profit is counted as profit whether this should be before or after tax. Another uncertainty involves the long-term or short-term profit. Short term profit can be foregone by avoiding some expenditure but in the long run, these expenditures have to be paid for. Therefore long term profit has to be considered, and not short term profit. Wealth maximization shows the present value of benefits minus the cost of the investment. Profit maximization does not factor in risk. Different projects have different degrees of risk of future earnings. A project with fluctuating earnings is not the same as one with certainty earnings. By not looking at the risk factor of projects, profit maximization cannot be used for the operational objective of the firm. Risk is considered in wealth maximization as the discounted rate used to determine the present value of future cash flows factors in the risk. Lastly, profit maximization does not factor in the time value of money. A dollar spent today is not equivalent to the same dollar spent tomorrow. Cash drawn from a project in different years is considered the same, which is not realistic. Wealth maximization considers the time value of money as the cash drawn from a project in different years are not the same. The discounted rate that determines the present value of future cash flows shows both risk and time. 3. Describe the three main decisions in Corporate Finance The three main decisions in Corporate Finance are: (a) Investment Decision (Allocation) There are two key questions that are looked into when a firm wants to make an investment. What is a good investment? The firm looks at the various investment options in the market, for instance real estate investments or stocks investments. The risk involved and the returns to be gained. Where will the firms resources be invested? Here, it is important that the firm does not put all their resources into one basket. For instance, the firm may decide to invest a certain percentage of their resources in either stocks or real estate. Further, the pattern and the level of investment would be determined in which each investment plan is evaluated on the risks involved together with its ultimate returns expected. It is important to note that, the pattern of investment would still be an important factor to consider since each individual plan of investment would be accompanied with its benefits and risks. (b) Financing Decision Primarily, the financial decision considers where the firm would raise the funds for these investments. Will the firm use the shareholders/owners funds or borrow from the bank? The mix of equity and debt is what is considered in the financing decision. When, where and how to acquire the money to meet the firms needs. In this case, the finance managers ought to decide on the financing strategy of the firm, in which the evaluation of various sources of finance to cater for the running of firms activities would be made. Basically, each source of capital would be evaluated with the level of interests to be paid for the amount of money acquired. Capital Structure Modigliani y Miller (1958) how much should a firm borrow? (c) Dividend Decision The dividend decision is concerned with how much of the firm profits should be given to the shareholders, and how much of it should be reinvested. A dividend policy should be determined. the dividends decision would be made in order to determine the amount of the profits to be ploughed back into the firm depending on the amount of profits made (Westerfield 23-75). Dividend policy Modigliani y Miller (1961) another irrelevance proposition Another finance decision worth mentioning is the liquidity decision, whereby a firm looks at how to manage working capital and its components. 4. What is a hurdle rate? Why is it important? Also known as the cut off rate, the hurdle rate is the minimum expected return a firm will consider in accepting investment decisions. If a firms proposal own internal rate of return, r, is greater than the minimum rate of return, k, then it is acceptable. The r is internal to the project while the k (hurdle rate) is external to the project. The hurdle rate is used to make a decision based on the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) method which takes into account the cash flows occurring at different times and adjusts them according to the time value of money. The hurdle rate is very important as it enhances the planning of the investment patterns and levels since the firm establishes investment patterns which would the highest possible minimum returns. Basically, hurdle rate determines on how to acquire investment capitals as those capital sources with very high interest rates would not be economical to choose. The hurdle rate represents the internal rate of return of any investment since the finance manager would be in a position to decide on various allocation within the firm, on the basis of the hurdle rate set in the firm. 5. What are the main components of a discount rate? The discount rate is the rate at which money values are discounted at various times, within an investment period. Discount rates are comprised of three main components which include the interest rate of money, level of inflation and risk premiums involved. More specifically, the interests rates at which money capital is allocated comprises of the discount rates in any projected investment project. Specifically, the interest rate of money is the return got from delaying consumption. More so, the level of inflation in the country determines the value of money. This is because the level of inflation determines the purchasing power of money, which represents the ultimate value of money. Lastly, risks involved in the investment venture are another important component of the discount rate. Generally, highly risky business ventures would always have high discount rates. In this respect therefore, it would be very important for the finance manager to determine the discount rates to be used i n the calculation of the cash-flows in the business venture (Westerfield 23-75). 