Publicly Traded Company Essays (Examples)

Yahoo is definitely facing difficult challenges in the near future. Consumption is probably going down, but that is not something that will only affect Yahoo! The competition will also be seriously shaken. Another aspect that the firm's managers should consider is the more personalized approach proposed by Google. The G-mail service will be tailored to fit the desires of each and every user. The needs of each person, as manifested in the search conducted with Google's search engine, shall be reflected in the way the email account of that particular person is handled.

For instance, should someone be interested in marketing techniques, Google will put on the email box web site of that individual a few links related to that subject. Critics say that this is an unforgivable intrusion in people's privacy, since these data may be used to make up psychological profiles of each and every person using Google,…

Bibliography

1. Something to YAHOO! About: An Internet Winner

Ellen M. Heffes.

Financial Executive. Morristown:

May 2004.Vol.20, Iss. 3; pg. 32

Financial Statement Analysis

In this particular essay, I undertake the financial analysis of five companies, all of which are set in the retail industry. Three of the companies, Tesco Plc, Sainsbury's and Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc are some of the largest food retailers in the United Kingdom. Ocado which is the fourth company is the largest online food retailer in the whole world and lastly Crawshaw Group PLC is also in the business of operating a chain of retail food stores. Every company will be discussed individually and it will encompass information regarding the history of the company, the products and the services, the consumers and also other information.

Tesco Plc is a company that is based in Britain and is the largest food retailer in the United Kingdom. It is one of the biggest retailers in the globe as it is the third in position in the retail industry…

References

Accounting for Management. (2014). Return on common stockholders' equity ratio. Available:  http://www.accountingformanagement.org/return-on-common-stockholders-equity-ratio/ 

Bloomberg. (2015). Crawshaw Group Plc company information. Retrieved from:  http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=CRAW:LN 

Bloomberg. (2015). Wm Morrisons Supermarket plc. Retrieved from:  http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=MRW:LN 

Investigating Answers. (2014). Operating Leverage. Available:  http://www.investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/ratio-analysis/operating-leverage-2795

The CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., Sharon L. Patrick, issued a press release in October: "Despite the losses in the quarter, we continue to benefit from strong consumer support for our products, which offer that unique blend of 'Martha Stewart' brand attributes - inspirational 'how-to' ideas translated into products that stand for quality, style, usefulness and affordability," Patrick reported.

During the 3rd Quarter of 2004, Stewart's company purchased "Body and Soul" magazine, and Patrick also announced that Stewart will launch a new television show; and Mark Burnett Productions will "develop and produce a primetime network television series" set to launch in the fall of 2005 (Burnett is the producer of "Survivor").

Current assets for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc., as of Sept. 30, 2004, were $179,298. Current Liabilities for the same period, $61,815. That is a plus $117,483.

For the year ending 2003, "net cash provided by (used…

In general, P/E valuation is a common and reliable method for appraising a company's value, but, as with any method, caution must be exercised.

Discounted cash flow

The discounted-cash-flow method is arguably the most complex valuation model discussed in this paper, but it is often considered reliable because it considers a company's post-sale prospects (Calculating Discounted 2005). In the case of the previously discussed over-valued dot.com, it is easy to see where a potential buyer would eventually develop a cash-flow problem. The company is barely profitable, and it's going to take $5 million to purchase the company, likely creating some debt to be serviced. Perhaps a company with multiple business units would be capable of servicing that debt through the performance of the other units, but clearly the business being acquired could not service such debt through its own cash flow.

The discounted-cash-flow method works well because one of the…

Works Cited

Berry, T. 2004, "Planning for Purchasing a Business," Bplans.com, viewed 20 May, 2007 at  http://www.bplans.com/bb/article.cfm/138 .

Bizquest Staff, No date, "Valuation Methodologies," BizQuest.com, viewed 19 May, 2007 at  http://www.bizquest.com/resource/valuation_methodologies-18.html .

Brooks Barristers No date, "Key Questions When Purchasing a Business," LexisNexis, viewed 20 May, 2007 at  http://business-law.lawyers.com/Key-Questions-When-Purchasing-a-Business.html .

Business Valuation Methods" No date, Second Venture Corp., viewed 20 May, 2007 at http://www.secondventure.com/business-valuation-methods.asp.

If the company launches an immediate public relations campaign to improve its public perception, it might be able to turn this situation around. This is a definite possibility, given Palm Inc.'s access to the deep pockets of Hewlett Packard. The best strategy will be to try to expand market share at the expense of Apple's iPhone 4. This would provide it with an immediate increase in market share. The other companies could be taken on at a later time as the companies fortunes got better or their products could be bought out using Hewlett Packard's considerable financial resources.

orks Cited

Apple wanted to buy palm -- report. (2010). Retrieved 14 July 2010 from http://www.phoneplusmag.com/news/2010/07/apple-wanted-to-buy-palm-report.aspx

Hp to acquire palm for $1.2 billion. (2010, April 28). Retrieved 14 July 2010 from http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2010/100428xa.html

Kairer, Ryan. (2010, July 14). Survey shows palm demand lacking. Retrieved 14 July

2010 from http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/6389/survey-shows-palm-demand-lacking/

Madrid, Carolina, & Madway,…

Works Cited

Apple wanted to buy palm -- report. (2010). Retrieved 14 July 2010 from  http://www.phoneplusmag.com/news/2010/07/apple-wanted-to-buy-palm-report.aspx 

Hp to acquire palm for $1.2 billion. (2010, April 28). Retrieved 14 July 2010 from  http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2010/100428xa.html 

Kairer, Ryan. (2010, July 14). Survey shows palm demand lacking. Retrieved 14 July

2010 from  http://www.palminfocenter.com/news/6389/survey-shows-palm-demand-lacking/

Fortune Magazine every year publishes its list of the Top 100 companies to work for. There are a number of different factors that go into their survey, including things like benefits, employee loyalty and any unusual things that these companies do or provide for their employees. Each situation is different. In some industries, a great working environment is considered to be the norm and just to compete a company has to be good. In other industries, companies seek to use their working environment as a source of competitive advantage. There are as many different approaches to being one of the top companies to work for as there are companies on the list. Some companies want to attract the best people in their industries, who are among the most talented in the world. Other companies seek to foster loyalty because they see relationships and institutional knowledge as keys to their success.…

References

Dreher, G. (2003). Breaking the glass ceiling: The effects of sex ratios and work-life programs on female leadership at the top. Human Relations. Vol. 56 (5) 541-562.

Fortune (2015). Top 100 companies to work for. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved November 17, 2015 from Abqaiq

Hill, E., Miller, B., Weiner, S. & Colihan, J. (1998). Influences of the virtual office on aspects of work and work/life balance. Personnel Psychology. Vol. 51 (3) 667-683.

Smithson, J. & Stokoe, E. (2005). Discourses of work-life balance: Negotiating gender-blind terms on organizations. Gender, Work and Organization. Vol. 12 (2) 147-168.

esearch Proposal

The Five Forces Model originally defined by Dr. Michael Porter of Harvard University is shown in Figure 1. The value of this model from analyzing Bowne & Company is how the company has been able to withstand many different competitive threats while at the same time attaining technological leadership with its XBL-based applications and services. Dr. Porter makes the point regarding the five forces model that the threat of new entrants and threat of substitute products or services are the most influenced by technological innovation (Porter, 2008).

Figure 1: Porter Five Forces Model

The role of emerging competitors and substitutes to electronic reporting will be assessed based on XBL depth of expertise (Brands, 2010). Information suppliers will be assessed based on their ability to contribute to investor clients' long-term reporting requirements. The buyers in this context are the investment banks and institutional investors who purchase reporting from Bowne…

References

Brands, K.. (2010). The Buzz about XBRL and Interactive Data. Strategic Finance, 92(4), 64-65.

Mark Leon. (2001, February). Printer moves from hot lead to hypertext. InfoWorld, 23(8), 34.

Michael E. Porter. (2008, January). The FIVE COMPETITIVE FORCES THAT SHAPE STRATEGY. Harvard Business Review: Special HBS Centennial Issue, 86(1), 78-93.

Joan E. Solsman. (2010, February 24). R.R. Donnelley Loss Narrows, Agrees to Buy Bowne. Wall Street Journal (Online),

A higher figure reflects a better position of a given company.

2008 Quick ratio = 5.95

2009 Quick ratio =6.83

2010 Quick ratio =7.23

The trend in quick ratio generally indicates an improvement or good trend in the company's ability to effectively meet its various short-term obligations using most of its liquid assets.

Profitability ratios

Return on investment (ROI)

A performance measure is employed in evaluate the efficiency of a given investment. It can also be used in comparing its efficiency to several other investments.

