The Process of Growing Up

â€Å"The process of growing up is when you discover the strength within you survives all the hurt†. It was that last hot summer day of sixth grade, walking home from school as usual being so excited to finally move on and become a seventh grader. While walking home I still remember I had that feeling of joy and happiness to think wow moving up to seventh grade next school year and the enjoyment of growing up a little bit more. Seeing how it was going to be summer break. It was a normal and more than perfect day to actually go home from school without a care in the world. When walking up to my house, I saw the green Ford truck all packed up with our belongings; I thought well, â€Å"when we decided to move†? I was analyzing and questioning all the possibilities of why that truck was loaded up with things that both belonged to my mom and stepdad. As soon as I stepped in the house I knew there was something terribly wrong. I walked throughout my house seeing everything turned upside down, smashed, thrown around everywhere and destroyed all to pieces. As a sixth grade little girl I didn’t know how to react or even know what to think. All I really knew was someone obviously wasn’t happy and that same person was moving out. At this point my mom was basically the â€Å"house wife† that cooked, cleaned and did all the motherly things. While my stepdad worked and made the money. They both had their hands full with four kids and still being able to maintain their marriage and relationship. But as you can see their marriage wasn’t at all perfect, everything down fell from there. My stepdad left us with nothing; took just about everything that was in our house. The only thing we had left was our toys and rooms. Coming home and seeing my house destroyed in every way is when I knew at that point nothing is going to be the same and knowing my stepdad was moving out was not one of the best things for any of my family’s lives. Since my mom didn’t work she had to get a job in order to support four kids including a roof over our heads, food and clothing on our backs. This was the turning point of many emotions, anger, disgust and hatred but at the same time this one thing helped me grow in strength, maturity and even responsibility towards myself, making me who I am today. Devastated as I was, my mom had to work nights as a bartender meaning she was never home with me at night and me being the oldest resulted in me having to watch my brothers and sister. Emotions were running high in my family, but from then on watching my little brothers and sister was my job, didn’t really have a huge social life, I found my world spiraling. All of these effects that took place when my stepdad decided to move out really had this huge impact on my life. While trying to take care of my brother and sister, I found myself having to grow up more and more every day. The responsibilities that were involved were more than I could ever handle at that time. Working hard to help out my mom and getting through the emotions of my stepdad leaving was the most life learned experience I’ve ever had to go through. The hardest time in my life by far. As a result of that time, I can say now it really made me a better person in every way imaginable. As time went on it eventually resolved itself, making me more responsible than ever; my maturity enlarged immensely and just that experience alone makes me a grateful person now. Seeing how people can destruct something they once loved including their family really made me realize how lucky our family was without him. Although this experience was at rock bottom at the beginning it ended up working out for the better. In a way that I got a chance to realize something’s on my own and not to only depend on my parents. Just of the simple fact that I learned to have responsibilities. Which in the end really helps me now and for in my future. Having to grow up too fast was the most challenging thing in my life. My family and I survived all the heartbreak that came from my stepdad leaving but now actually being eighteen, I can say it was really worth him leaving. With that being said; â€Å"The process of growing up is when you discover the strength within you survives all the hurt†.

Love Defined by the Little Mermaid Essay

What is the ultimate purpose of a fairytale? According to Bruno Bettelheim its purpose is to show children â€Å"that a struggle against severe difficulties in life is unavoidable, is an intrinsic part of human existence-but that if [they do] not shy away, but steadfastly [meet] unexpected and often unjust hardships, [they master] all obstacles and at the end [emerge] victorious†(8). Disney’s The Little Mermaid fulfills this purpose; children see Ariel’s struggles and because they identify with her they feel as if they struggle and triumph with her (Bettelheim, 9). Ariel is a very likable character, she’s witty, beautiful, and children can relate to her. Some of the obstacles and struggles Ariel faces are things children face in their own lives, for example Ariel’s desire to be independent and establish herself. Although The Little Mermaid conforms to Bruno’s formula, it also teaches children other life lessons that may not be healthy or appropriate in the long run. In this case the messages sent to children concerning romance and love provide children images and behaviors that teach them true love is spontaneous, passionate, for attractive people only, and is â€Å"happily ever after†. What is a real life definition of love? Love is a complex and profound concept that cannot be easily defined. Robert Sternberg explains love by breaking it into three different concepts known as the Triangular Theory of Love (as cited by Miller, 246-50): intimacy, passion and commitment. The Triangular Theory of Love defines intimacy as â€Å"feelings of warmth, understanding, communication, support, and sharing that often characterize loving relationships†(as cited by Miller, 247). Passion is â€Å"physical arousal and desire†¦often [taking] the form of sexual longing, but [can be] any strong emotional need that is satisfied by ones partner† (as cited by Miller, 247). And last but not least commitment is defined as â€Å"the decisions to devote oneself to a relationship and work to maintain it†(as cited by Miller, 247). When these three concepts are put together in different combinations you get different types of love, eight to be specific (Miller, 249). The type of love that is shown in The Little Mermaid is infatuation, which is passion with no commitment and no intimacy. Ariel falls in love with Eric the very moment she lays eyes on him, she knows nothing about him but believes she loves him. This example of love at first sight teaches children if you are strongly attracted to someone the first time you see them that this simple attraction, often times physical attraction signifies love. But what is it about Eric that attracts Ariel to him? Is it his dark hair, perfect smile, his dimples, his body and the fact that he is dancing? Possibly, but what also needs to be taken into account is who he is being compared to. The other men on the ship are either old, fat, scrawny, bald, boyish looking, have teeth missing or are dressed badly. Eric is the complete opposite of them. Another aspect to look at this from is what Miller, Perlman, and Brehm refer to as the misattribution of arousal, which is in basic form misplacing or exaggerating our attraction to others (251). They explain that we can be aroused by something positive or negative, not knowing we are aroused by it and then attribute another event or person as the reason for our arousal (251-252). Which is what happens in the movie, just minutes before seeing Eric, Ariel has an argument with her father. The argument is about her missing the concert and swimming up to the surface. The argument seems one sided because Triton does all the talking and doesn’t let Ariel explain herself. She swims off to where she keeps her collection of human things that she finds on her adventures with Flounder, her animal sidekick. She begins to sing about wanting to be human so she can experience lying on the beach, walking on two feet and feeling the warmth from a fire. Afterwards she sees a ship passing over and swims to the surface, partly out of rebellion and partly out of curiosity. Her emotions are already aroused before she sees Eric. Furthermore, she has already made up in her mind that she wants to be human; Eric just becomes an excuse, the reason why she should become human. Ariel experiences a misplaced attraction; Eric makes her emotions make sense. The problem now is Eric has no idea she even exists. On the other side, Eric too experiences a similar form of misattributed arousal. Eric has a conversation with Grimsby about finding a wife. Eric is obviously under a lot of pressure to settle down but he wants to find the right girl. Not to long after this conversation the ship is struck by lightening. Everyone escapes and makes it on the life- boat, but Eric swims back to the ship to save his dog Max. The ship blows up and Eric falls in the water. Ariel then saves his life by swimming him safely to shore. This is the very first time Eric sees Ariel, they have no conversation, she’s just looking into his face singing. Ariel is startled by Max and goes back in the water. Eric realizes that she is â€Å"the one† and instantly falls in love with her. Now that Eric knows that Ariel exists all she can do is wait for him to come save her from a life under the sea. Marcia Lieberman says that â€Å"most of the heroines†¦are merely passive, submissive, and helpless† (388). And she goes on to say, â€Å"many of the girls are not merely passive, however; they are frequently victims and even martyrs as well†(390). Ariel doesn’t do anything after saving Eric’s life. She swims around the castle in â€Å"lala land†, daydreaming and fantasizing of her prince. But not only does this show her passiveness, she is also portrayed as a victim. Her father doesn’t understand her; he wants her to live a life under the sea but refuses to see how unhappy she is with that life. After Triton finds out about Eric he destroys Ariel’s collection along with the statue of Eric. Ariel is then left with no other choice but to go behind her fathers back and see Ursula, the sea witch. Ursula offers Ariel the chance of a lifetime, to be with Eric, but it doesn’t come without paying a price. Ariel has to give Ursula her voice, leaving her to seduce Eric with her beauty. This message tells children that love is based on beauty. Ursula tells Ariel that she â€Å"has [her] looks, [her] pretty face, [and not to underestimate] the importance of body language†. Basically telling her that her â€Å"beauty [is her] most valuable asset, perhaps her only valuable asset†(Lieberman, 385). Thus, indiscreetly telling her to disregard the importance of character, integrity and individuality and to focus on being beautiful. Ariel is young, has big blue eyes, red full lips. Long flowing red hair, a perfect body, she is half naked and has fair skin. Compared to all the other characters Ariel has the most sex appeal, and being that children relate to her over all the other characters, children want to be like her. But not only does Ariel have sex appeal she has a pleasant and friendly personality. She is caring, adventurous, independent, good-tempered, and outgoing. The problem with this image is children, mainly girls â€Å"may be predisposed to imagine that there is a link between the loveable face and the lovable character, and to fear, if plain themselves, that they will also prove to be unpleasant, thus using the patterns to set up self-fulfilling prophecies†(Lieberman, 385). Ursula for example is ugly, fat, old and has a mean personality. Children may begin to think that ugly people have â€Å"ugly† personalities and cant have true love, and pretty people have â€Å"pretty† personalities and are the only people who can experience true love. Jillian Cantor and Leta McGaffey Sharp explain it in this way, â€Å"women are won by sensitive men with chocolates and flowers, men are dazzled with beauty and wit, and life is not complete without a happy marriage and children. This single, narrowly defined perspective leaves many people in the dust with, so it seems, little chance for romance and love. If you don’t fit into this story line, you seem to be destined to die alone-and miserable about it. â€Å"(327). Obviously this is not true to real life, but it is the message being sent to children. In real life relationships, true love is based not only on attraction, but a healthy, stable balance of commitment, trust, care, intimacy, and passion. Beauty and romance fade and if that is the only thing sustaining your love, love fades as well. Ariel’s goal is to get Eric to kiss her. Notice Eric doesn’t have to tell her â€Å"I love you†; he has to kiss her, which is in itself very sexual. Kissing can lead to many other things, but at the same kissing can just be kissing and nothing more. But this hints that there is some sexual attraction, and sexual need associated with love, and that without a magical kiss love doesn’t exist. Eric doesn’t know Ariel’s name until they are in the boat. He is confused over if he loves her or not, if she is the girl who saved him, but he doesn’t know the girls name, he knows nothing about her. This portrays men as shallow because he is acting strictly on beauty and not character, at least Ariel knows his name and a little about him, making women seem as if they care more about character than looks. Anyone who has grown up hearing or watching fairytales can predict the ending of The Little Mermaid. It has the ideal perfect ending for a love story and fairytale. The girl is saved by her prince charming, the villain is defeated, there is a celebration (usually a wedding) and there is a magical kiss. Eric saves Ariel from Ursula and is in turn rewarded with Ariel’s hand in marriage. Marriage is â€Å"the fulcrum and major event†(Lieberman, 386) in this story. It is at the end, but nonetheless the major event. It is when everyone gets what they want. This is where the story ends; it shows nothing of the married life. Marcia Lieberman observes that fairytales focus more on the courtship in relationships and not married life, which she says can cause children to â€Å"develop a deep-seated desire to be courted, since marriage is literally the end of the story†(394). Children will begin to think relationships end in happily ever after, when in real life no relationship is perfect, at some point there will be some kind of stress or strain in the relationship, weather an argument, financial difficulties or infidelity, it will happen. So if these are the messages being sent to children through The Little Mermaid, isn’t it setting them up for disappointment and failure? If children believe this is the way things should be, they will seek out those things and when they are faced with true love in real life they wont recognize it. Or if children feel unattractive or unworthy they may not accept love when given to them because they have been conditioned to believe love is only for pretty people, not average or ugly people. This outlook on love isn’t healthy for children, or anyone for that matter. Bettelheim would argue that † a more complex plot would confuse [children]†, but I believe this oversimplification confuses children even more. Yes love is hard to explain to children because love doesn’t happen the same for everyone, but should children be focusing on love at such a young age? If the ultimate purpose of a fairytale is to show children they can overcome life’s obstacles, why not present them with obstacles they are facing at the moment? Like the struggle of establishing themselves as individuals by defining who they are. Those lessons are the lessons that should be taught through any fairytale, not lessons telling children that love is spontaneous, passionate, for attractive people and â€Å"happily ever after†. Works Cited Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment.