6. Define the Efficient Market Hypothesis Efficient market hypothesis is an investment assumption that postulates that, financial markets are efficient in providing information about the market returns from any form of investment. More specifically, in efficient market hypothesis, investors are controlled by the existing market conditions in terms of the financial stability or conditions of the money market. It is important to note that, inflation level and economic conditions of the country determines a lot on the efficiency of the financial information given by the market in terms of money interests and capital returns. In this regard, investors need to evaluate their investment ventures on the basis of the existing conditions or the information got from the financial markets which are considered to be the accurate in providing financial information (Higgins 12-43). 7. Describe the three forms of efficiency The 3 forms of efficiency are the strong-form efficiency, semi-strong efficiency and weak-form efficiency. In the form weak-form efficiency, all the information in the past stock-price fluctuations is totally shown in the present prices. This means that, the information provided is to compare the current price levels with the past prices. The semi-strong form involves the reflection of all publicly available data about the current prices in the market. In this form, there is some information that is withheld among the investors but most of the information is availed to the general public. On the other hand, the strong-form of efficiency in the market reflects all relevant information in the money market, whether withheld or publicly available. Here, the investors have the opportunity to explore in-depth all the trends of the money market in order to make reliable information about their investment (Westerfield 23-75). 8. What is the difference between Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis? Technical Analysis Fundamental Analysis Technical analysis is an appraisal strategy in the money market that looks at the price movements in the market in order to establish their security levels for investors to decide on how to choose their investment plans. Fundamental analysis on the other hand refers to the economic factors facing the money market in which each of the statement is presented in financial statements as opposed to technical analysis which uses using charts. Technical analysts usually use information found in charts and graphs to determine the financial worth of the company. Generally, fundamental analysis determines the ultimate value of the company by examining its financial statements like balance sheets and income statements among others. technical analysts use shorter periods of time in their determination of the worth of the company Fundamental analysis involves a log period of time in which the financial worth of the business ought to be devised using subsequent fiscal periods but not one period Information derived from (Higgins 12-43) 9. Do you believe markets are efficient? I believe that markets are not as efficient as economists reveal that they are. The major reason is because various market conditions are controlled by external factors which they have no control over them. In this respect, it would be difficult to determine the efficiency of the market or to predict the conditions of the market on considerations that, these external factors are also controlled by other forces. For instance, markets are often controlled by inflation rates and interest rates which are factors beyond the control of the market itself. On this consideration, it would be very important for any investor to note the unpredictability of the markets in order to make appropriate investments. There is no perfect information in the market. It is on this basis therefore that I believe that markets are not efficient at all (Westerfield 23-75). 10. Efficient Market Hypothesis Which of the following statements are true if the efficient market hypothesis holds? a. It implies that future events can be forecast with perfect accuracy. b. It implies that prices reflect all available information. c. It implies that security prices change for no discernible reason. d. It implies that prices do not fluctuate. If efficient market hypothesis holds, the future events can be forecasted with ease. This is because, all the information concerning stocks in the stock market would be well presented in a more accurate way, to reflect on the subsequent trends expected in the future in the market. In this respect therefore, if the efficient market hypothesis holds, it would enhance easiness in predicting any future trends of investment as the information in the market would be quite reliable. More so, if this hypothesis holds, the information provided would be reflecting all the prices that would be available in the market. This is because; every price presented in the market information would greatly imply a predictive nature of the prices in the future markets. Generally, if the efficient market hypothesis holds, then the above two statements would be true (Higgins 12-43).

