MSc Managerial Finance RESIT ASSIGNMENT JUNE 2013

MSc Managerial Finance RESIT JUNE 2013 - Assignment Example Ratio analysis is considered to be a very accurate and reliable tool when it comes to analyzing and interpret the financial outlook and performance of an entity. The main reason for performing a ratio analysis is to quantify the results of the financial operations of an entity and analyze them in the light of financial performance of the prior year(s) in order to assess different aspects of the financial feasibility. [Peavler, R. (2001)] The financial ratios are usually divided into various sub categories such as profitability, gearing and liquidity, each put emphasis on a different area of the financial outlook of the organization. These analyses form an integral part of the financial statement analysis, especially from the investor’s point of view, which are always looking for avenues to invest in countries having strengthened and stabilized financial ratios and representing an upward trend. It is of great significance that the ratios must be benchmarked against a standard i n order for them to possess a meaning. Keeping that into account, the comparison is usually conducted between companies portraying same business and financial risks, between industries and between different time periods of the same company. [Investopedia.com (2012] The financial ratio performance of The GAME Group Plc has been evaluated for the last three years in order to draw attention to various financial trends and significant changes over the period. The analysis is divided into three main categorize namely Profitability, Liquidity and Gearing. Profitability ratios identify how efficiently and effectively a company is utilizing its resources and how successful it has been in generating a desired rate of return for its shareholders and investors. Liquidity ratios measure the ability of the company to quickly convert its asset into liquid cash to settle its short term liabilities. Whereas, the Gearing ratios identifies the extent to which the company is financed through debt and to what degree the operations are being conducted from the finance raised through raising equity capital or otherwise. For the purpose of financial ratio analysis, the financial year from 2011-2009 has been evaluated in order to analyze the financial outlook of The GAME Group Plc. The information has been extracted from the annual report of the company. Profitability Ratios    2011 2010 2009    Profitability Ratios Gross profit margin 26.30% 27.80% 26.14% Net profit margin 1.75% 5.00% 6.31% ROI 2.33% 9.23% 11.48% ROCE 4.79% 18.24% 29.22% Gross profit margin is an analyzing tool which assists in identifying how effectively and efficiently the company is utilizing its raw materials [1], variable cost related to labor and fixed costs such as rent and depreciation of property plant and equipment. The ratio is calculated by dividing the sales revenue by the gross profit. If we analyze the gross profit margin trend of The GAME Group Plc it appears that there is decline in the percenta ge over the last financial year. The gross profit margin was the lowest in the financial year 2009 when the gross profit

Conference n events Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Conference n events - Essay Example ves on the impact of city centre redevelopment on the city of Portsmouth compared with a previous study on the impact of the Gunwharf development at Portsmouth Harbour as well as the impact of the Birmingham city centre redevelopment, focusing on the ICC, on the city of Birmingham. It ends with an optimistic recommendation supporting the pursuit of city centre redevelopment, as well as building of the Portsmouth Purpose-Built Conference Centre based on the limited research conducted. The city of Portsmouth, located in the county of Hampshire has a population nearing 190,000. It is the only city in England with a greater population density than inner London. Portsmouth is famous for its naval heritage and harbour. It has been a significant naval port for centuries and is home to the world’s oldest dry dock which is still in use today. It is one of the largest freight and ferry ports in the United Kingdom. A significant portion of the citys workforce works at Portsmouth Naval Dockyard, which during WWI was the largest industrial site in the world. According to the Portsmouth City Council, there are 97,200 jobs in the city, of which 35,000 are part time. As of April 2006, unemployment rate is at 2.5%, and average household income is  £25,700. Portsmouth has been awarded ‘Tourist City of the Year’ with over  £302 million income from 8.4 million visitors per year. The city of Portsmouth is a prime location for industry, commerce, leisure and p leasure, according to the Council, evidence by over 6,000 businesses including leading edge companies such as EADS Astrium, IBM UK, Pall Europe and McLaren Composites which have established bases in Portsmouth. (Portsmouth 2008) â€Å"The housing boom has also spurned economic growth with prices rising at a speed second only to London.† (Portsmouth Wiki 2008). The Portsmouth City Local Plan 2001-2011 has been prepared as the local development plan covering the whole of the Portsmouth City Council administrative area, under

Historians and Their Duties Essay Example for Free

