American Home Products Essay Example

American Home Products Essay Example American Home Products Paper American Home Products Paper American Home Products (AHP) is a capital structure case. For the purpose of this analysis it is assumed that AHP currently has no debt. In other words it is an unlevered company. The focus of this case is that with the retirement of AHPs CEO there is an opportunity to change the capital structure of the firm by adding some debt. The issue is should debt be added and, if so, how much debt should be added. Four options will be analyzed: 0%, 30%, 50%, and 70%. Currently, due to the lack of debt, this firm only faces operating risk as opposed to financial risk. AHP has a solid five year compound annual growth rate in both earnings and dividends per share of 12.4% and 13.6% respectively. This compares favorably to a proxy company, Warner-Lambert, where the five year compound annual growth rate in both earnings and dividends per share was 3.0% and 8.0% respectively. Overall, the unlevered AHP has a history of solid returns, good growth and in general low business risk. Since we are dealing with accounting numbers in this case, certain assumptions were made for this analysis. First, since AHP has high quality earnings it is assumed that the cash and accounting numbers will be close over the long term. Second, the level of debt taken on in these scenarios is going to go into perpetuity, getting replaced as it matures. Also the risk level of future tax shields is the same as the risk level of the debt of the firm. Finally it is assumed that the firm can borrow in all three scenarios at 14%. The analysis compares AHP issuing debt and retiring equity in three scenarios: 30%, 50%, and 70%. As depicted in Figure 1, Appendix A, the unlevered value of the firm (VU) is $4665.0 million. The required return, ru, was calculated using the constant dividend growth model where the dividends/share of $1.90 divided by a current stock price of $30/share plus an average dividend increase since 1973 of 12.12% per year yielding an ru = 18.45%. When debt occurs in each scenario the market price of the firm also changes. Figure 1 in Appendix A depicts the new stock price/share for each proposed level of debt. The current price of $30/share would increase to $31.58/share for 30%, $32.21 for 50%, and $33.16/share for 50%. These new values were calculated using the current dividend ratio (unlevered stock price/share divided by the current dividend) of $30/$1.90 = 15.79. This ratio was then multiplied by the dividends per share for each of the scenarios resulting in the above stock prices. To calculate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC) for each of the debt scenario we need to know the cost of debt and the cost of equity. The before-tax cost of debt is given in the case as 14%. To calculate the cost of equity, we can again turn to the constant growth model where r = (D1/P0 + g) = $2.13/$30 + 12.12% = 19.22% for the unlevered firm where D1 is the expected dividend in 1982, P0 is the current stock price, and 12.12% is the average % increase in dividends year-over-year. The results for the cost of equity at each debt level are listed in Appendix A, figure 1: 18.86%, 18.73%, and 18.54% for the 30%, 50%, and 70% scenarios respectively. Using the above values for cost of equity and debt, along with debt and equity values given in this case the WACC can now be calculated resulting in 19.22%, 17.40%, 16.36%, and 15.36% for the 0%, 30%, 50%, and 70% scenarios respectively. If the firm is able to earn simply its WACC (NPV = 0), the value of the firm is going to increase by the investment amount. If the firm earns more than its WACC, then the value of the firm should increase by the investment amount plus the amount captured by the shareholders in the positive NPV resulting in a higher market price. Of course, if the NPV is negative the value of the firm goes up less than the value of the investment. The interest expenses given in this case are a return on the debt. As discussed in class, when calculating return on assets (ROA) we can not simply divide net income by assets if a firm is using debt financing because there is a downward bias due to the interest expense. ROA determines profitability of the assets. We need to add the interest expense times (1-tax rate) to the net income before dividing by assets resulting in an ROA of 18.81% for the unlevered scenario and 20.21% for each of our debt scenarios. Comparing firm ROA against WACC for each debt scenario shows we are earning more than WACC in each case, which is good. We are not destroying shareholder value in any of these cases. ROA is the same across the scenarios since the operating risk and performance are all the same. However, ROE is not the same. The levered firm is able to earn favorable financial leverage (a.k.a. trading on the equity). ROE is listed in Figure 1 and in the case of the levered firm ROE ROA because the firm is able to earn more of those funds than the after-tax cost of debt. There is favorable financial leverage in all proposed scenarios. To determine where there is favorable versus unfavorable leverage we can perform an earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) profitability analysis. Figure 2 in Appendix B lists the calculated EBIT indifference levels with each scenario compared against one another and Figure 3 plots the unlevered firm against each proposed debt case. For expected EBIT $130.4 million we have unfavorable leverage for all debt scenarios. Whereas for any value of EBIT ~$175 million we have favorable financial leverage with the 70% scenario. The optimal capital structure is the point where the value of the firm is maximized and WACC is minimized. Adding too much debt will decrease the value of the firm due to agency and expense costs. Finally, we can compare the proposed capital structures by calculating ROA and ROE for the EBIT indifference levels. The table in Appendix C, Figure 4 lists the previously calculated indifference levels along with the new calculations for ROA and ROE at these levels. Since this comparison is limited to comparing a capital structure with debt versus an all-equity structure, ROA=ROE=after-tax cost of debt at the EBIT indifference levels. Figure 5 shows that for EBIT levels ~$130 million, the best choice is 0% debt. For EBIT levels between ~$130 and ~$152 million, the best choice is 30% debt. Between ~$152 and ~$165 million, the best option is 50% debt. And for EBIT above $165 million, the best choice is 70% debt. In summary, AHP should implement a more aggressive capital structure by leveraging the company to 70% debt since EBIT will be substantially above $165 million. I believe the capital markets would favor AHP adopting my proposed capital structure since the resulting ROE increases would show more profitability and the stock price would increase. There would be a higher degree of operating risk but given the firms outstanding past performance, solid growth, and expected future earnings this should not pose a problem.

