Food Essay Essay

Food not only distinguishes and represents a culture, but can also reflect ones personality, lifestyle, and socio-economic status. America is made up of every kind of culture, nationality, and custom. Because America is mainly composed of immigrants and descendants of immigrants, there is no real American cuisineâ‚ ¬? only Americanized cuisine and a multitude of cuisines taken from various cultures. The diversity that makes up american cuisine is as varied as the diversity that makes up America. Also, as there are many cuisines that make up  American cuisine, there are also many roles of food in American pop culture. From classifying gender and social status to providing fuel, satisfaction, and excuses, food affects people in many ways. Since I have come to college, I have learned to appreciate Korean food, which I have grown up eating. Korean food is part of the diverse group of cuisines that make up american cuisine. Although I enjoy almost every type of food, I am partial to Korean food, the cuisine of my native land. One of my two favorite dishes is mandu soon dubu, which is a spicy tofu soup with dumplings cooked in it. The other favorite is dwenjang jjigae, which is a somewhat salty bean curd stew with tofu and various vegetables cooked in it. I like spicy or salty foods, which may explain why these two foods are my favorite, and also why I like seafood so much. When I go to my home in Torrance, I eat Korean food every day. As a result, when I am at school, I crave Korean food even when it comes time to eat the delicious food at the dining halls. Korean food style is not restricted to Korean food, but can also be incorporated into other types of cuisine, such as Chinese food. From my observations, many Chinese restaurants are owned and run by Koreans, so the food is affected by Korean tastes. The dishes are made less greasy and spicier to fit the Korean taste. At these restaurants, onions with black bean paste, kim chi, and pickled radishes called dah-ggwang, are served as small appetizers. There are even Chinese dishes that started in Korea and are now served in Chinese restaurants owned by Koreans: jjam-bbong (a spicy seafood soup with noodles), and jja jjang myun (noodles in a black bean paste sauce with beef, cucumbers, and onions).

