Ebay Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Ebay Strategy - Essay Example As the report declares eBay operates the leading online auction community on the Internet. Secondly , the second strength is intellectual property .eBay’s intellectual property such as its trademarks, copyrights, patents and domain names will help to give the company a competitive advantage over its rivals in the market place. Then , Brand is one of the key strengths of eBay.The strength of the eBay brand name is increasing. The brand is now becoming more mainstream, as it benefits from an increase in both brand awareness and brand recognition. In addition , Double-digit growth in sales has been seen in a number of the company’s eight core product categories. Pay Pal is one of the most successful strategies for eBay.The acquisition of Pay Pal has helped the company to enhance the experience of customers using eBay.This has had a knock on effect and helped to boost the satisfaction of customers using eBay. Perhaps one of eBay’s biggest strengths is its business mo del. The company’s business model means that eBay has no inventory and low capital requirements. This paper stresses that there are also some weaknesses of eBay strategy .The first is advertising revenues. Although advertising revenue only represents a small proportion of revenues, it is an area where eBay should be looking to exploit in order to generate greater revenues for the company as a whole. The second one is technology development. eBay still needs to improve a number of areas of its website in order to generate increased sales in the future.

Effects of Psychodrama Practice on University Students Subjective Well-Being and Hopelessness Essay Example for Free

Effects of Psychodrama Practice on University Students Subjective Well-Being and Hopelessness Essay Psychodrama can be defined as the helpful role-playing method technique usually conducted by groups. Many questions have been raised about the effects which can be caused by psychodrama on students (Blatner, Adam, 2014). This article have discussed and compiled those effects caused by psychodrama practice on university students’ subjective well-being and hopelessness, morenean approaches: Recognizing Psychodrama’s many facets, the integration of psychodrama with Bowen’s theory in couple therapy and enriching psychodrama through the use of cognitive behavioral therapy techniques Bibliography. Article summary on the effects of psychodrama practice on university students’ subjective well-being and hopelessness                  The effects of psychodrama can be either positive or negative (benefits or limitation).Psychodrama has several applications in real life today. These applications include business, training, religion, and application in business and also teaching together with psychotherapeutic application and concentrations (Blatner, Adam, 2014). Many people have made it a major part in their colleges as psychodrama trainers who puts efforts broadly with such persons (Farmer et al, 2007). The psychodrama tic tactic can be readily unified with several other approaches which relates to psychotherapy. According to Blatner, Adam, (2014), the integration of psychodrama with psychoanalysis, gestalt therapy, behavior therapies, creative arts therapies, play therapy, body therapies, family therapy, group therapy, imagination therapies and other miscellaneous psychotherapies. For example within (ASGPP) American Society for the Study of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama there is a sub class of psychodrama that precisely concentrate on application of psychoanalytic. Psychodrama symbolizes a full expansion and improvement of role-playing together with their applications and implementation. Although role-playing is mostly discussed, outdoor of psychodrama it has not often been considered as an intermediation but except decisiveness training, others are known by the clinician. A psychodrama tic role-playing meeting is perfect for formulating for example a university student to have an encounter with a family or friend member, employer, or maybe the colleague worker. Psychodrama have another application of addressing a wide range of matters and problems comprising those in the currently, future, and past or those that comprise the interior encounter (Farmer et al, 2007). According to Farmer et al, (2007), it can be addressed as â€Å"surplus reality,† that is those issues connected to what one might have, would have, and should have done. This can be applied to efficiently address visions and fantasies and can be applied to address worries related to â€Å"God†, â€Å"the church† or â€Å"the government† in a straight sort of manner. This can improve the well-being of a student and assist him or her in grieving through a goodbye meeting with a departed important and esteemed one. Furthermore Psychodrama can be applied to enhance specific therapy on an individual or additional therapy setup. This can assist the move a student past a deadlock or define if they are equipped for expulsion from treatment through tackling an expected challenging situation (Treadwell, 2005). Privacy is an issue in any experimental preparation groups just as it is in psychotherapy groups. Each participants is required to come to an agreement to privacy as one condition for being a fragment of this training (Blatner, Adam, 2014). The participants are also stimulated to take into account ongoing work and school interactions with other participants as they select what they unveil as a personal material. Furthermore, it will be addressed out that a moral condition for