Ideology in Desperate Housewives

Ideology In Desperate Housewives Every day, the public is unknowingly exposed to countless ideological messages. They come from all around, but the media remains ideology’s primary agent. In places such as magazines, commercials, billboards, movies and television shows, one can find evidence of ideological messages. According to theologist Louis Althusser, ideology places individuals into a certain position in society by a process called interpellation, where a specific subject (or group of people) is called out, or hailed.Althusser claims that ideology does this in order to â€Å"help people to live their own conditions of existence, to perform their assigned tasks, but also to ‘bear’ their conditions. † An example of this can be found in television dramas aimed at American middle-aged women, as found on ABC or Lifetime. One potent example comes from the drama Desperate Housewives. This show may seem like a glorified soap opera, as it primarily depicts the lives of four dynamic homemakers living in the same cal-de-sac in suburbia.However, the show’s purpose is not solely to entertain, but also to hail its audience of middle-aged women by telling them what kind of behavior is acceptable for their role in society. In the episode â€Å"You Must Meet My Wife,† each housewife struggles with a personal conflict as their natural desires and tendencies conflict with the type of behavior expected of them as spouses and mothers. We see these discrepancies unfold as the characters are confronted by sexual temptation, marital infidelity, discontent with their husbands and gender roles regarding family finances.In the end, we will see ideological norms reinstated by these women resisting their true feelings in order to act â€Å"appropriately. † On the surface, Bree Van de Kamp looks like the ideal housewife. Her house is always spotless and she cooks gourmet delicacies for her family’s dinner every night. However, as the series progresses, we learn that there is a lot more to Bree (as there is to any person). In this episode, Bree is seduced by her much younger and very attractive contractor. Bree is single, so this is not a matter of infidelity, but of general sexual urges.The narrator explains that Bree was brought up traditionally, learning to hide and suppress her desires in order to be a â€Å"lady. † Therefore, Bree denies her urges because she recognizes that as a woman, society does not approve of her being sexually outgoing. This point is hit home when she fires her contractor so that she is not tempted by his company. She lies and tells him she is letting him go because he is doing a sloppy job, unable to admit to him (or anyone) that she is having fantasies about him.Bree’s display of â€Å"weakness† makes the plot relatable and entertaining to the audience, since it is made up primarily of middle-aged women who feel the same pressure to be almost inhuman sexually . Ironically, that pressure is being reinforced by the ideological lesson that this episode teaches. Gabrielle Solis profiles a different kind of housewife. Her conflict arises when a nurse informs her that her daughter’s blood type indicates that she could not possibly be the child of Gabby and her husband, Carlos.Gauging Gabby’s reaction, the nurse assumes that the child must not belong to Carlos, and judgmentally implies that Gabby was unfaithful. The nurses actions are direct proof of the ideological message: if a housewife cheats on her husband, she loses worth. Panicking, Gabby concludes that she must have cheated on Carlos during a weekend away with her girlfriends when she was blackout drunk. Several ideological violations arise here. First, her role as a housewife does not permit weekends away with her friends where she gets wildly intoxicated. Second, cheating on your husband is of the utmost offense.Although women now have equal rights to match their equal c apabilities, our society is still predominantly patriarchal. Gabby pays for her indiscretions in this episode. Scared and deeply ashamed, she must deal with her overwhelming guilt. Her struggle reinforces ideological norms, teaching her (and consequently, the audience) that she should have been home with her family rather than out for a fun weekend with her friends. It turns out to have been all a mistake, and Gabby was not unfaithful, however her ideological lesson was learned the hard way.Yet another ideological message is presented through the life of Lynette Scavo. Strong, smart and opinionated, Lynette is the feminist who equates to (if not exceeds) her husband in most areas. However, she is not immune to the ideological restraints of being a housewife either. In this episode, her husband Tom is diagnosed with Post Part-um Depression due to the recent birth of their daughter. There is a comical quality to this, as Post Part-um Depression is mostly known as a disease for women. This works to make Tom look weak, while Lynette is exhausted taking care of the house and the kids.She laughs at Tom’s diagnosis, and he becomes offended, stating that she is always too critical. Lynette’s friend Renee becomes involved, telling Lynette that she needs to â€Å"demonstrate her abilities as a wife† and make it up to Tom. Renee’s character provides insight to the ideological belief that wives should be supportive and nurturing towards their husbands, even if it means sacrificing their own comfort or opinions. In the end, Lynette apologizes and listens to Tom complain for hours, just as a proper housewife is expected to do.The domestic role of women is reinstated again through Susan Delfino’s storyline. Unlike Bree and Gabby, Susan lives more of a working class lifestyle, and recently work has been slow for her husband Mike. Tight on money, Susan decides to pick up another job to supplement her income as a teacher. She does this by agre eing to do housekeeping in lingerie for a live-feed stream on the internet. Although this side-job is harmless and proving to be quite profitable, ideology tells her (and consequently, the audience) that this job is something she should be ashamed of.She lies to Mike and tells him she’s been selling homemade jewelry (more of a â€Å"lady-like† hobby) for extra money. It might make sense if Susan felt ashamed because the job might be degrading the sanctity of her body, but that is not the reason. She lies to Mike because if he knew she was using her body to make extra money for them, he might be embarrassed, upset, or even angry. As the ideology of a housewife maintains, a husband should be the main source of finances and his wife should keep him comfortable and happy. Susan breaks these rules, and it burdens her with guilt throughout the episode.She should not be ashamed to be making money in a time where finances are low, but since society does not deem it appropriate , Susan sacrifices her good conscience to be a good housewife. In conclusion, Desperate Housewives reinforces ideological norms of middle-aged women through every main character in the show. The audience might think they are only being entertained for an hour, but what they take away from it is so much deeper. They are impressed with the ideology that women of a certain aged should act, talk, and feel this way. The audience learns lessons through the characters.This particular episode taught us that fulfilling your role as a housewife is of the utmost importance, even if it means sacrificing your natural desires, freedoms, opinions, or capabilities. Desperate Housewives is not the first television show to promote this ideology. Throughout history, the ideal housewife has been depicted as static, obedient, asexual, and sometimes seemingly inhuman. However, a show centered on such a character would be dull. So Desperate Housewives takes some liberties, letting the characters run rampa nt and make mistakes, only to recoil back into their rightful places inside of their homes on Wisteria Lane.

International Trade Theories Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Trade Theories - Assignment Example Therefore, in order to have a positive balance of trade the nations tried exporting to other countries and restricting imports as it negatively affected their balances and hence their wealth. According to the mercantilism theory, there was a fixed amount of money present in the world and in order for one country to have more money; it had to export to other. So, mercantilism refers to the concept of exporting more and importing less (â€Å"Classical Theories of International Trade†, n.d.). Absolute Advantage Toward the end of the century, economic growth was being hindered by mercantilist policies. Adam Smith in his book, The Wealth of Nations (1776) presented a response to mercantilism where he claimed that these policies granted the producers an advantage at the cost of a disadvantage to the consumers. Adam Smith’s theory did not regard imports as bad but rather mentioned imports as good because other countries may be making a particular good that is more appealing to the consumers therefore trade, imports as well as export, would be profitable and lead to better satisfaction for the consumers. This meant that countries that had an â€Å"absolute advantage† in producing a particular good would produce that good and export it while it would import a good that another nation has an â€Å"absolute advantage† in (Theory of International Trade, n.d.). ... The principle of comparative advantage has been described as that occurring as a result of specialization and the division of labor (Maneschi, 1998). According to the theory, due to technological or other factors some countries specialize in producing a particular good at a lower cost. This implies that such countries have a â€Å"comparative advantage† in producing a particular good and should therefore export these goods to other countries. The same country should only import those goods in which it does not specialize that is has a comparative disadvantage in due to the higher relative costs. However, the theory also assumes that countries try to maximize their production and consumption which is not true in the real world at times. Balance of Trade Balance of trade refers to a country’s payments and receipts which results from the transactions of its residents. In ideal conditions, the balance of the receipts and payments should be equal, which is the condition of a balanced trade. However, trade is not always balanced. The trade balance in some cases can even be a trade surplus and trade deficit. Trade surplus occurs when a country’s exports exceed their imports. Trade deficit occurs when a country’s imports are greater than its exports. Trade deficits are not necessarily bad as it depends upon the life cycle and the economy and therefore may assist the economy during expansion. However, during a recession, trade deficits may prove to be detrimental for the economy. Influence of Government Governments play a pivotal role in encouraging or restricting international trade. The policies set by the government impact trade unlike free trade where there is no government role in the economy. Governments provide barrier to trade by setting