South West Airlines a Review

SOUTHWEST AIRLINE ANALYSIS Contents SOUTHWEST AIRLINE CASE STUDY4 INTRODUCTION4 PART 1: EXTERNAL ANALYSIS5 OVERVIEW5 MACRO-ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS6 PESTEL Analysis6 Industry Analysis9 Five Forces Model Pictorial Representation9 Five Forces Analysis10 PART 2: INTERNAL ANALYSIS13 OVERVIEW13 SWOT ANALYSIS14 Strengths14 Weaknesses15 Opportunities15 Threats16 The VRIO Framework16 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS17 PART 3: CURRENT ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACING THE COMPANY18 Mergers and Acquisitions18 Financial Outlay18 Legislation19 PART 4: STRATEGIC OPTIONS19 Ansoff Matrix19The TOWS Matrix20 PART FIVE – EVALUATION OF STRATEGIC OPTIONS21 OVERVIEW21 PART 5: DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWS STRATEGY22 PART SIX – DESCRIPTION OF SELECTED STRATEGY23 PART 7: CONCLUSION24 REFERENCES26 SOUTHWEST AIRLINE CASE STUDY INTRODUCTION Southwest airline is based in the United States with its headquarters in Dallas, Texas, that mainly serves a domestic clientele in northern America. The company has grown from a few ai rcrafts at induction into the aircraft market, to a fleet of many domestic carriers that serve the larger domestic airline clientele.Started in 1971, Southwest Airlines started business with three Boeing aircrafts while serving three cities in Texas notably Houston, Dallas and San Antonio. Today the company serves 97 destinations in 41 states within the US, the District of Columbia the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and six near international countries with a fleet of 694 Boeing jets (Southwest, 2009). The company is now one of the United States biggest airline companies, offering low cost fares to their clients.The company offers the lowest combination of aircraft fares to its customers making it one of the most attractive airline carriers in the continent. The company boasts of in addition to the low fares a working staff that are reliable as well as a friendly customer service, a rich corporate culture that extends deep within the communities they work with. The company has grown ma inly through acquisitions and mergers with other companies and has been described by Fortune Magazine as one of the most profitable companies of 2012 according to (Southwest, 2012).This report will undertake an intensive look at the internal and external influences that affect the company as well as the current issues and challenges the company is facing. Further the report will generate strategic options for the company as well as an evaluation of them while describing the selected strategy. The main stakeholders associated with the company are the customers proven by the effort with which the company strives to ensure their comfort through consideration of pricing, as well as convenience offering many flights to various domestic locations offering the customers convenience.Other important stakeholders held in regard by the company are the employees of the company who are dedicated to working for the company, suppliers who continuously accord support to the company as well as the i mmediate community that the organization interacts with. With relation to the strengths that the company possesses in the domestic airline industry the company can be assumed to be working in a cost leadership generic strategy (Porter 1980). The reasons for this are that as the company is operating with the low cost policy to its clientele, the company has the advantage of working with a wide and broad base of clients.The strength therefore for the company comes from working with the numbers of passengers that it ferries between destinations on a low cost policy. PART 1: EXTERNAL ANALYSIS OVERVIEW An external analysis is often used by organizations in a bid to identify the threats and the opportunities that exist in a company’s environment. Opportunities and threats for companies are mainly of an external nature and can have a direct impact on a company’s performance. Opportunities for a company such as Southwest Airlines are potentially rewarding conditions only when the company responds to them properly and in the right manner.Threats on the other hand are the conditions that can potentially weaken a company and provide hindrance for the company potentially preventing it from attaining its organizational goals and objectives. MACRO-ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS Macro-environmental analysis involves a company analysing the environment that it has no control over. To do so is done with the purpose and intention of deriving the potential opportunities and threats that exist for the company allowing it to make appropriate considerations and decisions in the light of the issues presented.The PESTEL model is the most popularized model used to analyse the macro environment of a company in addition to other forms of models and structures that are also used in the analysis. PESTEL Analysis The PESTEL analysis tool looks at the environments of the changes in Political climate, Environmental climate, Socio-cultural, Technological, Economic as well as the Legal a tmospheres surrounding the entity (DeWit, 2004). A diagrammatic representation of the external environment that surrounds organisations is as described below; [pic]Diagram 1: PESTEL representationSource: Hunger (2011). Political Analysis The political climate surrounding the Southwest airline is not intensive. The managerial relations with the government of the day are okay. And therefore government interference in the affairs of the company is highly limited. Economic analysis An analysis of the economic environment surrounding Southwest airline is favourable. The domestic market the company addresses is well responsive to the company as they endeavour to fulfil their mission of transporting passengers at reduced rates that favour their consumers.The company has maintained profitable constant for the last 40 years. Socio-Cultural Analysis Socially the company has interacted well with their clients, suppliers and customers over the years. By giving back and engaging in community soc ial relations with the parties the company boasts of having a good working as well as cultural background with the people it has dealt with. The company owns a training centre from where they are able to give education to the people on aircraft flying as well as other airline related activities.In addition the company is heavily unionised so as to address the plights and concerns of their employees. Technological Analysis The company in recent years has engaged in technological advancements by keeping up to date with the current systems that are being introduced everyday integrating them into their systems. Systems such as booking, route paths as well as their company itinerary are available online and they have improved efficiency for the companies.The company further boasts of being the first aircraft line to own a website in early 1995 as well as the downloadable tool in 2005, that notified customers of offers and promotions that the company was running. Environmental Analysis Th e company has engaged in sustainable forms of fuel usage as well as sustain ably monitoring their resources. Through projects such as Evolve, which involved the redesign of the cabins on the craft to accommodate efficient waste disposal as well as reduce weight from waste on the craft.The company in recent times for example contracted Pratt and Whitey to supply the company with Eco-power water pressure washing systems that allowed the company to wash the grime of the engines turbine blades while the aircraft was parked at the gate. This allows the company to engage in environmental friendly ways while still maintaining their goals of quick turnaround (DeWit, 2004). Legal Analysis The company has been engaged in various legal tussles with some of their effects being felt to this day.A legal issue with the Wright Amendment has over the years been a stumbling block for Southwest Airlines as it acts as a limiter to the number of turn around flights that the company can offer. Having a l arge customer base is an advantage for the company but with the Wright Amendment whose recommendations are still being eliminated in phases the legislation has prevented the company from delivering more service to their clientele which would help them boost their revenues. Industry AnalysisConducting an industry analysis is also essential for a company as it helps the company determine the profitability levels of the company within the competitive industry (Hubbel, 2013). The main objective for this analysis is often to determine the factors of competition that influence the industry. Conducting this type of analysis is mainly aided by the five forces model that was presented by Porter, (1980). Its purpose is to mainly help create and manage competitive advantages for a company that may allow it to be steps ahead of the immediate competition.Five Forces Model Pictorial Representation [pic] Source: Sridhar, 2012 Five Forces Analysis The five forces analysis tool mainly undertakes a s tudy of the following areas in the external environment of a company; barriers to entry, substitutes available, supplier power, buyer power and finally competitive rivalry. Researching by concentrating using the above areas of environment for a company helps a company greatly when coming up with specific strategies and the development procedures on which to follow so as to assess the position of the company in relation to their current standing (Choo, 2002)Barriers to Entry Southwest airline is currently faced with a high amount of entry barriers into the market. In recent times airline companies have been conducting mergers and acquisition arrangements amongst each other mainly due to the high costs that are found within the industry. Among the first challenges to entry the company was faced with was the Wright Amendment which was created in 1979. This federal law governed the traffic at Dallas Love Field which was the predecessor to the airfield now located in Dallas, Texas.This a mendment regulated the amount of non-stop flights between Texas and other states. This law caused the founders of the company to concentrate on the local market dwelling with the demand that existed within the state of Texas. In recent times more specifically in 1997, 2005 and 2006 as a result of some repeal some of the restricting factors in the law were abolished leaving others intact. These led to the company increasing the number of direct flights in the state as well as expanding into other states around the country.In later times merging of companies has also created a problem for Southwest Airline. The reason for this is that these mergers increase the capital revenues for the other companies enabling them to invest more in profitable investments and thus more profits. This consequentially causes the company Southwest airline to lose out on market share and customers. Some examples of companies that have merged recently are Delta that merged with Northwest Airline, American a nd America West, United Airlines and Continental and the recent rumour that US Airways would be merging with American.Availability of Substitutes This refers to the alternatives that are available to the local customers. This is in reference to other forms of transport other than air. This challenge is not as significant to the company as since the other available forms do not meet the demands of the market in comparison to the demand for air transport. Transport by railroad is not as popular amongst the people since it is not enough in supply and not readily accessible. Road transport especially by bus too is not suited for the kind of clientele that need the services of the air transport.The customers who mainly use the service are frequent fliers as well as business people who need to travel across the country on a regular basis to meet their clients and other people they may need to interact with in the course of their journeys. Supplier power The ability of the company to meet the demands of the market is very high. Supplier power refers to the size of the companies that are engaging in the supply of a service or a good. For Southwest airlines the company is very well capable to meet the demands of the market.The company services a large fleet of aircraft well suited for the job of transporting passengers and in addition has a very low rate of cancelled flights 16. 1% according to the statistics provided by American Skies in 2012. Buyer power The power of the consumers has been decreased by the capability of the company to manage their flights and fleets. In addition the company has a very high efficient rate of route utilisation meeting the demands of the market in a timely and capable manner. Competitive RivalryThe competition surrounding the company is fierce. With the recent mergers of the afore mentioned airline companies operating in the US alone, the market has become very competitive and volatile for Southwest and thus the need of a good strategy so as to keep up in the market or else risk being phased out. Some of the company’s main competitors are companies such as American Airlines, US Airways, United and Delta. These companies are engaged in acquisitions and mergers in efforts to dominate more within the market which poses a threat to Southwest Airlines.To win customer loyalty for Southwest Airlines in the highly competitive environment it is prudent that the paper also addresses the concerns that customers address before they identify an airline as their choice of carrier. Some of this factors that customers address are: i. Reliability- Is the company able to offer on time departures and how do they handle customer luggage? For an airline that is constantly getting delays this is not a strong suit or losing luggage in transit and is a turn off for many customers. ii.Number of flights- This is another consideration as clients may be interested in travelling back and forth even within a day. The number of flights t hat a company handles is also a vital factor to win the loyalty of a customer to the company. iii. Pricing- This factor is the most important. In today’s economies customers have become price sensitive and will go for the cheapest options available but that provide quality services that a client may feel as they have spent their money in a worthwhile manner. Using the PESTEL and Five Forces Models above a number of opportunities present themselves.The opportunities available are that once the Wright Amendment restrictions are lifted the company could increase the number of turn around flights delivering more services to the customers. The company could engage more in mergers and acquisitions to take advantage of more international flights to more destinations. The threats that pose a danger to the company achieving its goals and objectives include the possibility of losing clients to other companies as a result of the mergers occurring that could in turn induce the lowering o f prices by the other companies as they would have more resources.The threat of economic instability causes a rise in cost in provision of added benefits which would force the company to downsize staff or reduce on other costs or be left with the option of increasing fares so as to continue working efficiently and effectively. PART 2: INTERNAL ANALYSIS OVERVIEW This is an evaluation of a company’s current position from an internal point of view with regards to the marketing operations and financial strengths of a company. Using a value chain for Southwest airlines would benefit the company as they strive to offer valuable services in the industry to their stakeholders.Using internal analysis would benefit the company in streamlining operations as they would endeavour to use their strengths and turn around their weaknesses so as to create opportunities in the chains of activities in the delivery of operations that they would undertake. SWOT ANALYSIS An internal look at the com pany using the SWOT analysis reveals the strengths possessed by the company as well as the weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the company.An internal analysis of the company’s relations and affairs helps in trying to determine on which areas the company could possibly improve upon so as to come up with good strategies that the company can work with (Hunger, 2011). Strengths i) The company has a stable financial outlay that assists when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. The company recently announced an expansion program of their company headquarters where they would then serve clients on a 24hr basis having ensured that their systems would be up to date and efficiently working for the market it seeks to maintain. i) Low fee airline. For the company this is a strength because consumers and the market get to enjoy quality services as well as at an affordable price making it one of the most profitable companies through opportunistic costs. The company through its n umerous routes transports many passengers while conducting their quick turnaround system to meet the heavy demand present in the market. iii) A good working staff. One of the many fun facts about the company is that they have 1,355 married couples. This is a sign in addition to the many unions present within the company to address issues and concerns f the staff members. What the above facts present is that the company enjoys a good working environment and highly motivated at the same time. iv) The company has the lowest complaint records according to American Skies 2012. The rate was estimated to be at 0. 