Historians and Their Duties Essay Gorman timely presents the question â€Å"Do historians as historians have an ethical responsibility, and if so to whom? † in his essay Historians and their Duties especially in an era which has seen the use of history as a way to further political agenda, invent or distort historical fact to justify political undertakings. He rightfully disputes Richard Evans’ assertion of value-free reportage of history and the restrictive historian’s duty of presenting and interpreting knowledge. In saying that â€Å"Historians are simply not trained to make moral judgments†¦they have no expertise in these things,† Evans suggests they must evade the moral question, but this is impossible. Morality governs us all, including historians. I differ in Evans’ bloodless concept of historical duty, one I think he broke after being expert witness in Irving v. Penguin Books and Lipstadt (Fulford, 2001) where he became instrumental in the conviction of a historian for distorting historical interpretations about the Holocaust. I think history, to become a significant part in advancing knowledge and good in society, must refuse to be monastic or ornamental, but instead be engaging and useful to mankind. I find Butterfield’s thoughts on ethics provocative in the verbose Bentley essay Herbert Butterfield and the Ethics of Historiography. The most striking is his recommended passive attitude to international politics: â€Å"Whatever wicked things we may think are done†¦ †¦ we have no right to say a word†¦ until we have forgiven the sin and covered it up with love. It strikes as a worldview that is either naive or cruel because it seems to justify crimes against humanity. I find it hard to reconcile with his anti-Whiggish stance condemning the selective presentation of history from the viewpoint of the victor (Schweizer, 2007). Is he, in the process, recommending us to absolve Hitler or the U. S. which he disdained for dropping the A-bomb on Hiroshima? I believe he is, and historians, to his view, being limited in understanding, cannot truly uncover the hand of God or Providence, enough for them to deliberate moral judgments of history. Responses to Student Views Unlike the first student response, I support Butterfield’s criticism of selective or rejectionist approach to the interpretation of history with a bias to the â€Å"victor†. I share his view of world events as a historical process. This is something that historians must take careful consideration of when upholding â€Å"objectivity† and â€Å"truth† in the conduct of their profession. Historical events are not static, after all, but an accumulation of events, not people, of experiences, not single victories. Regarding his treatise on passivity and quietism, Butterfield no doubt shares the brand of Christian helplessness when it comes to appreciating world events. I agree with the second student response on his critique of Evans, who promotes value-free interpretation of history as a duty of the ideal historian. I believe that duties of historians extend far more than writing history, but of injecting analysis and viewpoints as well, as long as he does not distort or invent historical fact in doing so. On being â€Å"politically neutral†, I have to disagree. It is true that historians possess a great deal of influence in shaping public perception of how events should be interpreted. In analyzing historical facts, the historian must take a stand, and in this manner, he loses his neutrality. He cannot claim the correctness of two contradictory interpretations but must determine which interpretation finds basis in fact. Indeed, historians cannot exempt themselves from ethical responsibility just because they feel a presumptive need to produce a â€Å"dispassionate† account of history. I think Gorman wrote this essay assuming essay that historians today are a vast and eclectic mix with varying dispositions. He preempts those who have an overly â€Å"institutional† view of ethics in saying: â€Å"As business people or historians, we surely all share the same moral world. † I agree that historians have the ethical duty to pass moral judgment and those who find themselves incapable of deliberating such must undergo â€Å"moral education. †

English Has Become A Global Language

English Has Become A Global Language There are numerous different languages are being used throughout the world. Since there are too many different languages, a global language is produced. A language can achieve this status only when it is important to the world activities such as communication between countries, trading between different countries across the world and culture. It plays an important role and it is recognized by every country (Crystal, 2003). Crystal (2003) reports that English has already reached this stage and there are nearly a quarter of the worlds population around 1.2 to 1.5 billion people is already know and use English. Nowadays, English is the most widely spoken language in the world. English has become a global language not because of it is both easy to learn and is superior to other language but it has strong power base. The thesis of this essay is divided into a few parts, first look at what is a global language and what makes a language global then why English become a global language. Global language means a language which is using around the world and it is important to the world operation and influencing the domains of the human activity in the world. For example, global language is usually uses to write songs, use to trading throughout the world and communication between countries in the world. Global language is important to the world operation and a global language is needed in the world. A language has two mains ways to become global. It can be an official language and foreign language of countries. Official language means a language which wildly used as medium of communication, such as media, the domains as government and the education system (Crystal, 2003). It also can be the first language of few countries. Crystal (2003) claims that a language can