Effective Communication at Workplace Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Effective Communication at Workplace - Essay Example The communication skills of an accountant, therefore, have to be developed in the working place. Not only should an accountant be technically proficient, he must learn to effectively explain to his co-workers, clients, and superiors his financial reports. Being a master of accounting principles and acquiring strong communication skills through the years of practice of his profession and enriching himself with the knowledge of effective communication are key ingredients for the success of his profession. Writing has become a daily routine for accountants as he drafts letters and reports to clients and writes memos to his co-workers and superiors (Kenneth, 1998). He prepares a variety of correspondences. His report must be accurate, clear and concise to reduce misunderstanding. The accountant must refrain from the use of financial jargon if he is dealing with someone that does not understand accounting terms. An effective communication skill will instill confidence in the accountant. He must be able to write and speak clearly. The accountant prepares a variety of reports. In an accounting department of large offices, an accountant is assigned to handle any of the following accounts: cash transactions, cash balances, bank transactions, revenue, sales, payment of taxes, purchases, inventory etc. produces regular report either on a monthly, quarterly or annual. He must get the needed information from the Treasury Department, Purchasing Department, Collection Department, the bank etc. He communicates either through the use of the telephone, e-mail, internet protocol (IP) or issue a memorandum of request for a particular data. By yearend, a financial report with analysis of the company's performance is prepared. This will be presented to top management and to the stockholders. In a small organization, the accountant may handle different accounts and deals with a few persons. Communication may be organization-wide, departmental, team, and individual communication. In a purely accounting business, the accountant should be able to maintain long-term relationship with his clients. He must be able to understand his client's views, concerns and expectations. The accountant provide a verbal recap of the clients needs, highlight key points of the conversation, identify the required documents from the client provide a brief conference report, complete the financial analysis and let the client review the report. An accountant can learn effective communication skills by attending courses, seminars or reading through self-help books. Basic communication skills are the same for all professions. To improve verbal communication skills, the accountant must a)learn to speak clearly and at a reasonable phase; b) make eye-contact to connect to the person he is speaking to; c) speak at the right volume; d) pronounce the words correctly so that you will not be misunderstood or judged to be less competent; and e) use the right words to gain respect and effectively communicate the idea by improving vocabulary. In a paper on "Effective Workplace Communication Skills", one of the Articles for Accountants and Bookkeepers published by Universal Accounting, the following eight tips are given to accountants to develop effective workplace communication: 1) In delivering the message, determine the exact message to the intended audience and the approach to present

Statistics 401 Mod 4 Case - Regression Analysis Coursework

Statistics 401 Mod 4 Case - Regression Analysis - Coursework Example In some cases, the scattered plotted points do form a pattern that resembles a straight line. These points all scatter around single straight line which is termed as the line of best fit. On drawing the line of best fit, it has a linear equation of the form y= mx + c. The equation can be used to predict the corresponding values of the X- variables or the Y- variable given the values of the Y- variables or the X- variables respectively. I inserted the data in the excel file in an effort to compute a scatter plot. By so doing, I made X to be the interest rate expressed as a decimal (e.g., 5% = 0.05). At the same time, I made Y to be the Housing Starts. This led to a scatter plot as shown in the graph below. It The regression equation that I computed as shown in the graph is:- y = 13357x – 12607 This is a linear equation or an equation of the straight line. The equation does indeed have the form Y = m*X + B, were Y is the number of starts, and B is the regression constant.  B i s the hypothetical value of Y when X = 0.   In accordance to the nature of this problem, It sure does make a practical sense. The equation is very useful in making predictions of the corresponding values of the variables given the other corresponding piece. ... The fact that the scatter plot so formed has a line of best fit with a linear equation confirms that indeed there is a relationship between the Housing stats and the interest rates. Given one of the values, the corresponding value can be easily predicted using the shared relationship. I Used the regression equation found above to calculate  what the approximate number of housing starts would be at the following interest rates: 8.5%, 4.5%, 3.7%, 2.3%. This is sown in the computations below.  I understood perfectly that I would not simply "guess" values, based on the historical data that was given.   That is clearly wrong. I also understood that I ought not have used linear interpolation between the historical data values;  that's also wrong. I saw to it that I rounded off estimates of starts to the nearest whole number.   This is because a house-building project either starts in a given month, or it doesn't.   Therefore, it makes no sense to talk about fractions of a start . X= 8.5 = 0.0885 y = 13357x - 12607 =(13357*8.85) – 12607 = 105602.45 = 105602 X= 4.5 = 0.045 y = 13357x – 12607 =(13357*4.5) – 12607 = 47499.5 = 47499 X= 3.7 = 0.037 y = 13357x - 12607 =(13357*3.7) – 12607 = 36813.9= 36813 X= 2.3 = 0.023 y = 13357x - 12607 =(13357*2.3) – 12607 = 18114.1 = 18114 If I were the owner of a business in the housing construction sector and I knew how interest rates were likely to change, I would use this information very effectively to make better decisions. The housing construction sector is a business venture where the risks involved are rather very huge. It involves the investment of a lot of money and this puts the investor in a lot of danger of losing a large sum of money all at once. This calls for a proper

Affect on weight gain and sugar water on Mice Research Paper

Affect on weight gain and sugar water on Mice - Research Paper Example Overweight and obesity are interrelated terms for many health complications. Children and adolescents also fall under this category. Many health complications such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, breast, colon and prostate cancers and depression are associated with the obesity and overweight.. Obesity is caused due to the imbalance in the energy homeostasis. Many factors such as metabolic, environmental, cultural, socioeconomic, genetic and behavioral factors are associated with the obesity and overweight. The reason for the increase in the body weight was identified as increased carbohydrate intake mainly in the form of sugars. Carbohydrate intake increases the blood glucose and insulin levels. If simple carbohydrates are taken in the food, the production of glucose is very high and it increases the blood glucose level. Undigestable carbohydrates do not increase the blood glucose level as that of simple sugar and simple carbohydrates. This sort of hyperglycemic re sponse increases the carbohydrate oxidation and contributes to the body fat gain. (Malik, Schulze and Hu). The sudden changes in the blood glucose contribute to the variation in the postprandial glucose concentration. This finally affects the metabolism of the body and induces weight gain. Our body can store 300-500g of carbohydrates as glycogen in the human body and the rest are oxidized and converted into fat. The studies have confirmed that a 480g of oral carbohydrate load did not induce the fat oxidation in the young adults. (Saris). If the percentage of carbohydrate intake is very high then the increase in the body weight will be drastic. The increase in the body weight also leads to the risk of coronary heart disease and Type 2Diabetes mellitus. Obesity is generally caused by the difference in the energy homeostasis of food intake and daily physical activity. Obesity is the nutrition related problem in the developing and developed countries. To overcome obesity, many health gu idelines are focused such as increase in the physical activity and reducing the intake of foods containing sugar and fat. Sugar is a disaccharide molecule. Sucrose, maltose and lactose are compound sugars with the general formula C12H22O11 . (Saris). Sucrose is the common sugar used in our day to day life. Sucrose contains glucose and fructose. Sucrose is the most important dietary factor for weight gain. Readily digestible food have high glycemic index( GI) with higher post prandial blood glucose and insulin concentrations than the less digestible carbohydrates. Sugar containing foods have high glycemic index and increase the carbohydrate oxidation and contribute to body weight. (Saris). Similarly high fructose and galactose content increases the body weight. The galactose and fructose are used as sweeteners in the food and they increase the blood glucose concentration on ingestion. The sweet taste of the sugar is the main reason for the preference and intake of carbohydrate rich f ood. Diet induced obesity is caused by the conversion of carbohydrates into fat deposits in the white adipose tissue and the liver. (Lowndes et al.). The energy metabolism and carbohydrate and lipid metabolism are regulated by a complex network of signaling processes. High sucrose diet can induce the expression of the white adipose tissue and mRNA of liver Lipoprotein lipase enzyme. High sucrose diet is found to increase the risks of cancer. Pancreatic cancer is the most pre dominant cancer in this case. The diet that contains high concentration of sucrose and dextrin acts as the

Macro & Micro Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macro & Micro Economics - Essay Example Conditioning, if credible can be used for reducing the inflationary consequences of a resulting increase in aggregate demand from the post crisis deleveraging. Even after reducing the benchmark rate at zero, the Federal Open market Committee which sets policies tried to continue to add stimulus by pledging to keep the interest rates low through 2014. Evan continues to make explicit promises by putting forth that the Federal Reserve would continue to tighten the policy until and unless the rate of unemployment came down below 7% and inflation breached at 3% (Aki, â€Å"Bloomberg†). Evans and the economists Jonas Fisher, Jeffrey Campbell and Alejandro Justiniano mentioned in an article presented by the Brookings Institution in Washington that forward guidance in the statements of monetary policies have been effective in increasing yields through Corporate Bonds and Treasury Notes since the beginning of the global financial crisis (Aki, â€Å"Not Voting Member†). Reference of article to theory- Monetary Growth and Inflation The article above is linked to the theories in macroeconomic. There is strong empirical evidence which shows a direct relationship between money supply in the economy and long term price inflation for the rapid increases in the supply of money within the economy. This is the reason why governments rely strongly on monetary policies for controlling inflation. Economists have identified two links between the supply of money in the economy and the rates of inflation (Hetzel, p.205-206). Firstly an increase in the supply of money, if not trapped within the financial system as being excess reserves can lead to the sustained increase in the level of real production rather than inflation after a recession when many of the nation’s resources remain underutilized. Moreover, they have emphasized on the changes in the velocity of money, which is the ration between the nominal gross domestic product and the supply of money which leads to an increase in the money supply can bring about an exaggerated effect on the growth of nominal gross domestic product (Hetzel, p.205-206). Researchers have suggested the use of conventional monetary policies which influences the macroeconomic factors by bringing about changes in the credit availability in the economy and also the rate of interest or the price of the credits. The monetary policies act upon the rates of interest and consequently the money supply too. The control in money supply through adjustment of interest rates control inflation rates in the economy. However, it is important that in such cases the real interest rates are considered and not the nominal interest rates. This is because the real value of a loan diminishes with inflation and simultaneously revenues in businesses and household incomes also rise with inflation. Thus the ability of payment of a loan increases with rise in inflation rates. However, researchers have also identified certain imitations with the use of monetary policies controlling inflation rates (Baumeister & Benati, p.5-7). In the 1990s inflation rates were extremely low, but this was not because of tight monetary policies. During the same

