Calyx Corolla Essay Example

Calyx Corolla Paper Calyx Corolla 1)What is the gap in market structure for Calyx and Corollas business model? The traditional distribution chain for the fresh flower market is: grower, distributor, wholesaler, retailer and finally the consumer. As a result of the number of participants in this structure, a flower may be as much as seven to ten days old before it is available for sale in a retail store. Additionally, the industry participants do not confine themselves to a single role. For example, most growers distribute some flowers directly to local or more distant wholesalers, and many distributors and wholesalers engage in some of their own production. The fragmentation within the channels of distribution results in a rather inefficient distribution system. This gap in the fresh flower market structure was noticed by Ruth Owades who capitalized by creating Calyx Corolla (C), which is a true departure from traditional channels of distribution. The business model of C is as follows: orders from customers are received by telephone, fax, or mail at the central office in San Francisco and then sent via fax or computer to the thirty flower growers who supply C. The growers, in turn, pack and ship individual orders and send them directly to consumers by Federal Express. As a result, C is able to substantially reduce the time it takes to deliver flowers to the consumers door, typically only a few days after the flowers have been cut. 2) Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of CC versus a conventional business retailer? We will write a custom essay sample on Calyx Corolla specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Calyx Corolla specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Calyx Corolla specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer What market segments is CC most suited to take advantage of? Strengths of Calyx Corolla compared to a conventional flower retailer: 1)The most obvious strength and the greatest competitive advantage that CC has when compared to a conventional flower retailer is the ability to deliver fresher longer lasting flowers. As a result of pairing growers with Federal Express, CC is able to deliver flowers within a couple of days of being cut as opposed to retailers that sell flowers that have already spent a lifetime in warehouses, trucks and storerooms. )CC not only sells a superior product compared to flower retailers, it also attempts to educate and inform its consumers. Among the product, cost and color choices in its catalogs, CC includes trivia, consumer information and arrangement suggestions to make the flower purchasing experience more enjoyable for the consumer. 3)As a result of its partnership with Federal Express, CC has the ability to distribute flowers to people all over the wo rld. Retailers, however, are generally located only in areas where flower demand is high and thus cannot reach as many consumers as CC. )The case states that CC is comparable to flower retailers in terms of flower prices charged to consumers. As such, flower consumers get more flower value (freshness and longevity) for their money when purchasing from CC. Weaknesses of Calyx Corolla compared to a conventional flower retailer: 1)Flower retailers offer consumers the ability to purchase and enjoy flowers real time, as opposed to CC which takes days to deliver flowers. 2)Although CC has six annual catalogues that allow consumers to see pictures of products, conventional retailers allow consumers to select from on-hand inventory. )Consumers who order from CC are required to pay a delivery fee, whereas consumers who purchase flowers from a retailer do not have to pay extra fees. As a result of CCs strengths, it is suited to take advantage of a couple market segments. The first is the seg ment of flower consumers who value quality fresh flowers that will last long after purchase. The other segment that C is suited to take advantage of is the group of flower consumers who live in geographic locations where retailers are unavailable. ) What should Owades and her team do to fully develop the potential of the C business model? What would you recommend? In my opinion, C has a strong business plan that has not been fully developed. Strategically increasing advertising, pairing up with a credible brand name and allowing consumers to customize floral arrangements are a few recommendations to grow the C business model. Reaching out to consumers via television commercials, magazine and newspaper ads, radio spots and billboards are all new advertising options for C. Currently 70% of Cs revenue is derived from its catalog, 20% from corporate clients and 10% from outgoing telemarketing to previous flower recipients and existing customers. By informing consumers about CC via these new advertising strategies, CC would increase brand awareness and revenue. Another recommendation for CC is to couple its distribution leadership with brand recognition. For example, CC could team up with Martha Stewart, Williams-Sonoma or Smith Hawken to sell brand specific floral arrangements. Additionally, since these brands are internationally recognized, this recommendation will attract a wide range of consumers. Finally, CC could set up a website that would allow consumers to customize floral arrangements. Based on the inventory of the 30 contracted growers, consumers could mix and match different flowers to create virtual floral arrangements. Once pleased with their arrangement, the consumer would place the order online and CC could use its distribution strengths to deliver the product.

The Outsider by Albert Camus essays

The Outsider by Albert Camus essays This is an analysis on The Outsider by Albert Camus, an existentialist novel that details the life of Meursault, an anti-hero who refuses to play the game and conform to social norms, through a series of life changing events. The Outsider presents a strong relationship between the style of the text and its meaning, and it is exactly these things that will be explained throughout the remaining portion of this essay. The style of the text is spoken in the words of Meursault, simple and at most times, impassionate, yet it uses imagery and the elements of nature often to relay emotions to the reader. Behind the text are the themes of existentialism, human experience and social expectancies, which work together to create meaning. Through various links in the style of text, one can thus connect to its meanings. Analysis of the novels style should begin by recognizing the story's basic structure. There are three deaths, which mark the beginning, middle, and end of the story. First, Meursault's mother dies. This death occurs before the narration starts, but marks the start of Meursault's downfall. In the middle of the tale we have the death of an Arab. The defining events in The Outsider are set in motion by Meursault's apparent murder of the Arab, which is triggered by the enraging heat and other combined elements that seem to pursue him throughout the story. At the end of the novel, Meursault is executed. Interestingly, Meursault's name is also symbolic and backs up the points presented on the style of text. Mer means "sea" and Soliel is French for "sun." The sea and sun meet at the beach, where Meursault's fateful act occurs. During times of normality, Meursault sees things in very black and white terms. But when the suns rays thicken, everything exaggerates. At the end of chapter two, Me ursault details the perverse effects that the sun-drenched sky has on him. He describes the black, melting tar. By this stage he...