have a global status when it is used by other countries around the world. Since a language cannot become global only use by itself. Foreign language means a language teaching in school which has no official status. A mother-tongue language becomes the foreign language and the official language is the step to make the language become global since a language cannot have a global status when it is not taken by the other countries. And English has finished the step to become an international language. English has become an international language not because it is easy to learn. There is no language is easy to learn and better, the difficulty of a language is depend on different learner and Lutz (2010) points that it depends on which level of the learner want to achieve, the higher level, the more difficult. Ellis (1985) says that age, aptitude, cognitive style, motivation and personalities are the five main aspects which separate individual learner differences in a different level. This means the difficulty of language are depends on learner. Ellis (1985) reports that aptitude is a main factor to divides the language learner to different level. If a learner has a good aptitude and a effective way to study a second language, the language will become easier. Learner motivation also is a important factor that make a learner learn a second language success. A learner can likely learn a second language to be success when the motivation is high. Crystal (2003) reports that the intrinsic structural properties, the size of its vocabulary or it has been a vehicle of a great literature in the past or it was once associated with a great culture or religion are the motivation of some learner to learn a language but not the reasons make the language become global. English has become an international language also not because it is superior to other language. Crystal (2003) says that there are many people claim that a language can become global because its sense beauty, clear expression or religious standing and these are the misleading beliefs. Language can become a global language not because the beauty of the language and the number of people who speak it but who speak the language. There are some properties of English makes it become global appealing but the characteristics of the language are not the main reason to be worth to learn but the relative importance between the language characteristics and the internationally value. This make a language be more appealing but not superior to the other languages. English may be more appealing than other languages but not superior to languages. Crystal (2003) says that language can become a global language not because the beauty of the language and the number of people who speak it but who speak the language. English can become a world language mainly because of the strong military power and economic power. Crystal (2003) shows that a language cannot become global without strong power-bases, such as political power, military power and economic power. These are the dominance of the language which makes a language become global. The military power is the main reason to make a language become a global language. When a country has a strong military power, the others need to listen to the language spoken by the people in that country. Which means it makes that language is used in many countries. Between the world war two, Britain set up a lot of colonies. English became the official language and foreign language of the colonies. This is very important to be the official language and foreign language of the colonies because it is a important step to make a language become global. English must be taken by others countries to become global because a language cannot become global when it is only use by the countries which English is the mother-tongue. So English become the official language and foreign language of the colonies becomes the base of English to become a global language. an economic power is still needed to maintain and expand the status of the language. Economically power became a main aspect which maintain and expand the status in the start of twentieth century. The economic start to growth and develop around the world and there are many new markets were born. There were many new technology are invent. Communication between countries is needed to develop the economic and market. Country has a stronger economically power, the first language of that country will become more important and it can maintain it longer and expand it to larger through the economy. Crystal (2003) claims that Britain had be come the worlds headmost industrial and trading country at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The growth of economy of the English is the fastest in the world. These built the foundation of English in the world through the colonies and the economy. These are the two mains reasons to give English a global status. In conclusion, English has become an international language is not because it is both easy to learn and is superior to other language because there is no language is superior to other language and the difficultly of a language is depend on the individual learner differences. The reasons why English can become a global language because the military and the economic power of the countries which speak English And English was in the right place at the right time. (Crystal, 2003:7-10) English set up the base to the world through out the world by Britain colonies. English is also maintained and expended by the economically power and military power of Britain and USA. That the reason why English can become the global language and why English can still be the global language until now.