Community-based Policing: The Future of Law Enforcement :: Law Enforcement Essays

OUTLINE Thesis:Community-based policing provides hope for the future of Law enforcement. I. Introduction to C.B.P. A.The roots of C.B.P. B.So what is community? II.The two elements of C.B.P. law enforcement philosophy are: A. Community partnership. B. Problem solving. III. The reaction of police to change. IV. The future of C.B.P. A. A first step in C.B.P. B. Measuring success. C. Crime prevention. V. Conclusion. INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNITY-BASED POLICING. "In Philadelphia, a pulsating tavern juke box that has caused irate neighbors to log 500 Police calls in six months, was moved away from a common wall with the adjoining building.@ (Author unknown US News) The calls stopped. Though it seems simple, such a move is at the heart of what we know as Community-based Policing. The movement toward C.B.P. has gained momentum in recent years. As Police and community leaders search for more effective ways to enhance the sense of public safety and the quality of life in their communities. We have accepted C.B.P in one police department after another,and we are ready now to agree that "C.B.P. provides hope for the future of Law enforcement." We can trace the seed of C.B.P. back to Sir Robert Peel, the father of the modern Police system, who said "the Police is the public and the public are the Police"(Braiden). For different reasons, the Police lost sight of that principle defining their relationship with the public. Modern historians have said that the reform era in government, which started in the 1900's to combat corruption, along with the move toward the professional image of police work, resulted in the separation of Police and Community (Kelling, Moore, pg-5) Reform style Policing emerged in the 50s and 60s with rotating shifts and frequent movement of officers, (to prevent corruption). Random patrolling (a reactive police technique) was also detrimental to the link between Police and public. The police adopted a policy of centralized control to ensure compliance with set standards, and to encourage a professional aura of impartiality. All these policies along with the use of automobiles, telephones, and other technological advances helped distance the Police more. The calls for service increased as urban population and crime awareness increased, making the police almost totally reactive. The introduction of computers only encouraged that false idea of "quick" reactive response and a statistical view toward measuring success in policing(rather than analyzing the local needs of the community.) By the late 70's the communities had become a diverse pool of nationalities, subcultures, and attitudes. People identified themselves as parts of separate groups and at times the Police was not part of what they called "us.@ During this time, a burst of new ideas and changes in the sociopolitical and economic

Globalization Drivers Essay

Globalization drivers Ultra luxury car industry Luxury car industry There are four different kinds of levels in the luxury car industry. The levels divide the actors of the market into different levels depending on their grade of luxury. We have chosen to focus on the highest level of luxury cars; the ultra luxury cars. The main players of this level are companies such as Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, but the level also includes the not as big companies as Cadillac, Aston Martin and Maserati 1. All these companies have in common is that they are international companies with a two-way communication between the head quarters and the different desks scattered around the world. The head quarters develop and supplies the desks with main car models while the desks receives the customers preferences so they together can produce custom made cars 2. Segment The companies in the Ultra Luxury Cars industry directs to a narrow group of costumers, which belongs to the upper class or upper middle class all over the world. They are all sharing almost the same main needs, which consists of status, speed and transportation. The customers achieve these needs by buying the ultra luxury cars because they represent a very high level of exclusivity, individuality and craftsmanship 3. Since the customers share the same needs overall, it could be termed as Levitt’s (1983) convergence perspective. Where the needs of customers all over the world are becoming more converged, which is typical for the market of luxury goods. Since the customers in the segment, which the ultra luxury car companies focus on, share overall the same needs and then they are localized all over the world, the industry considers a globalized market. Most companies that are involved in buying heavy machinery or other large purchases have high fixed costs and the automobile industry is no exception to this. However there are still differenes within the whole industry, for example the demand and production of a Porsche may not be as huge as with Toyota for example, which essentially means that a luxury car’s fixed cost per unit is higher than an ordinary family car’s. The rent of a factory and all the other different expenses to keep the production running form the fixed costs. As the labour expenses for example are a lot cheaper in Asia, most car companies, including the luxury ones, have migrated their production there. The pressure for globalization is clear, but still there are some luxury automobile companies that have stayed loyal to manufacturing the cars in their country of origin, such as Aston Martin. (https://www. honk. com/aston-martin) Experience curve Most luxury automobile companies have many decades of experience in manufacturing their cars, which means both skilled expertise in technology as well as years of building a strong and distinguished brand. In luxury cars especially the significance of the brand is very important as many of the customers purchase these cars only for the status symbol that they give its owner. Building a solid brand usually takes years of work in exceeding the customers expectations, it demands strong-willed marketing, filling a specific niche at a right time. Sourcing Luxury automobile companies usually favour centralized purchasing which means that they buy the parts that they need from one location for all the