32 of every 100,000 passengers. This is a strength acknowledging a good appreciative customer base. Weaknesses i) With the maintenance of the low pricing strategy adopted the company has been utilizing the conditions have however been changing especially with the recent economic troubles that were experienced globally.In the aviation industry, this was affected by the high costs o f fuel and other products. ii) Confined market. Over the years the company has been dealing domestically limiting the number of consumers and who in turn developed an attitude towards the company when it came to destinations outside the domestic company. This left room for other companies to set up shop in the international travel market. Opportunities i) The company has an opportunity to deal with the international market through associations created recently with companies such as AirTran Airways.The merger which is expected to be complete by the year 2015 is an opportunity for the company not only to increase its revenue but to also expand its market. ii) Good pricing on aircraft. Dealing with exclusively Boeing to deliver crafts for the company the company has been the launching pin for many of the Boeing designs and creations. The good relationship that exists with the company presents that the company can get good pricing deals for the aircraft that they incorporate into their fleets. Threats ) The company is faced with the threat of losing out on revenue with the high costs being incurred by the company in the conduct of its operations in comparison to the low pricing that they charge to their customers. ii) The recent merging trend happening in the industry also poses a great threat for the company. This threat poses the challenge for the company by them losing out on the market share which stands at 12. 3 according to the American Skies records, 2012. The VRIO Framework [pic] VRIO framework addresses the questions of Value, Rarity, Imitability and Organization.Using this framework to generate strategic plans for a company is also a worthwhile strategy by asking the questions on the resources available to the company, are they valuable, rare, can they be duplicated and the capability of the organization to exploit this resources. For example using the resources of the company ie. Number of staff, aircraft carriers, capital outlay, loyalty of the custom ers we get the following results by asking the questions, i) Value: Is Southwest able to exploit this resource or neutralize a threat in regards to the resource? ii) Rarity: Is Southwest in control of the industry on this resource? ii) Imitability: Is the resource difficult to imitate in the industry? iv) Organization: Is the company ready to take advantage of the market? For Southwest the answers to this questions are as found in the table below. |Resources |Value |Rarity |Imitability |Organization | |Staff |High |Yes |No |Yes | |Aircraft carriers |High |Yes No |Yes | |Customers |High |Yes |Yes |Yes | |Capital outlay |High |Yes |Yes |Yes | FINANCIAL ANALYSIS Financial analysis for the company reflects that the company has been doing well with a net income of $421 million (? 279) in 2012 as reflected below: †¢ Net income: $421 million (? 279) †¢ Net income, excluding special items: $417 million (? 76) †¢ Total revenue passengers carried: 109 million †¢ Total RPMs : 103 billion †¢ Average passenger load factor: 80. 3 percent †¢ Total operating revenue: $17. 1 billion (? 11. 3) (Southwest, 2012). In comparison to the achievements the company has made over the years a good strategy needs to be determined and formulated so as to assists the company maintain its lead as well as strengthen it. PART 3: CURRENT ISSUES AND CHALLENGES FACING THE COMPANY The company as identified by the above tools of analysis reveals that the company is faced with a number of challenges as articulated below.Mergers and Acquisitions This challenge though Southwest company is also engaging in it shows that the company is taking up its position within the international aviation industry in a slow paced nature. With other companies merging so as to take advantage of resources and opportunities means that they are gaining more within the markets. With a project as the merger between the company and AirTran Airways the process should be speeded up so as to create the opportunity for the company to engage in more destinations as well as the international market (Southwest 2012).Financial Outlay The company has steadily over the last few years been losing out on revenues and reduction in profits. For Southwest, this challenge has been as a result of increased costs of operations as well as diversion of revenue towards other projects such as the expansion of the headquarters for the company. For the company this poses the challenges for the company since they are investing in more acquisitions which are on a low share of the market bringing in little returns although increasing the number of destinations that the company can reach thereof.Legislation Amendments to regulation such as the Wright Amendment are required to be amended fast and implemented so as to create an opportunity for the company to increase its number of flights between destinations to serve the large customer base and reduce on the loss of revenue. Federal legislation is what made the company start off at a slow pace that caused the company to lose out on gaining more market share. PART 4: STRATEGIC OPTIONSWith relation to Southwest airlines strategy of delivering services to their clients at the lowest costs confirms that the company wishes to continue with the generic strategy of cost leadership. With the options available for the company such as those of mergers this could entirely support the company in achieving its goals and objectives of expansion and cost effectiveness. Strategic tools such as the Ansoff Matrix and the TOWS matrix reveal strategic options that a company such as Southwest could implement and follow so as to increase their position in their market (Choo, 2002).Ansoff Matrix As depicted in the image below the Ansoff matrix is a simple model that helps a company identify the opportunities present for it to engage in and come up with a good strategy by looking at the factors of market penetration, product development, market developm ent and diversification by comparing to the products offered and the markets available. For Southwest the company has penetrated the market effectively in the domestic scene whereas internationally the company is taking a slow route with the merging with other companies such as TransAir Airways.This tool links organizations marketing strategies together with the strategic directions that the company is pursuing so as to present the organization with alternative growth strategies. The tool identifies the market as well as the organization on the grounds of level of market penetration and market development. These two features of the market are analysed on the grounds of the relation of existing products to the existing as well as the new markets. Product development and diversification are measured and obtained in the view of how new products will relate or will be received in an existing market as well as a new market. pic] The TOWS Matrix This employs the theory of the SWOT analysi s but instead identifies the threats and opportunities first and the weaknesses and strengths are last. The reason for this is so that the management identifies the threats and opportunities first and then using the strengths and weaknesses finds the best solutions on how to handle them. The threat of losing out revenue and the emerging trends taking place in the market are the biggest challenges for the company. The opportunities for the company are those of penetrating the international market through mergers and partnerships with other airlines so as to gain ground.The company also has the opportunity to reduce costs by gaining discounts from suppliers and other available resource demanding duties so as to increase revenue. To increase opportunity and reduce the threats the company should employ the strengths of the strong financial outlay and engage in profitable projects to cover revenue base, and take advantage of the strong customer loyalty base available for the company. Wit h weaknesses the company should re-evaluate their pricing strategy so as to keep up and maintain a stable working financial base without losing value from their customers.PART FIVE – EVALUATION OF STRATEGIC OPTIONS OVERVIEW Strategy evaluation is an easy task to perform for management of an organization especially when using procedures such as those described above. However it becomes more complicated when the strategies to use are concerned with emerging issues that are not expected. In the selection of the best criteria to use when selecting the best strategy so as to ensure its success in implementation the criteria that they need to meet range from consistency, consonance, advantage, feasibility, suitability, and acceptability.Developing a choice strategy, an organization should ensure that the strategy does indeed meet all the above criteria so as to be considered as being worthy of implementation. In the case of Southwest airlines, using the generic strategies of the An soff Matrix, TOWS matrix to sort the internal elements that influence the organization and the PESTEL and five forces models for the external environment determining the best strategy would involve analysing the strategies using the criteria above.For the internal analysis the TOWS matrix lacks in consistency. The elements that present themselves are lacking in consistency due to the constant changes going on in the environment. As the company undergoes restructuring as a result of the merger with other organizations this presents the problem of different variables coming up making the matrix not suitable to rely upon. Unlike the Ansoff matrix that fits all the criteria as stipulated the failure by one strategy to meet this disqualifies it from being used.In the external analysis the PESTEL analysis is the best strategy to use as it has a broad coverage detailing the issues that are relevant this model out rightly fits into the Southwest Airline external environment. PART 5: DESCRIP TION OF THE TOWS STRATEGY The TOWS analysis is the best method to utilize for development of the strategy. The matrix comprehensively involves an intensive study of the external and the internal environments that affect the company. The possible strategies that come out of the use of the TOWS analysis are: i. Engaging in the International MarketPenetrating into the international market would be a rich opportunity as the company is already popular domestically and so the company could be assured of gaining ground in the market share. Investing in this opportunity would be a gain for the company. With the repeal of the Wright Amendment with the last clause expected to be taken off in 2014 the company could easily take advantage of this opportunity and expand their market. ii. Reduction of costs By reducing on the heavy investments such as the staffing costs the company could save on revenue and profits.Laying off excess staff and conducting an intensive study on which resources to sav e up on would create an opportunity of savings for the airline. iii. Taking advantage of more Mergers with other airlines The last strategy that the company could possibly engage in would be that of merging with more companies. This would lead to savings on capital resources for the company. At the same time more ground would have been covered as the companies working in conjunction with each other would help reduce the barriers that a company by itself would be challenged with.PART SIX – DESCRIPTION OF SELECTED STRATEGY The strategy recommended for Southwest Airlines would be to embark on an international growth pattern. Going on global outreach program would help the company boost its profit as it serves more clients in the international market. The reputation of the company as a result of being an already established airline would help boost its image in the international scene especially as a result of the low pricing strategies that the clients would be expecting as well as the helpful members of staff.Providing a consistent and adaptive transport system as the company is already known for domestically would ensure that the company would always have an awaiting market ready for them. By expansion through more acquisition programs as well as mergers the company would ensure that the fully meet the demands of the market. The idea of expansion is also feasible by that the company already possesses adequate resources from staff, to carriers and the capital to launch into the new ventures could easily be raised with respect towards the financial reserves that the company possesses.The expansion strategy is also suitable and acceptable as the market is quickly turning global with individuals travelling further away mainly for the purposes of business or leisure. The world today has been brought together making it very accessible from one area to another. The physical requirements that could possibly be required would be those of carriers, which the compa ny already possesses financially the company possesses the strength and capital. Human resource is not an issue for the company as it has a good relationship with its staff and in addition the company further possesses a large base of employees.Finally the company possesses the reputation of a good cost effective and dependable airline. With this the company has one of the biggest strengths that it could actually possess that would ensure its success in the international market. PART 7: CONCLUSION Strategy formation is an important aspect in enhancing organisational, and market growth. Strategy formulation enhances effective creation future growth plans for the organisation through continued research of the most effective strategies relating to organisations objectives and implementing them to ensure effective organisational growth.Southwest airlines realises this fact and hence inputs a lot of research and commitment into ensuring that proper strategic decisions are met that enhanc e achievement of organisation’s overall objectives. Incorporation of a competent and skilled research and development team ensures that the organisation conducts the necessary research on their products, their performance, customer satisfaction and customer needs experienced in their current product market and anticipated venture markets.Through proper incorporation of the TOWS model, the organisation is able to understand market demands through incorporation of market penetration and development strategy, product development strategy and diversification strategy depending on current position of organisation products in the market and their anticipated growth strategy. Therefore strategy formation plays a vital role in enhancing organisational development through incorporation of various strategy development measures that aim at expanding organisation’s market share and scope.REFERENCES Choo, M, Chun, W & Bontis, N 2002, The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organisational Knowledge. New York: Oxford University Press. De Wit, B & Meyer, R 2004, Strategy, Process, Context and Content: An International Perspective, 3rd ed. , London, Thomson International Business. Gomez, M, Luis R, Balkin, D, & Cardy, L 2008, Management: People, Performance, Change, 3rd edn, New York: McGraw-Hill Hunger, J & Wheelen, L 2001, Essentials of Strategic Management, Prentice Hall. Southwest. om, 2009, Southwest Airlines –A Brief History. Retrieved on http://www. southwest. com/swamedia/swa_history. html Porter, M. E. 1980. Competitive Strategy: Techniques for analyzing industries and competitors. New York: The Free Press â€Å"Southwest Airlines will become Launch Customer for the New Boeing 737 Max Aircraft† 2011. Southwest Airlines Retrieved on 1st March 2013 http://www. swamedia. com/releases/7b1c6522-daf8-40be-98d4-ce354aa974d3 Sridhar, A. (2012) Information Systems Strategy and Management, Masters in Management Information Systems at UIC .