MANAGERIAL FINANCE Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

MANAGERIAL FINANCE - Case Study Example In 2000’s, the airlines inaugurated various Airbus jets and new suites of its products and made various records during this period. In 2004, it made a record of the world’s longest nonstop commercial flight from Singapore to Los Angeles. In 2008, it made a record again by operating an all Business class flight between Asia and USA (Singapore Airlines). The Singapore Airlines operate from Singapore and has 20 flight destinations in Middle East, UK, USA and South East Asia. The range of its products and services is vast starting from exceptional services at ground to different types of cuisines and forms of entertainment in flight. Their cuisine caters to needs of children, old age people and those from various religions. Their in-flight entertainment comprises of movies, TV shows, games and various other entertainment devices. Mileage credits for business and economy class passengers is another unique service provided by the airlines. KrisWorld in-flight entertainment system provides exceptional levels of comfort and entertainment to its first and business class passengers (Singapore Airlines) The operating profit, returns and earnings of the airlines saw a drastic increase in the year 2010-11. The operating profit rose with about 1911.5% and earnings per share with 402.20%. The drastic rise in the profitability of the company was due to the recovery after the slowdown of the global economic crisis in the late 2000’s. There was a rise in demand for the airlines products and services. The current trading period and the latter half of the last trading period year saw an improvement in the profitability of the company which saved it from incurring a loss (Singapore Airlines). The price earnings ratio for Singapore Airlines in the year 2010-11 is $0.15 (share price/ eps = 13.68/91.4). The price earnings ratio for Qantas in the year 2010-11 is $0.18 (1.97/11) (Qantas Airlines). The P/E ratio of Qantas Airlines is more favorable for the

Health care marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Health care marketing - Essay Example Besides, positioning pricing strategy seeks to maximize the current revenues for health care institutions with no regard to profit margins. Pricing in health care institutions should be a passive part so that the health care services can be affordable to everybody. Products and solutions have different positioning strategies, which they use to cut a niche in the market. For products, they should use the competitive pricing strategy to set a good customer base in the market. This strategy should aim at exceeding the competitors’ strength in the market. This can be achieved through focusing on quality advantage and product differentiation. Quite the reverse, services industry should take a different strategy, which aims at improving the quality of services offered by the service provider. Such services uses simultaneous competition that seeks to increase advertising for their services, introducing new services, providing rebates and incentives to clients and offering special service promotions for their services. This move will help increase productivity on their services that will result in lower cost and high quality

Embedded Formative Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Embedded Formative Assessment - Essay Example In essence, there were certain types of instructions issued by the teacher that seemed especially effective. For instance, the teacher would take us out to the field to learn about various phenomena and concepts related to the subject he was teaching. I think this was especially helpful because we used to directly learn about the concepts in practical situations hence we did not only enjoy his teaching lessons but we used to perform well in his subjects. Another approach that the teacher used in class was the discussion sessions whereby every student participated hence improving the general grade of each one. I think that besides the effective instruction methods, the teacher also used various assessments including but not limited to continuous class tests, end of syllabus exams, and a number of research papers. It is worthy to note that the types of assessments used matched the instructions employed in various ways. In his instructions, the teacher always encouraged class participations in order to keep every student at par with the topic of discussion. Perhaps I have to reiterate that this was the most interesting teacher and class in my entire academic life at least up to this point and

SSEs acquisition of The Energy Solutions Group (ESG)