A Biological Look at Suicide Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Efficiency Above All: A Biological Look at Suicide "And let me ask you this; the dead, where aren't they?" – Franz Wright, New Yorker Magazine, Oct. 6, 2003 "Dear Mom and Dad," the letter begins benignly, "Thank you for all of your commitment. But I am not a suitable daughter, and you will all be better off without me. Please realize I have done this for your own good." Nothing more. And beside it, Mr. and Mrs. A find their daughter, dead by her own hand. So begin the episodes of anguished soul-searching, of horrific "if-onlys" experienced by the family members of countless suicides. Anyone who has faced what Mr. and Mrs. A now grapple with knows that the girl is wrong: they will not be better off, not feel happier, without her. Yet each year, thousands of suicide victims express similar convictions: I am killing myself, they reassure us, for your own good. This thinking – this appeal for selflessness that our society cannot condone – where does it come from? Why, in truth, do people kill themselves? The problem of suicide ravages the minds of its survivors – of philosophers – and, more recently, of psychologists. We simply cannot understand it. Why suicide? While many non-biological scientists are inclined to define suicide as a conscious act – thereby excluding, perhaps, all non-human self-inflicted deaths (1), (2) – lets us stick with the more basic definition of suicide as self-murder, with or without cognitive "knowledge" or "intent" (***). And, as the concerned psychologists plunge on in their direction, let us examine this problem from a different standpoint, that of biology. In order to make sense of the biology of suicide, however, we must first understand the more general omnipresent phenomenon: death.... ...ants, a good description of self-destruction of cells, this time in plants http://www.sebiology.org/bulletin/july2002/plant.htm 9)Foucault , Michael. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Random House: New York, 1977. 10) Weizmann Institute of Science: Death of a Cell, a discussion of one series of studies of cellular apoptosis http://wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/site/EN/weizman.asp?pi=422&doc_id=436&interID=138&sq=138 NOT CITED IN TEXT 11) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/07/970722090258.htm>Stopping "Cellular Suicide" Could Boost Production in Biotech Labs, a look at some of the cons of cellular suicide in terms of technology 12)Researchers Find New Way to Trigger Self-Destruction of Certain Cancer Cells, a scheme for putting cellular suicide to use for humans! http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2003-06/sjcr-rfn061803.php

Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are isolated from mainstream :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are isolated from mainstream society. Discuss the ways in which Atticus Finch and one other character are set apart from the society of Maycomb To Kill A Mockingbird was set in the 1930s in the south of USA, Alabama. At that period, slavery had already been made illegal. But people in the south were a bitter about it because they still believed that they needed the slaves to maintain their cotton farms. They didn't treat the blacks as though they had the same social status as them and basically still treated them as though they were still slaves. This unfair prejudice was widespread throughout the south. "Maycomb", didn't actually exist but was meant to be the embodiment of a typical town in the south at that time. In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, she has created characters who seem a little different and thus, isolated from the rest of Maycomb's mainstream society. Prime examples of this isolation are Atticus and the Ewells; particularly Bob Ewell. Probably one of the most important and obvious point to Atticus Finch's isolation is his lack of prejudice towards black people. Although this might not be seen as something unusual at the present day, it was at that time. More obviously so because the story was set in the south where prejudice against the blacks was something that was taken for granted. The people in Maycomb knew that prejudice was wrong and yet, they didn't think that prejudice against the blacks was wrong. They saw it as a separate matter. An example of this would be the teacher telling the children that "Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced." The irony in it is that the reader knows that the majority of Maycomb are prejudiced against the blacks and to say that Hitler was wrong in being prejudiced was hypocritical. Atticus though, wasn't prejudiced and this was what made him different. He lets Calpurnia, a black woman, take care and act as a mother to his children. This though is not really seen by the people of Maycomb. To the people of Maycomb, Calpurnia is merely a housekeeper; but she's actually much more than that. As he told Aunt Alexandra when Aunt Alexandra wanted to dismiss her, "She tried to bring them up according to her lights, and Cal's lights are pretty good." Unlike others, he appreciates what Calpurnia did for him. "We couldn't operate a single day without Cal, have you ever thought of that? You think