Canis Major Facts and Description

Canis Major Facts and Description In ancient times, people saw all kinds of gods, goddesses, heroes, and fantastical animals in the patterns of stars in the night sky. They told legends about those figures, tales that not only taught the sky, but contained teachable moments for listeners. So it was with a little pattern of stars called Canis Major. The name literally means Greater Dog in Latin, although the Romans werent the first to see and name this constellation. In the Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in what is now Iran and Iraq, people saw the mighty hunter in the sky, with a small arrow aimed at his heart - that arrow was Canis Major. The brightest star in our night sky, Sirius, was thought to be part of that arrow. Later on, the Greeks called this same pattern by the name Laelaps, who was a special dog who was said to be an incredibly swift runner. He was given as a gift by the god Zeus to his lover, Europa. Later on, this same dog became the faithful companion of Orion, one of his treasured hunting dogs. Scoping out Canis Major Today, we simply see a nice dog up there, and Sirius is the gem at his throat. Sirius is also called Alpha Canis Majoris, meaning its the alpha star (the brightest) in the constellation. Although the ancients had no way of knowing this, Sirius is also one of the closest stars to us, at 8.3 light-years. Its a double star, with a smaller, dimmer companion. Some claim to be able to see Sirius B (also known as the Pup) with the naked eye, and it can definitely be seen through a telescope. Canis Major is relatively easy to spot in the sky during the months that its up. It trails south-eastward of Orion, the Hunter, frolicking at his feet. It has several bright stars that delineate the legs, tail, and head of the dog. The constellation itself is set against the backdrop of the Milky Way, which looks like a band of light stretching across the sky. Searching the Deeps of Canis Major If you like to scan the sky using binoculars or a small telescope, check out the bright star Adhara, which is actually a double star. Its at the end of the dogs back legs. One of its stars is a bright blue-white color, and it has a dim companion. Also, check out the Milky Way itself. Youll notice many, many stars in the background. Next, look around for some open star clusters, such as M41. It has about a hundred stars, including some red giants and some white dwarfs. Open clusters contain stars that were all born together and continue to travel through the galaxy as a cluster. In a few hundred thousand to a million years, theyll wander off on their own separate paths through the galaxy. M41s stars will probably stick together as a group  for a few hundred million years before the cluster dissipates. There is also at least one nebula in Canis Major, called Thors Helmet. It is what astronomers call an emission nebula. Its gases are being heated by radiation from nearby hot stars, and that causes the gases to emit or glow. Sirius Rising Back in the days when people werent so dependent on calendars and watches and smartphones and other gadgets to help us tell time or date, the sky was a handy calendrical stand-in. People noticed that certain sets of stars were high in the sky during each season. For ancient people who depended on farming or hunting to feed themselves, knowing when the season for planting or hunting was about to occur was important. In fact, it was literally a case of life and death. The ancient Egyptians always watched for the rising of Sirius just about the same time as the Sun, and that indicated the beginning of their year. It also coincided with the yearly flooding of the Nile. Sediments from the river would get spread out along the banks and fields near the river, and that made them fertile for planting. Since it happened during the hottest time of summer, and Sirius was often called the Dog Star, thats where the term dog days of summer originates.