SSEs acquisition of The Energy Solutions Group (ESG) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report has been undertaken to come up with the intrinsic value of SSE plc which is operating in energy industry, using shareholder value analysis (SVA) model. The underlying value of the company is estimated to be  £12,122.14m, which is lower than the market value of  £15757.52m (FAME database, accessed on 19th January 2017). The discrepancy of the two values may be explained by referencing to Efficient Market Hypothesis, asymmetric information issue and shortcomings of SVA model. Based on sensitivity analysis, it is determined that SSEs intrinsic value is highly sensitive to changes in operating margin and WACC. It is found out that an adjustment of +2% made towards operating margin and WACC will remarkably change the company value by +86% and nearly -50% respectively. Therefore, analysts should pay more attention to these two variables when employing SVA model. The later section of the report identifies SSEs acquisition of The Energy Solutions Group (ESG) as a critical financial event, highlighting that the transaction will bring more synergy to the firms operation and enhance its competitive advantage in the energy industry. However, it is imperative for shareholders to keep track of the companys performance to alleviate problems of hubris or empire building. Objectives This financial report is expected to achieve two primary objectives. First, this report aims to provide the valuation and analysis of SSE plc a company operating in the energy industry by employing Shareholder Value Analysis (SVA) technique. Second, SSEs acquisition of The Energy Solutions Group (ESG) in 2014 will be evaluated with reference to finance theories in Mergers and Acquisitions. 1.2 Report structure This financial report is organized in five main parts: Section I: Introduction This section provides main purposes of the report and briefly describe structure of the report. Section II: Company Profile This section gives an overview of SSEs business activities, its market share and competitive positioning. Section III: Company Valuation This section covers the following contents: Evaluate the appropriateness of SVA model to value a company Perform the valuation of SSE plc using SVA model Provide justifications for variables and proxies used in the model Carry out comparative analysis and sensitivity analysis Section IV: Actual Corporate Financial Event This section critically evaluates SSEs acquisition of The Energy Solutions Group (ESG) with reference to finance theories. Some implications would also be proposed following the event evaluation. Section V: Conclusion This section summarizes the employment of SVA measure in case of SSE and then provide some recommendations. 2.1 Business Description SSE plc (Scottish and Southern Energy plc) is a British energy company headquartered in Perth, Scotland, United Kingdom. SSE was established in 1998 as a result of the merger between Scottish Hydro-Electric and Southern Electric. SSE is listed on London Stock Exchange and it stock forms part of FTSE 100, FTSE 350 and FTSE All-Share. SSEs business covers three segments: Wholesale, Networks and Retail. The Wholesale segment involves power generation from renewable and thermal plant in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Europe; the Networks segment is responsible for distributing electricity to customer premises in the North of Scotland and the South of England; meanwhile, the Retail segment supplies electricity and gas to residential and business customers in the United Kingdom and Ireland (Financial Times, 2017). Since SSE undertakes both generation and retail supply activities, it is considered a vertically integrated energy business. This makes SSE unique since SSE is the only company listed on London Stock Exchange involved in such a broad range of energy businesses (SSE, 2016a). Market share Regarding Wholesale business, in 2015 SSE had a small market share of 7%, accounting for only a quarter of EDFs share and about half of RWEs share (see Appendix 1). Referring to Ofgem (2016b), in 2015 the market shares of dominant energy producers in the UK remain relatively unchanged compared with these of 2014, which is also the case of SSE. With respect to Retail business, there were over 43 active energy suppliers in Britain by March 2016, most of which offering both gas and electricity supply (Ofgem, 2016a). SSE is included in Big 6 which are widely known as dominant leaders in the market, including British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, SSE, npower and ScottishPower. These companies supply gas and electricity to over 50 million household and businesses in Britain, with 87% share of domestic customers by March 2015 (Ofgem, 2016a). SSE is operating in a very competitive and well-functioning energy retail market. The firms market share in the market for energy supply can be illustrated in Appendix 2 and Appendix 3. By March 2016, SSE had the second largest market share of UK electricity supply market (about 15%), while its market share of gas supply (about 13%) only accounted for approximately one-third of British Gass share. Increasing competition in energy industry and SSEs competitive positioning Out of the three segments, Wholesale and Retail businesses have been facing increasing competition in recent years due to the entrance of new rivals in the GB Energy Supply market. There have been some concerns over barriers to entering wholesale and retail energy market such as the complexity and extent of credit requirements or low levels of liquidity in the market. Despite of these, new entry has taken place (see Appendix 4). The result of new suppliers entry is falling market share of the six large suppliers from 90% to 87% between March 2015 and March 2016 for electricity, and 90% to 86% for gas over the same period (Ofgem, 2016a). Specifically, the entry and growth of new suppliers has led to SSEs market share declining. There is a decreasing trend in the number of energy customer accounts for the past three years (see Appendix 5). In addition to the new rivalries entrance to the market, customers switching is another issue that reduce the market share of six large suppliers. Households are increasingly turning to smaller suppliers, with consumers complaining the sector is slow to pass on wholesale energy cuts and offers poor service. The total number of users switching suppliers in March 2016, 476,528 customers, was the highest since November 2013 (Energy UK, 2016). As the market become more and more competitive, attracting and retaining customers can pose challenges to SSE. However, SSE has a clear strategy to differentiate itself and create value by becoming a market-leading, digital and diversified retailer of energy and essential services. According to SSE (2015a), for the past few years SSE has: Launched its first large-scale advertising campaign for the SSE brand in both Britain and Ireland, known as Proud to make a difference campaign. The campaign has been implemented in many forms from TV, radio, billboards, print media to various digital and social media formats; Overhauled its digital channels in order to create a simple, seamless and intuitive customer experience and provide the best possible service at the lowest possible cost; Introduced a new customer relationship management (CRM) platform which facilitates better customer understanding and tailors communications and propositions to the needs of different customers; Developed and reopened sales channels and processes to ensure compliant growth. Additionally, SSEs commitment to decarbonization means that the firm will continue potential expansion in renewable energy portfolio which are comprised of onshore wind, offshore wind and conventional hydro. Furthermore, SSE is the leader in the UK energy industry to handle customer complaints. According to Energy Ombudsman in February 2016, only four out of 100,000 customer complaints required further investigation in the first three quarters of the year, pointing out the fact that 99.969% of SSEs customer issues were fully resolved (SSE, 2016a). 3.1 Evaluate the appropriateness of SVA Model There are many methods for estimating value of a company, including valuations based on asset, dividend, earnings and cash flows. Among these methods, discounted cash flow valuation is the most technical way of valuing a business as it is heavily dependent on assumptions about long-term business conditions. This measure is especially useful for cash-generating businesses which are stable and mature. Alfred Rappaport (1998) developed a simplified approach of cash flow discounting called shareholder value analysis (SVA). SVA model makes assumptions about steady changes in a number of cash flow factors as they are all relevant to sales level. There are obvious advantages associated with the use of this model. SVA is not subject to different accounting policies used by different companies and therefore can be applied across many business sectors. In addition, firms using SVA must concentrate on the future and customers, with specific focus on future cash flows. On the other hand, SVA is not a perfect model as it contains some shortcomings when being used in practice. Irrational assumptions about value drivers, as well as data unavailability are possible drawbacks that analyst frequently encounter when employing this model. 3.2 Justification of variables and proxies Employing the SVA Model to calculate a companys intrinsic value requires assumptions about a number of key variables. Sales growth might be the most important factor in the model, setting the foundation to come up with other variables values such as operating profit, incremental capital investment and incremental working capital investment. In case of SSE, sales growth is determined after careful consideration of historical growth rates, price forecast and potential future projects. For the last three years, sales growth has witnessed a decreasing trend, which can be explained by a number of reasons. First, energy prices in the UK are influenced by oil and coal prices; therefore, when these commodities prices move upward or downward, they are likely to drive gas and electricity prices in the same direction (Ofgem, 2016b). Since the second half of 2014, there were downward trends in oil and coal prices due to oversupplied markets for these commodities, contributing to declining energy prices and therefore SSEs revenues. The movements of oil price can be illustrated in the following figure: Figure 1: Brent Crude Oil price from 2010 to 2016 (Source: Bloomberg, 2016) Second, there are more and more energy suppliers in the UK market. Levels of new entry have been very high recently: 14 new suppliers became active between April 2015 and March 2016, compared to five between April 2014 and March 2015 (Ofgem, 2016a). The presence of new rivals leads to SSEs declining market share as well as the firms revenue. Third, more and more customers are switching to small and medium-sized suppliers, as shown in Figure 2. If this trend goes on, there will be much pressure on expected revenue of large energy suppliers. Figure 2: Monthly increases in the total number of domestic gas and electricity meters supplied by small and medium-sized suppliers (Source: Ofgem analysis of data provided by Xoserve, DNOs and iDNOs, 2016) From the above data, it might seem that SSEs revenue will be struggling in the next few years. However, there are evidences for investors to believe in SSEs sales growth for at least the next 5 years. First, oil price forecasts by World Bank, IMF and EIU indicate crude oil prices will observe steady increases from 2017 to 2025 (Knoema, 2016) (see figure 4, figure 4 and figure 6). Figure 3: World Bank Oil Price Forecast (Source: Knoema, 2016) Figure 4: IMF Oil Price Forecast (Source: Knoema, 2016) Figure 5: EIU Oil Price Forecast (Source: Knoema, 2016) Second, some renewable projects will be fully operational in 2017 and these will definitely support revenue growth in the next few years. As reported by SSE (2016c), three onshore wind projects under construction are expected to come into operation in 2017, including Dunmaglass (94MW), Clyde Extension (173MW) and Bhlaraidh (108MW). After above analysis has been taken into account, the sales growth is determined as the arithmetic average of the changes in sales over the previous three years, giving the result of 0.82%. This sales growth is reasonable given that SSE is operating in increasingly competitive industry, with customers tending to switch to small and medium-sized suppliers in recent years. The operating profit margin is predicted to be 2.87%, which can be worked out by taking the average of the margins in previous three years. The reason behind this assumption is that SSE is an efficient energy supplier committed to maintaining relatively low operating costs in order to make a fair profit. According to SSE (2015a), SSEs indirect costs per customer are around 20% lower than the average across the rest of the major suppliers. The effect of low operating costs can be demonstrated by stable operating profit margins for the last three years, and it is expected that this trend will continue for the coming financial years. The incremental capital investment of 53% is understandable as the company