Return on Investment = Net Income after taxes/Shareholder's Equity (Total Assets-Total Liabilities)

2008 Return on investment = 2,118,827/( 1,810,626,071- 246,564,395)= 2,118,827/1,564,061,676 = 0.14%

2009 Return on investment = 36,165,310 / (1,649,954,411-172,891,948) = 36,165,310/1477062463= 2.5%

2010 Return on investment =73,636,501 / (1,592,528,763-123,488,012) =73,636,501/1,469,040,751=5%

The ROI trend indicates that the company is performing well through the years. It is experiencing an impressive growth in its ROI

Gross…

Any effort that detracts from that objective -- unless that effort is explicitly authorized by the shareholders -- is therefore a breach of duty. The managers of the Company must therefore have the objective of upholding their duty to the shareholders, within the confines of the law. BP will therefore not be providing research funding, compensation or any other form of assistance to the fishermen, without judicial or regulatory order.

It is important that the Department understands the principles that underpin this decision. BP does not take this decision lightly, and understands that not all stakeholders will have their needs met as the result of this decision. e regret in particular if this decision causes problems for our steadfast partners at the Department of Environment. However, the managers of the Company has no choice but to undertake activities that fulfill their duty to the shareholders, and in this case that…

Works Cited:

Friedman, M. (1970). The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. New York Times Magazine. Retrieved November 12, 2012 from  http://www.colorado.edu/studentgroups/libertarians/issues/friedman-soc-resp-business.html 

Jacobsen, R. (2012). The gumbo chronicles. Outside. Retrieved November 12, 2012 from  http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/culinary/the-Gumbo-Chronicles.html?page=all 

Mauer, R. & Tinsley, a. (2010). Gulf oil spill: BP has a long record of legal, ethical violations. McClatchy News Services. Retrieved November 12, 2012 from http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/08/93779/bp-has-a-long-record-of-legal.html

Forming a ank Holding Company - Structure, Governance, and Regulations

Understanding anks

Forming and Expanding a ank Holding Company

Financial Holding Company Requirements

HC Regulations

Capital uilding Options for ank Holding Companies

Pros and Cons of Forming a ank Holding Company

Stocks and Governance

Corporate Governance and anking Law

The Role of ank and Holding Company Audit Committees

Data Gathering Method

Database of Study

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations

Forming a ank Holding Company - Structure, Governance, and Regulations

This research paper describes the process of forming a bank holding company in the United States. The behavior of a bank holding company is strongly linked to the success of the banks it holds. Therefore, if business leaders can pinpoint how to set up a successful holding structure, they may have a better chance of successfully progressing their business.

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Statement of the Problem

Over the past few decades,…

Bibliography

Adams, Renee. Mehran, Hamid. (April 2003). Is Corporate Governance Different for Bank Holding Companies? Economic Policy Review, Volume 9, Number 1.

Bankers Online. (2003). Regulation Y. Retrieved from the Internet at  http://www.bankersonline.com/regs/225/225-82.html .

Baxter, Thomas. (March, 2003). Governing the Financial or Bank Holding Company: How Legal Infrastructure Can Facilitate Consolidated Risk Management. Federal Reserve Bank of New York: March 2003, Volume 9, Number 3.

Clodfelter, Mark. (February 27, 2003). U.S. Department of State.

Walt Disney Company CSR

The Company

Walt Disney Company began as a small cartoon studio in 1923, produced its first sound-synchronized short five years later, its first full-color cartoon short in 1932 for which it received an Academy Award, and from there the Company catapulted to greatness with hits such as Snow White, Dumbo and Pinocchio. Disney expanded into live-action production, television, theme parks, and global productions over the decades with Walt Disney World among its major attractions, even as it grew the Disney Channel, merged with AC (in 1996), purchased Pixar in 2006, acquired Marvel Entertainment in 2009 and LucasFilms in 2012 (rebooting the Star Wars franchise).[footnoteRef:1] It appeals to a broad-based audience from young children to older generations, with cross-cultural demographic appeal as well. The vision of the company is to be a "leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise," consisting of media networks, parks, resorts, studios,…

Bibliography

Brown, J. Nuttall R. Beyond corporate social responsibility: Integrated external engagement, 2013.

Business Review (2013) The Walt Disney Company -- A leader. Web. Accessed

5 Jun 2016 from http://www.businessreviewusa.com/leadership/3827/The-Walt-Disney-Company-A-Leader-In-Corporate-Social-Responsibility

Freeman E. R. A Stakeholder Theory of Modern Corporation." In L.

al-Mart Organizational Structure

The most successful companies have something to teach us. al-Mart has proved its successful business approach by adapting with changes throughout the years while maintaining a certain organizational system. The purpose of this essay is to examine al-Mart and its organizational structure methods. I will specifically analyze three different organizing functions for this company. I will evaluate the organizational structure of al-Mart and compare it to other forms of structuring. Next, this essay will evaluate al-Mart in terms of its organizational functions. Finally, I will demonstrate how al-Mart's organizational design suits its business model.

Defining al-Mart

According to al-Mart's corporate web site, this company serves over 200 million customers a week providing consumer items including groceries, clothing, electronics and more. al-Mart sells its goods to customer through various outlets including retail, online and mobile devices. al-Mart employs more than 2 million people throughout the world and its…

Works Cited

Gereffi, G. & Christian, M. (2009). The Impacts of Wal-Mart: The Rise and Consequence of the World's Dominant Retailer. Annual Review of Sociology, 2009, 35: 573-91. Retrieved from  http://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev-soc-070308-115947 

Hartung, A. (2012). Wal-Mart's Wrong-Headed Reorganization. Forbes, 30 Jan 2012. Retrieved from  http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2012/01/30/wal-marts-wrong-headed-re - organization/2/

Wal-Mart Corporate Web page. "Leadership." Viewed on 25 Jan 2013. Retrieved from  http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/

Executive Stock Option Plans

"If the company does not do better than its competitors, but the stock market goes up, executives do very well from their stock options. This makes no sense." Discuss viewpoint. Can you think of alternatives to the usual executive option plan that take the viewpoint into account?

Executive stock options are performance-based incentive plans that became popular in the 1950s and 1960s. They declined due to the stock market crash of the 1970s, but returned aggressively returned in the 1990s (Kole, 1997). Today, most companies grant stock options to their top officers as part of executive compensation, along with salary and bonuses. Options that are awarded as part of a compensation package can be very valuable to executives when stocks are performing well. The challenge comes in when stock value is realized for executives even when a company is not faring well at all. This is…

References

Cicero, D.C. (2009). The manipulation of executive stock option exercise strategies: Information timing and backdating. Journal of Finance, 64(6), 2627 -- 2663.

Collins, D.W., Gong, G., & Li, H. (2009). Corporate Governance and Backdating of Executive Stock Options. Contemporary Accounting Research, 26(2), 403-445.

Hamilton, S. And Wise, D. (2008). Adding performance criteria to your stock options. Hay Group. Retrieved from http://208.254.39.65/haygroupusmkting/e_article001162460.cfm.

Hess, D. (2012). More Stock Rewards Tied To Performance. Crain's New York Business, 28(31), 0015.

CONVESION ON COMPANY'S FINANCING

Conversion of Google's financing

Conversion of Google's financing

What was the conversion process followed by Google? How did Google manage the issues of converting from a group of proprietors to investors with an executive team including a formalized operational strategy and concerns for public image?

Initially, Brin and Page (the owners of the company) were not for the opinion of converting their company into a public one since they wanted to maintain the control of Google. However, the need for expansion forced them into borrowing 25 million as a venture capital thereby putting them to consider the option of conversion (SmartMoney, 2004). The financial strains made them to consider the option of conversion after lending company demanded that they become public or else they would have to take back 12.5 million from the money (SmartMoney, 2004). Consequently, this triggered the two into the process of converting…

References

SmartMoney, (2004). Google Goes Public. Retrieved from:

 http://www.smartmoney.com/invest/stocks/google-goes-public-16261/ 

Netsuite, (2012). Google privacy goes public. Retrieved from:

 http://afr.com/p/technology/google_privacy_goes_public_F5x50R3I5C1L59dJhPCP1J

Though not the sole operator in its industry in Colombia, the company provides the vast majority of oil and natural gas products to the domestic market, and its international market share makes it one of the world's thirty-five largest petroleum companies (Sourcewatch 2010). Ecopetrol has also established a very strong market presence in the Caribbean and South America; fluctuations in purchasing overall and through competition with other regions -- particular the Middle East -- make the establishment of a single concrete measure of market segment fairly difficult (Ecopetrol 2010).