group work is to make the contestants aware that though a group trainer is forbidden by law from unveiling any material from group, also other group members do not have that same responsibility. Many ways can lead to physical injury to the participant in the process of enactment. For example, the presentation of fierce scenes, creating effects in example standing on chairs, or peoples who are bodily compromised to start with commotions which they cannot do. It is the teacher’s and therapist’s accountability to be alert of possible hazards and to shield the participants. Societal force can end up in individuals feeling constrained to participate in activities of which they may not otherwise accord. Moreover, it is stressed that this subject must be made clear with each participant with whom the therapist might use the method (Farmer et al, 2007). Psychodrama is the most approach developed by Moreno in his lifespan. Instead of being believed of as an only technique, his work would be greatly aided if utilized and recognized as actually separate mechanisms (Karatas, Zeynep, 2005). Although the efficiency of these individual mechanisms might be added up by using them in performance, there are many situations in which they can be applied in their own right. Moreno came to a conclusion that body movement, active interrelations and actions on the stage, their common familiarity or distance as stated in altitudinal terms, physical, could inform more about the troubles in interpersonal affairs than speaking (Farmer et al, 2007). The action occurring on the stage, movements and spoken words, and objects, make it probable for the character to either to complete anything he or she has been unable to, or have not known how to do it, or tried not do in actuality (Treadwell, 2005). This can be referred as act completion since it is on the psychodrama stage that the person understands the emotions and thoughts that obstruct him, plus the new sequence of behavior that will assist him to express himself independently (Treadwell, 2005). Psychodrama not only sightsees ones unexpressed feelings and thoughts, but also the conditions that have never really occurred but could have the meets with those who are actually not there. Everything can happen in psychodrama and this hidden dimension of experience can be referred as surplus reality or an extra dimension of reality. The â€Å"character’s† story or subject is at the center of the psychodrama tic presentation whereby the character is the client, patient and the subject of the conduct. The character is chosen out of the group and during the psychodrama tic process the group’s participants are the â€Å"listeners† and the source is for the enactment (Blatner, Adam, 2014). About the greatest part, the source plays the part according to the character’s comments and instructions .The organizer may direct the source but not intensively. According to Moreno, the source can be acted to the character’s creative mind in two approaches known as double and soliloquy (Treadwell, 2005). There are many methods which co-therapist use to deal with those in relationships mainly couples by use of psychodrama methods and Bowen’s theories. The authors put together the Bowens theory of differentiated individual as single who is capable to function from a position of me as different from we in couples or relationships and use psychodrama to show this functioning (Blatner, Adam, 2014). The appliance of psychodrama among couples is based on the four Bowens theories (Farmer et al, 2007). the first theory is the theory of triangle, In couples who are too cross of very far there comes a time where some misunderstanding occurs, some couples are able to solve them in a peaceful manner while others they do not manage to do so, this cause an emotional tension which leads to violence in the family. This is where the Bowens theory of triangle gets in, the theory introduces a third party in the family, which helps to solve the problem. The three party’s forms a triangle as the name suggest due to the pull of the third party. The third party can be Christian leaders, police or family friends. According to Blatner, Adam, (2014), in families, differentiated profile according to Bowen’s theory occurs when a child is born with some characteristics similar to those of one parent or grandparent or the child is born during the period of the death of one of the members of the family. The child concentrates more on the family due to the pressure from those sharing the same characteristics with him or her. This makes child to grow in a sense of WE more than I. In this case, Bowen wanted to teach couples on how to be different from others, if is to attend therapy sessions on member can attend and bring a change in the family if both are not willing to attend together (Karatas, Zeynep, 2005). The authors bring together the psychodrama and also cognitive behavioral techniques in-group settings. Those groups should have a minimum of five and maximum of ten members. The sessions should take 2 to 3 hours and total period should be 15 weeks. Those with aggressive disorders should take individual therapy (Treadwell, 2005). In the application of cognitive therapy, therapist should start with dysfunctional contemplation or thought records where the group’s members record things that affect them emotionally. The records are kept in each person’s file. During the filling of dysfunctional forms, the members should be given the samples first to guide them on how to fill them. Those forms help the therapist to know each person problem (Treadwell, 2005). Other cognitive technique