Research- Please add and correct attachment with referencing. Fill the Research Paper

- Please add and correct attachment with referencing. Fill the gaps left and amend as required. re- word if required - Research Paper Example In the terms of ontology the notion of interconnection describes the dependency of the objects of the system in the real world, but the terms are correspondingly the descriptors of the real objects (Dresser, 1998 ). The samples for the study will be drawn from one acute hospital and one intermediate care setting. The patients will need to share their experiential information regarding their hospital and intermediate care stay. The sample size will be 5 from 8 form each setting, selection will be done through purposive sampling. The diagnosis of dementia will be excluded due to consent issues. The method of survey via interview will chosen as the method. The interview will address many facets of the process. It will be used for gathering information about the persons’ knowledge, values and preferences and attitudes that will enable the researcher to test the hypothesis. Semi structured interviews, which include non standardised open and closed questions will be used by the researcher. The interview will be pre-planned and conducted face to face . By this technique they will try to elicit a more detailed response from the subject. The researcher will administer the interviews guided by the questions, which will reflect the objectives of the study. There will be a fellow therapist present to scribe and recode the interview via a tape recorder to ensure all responses are recorded and interpretered correctly The demographic information will be ascertained from patient/SU records prior to the interview. Written permission to conduct the study will be gained from The hospital and the respective intermediate care setting. Forecasting the moral issues, which occur on all the stages of the research , the researcher can make choice at the stage of the research planning and pay attention to critical issues, which can occur during the interrogation. Ethical code and theories seldom provide the definite answers to the questions concerning

Case Study Questions on Kimpton Hotels Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Questions on Kimpton Hotels - Case Study Example Each is individually designed to reflect the energy, personality, and pulse of its distinct location, history, and architectural style. Featuring highly personalized guest services, comforting in-room amenities, and one-of-a-kind specialty rooms and suites, Kimpton Hotels attract travelers with welcoming atmospheres that embrace its signature elements of care, comfort, style, flavor, and fun. Kimpton takes pride in its social responsibility, supporting select like-minded partners and is a leader in ecological practices. Kimpton Hotel serves their customer through their fundamental elements of Care. They try to ensure that this attitude of caring is reflected in each and every staff member to bring about a lasting and satisfying relationship with every customer. Service and caring-it's an attitude. They are very careful about the customer needs and their services. Comfort: The Kimpton offers the customer through the plush, cozy spaces with luxurious amenities for our guests to relax and rejuvenate. In trying to anticipate the customer's needs, wants or preferences, their intention is to see that guests are made to feels at home. Style: The Kimpton Group ensures that each of their locations are unique combining elegance with the whimsical. They design their hotels with the help of top quality designers and architects. They usually purchase existing property and modify it according to their needs rather than build entirely new building. Flavor: Imaginative and fun restaurants and lounges, which feature highly capable chefs that are favored by both locals and travelers. Fun: Fun and enjoyment is a favored theme and necessary activities are made available to see that customers... a. Business Philosophy and it adherence: An organization’s business philosophy can comprise of four components namely Vision, Mission, Culture and Values. This hotel group has a well defined business philosophy covering all the four components mentioned above. It vision is based on personal growth of its employees coupled with organizational growth. Its mission is equally praiseworthy and it is to getting new customers and keeping them for life. The same philosophy holds good for their employees as well. Culture is based on creating as atmosphere self leadership, creativity, performance and development. Values are based on creativity, passion, personality, focus and a system of continuous improvement. Even though many organizations have similar business philosophies, the hotel group has the ability to adhere to it. b. Treating guests as individuals: The Company takes great efforts to individually recognize and threat guests. They also have the software called Guestware to identify any guests who have once checked in before. c. Creating an ambience that is comfortable as well as fun. d. Unique architecture that is both whimsical and artistic. This is further made possible by the practice of purchasing existing buildings for their new hotels which enables them to have unique architectural styles for all their properties. e. Cost savings by following the above practice. f. Smaller number of rooms enables staff to extend more personalized service. g. A highly creative workforce on all their properties.