Current issues in financial reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Current issues in financial reporting - Essay Example 549-586). This paper explains the importance of financial reporting in organization, and gives the reasons for and against capitalising human resources in the financial statements of a company. Discussion Financial reporting entails communication of useful financial information for making credit, investment and other decisions in business. Reports to the stockholders on quarterly and annual basis, financial statement notes, prospectuses on issuance of security and common stock, and the external financial statements, like the income statements, stockholder’s equity statement, cash flow statements and the statements on stock equity. Financial reporting enhances delivery of information to the shareowners and lenders in business; it is usually component of the essential contract between them since they have the right to know the spending of their money and the returning profits (Ballweiser, 2004). In UK, big changes in financial reporting are under the Financial Services sector. T he Accounting Standards Board, ASB issued exposure drafts that detail the proposals for financial reporting in UK. ... The demand for more transparency ensures growth to the interests of an organization in order to meet such demand constructively. The organization will, therefore, have a strategic value in clarifying for the critical performance as well as internal management of the organization communication. This leads to effective allocation of capital in the organization, and critical in achieving a special attention within the accounting research. Reason for Capitalizing Human Resource in UK Human capital forms the main asset in service companies. The success of an organization can be rated depending on the  employees and customers they retain (Francis, Lafond, Olsson, & Schipper 2005, p. 295-327). Several studies on human resource measurement aim at providing the management of any organization with the traditional financial statements, as well as additional information. The intangible asset from many organizations is more critical than the tangible assets. Intangible assets comprise of the su ccess factors needed for maximization of profits and continual survival of the organization. Like human resource, while the intangible assets comprise of the fixed assets like property. The financial information from the financial statements is considered incomplete when they fail to cover and account the human resources. Financial measuring and reporting by businesses in UK enhance the management and evaluation of people’s performance. This ensures greater transparency on value creation through effective policies and practices that benefit stakeholders and the organization at large. The management of people by an organization impacts their performance. The feature of good managerial practices

Accelerated Growth Strategy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Accelerated Growth Strategy - Research Paper Example According to Delforce, Dickson and Hogan (2005), â€Å"Australia’s agriculture and food industry is undergoing a period of rapid change. The industry makes a major contribution to the Australian economy but is particularly important to rural and regional economies. Accordingly, many food producers and processors are keen to understand the changes that are occurring now and where the Australian food industry is heading†. Supermarket stores, in order to be competitive, must offer products/ services at discounted price to become cost leaders in the marketplace. The business operations must focus on offering quality products to customers at competitive prices. Aldi, being a giant supermarket chain based on Australia, has found this change and they have tried to change their strategies accordingly.   Consumer research on multifunctional products has, by far, explained the consumer reactions to products, with complex features that are difficult to use. However, it is found that in some markets, consumer opts for products with multiple, yet simple essential features. In case of products sold by supermarkets, the consumers show highly habitual buying behavior in their choices. The habitual buying behavior expressed by the customers often ends in rational irrespective choices. They can be influenced by buying behavior of other potential consumers too. Thus, consumers often focus solely on the price aspect of the product offerings due to lack of differentiation present in the service offerings. Marketing in discount superstores involves different operations that include labeling, packaging, pricing and point of purchase advertising.

Customer Relationship Management and its implication to the Essay

Customer Relationship Management and its implication to the Information Flow and Business Strategy - Essay Example The author of the essay "Customer Relationship Management and its implication to the Information Flow and Business Strategy" comes to the interesting conclusions. The author of this research paper assumes that any successful business today operates in a very competitive and complex environment. The competition is increasing day by day the margins are shrinking. Several environmental factors are affecting the profit margins of the companies. These factors are related to each other and at the same time it is also influencing the internal factors of the organization. Organizations need to fulfill the expectations of all its stake holders. There is always a need to understand the complex environment and consumer behavior on continuous basis so that the market is served properly with right solution, at right time with good profit margins. Customer relationship Management now has become key to any successful organization is a vast and complex area of studies. This helps the organizations to serve their customers effectively, efficiently and profitable, get competitive leverage on the database, standardize the all the customer touch points in the organization, smoothen the marketing and sales activities. The projects which have strategically proven positive investments are those which are successful in socio-technical dimensions. The author also discusses such topics as business intelligence, knowledge management, and effective and efficient business intelligence systems.

Change Management and Communication Plan Essay Example for Free

Change Management and Communication Plan Essay Riordan Manufacturing has decided to make a change to company’s customer management system. The company does not currently have any formal system for managing their customer information and has traditionally left this up to individual employees. This new system will require all employees to use one customer management system. Your team is now working to help Riordan implement this planned change. Your team must do the following in your role as consultants: †¢ Review the intranet site for Riordan Manufacturing including Human Resources – Organizational Charts, Employee Files, etc. , and Sales Marketing – Marketing Information Systems. †¢ Create a change management plan and communication plan of 1,050- to 1,400-words. Your plan should include the details from section I and section II outlined below. Section I: Change Management Plan Identify the current formal and informal power structures in the organization. How might the power and political structure of the organization affect employee behavior? Identify the most appropriate and effective organizational structures for Riordan Manufacturing that will help them accomplish their planned changes. Section I: Change Management Plan Riordan Manufacturing formal leaders consist of the chief executive, presidents, vice-presidents, high-level managers, middle-level managers and low-level managers. Each person is responsible for implementing changes that will benefit the structural system for the company. According to the organizational charts, the organization is separated by various departments into functional areas. According to the organizational charts, the organization is separated by various departments into functional areas. For example, in the Human Resource they are responsible for benefits, policy and procedures, job classification, annual reviews and survey results just to name some of the functions within the Human Resource Department. Informal leaders have non-official positions like secretaries, maintenance people, auditors and others who are less important but carry out the vision and mission of the company. A gatekeeper does not hold a position of authority, but they usually work closely with the formal leaders of the company. The power and political structure of the organization may frustrate employees when decisions are made that are unclear or not communicatedand lack vision or reasoning behind the decisions. The system relies on clear and concise communication at all times. It is important that chief executive officer is given accurate information at all times. Riordan Manufacturing discovered some problems with their employees; such as an inability to motivate employees and how to reduce the high turnover rate within the company. This was discovered through the Riordan human resources department structure which does not allow employee empowerment and as a result is delaying potential growth due to the unbalanced profits, and reduction in sales. The human resources department needs to revisit some of their decisions to strength their portion of the structure and better the company for the future. The high turnover rate has caused lack of employee motivation, low morale and with pay levels below their competitors’standards; there is lack of structure in the performance review process within the entire company. These issues can be corrected by creating a coaching, feedback process, and planning career development programs by either creating or improving their current performance reward systems. Riordan Manufacturing has selected a structure that will require all employees to use one customer management system. In doing so, Riordan has adopted a structure that closely resembles a bureaucratic nature. Standardization is the key concept in manufacturing. The formal leaders within the Riordan Manufacturing are each responsible for implementing changes that will benefit the structural system for the company. Organizations structures can have significant effects on its members. Potential effects of a bureaucratic structure on employee behavior are attributed to its formalized, mechanistic model where fairness in policy and procedures is a large indicator of job satisfaction. The bureaucratic environment in which Riordan Manufacturing adopts high levels of work specialization contributes to higher levels of productivity, but may sacrifice in areas of lower job satisfaction. This could be connected to the high turnover rate at Riordan in addition to the low pay levels when compared to similar markets. Management needs to consider the organizational structure and its effects on employees on an individual basis. In a bureaucratic environment management may consider looking into characteristics of employees that help determine their potential in working in such a structure and train employees through coaching and training to help them adapt to the vision Riordan management would expect from its employees, employing those that that prefer routine and security of specialized jobs may perform better in a manufacturing organization like Riordan. Riordan Manufacturing culture can be described in a descriptive term. The current structure and management operations would like to reverse some of the current trends in the workplace that affect its organizational culture. Recent discoveries have uncovered problems influencing culture at Riordan such as levels of motiv ation and tenure at the company. It was discovered that Riordan human resources department structure does not allow employee empowerment and are delaying potential growth because of the unbalanced profits and reduction in sales. The new system aspires to create a new culture where management motivates its employees through a reward system and competitive pay, where workers find management approachable with ideas to improve work processes, while following the idea that helping to implement change will benefit the structural system of the company. Riordan human resources department reassessment of its structure can positively impact Riordan’s overall organizational culture by focusing on pay and its incentive packages. Management at Riordan can consider news ways in which to improve its culture. Ideally, upper management would encourage mid-level management to allow feedback from employees to improve work processes while still following the chain of command to create improvement. Though there are more stringent rules in a manufacturing plant, Riordan management wants to instill its trust in its workers, making them feel they are trusted and that their individual judgment is supported. The new operations at Riordan involve team work that encourages positive interaction, collaboration, goal setting, and a reward system that supports its desires for improved culture at Riordan Manufacturing. †¢ Recommend a strategy to implement the changes over the next 12 months. †¢ Describe how you will evaluate the success or failure of the planned change. Section II: Communication Plan Create a Communication Plan for the proposed change covered in the Change Management Plan. In the Communication Plan, complete the following: Select the most appropriate channels to communicate the change to the employees, and explain why you selected these channels. Identify the potential barriers to effective communication and strategies for overcoming the barriers. Develop a message for one of the selected communication channels. In the message, complete the following: †¢ Identify those areas affected by the change. †¢ Establish the need for the change. †¢ Create a sense of urgency around the change. †¢ Outline next steps in the change process.