is automatic thoughts, which are habitual. The therapist helps the patient to recognize them and assist the patient how to deal with them. The cognitive behavioral technique is very effective and the patient responds to it very well (Blatner, Adam, 2014). Conclusion                  From the impacts of psychodrama and its explanation we can deduce that it not only explores ones unexpressed feelings and thoughts, but also the situations that have at no time really occurred but could have the meets with those who are actually not there. Everything can happen in psychodrama and this hidden dimension of experience can be referred as surplus reality or an extra dimension of reality. Psychodrama is useful since it can be applied in business, training, religion, and application in business and also teaching together with psychotherapeutic application and concentrations. Other than benefits it can affect the participant due to its societal force which can end up in individuals feeling constrained to participate in activities of which they may not otherwise accord. Outline Psychodrama can be defined as the helpful role-playing method technique usually conducted by groups. Effects of psychodrama can be either positive or negative (benefits or limitation). Benefits include the applications in real life situations such as in business, training, religion, application in business and also teaching. Negative effects are the potential harms in terms of emotions, social culture or physical change. According to Moreno, Psychodrama is the most approach developed in his lifespan Psychodrama not only sightsees ones unexpressed feelings and thoughts, but also the conditions that have never really occurred but could have, the meets with those who are actually not there. Everything can happen in psychodrama and this hidden dimension of experience, can be referred as surplus reality or an extra dimension of reality. Bowens theories emphasizes mostly on differentiation where one refers himself as an individual. The force of the third party in a relationship helps a lot. The integration of Bowers theories and psychodrama brought a solution to those in relationships. Dysfunctional thought forms help mostly students and patients with a problem of mood regulation. During the first sessions of application cognitive technique, the students do not cooperate but later they enjoy the sessions. References Blatner, Adam (2014). Morenean Approaches: Recognizing Psychodramas Many Facets. Turk Egitim DernegiFarmer, Chris; Geller, Marcia (2007). The Integration of Psychodrama with Bowens Theories in Couples Therapy. Heldref Publications Winter Karatas, Zeynep. (2005). Effects of Psychodrama Practice on University Students Subjective Well-Being and Hopelessness Treadwell, Thomas W; Kumar, V K; Wright, Joseph H (2005). Enriching Psychodrama Through the Use of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Techniques. HELDREF PUBLICATIONS Summer Source document

Creation and Evolution, which do you believe? Essay -- Philosophy, Ori

When thinking about the origin of life, there are two main points one can come to, Intelligent Design or Natural Process (Ken Ham, 2008). â€Å"According to the former view, supernatural intervention was essential for the creation of life; according to the latter, living organisms could form spontaneously—for example, from the mud of the Nile† (Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2006). Creation can be defined as the original bringing into existence of the universe by God (â€Å"Creation†, n.d.). Intelligent design can be defined as â€Å"certain features† (Ken Ham, 2008). Intelligent Design can also be explained by finding features of the earth and explaining them by an intelligent cause ("Intelligent Design", n.d.). Creationism usually starts with religious text and trying to see how science fits with it ("Intelligent Design", n.d). Creation and Intelligent Design are both similar in the way of people believing that there was a purpose in the creation of people (Orgel, Leslie E, 2006). Evolution can be defined as â€Å"Change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift† (â€Å"Evolution†, n.d.). â€Å"Through the process of descent with modification, the common ancestor of life on Earth gave rise to the fantastic diversity that we see documented in the fossil record and around us today. Evolution means that we're all distant cousins: humans and oak trees, hummingbirds and whales† (Orgel, Leslie E, 2006) There are two types of evolution, micro and macro. Microevolution is the small change of a species over time (Orgel, Leslie E, 2006). Macroevolution means the big change of a species over time, such as stability and through extinction (Orgel, Leslie E, 2006). This paper will dis... ...ll changing and are still being modified, how so? It says that God created everything in 6 days, not over long periods of million and billions of years. God designed us as organisms in six days, no more any less. In Conclusion, believing in creation affects how one looks on the world and the life that inhabits it. Knowing that God working as Intelligent Designer makes one think that we are put here for a purpose and that each and every one of us has a determined purpose, not that we are accidents. Also believing in creation affects how one could view others, knowing that everyone was created by a designer, one would know that people are not accidents or mistakes. Knowing that creation is the truth and that God created everything one would know that not only humans but the world itself was also created with a purpose, not from some mistake or massive explosion.