Background check of hiring employee Essay Example for Free

Background check of hiring employee Essay In nowadays, background check of hiring employee is practicing by almost all agencies. Point is that, the skills of the applicant can be, somehow, figured out. It is much more difficult to assess the level of trust, honesty, mental toughness, and loyalty. Reading through chapter 9, and conducting a slight research, my answers to the questions of the given scenario are as follows: 1.Do temporary agencies have a â€Å"duty† to run background checks? If so, did Robert half â€Å"breach that duty?† Why or Why not? According to the law of negligence, temporary agencies should follow the duty policy on background check on pre-employment, in order not to satisfy an element of negligence. In case of Robert Half International Inc., and Fox Associates, Inc., I don’t think, that duty was breached, the company trusted to provided information by Ms. Ross about herself, and she got good recommendations from her former employers. At some extend, it is a background check. 2.The court ruled against Fox Associates. Was the court correct? Do you think Fox should have done its own background check? Why or Why not? I agree with the court decision, that it was determined that duty is not breached, because it happened unknowingly. Even though the company recommended the employee, Fox could do its own background check as well. 3.The fact pattern mentions that Sunbeam suffered similar damages when it failed to do its own background check on Mr. Dunlap, its former CEO. Who was more at fault, Sunbeam or the Executive search agency? In this case, the fault has an Executive search agency more, than Sunbeam, as it its straight duty to check background before approve for hiring. However, Sunbeam is liable for its losses also, because it should request and check the information about hiring employer. 4.Strategically and legally speaking, why do you think the former employers said nothing about Ms. Ross’ history and gave her good recommendations? There could be some reasons: 1). the former employers might feel sympathetic towards Ms. Ross, and they don’t believe that she has stolen any funds; 2) Ms. Ross, indeed a good specialist in her field; and the last 3) The former employers just didn’t tell the truth. 5.Develop one  unique background check policies for your company on employees hired through a search firm or temp agency. The main idea on background check which I’d like to develop, besides gathering information, confirmation of address, criminal records searches, is that pre-employee will answer some â€Å"simple† questions, which will ask him/her the same, but in different manner, and maybe I would add some psychological tests, which will let me know if that employee was capable to do something unethical in his past work experience.

History of The Guillotine :: essays research papers

The guillotine was first introduced during the French Revolution by a man named Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin. He is a physician who first was involved with the issues of medicine. On December 1, 1789 he became interested in the idea of capital punishment. He invented the guillotine. It was a contraption used for causing immediate and painless death. It included a falling blade, running between two upright boards of wood and later a basket. Therefore, one may believe that the design of the guillotine helped with executions. The basket was used to catch the falling heads. In the early revolution Richard Clark said that originally a wicker basket lined with an oil cloth had been used to catch the head. Later on a metal bucket was used to prevent the blood from flowing through the streets. Since they guillotined so any people the bucket became a necessity to have. Along with this it helped to prevent the smell of death in the streets. The most important part of the guillotine is of course the blade. The first guillotine was built with a blade that was straight across. When someone had to be decapitated,force and exact precision were needed in order for it to be a success (Jonas L. Bulman). If the blade did not hit the exact spot on the neck it would become as thought it was an axe. It would hack away until the head came off. After all the chopping, the blade would often become dull. Throughout the revolution the blade was changed, it became angled. The angling of the blade helped to kill faster. It would not become dull as quickly and it would slice straight through without having to chop. The blade was made from steel and weighed about 40 kgs. To work the blade it was pulled to the top of the contraption then released with the cord to give it a quick reaction. With the quickness of the blade it was estimated that it took about .75th of a second to be guillotined. The bascule was invented later on through the revolution. Due to the fact it was found to be easier then forcing a struggling prisoner up a flight of steps. With the bascule a prisoner could just be bound to it then tipped over and moved into position to be guillotined. The bascule was made of wood and shaped like a plank. A prisoner would be strapped to it by their feet, ankles and waist.