continues to develop secure, sustainable and low carbon energy infrastructure, given that the energy industry is switching to renewable energy sources. In its interim results for the six months to 30 September 2016, SSE announced it plans to invest a record  £1.85bn of capital expenditure and investment in Great Britain and Ireland in 2016/17 (SSE, 2016b). According to Alistair Phillips-Davies, SSE Chief Executive, the firm is making more investment in supporting the modernization of UKs energy facilities, and the total investment and capital expenditure by 2020 is forecast to reach approximately  £6bn. A relatively low working capital investment of 10% is determined since SSEs current assets are just enough to absorb current liabilities in the last few years. Trade and other receivables accounts for a large proportion of SSEs current assets due to the nature of the energy supply business. Meanwhile, current liabilities are mainly comprised of trade and other payables, which is because the company is making heavy investment in renewable energy infrastructure. Simply put, an incremental working capital investment of 10% is appropriate for SSE given that many potential energy projects will be under construction in the coming years. The corporation tax rate of 20% is applied to company profits (HMRC, 2016), and SSEs business is also subject to this rate. Another key variable in SVA is weighted average cost of capital (WACC). The cost of debt is determined as SSEs weighted average interest rate, which is 3.73% for year 2016. Meanwhile, the cost of equity is computed using CAPM model. SSEs beta (0.74) was obtained from FAME database, while the UK Gilt 10 Year Yield (1.40%) collected on Bloomberg website is used as the proxy for risk-free rate; all of these figures were retrieved on 19th January 2017. In addition, the UK market risk premium (5.3%) by Fernandez, et al., (2016) is another key component in the CAPM. Subsequently, a WACC of 4.59% is achieved and this is the required rate of return for SSEs capital providers. In short, the following seven value drivers will be applied in case of SSE: Table 1: Seven value drivers for SVA model Key Drivers Value Sales growth 0.82% Operating Profit margin 2.87% Tax rate 20% Incremental fixed capital investment 53% Incremental working capital investment 10% Planning Horizon 5 Required Rate of Return 4.59% Source: Analysts estimate 3.3 Employment of SVA Model Table 2 illustrates how SVA model is utilized in SSEs case. SSEs revenue of  £28,781m (recorded on 31st March 2016) was increased annually by a sales growth of 0.82% over a 5-year planning horizon. Subsequently, an operating margin of 2.87% was applied to revenues to come up with the firms operating profit. Before arriving at SSEs operating cash flows, a corporation tax rate of 20% was imposed on the operating profit, followed by subtractions of 53% in incremental capital investment and 10% in working capital investment. Afterwards, the present value of future cash flows was estimated by discounting the firms operating cash flows by 4.59% cost of capital. It is noted that SSEs terminal value at year 6+ was discounted twice, the first of which worked out the value at year 5 and the second one brought out the value in present day. After the net present value of  £18,930.7m was figured out, adjustments were made by adding  £360.2m cash and marketable securities, and then deducting  £7,168.8m total debt. After all, SSEs intrinsic value was determined at  £12,122.14m. Table 2: SSEs Shareholder value analysis (unit: million pounds) Year 1 2 3 4 5 6+ Sales 29,018.4 29,257.7 29,498.9 29,742.2 29,987.5 29,987.5 Profit 833.6 840.5 847.4 854.4 861.5 861.5 Associate Profit 206.5 208.2 209.9 211.6 213.4 213.4 Less Tax 166.7 168.1 169.5 170.9 172.3 172.3 Less ICI 125.1 126.1 127.2 128.2 129.3 0 Less IWCI 23.7 23.9 24.1 24.3 24.5 0 Operating Cash Flow 724.6 730.6 736.6 742.7 748.8 902.6 PV of cash flows 692.8 667.8 643.8 620.6 598.3 15,707.4 NPV 18,930.7 Add mkt secs 19,290.9 Less debt 7,168.8 Equity Value SVA 12,122.14 million Actual Value 15,757.52 million FAME access on 19th January 2017 Source: Analysts estimate 3.4 Comparative Analysis SSEs intrinsic value derived from SVA model was  £12,122.14m while its market capitalisation was recorded at  £15757.52m (FAME database, accessed on 19th January 2017), pointing the difference of  £3,635.38m between the two values. One possible explanation for this discrepancy is that all relevant information may not be incorporated into the share price. It could be inferred from Efficient Market Hypothesis (Fama, 1970) that the extent to which the share price is reliable depends on the efficiency of the markets. Under the strong form efficiency, the market value of  £15757.52m will fully reflect all past, present and insider information. On the other hand, if the market is under the weak form efficiency, the market value of  £15757.52m will only reflect the historical prices of the security, and hence lacking reliability. Furthermore, the information asymmetry, e.g. between management and investors and between investors themselves, is another explaining factor. Plesco Sobol (2013) states that investors who are ill-informed about financial disclosures can make unreasonable decisions in their investment. Due to irrational trading behaviours of these investors, share prices may not yield a fair market value. Another cause of the difference between the two values lies in the limitations of SVA model. The constant sales growth every year is not very realistic because the growth depends on potential development and firms strategies, which are subject to annual reviews. In the same manner, keeping WACC (4.59%) constant over 5-year planning horizon is not rational in practice, because the firms capital structure will change over time. Last but not least, the assumptions of sales growth and other key variables depend on each analysts subjective viewpoint. Changing these values by a small percentage might result in considerable change in eventual intrinsic value. 3.5 Sensitivity Analysis The sensitivity analysis performance indicates that SSEs underlying value is highly sensitive to changes operating profit margin. A positive adjustment of 2% made towards the operating margin will result in a substantial increase of 86% in the firms equity value (see Appendix 6). It is worth remembering that SSE is committed to preserve low operating costs so as to gain a fair profit. According to SSE (2015b), the firm has participated in a value program to ensure effective use of people and capital, the overall objective of which is business streamlining and simplification. This program comes with efficiency target, with expected  £100m of annual savings in overheads. In addition, the program involves reduction in offshore wind development as well as disposal of non-core assets. In general, this value scheme is likely to help SSE optimize its investment and re-balance its business. Moreover, it is noticeable that the firms intrinsic value is susceptible to changes in WACC. An adjustment of +2% in the WACC will lead to approximately 50% reduction in the firms equity value (see Appendix 6). According to Fitch Ratings (2016), SSEs equity has been diminishing recently due to the influence of sustained asset impairment losses and generous dividend pay-outs. In agreement with Pecking Order Theory, debt takes priority over equity in case external finance is required (Donaldson, 1961). Because SSEs cost of debt (3.73%) is lower than cost of equity (5.32%), it is appropriate for SSE to obtain  more bank loans to finance its long-term operations, while still making sure cost of capital is kept to a minimum. Particularly Fitch Ratings (2016) claims that SSE has a policy of accessing debt markets, ensuring that its committed borrowings equal to at least 105% of forecast borrowings over a six-monthly rolling period and adequate liquidity will be fulfilled until at least S eptember 2017. 4.1 Background information In the end of July 2014, SSE completed the acquisition of The Energy Solutions Group Topco Limited (ESG), the North west-based provider of energy management services, from Bridgepoint Development Capital for  £66m with an additional  £6m if agreed targets are achieved. Working with private and public sector customers, ESG identify improvements in their management of energy consumption; as well as install, maintain and support building management systems and solutions, saving customers around 20% to 30% of their energy consumption (SSE, 2014). 4.2 Evaluation of the issue in the context of finance theories This acquisition is classified into vertical MA (Mergers and Acquisitions). According to Arnold (2013), vertical MA occur between companies operating in the same industry at different stages of production, i.e. one company acquires another company that is either before or after it in the supply chain process. In case of SSEs acquisition, both SSE and ESG work in the energy industry. SSE involves in all many stages of energy supply chain including wholesale, networks (distribution) and retail; meanwhile ESG engages in the retail business where it is the designer and provider of energy management solutions. Therefore, SSEs acquiring ESG would be a downstream vertical acquisition. So, what is SSEs motivation behind this acquisition? Vertical integration has some advantages, including the attraction of increased certainty of supply or market outlet; reducing cost of search, contracting, payment collection, advertising, communication and co-ordination of production (Arnold, 2013). SSE (2014) states that the acquisition of ESG will strengthen SSEs services in competitive markets for industrial and commercial customers. These services are comprised of electrical and mechanical contracting, lighting services, private energy networks and telecoms, all of which are under the control of Enterprise division which forms part of SSEs retail business. According to Arnold (2013), one of the merger and acquisition motives is synergy in which the two firms together are worth more than the value of the firms apart; hence in this case, ESG will bring commercial synergies to SSEs Enterprise division. SSEs Chief Executive Alistair emphasized that managing energy costs and environmental impact are SSEs big priority for large industrial and commercial customers. Benefiting from ESGs expertise, SSE expects to meet the energy and related demands of these customers in an enhanced manner. It was confirmed that the ESGs existing management team would be in charge of the Enterprise division, and the firm believed that the commitment of the ESG management team and other employees will benefit its customers and the environment in terms of effective energy management solutions delivery. SSEs acquisition of ESG is considered a strategic acquisition in order to achieve external growth. There are two ways to categorize strategic acquisitions: by type of capability transferred and by their relation to corporate strategy (Goold Luchs, 1995). Regarding capability transfer, SSE (2015a) asserts that the acquisition of ESG added new capabilities to the business. (Goold Luchs, 1995) claims that value is created in an acquisition when competitive advantage of one firm is enhanced through the transfer of strategic capabilities including resource sharing, functional skill transfer and management skill transfer. The presence of ESG management team in SSEs Enterprise division will upgrade SSEs capability of strategic planning, ensuring that effective energy management solutions are delivered for the sake of customers. Generally, SSE is expected to benefit from management skill transferred from ESG. Another way to categorize strategic acquisitions is based on their contribution to corporate-level strategy. In other words, acquisitions are assessed considering their connections in maintaining and changing the balance between the firms existing domain and the renewal of its capabilities (Goold Luchs, 1995). An acquisitions contributions are classified into either domain strengthening, domain extension or domain exploration. In light of SSEs acquiring ESG, this would be an illustration of domain strengthening because this acquisition will deepen SSEs presence in retail business, especially reinforcing Enterprise divisions operation. Next, it is essential to see what happened with SSE stock price after the firm made announcement about the acquisition of ESG. Theoretically, when a firm acquires another one, a short-term impact on the stock price of both companies is expected. Specifically, a lot of practical studies point out that the acquiring firms stock price will go down while the acquired entitys stock price will rise (Investopedia, 2016a). With respect to the takeover company, its stock will go down mainly because of a number of uncertainties associated with the acquisition, such as turbulent integration process, lost productivity, additional debt or expense incurred and accounting issues (Investopedia, 2016a). Figure 6 demonstrates SSEs stock prices after the acquisition of ESG was disclosed. Figure 6: SSEs stock price movements after acquisition of ESG (Source: Hargreaves Lansdown, 2014) As can be seen from the above figure, SSEs stock prices witnessed decreases in two consecutive days after the acquisition and this conformed with the empirical studies implication m