After The First Death Summary English Literature Essay

After The First Death Summary English Literature Essay The book started with Ben. 16 years old child. He has a whole in the chest. His father is a general. The main issue is the hijacking of a schoolbus with 1 driver and children of 6 years old. The hijackers were Artkin, Miro, Antibbe and Stroll. The driver supposed to be Miros first kill, but it turned out to be a woman, named Kate. But he couldnt kill her, because Artkin didnt want to, they could use her help to calm the children. Artkin gave canty with drugs to calm the childs, but one child died of it, they thought he was allergic. Hijackers also used a van. They were on an old railway bridge. Artkin was taking the charge of the operation. He told Miro to watch over the childs and Kate. He had to win her confidence. She tried to be brave and escape, she had hidden the keys in her shoes earlier. But she failed. Artkin sent demands to the secret intelligence named Inner delta. Demands were: release the political prisoners, 10 million dollars and abolishment of Inner Delta. If somebody got hurt, they would kill 1 child for it. Their maingoal was to free their homeland. Antibbe got killed, because of a soldier with sniper, who reacted too fast to a flashlight. So Artkin also killed one child, Raymond. He was a smart child and that had given Kate strength, because she knew she wasnt alone versus the hijackers, but after they killed Raymond, she also gave up her hope. Inner Delta sent the hijackers a message, which said that Seedete, their leader, were captured. Artkin didnt believe them. So he said that they had to send a non-professional messenger with special stone from Sedeetes house. Ben was chosen by his father to accomplish this mission, even though knowing that its dangerous. But he knew that Ben was the best choice, because he was studying peoples behavior and expect how they should react. He also did this to his son for a long time. Thats the main reason why he chose his son. After Ben gave the special stone, the hijackers questioned and tortured him. His father knew that he would tell everything, so Inner Delta gave him false information. After a while Inner delta attacked the hijackers, earlier than hijackers expected, because Ben told them that it should happen at 09:30, but that was also a false information. Artkin and the rest, except Miro, were shot. Artkin shot Ben before dieing. Miro escaped to the forest with having Kate as a shield. When they were in the forest, Kate started asking questions about love and if Artkin was his father. After this question Miro gets all upset, because he always saw Artkin as a important person in his life. He realized that Kate was trying to talk him over so she wouldnt be killed by him. So Miro kills her and says that its already his second kill, because he is blaming himself for the dead of Artkin, because when he suspected, that they were getting attacked, he ran to Kate, instead of warning Artkin. Ben wasnt dead, he was in a coma. When he came out of the coma, he wrote a book about what was happened that day at the bridge. This is also the start of the book. With this part the book started. At the end Miro promised to start all over. He stole a car, whose owner walked away to urinate. And He drove away. Mini-biography of Robert Cormier His mother gave him his birth in 17-01-1925 and he lost his life in 02-11-2000, in Leominster, Massachusetts which is in United States of America. He lived there all his life. His mothers name is Irma Cormier and his fathers name is Geoffrey Leonard. He was the second of 8 children. He had a good relationship with his family. He went to the St. Celias Parochial Grammar School, but he had an awful time because of the nuns. At the 8th grade he saw his house burning because of fire. He was very feared. He wanted to go see his family but teacher didnt let him. This enraged him for a few years later on. His teacher of 7th grade saw one of his poems and said that Robert Cormier was a writer. This gave him the courage to become one. After he went to another school, Fitchburg State College, a teacher read one of his stories and was amazed and published it to a magazine. That would be the first of Robert Cormier. Later, when he finished college, he worked for a radio station as a write commer cials, but he changed it soon. He worked for a newspaper. He did the same job for a long time as a writer and editor. He received 3 great journalism awards. He started writing stories which were short. He wed in 1948 and had 4 kids. Robert Cormier came from America and he was a good writer, a good editorial writer and also a good reporter. His written material is notable of sarcasm and downbeat. The books he wrote contain a lot of topics like Abuse, mental illness, aggression, hospitality, punishment, retaliation, betrayal and trickery. In almost all the novels, which are written by Robert Cormier, the protagonists lose their fight or dont reach their goal. He mostly writes about the youth, even if they arent specially written for the youth. He writes realistic books and the story mostly happens in unusual places. The protagonists mostly have to fight alone versus their enemies or problems, who are much stronger than him, so they mostly lose the fight. His books mostly have a bad ending. His writing style is similar to reports, with a lot of conversations. He is used to write his stories as many times over as he is totally pleased with it. He has a lot of well-known books for example, I Am the Cheese, After the First Death, We All Fall Down and The Chocolate War. He won a lot of prizes with those books. His first and also best-known book is The chocolate War. Which he published in 1974. It can be found in a lot of libraries, also international. He once won the Margaret A. Edwards award. A lot of his books still appear on the list of American Library Association, The New York Times and school Library Journal, which only contains the best books. He answered a lot of letters which he received from his young readers a lot of years. I think that Robert Cormier used post colonialism as the literary movement in his book, named After the first death. Post colonialism flow against the colonialism which was mostly done by the western countries. I think Robert Cormier used this movement, because in his book After the first death, he is writing about a few hijackers who fight versus a secret intelligence of United States of Americ, so their own country can be free again. They say that their country isnt free at the moment, but they are fighting to make it theirs again. The name of the country was never said in the story, but they mostly say that everything in their country is better and everything is fresh etc. Thats why I think that he used post colonialism as the literary movement.

Types of Employment Contracts and UK Employment Legislation

Types of Employment Contracts and UK Employment Legislation William Hayden Describe the different types of employment contract and how theyre formed. Employment law is highly complex area. There are five forms of employment contracts, these being: Part-time contract: Part time contracts are employment opportunities that offer fewer hours per week. These employees work rotational shifts, however, can be called when free and during annual leave. To be deemed part-time, workers generally must work under 30 hours per week. An example of which is a sales assistant at Lloyds Pharmacy; working three hours every week day. The advantages for the employer and employee is the simplicity of the contract; the employee works shorter hours and therefore cannot over extend themselves at work and the employer spends less of their wage budget on them. The disadvantages of this arrangement is that the employee receives less money and if they are effective in their role, the employer cannot use them permanently and can only use their abilities in correlation with their contract. Fixed-term contract: Fixed-term contracts are provided by employers agreeing that the contract will expire upon the end of a specified period or the completion of a job. An example of this could be a Christmas temporary contract in a retail store such as Ralph Lauren, keeping the employee in work over December. Fixed term contracts are advantageous as they provide the employer with extra staff in times where they are required, without over exercising their budget permanently upon the time of expiry. It aids the employees in the sense that it is temporary, therefore would be used to supplement an existing income. It is disadvantageous because it temporary and will eventually expire, like the disadvantages of part-time contracts. Agency staff: Agency staff belong to a business that is paying them to find workers for other companies for example, there can be IT agencies that actively look out for employing young potential workers and provide them with employment for the benefit of their patron. This aids the employee employers as it promoted bringing in young talent, however, the agency will not be able to benefit from the crop of youngsters being approached. Freelancers: A freelance worker is self-employed however hired externally by another company to complete a job. For example, freelance plumbers may be hired by other businesses to provide services without being a part of that business. This aids freelancers as they can work as they wish without the complications of being legally bound to the company they are providing services for. It is also helpful for the employers as they are signing off a single fee for the freelancer and do not need to concern themselves with wages. The negative side of this is the large sum of money that could potentially be paid up front. Consultants: A consultant is a person who provides other businesses or freelancers professional advice in exchange for payment. Most larger businesses hire their own consultants, an example of which are the Mercedes Benz legal consultants. An advantage of using a consultant is that they provide the firm with a greater scope of knowledge regarding a certain business venture however, it is risky as it relies placing trust in one individual in a decision that could prove imperative regarding the progression of a business. Contractors: Contractors are usually organisation that work similarly to freelancers, seeking contracts from other businesses. An example of which could be a construction firm who are hired by the council to redevelop state schools. An advantage of the use of contractors is the fact a firm can bring in specialists who can carry out a specific job they themselves are unable to. A negative aspect of this is the lump-sum feed needed to facilitate the task. Zero hour contracts: Zero hour contracts are contracts that do not have specified hours or shifts. They are simply the agreement to be available when needed at short notice by their employers in the event any other member of staff cannot attend or more staff are required in a busy period. An example of a zero-hour contract is also seen in Lloyds Pharmacy; individuals who are called when another is either late or cannot attend. Zero hour contracts are good for an individual to quickly work without the restrictions of routine shifts, the negative aspect of this is the fact it is not a reliable source of income for an employee as they lack consistency with their hours. Separating legally binding contracts from other agreements requires an identified offer. The must be identified via the means of advertisement being classed as invitations to treat. Additionally, the employer making the contract offer to potential employees must have necessary authority to do so. Conditions within offers of employment must be met once documented for the contract to become valid; an example of which could be x amount of GCSEs needed for acceptance. Any promises made by the employer towards the employee in interview conditions are legally binding. Both parties MUST gain from the contract; the employer acquiring the work of the employee and the employee guaranteeing an income. This is known as consideration. If the parties intentionally decide that the contract is not legally binding when it is drafted, it will not be able to be later enforced in court. Mistakes and misrepresentation from the parties mean that a valid contract can be brought to court. All terms of a legally binding contract must be documented in writing with signature proof; this is known as written terms. P2 Describe the impact of current legislation and regulations on two contracts; for example minimum wage, flexible working provisions and disability provisions. Impact of current legislation and regulations on zero-hour contracts The utilisation of zero-hour contracts provide flexibility in both the employer employees situations, although cannot be viewed as a permanent arrangement unless there is a justifiable excuse for doing do. By law, they are not appropriate if the job requires the employee to work regularly for a continuous amount of time on a permanent basis; this has an adverse effect on the employer as it means that if they like the employee want to see them work more frequently then they must first offer them a new contract which is problematic. An example of this is if an individual is required to work from 8-1 on a Monday to Wednesday over the course of a working year. In this instance, the Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment regulations would decide that the employee is entitled to a full-time role. Zero-hour contracts additionally do not grant employers with the right to evade all responsibility. Staff, despite their contracts, must be entitled to full employment rights and need to be lawfully treated. An example of which means that employers cannot deny those who work under zero-hour conditions perks such as sick-leave and equal pay. This impacts employers closely as it means that they must ensure the employees operating on zero-hour contracts are treated with the same degree of fairness all others are, else they are breaching the Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment regulations and face harsh fines negative publicity. Zero-hour contracts are inappropriate to be used as the backbone of a business. They are only useful for spontaneous or unexpected events that occur; for example emergency leave from over staff. By this logic, zero-hour workers can only be used irregularly limiting the progression the employee can have in that business as regulation limitations impede the c ompany from excessively using them.