Analysing the Common Conception that Power Requires Violence and Viceversa

For example, it is widely believed that power and violence form an interrelated relationship, such as people need to exercise violence, just as violence is required to gain power. It is the same as violence. As Mao explains once, Power comes from barrels (Arendt 1972, 113). This article is meant to question this common concept and its discourse. First of all, through Marx, Weber's work to define violence and power, and violence and power cast doubt on what they believe to be two different things. The third violence theory of these articles distinguish between violence and power. Arendt claims that the two concepts are actually opposite though the left and right theorists regard violence as an expression of extreme power. As voluntary compliance supersedes, power comes from collective will and does not require violence to achieve one of its objectives. When the government begins to lose its legitimacy, violence becomes an artificial means for the same purpose, and therefore it can onl y be found without power. Bureaucracy was then defined as an unmanned opponent, and hence reestablished missing relationships with the people they dominated, and thus became the source of ideal violence. Violence brings pain, but violence is not always seen. Understanding traditional violence follows the general approach of showing violence in the form of physical injuries or injuries. The concept of structural violence has been used in the Marxist theorist's vocabulary in analyzing the relationship of class structure, power and labor exploitation. Regardless of whether these people encountered ideologies or beliefs, they are drawn as enemies without even knowing their status. Flaherty painted Narok as a barbarian and drew this hegemonic power. The locals are restricted to one reality, only distorted and reflect only a fraction of the truth, the attacker 's approach seems to be racial discrimination and paranoia. Hegemony is the concept of leadership or control proposed by the rulin g class. In today's society, people think that supremacy is common sense. It is the cultural power proposed by the authorities, not traditional violence or power. The theory was developed by Marxist theory and Antonio Gramsci. Hegemism is based on the Marxist ruling class and the working class theory. Hegemony can be defined as social anomalies. For example, the cultural structure is dominated by the dominant class and is communicated to the working class as common sense. Hegemony is a tool for socially powerful people to exploit cultural influences to adapt classes that are less powerful to a particular social structure or culture, in order to achieve the best interests of powerful people.

IMAGES ON THE DANGERS OF SMOKING AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON SMOKERS Essay

IMAGES ON THE DANGERS OF SMOKING AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS ON SMOKERS - Essay Example The recent attempt of the UK government in providing graphic warning images on cigarette packets are commendable in this respect. The success rate of this attempt in bringing down the addiction level remains a matter of speculation, for both theoretical analysis and empirical facts vary on the efficacy of such methods. Health psychologists believe that addiction is a behavioural disorder and proper health aware ness along with behavioural treatment (Baban & Craciun, 2007) among people might be instrumental in dealing with such addictive behaviour. Addiction to smoking is considered to be health-risk behaviour and calls for intervention. Effective intervention strategy and its implementation on the part of the government establishment are most helpful and fruitful in such cases of public awareness. The style and nature of intervention actually makes the difference in the success rate of goal achievement. Therefore it is imperative that the organisation, government or otherwise adopts the intervention device that could motivate and help the individual addict to get over the addiction permanently. Intervention is generally made by means of a number of intervention models namely the motivation model, behavioural enactment model and the multi-stage model (Baban & Craciun, 2007). What becomes most important is the connection between intervention based behaviour change and improvement in the general perception of a healthy life as pointed out by Abraham and Michie (2008). This particular effort on the part of the government to creat e better awareness by highlighting on the adverse effects of smoking could be termed as motivational intervention. In this case the objective of the intervention by means of some kind of a threat to one’s happiness is to induce a behaviour change and also by so doing motivating one to give it up. The health belief model which is a form of motivational model

Turbulence in the Sky Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Turbulence in the Sky - Essay Example This problem, however, while not costing customers, is costing the industry millions of dollars. Also costing many of the airlines money are other, cheaper airlines. There are some airlines that offer such low rates that they are consistently attracting business and many airlines cannot compete. Along these lines, the fourth problem is major financial loss in the area of billions of dollars. Adding to this woe is the fact that, with unions involved, the cost of labor and employees is not cheap. Another problem is that having â€Å"major† and â€Å"minor† airports is no longer efficient or cost-effective. Fixing this problem either means money issues will arrive or that there will be a question of quality of service. Lastly, there have been unforeseen circumstances that have caused the industry many problems. Illnesses like SARS, the war in Iraq, and other things over which the industry has no control have all negatively impacted the airline industry. The airline industry needs to conduct a self-assessment and fix what it does have control over. If the industry cannot renovate itself, the industry as we know it may disappear. Only a few airlines may

Team discution 5 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Team discution 5 - Assignment Example They are comparing this to the equity ratio which is easy to measure given that they received similar scales at entry level. 2. Distributive Justice- This is delineated as the perceived fairness of various outcome of the taken decisions and is judged through measuring whether the stated rewards are proportional to the presented costs, input outcome ratios compares to others and whether outcomes match and stick to the expectations. Procedural justice- This is defined as the perceived fairness within the steps followed in making decisions. It is evaluated by gauging whether the steps are unbiased, consistent, correctable and accurate. It should also be open to scrutiny and inputs from other staff members. 3. As the chair of the committee, I will apply the principle of goal setting theory, which applies challenging but clear goals to help in the advancing of team’s motivation within the committee. As the chair, I will ensure that the goal is clear and measurable besides being succinct to the point. I will ensure that we set the timeline within which the fundraising must be cleared. The goal set must be challenging to the committee members to ensure that they are motivated besides ensuring that all team members are committed towards meeting the goals. I will also set up a feedback mechanism that will help in receiving information on the progress towards achieving a goal. Finally, as this will be a complex task, I will give the committee members enough time to easily overcome the learning curves. (Linke, 42) 4. Intrinsic rewards –These are the rewards that fulfills employees intrinsic motivators. Example includes; giving an employee a complex task, inclusion in making decisions, and giving a staff member a higher rank among others. These factors do not require increased fees but still an employee will be motivated. Intrinsic factors are qualitative in nature. Extrinsic rewards- These are those