Domestic and Export Strategy

Again, Ecopetrol's state-owned status plays a large role in determining the company's strategy for in its domestic market. The company has essentially monopolized much of the hydrocarbon resources that exist within Colombia's borders, and through its existence as a governmental organization has a much greater deal of price flexibility than its domestic competitors (Ecopetrol 2010; Sourcewatch 2010).…

References

Business News Americas. (2010). "Ecopetrol." Accessed 20 February 2010. http://member.bnamericas.com/company-profile/en/Ecopetrol_S,a,-Ecopetrol#nogo

Ecopetrol. (2010). Accessed 20 February 2010.  http://www.ecopetrol.com.co/english/contenido.aspx?catID=172&conID=37728 

Google Finance. (2010). "Ecopetrol." Accessed 20 February 2010.  http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:EC 

Hoovers. (2010). "Ecopetrol." Accessed 20 February 2010. http://www.hoovers.com/company/Ecopetrol_SA/shftyi-1.html

While the first chapter was brief, it is important to explain what will be studied and then move forward into the literature review.

In Chapter 2, the literature review provides a review of academic literature by way of journals and textbooks. This information is placed into separate sections which allow for ease of understanding. An introduction is made to capital structure, and information is given on the Indian capital structure specifically.

Chapter 3, the data methodology, provides the methodology that was used for the data. The reasons behind the methodology and what was studied are both discussed.

Chapter 4, data analysis and findings, is the chapter in which the results of the data analysis are presented.

Chapter 5, the conclusion, provides not only a conclusion to the research that was conducted in this paper but questions that are left and areas for further research in the future.

Literature Review

The…

Bibliography

Baral, K.J. (2004). 'Determinants of Capital Structure: A Case Study of Listed Companies of Nepal'. The Journal of Nepalese Business Studies, Vol. 1(1).

Baral, K.J. (2004). 'Determinants of capital structure: A case study of listed'. The Journal of Nepalese Business Studies, Vol. 1(1).

Bauer, P. (2004). 'Determinants of Capital Structure Empirical Evidence from the Czech Republic'. Czech Journal of Economics and Finance .

Bellalah, M. & Wu, Z (2009). "An intertemporal capital asset pricing model under incomplete information." International Journal of Business. 1st January 2009. Downloaded from  http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-192485625.html  as at 17th September 2009.

Beyond that, there is little evidence of clusterization either domestically or in the global market

The sugar industry is in decline. However, there remain a few opportunities. The first major opportunity is the growth in China. One of the true growth markets in the sugar world, China is increasing in affluence and increasing its consumption of sugar-laden estern foods. The Chinese market increased by two-thirds in just six years, from 2000 to 2006, and still lags estern sugar consumption levels. Another opportunity, albeit farther out in terms of time frame, is the U.S. market. To enter this market will involve the Australian government breaking down the trade barriers that U.S. sugar producers have erected. There are more threats. The first major threat is the growth of India and other producers. India is poised to become the world's largest sugar producer, and will have a significant impact on prices worldwide. Another…

Works Cited

CSR Profile and Information from Australian Stock Exchange, available online at  http://www.asx.com.au/asx/research/CompanyInfoSearchResults.jsp?searchBy=asxCode&allinfo=on&asxCode=CSR#details 

CSR Profile and Information also sourced from CSR, available online at  http://www.csr.com.au 

CSR Information and Ratios from FinAnalysis, available online at  http://www.aspecthuntley.com.au.ezproxy-f.deakin.edu.au/af/company/mainview?ASXCode=CSR 

Industry profile from IBISWorld, January 2008. [Online] Available at: Deakin Library.

Note: current prices values are expressed in AUD billion.

Australia's Trade Situation

In the June quarter 2007, Australia's exports of goods and services increased by 0.5%, reaching the value of $54.6 billion. This increase follows a series of increases, as for the 2006-2007 financial year, exports increased by 10%, reaching $216 billion. egarding the volume of Australia's exports of goods and services, it increased by 0.8% in the June quarter of 2007, while for the 2006-2007 financial year, increased by 4%. The index of prices received for exports did not have an ascending evolution, since it decreased by 0.3% in the June quarter 2007. However, in the 2006-2007 financial year, export prices increased up to 6% (DFAT, 2007).

egarding rural goods, their exports fell 0.7% reaching $25.1 billion. The rural goods exports volumes fell 4% to 24.4 billion. The evolution of specific rural goods was the following: meat and meat…

Reference List

Australia (2007). Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook. Retrieved December 7, 2007 from  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html#Econ .

Calleya, Peter (2007). The Australian and New Zealand Dollar. Times of Malta. Retrieved December 7, 2007 at  http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20071111/business/the-australian-and-new-zealand-dollar .

Financial Stability Review (2007). Reserve Bank of Australia. Retrieved December 7, 2007 at  http://www.rba.gov.au/PublicationsAndResearch/FinancialStabilityReview/index.html .

Stevens, Glenn (2007). Economic Conditions and Prospects. Address to the QUT Business Leaders' Forum Brisbane. Reserve Bank of Australia. Retrieved December 7, 2007 at  http://www.rba.gov.au/Speeches/2007/sp_gov_140607.html .

whistleblowing that occurred in publicly traded corporations in the past year.

Whistleblowing

The term "whistleblowing" refers to an attempt made by an employee or ex-employee of a firm to warn the public regarding any serious danger(s) or wrongdoing(s) masked or created by the firm. Corporate and healthcare literature cites multiple definitions of the term, all of which highlight the significance of advocacy (or protection of somebody who is prone to being harmed). The definition, for this paper, will differentiate reporting the issue within the company from external whistleblowing (Lachman, 2008). Typically, whistleblowers are perceived as courageous persons who oppose a company's practices. Whether in the healthcare or corporate field, the examples are analogous to the Glazer and Glazer's analyses of sixty-four whistleblowers, and The Insider, a movie that portrayed the tobacco industry's maneuvers to conceal tobacco's addictive property. Several examples (like the one of a registered nurse, Barry Adams) reveal…

References

Barnett, T. (1992). Why Your Company Should Have a Whistleblowing Policy. Sam Advanced Management Journal, Retrieved, from  http://ethics.csc.ncsu.edu/old/12_00/basics/whistle/rst/wstlblo_policy 

Lachman, V. (2008). Whistleblowers: Troublemakers or Virtuous Nurses? MEDSURG Nursing, 17(2). Retrieved, from  http://citationproducer.com/apa-citation/cite/journal.html 

(n.d.). Online News for Financial Advisors, RIAs, Investment Advisors, Financial Planners & Wealth Managers. Fired Amerprise Manager Cries Foul. Retrieved July 19, 2016, from http://www.fa-mag.com/news/fired-amerprise-manager-cries-foul-6126.html

(2016). Stock Broker Lawyer. Ameriprise Whistleblower Sues, Saying Management Breaks Law Frequently. Retrieved July 18, 2016, from  http://www.stockbrokerlawyer.com/ameriprise-whistleblower-sues-saying-management-breaks-law-frequently/

According to one recent study there is little for the employees to fear concerning outsourcing.

The results show that although service outsourcing has been steadily increasing it is still very low, and that in the United States and many other industrial countries 'insourcing' of services is greater than outsourcing" (Amiti, 2005, p. 308). The core team concept helps to emphasize the fact that many companies are outsourcing by insourcing, and therefore alleviates the fears of the employees.

Additionally it must be kept in mind that outsourcing can be a big boon to the company's bottom line. "A recent article portrayed this situation well, stating, "it is apparent the millions of Indian and Chinese engineers, software developers and service providers can do all this 'sophisticated stuff' as well as or better than the Americans at a tenth of the cost" (Prestowicz, 2004, p. 40). A tenth of the cost can be…

Works Cited

Amiti, M., Shang-Jin W. (2005) Fear of Service Outsourcing, is it Justified? Economic Policy, Vol. 20, Issue 42, pp. 308-347

Ciocchetti, C.A., (2007) E-commerce and information privacy: Policies as personal information protectors, American Business Law Journal, Vol. 44, No. 1, pp. 55-126

Emigh, J., (2004) Study: Transportation management key to on-time delivery,  http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1723628,00.asp , Accessed December 26, 2007

Fillis, I., (2007) Impact of e-commerce on consumers and small firms, International Small Business Journal, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 445-449

Accounting -- Financial Statement Analysis

Comparison of gaming industry leader Ladbrokes PLC to William Hill PLC and then comparison of both those companies to the rest of the gaming industry reveals the burgeoning market of online/digital gaming. Comparison of the companies' histories, markets and ratios, shows a still-impressive industry titan Ladbrokes PLC being increasingly outgained by another market giant, William Hill PLC, and varying degrees of success among industry also-rans. It appears that the degrees of success or failure are intimately tied to the provision of online/digital gaming experiences to consumers.