Children of the Holocaust Essay -- Slaughter of Children, Nazi Extermi

â€Å"One of the most extraordinary aspects of Nazi genocide was the cold deliberate intention to kill children in numbers so great that there is no historical precedent for it.† (Lukas, 13 Kindle) About 1.5 million children were murdered by the Nazis during the Holocaust—one million being killed because they were Jews (ushmm.org) The Germans had a clearly defined goal of killing the Jewish children so that there would be no remnants of their race to reproduce, resulting in extinction. Not only were the children that were victimized in the Holocaust persecuted and murdered, but they were all stripped of their childhood. Children were not allowed to be children—they had to, for their own survival, be adults. The oppression of children because of race was a direct result of Hitler’s cruel policies and beliefs. In order to stifle the Jewish race from growing, the children were the first to be slaughtered at extermination camps (ushmm.org). Through selection at the extermination camps, the Nazis forced children to be separated from their relatives which destroyed the basic unit of society, the family. Because children were taken to different barracks or camps, they had to fend for themselves. In the book A Lucky Child by Thomas Buergenthal, the author describes the relief he felt when reunited with his mother after the War. Thomas writes: I felt that a tremendous burden had been lifted from my shoulders and put on hers: now Mutti was again responsible for me†¦Until then, I had been responsible for my own life, for my survival; I could not afford to depend on anyone but myself; I had to think and act like a grown-up and be constantly on the alert against all possible dangers. But once I was back in her arms, I could be a child again, le... ...ich were all Nazi-induced (ushmm.org). The experiences of the children in the Holocaust remind society of the innocence of youth and the cruelty in exposing them to horror at an early age. Works Cited Buergenthal, Thomas. A Lucky Child: A Memoir of Surviving Auschwitz as a Young Boy. New York: Little, Brown, 2009. Lukas, Richard C. Did the Children Cry?: Hitler's War against Jewish and Polish Children, 1939-1945. New York: Hippocrene, 1994. Remember Me? Holocaust Children Talk of Survival. Dir. United States Holocaust Museum. Perf. Nathan Kranowski. Xfinity Video. Comcast. Web. 08 Mar. 2015. http://xfinity.comcast.net/video/remember-me-holocaust-children-talk-of-survival/2085065960 United States' Holocaust Museum. "Children During the Holocaust." United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. 6 Jan. 2011. Web. 08 Mar. 2015. http://www.ushmm.org

tragoed Destiny and Fates Triumph Over Free Will in Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex) :: Oedipus the King Oedipus Rex

The Tragedy of Fate in Oedipus the King      Ã‚   Oedipus the King is widely regarded as a tragedy of fate.   Briefly stated, it begins with a terrible plague that destroys the city.   King Oedipus sends a messenger to the oracle at Delphi to find a cure.   The answer that is received suggests to find out who the killer of King Laios was.   Oedipus sends for the prophet Teiresias, who after much arguing, finally reveals that Oedipus himself is the murderer.   Slowly but surely the history of Oedipus' situation begins to unravel, and it is discovered that there was a prophecy made that he would unwittingly kill his father and marry his mother; Oedipus fulfilled his prophecy.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The conflict here lies with the struggle between the all powerful gods and the mere will of the humans.   The prophecy had been made about Oedipus as soon as he was born.   Once the destiny was foretold by the gods, no amount of hope, faith, or vain effort by human beings could have prevented it.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As soon as there was interference with fate, it was counteracted by the divinities.   Jocasta wanted to kill the baby, so she skewed his legs together, had a servant bring him to the forest and leave him for dead.   The servant does not want to carry out this deed and therefore "saves his life" by handing the baby to someone else, so that he can be raised in another city.   Further, a drunken man in a tavern tells Oedipus about the prophecy, so he runs home to question his parents about his fate.   Instead of telling him the truth, they give him the impression that they are in fact his biological parents.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The idea that must be pointed out here, is that once an oracle or a prophet makes a prediction, it is destined to be and there is absolutely nothing that can be done about it.   Oedipus was highly regarded as a noble and honorable king.   However, if we explore beneath the exterior, we will discover that in actuality, the King has many faults and is not so honorable and noble.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Oedipus seems to be driven by an unconscious rage.   Being very short tempered, he is quick to lash out at those whose opinions are different from his.

Learning and Memory Applied :: Essays Papers

Learning and Memory Applied Learning and memory are fascinating. The world could not function without either. They both are used in many different fashions in a wide variety of places. Learning and Memory have been carefully studied by professionals but are also well known and used by the common people on a daily basis. I am one of those common people, a student who is constantly learning and making the most of my memory. Since enrolling in The Psychology of Learning and Memory class I have come to the realization that I encounter situations in my life that exemplify the very concepts I have studied. I have also learned that it is beneficial to apply the lessons learned in class to my everyday life. Positive reinforcement, learned helplessness and serial recall are a few among many of the learning and memory models that have come to action in my life and in my final reflections surrounding the course. First of all, I was highly interested in the concept and various factors that together make up positive reinforcement. I had a premise that I could do some experimental work on the three children for whom I baby-sit during the week after school. They leave school full of energy and it is my job to get them to complete a series of tasks before the end of the evening. I imagined that some positive reinforcement might get them on their way to handling their responsibilities in a timelier manner. My first step was to come up with a specific instrumental response that would produce reinforcement. This took no time at all because by far the most painfully difficult thing for me to do is get the children to sit down and do their homework. I then spoke specifically to each child and asked them what they would rather choose as an after school activity. They named video games, television, and going to play with other neighborhood children. I had expected these types of answers from the children and made them into the positive reinforcers that would be contingent on the children’s performance of the instrumental response; namely completing their homework. I explained to the children that if they behaved and finished their homework, then directly following they could spend an hour doing an activity of their choice.