The Ancient Art of Feng Shui Essay -- History Research Papers China Es

The Ancient Art of Feng Shui The History of Feng Shui Feng Shui has been practiced in China for thousands of years and is believed to have started in 2953 B.C. when Hu of Hsia found a tortoise that had a perfect "magic square" on its back. From this discovery evolved the I Ching, the oldest book in Chinese history, and possibly the world (Webster 1). This book contains the first written instructions on the theory of Feng Shui. Feng Shui was seen as a sacred power, so much so that in ancient China, only the privileged class had access to the knowledge. There are even stories of members of the Imperial family who went out of their way to obscure the texts in order to prevent those who might be a threat to them from obtaining the sacred knowledge. The first Ming emperor even ordered that the country be flooded with books containing misleading theories and incorrect guidelines on Feng Shui (Too 2). When Chiang Kai Shek fled the mainland he took thousands of books on Feng Shui with him to Taiwan and used its principles in building a regime there. From there it traveled to Hong Kong and eventually to the Western World through Marco Polo (Cassidy). Modern Feng Shui is based on the commentaries from Wang Chi and other scholars from the Sung dynasty, 1126-960 B.C. (Webster 3). What is Feng Shui? Feng Shui is the ancient Chinese art of living in harmony with nature and your surroundings, in order to maximize your health, prosperity and luck. It literally translates as "wind and water" and it involves the placement of buildings in relation to their surroundings, and the placement of furniture within the building in order to maximize the ch’i, the original energy source on the earth, from which everything else was created (Webster 4). As the dragon is seen as the most revered celestial creature of Chinese philosophy, ch’i has been called the breath of the dragon. Ch’i is an invisible energy that circulates throughout the world but also gathers in certain areas. The basic idea of Feng Shui is to harness as much ch’i as possible by allowing it to gather where you are, whether it is in your home or in your office. Ch’i is the life force that is all living things, and can be found, in its perfection wherever things are done perfectly. An arti st who creates a masterpiece is creating ch’i. Through Feng Shui, we are looking for places where ch’i is ac... ...ents and residential, family dwellings. It is the art of placement, a science and a philosophy that was meant to bring harmony through the observance of our environments and how the balance of the energies created can affect all the aspects of our lives. "All we do is connected to Mother Earth and Ch’i, the Natural Order or Energy which permeates the universe" (Feng Shui Innovations). Within the past ten years there has been an amazing amount of interest in this science in the western world as people, for various reasons, look for answers, and search for a way to be in harmony with the world. An ancient Chinese saying lists the five basic principles of successful living: "First comes destiny, and then comes luck. Third comes Feng Shui, and with that comes philanthropy and education" (Webster 33). Works Cited: Cassidy, William L. "www.qi-whiz.com". Feng Shui Innovations. "www.fengshui-innovations.com". Feng Shui Society. "www.fengshuisociety.org.uk/". Too, Lillian. Basic Feng Shui. Oriental Publications, Australia:1997. Webster, Daniel. Feng Shui for Beginners. Llewellyn Publication, St. Paul:1997. Xing, Wu. The Feng Shui Workbook. Tuttle Pub., Boston:1998.