Histories and Markets:

Ladbrokes PLC

In 1886 Messrs. Schwind and Pennington formed a partnership as commission agents primarily backing horses trained by Pennington at Ladbroke Hall in Worcestershire. In 1902 they were joined by Arthur Bendir, who named the venture "Ladbrokes" and shifted the focus from backing horses to betting against them, acting as bookmaker and punter (bet placer).…

References

32 Red PLC, n.d.. About 32 Red. [Online]

Available at:  http://www.32redplc.com/about-32red/32red-strategy.aspx  [Accessed 9 April 2016].

BBC News, 2015. Ladbrokes to merge with smaller rival Coral. [Online]

Available at:  http://www.bbc.com/news/business-33647635

Sony Corporation

Nearly every large, well-known corporation transacts business in multiple countries and states. The relationship between corporations and the countries and states they transact business in has traditionally resembled a double-edged sword. On the one hand, countries and states need businesses in order to generate tax revenues and stimulate economic growth by creating new jobs. However, countries and states often have varying cultural, legal, political, and social norms and desire that businesses conform to such norms. In order for corporations to succeed and maintain a balanced relationship with the various countries and states business is conducted in, there must be respect, understanding, and willingness to adapt.

This paper analyzes and examines the multitude of issues related to Sony Corporation conducting business in Germany. Part II gives an overview of Sony Corporation, including the cultural, legal, and political environment both in the United States and Germany. In Part III, issues…

Works Cited

Marx, Thomas. "Doing Business in Germany, Part 1 of 2." Retrieved at  http://www.legamedia.net/legapractice/marx_thomas/2001/01-08/0108_marx_thomas_business-germany_01.phpon  December 14, 2002.

Marx, Thomas. "Doing Business in Germany, Part 2 of 2." Retrieved at  http://www.legamedia.net/legapractice/marx_thomas/2001/01-08/0108_marx_thomas_business-germany_02.phpon  December 14, 2002.

Sony.com- Sony Corporation of America." Retrieved at  http://www.sony.com/hitbox/goto-footer-sca.shtml . On December 14, 2002.

Sony.com- Sony Corporation of America- Corporate Profile." Retrieved at  http://www.sony.com/SCA/corporate.shtml  on December 14, 2002.

These claims are virtually all based on the concept that corporations - particularly multinationals -- should be held accountable for their actions within their sphere of operations. "Corporations, for their part, have responded in numerous ways, from denying any duties in the area of human rights to accepting voluntary codes that could constrain their behavior" (atner, 2001, p. 436). In fact, this very point is echoed throughout the literature; for example, "At the turn of the 20th century, corporations tended to disregard the public interest willy-nilly. And even as recently as one-half century ago, corporations had so much power over the marketplace and so little responsibility to society" (Sriramesh & Vercic, 2003, p. 450). Despite these trends, things are changing, though, as atner points out: "The last decade has witnessed a striking new phenomenon in strategies to protect human rights: a shift by global actors concerned about human rights from…

References

Blackburn, V.L., Doran, M., & Shrader, C.B. (1994). Investigating the dimensions of social responsibility and the consequences for corporate financial performance. Journal of Managerial Issues, 6(2), 195.

Cable, V. (1995). The diminished nation-state: A study in the loss of economic power. Daedalus, 124(2), 23.

Casmir, F.L. (1997). Ethics in intercultural and international communication. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Dalton, D.R., & Metzger, M.B. (1996). Seeing the elephant: An organizational perspective on corporate moral agency. American Business Law Journal, 33(4), 489-576.

Organizational Behavior -- Walmart

Organizational Behavior - Wal-Mart

Organizational behavior is critical components in a company in order help to determine the effectiveness and efficiency. When we look at organizational behavior, we are looking at how an individual acts or relates to each in a working environment. There are certain key components that as we look at this organization that we focus on, such as this organization's culture and their communication and their diversity. In addition, their efficiency or effectiveness or lack thereof is observed. The organizational structure and OB theories at Wal-Mart are shown as the key success factors influencing employee performance and commitment. Even with the frequent visits by the labor officials in relation to the way it treats employees has not watered down the company's efforts of remaining competitive in the industry. This study has offered some succinct measures that the company has implemented in terms of…

References

Adams, S. & Neumark, D. (2005). The effects of living wage laws: Evidence from failed and derailed living wage campaigns. IZA Discussion Paper No. 1566. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from  http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/33390/1/485624508.pdf 

Bianco, A. (2003). Is Wal-Mart too powerful? Business Week. Retrieved May 10, 2014 from  http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~jczepiel/B011101/walmart/Is%20Wal%20Mart%20too%20Powerful.pdf 

Carrigan, M. (2010). Economic uncertainty and the role of organizational development. Journal of Business & Economics Research. Vol. 8 (4)

Cascio, W. (2006) Decency means more than "always low prices" A comparison of Costco to Sam's Club. Academy of Management Perspectives. 26-37.

Publicly

FINANCIAL ANALYSIS OF DELL AND APPLE

Current asset ratio

Dell has 1.48 current ratio in 2011 as compared to previous year (1.28) their short-term financial position has improved, which shows that dell is in position to meet its short-term liabilities without any difficulty. On the other hand, apple short-term financial position has fallen from 1.6 to 1.5 but it is still in a position to meet its short-term financial position.

Inventory turnover ratio

Dell has a slow rate to covert its stock into sales (8.25) as compared to Apple, which has a rate of approximately 26.25. Therefore, dell has more funds locked in stocks.

Days sales in inventory

Dell takes fewer days to convert its stock into sales in 2011 as compare to apple it shows that its management is more efficient in handling inventory.

Receivable turnover ratio

Apple has slightly better in receiving amount from its debtor as…

Bibliography coca cola company. (2011, january). Retrieved from financial statements-balance sheet-msn money:  http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-balance-sheet?symbol=KO 

Dell. (2011). Fiscal Year 2011in Review. Dell.

FORBES.COM. (2011). Retrieved from pep-PEPSICOINCBalance sheet-FORBES.COM: http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/FinancialIndustrial.jsp?tkr=pep&period=qtr msn money. (2011). Apple Inc. Retrieved from msn money:  http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-balance-sheet?symbol=AAPL

eporting and Disclosure: Publicly Traded Companies

Currently, a publicly traded company in the United States must produce a form 10-K each year (Dignam & Lowry, 2006). This is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and provides a comprehensive overview of the company and its financial health. The 10-K is not the same as the yearly report that is produced for shareholders of the company. Depending on the size of the company, it is possible that other forms beyond the 10-K must be filed, as well (Berezin, 2005). While some are uncertain as to whether the current reporting and disclosure requirements are sufficient for companies that are publicly traded, the form 10-K is dozens of pages and encompasses a great deal of information. Company background information is provided, along with financial statements that have been audited, subsidiaries, equity, organizational structure, the compensation paid to executives, and other things (Berezin,…

References

Berezin, M. (2005). Emotions and the economy, in Smelser, N.J. And R. Swedberg (eds.) The Handbook of Economic Sociology, (2nd ed). NJ: Princeton University Press

Dignam, A. & Lowry, J. (2006) Company Law. New York: Oxford University Press.

Sullivan, A, & Sheffrin, S.M. (2003). Economics: Principles in action. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Verizon Compensation Strategy

Compensation Practice

Verizon Communications is a publicly traded company registered in the United States as a telecommunications and broadband company. It trades under the name Verizon. It is a market leader in the telecommunications industry and strives to provide excellent services that satisfy consumers. Worker compensation has always been an important aspect of Verizon's overall strategy to keep employees motivated and provide excellent service to consumers. In 2010, the company did a review of their compensation strategy with the aim of improving it. The 2010 compensation decisions, designed by a committee and approved by shareholders, took effect in 2011.

Briefly describe the company you researched, its compensation strategy, best practices they are applying, and compensation-related challenges they are facing.

Verizon's compensation strategy is founded on providing fair compensation to its employees. All of Verizon's employees get a base salary that is pegged on market rates and incentives…

References

Cheng, Q., & Farber, D.B. (2008). Earnings Restatements, Changes in CEO Compensation, and Firm Performance. The Accounting Review, 83(5), 1217-1250. doi: 10.2307/30243544

Tosi, H.L., & Greckhamer, T. (2004). Culture and CEO Compensation. Organization Science, 15(6), 657-670. doi: 10.2307/30034768

Williams, M.L., McDaniel, M.A., & Ford, L.R. (2007). Understanding Multiple Dimensions of Compensation Satisfaction. Journal of Business and Psychology, 21(3), 429-459. doi: 10.2307/30221746

Financial Analysis

Threats and vulnerability: A case study of Shoe Carnival, Inc.