Financial Analysis of Macy’s Inc. and Nordstrom

Financial Analysis of Macy’s Inc. and Nordstrom Macy’s Inc. has established itself as a strong player in the retail industry, with over 850 Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s stores in 45 states. Macy’s competes against retail giants like Nordstrom, Kohl’s, JC penny and Saks Fifth Avenue for market share in the increasingly competitive department store industry. This financial report will choose Nordstrom as the major competitor, and serves as the comparison company. The annual report and 10-K filings were obtained from Yahoo! Finance.The financial statements for both companies used in this report are Consolidated Statement of Income, Consolidated Balance Sheets, and Consolidated Statement of Cash Flow from 2010 to 2012. All tables are included in appendix. 1. Company background & Overview Macy's Department Stores, Inc. is a U. S. chain of mid-range department stores. In addition to its internationally renowned flagship Herald Square location in Midto wn Manhattan, New York City, the company operates over 850 other stores in the United States as of September 12, 2012. Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale fashion specialty retailer chain in the United States.Originally it is a shoe retailer, nowadays the company also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances and home furnishings in some locations. There are now 231 stores operating in 31 states across the U. S. Beginning in 2008, department stores faced financial challenges partially attributed to the global economic crisis. The downturn negatively impacted department store liquidity, consumer spending and credit market conditions. Companies were able to cut operations and supply chain costs, and most have utilized the savings to improve their liquidity and the strength of their balance sheet.Also, developments in mobile phone technology are drawing more consumers away from brick-and-mortar stores toward online retail platforms. As a result, over the five year s to 2012, the number of companies is expected to decrease at an annualized rate of 31. 8% to an estimated 65 operators. 2. Financial analysis 2. 1 Horizontal analysis 2. 1. 1 Horizontal analysis of Balance Sheet In this section, we will look at the comparative statements of balance sheet of Macy’s Inc. for a three-year period. Macy’s fiscal year ends on the Saturday closest to January 31.Fiscal years 2011, 2010 and 2009 ended on January 28, 2012, January 29, 2011 and January 30, 2010, respectively. Fiscal 2009 is chosen as the base year for computing the percentage change in each account in 2010, and fiscal 2010 is the base year for computing the change in 2011. From table 1, two accounts stand out: 2010 cash and cash equivalent decreased by 13% over 2009, while in 2011 it increased by 93% over 2010. Short/Current Long Term Debt increased by 87. 6% in 2010, and kept on increased by 143% in 2011. This huge increased short term debt mainly came from 616 million 5. 35% S enior notes due 2012, 298 million 5. 75% Senior notes due 2013, and 173 million 8. 0% Senior debentures due 2012. The huge increase in short term debt in FY 2011 maybe part of the reason of the big increase in the cash and cash equivalent account. 2. 1. 2 Horizontal analysis of Income Statement From table 2, we can see that net sales for 2011 totaled $26,405 million, compared to net sales of $25,003 million for 2010, an increase of $1,402 million or 5. 6%. Part of this increase is due to an increase on the comparable store basis, and part of it is due to the 39. 6% increases from the company's Internet businesses in 2011.The successive increase in the net sales in the three year trends shows that Macy’s continues to benefit from the successful execution of the My Macy's localization strategy. In 2011, the Gain on sale of properties, impairments, store closing costs and division consolidation costs account increased 200% over 2010. This is because Macy’s had a $54 milli on gain from the sale of store leases related to the 2006 divestiture of Lord ; Taylor in 2011; while the company only announced 25 million Impairments and store closing costs for 2010. In 2011, Macy’s had the 5. 6% increase in sales.Because the management was able to control its cost of goods sold (6. 17% increase) and SG;A expenses (0. 25% increase), plus the big gain from sales of property, the company resulted a 27. 3% increase in operating income. In 2010, Macy’s net sales increased 6. 45% over 2009, part of it is due to the huge decrease in the impairments, store closing costs and division consolidation costs account. The interest expense increased in 2010 over 2009, while the same account decreased 22. 8% in 2011 over 2010. This decreases benefited from lower levels of borrowings during fiscal 2010 and the repayment of debt at maturity. . 2 Vertical analysis 2. 2. 1 Vertical analysis of Balance Sheet From table 3, we can see that accounts receivables, inventory and other current assets accounts, their percentage of total assets didn’t have big difference over the three years trend. The increase of cash and cash equivalent from 7. 1% of total assets in 2010 to 13% in 2011 is the main reason that total current asset in terms of the percentage of total assets had significant increase (from 33% to 40%). Macy’s total current liabilities represent a slightly higher percentage of total liabilities and stockholders’ equity at FY 2011 than FY 2010 and 2009.This increase is balanced by a slight decrease in the relative percentages of long-term debt. 2. 2. 2 Vertical analysis of Income Statement In table 4, the base on which all other items in the income statement are compared is net sales. Macy’s gross profit ratio was very stable and consistent over the three year trends, less than 0. 5% difference among three years. Macy’s profit margin ratio kept growing over three years: from 1. 4% in 2009 to 3. 4% in 2010, and this ratio increased to 4. 8% in 2011. The increasing profit margin indicated that Macy’s management has strong ability to control its expenses. 2. 3 Cash flow analysisTable 5 is the most recent cash flow statement for Macy’s. Net cash provided by operating activities in 2011 was $2,093 million, compared to $1,506 million provided in 2010, reflecting higher net income and a lower pension contribution in 2011. In 2011, Macy’s pension funding contributions was $375 million, which was much lower than $825 million in 2010. The capital expenditure for property and equipment and capitalized software during 2011 was $764 million, the dividends paid was $148 million. Macy’s generated sufficient amounts of cash from operations in 2011 to cover its capital expenditures and dividends.Net cash used by investing activities and financing activities was $617 and $113million respectively for 2011. Investing activities for 2011 include purchases of property and equipment totaling $555 million and capitalized software of $209 million. Cash flows from investing activities included $114 million from the disposition of property and equipment for 2011. For financing activities, Macy’s issued $800 million of debt in 2011, but it is partially offset by the acquisition of company’s common stock at cost of $500 million and the repayment of $454 million debt, and the payment of $148 million of cash dividends.With the excess amounts of cash from operations Macy’s generated in 2011, management budgeted $850 million capital expenditures for 2012, primarily related to new stores, store remodels, maintenance, the renovation of Macy's Herald Square, technology and omnichannel investments, and distribution network improvements, including construction of a new fulfillment center. 2. 4 Ratio analysis 2. 4. 1 Liquidity Analysis Table 6 is the liquidity ratios for both Macy’s and Nordstrom over a three year period. At the beginning of 2012, Macy’s had $1. 4 of current assets for every $1 current liabilities.Compared to Nordstrom, both companies have more than enough assets to cover short-term debts, but Nordstrom is more liquid than Macy’s. Macy’s cash flow from operations to current liabilities ratio has increased from 2010 to 2011, from 31. 90% to 37. 20%. It is mainly because cash generated from operations during 2011 was 40% more than it was during 2010. Both companies’ cash flow from operations to current liabilities ratio is less than one, it means that both companies have generated less cash over the year than it needs to pay off short term liabilities as at the year end. This may signal a need to raise money to meet liabilities.But Nordstrom still has higher ratio than Macy’s, which suggests that it is more liquid than Macy’s in the short term. In 2011, Macy’s only needs 4. 8 days for an account to be outstanding. And the number of days’ sale in receivable for the past three years were all less than a week. Macy’s accounts receivable turnover ratio in the three year period is much higher than Nordstrom, which implies  Macy’s extension of credit and collection of accounts receivable is more efficient. From 2009 to 2011, Macy’s kept on decreasing the days took to sell inventory, from 133 days in 2009 to 124 and 120 days in 2010 and 2011, respectively.Macy’s efficiency in managing inventory improved over years. But Nordstrom was much more efficient in selling its inventory than Macy’s. In the past three years, each year Nordstrom used half of the days that took Macy’s to sell its inventory. 2. 4. 2 Solvency Analysis The solvency of a company is the ability to repay long term debts when due. The more solvent a company is the more protected the owners and partners are from bankruptcy. Table 7 is the debt to equity ratios; debt service coverage ratios and cash flow from operations to capital expe nditure ratios for both Macy’s and Nordstrom from 2009 to 2011.Macy’s debt to equity ratio was under 1 for FY 2009 and 2010, which suggested for these two years Macy’s assets are primarily financed through equity. This ratio was 1. 06 in 2011. When the debt to equity ratio was over 1, implied the majority of assets are financed through debt, which was a red flag for Macy’s. Compared to Macy’s, Nordstrom had a much higher debt to equity ratio which was above 2 for all three years. A high ratio of 2 or more exposes a company to risk such as interest rate increases and causing creditors' uneasiness.Macy’s management is more effective custodians of their shareholder's investments than Nordstrom. A company's debt service coverage ratio refers to its ability to meet periodic obligations on outstanding liabilities with respect to its net operating revenue. Higher this figure better is the debt serving capacity. Macy’s DSCR increased from 1. 42 times in 2010 to 3. 91 times in 2011, which showed the improvement of its debt serving capacity. Nordstrom’s DSCR was higher than Macy’s in the three year period, suggested stronger debt serving capacity than Macy’s.Although the cash flow from operations to capital expenditures ratios for two companies decreased over time in three years, both companies generated enough cash from operations to finance their capital expenditures and covered dividend payments. Nordstrom’s capital expenditure was very close to Macy’s, although it generated less cash from operations than Macy’s, it paid more dividends than Macy’s every year. This is the reason that Nordstrom’s ratio was lower than Macy’s. 2. 4. 3 Profitability Analysis Profitability ratios are used to determine the company's bottom line and its return to its investors.Table 8 is the profit margin ratio, rate of return on assets and return on sales ratio for both Macyâ€⠄¢s and Nordstrom from 2009 to 2011. The profit margin is an overall indicator of management’s ability to control expenses, reflects the amount of income for each dollar of sales. Note the increase in Macy’s profit margin: from 1. 40% in 2009 to 3. 39% in 2010 and 4. 76% in 2011. Nordstrom has higher profit margin ratio than Macy’s in the three years. A higher profit margin indicates a more profitable company that  has better control over  its costs compared to  its competitors.Macy’s effective tax rate from 2009 to 2011 was 30. 9%, 35. 8% and 36. 2%. Its return on assets rations increased from 2. 31% in 2009 to 4. 82% in 2010, and 6. 