Art and psychoanalysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Art and psychoanalysis - Essay Example Upon hearing about the bombing of Guernica, Picasso started sketching a mural. â€Å"He drew screaming women and children, perhaps inspired by his fear that harm might come to his own baby daughter. He seemed haunted by the many faces of anguish.†1 Although the woman holding a wounded child is in Guernica, she is also in many other works of Picasso. This woman is of different color and shape, but can be identified throughout Picasso’s other works. One source reports: Characters that typically appear in these paintings reappear in Picassos paintings as well. Theres usually quite clearly a suffering woman, someone whos screaming, a woman with a child whos been injured, or may even be dead.2 As suggested above, maybe Picasso was thinking of his daughter. However if this is true, why did Picasso distort the images? The distorted images seem to speak of an underlying emotion in his subconscious. It must be noted that Picasso had an art background. His father was a painter as well. Picasso could have drawn and painted in more realistic terms. One source reports, "Picasso was very properly trained in the grand tradition of painting, allegorical painting about universal themes: the horrors of war, the massacres of the innocents.†3 Picasso could have used photos from Guernica to make a more realistic picture. Instead â€Å"Picasso was able to take that traditional academic motif and actually rework it and make it relevant again to this particular time and this particular circumstance, I think is really one of his great achievements in this painting."4 Picasso did not make a realistic picture due to a deep unconscious need inside. Picasso had a subliminal problem that was deeply rooted in his psyche. It might be the death of his sister. Picasso’s mother might have shut down with grief after the death of her daughter. This could have made Picasso have deeply buried animosity toward his mother for the

Business strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Business strategy - Essay Example In order to formulate and evaluate new prospective business strategies of the company, one needs to analyze the internal and external audit results of the organization (McEachern, 2012). Cath Kidston has a high brand value in the global market. The company has a long learning curve in business and owns a considerable share of industry demand. The products offered by the company are rare, unique and non imitable in nature. The aggregate revenue and economic surplus of the organization is steadily increasing over time. In 2013, the gross sale of the organization was worth  £100 million (Cathkidston, 2014). The organization is experiencing increasing profit and revenue in both domestic and foreign markets. After growth of internet penetration rate in all the countries around the world, Cath Kidston Ltd has successfully enhanced the volume of its e-commerce sales (Cathkidston, 2014). The online retailing stores of the company are able to offer cost effective services to a larger strength of prospective buyers. Cath Kidston owns a strong supply chain management system. However, the products offered by the company are primarily targeted towards the young and middle aged women. Cath Kidston’s products are popular for its unique floral designs. The case study claims that the company manufactures women accessories such as hand bags and home ware products (Cathkidston, 2014). The company faces certain delivery and product quality related problems in its online trade. The foreign business of Cath Kidston is more prosperous than its native business status. The company has relinquished majority of its stake to a private equity firm, TA Associates. Cath Kidston is the owner of only 23% stake of the Kidston Limited (Cathkidston, 2014). The company sold majority stakes because of financial crisis in the business. The company will not be

Write asummary for the Specific topic i mentioned about Robert Putnam Essay

Write asummary for the Specific topic i mentioned about Robert Putnam and David Campbell, American Grace, (selections - Essay Example According to Putnam and Campbell, affiliation to a religious group does not necessarily depend on the religion of one’s parents (Putnam, and Campbell 134). Although a percentage of children adhere to the religion of parents as they grow and remain adherents even in their adulthood, the trends of the rest of the percentage are more complex than most Americans can imagine. A certain percentage of children are likely to switch the religious affiliation inherited from their parents to a different one. This switch may persist over a long period for some children while others find themselves going back to the original faith from their parents after some time. The research carried out revealed that 10 percent of Americans had swayed to a different religious group before getting back to the original religion (137). Moreover, an approximate of 20 % adhered to a different religious denomination from that of their parents. The fact that religion in the American context exhibits a level of instability becomes very clear. The authors examine the trends deciphered from a research in 2006 to 2007 that exhibit the level of instability of religion. Religion in the American society is a complex issue that needs critical analysis. For example, the number of people lacking any religious affiliation did not change in the two years. However, closer analysis revealed that 30 % of these people without any affiliation in 2007 had one in 2006 but had discarded it. The fact that the total number of people with no affiliation did not change indicates that an additional percentage of people affiliated themselves with a religious group. Such data only serves to highlight that many of the people are at the threshold of having and lacking a religious affiliation. The authors of the book describe these individuals as liminals. In the American society, they account for 10 percent of the

Crime and Punishment in Ancient Greece Essay Example for Free

Crime and Punishment in Ancient Greece Essay Today, criminals are punished for their crimes by going to jail or prison or being on probation. But what was it like in Ancient Greece? After the Dark Ages, about 1200-900 BC, the Ancient Greeks had no official laws or punishments. Murders were settled by the victims family killing the murderer, but this was difficult if they were elderly or female. This often began endless blood feuds. It was not until the seventh century BC that the Greeks began to establish laws. Around 620 BC, Draco wrote the first law for Greece. This law said that exile was the penalty for murder and was the only one of Dracos laws that Solon kept when he became law giver in 594 BC. Foreign slaves were often employed as police men and women in Ancient Greece. After somebody reported a crime, if somebody was arrested, an informant would receive half of fine charged to the criminal. In Athens, criminals were tried before a jury of 200 or more citizens picked at random. Going to prison was not an usual punishment for the people of Greece. In cases involving rape, theft, adultery, and murder, the accused got a written summons that told them when they had to appear before the magistrate. Athenian law was divided into two things, public and private action. Public actions included the entire community. Private actions included an individual. In cases of murder, the victims family was required to prosecute the killer. Even though magistrates were at the trial, they werent judges. They neither gave advice nor did they convict the felon. They just supervised the hearing. The jury in a trial was made up of 200-600 members over the age of thirty to make sure there was no risk or bribery. After the speeches had been delivered by the prosecution and the defense, the jurors voted without deliberation. In the 5th century BC, jurors cast their vote in secret. Each juror was provided with two tokens, one for conviction and the other for acquittal. The juror put one of these in a wooden urn whose tokens were disregarded, and the other in a bronze urn whose votes were counted. Judgement was passed on a majority verdict. In the 5th century B. C. , a tie meant an acquittal. In the following century, old-numbered juries were the norm and that is the custom today. In Ancient Rome the slaves had no rights at all. They were thought of and treated like merchandise. However, slaves did cost money to buy so many of the punishments did not inflict lasting damage. The lash was the most common punishment. When slaves were beaten, they were suspended with a weight tied to their feet, so they wouldnt be able to move them. Another punishment was to be branded in the forehead. An alternative punishment included the slave being forced to carry a piece of wood around their necks wherever they went. This was called furca; and whichever slave had had been punish with this was called furcifer all the time after that. Slaves were also, by way of punishment, often kept in a work-house, or house of correction, where they had to turn a mill for grinding corn. When punished for any capital offense, they were commonly crucified; but this was eventually prohibited under the rule of the Emperor Constantine. In Rome, the punishments for death are beheading, strangling in prison, throwing a criminal from the Tarpeian rock, crucifixion, burying a person alive, or throwing a criminal in the river (patricide). Throwing a criminal in the river was inflicted for killing your father. The criminal was immediately blindfolded as unworthy of the light, and in the next place the person were taken to the field of Mars outside Rome, stripped of everything then whipped with rods. He was then sewed up in a sack, and thrown into the sea. Later in time, to add to the punishment for patricide, a serpent was put in the sack; and still later, an ape, a dog and a cock. The sack which held the criminal was called Culeus, on which account the punishment itself is often signified by the same name. There are eight kinds of punishments, fine, fetters, flogging, retaliation of kind, civil disgrace, banishment, slavery, and death. Punishments in Ancient Rome were very harsh and violent and they are unlike the laws today.

Narrowcasting Is A Term Media Essay

Narrowcasting Is A Term Media Essay Narrowcasting is a term which means it spreading information or signal to a particular audience. It usually used by radio or television. In old time people use broadcasting to disseminate information to general public but now narrowcasting is more preferable because it can narrow media messages at specific segments of the public. Narrowcasting, in other word which is called niche marketing, through proprietary equipment and encryption it become easier to reach target audiences. The examples of narrowcasting are cable television, satellite radio and internet. We have chosen Astro as the example of narrowcasting in Malaysia. All-Asian Satellite Television and Radio Operator also called as Astro is a Malaysia direct broadcast satellite (DBS) Pay TV service. Astro service was launched on 1 June 1996. It owned and operated by Astro Malaysia Holdings Berhad, a leading integrated consumer media entertainment group in Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Astro is used to transmit satellite television and radio to the households in Malaysia and Brunei. Astro has provided 156 TV channels, including 68 Astro-created and branded channels and 22 HD channels. Household with Direct-To-Home satellite TV, Internet Protocol television (IPTV) and Over-The-Top platforms (OTT) can enjoy this service. Pay TV as mentioned just now is a kind of linear broadcast channel which only available for customer who paying an additional subscription fee. People are allowed to select particular channels and watch it on their television for a fee. Astro has become media preference for advertisers due to the media message can be spread out more a ccurately to target audiences. Discussion Astro subscribers can access to hundreds of channels worldwide through Astro channel. Astro channel has the ability to receive and send broadcast signals using satellite technology, this increases the possibilities of gaining access to channels from other countries like HBO, ESPN, CNN and so on, audience will not restricted to the channels on cable network and they can expose to more worldwide information. For example, during football match and Olympic season, Astro will open a lot of sport channels like Astro Super Sport, Astro Super Sport 2 and 3, Astro Arena and so on. Astro subscribers can enjoy the different live matches with high-quality audio and picture. They able to know the updated live score of the team they supported. Besides watching on the television screen, Astro subscribers also able to watch live football matches through smartphone, tablet or computer through Astro On-The Go web. For those viewers who cant watch the program on time, this is good news for them, they c an watch the live matches through their smartphone or tablet. Advertising on narrowcasting is effective, marketing experts are often interested in narrowcast media as a commercial advertising tool, since access to such content implies exposure to a specific and clearly defined prospective consumer audience. Advertisers can better target by identifying particular demographics viewing such programs their markets. For example if the energy drink company Red Bull wanted to target 18-25 year old action sport athletes, they can purchase commercial time on sports channel of Astro like ABOS, thus making their message more valuable by marketing to a concentrated audience. In this advanced digital era, most of the people having at least one smart technology device in their living lifestyle. Smart mobile devices have become the most basic device that people using every day. To bring a non-stop entertainment for Astro valued customers, Astro has introduced a new service for them which is Astro-On-The- Go. Astro-On-The-Go provides an application for Android devices, Astro customers just need to install this application from Android market, and so they can enjoy by watching Astro channels at anywhere or anytime. There are four main features of this innovative service. It provides 19 Astro channels for subscribers. When you feel boring at somewhere else, Astro-On-The-Go can bring a lot of entertainment for you. You will be able to watch latest news, educational and entertainment programs to pass the time. Secondly subscribers are may catch out the programs they missed. Astro-On-The-Go has given a chance for them to choose the program from their TV subscript ion package. Third, Pay per View service is available for subscribers to select TV program from a library on anytime. Lastly, subscribers are able to watch live events regardless of where they are. They are never missing out any live sport, live concert or others live events by using Astro-On-The-Go service. In addition, Astro-On-The-Go has bringing advantages for advertisers. Because of smart mobile device could be one of the device that people attached the most in daily life, advertisers can spread out their messages to target audiences easier and more effectively. There are number of gain of Astro channel however, miss are also there. The only miss of Astro is weather distraction. Due to the reason of Astro channel works on digital signals, weather is playing a very important factor for its operation. When bad weather is happening, it could interrupt the signal of receiving Astro channel. Viewers will loss the connection and thus they are going to miss out their TV programs. Satellite dish are located at outdoors, it becomes susceptible to malfunction as a result of weather conditions like snow, very strong winds and lightning. Medium (Astro) Audience Message Message ` Audience Medium (Astro) Feedback There is a relationship between Astro channel, message and its audience. Astro disseminate the message or information to the audience through different channels. For example, Astro channels consist of different categories like entertainment channel, news channel, knowledge channel, HD channel, music channel, sports channel, premium channel, kids channel and radio channel. Through these different types of channels, audience can receive the latest information of entertainment, news, music, sports. For example, for news, audiences are able to know the latest news or information through CNN or BBC which are worldwide. Audiences are able to know the latest news from other country instead of only the news of their own country. For entertainment, audience can get to watch the latest Hong Kong drama through Astro On Demand. Besides for those audience who love to watch English movies can watch their favourite English movies through HBO. All the Astro subscribers are active audience. Active audience is the one that who actively engages with the text, they do not simply accept every media message. They will question what they see and develop their own interpretation of a media product based on their life experiences, education, family and cultural influences. Audience become gatekeepers and decides on what they want to know. For example, Astro subscribers will choose the channel they are interest and pay for it. Besides that, audience can look for further sources of information from their friends, families, through internet, books, and so on instead of only depends on the information sources from television. They can also stop consuming particular media content by simply switch the television off. This will prevent channel hopping. Audience and Astro are having two-way communication. The audiences will also giving feedback to the medium which is Astro. For example, Astro subscribers can make a complaint through Astro hotline if there is any problem faces. This feedback is useful for Astro to improve their services in the future. In addition, the act of Astro subscribers vote for their favourite candidates in Astro Talent Quest singing competition through mobile phone short message service (SMS) shows that they are having two-way communication. This can help to improve the interaction between Astro and its audience.