Shoe carnival overview

Shoe Carnival Inc. is a publicly traded company that offers a range of footwear products for all categories of customers, men, women, children and sportswear. It also offers casual wear products and other assorted products such as handbags. Its headquarters are situated in Evansville, Indiana and it runs over 300 stores across several states mostly concentrated in South, Midwest, and Southeastern states of the U.S. David ussell, who had sold shoes for over 20 years in the traditional way, founded Shoe Carnival after feeling convicted that that was what he wanted to do. In the year 1978, and with is personal savings and some capital from his in-laws, he opened his first store that he called "Shoe Biz." His main idea was to create a shoe store made shoe-shopping fun. The major difference with ussell's…

References

Funding Universe (2012) Company Histories and Profiles: Shoe Carnival Inc. Retrieved from http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Shoe-Carnival-Inc.-company-History.html

Laboureconomic's weblog (2012) The Effects of Fon Competition: U.S. Firms. Posted May 4, 2011, retrieved from  http://laboureconomics.wordpress.com/2011/05/04/the-effect-of-foreign-competition-us-firms/ 

Lowth, G., Prowle, M., Zhang, M. (2010) The Impact of Economic Recession on Business Strategy Planning in UK. Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. Vol.6, Issue 9.

Shoe Carnival (2012) Shoe Carnival 2011 Annual Report. February 2012. Retrieved from  http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CGQQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fphx.corporate-ir.net%2FExternal.File%3Fitem%3DUGFyZW50SUQ9OTM1OTR8Q2hpbGRJRD0tMXxUeXBlPTM%3D%26t%3D1&ei=6E7LT5zEBc7SsgbC0vGaBw&usg=AFQjCNHQ73w5pPAXL97G7uC-A3yGWjEKKQ&sig2=LmOSYlJO7izfAl1ssOpxDQ

Financial Analysis of Mcdonald

A financial analysis McDonald's Cor

Company Overview

McDonald Corporation is a global company that conducts business in 117 countries. McDonald operates 32,737 restaurants and 26,338 franchises in the highly competitive fast food industry. Since 1940, McDonald has built a loyal customer base by continuing dedicating to customer service and providing high quality fast food for customers. Presently, McDonald could boast of over 60 millions customers and the company serves average of 64 millions customers daily. In the United States, and other countries where McDonald is operating, fast food business is very competitive. Despite the competition that McDonald is facing, the company has been able to record revenues of more than $16 billions in restaurants and revenues of more than $7 billions in franchise restaurants business. McDonald operates in six geographical locations. The company business operations are in the U.S., Europe, Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and…

References

Infinancials (2011). McDonald's Corp. Market valuation multiples. Infinancials.

Mizen, P. (2008). The Credit Crunch of 2007-2008: A Discussion of the Background, Market Reactions, and Policy Responses. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review. 90(5):531-67.

Putilina, I. (2010). A Financial Analysis of McDonald's Corporation. Economic Research Center.

Stapleton, R.C & Subrahmanyam, M.G.(2009). Interest Rates and Foreign Exchange Risks: An Overview of Hedging Instruments and Strategies. University of Lancarster.UK.

CFO

Due to the increasingly complex nature

Do you think finance departments are the best place to train future CEOs? Provide two actual examples of CFOs of publicly-traded companies who became CEOs of publicly-traded companies within the past 5 years. Do these individuals have the CPA and/or CFA designations?

CFOs are increasingly asked to engage in strategic planning for organizations, and to interact with other members of the managerial board in a meaningful fashion. According to Brewis (1999), "those who come from a purely accounting background are not generally expected to make such a speedy rise up the corporate ladder, but much has to do with the character of the individual and the mentoring system that the corporates provide." CFOs with an insufficiently broad perspective might simply focus on 'buying' solutions rather than engineering them through the careful and reasoned coordination of people and resources. CEOs must communicate well with…

References

Brewis, J. (1999). How a CFO can graduate to CEO. Corporate Finance, (175), 13-13. Retrieved

from  http://ezproxy.fiu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/210152604?accountid=10901 

Freedman, C. (2003). Not just bean counters anymore. Chief Executive, (189), 22-22. Retrieved

from  http://ezproxy.fiu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/212106954?accountid=10901

Clone case came to the attention of the SEC because it involved the CEO of ImClone, Sam Waksal, who had the same stockbroker as Martha Stewart, and the two were friends. Waksal found out at about an FDA ruling that was going to negatively affect the value of ImClone shares, and sold his shares on the basis of this information. That alone is insider trading, because Waksal was in a privileged position within the company, and traded on information that had yet to be released publicly. The relationship between Waksal and Stewart, along with the broker, brought the case to the attention of the SEC. Undoubtedly, the high profiles of the individuals involved was a factor.

The specific issue here was insider trading, yet ultimately Stewart was never convicted on that. Waksal was, because he was the insider. Stewart was in a position to receive this privileged information, but she…

accounting discipline has taken a public relations beating over the past few years as a result of scandals in corporate accounting; much of this abuse has been well-deserved. Regulations regarding conflicts of interest, independent monitoring, reporting, and full disclosure to stockholders were thin at best, and in many cases were not enforced even when they did exist. The corporate accounting scandal wave changed that; public outcry for accountability resulted in Congress passing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. This act contains many new regulations that have a profound effects on publicly traded companies, and that will directly affect this team and your corporation.

First, a quick summary of the actors involved: the FASB, or Financial Accounting Standards Board, and the Securities Exchange Commission, or SEC, have a mutually reciprocal relationship. The FASB issues standards regarding accounting standards which the SEC enforces; although the FASB is not an official government body (it…

Whistleblowing

In definition, a whistleblower can be an employee or a former employee of a corporation who provides proof and evidence that substantiates the fraudulence and ethical behavior within the entity or activities that are not in the best interests of the general public or stakeholders. Customarily, whistleblowers reveal classified data and information concerning their workplace, which is in violation of the laws and regulations in place, and also that can be disparaging to the well-being of the employees. Whistleblowers have various characteristics. One of the key individualities of whistleblowers is credibility. A whistleblower has to have the character of being trusted, depended upon and have integrity. This is because the information provided by the whistleblower has to be truthful and reliable. Another characteristic of a whistleblower is believing in their behavior and being in changing their beliefs. A whistleblower should maintain their stance in being honest about the fraudulent…

wonderful job helping session Even I paying a fee services I Thank I forever grateful assistance provided a difficult time life. I ! Sincerely, Jane Since I work a Lexus Dealership, I choose "Lexus Corporation" assignment

Lexus Corporation

Impact of Lexus Corporation mission, vision, and stakeholders on its overall success

A company's mission and vision statements provide answers to questions regarding where the company is going, what the company values, and what it does Whitbred, Skalski, Bracken, & Lieberman, 2010.

They both relate to the company's main purpose and they communicate this purpose to the employees, customers, investors, and dealers who are its key stakeholders. A company that has a mission and vision that is clearly communicated, collectively shared, and widely understood perform better and are highly successful. Having a mission and vision statement that the company can refer to, has allowed the company employees who are its primary stakeholders…

References

Choi, S. (2011). Towards an operational model of corporate governance. [Article]. International Journal of Technology Management & Sustainable Development, 10(2), 165-179. doi: 10.1386/tmsd.10.2.165_1

Hill, C.W.L., & Jones, G.R. (2012). Strategic Management: An Integrated Approach. Cheriton House, North Way, Andover, Hampshire, SP10 5BE: Cengage South-Western.

Hoover, C. (2010). The Strategic Communication Plan. [Article]. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, 79(8), 16-21.

Lynch, R.L. (2006). Corporate strategy. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Financial Times Prentice Hall.

Genzyme is a pharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, MA. In 2011, it was acquired for $20 billion by French pharma company Sanofi (ooney, 2011). Thus, Genzyme is no longer a publicly-traded company, but it is run as an independent subsidiary. Sanofi made the purchase in part to renew its pipeline of new drug developments after experiencing a slowdown in new drug approvals, which means they haven't been developing drugs at the same rate they were able to in the past. The acquisition therefore increases Sanofi's &D capabilities (ooney, 2011). At the time of the acquisition, Genzyme had reported net income in the third quarter of $221.1 million, indicating that the company was quite profitable, and its year-over-year figures were impressive (ooney, 2011). Since the deal, Sanofi has declared that the acquisition was a success and that the company believed Genzyme had added value to the French firm (Weisman, 2013).