Ceo Safety Policy Statement

Safety Policy Statement a. Safety is paramount in all flight operations. Company X manages safety risks related to its operations to as low a level as reasonably practicable. Company X will manage safety through its dedicated commitment to implement and maintain Company X’s Safety Management System. This commitment includes the responsibility of both Company X’s management and employees to continuously improve the level of safety and never to become complacent when it comes to the safety of Company X’s operations. It is the joint responsibility of everyone connected within the flight operation to be proactive and ensure all safety hazards are identified, analyzed and, where possible, eliminated or avoided. When this is not possible, mitigation is developed, implemented and tracked to verify that the level of the associated risks are acceptable. It will also be the commitment of both management and of all employees to comply with all applicable regulatory requirements when conducting Company X’s Operation. . The purpose of the safety policy is to manage safety proactively and effectively. This is attained by utilizing the Company X SMS to: i. Identify and manage safety risks specific to the company’s flight operations. ii. Encourage employees to report safety issues without the fear of reprisal. iii. Collect and analyze information and feedback through the continuous improvement system so as to continually improve safety management activities. iv. When safety issues are discovered it is assumed that both management and the employees have shared responsibility and accountability in finding ways to fix the safety issues and in ensuring that the prescribed procedures to fix the problems are carried out and also to help notify the Director of Safety as to whether these procedures are working or not. v. Both management and the employees are expected to follow all safety procedures and policies of Company X including the reporting of all safety issues and hazards to the Director of Safety. i. The SMS program will also provide management guidance for implementing new procedures and processes to ensure that a high level of safety is maintained when these new procedures and policies are carried out. vii. The Director of Safety reviewing Company X’s safety objectives each month to ensure they are current and still applicable to Company X’s Operations. The Director of Safety will ensure that any safety objectives not meetin g current safety standards and goals will be revised as necessary. c. Company X’s safety policy also requires the full support of safety from top level management. Flight crew members, aircraft maintenance personal and others involved in the operation of Company X will always have the full support of the CEO as long as they operate professionally in accordance with company manuals and procedures. All company personnel have a duty to openly and honestly report events and hazards using the continuous improvement system. The CEO will ensure that all such reports will be thoroughly investigated in a non-punitive manner. The CEO of the company is ultimately responsible for: i. Sustaining conditions that promote the safe operation of company aircraft, ii. Ensuring that all safety related company positions, responsibilities and authorities are defined, documented and communicated throughout the company. iii. Define and publish which levels of management can make safety risk acceptance decisions in regards to company operations. iv. Providing the resources (in time and money) to assure the safe operation of company aircraft, and v. Actively supports the Safety Management System.

Paper Ratio and Financial Statement Analysis Essay

Executive Summary In corporate finance, both ratio and financial statement analysis are important tools that can be used in order to assess a company’s strength financially. They can be used in order to forecast a business’ prospective cash flow and ability to grow in the future, as well as a company’s strengths and weaknesses. Income statements, balance sheets, the statement of retained earnings, and the statement of cash flows are the four primary types of financial statements used in corporate finance. All of these financial statements serve to analyze a firm’s cash flows from different perspectives and are all interrelated. Ratio analysis, another important tool in financial analysis, analyzes the probability that a firm will be profitable or not. The different kinds of ratios used are liquidity ratios, efficiency ratios, leverage ratios, profitability ratios, and market-value indicators, with each type including various different specific ratios that one can calculate when examining a firm’s operability. Both the financial statements and ratio analysis offer an analysis of a firm’s finances at a particular point in time, while also forecasting its financial stability in the future. Another advantage is that they allow a firm’s finance team to compare its finances to that of other similar companies, known as benchmarks, in order to value the strength of their firm in the marketplace. However, financial statements and ratio analysis can also lack in their accuracy since financial analysis is often based on historical figures from the past several years and thus only offer the prospective financial future rather than concrete data since often a firm’s finances are based on the ever-changing marketplace or other factors not in control of the firm’s managers, such as economic conditions. Despite such disadvantages, financial statements and ratio analysis is a very important aspect in the corporate environment and essential to examining a firm’s viability. Overview In business, financial statements are important tools, which allow a firm to clearly state its financials in terms of figures, such as revenues, expenses, net incomes, etc. and analyze strengths and shortcomings of the firm. This allows the firm’s managers to clearly see what is and is not working for the firm. Ratio analysis is used when identifying and analyzing multiple variables in the firm’s operations, such