Intermediate Between Black and White Essay -- Literary Analysis

Intermediate Between Black and White Gray is not a colour, but an intermediate between black and white. It can be written many ways, from grey, gray, graye, or even grai. Like the word’s different of being spelled, it also has various meanings. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, gray is used to describe the dull or cold light of twilight, or a day when the sky is over-clouded (Anonymous). However, the Oxford English Dictionary also defines gray as being a way to describe old age, the sunless light of the morning, or even a dull, anonymous or faceless person (Anonymous). Often, the phrase â€Å"shades of gray† is used in a figurative manner to portray the area between right and wrong, good and bad, or even certainty and uncertainty. Sometimes, shades of gray can be representative of hope. In the inspiring novel, Between shades of gray, set during the Lithuanian deportation by the Soviets, Ruta Sepetys examines the survival of hope in humans when they are subjected to the worst of circumstances. Tog ether, the deportees see past the sombre reality of their situation and help each other through the difficult times. Together, they cling to the hope of one day going back home, and living again. It is that hope that keeps them alive, and pushes them to keep on going when they have nothing left. The characters that help the Lithuanians see beyond black and white are namely Kretzky, an NKVD officer, Elena, the main character Lina’s mother, Mrs. Arvydas, Andrius’ mother, and Lina, herself. The ever-present theme of shades of gray is uncovered in even the most peculiar places in Ruta Sepetys’ heartbreaking narrative. When Lina, her mother and her little brother are taken from their home and brought to a gulag in Siberia, the reader ... ...VD officer did so by helping the Lithuanians obtain food and some necessities. He did not fit the usual NKVD stereotype. Ruta Sepetys, through Elena and Mrs. Arvydas, proves that mothers will often do what ever it takes to ensure their children’s survival. But often, people find in themselves the will to fight for their lives, or what they believe in. This fact is proven through Lina’s character. Works Cited Anonymous. "Grey." 1 September 2011. Oxford English Dictionary. 29 November 2011 . Mia, Marirosa. "Between Shades of Gray." 14 March 2011. Please Don't Read This Book. 1 December 2011 . Sepetys, Ruta. Between Shades of Gray. Toronto: Puffin Group, 2011.

Essays on Death and Suicide - I Will Survive Suicide :: Personal Narrative Essays

I Will Survive Suicide    After several years, the pain comes and goes.   At home I have become so used to the few pictures and momentos of my mom that I hardly see them unless I purposely decide to look at them.   In my voluteer work after school,   I find that once again I can concentrate on things.  Ã‚   Only once and a while, something will trigger a memory.   Occasionally, I go for periods of time feeling sad, but my work with children and my friends and family keep me focused.   I feel confident in my abilities and feel much stronger than ever before.   It has been a monumental amount of work to get to this point.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      At first, hour by hour I felt like I had to force myself to do everything.   Force myself out of bed, get dressed, drive the car without crashing it, study, make phone calls.   All these things seemed so impossible, so meaningless.   Little by little, day by day, I regained my strength, my sanity, my confidence.   Several years seems painfully long and wistfully short, all at the same time.   But I now know that I can survive.   I still have strong faith that God cares for us, maybe not in the way we think is best, but in His own way and in His own time.   The glimpse I had of my mom at her death and the other events surrounding those next few days convinced me of the loving care of God for all his children, and His forgiveness, even after suicide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      I have committed myself to finding ways to help others. Whenever I find myself getting sad, I try to think of someone else who needs care and comfort.   I wish with all my heart that suicide could cease, that no one else would have to suffer this pain.

Essay --

​Many youth today are struggling with literacy at many different levels. These gaps in literacy make it hard for many students to further their education. Some students may start out a little behind when it comes to literacy, however, without the proper help from their parents and teachers, these students run a major risk of falling even further behind. Illiteracy is a major issue when it comes to gaining an education. Without knowing how to read, and how to read well and efficiently, it has a major potential of affecting all subjects in school which makes it almost impossible for a student to pass their classes. When students are struggling with literacy, many of them are more than likely afraid to ask for help, they may be embarrassed to admit this fact. This in turn causes them to give up on their education and drop out entirely. ​A tutoring program that students could attend before, during, and after school would be a great place to start in trying to resolve the literacy gaps that students are struggling with. The school could ask teachers to volunteer their time as well as...

Annotated Bibliography on Global Warming

Giacomo Real ENG 1302 Comp. & Rhet. II Professor Kamm Monday & Wednesday 7PM – 8:15PM Annotated Bibliography & Essay Annotated Bibliography on Global Warming: Fact or Fiction Fumento, Michael. â€Å"The Cooling Off on Global Warming. † The Washington Times 8 July 1999: 15. LexisNexis Academic . Academic Universe. W. I. Dykes Lib. , University of Houston-Downtown. 20 Feb. 2010 http://www. lexisnexis. com. ezproxy. uhd. du/hottopics/lnacademic/ Fumento explains that a nonprofit group called Public Agenda and American Geophysical Union (AGU) has reported on public frustration about global warming and other pollutants. This report shows significant decline in many pollutants and about 50% drop on global warming in the mid to late 20th century. The author state how Americans are growing tired of political jargon about global warming and other contributing pollutants.This feeling amongst Americans stem from the constant blame game that is in place to explain natur al/manmade disasters like heat waves and hurricanes to name a few. The author claims that Vice President Al Gore is a peddler or contributor in the blame of environmental events to global warming. There is scientific fact that has collectively convinced thousands of scientists to declare that the human race is not the cause of global warming. â€Å"Global Warming and Other Eco-Myths: How the Environmental Movement Uses False Science to Scare Us to Death. Future Survey 25. 9 (2003): 5-6. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. W. I. Dykes Lib. , University of Houston-Downtown. 21 Feb. 2010 http://web. ebscohost. com. ezproxy. uhd. edu/ehost/detail? vid=7&hid=111&sid=3a458492-42fe-4e5d-b278-814ea690813e%40sessionmgr111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=11133714 The editor state that there are a plethora of books, research, articles, and writings that business ventures to scare people into myths and false accounts that global warming in manmade.The author presents certain books that exclaim the cause and effects of global warming and different steps and developments needed to combat this ideological environmentalism. Simultaneously, the author is stating sources that disprove these myths and show how this is a political stunt by interest groups attempting to capitalize on global warming. Houston, Frank, and John Wallace. â€Å"Covering the Climate: Beware of False Conflict. † Columbia Journalism Review 38. 6 (2000): 52. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. W. I. Dykes Lib. , University of Houston-Downtown. 1 Feb. 2010 https://ezproxy. uhd. edu/login? url=http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=a9h&AN=2892603&site=ehost-live Frank Houston interviewed John Wallace to help better understand political journalist, scientific journalist, and misconceptions/accuracies portrayed by these journalistic interpretations of scientist findings and articles. Houston asked a series of questions which confirms that there are m any discrepancies in the media with as there is genuine reporting’s on global warming.Wallace refers to many reporters that have actually reported true and sincere finding and many other blunders that have created fear within many scientists in presenting their finding due to the irreversible damage done with false or obscure reporting. Finally, was answered by Wallace on the global warming issue that states historical fact that there are conflicting measurements and reports that global warming/global cooling is happening. The answer was interesting by far by Wallace because there seems to be some truth to the global warming effect but there is a matter of debate on weather man is/is not responsible.Kay, Jonathan. â€Å"Cold facts. (Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist's Guide to Global Warming By Bjorn Lomborg). †   Commentary. 125. 1 (Jan 2008): 60(4). Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. W. I. Dykes Lib. , University of Houston – Downtown. 22 Feb. 2010. http://find. galegroup. com. ezproxy. uhd. edu/ovrc/infomark. do? &contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=OVRC&docId=A173150742&source=gale&userGroupName=txshracd2590&version=1. 0 Johnson, Paul. â€Å"The Real Way to Save the Planet. American Spectator 43. 1 (2010): 40-41. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. W. I. Dykes Lib. , University of Houston-Downtown. 17 Feb. 2010 https://ezproxy. uhd. edu/login? url=http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true;amp;db=a9h;amp;AN=47900836;amp;site=ehost-live Paul Johnson begins his article by explaining scientific theory and a popular philosopher by the name of Karl Popper. In a nutshell Johnson explains Poppers 2 points that discredits all notions of the human race being the key proponents that has caused global warming.Johnson also points out how interest groups and well paid lobbyist are continually fighting the good fight in congress and the media to get the word out. The auth or also states how the definition of global warming has now expanded to include any and every weather disturbance, change, irregularity, and spontaneity. The main goal of Johnson is to let people know that scientific theory according to Karl Popper proves that global warming is false and the media has staged a deceptive lie that the human race is responsible for these phenomena.Taranto, James. â€Å"Peer Pressure. † American Spectator 43. 1 (2010): 54-55. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. W. I. Dykes Lib. , University of Houston-Downtown. 22 Feb. 2010 https://ezproxy. uhd. edu/login? url=http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true;amp;db=a9h;amp;AN=47901090;amp;site=ehost-live James Taranto argues that global warming is a farce and that many scientists have compromised their ethics and tainted the peer review process to appease global warming fanatics.Taranto discusses an editorial at the Guardian, a left-wing daily publication that support and protect the concept a nd validity of global warming. The author also reveals thousands of emails sent by climatologist scandalous proving the notion of man-made global warming. Taranto also writes how this theory of man-made global warming has infected many media outlets worldwide. The authors goal is to prove how the peer review process has been compromised, and how the media, and politicians protect this outlandish farce of global warming cause by humanity.