locations within the organisation. This provides standardization of a product which is quite essential in luxury cars, as well as some cost-savings. Automakers universally outsource production of parts or sections of vehicles, and for example Porsche is known to use a Finnish company, Valmet Automotive, to assemble its two main product lines, the Cayman and the Boxster. (http://www. just-auto. com/news/porsche-to-outsource-boxster-production-to-osnabrueck_id121470. aspx)Product development costs Because of the nature of the product, the development and research of new technologies can be quite costly within the automobile industry. Technological changes The last decades the technical development for luxury automobiles has gone very quickly. For example the first luxury automobiles were noted as luxury just by having seat heating or high beams. Nowadays luxury is more about buttons for technological equipment’s, voice command, fuel efficiency and safety for the car driver. With having this thoughts in aspect, you can considerate the technical changes in the luxury automobiles industry as a pressure for globalization. Of course there are still some exceptions, for example Rolls Royce that is having a more of a British approach in their cars, with less buttons and simpler interior and equipment. These things can point against a more localization approach. Favourable logistics The logistics for the luxury automobiles depends for how long distance they have to be transported, so for the consumers it will be cheaper if they can find an automobile as close as possible. Another aspect is that depending from which country the automobile is imported from you have to pay a different amount of taxes and insurance fees and even other regulations can appear. Therefore the companies will have an advantage if they are locally settled, even though the really rich clients won’t care about the cost for the transports. Actually this may be why many automobile companies has started factories in Asia, though for example the German automobile companies had made a between 30-40 % sale growth in China. They may by this decision not only gain low labour costs but also lower transport costs. Country specific differences If you look at last year’s statistic for automobiles producing, low labour cost countries like China, Japan, South Korea and India is all in the top five, the other country in top five is Germany. This shows that many automobile brands have factories in these countries just for the low labour costs. In Germany the automobile industry is one of the biggest employers in the country, one reason is that Germany have many famous car brands and they have a lot of experience in the country. Between the different luxury automobile brands it differ a lot from where they are produced, like Mercedes-Benz have factories in a lot of different countries, Ferrari is only produced in one city and like for example Aston Martin is only produced in cities in UK. Therefore you can say that there is different kind of localization and globalization approaches. Competitive globalisation driver The next driver concerns the competitive environment, eg the amount of competition from other countries and continents as well as if there is any interdependence between countries. According to Yip (2003), globalised competitors and country interdependence are pressures for globalization. Globalised competitors In the luxury car industry, there are competitors from for example the US (Cadillac), Germany (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, Audi), Italy (Maserati, Ferrari), Japan (Lexus, Acura) and England (Aston Martin, Rolls-Royce). According to Stonehouse et al (2004) a company that faces global competition has to compete on global terms as well. Therefore these facts indicate that this specific industry has become or are becoming globalized since there, given the examples above, are competitors from Europe, Asia and North America. Interdependece of countries In today’s economy and as a result of specialization, companies are focusing on their core competences. For example, the German brand Mercedes are mainly focusing on innovation and design (Mercedes. com) while Acura have environmental friendly performance and innovation in the center of attention (acura. com). The headquarter of Mercedes is placed in Stuttgart and the production is taking place in Germany, Japan, USA, France, England and

Romeo Must Die Critiscism essays

Romeo Must Die Critiscism essays Action-packed, witty, sophisticated, interesting, riveting- these are just a few of the words that can be used to describe Romeo Must Die, a gripping film directed by mastermind Andrzej Bartkowiak. This superb film features an all-star line of actors, including the beautiful Aaliyah Haughton, the talented Jet Li, DMX, Anthony Anderson, Delroy Lindo, Russell Wong, Isaiah Washington, Edoardo Ballerini and Henry O. Aaliyah plays the part of Trish, the daughter of Isaak ODay (Lindo). Jet Li is Han Sing, the eldest son of Chu Sing (Henry O). DMX is a club owner, named Silk. Anthony Anderson plays the part of one of Isaak ODays business partners, as well as Trishs bodyguard. Isaiah Washington plays Mac, another business partner of ODay. Russell Wong plays the role of Kai, a business partner of Chu Sing. Edoardo Ballerini plays Vincent Roth, a cunning businessman with no ties to either of the family, with the exception of a mutual interest in money. Set in the year 2000, the majority of this film occurs at the Oakland- San Francisco waterfront, an area that contains properties that are of extreme value. A small part takes place in Hong Kong. The setting of the waterfront is greatly important to the film, as the main conflict concerns its properties. The main characters in this movie are Trish ODay, Han Sing, Kai, Chu Sing, Mac, Vincent Roth and Isaak ODay. Isaak ODay and Chu Sing are the heads of two feuding families, and are also major players in a business deal concerning waterfront properties, which are to be turned into a major moneymaking stadium. The ODays are African- American, and the Sings are Chinese. Issak ODay, though he appears tough, seems to be soft at heart, especially when it concerns his daughter Trish. Delroy Lindo does an excellent job of showing both sides of Mr. ODays character. You can tell just by loo...