as inventory, accounts receivable, net sales, etc. When completing financial statement and ratio analysis, it is beneficial for the firm to examine its financial figures over several previous consecutive years, so that any and all patterns in its operability can be observed and analyzed. Such patterns can reveal aspects of the company where efficiency is not at its finest and thus there is a financial loss. As a result, the company can implement changes in order to improve upon these shortcomings and increase its profits. Ratio analysis is both a qualitative and quantitative way of looking at the data in order to analyze how a company functions and ways to improve it by looking at present and previous functioning and forecasting the future of the company. Both financial statement and ratio analysis can provide insight into the success or failures of specific product lines, allowing managers to make intelligent decisions regarding what their firm should offer in the future to consumers. Financial statement analysis is also a way to assess and validate a company’s viability in the marketplace to outside investors/creditors. Financial statements assist managers in understanding how profitable their firm is. It is often used to make comparisons of one firm to another or of a specific time period to another time period for the same firm. The main aspects of a financial statement are revenues, expenses, and net income. Revenues are sales numbers that come from products or services a firm creates through its business operations (Parrino, 2011). For a firm, such as Microsoft, its revenue would come from products such as the computers, phones, tablets, and software it sells to consumers. On the other hand, for a consulting firm, such as Accenture, revenues would stem from the fees it charges for its consulting services contracts with various government agencies around the world. Both companies are providing a product to a consumer, one simply happens to be a tangible product that people buy, while the other is a service product that agencies need for their functionality. Expenses are the costs a firm incurs while generating its revenues (Parrino, 2011). For Microsoft, expenses would stem from the costs of building its products, marketing them, developing new products, shipping them around the world, etc. For Accenture, expenses would stem from the cost of all of its consultants, which includes their wages, insurance, company laptops it provides to each of them, travel costs for sending consultants around the world on projects, etc. Again both types of firms exhibit expenses; some of them are just different. Net income shows the company’s revenue relative to its expenses. If revenues exceeds expenses then the company has a net profit and is â€Å"in the black† for that time period (Parrino, 2011). On the other hand, if expenses exceed revenues then the company has a net loss and is â€Å"in the red† for that time period (Parrino, 2011). By looking at financial statements from one fiscal period to the next or annually, managers can observe how their firm is progressing. If the numbers show that the firm is not operating at an optimal level or there is a sudden decline in profit, managers can delve further into the firm’s operations using ratio analysis to look for problem areas and address them accordingly. For instance, ratio analysis can allow analysts to view the rate turnover of a specific product line and examine whether something is lacking in that product line that is hindering the firm’s ability to get rid of that inventory to consumers. Such ratio analysis will be elaborated upon later in this paper. There are four types of financial statements; income statements, balance sheets, the statement of retained earnings, and the statement of cash flows, which are all vital and interrelated. The income statement calculates the firm’s net income or its earnings after expenses have been deducted and is used to calculate retained earnings at the end of the year (Parrino, 2011). Net income is calculated as followed: Net Income = Revenues – Expenses The balance sheet summarizes what assets the firm has at a specific point in time, as well as how the firm has financed such assets (Parrino, 2011). Total assets is calculated as followed: Total Assets = Total Liabilities + Total Stockholders’ Equity The value of assets will change annually since firms often buy and sell assets, thus altering the firm’s value and financing. Such changes are indicated in the  statement of cash flows, which gives a summary of changes in the firm’s balance sheet from the beginning of a period to the end (Parrino, 2011). The statement of retained earnings summarizes changes in the retained earnings in a simpler manner for managers than the statement of cash flows and basically shows the firm’s expenses and loss from one period to the next (Parrino, 2011). These financial statements can provide a lot of information to managers regarding the operations of the company. If Microsoft sees a decrease in its net income or total assets from one year to the next, this can indicate many things. A decrease in net income can indicate maybe some products are not selling as well as they have in the past, meaning Microsoft may need to change its marketing strategy or release a new product. A decrease in total assets can mean several things. Perhaps the company’s products are of less value than before or perhaps they have fewer liabilities. Deciding what specifically financial statements mean for the future of a firm often requires more in depth analysis through ratio analysis. Ratio analysis is the use of financial figures to analyze a firm’s overall operability and evaluate its strengths and weaknesses (Parrino, 2011). It can be used from various perspectives including stockholders, managers, and creditors, in order to evaluate the profitability of a firm. Specifically, a financial ratio is a â€Å"number from a financial statement that has been scaled by dividing by another financial number† in order to show something about the company’s operations (Parrino, 2011). There are