SWOT…

References

DePalma, A. (2010). Viral safety methods for manufacturing. Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News. Retrieved November 28, 2013 from  http://www.genengnews.com/gen-articles/viral-safety-methods-for-manufacturing/3261/ 

Frieden, J. (2013). FDA panel gives mixed message on Lemtrada. MedPage Today. Retrieved November 28, 2013 from  http://www.medpagetoday.com/Neurology/MultipleSclerosis/42899 

MSN Moneycentral. (2013) Sanofi. Retrieved November 28, 2013 from  http://investing.money.msn.com/investments/stock-balance-sheet/?stmtView=Qtr&symbol=SNYNF 

Rooney, B. (2011). Sanofi buys Genzyme for $20 billion. CNN Money. Retrieved November 28, 2013 from  http://money.cnn.com/2011/02/16/news/companies/sanofi_genzyme_merger/

Social Performance

Description of Company

My company, idgetCo, designs and manufactures widgets here in Dullsville, USA. The company has been in operation since 1927, and moved to Dullsville shortly after II to take advantage of the large clustering of industry around the steel plant in Steelville. The steel plant and many of the other businesses have now closed, but idgetCo has long been an innovator in widget design, so remains a thriving business. The company is now the largest employer in Dullsville. Operating as a differentiated provider, we are able to meet the needs of our customers -- mainly manufacturers -- who now are spread throughout the NAFTA region.

There are a number of stakeholders for idgetCo, and we believe that it is important to take the needs of each into consideration when embarking on major strategic endeavors (Leigh, 2013). Internally, we see our stakeholder universe as consisting of management,…

Works Cited:

Gillan, S. & Starks, L. (2000). Corporate governance proposals and shareholder activism: The role of institutional investors. Journal of Financial Economics Vol. 57 (2000) 275-305

Holzer, B. (2008). Turning stakeseekers into stakeholders. Business & Society. Vol. 47 (1) 50-67.

Kokemuller, N. (2013). How do stakeholders influence business activities? Houston Chronicle. Retrieved April 28, 2013 from  http://smallbusiness.chron.com/stakeholders-influence-business-activities-18754.html 

Leigh, J. (2013). The differences between primary and secondary stakeholders. eHow. Retrieved April 28, 2013 from  http://www.ehow.co.uk/facts_7267188_difference-between-primary-secondary-stakeholders.html

According to these analysts, "The implicit assumption underlying the price-to-earnings method is that the fair market value of the closely held business can be approximated from the market value of comparable publicly traded businesses. To implement this method, the valuator must be able to identify a set of presumed-to-be comparable publicly traded companies and obtain sufficient information on each to verify the extent of comparability from an economic, management, and financial perspective. No publicly traded company will be precisely comparable to the closely held business being valued, so informed judgment must be exercised" (p. 81). As a general rule, the smaller in size and the more limited the scope of activities of the business being valued, the less likely there will be a set of publicly traded companies that are comparable, or even a single comparable publicly traded company. Publicly traded companies are for the most part large, measured in…

References

Allen, M.F. & Cote, J. 2005, "Creditors' Use of Operating Cash Flows: An Experimental

Study." Journal of Managerial Issues 17(2): 198-199.

"Asset/equity ratio." 2009, Investor Glossary. [Online]. Available: http://www.investorglossary.

com/asset-equity-ratio.htm.

The company showed a global reach early, adding numerous language versions around the world. In 2000, the company reached 18 million search queries per day and officially became the world's largest search engine ("Google, Inc." paras. 11-14).

The company now sought to address its need for income by introducing a keyword-targeted advertising program for another source of revenue. The company partnered with Yahoo! And with other partners, such as China's leading portal NetEast and NEC's BIGLOBE in Japan. Google introduced Adords, a self-service advertising program that could be activated with a credit card. By December of 2000, Google received more than 60 million searches per day and reached the 100-million search mark per day in 2001 ("Google, Inc." paras. 15-16).

Google as a Public Company

Google would offer an IPO of stock beginning in 2004. McShane and Von Glinow cite Google as a successful company, especially in terms of navigating…

Works Cited

Bylund, Anders. "All Aboard Google." The Motley Fool (6 June 2007). February 10, 2008.  http://www.fool.com/investing/value/2007/06/06/all-aboard-google.aspx .

Everett, Chad. "The Google Way." Infoworld (23 February 2004). February 12, 2008.  http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=4&hid=4&sid=e2bbe58a-ff50-4544-be56-d20f347f3c1f%40SRCSM2 .

Google Inc." Hoover's Online (2007). http://www.hoovers.com/google/--ID__59101 -- /free-co-factsheet.xhtml.

Google, Inc." International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 50. St. James Press, 2003. Reproduced in Business and Company Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.:Gale Group. 2008.  http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BCRC

32, and Pepsi's ratio is .29. These are close, but suggest that Pepsi is actually able to generate more revenue for every dollar of property and equipment it owns.

This makes sense given the operational differences at these companies; as noted above, Coca Cola does not actually own or operate all of the production elements for its products, thus it makes sense that is has much lower property values than its rival Pepsi, which is more fully integrated (Coca Cola, 2012; Pepsi, 2012). This also suggests, however, that Pepsi's revenue generation and overall value is more tied to its physical properties, plants, and equipment than is Coca Cola, meaning expansion could ne more costly for the company (Palepu, 2007). In this way, productivity might not transfer into long-term efficiency and profitability, which is something both investors and competitors should consider.

Marketing Productivity

If determining human resource and plant/equipment productivity was…

References

Coca Cola. (2012). 2011 Annual Report. Accessed 1 April 2012.  http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/investors/pdfs/form_10K_2011.pdf 

Fitz-enz, J. & Davison, B. (2002). How to Measure Human Resource Management. New York: McGraw Hill.

Palepu, K., Healy, P., Bernard, V. & Peek, E. (2007). Business Analysis and Valuation. Mason, OH: Cengage.

Pepsi. (2012). 2011 Annual Report. Accessed 1 April 2012.  http://www.pepsico.com/annual11/downloads/PEP_AR11_2011_Annual_Report.pdf

Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted to facilitate in guaranteeing the correctness of financial reporting by the public listed companies. In the stir of millions of dollars of investor's money going down the gutter because of their reposing faith on the financial reporting by companies who did not present the true picture as regards the financial state of affairs of the company, Sarbanes-Oxley was a response to the common citizen's clamor for change in this area. (Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Colleges/Universities) Basically, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act restructures the federal rules of public company corporate governance and the reporting compulsions intensifies norms of accountability in case of directors and officers, auditors, security analysts and legal counsel; and stipulates particular securities infringement to be offenses. (Sarbanes-Oxley Basics for Private Companies & Investors)

Sarbanes-Oxley looks for enhancing the correctness of financial reporting of publicly traded corporations. (Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Colleges/Universities) The Act is…

References

Accounting Experts Assess The Impact Of Sarbanes-Oxley. Retrieved from http://www.bowne.com/newsletters/newsletter.asp?storyID=880& src=BFPfeature Accessed on 26 April, 2005

Coustan, Harvey; Leinicke, Linda. M; Rexroad, Max. M; Ostrosky, Joyce. A.. Sarbanes-Oxley: What It Means to the Marketplace. Retrieved from  http://www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/feb2004/coustan.htm  Accessed on 26 April, 2005

Impact of Sarbanes-Oxley Act on Colleges/Universities. Retrieved from http://www.audit.gatech.edu/ei_sarbanes_oxley.htm Accessed on 26 April, 2005

Kulzick, Raymond S. Sarbanes-Oxley: Impacts on Financial Transparency. Retrieved from St. Thomas University. http://www.kulzick.com/rksoift.htm Accessed on 26 April, 2005

Business Level and Corporate Level Strategies

Business-Level and Corporate-Level Strategies

General Motors business level and corporate level strategies

General Motors (GM) is a company based in the United States with its headquarters in Detroit, Michigan. GM is a publicly traded company that is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. GM designs, manufactures, distributes, and markets vehicle parts and vehicles (Laudon & Laudon, 2011). The company also sells financial services. GM acquired the title for the world's largest automaker in 2011. It managed to do this by achieving the highest number of unit sales in vehicles since its establishment. For 77 consecutive years, GM was able to lead the global automobile unit sales from 1931 to 2007. However, GM lost this position to Toyota with GM coming second. Toyota still dominates the market. The preference and needs of the customers are the focus of a company's core competencies. In a…

References

Aguinis, H., Joo, H., & Gottfredson, R.K. (2012). Performance management universals: Think globally and act locally. Business Horizons, 55(4), 385-392.

Freyssenet, M. (2011). The start of a second automobile revolution: corporate strategies and public policies. Economia e Politica Industriale.

Laudon, K.C., & Laudon, J.P. (2011). Essentials of management information systems. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Shimokawa, K. (2010). Japan and the global automotive industry. UPH, Shaftesbury Road: Cambridge University Press.