how much Cal does for you?" He says this to Scout when she wanted Atticus to Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are isolated from mainstream :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays Many characters in To Kill A Mockingbird are isolated from mainstream society. Discuss the ways in which Atticus Finch and one other character are set apart from the society of Maycomb To Kill A Mockingbird was set in the 1930s in the south of USA, Alabama. At that period, slavery had already been made illegal. But people in the south were a bitter about it because they still believed that they needed the slaves to maintain their cotton farms. They didn't treat the blacks as though they had the same social status as them and basically still treated them as though they were still slaves. This unfair prejudice was widespread throughout the south. "Maycomb", didn't actually exist but was meant to be the embodiment of a typical town in the south at that time. In Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird, she has created characters who seem a little different and thus, isolated from the rest of Maycomb's mainstream society. Prime examples of this isolation are Atticus and the Ewells; particularly Bob Ewell. Probably one of the most important and obvious point to Atticus Finch's isolation is his lack of prejudice towards black people. Although this might not be seen as something unusual at the present day, it was at that time. More obviously so because the story was set in the south where prejudice against the blacks was something that was taken for granted. The people in Maycomb knew that prejudice was wrong and yet, they didn't think that prejudice against the blacks was wrong. They saw it as a separate matter. An example of this would be the teacher telling the children that "Over here we don't believe in persecuting anybody. Persecution comes from people who are prejudiced." The irony in it is that the reader knows that the majority of Maycomb are prejudiced against the blacks and to say that Hitler was wrong in being prejudiced was hypocritical. Atticus though, wasn't prejudiced and this was what made him different. He lets Calpurnia, a black woman, take care and act as a mother to his children. This though is not really seen by the people of Maycomb. To the people of Maycomb, Calpurnia is merely a housekeeper; but she's actually much more than that. As he told Aunt Alexandra when Aunt Alexandra wanted to dismiss her, "She tried to bring them up according to her lights, and Cal's lights are pretty good." Unlike others, he appreciates what Calpurnia did for him. "We couldn't operate a single day without Cal, have you ever thought of that? You think how much Cal does for you?" He says this to Scout when she wanted Atticus to

American Culture vs. Jewish Culture: Success Stems from Beyond Marriage

To the modern married woman, nothing assures her of success in her career more that the support she receives from her husband in the pursuit of her career goals. While this kind of support is not always assured, the freedom to pursue her goals without any limitations from her husband works just as well.In fact, women have proved that they can multitask between marriage and a successful career. The medieval idea that a woman is only useful for reproduction purposes once she gets married does not hold water anymore. Through the ages, women have proven their resilience at defying all odds and proving to the word that they are worth more than the domestic roles they were given at marriage.Throughout history, the role of married women as wives, mothers and housekeeper was of much importance both to them and to the family unit.   In Judaism, these roles received respect and were the basis for the exemption of women from time barred commandments (Jones, M. 1999). Accordingly, the role tha t the woman played was given overriding significance to fulfilling commandments.Anti-feminists have over time used the exemption rule that Jewish women enjoyed to state that in actual sense the rule was a prohibition that women should not perform commandment. Although they are the epitome of feminine liberation, many people may not know that Jewish women have overtime fought for their liberation by quoting phrases that favor their position in the society from the  Ã‚   Talmud (Jones, M. 1999).Such rules allow them to perform commandments that are not time restricted. However, the detractors argue that even though they are recognized, as worth some services, they are not as highly rated as their male counterparts. To this, the women argue that the role a wife does not revolve around the synagogue. Many women hold this role in high regards and as a basis of fighting their critics.To understand the situation that women had to contend with through the centuries, one needs to look at t he evolution of marriage through the times.In the older days, marriage for women was out of lack of a better thing they could engage their time in all areas of life. Women were disadvantaged and never gained the skills required to lead successful lives without the support of the socially advantaged male figure.In most cases, women had no control over certain like education, as their roles were purely reserved for domestic duties. Early in