Discriminatory Practice Essay

Infringement of rights: not respecting an individual’s rights and not letting them practice their culture. This can lead to individuals feeling devalued and very sad, which will affect their health. An example of this say for instance in a care home it was Eid and they was not allowed to celebrate it however all the other occasions were allowed, this would make an individual feel devalued and as if their needs or wants aren’t important, like their culture isn’t important this could lead to health problems as what they enjoy in their culture has been excluded and taken away from them. Covert use of power: hidden use of power to discriminate. This can lead health and social care professionals to treat someone differently from someone else. This means that a person may not get that same level of treatment, which may jeopardise their health and well-being. One example would be when people apply for job. Although one person may have the same experience and qualificati on as the other applicants they may not be shortlisted because of their skin colour, or sexuality etc. it’s harder to prove that covert discrimination is occurring but cases are regularly reported and is still happens. In a health and social care professional setting a health care worker may not give somebody the right medication at the right time, maybe due to the colour of their skin colour or their sexuality which they strongly feel opposed to. Overt use of power: openly using power to discriminate. This will have similar outcomes to covert abuse of power. However, if a person being treated notices that they are being discriminated against, it will have a negative impact on their recovery, their mental health issue to depression and it could make a negative impact on their recovery as they may worry about what they have even done in the first place to be getting this treatment. An example of over abuse of power could be if a health care worker tells a person they are too fat to live their 50s. Another example when a colleague is paid more than you, because of their gender, even though you are doing the same job with the same qualifications. It can also be found in the different treatment one person receives compared with another when there should be no difference at all. Prejudice: is prejudgment, or forming an opinion before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case. The word is often used to refer to preconceived, cynical ideas about another individual, arising from a per son’s negative ideas about that person, usually unfavourable, judgments toward people or a person  because of gender, political opinion, social class, age, disability, religion, sexuality, race/ethnicity, language, nationality or other personal characteristics. For example, more than 700 people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia in 27 different countries were interviewed as part of International Study of Discrimination and Stigma Outcomes, 72 per cent of those interviewed said they felt the need to conceal their diagnosis. 64 per cent said the anticipation of discrimination stopped them applying for work, training or education programs and 55 per cent said it stopped them looking for a close relationship. In the health and social care sector could be care worker telling another care worker that he or she does not want to work with someone or get them over and done with as they don’t like them due to whatever reason may be. Stereotyping: assumptions made about an individual judged on their group, environment and it may not always be true and sometimes it is based on another persons or groups qualities and life, this is dangerous as it could make the service user feel depressed and mess them up mentally due to the ‘name callingâ⠂¬â„¢. For example, it may be a stereotype that Asian people love to eat rice. So according to this stereotype, if you are Asian, that automatically means that you will unconditionally love to eat rice. This can already show that generalizations made from stereotypes are not the most reliable to base your judgement on. Typically racial and ethnic group stereotypes come from some degree of prejudice thought. In a health and social care area this may occur when a health care worker sees a dark skinned black man and instantly think he is a thug so they chose not to assist them and move them on to someone else. Labelling: Labelling people refers to a form of prejudice and discrimination where a person allocates names to people on the basis of nationality, religion, ethnicity, gender, or some other group. Labelling of people represents a way of differentiating and identifying people. This practice is normally conducted on minority groups. For example, if you label someone who is wearing black as a Goth, you will assume them to be a depressing and dark-minded person, when in fact they might not be at all. This can lead to prejudice and discrimination. Labelling is basically a combination of all the other three things you have listed in your question, and is the ultimate form of ignorance and assumption. In the health and social care profession you need to be aware of this tendency to label people. Labelling thoughts may come into your head  and everyone has these types of thoughts but it’s what you do with them that are important. By becoming aware of your labelling thoughts, you can control them and stop them interfering with your work. Another example in the health and social setting is if a care worker was having a conversation with another care worker and referring a service user as the ‘bimbo’ just because of the colour of their hair such as blond this would be labelling and it would distress the user. Bullying: Bullying is a persistent attempt to hurt or humiliate someone, it is a repeated action and deliberately hurtful. The person bullying is more powerful than the person bullied, making it hard for those being bullied to defend them. Bullying can occur in many different forms. It can be physical (hitting, pushing, and damaging others’ property); it can be verbal (name-calling, threats) or social (excluding someone, spreading rumours). Bullying is not only between children and not only in schools; can it happen at home, in organisations, at work or on the Internet. Bullying is often based on perceived differences, such as ethnicity, sex or disability, so young LGBT people evidently have a higher risk of being bullied. In a health care sector a health care worker may tell a service user that they needs to stop eating as they are already too fat. Abuse: Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of an entity, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices; crimes, or other types of aggression. Abuse of authority, in the form of political corruption, is the use of legislated or otherwise authorized powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by private persons or corporations not directly involved with the government. An illegal act by an officeholder constitutes political corruption only if the act is directly related to their official duties. Abuse of authority is separated from abu se of power in that the act is originally condoned, but is extended beyond that initially conceived and is in not all cases.