Hourly Rounding & Fall Precaution Essay

Falls are a common occurrence among medical, surgical and elderly patients in hospitals. One of the largest categories of reported adverse events in hospitals are patient falls, which are estimated to cost more than $20 billion a year. (2010 Lippincott Williams &Wilkins, Inc.) Prevention is the best method to decrease the number of falls and reduce hospital cost and increase patient satisfaction. One of the best ways to prevent falls is patient hourly rounding. Hourly rounding means intentionally checking on patients at regular intervals continuously to ensure patients’ needs has been met. Attending to patients’ comfort, safety, and environmental needs may prevent adverse events like falls and contribute to patients’ satisfaction. There is study which evaluates the effectiveness of hourly rounding to reduce the rate of falls. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hourly rounding on fall rates and patient satisfaction in patients. Metho ds: MEDLINE and CINAHL were the search engines. Key search words were hourly/patient rounding, falls, call lights, and patient satisfaction ( Margo A 2009). Evaluations were conducted in all hospital units, telemetry, medical/surgical and orthopedic. Reports were retrieved .In 5 of 6 studies (83%) that examined use of call lights, the use was reduced. (Meade C 2006) reported that nurses were summoned 12 to 15 times daily to respond to non-urgent needs such as toileting, positioning, or pain relief. By nurses’ anticipating these needs through making rounds, patient care may be interrupted less with non-urgent calls. Fall rates were reduced in 7 of 9 studies (77%) in which falls were evaluated. In one study, (Kalman M 2008) making rounds did not affect the rate of falls, and in another study ((Bourgault A 2008) the rate of falls increased. Other studies uncovered less use of restraints (Assi M 2008) and attendants when making rounds was instituted. In 8 of 9 studies (88%), researche rs discovered improvements in overall patient satisfaction (Medsurg Nurse. 2008) .They were more satisfied with anticipation and attention to personal needs, timeliness of nurses’ response, and management of pain. Patients who had frequent admission to the hospital noted the difference after implementation of hourly rounding. They perceived the nursing staff to be more attentive. Available evidence  represent that making rounds is appropriate, safe, and useful for practice and has positive impact to decrease rate of falls and increase patient satisfaction. Conclusion: Decreasing patients fall and increasing patient satisfaction are important goal in any organizations .In this study hourly rounding has improved patient satisfaction and decreased rate of falls in patients significantly, however higher quality study designs are needed to assess the effect of hourly rounds in a variety of settings, including units with a history of good outcomes, to determine what promise making rounds holds for further improvements (Meade C 2006). The study of hourly rounding is very significant to the nursing. Many studies reviled the importance of hourly rounding and it is an interdisciplinary practice in most of the institutes. Making hourly rounds can be viewed as a bundle of interventions that promote not only comfort but safety of both patients and nurses (Mosby,2008).Hourly rounding helps nurses to anticipate and evaluate the needs of patients ,addresses the 4ps (pain , position , potty , possessions) and additional comfort needs . Research about hourly roundi ng shows it is effective in increasing patient satisfaction, increasing nursing satisfaction and increasing quality by reducing fall rates. Hourly Rounding & Fall Precaution Falls are a common occurrence among medical, surgical and elderly patients in hospitals. One of the largest categories of reported adverse events in hospitals are patient falls, which are estimated to cost more than $20 billion a year. (2010 Lippincott Williams &Wilkins, Inc.) Prevention is the best method to decrease the number of falls and reduce hospital cost and increase patient satisfaction. One of the best ways to prevent falls is patient hourly rounding. Hourly rounding means intentionally checking on patients at regular intervals continuously to ensure patients’ needs has been met. Attending to patients’ comfort, safety, and environmental needs may prevent adverse events like falls and contribute to patients’ satisfaction. There is study which evaluates the effectiveness of hourly rounding to reduce the rate of falls. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of hourly rounding on fall rates and patient satisfaction in patients. Methods: MEDLINE and CINAHL were the search engines. Key search words were hourly/patient rounding, falls, call lights, and patient satisfaction ( Margo A 2009). Evaluations were conducted in all hospital units, telemetry, medical/surgical and orthopedic. Reports were retrieved .In 5 of 6 studies (83%) that examined use of call lights, the use was reduced. (Meade C 2006) reported that nurses were summoned 12 to 15 times daily to respond to non-urgent needs such as toileting, positioning, or pain relief. By nurses’ anticipating these needs through making rounds, patient care may be interrupted less with non-urgent calls. Fall rates were reduced in 7 of 9 studies (77%) in which falls were evaluated. In one study, (Kalman M 2008) making rounds did not affect the rate of falls, and in another study ((Bourgault A 2008) the rate of falls increased . Other studies uncovered less use of restraints (Assi M 2008) and attendants when making rounds was instituted. In 8 of 9 studies (88%), research ers discovered improvements in overall patient satisfaction (Medsurg Nurse. 2008) .They were more satisfied with anticipation and attention to personal needs, timeliness of nurses’ response, and management of pain. Patients who had frequent admission to the hospital noted the difference after implementation of hourly rounding .They perceived the nursing staff to be more attentive. Available evidence represent that making rounds is appropriate, safe, and useful for practice and has positive impact to decrease rate of falls and increase patient satisfaction. Conclusion: Decreasing patients fall and increasing patient satisfaction are important goal in any organizations .In this study hourly rounding has improved patient satisfaction and decreased rate of falls in patients significantly, however higher quality study designs are needed to assess the effect of hourly rounds in a variety of settings, including units with a history of good outcomes, to determine what promise making rounds holds for further improvements (Meade C 2006). The study of hourly rounding is very significant to the nursing. Many studies reviled the importance of hourly rounding and it is an interdisciplinary practice in most of the institutes. Making hourly rounds can be viewed as a bundle of interventions  that promote not only comfort but safety of both patients and nurses (Mosby,2008).Hourly rounding helps nurses to anticipate and evaluate the needs of patients ,addresses the 4ps (pain , position , potty , possessions) and additional comfort needs . Research about hourly rou nding shows it is effective in increasing patient satisfaction, increasing nursing satisfaction and increasing quality by reducing fall rates.