Duties

The directors of a corporation are, essentially, the representatives of the shareholders in the administration of the company. They are charged with the task of administering the corporation in such a way that preserves the assets of the shareholders, and that they receive a good return on their investments. As such, the Board of Directors is the "highest governing authority within the management structure at any publicly traded company" (Kennon, 2012).

Among the tasks that the directors perform that help them in their role are the following: to select the Chief Executive Officer and set the CEO pay; evaluate the attractiveness of and to authorize dividends; recommend stock splits and share repurchase programs; approve the company's financial statements and give advice on mergers and acquisitions (Kennon, 2012). The Board often works with the CEO on some of these issues, such as dividends and M&A activity, but the Board is…

Works Cited:

Kennon, J. (2012). The board of directors. About.com. Retrieved November 8, 2012 from  http://beginnersinvest.about.com/cs/a/aa2203a.htm 

SEC.gov. (2002). SEC prepares to implement Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirement for CEO and CFO certification of SEC filings. Securities and Exchange Commission Retrieved November 8, 2012 from  http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2002-119.htm

Noting some of the limitations of Microsoft's browser, Google set out to create its own browser that would not only outperform Internet Explorer but would also favor its own search engine (Martellaro). Google is in the process of expanding the Chrome brand into Chrome OS, an operating system designed to compete with Microsoft Windows but tailored towards the niche market of netbooks.

The most recent phase of Google's "moat" strategy is Google+, the company's new social media platform. Its direct competition is Facebook, a company whose product does not directly affect Google's search engine market but whose monopolistic hold on the social media sphere potentially cuts off Google from marketing and expansion opportunities. Google+ has a search engine-related feature that allows users to search shared content. It has been tremendously successful since its launch in June of this year; in the past five weeks, it has acquired over 10 million…

References

"Frequently Asked Questions." Google Investor Relations. Google. 30 July 2011. Web.

"Google Stock Quote." NASDAQ. NASDAQ.com. 30 July 2011. Web.

Gurley, Bill. "The Freight Train That Is Android." Above the Crowd. 30 July 2011. Web.

Martellaro, John. "Eric Schmidt Explains Google's Chrome Strategy." Mac Observer. 30 July 2011. Web.

If the stock trades that low, or if it starts an upward trend anytime soon, purchasing the stock would probably be a good idea.

Recommendations to purchase the stock for a long-term hold would probably ensure that investors would be happy with the outcome, as long as they were willing to hold the stock for at least a year or two. Average rate of return over the next couple of years could be close to 20% based on past performance and flat sales and profits. Bank of America says that the target price is $12, and if that holds true and an investor can purchase the stock at close to the $10 range then a twenty percent return on investment over the next 12-18 months is quite feasible.

The risk in the stock is if management does not rectify the revenue issues and sales continue to fall. Their profitability is…

Total Ops.

8,485,608

7,061,704

3,638,889

3,445,640

* = Data not available

(Forbes, Toyota income statement, 2013).

Examining the income statements, Toyota's income fell from the previous three quarters, and the fall was somewhat substantial. Given that GM's net income did not demonstrate the same pattern, it does not appear to be the result of cyclical changes in the automotive sales cycle. In addition, Toyota's total revenue and net income appear to be more directly and positively correlated that GM's revenue and net income.

Balance Sheets

A company's balance sheet is another way of summarizing the company's financial health. A balance sheet is a "financial statement that summarizes a company's assets, liabilities and shareholders' equity at a specific point in time. These three balance sheet segments give investors an idea as to what the company owns and owes, as well as the amount invested by the shareholders" (Investopedia, Balance sheet, 2013).…

References

Chu, M. (2012, March 27). Is GM a good stock to buy right now? Retrieved February 12, 2013

from Insider Monkey website:  http://www.insidermonkey.com/blog/is-gm-a-good-stock-to-buy-right-now-11565/ 

Forbes. (2013). General Motors Company (NYSE: GM): Balance sheet. Retrieved February

12, 2013 from Forbes website: http://finapps.forbes.com/finapps/jsp/finance/compinfo/FinancialIndustrial.jsp?tkr=gm&period=qtr

Business Ethics

Social Performance Of Organizations

BP PLC (famous as British Petroleum PLC) is a multinational company from Britain. The company's headquarters is located in London, England, United Kingdom. The company mainly deals in the production and distribution of oil and gas. BP PLC stands as the sixth largest company in the global oil and gas market-by-market capitalization and fifth in terms of revenue. BP PLC is vertically integrated, which in microeconomics refers to a common style of growth and management control in a variety of related industries. This is when a company expands its operation into levels that are located different points along the same production path.

From this arrangement, BP PLC owns separate companies that are engaged in the production, processing, and distribution of oil and gas and able effectively to reduce operational costs to achieve efficiency (Hotte, Sumaila, & University of British Columbia, 2013). As a global…

References

Grant, R, et al. (2011). Contemporary Strategic Management: An Australian Perspective. United Kingdom: Blackwell Publishing.

Hotte, N., Sumaila, U.R., & University of British Columbia. (2013). Potential economic impact of a tanker spill on ocean-based industries in British Columbia. Vancouver, B.C: Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia.

Simpson, J., & Taylor, J. (2013). Corporate governance, ethics, and CSR. London: Kogan Page.

Armour Analysis

Under Armour

The Under Armour company makes sports clothing as well as accessories. It is an American company. It mainly focuses on sportswear of the hi-tech variety that is marketed to professional athletes. However, anyone can buy clothing from the company. It offers sportswear as well as apparel that is more casual, and also started offering footwear only a few years ago. It has won awards, and has many sponsorship deals with everything from Football to Martial Arts. Discussed here will be sales and revenue information, along with financial and market analyses, the opinion of Under Armour on Wall Street, a brand history of the company, and information about one problem the company faces.

Sales

As of fiscal year 2009, Under Armour saw sales revenue of $856 million (Under, 2009). Naturally, that will fluctuate each year with the economy, new products and lines, and other factors that can…

References

Barnett, Gigi. New Under Armour product revealed. WJZ 13 Baltimore. 2008.

Terry, Robert J . Analysts: Brand crossover risky for Under Armour. Baltimore Business Journal. 2010.

Under Armour. 2008 Annual Report. 2009.

Capm, Dgm, APT

There are three primary means by which a company's cost of equity can be calculated. These are the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), the dividend growth model (DDG) and the arbitrage pricing theory (APT). Each of these methods has certain advantages and disadvantages. This paper will analyze these three models in the context of their usefulness in determining the cost of capital.

The first method, and the most popular, is the capital asset pricing model. At the core of the model is the assumption that the value of a firm's share is determined by the expectation of future returns. The firm's value is therefore determined by a combination of market risk and firm-specific risk. These elements, along with the risk free rate, form the core of the CAPM equation. The capital asset pricing model uses the beta, ?, which is the historic correlation of the firm's stock…

Works Cited:

Wikipedia: Capital Asset Pricing Model. From  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_asset_pricing_model 

Otuteye, E. (1998). The arbitrage pricing theory. Canadian Investment Review. Vol. 11 (4) 60.

Chapter 13: Dividend discount model. In possession of the author

Ben & Jerry

The concept of unit pricing relates to the price per unit of a good. Often, companies like to convey the impression that buying a larger size saves the consumer money, but unit pricing allows the consumer to see whether or not this is the case. Unit pricing reflects the price per unit of something, rather than the price per container. The point of unit pricing is that it allows the consumer to see the price per unit, rather than the price for whatever size container is available. This allows for comparison between products sold in different sized containers (Montaldo, 2012).

The Consumer Bill of Rights was introduced by John F. Kennedy in 1962. There are six such rights. These are as follows: the right to be safe, the right to choose freely, the right to be heard, the right to be informed, the right to education and…

Works Cited:

Addiction Blog. (2011). Why do people shoplift? Addiction Blog. Retrieved March 24, 2012 from  http://drug.addictionblog.org/why-do-people-shoplift-top-10-reasons/ 

Montaldo, D. (2012). Unit pricing -- the real price. About.com. Retrieved March 24, 2012 from  http://couponing.about.com/cs/aboutcouponing/a/unitpricing.htm 

US Legal.com. (2012). Consumer bill of rights law & legal definition. U.S. Legal.com. Retrieved March 24, 2012 from  http://definitions.uslegal.com/c/consumer-bill-of-rights/

Organization (Apple)

Apple Inc. (Apple) was built on January 3, 1977. It is presently engaged in manufacturing, designing and marketing mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital devices. It also sells a number of related software, peripherals, services, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. The Company's products and services comprises iPad, iPhone, Mac, Apple TV, iPod a portfolio of consumer and professional software applications, the Mac OS X and ios operating systems, iCloud, and a number of accessory, service and support offerings. It also sells and provides digital content and applications through the iTunes Store, App Store, iookstore, and Mac App Store. y the end of year 2011, the Company, as part of a consortium, obtained Nortel Networks Corporation's patent portfolio. In February 2012, the Company obtained app-search engine Chomp.