64% in 2011. It suggests Macy’s generated more profits for each $1 asset. The lower the profit per dollar of assets, the more asset-intensive a business is. Macy’s ROA suggested it is very asset-heavy. Nordstrom used a statutory Federal income tax rate 35%, and its ROA was 8. 01%, 9. 37% and 9. 14% for 20 09, 1010 and 2011 respectively, which were all higher than Macy’s. The higher the return, the more efficient management is in utilizing its asset base.Nordstrom’s management does a better job than Macy’s in this case. Macy’s return on sales ratio also kept on growing over three years, from 2. 16% in 2009 to 4. 12% and 5. 35% in 2010 and 2011 respectively. It implies the company makes more profit for every $1 sales over time. But this ratio for Macy’s still lower than Nordstrom over three years period, suggested Nordstrom’s business operations are more satisfactory than Macy’s. From the profitability analysis, we can see that Macy’s kept on having a healthy development over time, its profitability ability kept on improving.Compared to Nordstrom, the ratios suggest that Macy’s still a less profitable company than Nordstrom. 2. 4. 4 DuPont Analysis DuPont equation provides a broader picture of the return the company is earn ing on its equity. It tells where a company's strength lies and where there is a room for improvement. DuPont analysis  tells us that ROE is affected by  three things: Operating efficiency, which is  measured by profit margin; Asset use efficiency, which is measured by total asset turnover; and Financial leverage, which is  measured by the equity multiplier.So the formula will be: ROE = (Net Income/Revenue)*(Revenue/Assets)*(Assets/Equity) Table 9 is the DuPont analysis for both Macy’s and Nordstrom from 2009 to 2011. Looking at the components of ROE for both companies helps explain the changes in ROE over time. Since Nordstrom had higher profit margin ratio, asset turnover rate and leverage factors, its overall ROE was much higher than Macy’s in the three year trend. It shows Nordstrom is more effective at generating profits, managing assets and finding an optimal amount of leverage, this is why it can boost its ROE.Although Macy’s ROE were lower than N ordstrom’s, its own ROE still kept on growing over years, from 7. 05% in 2009 to 15. 05% and 21. 25% in 2010 and 2011 respectively. It is result of improving its operating efficiency and asset use efficiency, which suggests Macy’s management kept on improving its performance and the company developed in a healthy and growing direction. 3. Conclusions From above analysis, Macy's, Inc. may have more financial risk than other companies in the Multiline Retail industry.It has smaller current ratio and cash from operations to current liabilities ratio than its competitors, implies less liquid in the industry. However, an examination of near-term assets and liabilities shows that, even though there are not enough liquid assets to satisfy current obligations, operating profits are more than adequate to service the debt. Accounts Receivable is typical for the industry, with 4. 8 days worth of sales outstanding. Also, Macy's, Inc. is among the most efficient companies in its in dustry at managing inventories, and it is getting better.The company only has 120 days of its Cost of Goods Sold tied up in inventory. Year over year, Macy's, Inc. has been able to grow revenues. Most impressively, the company has been able to reduce the percentage of sales devoted to selling, general and administrative costs. This was a driver that led to a net income growth from $847. 0M in 2010 to $1. 3B in 2011. Compared to its main competitor, Nordstrom, Macy’s is in a weaker financial position. In short run, as mentioned earlier, the liquidity ratios suggest that Macy’s is less liquid in the short term.In the long run, although Macy’s management is more effective custodians of their shareholder's investments than Nordstrom, Nordstrom still has stronger debt serving capacity than Macy’s and affording to pay more dividends to its shareholders. From the profitability analysis, Macy’s has smaller profit margin ratio, rate of return on assets and rate of return on sales ratio than Nordstrom, indicates that Nordstrom’s management is better at generating more profit and operating assets efficiency than Macy’s. And this result is consistent with the DuPont analysis.Appendix Table 1 Horizontal Analysis of Balance Sheet Macy's Inc. Comparative Balance SheetsPeroid Ending: End of Jan 2010-2012(all amount in thousands of dollars)| | 2012| 2011| 2010| Cash And Cash Equivalents| 2827000| 93%| 1464000| -13. 17%| 1686000| —| Accounts Receivables| 368000| 9%| 338000| -5. 59%| 358000| —| Inventory| 5117000| 8%| 4758000| 3. 10%| 4615000| —| Other Current Assets| 465000| 37%| 339000| 52. 02%| 223000| —| TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS| 8777000| 27%| 6899000| 0. 25%| 6882000| —| Property Plant and Equipment| 8420000| -4%| 8813000| -7. 0%| 9507000| —| Goodwill| 3743000| 0%| 3743000| 0. 00%| 3743000| —| Intangible Assets| 598000| -6%| 637000| -6. 05%| 678000| —| Other Assets| 557000| 3%| 539000| 10. 00%| 490000| —| TOTAL ASSETS| 22095000| 7%| 20631000| -3. 14%| 21300000| —| Accounts Payable| 5160000| 14%| 4537000| 7. 51%| 4220000| —| Short/Current Long Term Debt| 1103000| 143%| 454000| 87. 60%| 242000| —| TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES| 6263000| 25%| 4991000| 11. 86%| 4462000| —| Long Term Debt| 6655000| -5%| 6971000| -17. 56%| 8456000| —| Other Liabilities| 2103000| 8%| 1939000| -25. 4%| 2597000| —| Deferred Long Term Liability Charges| 1141000| -5%| 1200000| 6. 01%| 1132000| —| TOTAL LIABILITIES| 16162000| 7%| 15101000| -9. 29%| 16647000| —| Common Stock| 5000| 0%| 5000| 0. 00%| 5000| —| Retained Earnings| 4015000| 34%| 2990000| 34. 26%| 2227000| —| Treasury Stock| -2434000| 0%| -2431000| -3. 34%| -2515000| —| Capital Surplus| 5408000| -5%| 5696000| 0. 12%| 5689000| —| Other Stockholder Equity| -1061000| 45%| -730000| -3. 05%| -753000| —| TOTAL STOCKHOLDER EQUITY | 593 3000| 7%| 5530000| 18. 85%| 4653000| —| Table 2 Horizontal analysis of Income StatementMacy's Inc. Comparative Income StatementPeroid Ending: End of Jan 2010-2012(millions, except per share data)| | 2012| 2011| 2010| Net Sales| 26405| 5. 61%| 25003| 6. 45%| 23489| —| Cost of sales| 15738| 6. 17%| 14824| 6. 09%| 13973| —| Gross margin| 10667| 4. 79%| 10179| 6. 97%| 9516| —| Selling, general and administrative expenses| 8281| 0. 25%| 8260| 2. 46%| 8062| —| Gain on sale of properties, impairments, store closing costs and division consolidation costs| 25| -200. 00%| -25| -93. 61%| -391| —| Operating income| 2411| 27. 30%| 1894| 78. 17%| 1063| —| Interest expense| 447| -22. 0%| 579| 3. 02%| 562| —| Interest income| 4| -20. 00%| 5| -16. 67%| 6| —| Income before tax| 1968| 49. 09%| 1320| 160. 36%| 507| —| Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)| 712| 50. 53%| 473| 165. 73%| 178| —| Net income| 1256| 48. 29%| 847| 157. 45%| 329| —| Table 3 Vertical analysis of Balance Sheet Macy's Inc. Common-Size Comparative Balance SheetsPeroid Ending: End of Jan 2010-2012(all amount in thousands of dollars)| | 2012| 2011| 2010| | Dollars| Percent| Dollars| Percent| Dollars| Percent| Cash And Cash Equivalents| 2827000| 13%| 1464000| 7. 0%| 1686000| 7. 92%| Accounts Receivables| 368000| 2%| 338000| 1. 64%| 358000| 1. 68%| Inventory| 5117000| 23%| 4758000| 23. 06%| 4615000| 21. 67%| Other Current Assets| 465000| 2%| 339000| 1. 64%| 223000| 1. 05%| TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS| 8777000| 40%| 6899000| 33. 44%| 6882000| 32. 31%| Property Plant and Equipment| 8420000| 38%| 8813000| 42. 72%| 9507000| 44. 63%| Goodwill| 3743000| 17%| 3743000| 18. 14%| 3743000| 17. 57%| Intangible Assets| 598000| 3%| 637000| 3%| 678000| 3. 18%| Other Assets| 557000| 3%| 539000| 2. 61%| 490000| 2. 0%| TOTAL ASSETS| 22095000| 100%| 20631000| 100. 00%| 21300000| 100. 00%| Accounts Payable| 5160000| 23%| 4537000| 22%| 42200 00| 20%| Short/Current Long Term Debt| 1103000| 5%| 454000| 2%| 242000| 1%| TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES| 6263000| 28%| 4991000| 24%| 4462000| 21%| Long Term Debt| 6655000| 30%| 6971000| 34%| 8456000| 40%| Other Liabilities| 2103000| 10%| 1939000| 9%| 2597000| 12%| Deferred Long Term Liability Charges| 1141000| 5%| 1200000| 6%| 1132000| 5%| TOTAL LIABILITIES| 16162000| 73%| 15101000| 73%| 16647000| 78%| Common Stock| 5000| 0%| 5000| 0%| 5000| 0%|Retained Earnings| 4015000| 18%| 2990000| 14%| 2227000| 10%| Treasury Stock| -2434000| -11%| -2431000| -12%| -2515000| -12%| Capital Surplus| 5408000| 24%| 5696000| 28%| 5689000| 27%| Other Stockholder Equity| -1061000| -5%| -730000| -4%| -753000| -4%| TOTAL STOCKHOLDER EQUITY | 5933000| 27%| 5530000| 27%| 4653000| 22%| TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY | 22095000| 100%| 20631000| 100%| 21300000| 100%| Table 4 Vertical analysis of Income Statement Macy's Inc. Common-Size Comparative Income StatementPeroid Ending: End of Jan 2010-2012(m illions, except per share data)| | 2012| 2011| 2010| dollars| percent| dollars| percent| Dollars| Percent| Net Sales| 26405| 100. 00%| 25003| 100. 00%| 23489| 100. 00%| Cost of sales| 15738| 59. 60%| 14824| 59. 29%| 13973| 59. 49%| Gross margin| 10667| 40. 40%| 10179| 40. 71%| 9516| 40. 51%| Selling, general and administrative expenses| 8281| 31. 36%| 8260| 33. 04%| 8062| 34. 32%| Gain on sale of properties, impairments, store closing costs and division consolidation costs| 25| 0. 09%| -25| -0. 10%| -391| -1. 66%| Operating income| 2411| 9. 13%| 1894| 7. 58%| 1063| 4. 53%| Interest expense| 447| 1. 9%| 579| 2. 32%| 562| 2. 39%| Interest income| 4| 0. 02%| 5| 0. 02%| 6| 0. 03%| Income before tax| 1968| 7. 45%| 1320| 5. 28%| 507| 2. 16%| Federal, state and local income tax benefit (expense)| 712| 2. 70%| 473| 1. 89%| 178| 0. 76%| Net income| 1256| 4. 76%| 847| 3. 39%| 329| 1. 40%| Table 5 Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Dollars in millions)| 2011| 2010| Cash flows from operatin g activities:| Net income| 1256. 00 | 847. 00 | Depreciation and amortization| 1085. 00 | 1150. 00 | Gain on sale of properties, impairments and store closing costs| (25. 0)| 25. 00 | Decrease in working capital and other, net| (223. 00)| (516. 00)| Net cash provided by operating activities| 2093. 00 | 1506. 00 | Cash flows from investing activities:| Capital expenditures for property and equipment and capitalized software| (764. 00)| (505. 00)| Disposition of property and equipment| 114. 00 | 74. 00 | Other, net| 33. 00 | (34. 00)| Net cash used by investing activities| (617. 00)| (465. 00)| Cash flows from financing activities:| Debt issued| 800. 00 | -| Debt repaid| (454. 00)| (1245. 00)| Dividends paid| (148. 0)| (84. 00)| Acquisition of treasury stock| (502. 00)| (1. 00)| Issuance of common stock| 162. 00 | 43. 00 | Other, net| 29. 00 | 24. 00 | Net cash used by financing activities| (113. 00)| (1263. 00)| Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents| 1363. 00 | (222. 0 0)| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period| 1464. 00 | 1686. 00 | Cash and cash equivalents at end of period| 2827. 00 | 1464. 00 | Table6 Liquidity Ratios | Macy's| Nordstrom| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2011| 2010| 2009| current ratio| 1. 4| 1. 38| 1. 54| 2. 2| 2. 6| 2| ash flow from operations to current liabilities| 37. 20%| 31. 90%| 36. 50%| 52. 90%| 60. 50%| 69. 20%| number of days' sale in receivables| 4. 8| 5| 6. 1| 65. 5| 72| 80| number of days' sale in inventory| 120| 124| 133| 58| 57| 61| Table7 Solvency Ratios | Macy's| Nordstorm| | 2011| 2010| 2009| 2011| 2010| 2009| debt to equity| 1. 06| 0. 9| 0. 96| 3. 34| 2. 69| 3. 19| debt service coverage ratio| 3. 91| 1. 42| 1. 6| 10. 4| 3. 48| 3. 73| cash flow from operations to capital expenditure| 350%| 390%| 469%| 192%| 253%| 309%| Table 8 Profitability Ratios | Macy's| Nordstrom| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2011| 2010| 2009| profit margin ratio| 4. 76%| 3. 39%| 1. 40%| 6. 28%| 6. 32%| 5. 11%| return on assets| 6. 64%| 4. 92%| 2. 31% | 9. 14%| 9. 37%| 8. 01%| return on sales| 5. 35%| 4. 12%| 2. 16%| 6. 70%| 6. 78%| 5. 68%| Table 9 DuPont Analysis | Macy's| Nordstrom| DuPont analysis factors| 2011| 2010| 2009| 2011| 2010| 2009| profit margin| 4. 76%| 3. 39%| 1. 40%| 6. 28%| 6. 32%| 5. 11%| asset turnover| 1. 2| 1. 21| 1. 1| 1. 28| 1. 3| 1. 31| leverage| 3. 72| 3. 73| 4. 58| 4. 34| 3. 69| 4. 19| ROE| 21. 25%| 15. 30%| 7. 05%| 34. 89%| 30. 32%| 28. 04%|