Effect of Amniocentesis as a Growing Trend

Effect of Amniocentesis as a Growing Trend Free Online Research Papers Amniocentesis has come about to be an effective and widely used trend in today’s world. It is a trend that has started to develop very recently. As a new technology, it is still in its primary stages. New developments are being made in this field but none of them have been established right now. In general amniocentesis is described as a process of drawing amniotic fluid from a pregnant women’s womb with a long needle to find out about the sex of the child and also look for any genetic disorders that the child may be carrying, that might affect the child after it is born and as it grows up. More and more pregnant women are using this process to ensure a safe health of their babies but, like everything else, it has its long term effects which cannot be overlooked, and in the long run can have certain effects which can destroy any healthy family. Amniocentesis is one of the processes of the broad subject matter of prenatal genetic testing. One major significance that the trend is going to have as researchers are thinking on it is the use of amniotic cells as amniotic stem cells. As more and more studies are going on in this topic the researchers have found that stem cells can be extracted from the amniotic fluid with the potential for therapy. Research has also found out that the stem cells that are extracted from the amniotic fluid have properties that resemble the properties of embryonic stem cells. One of the biggest significance that this research is going to have is that during amniocentesis a lot of cells are routinely discarded from the womb and scientists and researchers can use these cells as amniotic stem cells without posing any harm to the fetus or correctly the still developing embryo. People, especially pregnant ladies, think it will be a good thing that they will be able to help in a good cause while retaining what they want to and not harming what they don’t want harmed (survey). The use of embryonic stem cells is a very sensitive and controversial issue and now the finding that the cells extracted from the amniotic fluid can also do the same thing without having the highly objectionable consequences is going to give people some time to think about the use of embryonic stem cells and see if there is any situation in a persons life when that person wants an abortion. Well, rather than kill the fetus all together, it can be given up to be used for research and in that way help humanity. Amniocentesis started out as a procedure which was used to determine the sex of the baby before it was born. The doctors bring out some of the amniotic fluid from the mothers womb and test the cells to see the kind of chromosomes it has. This side of amniocentesis has also been used to preselect the gender of the baby before it was born. That became a very controversial issue, because a child’s determination of gender in the womb gender is natural process and according to the protesting people it should not be tampered with. But it is still used widely in some parts of the world where the reason to do this to some extent is the existence of gender discrimination. Although living and being born in United States of America a child (girl/boy) would not experience gender discrimination. They are told from the start that they are equal and can do everything like each other. This discrimination has various levels of existence, but the saddest level of all these is its existence among babies. In developing countries girls are still considered to be a burden and an extra expense added to the family. The poor families who barely survive are more annoyed when a new born in their family happens to be a girl. In these developing countries, since childhood girls are told that they are second in everything they do except that they are first in causing the family trouble for no visible reason. Boys are always put on a higher pedestal than the girls are, moreover girls are not given any kind of pedestal at all. According to Julie Mullins in â€Å"children in a world of violence† â€Å"Discrimination against girls and women in the developing world is a devastating reality. It results in millions of individual tragedies, which add up to lost potential for entire countries. Studies show there is a direct link between a countrys attitude toward women and its progress socially and economically. The status of women is central to the health of a society. If one part suffers, so does the whole†. Certain obstacles are put in a girl’s path as she grows up like-sex trafficking, abuse, neglect, dowry, labor etc. All this affects the girl emotionally and breaks them down. Earlier when amniocentesis did not exist people either had to deal with girl child or used to kill them after they were born. But, now as amniocentesis is available and can detect the sex of the child while still in the womb, people in especially developing countries go through this process just to find out the sex and if it is a girl a lot of them get it aborted. In a sense amniocentesis has taken this gender discrimination phenomenon to a level where it cou ld not go before. Amniocentesis is a very safe process and at the same time also a very useful process. People earlier thought that it is a process that may provide harm to the mother and the child inside her, but, scientific studies have proved that it does not have any harm on the mother or the child. The pregnant women who were earlier scared of amniocentesis can rest easier now. They had a fear that having an amniocentesis test would increase the chances of them having a miscarriage. In general it is said that 1 in 200 women are in risk of having a miscarriage due to amniocentesis. But two new studies by two different institutions have proved that this process has become safer. According to a study performed The University of California, San Francisco, 1 in 370 women have a chance of having a miscarriage due to amniocentesis. According to another study by Mount Sinai school of medicine, 1 in 1,600 women will go through miscarriage. So, these studies prove that amniocentesis is a very safe procedur e and can be and should be done by the pregnant women to be sure that the fetus inside them does not have any genetic abnormalities. After learning about these statistics, more people in the surveys I did were consoled that they would undergo the procedure of amniocentesis to ensure the safety of their child. It is very simple to notice how the human mind can sometimes very easily take the simple data produced in front of it and conclude on undergoing for something big like amniocentesis. Amniocentesis having been developed at such a constant rate, now also provides for pre-selecting how a couple’s baby will look. This is a controversial issue. People now sometimes do not use their own genetic material, instead they go to labs and find the embryo that they want implanted in their system, so their baby can be perfect or the way they want it to be. This is a long term effect that amniocentesis will cause, or to say has started to cause. It plays with nature and tampers the natural process. But, this process also helps some families who have a history of genetic disorders in their family and it has been passed down from generation to generation. They have a reason to pre-select their baby, so a healthy gene enters a family which can eventually help reduce the next generations chances of getting the genetic defect. Amniocentesis is done around the 16th week of the pregnancy. It looks out for genetic abnormalities like Downs’s syndrome, spinabifida cystic fibrosis and tay-sachs. It is generally recommended for women whose family has a history of genetic disorders or if the woman is above the age of 35 and is having a baby. In that case the baby has a higher chance of having a chromosomal disorder. Since it does not have a very huge cost associated with it, it is possible for an average human to do it once in their lifetime, for any kind of worry that may be troubling them about the pregnancy. This process does not have any harmful consequences, but it depends because there is still research going on in this field and that will tell if this is going to affect us in a negative way or not. Amniocentesis itself is a cost effective procedure, but if the test proves that the baby certainly does have some genetic defect, then the cost effectiveness of this process becomes cost expensiveness. Selecting the genes planning everything ahead of the baby’s arrival and paying everything becomes very expensive for the family. That is why a lot of people come to know of their baby’s disorder but cannot do anything for the lack of financial freedom. That is a setback that can traumatize families, the fact that they know their baby is genetically sick but they cannot do anything. Amniocentesis is a process that is both helping and harming people. It has too many long term effects associated with it once a parent finds out about their baby’s disorder. But, science is developing and it provides for solution for everything. For a general check up to ensure good health of the baby, amniocentesis should be done by everyone. 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Geography of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Geography of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Vancouver is the largest city in the Canadian province of British Columbia and is the third largest in Canada. As of 2006, Vancouvers population was 578,000 but its Census Metropolitan Area surpassed two million. Vancouvers residents (like those in many large Canadian cities) are ethnically diverse and over 50% are not native English speakers. Location The City of Vancouver is located on the British Columbias west coast, adjacent to the Strait of Georgia and across that waterway from Vancouver Island. It is also north of the Fraser River and lies mostly on the western part of the Burrard Peninsula. The city of Vancouver is well-known as one of the worlds most livable cities but it is also one of the most expensive in Canada and North America. Vancouver has also hosted many international events and most recently, it has gained worldwide attention because it and nearby Whistler hosted the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. What to Know About Vancouver The following is a list of the most important things to know about Vancouver, British Columbia: The City of Vancouver is named after George Vancouver - a British captain who explored Burrard Inlet in 1792.Vancouver is one of Canadas youngest cities and the first European settlement was not until 1862 when McLeerys Farm was established on the Fraser River. It is believed, however, that aboriginal people lived in the Vancouver region from at least 8,000-10,000 years ago.Vancouver officially incorporated on April 6, 1886, after Canadas first transcontinental railroad reached the region. Shortly thereafter, the nearly the entire city was destroyed when the Great Vancouver Fire broke out on June 13, 1886. The city quickly rebuilt though and by 1911, it had a population of 100,000.Today, Vancouver is one of the most densely populated cities in North America after New York City and San Francisco, California with around 13,817 people per square mile (5,335 people per sq km) as of 2006. This is a direct result of urban planning focused on high-rise residential and mixed-use development as opposed to urban sprawl. Vancouvers urban planning practice originated in the late 1950s and is known in the planning world as Vancouverism. Because of Vancouverism and a lack of large amounts of urban sprawl as seen in other large North American cities, Vancouver has been able to maintain a large population and also a large amount of open space. Within this open land is Stanley Park, one of the largest urban parks in North America at around 1,001 acres (405 hectares).Vancouvers climate is considered oceanic or marine west coast and its summer months are dry. The average July high temperature is 71Â °F (21Â °C). Winters in Vancouver are usually rainy and the average low temperature in January is 33Â °F (0.5Â °C).The City of Vancouver has a total area of 44 square miles (114 sq km) and consists of both flat and hilly terrain. The North Shore Mountains are located near the city and dominate much of its cityscape, but on clear days, Mount Baker in Washington, Vancouver Island, and Bowen Island to the northeast can all be seen. In the early days of its growth, Vancouvers economy was based around logging and sawmills which were established beginning in 1867. Although forestry is still Vancouvers largest industry today, the city is also home to the Port Metro Vancouver, which is the fourth largest port based on tonnage in North America. Vancouvers second largest industry is tourism because it is a well-known urban center worldwide. What Its Known For Vancouver is nicknamed Hollywood North because it is the third largest film production center in North America following Los Angeles and New York City. The Vancouver International Film Festival takes place annually each September. Music and visual arts are also common in the city. Vancouver also has another nickname of city of neighborhoods as much of it is divided into different and ethnically diverse neighborhoods. English, Scottish, and Irish people were Vancouvers largest ethnic groups in the past, but today, there is a large Chinese-speaking community in the city. Little Italy, Greektown, Japantown and the Punjabi Market are other ethnic neighborhoods in Vancouver. To learn more about Vancouver, visit the citys official website. Sources: Wikipedia. (2010, March 30). Vancouver. Wikipedia- the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from:Â  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver

Do we still need library Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Do we still need library - Essay Example Library users themselves have developed an appreciation for knowledge as well as information making more adept than their predecessors do. Institutions, particularly academic and medical, and communities have to determine the relevance of libraries given the new age technology that makes it possible to have open access. Such relevance can be determined by identifying what the expectations of the modern-day world are given that the internet platform has wider reach and content especially concerning next generation applications (Watstein and Mitchell 182). Academic libraries are described as the measure of the character and efficiency of universities that is depending on how they are ‘treated’. In a university, a library should have the most complete provision and be maintained properly as it is the most valuable equipment. Every piece of work produced at a university directly depends on a library as the research centre and indirectly a library is useful for educational wo rks. Even with scientific research, a library is needed for gathering of information just as much as the laboratory is needed for data collection. With humanistic research, a library is fundamental as it takes on the purpose of both library and laboratory. The learning process in higher education institutions is dependent on the library tools as the library is second in importance to the lecturers. The library tools refer to a variety of sources of information including journals, books and newspaper articles with scholarly information (Joshi 24). Gonzalez et al compare academic libraries to science laboratories, as they are equally open to experimentation. This means they can remain relevant if businesses and academic institutions embrace innovation concerning service delivery. For instance, the University of Maryland and the College of Information Services collaborated to create the Virtual Business Information Centre that is a website providing single process access to both print and electronic media, as well as guidance in choice of databases, specific and general search strategies, plus links to chat reference and emails. This collaboration is essential, as it is not possible for an academic institution to carry on alone the responsibility of developing along with insuring information literacy proficiency, with its faculty and students. A specialized website makes it possible to have enhanced services as well as save on costs as the need for staff and resources, along with costly parallel systems is eliminated. Albeit, it is crucial to note that innovation can only be relevant in so far as the needs of the users are responded to in a timely and effective manner. The needs of the users can be developed by creating a wider information base that in turn expands their knowledge and makes them want further services (Gonzalez et al 233). Libraries are seen as a tool for enriching knowledge already gained in the classroom by students, where having a structure set aside for this sole purpose becomes integral. At the same time, public libraries are seen as a meeting point for students to convene and share their learning experiences as well as offer each other assistance with regard to research and general gathering of information. More often than not, teachers and lecturers will give out-group assignments and students

Class objectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Class objectives - Essay Example With all that power, marketing is a subject worthy of serious study. One of the most important things marketers can do, and one of the things I wish to learn the most about, is the building of relationships with customers. Many companies succeed in the marketplace because they are able to develop and sustain relationships with consumers in a way that makes consumers feel as though they are part of a family. This is partly done by concerning a company with their consumers satisfaction. Marketing is about playing into peoples' dreams and expectations of their own lives. The more that a company understands their customers desires and wishes, as well as underlying factors such as demographics and income levels, the easier it is to build that relationship through marketing. Marketing is an important part of our lives. To know the forces that help to dictate our choices in the marketplace, it is important to understand how marketing works. That is my main objective in taking this course.