Indigenous Religion

Define indigenous religion, and describe at least one aspect of indigenous religions that exists in a similar form in a traditional mainstream religion. The word indigenous means â€Å"originated in†, and thus the term â€Å"indigenous religion† means â€Å"the original religion of a place. † Essentially this term is applied to the group of people of any religion, culture, or area. The indigenous religion is a unique religion associated with the particular group. For example, the native tribes in the United States follow indigenous religious beliefs which are practiced without any interference of outsiders.Another example is â€Å"Shinto† from Japan which is confined only to a particular place and is not practiced anywhere outside of Japan. Thus, all the cultures had been indigenous at one time which has grown slowly and gradually. The aspects of the indigenous religion which have never changed are is the thought of human sacrifice which was necessary to g ain the attention, or to get closer to God. In modern Judeo-Christianity, the crucifixion and (alleged) resurrection of Jesus, blood sacrifice was focused in order to create atonement and pay for sins.Thus, the old and savage act of sacrificing a human in a certain way is alive from the traditional time to current. The term religion is defined differently by different authors and researchers. It refers to the belief in spiritual beings or it is the beliefs and practices that unite several groups of people into a single moral community. It is of great importance for the society because of the variety of reasons. Religion can have great importance for a society for a variety of reasons and depends on the culture and governmental style; it facilitates the controlling process of society.In nations where the government has a large amount of control over the population, religion plays the substantial role. Define religion, and discuss why it is useful in society. Explain why it is importa nt for you personally to understand the beliefs of other religious groups. The contention between religion and science has always been the topic of debate for decades. The science depends on proper reasoning and empiricism while religious beliefs rely on revelation, faith and sacredness.According to some scholars, science and religion are entirely separate as religion is a fairy tale while science is backed by evidence. Thus, they cannot be united in harmony. According to me, both science and religion can coexist as these are entirely different things. But the ultimate aim of both is for the betterment of mankind and thus, interconnection may form between science and religion. Moreover, as long as a person possesses separate spiritual beliefs from empirical facts, science and religion can actually coexist as being religious does not imply that it is the conflicting belief with science.

How has China been affected by globalization Essay

In the late 1970s China made perhaps its most significant strategic political manoeuvre of the 20th Century when it embarked on a series of economic reforms that embraced globalization (Bijian, 2005). Deng Xiaoping and other Chinese leaders believed that to further China’s development, participation in an open global economy would be crucial to its survival (Chow, 2002) During the three decades since these reforms China’s political and economic institutions have undergone a dramatic transition (Overholt, 2005 and Economy, 1998). China has shifted from the world’s greatest opponent of globalization into a committed member of a global economy and advocate of globalization (Overholt, 2005). The pinnacle of this transformation and China’s economic growth was its admission into to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) on 11 December, 2001 (Allen et al, 2006 and Fishman, 2005). Consequently, China is now subjected to international trends and forces to a degree unprecedented since 1949 (Bijian, 2005 and Chow, 2004). In this essay I will analyse the effect that globalization has had on China’s political, economic, legal and technological institutions. Furthermore, I will also analyse whether China has been forced to change to pander to the international economic community or whether it has voluntarily instituted change for its own benefit and development. However before analysing the effect that globalization has had on China it is important to understand what the term â€Å"globalisation† means. Globalisation became a buzz word in the 1990s because of its influence in creating a world in which geographic location became increasingly irrelevant (Immerfall 2006). In essence globalisation refers to the unrestricted flow of goods, capital, information, technology and people across national borders (Chow, 2005a). Globalisation is, however, by no means a new phenomenon and China has been subjected to its effects for many centuries (Alford, 1999). In fact, the effects of globalisation in China go â€Å"as far back as the Han dynasty (206BC-220AD) when trade took place between the Han Chinese and neighbouring people in the North-west through the Silk Route† (Chow, 2004: 3). Despite this, in the Qing Dynasty and the early stages of the Chinese Communist Party’s rule, right up until Deng Xiaoping’s open door policy, China tried  to close its doors and restrict the influence of globalisation (Street, 2000 and Chow 2004 and 2005a). This was not the first time that China was forced to confront and implement a national strategy to either embrace or combat the effects of globalisation. In fact, as recently as the 1990s, China was confronted by this conundrum, namely: whether to continue its global economic expansion in the face of the Asian financial crisis or to once again close it doors and retreat inwards to protect itself from the economic fallout of a struggling region (Fishman, 2005 and Nolan, 2001). However, by carefully weighing the advantages and disadvantages of economic openness the Chinese government decided to open up the Chinese economy even more, and eventually joined the World Trade Organization by implementing large economic reforms (Bijian, 2005). There is no doubting that these economic reforms and China’s embracement of globalisation has brought stunning results. Since starting to open up and reform its economy in 1978, China â€Å"has averaged 9.4 percent annual GDP growth, one of the highest growth rates in the world† (Bijian, 2005: 3). One of the reasons for the huge leaps in growth has come from direct foreign investment that has been facilitated by China’s admission to the WTO. For example, in the space of a few days in 2004, a North Korean Steel Company launched a $500 million steel project in the Dalian development zone; France’s St Gobain invested $70 million in one of its existing glass production lines in China; Germany’s Siemens opened its fortieth office in China for development of software; and Finland’s Stora Enso invested $1.6 billion in a paper pulp project in Guandong Province (Hall et al, 2004). Such results have seen China become the third largest trading country in the world and the envy of many developing economies around the world (Chow, 2005b). While such economic statistics are regularly celebrated by the Chinese government as a success of China’s inclusion into the WTO, many in China are in fact lamenting the negative effects of globalisation and the scrutiny that WTO membership has brought. In fact WTO membership came at a very high price for the domestic Chinese economy (Overholt, 2005). Throughout the 80s  and 90s China initiated structural changes such as the phasing out of direct subsidies for exports and began cutting tariffs in preparation for inclusion into the WTO (Pearson, 2001). Over the three years from 1994 to 1997, the country’s average tariff rate was lowered from about 43 to 17 per cent and at the time of China’s entry into the WTO in late 2001, the overall average was just 15 per cent. Such drastic economic changes were at the behest of the WTO and the result being that a lot of factories and domestic industries have gone bankrupt because many people prefer foreign products which ha ve become cheaper as a result of China’s inclusion into WTO (Solinger, 2005). Furthermore, Moore (2002) also argues that China’s accession into the World Trade Organization could be viewed as more beneficial to the rest of the world rather than China itself. WTO commitments made by China do not in any way protect China’s â€Å"domestic producers† and therefore the argument that that the greatest benefit of China’s WTO membership is enjoyed by foreign companies is indeed a valid one (Moore, 2002: 311). Yang (2004: 307) argues that admission into the WTO was in fact too big of a restructure step for China and continues by noting that Chinese involvement in the WTO is great for foreign companies and bad for local ones because â€Å"one of the first laws enacted† to ensure WTO membership â€Å"was designed to attract and protect investment from overseas†. It is clear that this lack of protectionism, although beneficial to the outside world, has been disrupted the income to domestic businesses. Of particular note is the fact that with China’s WTO membership foreign investors have been allowed access to markets that were previously restricted or highly regulated (Samuelson, 2004 and Pearson, 2001). These incursions have been most evident in the insurance, telecommunications, and financial industries (Prasad, 2004). Such competition is however of great benefit to the domestic Chinese consumer. In fact, fifteen years ago China barely had any mobile telecommunication services, whereas now it claims more than 300 million mobile phone subscribers, more than any other nation (Bijian, 2005). Whether this is a result of modernisation or globalisation is highly debatable, but it is clear that Chinese consumers are embracing the increase in products and services provided by many foreign companies. Other than the local businesses being hurt by foreign investments and industries, the labour market in China is also suffering from major unemployment as a result of the forces of globalisation (Chow, 2004). While entry into the WTO has in itself not created joblessness, it has however heightened a number of trends that were already underway, including accelerating the rate of insolvency of state owned enterprises. The result being the discharge of tens of millions of workers who, when they were younger, were once assured of employment by the socialist state (Economy, 1998 and Chow 2004 and 2005b). According to Prasad (2004: 6) â€Å"the unemployment problem is in fact likely to worsen over the next few years due to restructuring in the rural and state enterprise sectors†, the very type of restructuring that has been mandated upon China by the World Trade Organisation. Another cause of the unemployment problem currently facing the Chinese economy is its shift away from sunset industries such as manufacturing, mining and construction to newer industries that demand workers with specialised skills (Prasad, 2004; Solinger 2005 and Yang 2004). Similar changes are evident in China’s effort to upgrade its technology industry, which has not only involved the replacement of much unskilled labour but in many cases also reduces the need to employ as many skilled blue-collar workers (Nolan, 2001 and Economy, 1998). While this can not be directly liked to WTO membership it is clear that the forces of globalisation are having a major impact on the Chinese economy, the products it produces and its labour force. The amazing growth in China’s economy as a result of its increased participation and integration in a global economy is also having social and political consequences. Most notable a growing divide between China’s rich and poor. Obviously China would not have self imposed such drastic economic changes purely to encourage direct foreign investment to the detriment of domestic businesses, but it is clear the benefits of the global marketplace are not being shared around China’s 1.3 billion people (Solinger, 2005 and Chow, 2004). It is very much the case in China that the rich are getting  richer and the poor are just getting left behind. This is also evident in the growing regional inequalities in China. Despite the governments attempts to rectify the situation, foreign investment has continued to flow to those provinces where education levels are the highest, infrastructure most well developed and political power most concentrated (Overholt, 2005 and Economy, 1998). Moreover, while the wealthier provinces in theory pay taxes to the centre to compensate the poorer provinces, in practice this system has failed allowing corruption to flourish, resulting in power becoming de-centralised from Beijing to local authorities. Not surprisingly such inequality has contributed to serious political tension between the haves and have nots (Bijian 2005 and Economy 1998). Overholt (2005: 7) however argues that despite the growing divide between the rich and poor, the Chinese â€Å"overwhelmingly support further globalisation†. Overholt (2005: 7) asserts that â€Å"no large country in human history has ever experienced such rapid improvements in living standards and working conditions† as China has in its acceptance of adjustments to accommodate the forces of globalisation. So while the economic dividends of China’s rapid growth are not being shared equally around the country, the majority are nonetheless better off. One of the reasons for such widespread approval of the modernisation of the economy has been the upgrading of technology, especially telecommunications which has been an essential aspect of the Chinese government’s plans for continued economic growth (Chow, 2004 and 2005a and Econommy, 1998). Normally if there is general contentment among the population then this would provide little in the way of difficulties for those in power. Fred Tipson (1998: 12) however, notes a difficult conundrum for the Chinese government in their embracement of economic globalisation. â€Å"The Chinese leadership has repeatedly emphasized the central role of telecommunications and information technologies in building its modern economy†¦..on the one hand, actively promoting a modern communications infrastructure, while on the other hand, repeatedly trying to control the content and uses of the information that pulses through it.† Tipson (1998) concludes that the  communications revolution will â€Å"diminish the need or inclination of most Chinese to defer to central authority or accept routinely the government’s characterization of reality.†The Chinese government is more than aware of the threat to its power that the technological revolution and global scrutiny presents. Given the current uprisings and discontent in Tibet the government has blocked access to many websites to control the flow of information to not only its own people, but the international community (Maunder, 2008). So while the forces of globalisation may have brought prosperity to China, the Chinese government also has to work overtime to maintain its grip on power. When evaluating the impact that globalisation has had on China it is important not to lose sight of the big picture. Economic growth alone does not provide a full picture of a country’s development and despite China’s population of 1.3 billion, its China’s economy is still just one-seventh the size of the United States’ (Bijian, 2005). However, the open-door policy that was first advanced by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s has been of great success in modernising China. It is true that such rapid growth has presented China with some problems, including the demise of some domestic industries, unemployment and minor political instability, however given its current path it appears that China’s rise to superpower status is inevitable. BIBLIOGRAPHY Alford, William (1999) ‘Does the rule of law really rule?’ paper presented before the Conference on Policy Reform in China, Center for Research in Economic Development and Policy Research, Standford University, November 18-20, 1999 (Online) Available from: http://www.cdy.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/11/3/287.pdf [Accessed 10th March 2008]Allen, Franklin. Jun Qian and Meijun Qian (2006), ‘China’s Financial Reform: Past, Present and Future’ in Loren Brandt and Thomas Rawski, ed. China’s Economic Transition: Origins, Mechanism, and Consequences. University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School: MimeoBijian, Zheng (2005) ‘China’s Peaceful Rise to Great-Power Status’ Foreign Affairs September/October 2005Chow, Gregory (2002) ‘China’s Economic Transformation’ Oxford: Blackwell Publishing CompanyChow, Gregory (2004) ‘Knowing China’ Singapore: World Scientific Publishing CompanyChow, Gregory (2005a) ‘Corruption and Economic Reform in the Early 21st Century’ Princeton University, California: MimeoChow, Greogry and Yan, Shen (2005b) ‘Demand for Education in China’ Princeton University, California: MimeoEconomy, Elizabeth (1998) ‘China Confronts the Challenge of Globalization’ New York: Rockefeller Brothers Fund, IncFishman, Ted (2005) ‘How the rise of the next super power challenges America and the world’ New York, N.Y.: ScribnerHall, D., Jones, R., and Raffo, C. (2004) ‘Business Studies’ 3rd Edition, Lancashire: Causeway Press LtdImerfall, Stefan (2006) ‘Territoriality in the Globalizing Society: One Place or None?’ (Online) Available from: http://www.amazon.com/Territoriality-Globalizing-Society-European-Transatlantic/dp/3540643222 [Accessed 9th March 2008]Maunder, Patricia (2008) ‘The Great Firewall of China’ The Age, March 20, 2008 (Online) Available from: http://www.theage.com.au/news/w eb/the-great-firewall-of-china/2008/03/18/1205602389513.html? [Accessed 21st March 2008]Moore, Thomas (2002) ‘China in the World Market’ New York, NY: Cambridge University PressNolan, Peter (2001) ‘China and the Global Economy: National Champions, Industrial Policy and the Big Business Revolution’ New York, N.Y: PalgraveOverholt, W (2005) ‘China and Globalization’ Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission, May 19, 2005. Santa Monica, California: Rand CorporationPearson, Margaret (2001) ‘The Case of China’s Accession to the GATT/WTO’, in David M. Lampton (ed.), The Making of Chinese Foreign and Security Policy in the Era of Reform, 1978-2000 Stanford: Stanford University PressPrasad, Eswar (2004) ‘China’s Growth and Integration into the World Economy: Prospects and Challenges’ International Monetary Fund Publications, June 17, 2004. Samuelson, Paul (2004) ‘Where Ricardo and Mill Rebut and Confirm Arguments of Mainstream Economists Supporting Globalization’ Economic Perspectives, 18: 3 Summer, 2004Solinger, Dorothy (2005) ‘Chinese Urban Jobs and the WTO’ The China Journal, May 2005Street, N., Lynch, M and Marilyn, J (2000) ‘American Business in China: Balancing Culture and Communication (Online) Available from: http://www.cald.org/website/polparties_asia.htm [Accessed 5th March 2008]Tipson, Fred (1998) ‘China and the Information Revolution’ China Joins the World: progress and Prospects New York: Council for Foreign Relations PressYang, Dali (2003) ‘Remaking the Chinese Leviathan’ Stanford,