life, young girls were taught that their sole purpose was marriage and child bearing (Gordis, D.H. 2008).When they were ripe of age, and considering that, the society had created a dependant mentality in them, the women were under pressure to get a suitable husband and get married. Ideally, the man was supposed to provide for the woman and any dependants that resulted from the relationship.The woman’s social standing was so low such that they would be used to secure business transactions. Accordingly, the fathers were at liberty to sell thei r daughters to whoever pleased them, whether the woman liked the man they were being sold off to or not.The 17th century however had better things for women. They begun to exert more power to the men and consequently demanded for more freedoms.They begun to resist marriage through coercion and instead put their personal happiness beyond  Ã‚   the pressure from family and the society. Though the start was shaky, the wars that hit America in 1775 and 1812 led to the rise of a more liberal group of women,   who took the roles that their husbands and still brought food to the table as well as handling their regular domestic chores.It has always been a common view for women to be seen as the source of human life- something they take pride in. The problem is that with this view come other negative thoughts too.Good examples are thoughts expressed by Thomas Aquinas, a theologian in the 13th century who said that men can be assisted by fellow men in other things except in conception. Fo r this reason, he referred to women as men’s helpmate and defined her unique role as conception.A Latin Church founder in the 4th century, St. Jerome also cast demeaning aspersion to women just like Thomas Aquinas did. To Jerome however, women were the devil’s gate. In fact, his sentiments were so string that he believed that women were the only way to wickedness and thus to him they were no more than perilous objects that men had to be wary of (Hooker, R. 1996).Naturally, women are considered the weaker sex, a fact that continued to perpetuate their low position in society. Because they were not as masculine as their male counterparts, they were relegated domestic chores such as milking cows, tending the children, drawing water and washing clothes.Men were oblivious of the fact that the energy required to do the collective household chores was even more than some of the hard labor than would do in the fields.   The psychological tolerance that women developed while attending to such chores was to benefit them years later  Ã‚   when the oppression against them by men became too much to bear.The â€Å"woman’s place is in the home† stereotype is a result of their biological role as birth givers. Before the 16th century, women did not express themselves in a way to portray that they were tired of the status quo. Instead, they submissively obeyed everything that the male figures in their lives would tell them to do. These male figures could be anybody from their fathers, husbands, brothers or cousins.The American CultureWomen present in the colonial America –whether black, natives or Hispanic- all had one common characteristic; they all obeyed the dictates of their husbands, fathers, brothers or masters.   Ã‚  It was not until later when British Settlers enlighten the view of these women and by indicating to them that men did not necessarily have to be rulers over them.A point in the case of John Locke, an English philosoph er   Ã‚  who was also renowned as an enlightenment thinker   and played a   major role in informing the American women that they had   individual identities   and needed to   care for ‘the self’ Shultz, S.K and Tishler W.P. 2003, pg 45).The American culture was such that a woman had no property rights. They could not sue, nor be sued and had no right to vote, divorce or speak on behalf of the family unit. It was until the 19th century that women gained rights to divorce and vote.The right to vote was granted to them through the passing of the 19th amendment in 1919. Eleven years earlier, women’s efforts to have a day set in their honor, which they wanted to name Mother’s day, had been rejected by the senate on the grounds that the day would demean motherhood (Shultz, S.K and Tishler W.P. 2003 pg52).The American Revolution which lasted for the better half of the 18th century was an eye opener for most women. One of the outstanding factors is tha t women’s roles at home changed. This because they were required to instill thoughts of patriotism to their children during a time when the husbands were out fighting the Britons.The absence of a male figure at home also contributed to more liberal wife-husband relationship. When the economic fortunes took a turn for the worse, women invariably took jobs formally reserved for men to earn extra money for household use. In rare cases, they would run the family businesses (Hartman, M.1996 pg 44).Surprisingly though, the little gains that American   women had   made during this time only worsened   men subordination towards them especially   because   they figured that women were threatening their roles as the head of household. Worse still, the laws saw to the disenfranchising and subordination of women both socially and legally (Lewis 2000).