Apple sells its products worldwide through its online stores, retail stores and direct sales force,…

Bibliography

McGregor, J. (2012). NATIONAL. Retrieved from Apple's Tim COOK faces leadership challenge on labor issue:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-leadership/post/what-apples-dividend-and-stock-buyback-move-tells-us-about-apples-leadership-switch/2011/04/01/gIQAyXjBNS_blog.html 

McGregor, J. (2012, march). NATIONAL. Retrieved from What Apple's stock move tells us about the company leadership switch:

AT&T is in basic terms a telecommunications services provider with operations not only in the U.S. But also in other parts of the world. In this text, I conduct an analysis of the company. In so doing, I will amongst other things explore its accounting systems and internal controls. Further, I will also conduct a brief review of its financial statements.

Company Overview

In so many ways, AT&T can be regarded an industry leader in the provision of wireless voice communications. The company gives its mission as "to connect people with their world, everywhere they live and work, and do it better than anyone else" (AT&T, 2013). Some of the main competitors of AT&T in the Telecom Services industry include but they are not limited to Verizon Communications Inc. And Sprint Nextel Corp. Currently, the company is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Accounting Systems

Accounting systems include but they are not…

References

Albrecht, W.E., Stice, E.K. & Stice, J.D. (2010). Financial Accounting: Concepts and Applications (11th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

AT&T. (2013). AT&T Company Information. Retrieved April 24, 2013, from AT&T website:  http://www.att.com/gen/investor-relations?pid=5711 

Booton, J. (2011, January 13). AT&T to Take $2.7 Billion Charge in 4Q to Revamp Accounting System. Retrieved April 25, 2013, from FOXBusiness website:  http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/01/13/att-billion-charge-q/ 

Lasher, W.R. (2010). Practical Financial Management (6th ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.

Sherwin Williams Company Analysis

Overview of the Company

Founded in 1866 by Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams, the Sherwin Williams Company has grown to be one of the largest paint producers in the world. Nearly 150 years ago, Sherwin Williams established itself in Cleveland, Ohio, as the first ready-to-use paint store in America (History Timeline, 2015). Sherwin Williams began as a partner in Truman, Dunham & Company, which sold paint ingredients; when Truman Dunham dissolved to pursue the manufacturing of linseed oil, the Sherwin Williams company replaced it: the year was 1870. Within 40 years with Henry Sherwin as CEO, the company would have over $10 million in sales per year (History Timeline, 2015). Today, the company maintains more than 3000 product and service stores with over 40,000 employees and a net income per employee of $26,178 (SHW-Fundamental eports, 2016). Shewin Williams manufactures, develops, distributes and sells paint, coatings and…

References

About Sherwin Williams. (2015). Sherwin Williams. Retrieved from  http://www.sherwin-williams.com/about/ 

Caring in Full Color. (2015). Sherwin Williams. Retrieved from http://careers.sherwin-

williams.com/cs/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=Content-Type&blobheadername2=Content-Disposition&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobheadervalue2=inline&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1386278272509&ssbinary=true

Evans, J. (2015). Retail Management. NY: Prentice Hall.

Additionally the company is inceasingly concened with meeting the enegy needs of people and oganizations thoughout the wold ("Company Pofile"). To this end Exxon Mobil is committed to "exploation and poduction of cude oil and natual gas; the manufactue of petoleum poducts; and the tanspotation and sale of cude oil, natual gas, and petoleum poducts ("Company Pofile")." In addition Exxon Mobile is a pimay poduce and makete of both commodity and specialty petochemicals. The company is also involved in the owneship and management of electic powe geneation facilities. The company is also involved in seveal aeas of eseach that allow the company to suppot opeations, expeience constant impovement ("Company Pofile"). The company has fou distinct business sphees though which it opeates. The sphee ae efeed to as upsteam, downsteam, chemical and technology.

The Upsteam business sect efes to Exxon Mobil's asset base ("Company Pofile"). This base is significant, involves seveal…

references

"About us." Retrieved April 26, 2009 from;

 http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/history/about_who_history.aspx 

Cook, S. (2004) Change Management Excellence: Using the Four Intelligences for Successful Organizational Change. London,, GBR: Kogan Page, Limited, 2004.

p 59.

Pharmaceutical industries have to operate in an environment that is highly competitive and subject to a wide variety of internal and external constraints. In recent times, there has been an increasing trend to reduce the cost of operation while competing with other companies that manufacture products that treat similar afflictions and ailments. The complexities in drug research and development and regulations have created an industry that is subject to intense pressure to perform. The amount of capital investment investments required to get a drug from conception, through clinical trials and into the market is enormous. The already high-strung pharmaceutical industry is increasingly investing greater amounts of resources in search of the next "blockbuster" drug that can help them gain market position and profits. Laws, regulations and patents are important to the industry while spending billions of dollars in ensuring the copyright of their products.

It is the intention of this…

Bibliography

Ansoff, H.I. (1957). Strategies for diversification. Harvard Business Review, 35(5), 113-124.

Ansoff, H.I. (1965). Corporate Strategy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Ashour, M.F., Obeidat, O., Barakat, H., & Tamimi, A. (2004). UAE Begins Examination of Patent Applications. Tamino.com. Retrieved January 18, 2004, from the World Wide Web:  http://www.tamimi.com/lawupdate/2001-01/intprop.htm 

Bain, J.S. (1954). Economies of scale, concentration, and the condition of entry in twenty manufacturing industries. American Economic Review, 44, 15-36.

SWOT Analysis and Portfolio Analysis

Every organization must have a business strategy. The main goal of any business is to be profitable. Companies adapt strategies that will separate them from the competitors, creating success for the organization. It is important that the leaders of any company understand the operation, the strategies, the motto, the goal and every other aspect of the business. Metropolitan Life Insurance (Metlife) is global insurance provider, which is a publicly traded company. This is a big corporation that is viewed publicly daily. The leaders of this organization would benefit from both a SWOT analysis and a Portfolio Analysis.

SWOT Analysis

One of the biggest strengths that MetLife has to offer today is the brand. MetLife brand is a known brand and recognizable brand. The company has been around for over 140 years and operates in over 60 countries (Metlife, 2010). The company is known for selling…

References

Dubie, D (2007). Watchguard pulls outsourcing business out of India; Security Company cites attriton, lack of qualified candidates, language barriers as drivers. Network World.

InformationWeek. (2002). MetLife weighs offshore options; its IS chief sees offshore outsourcing of business processes as almost inevitable. Information Week.

Metlife (2010). MetLife History. Retrieved on January 27, 2011 from  http://www.metlife.com/about/corporate-profile/metlife-history/index.html 

Yahoo Finance. (2010). Form 10-Q for MetLife Inc. Retrieved on January 26, 2011 from  http://biz.yahoo.com/e/101104/met10-q.html

In this segment S&W competes with Beretta from Italy, Heckler & Koch from Germany and Fabrique Nationale from Belgium. The most dominant competitor in this segment is Glock of Austria, which sold 50,000 Glock Model 19 pistols to Iraqi Security Forces without the consent and approval of U.S.-based collation command or the U.S. Congress. Glock, in refusing to cooperate with the U.S. military, has opened up a significant opportunity for S&W in government markets based on the conflict Glock has created and the preference of Congressional members to buy from domestic suppliers.

Available Substitute Products

There is an abundance of substitute products as the handgun marketplace is fragmented with nine different manufacturers, each with between 5% to 14% market shares. Glock and their innovation in polymer pistols and firearms revolutionized the industry in the 1980s, yet S&W was able to regain their market share by working with distributors, dealers and…

References for Assignment #3:

Form 10-K (2006) - Smith & Wesson Form 10-K Filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 14, 2006. Accessed from the Internet on November 13, 2006 at  http://ir.smith-wesson.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=90977&p=irol-sec&control_selectgroup=Annual%20Filings 

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms BATF (2005) - Accessed from Research provided to the public from this agencies' website on November 14, 2006:

http://www.atf.treas.gov/firearms/stats/index.htm

BusinessWeek (2005) - Top 100 Global Brands Scorecard. BusinessWeek Online. Data Provided by Interbrand. Part of the Innovation Metrics Series. Accessed from the Internet on November 20, 2006 from http://bwnt.businessweek.com/brand/2005/