Financial Analysis of Paint Industry

Financial Reporting Analysis Paint Industry (Asian Paints) Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) CONTENTS Profitability Ratios †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Operating Profit Margin †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Gross Profit Margin †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 4 Net Profit Margin†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Earnings per share †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 6 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 PERFORMANCE RATIO †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 Price/Earnings Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Return on Capital Employed †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 DEBT COVERAGE RATIO †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Interest Coverage Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 9 LIQUIDITY AND SOLVENCY RATIO †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Current Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 0 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 Quick Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 ACTIVITY RATIO †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2 Inventory Turnover Ratio †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 Industry Comparison †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 12 3 – Step Du Pont Analysis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 13 Asian Paints †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 3 Berger Paints †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 13 Kansai Nerolac †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 14 Akzo Nobel†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 CONCLUSION †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 15 Page | 2Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) PROFITABILITY RATIOS OPERATING PROFIT MARGIN Operating margin is a measurement of what proportion of a company's revenue is left over after paying for variable costs of production such as wages, raw materials, etc. When looking at operating margin to determine the quality of a company, we look at the change in operating margin over time to compare the company's yearly or quarterly figures to those of its competitors. If a co mpany's margin is increasing, it is earning more per dollar of sales. The higher the margin, the better is the performance of the company.Operating Margin = Operating Income/Net Sales INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Asian Paints 16. 81 17. 57 19. 24 13. 16 15. 83 Berger Paints 10. 61 10. 21 10. 45 8. 43 10. 08 Kansai Nerolac 12. 3 12. 88 14. 55 10. 7 14. 24 Akzo Nobel 6. 65 11. 00 12. 33 11. 89 10. 60 25 20 2011-12 15 2010-11 2009-10 10 2008-09 2007-08 5 0 Asian Paints Berger Paints Kansai Nerolac Akzo Nobel The graphs show a higher value for Asian Paints as compared to its competitors. The reason for this is the high income earned for every sale concluded. However, the ratio for all the companies is dropping over the years.Akzo Nobel has shown a sharper decline than all the others, which implies lesser income. The profit margin of the company has declined and hence OM has also declined. Page | 3 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paint s) GROSS PROFIT MARGIN A company's total sales revenue minus its cost of goods sold, divided by the total sales revenue, expressed as a percentage. The gross margin represents the percentage of total sales revenue that the company retains after incurring the direct costs associated with producing the goods and services sold by a company.The higher the percentage, the more the company retains on each dollar of sales to service its other costs and obligations. Gross Margin (%)= (Revenue-Cost of Sales) / Revenue INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 15. 61 16. 14 18. 11 11. 90 14. 62 Berger Paints 9. 19 8. 77 8. 88 7. 08 8. 69 Kansai Nerolac 10. 24 10. 70 12. 11 8. 16 11. 23 Akzo Nobel 4. 77 9. 21 10. 29 9. 53 8. 18 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 20 18 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 14. 62 11. 9 18. 11 16. 14 15. 61 Percentage (%) 12. 11 10. 7 10. 24 11. 23 7. 08 8. 88 8. 77 9. 19 8. 16 8. 18 9. 53 10. 29 9. 21 Akzo Nobel 8. 69 Asian Paints Kansai NerolacBerger Paints 2008 2009 2010 2011 20 12 ? The gross profit margin percentages (GPMs) are almost constant over the years for all the four companies. Asian Paints has greater GPM than others as, being the largest company both in terms of the balance sheet and the market share; it enjoys huge economies of scale. This guarantees lower costs as compared to the competitors. ? Akzo Nobel’s GPM has dipped drastically from FY11 to FY12 and that is because of increase in the expenses. These expenses were mainly on account of hiring (employee expenses) that the company did during the financial year 2012. 4. 77 Page | 4Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) NET PROFIT MARGIN The ratio of net profits to revenues for a company or business segment – typically expressed as a percentage – that shows how much of each dollar earned by the company is translated into profits. Net margins can generally be calculated as: Net Margins = Net Profit/Revenue Where Net Profit = Revenue-COGS-Operating Exp enses – Interest and Taxes INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 11. 38 11. 61 14. 29 7. 97 10. 28 Berger (%) 6. 61 6. 99 7. 02 5. 79 6. 79 Paints Kansai Nerolac 7. 86 9. 03 9. 04 6. 58 9. 00 Akzo Nobel 9. 60 14. 8 15. 00 31. 6 6. 30 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 Asian Paints Berger Paints Kansai Nerolac Akzo Nobel 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 ? Net margins will vary from company to company, and certain ranges can be expected from industry to industry, as similar business constraints exist in each distinct industry. ? Here, the values are falling for all the companies, and all of them have more or less similar values. This implies that the NPM is similar for all companies. Page | 5 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) EARNINGS PER SHARE The portion of a company's profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock.Earnings per share serve as an indicator of a company's profitability. When calculating, it is more accurate to use a weighted average number of shares outstanding over the reporting term, because the number of shares outstanding can change over time. EPS= (Net Income – Dividends on Preferred Stock) /Average Outstanding Shares INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 99. 92 80. 81 80. 74 37. 78 39. 12 Berger RS 5. 12 4. 29 3. 47 2. 78 2. 89 Paints Kansai Nerolac 40. 06 38. 22 61. 42 36. 59 44. 46 Akzo Nobel 54. 79 47. 94 43. 25 77. 38 15. 69 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 39. 12 37. 78 80. 74 80. 81 99. 92 44. 46 36. 9 61. 42 38. 22 40. 06 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac 2. 89 Berger Paints 2. 78 3. 47 4. 29 5. 12 2008 2009 2010 15. 69 Akzo Nobel 2011 ? The shares of Berger paints have a Face Value of Rs. 2, hence it has a larger number of shares. On the other hand, Asian Paints has Face Value of Rs. 10 therefore it has smaller number of shares. This implies that the EPS of Berger Paints is less than Asian Paints. ? Asian Paints has the best figures in spite of adjustment of EPS. A better comparison of the EPS can be done with adjusted EPS, as it gives realistic numbers. Hence for comparing, we can multiply the EPS of Berger Paints by 5 and then compare.Also Berger paints has been the most consistent competitor throughout 5 year with steady increase in EPS. 77. 38 43. 25 47. 94 54. 79 2012 Page | 6 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) PERFORMANCE RATIOS PRICE/EARNINGS RATIO The price by earnings ratio is a valuation ratio of a company's current share price compared to its per-share earnings. A high P/E suggests that investors are expecting higher earnings growth in the future compared to companies with a lower P/E. Price Earnings ratio = (Market Value per Share) / (Earnings per Share) INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08Asian Paints 31. 91 31. 35 25. 59 20. 96 30. 06 Berger Paints 20. 09 19. 86 16. 83 12. 59 12. 58 Kansai Nerolac 22. 52 21. 3 9. 92 5. 58 8. 03 Akzo Nobel 14. 64 1 6. 31 13. 85 5. 39 39. 74 45. 00 40. 00 35. 00 30. 00 25. 00 20. 00 15. 00 10. 00 5. 00 0. 00 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints 8. 03 5. 58 9. 92 30. 06 20. 96 25. 59 31. 35 31. 91 21. 30 22. 52 12. 59 16. 83 19. 86 20. 90 39. 74 12. 58 Akzo Nobel 2008 2009 2010 2011 5. 39 ? A high P/E value implies future expectation of the markets from the shares of the company is high. Very high PE(price to Earning) implies an overpriced share in the market. High ROCE(Return on Capital Employed) with low PE implies that company is doing well and the price of shares will rise in future. Berger Paints in this regard stands out because it has efficiently managed the input raw material fluctuations very well. ? Asian Paints has the highest ROCE in the industry for FY12, as it is the market leader as well. Page | 7 13. 85 16. 31 14. 64 2012 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) RETURN ON CAPITAL EMPLOYED A ratio which indicates the efficiency and profitability of the ca pital investments by a company.ROCE should always be higher than the rate at which the company borrows; otherwise any increase in borrowing will reduce shareholders' earnings. ROCE = EBIT / (Total Assets – Current Liabilities) INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Asian Paints 52. 24 55. 73 62. 84 49. 35 57. 32 Berger Paints 25. 88 26. 2 26. 64 18. 48 22. 9 Kansai Nerolac 27. 02 27. 3 26. 8 25. 4 28. 1 Akzo Nobel 17,36 14. 17 12. 94 11. 57 13. 04 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 57. 32 49. 35 62. 94 55. 73 52. 24 22. 9 18. 48 26. 64 26. 2 25. 88 25. 43 26. 78 27. 36 27. 02 28. 01 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints 008 2009 2010 ? If (Return on Capital Employed) ROCE is high and Price to Earning is low (i. e. , it is share is available cheaply), the share is recommended. This is because the company is utilizing its capital well and the price is lower as compared to the earnings. ? Asian Paints has had a phenomenal growth in this regard. It has been very effi ciently utilizing the capital employed. This factor has been one of the distinguishing factors clearly making it market Leader. 13. 04 11. 57 12. 94 14. 17 17. 36 Akzo Nobel 2011 2012 Page | 8 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints)DEBT COVERAGE RATIOS INTEREST COVERAGE RATIO A ratio used to determine how easily a company can pay interest on outstanding debt. The interest coverage ratio is calculated by dividing a company's earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of one period by the company's interest expenses of the same period. INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Asian Paints 50. 66 74. 05 74. 27 55. 04 69. 73 Berger Paints 15. 14 17. 99 36. 62 8. 33 10. 28 Kansai Nerolac 340. 78 310. 54 196. 02 75. 24 112. 68 Akzo Nobel 64. 18 103. 00 116. 55 38. 29 33. 68 400 350 112. 68 75. 24 196. 02 300 250 200 69. 73 55. 4 74. 27 74. 05 50. 66 150 100 50 0 Asian Paints Products 310. 54 340. 7 Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints 8. 33 36. 62 17. 99 15 . 14 10. 28 2008 2009 2010 33. 68 38. 29 Akzo Nobel 2011 ? For Kansai Nerolac, the debt has drastically reduced from 1. 23 to 0. 09Cr in FY11-12. Therefore a very drastic drop in Interest coverage Ratio is seen for FY12. Though Akzo Nobel has no long term debt, it the short liabilities are the reason which leads to the interest expenses. ? Also, Berger Paints has seen its interest expenses increase by 50% and debt coverage ratio high indicating that it has higher interest payables.This implies that it has taken huge debts, the reason for which might be for expansion, as the other ratios for the company do not point to any problems in its earnings capability Page | 9 116. 55 103 64. 18 2012 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) LIQUIDITY AND SOLVENCY RATIOS CURRENT RATIO The current ratio, also known as liquidity ratio, is used to give an idea of the company's ability to pay back its short-term liabilities (debt and payables) with its short-term assets (cash, inventory, receivables). The higher the current ratio, the more capable the company is of paying its obligations.A ratio under 1 suggests that the company would be unable to pay off its obligations if they came due at that point. While this shows the company is not in good financial health, it does not necessarily mean that it will go bankrupt – as there are many ways to access financing – but it is definitely not a good sign. Current Ratio = Current Assets/ Current Liabilities INDUSTRY COMPARISON 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Asian Paints 1. 07 0. 93 0. 89 1. 13 0. 99 Berger Paints 1. 44 1. 43 1. 57 1. 34 1. 15 Kansai Nerolac 1. 67 1. 518 1. 44 1. 47 1. 866 Akzo Nobel 1. 09 0. 85 0. 73 0. 79 0. 81 . 52 1. 66 2 1. 8 1. 6 0. 99 1. 13 0. 89 0. 93 1. 07 1. 4 1. 2 1 0. 8 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0 Asian Paints 1. 88 1. 3 1. 15 1. 34 1. 57 1. 43 1. 44 1. 53 Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints 2008 2009 2010 ? Paint industry player have typically very healthy CR ranging between 1 a nd 2. There are very few chances of their facing an insolvency problem. ? Asian Paints’ current assets have seen an increase of about 50% and Current liabilities increase by about 25%, thus leading to a greater increase in its CR from FY11 to FY12. Major increase was due to increase in cash and inventory levels compared to Asian Paints ?Akzo Nobel has experienced a huge increase in inventory production improvement and hence its figures have improved. Page | 10 0. 81 0. 79 0. 73 0. 85 1. 09 Akzo Nobel 2011 2012 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) QUICK RATIO An indicator of a company's short-term liquidity. The quick ratio measures a company's ability to meet its shortterm obligations with its most liquid assets. It is more conservative than the current ratio, as the current ratio often overestimates the company’s ability to repay its short term obligations. The higher the quick ratio better is the position of company.It is also known as the â €Å"acid-test ratio† or the â€Å"quick assets ratio†. Quick Ratio = (Current Assets – Inventories – Prepaid Expenses)/Current Liabilities INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 0. 57 0. 34 0. 38 0. 59 0. 47 Berger Paints 1. 10 0. 99 0. 88 1. 10 1. 08 Kansai Nerolac . 84 . 74 . 79 . 99 1. 16 Akzo Nobel 0. 65 0. 48 0. 44 0. 48 0. 45 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 1. 16 1. 4 1. 2 1 0. 59 0. 38 0. 34 0. 57 0. 8 1. 08 0. 79 0. 74 0. 84 1. 1 0. 88 0. 99 1. 1 0. 99 0. 6 0. 4 0. 2 0 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac Berger Paints Akzo Nobel 2008 2009 2010 2011 ? The growth of QR has not been in line with the current ratio.The large variation for different companies is because of the huge levels of inventory (huge portion of CA). ? As compared to FY11, Asian paints inventory has increased by 20% in FY12. ? Berger paints and Kansai Nerolac figures are good, others might have issues in solvency as they have very low values of QR. 0. 48 0. 44 0. 48 0. 65 0. 47 0. 45 20 12 Page | 11 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) ACTIVITY RATIO INVENTORY TURNOVER RATIO Shows how many times a company's inventory is sold and replaced over a period. Number of days in Inventory holding i. e. (365/ Inventory Turnover Ratio), which is also directly proportional to the cost of handling inventory and should be as low as possible. Inventory Turnover Ratio = COGS / Closing Inventory INDUSTRY COMPARISON Asian Paints 7. 56 7. 08 7. 95 9. 8 8. 03 Berger Paints 5. 80 5. 87 6. 37 6. 64 5. 92 2011-12 2010-11 2009-10 2008-09 2007-08 Kansai Nerolac 6. 76 7. 17 8. 17 10. 08 9. 11 Akzo Nobel 6. 35 8. 73 11. 60 10. 20 8. 72 10 8 6 4 2 0 8. 03 9. 8 7. 95 7. 08 7. 56 12 9. 11 10. 08 8. 17 7. 17 6. 76 6. 64 6. 37 5. 87 5. 8 8. 72 10. 2 11. 6 8. 73 5. 92 Berger Paints Akzo Nobel 14 Asian Paints Kansai Nerolac 008 2009 2010 2011 2012 ? Berger paints is best in the industry, next comes Akzo Nobel and then Asian Paint. ? Sales of Akzo Nobel have increased by 70% , proportionately COGS and inventory has increased by 100%, and therefore we can observe a sharp dip in its ratio. 6. 35 Page | 12 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) 3 – STEP DU PONT ANALYSIS ? ROE = Operating efficiency * Asset Usage Efficiency * Financial Leverage ? ROE broken down into three components :†¢ Operating efficiency = Net Income / Sales †¢ Asset Use efficiency = Sales / Assets †¢ Financial Leverage = Assets / Net worthASIAN PAINTS 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 2007. 5 2008 2008. 5 2009 2009. 5 2010 2010. 5 2011 2011. 5 2012 2012. 5 Operating Efficiency Asset Usage Efficiency Financial leverage ? Operating efficiency has increased from 10. 28 in 2008 to 11. 38 in FY12. Due to higher input costs, this parameter has dipped slightly compared to last year. ? Asset Use efficiency has been improving because more and more assets are now productive that were procured in earlier years ? Financial Leverage has been flat throughout 5 years, meaning the company has largely relied on Cash or Equity rather than Debt to function.BERGER PAINTS 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2007 2008 Operating Efficiency 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Asset Usage Efficiency Financial Leverage Page | 13 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) ? Operating efficiency has been varying from 6. 79 2008 to 6. 61 in FY12. Company has not been able to manage the profitability due to varying Crude oil prices. ? Asset Use efficiency has been improving because more and more assets are now productive that were procured in earlier years ? Financial Leverage has been declining throughout 5 years, which is beneficial to the company.KANSAI NEROLAC 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Operating efficiency Asset Usage Efficiency Financial Leverage ? Operating efficiency has been very volatile varying between from 9 in 2008 to 7. 86 in FY12. Company has not been able to manage the profitability due to varying Crude oil prices. ? Asset Use efficiency has the lowest amongst the peers that have been compared because company has not been investing in PPE Page | 14 Financial Reporting Analysis of Paint Industry (Asian Paints) AKZO NOBEL 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013