several types of financial ratios; liquidity ratios, efficiency ratios, leverage ratios, profitability ratios, and market-value indicators. Liquidity ratios focus on whether â€Å"a firm has the ability to convert current assets into cash quickly without loss of value† (Parrino, 2011). Two liquidity ratios are as followed: Current Ratio = Current Assets / Current Liabilities Quick Ratio = (Current Assets – Inventory) / Current Liabilities Liquidity ratios indicate a firm’s ability to pay short-term obligations, such as interest payments for debt. This is very important because every firm has creditors, whether its investors, banks, or even tax collectors and even the most profitable company can go under if it is unable to pay all of its obligations for any reason. Efficiency ratios measure â€Å"how efficiently a firm uses its assets† and include the following: Inventory Turnover = Cost of Goods Sold / Inventory Days Sales in Inventory = 365 Days / Inventory Turnover Accounts Receivable Turnover = Net Sales / Accounts Receivable Days Sales Outstanding = 365 Days / Accounts Receivable Turnover Total Asset Turnover = Net Sales / Total Assets Fixed Asset Turnover = Net Sales / Net Fixed Assets Efficiency ratios are a useful tool in financial analysis because they can examine and identify inefficient use of any kind of asset. For instance, in our case of a decrease net income for Microsoft, financial analysts can look at the inventory turnover for each of its products and analyze whether one is too low indicating that the rate at which they are selling that specific product line is not efficient compared to the cost of producing that product line. Based on this managers can decide whether they should decrease the amount of inventory they produce or cut the product line all together. Leverage ratios are used to examine a firm’s financing or ability to meet long-term financial obligations. Leverage ratios are as followed: Total Debt Ratio = Total Debt / Total Assets Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Debt / Total Equity Equity Multiplier = Total Assets / Total Equity Leverage ratios are important because every firm uses debt or equity and often both for its financing, but the more debt a firm uses, the greater the risk it will default on those debt payments. So, for instance, the total debt ratio can tell you how much debt a firm uses in its capital structure and thus how volatile its earnings are (Parrino, 2011). Profitability ratios â€Å"measure management’s ability to efficiently use the firm’s assets to generate sales and manage the firm’s operations† (Parrino, 2011) and include the following: Gross Profit Margin = (Net Sales – Cost of Goods Sold) / Net Sales Operating Profit Margin = EBIT / Net Sales Net Profit Margin = Net Income / Net Sales Return on Assets(ROA) = Net Income / Total Assets EBIT ROA = EBIT / Total Assets Return on Equity(ROE) = Net Income / Total Equity Profitability ratios are important because they indicate a company’s ability to be profitable relative to its expenses. Market-value indicators predict the future of a firm’s finances using market value trends and financial statements. They include: Earnings Per Share(EPS) = Net Income / Shares Outstanding Price-Earnings Ratio(P/E) = Price Per Share / Earnings Per Share Market-to-Book Ratio = Market Value of Equity Per Share / Book Value of Equity per share Market-value indicators are important because they can assist in predicting the future for a firm. Whether the firm will be profitable using its current strategy or should it maybe switch to a different strategy to keep up with competing companies. All of these financial ratios are crucial to financial analysis in corporations and used very often by analysts, managers, creditors, stockholders, etc. Advantages and Disadvantages of Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis has several benefits. First, it offers various methods of analyzing a company’s financial wellbeing, going beyond just the financial statements by looking at specific aspects of operations. This can indicate strengths and shortcomings that managers should be aware of. Improvements can be made in order to increase profitability as a result. For instance, if a Microsoft notices that one product line has a higher days sales in inventory than another, this indicates that the specific product stays on the shelf longer and perhaps the firm should focus more on the product line with the lower days sales in inventory as it sells better. Secondly, ratio analysis can assist in predicting earnings or showing a pattern, which managers can use to find the best way to maintain financial profitability. While financial statements provide numbers such as revenues or expenses, ratio analysis can offer a concrete number describing revenues relative to the cost of the goods sold, such as with the gross profit margin. Such a ratio can indicate how profitable a firm’s operations were in a specific  period of time and if very profitable a concrete method of recreating such success. Essentially, ratio analysis simplifies the information provided in financial statements by compartmentalizing them to show patters and trends, which are very useful. Thirdly, ratio analysis can also be used in order to compare the firm’s operations to that of its competitors. Often, how well a company is doing depends on the market and how well other companies are doing, so ratio analysis provides a very useful tool to companies in making such comparisons. There are some disadvantages to ratio analysis. Predictions based on ratio analysis can be inaccurate from time to time. This is because ratio analysis is mostly based on historical data from previous time periods, which only offers so much information about the future. Yes, analysts can predict that the market will behave a certain way through market value indicators, but such predictions are only so accurate. The market can be affected by a variety of aspects, such as volatile economic conditions or even a natural disaster. For example following Hurricane Katrina, at â€Å"the end of the first week following†¦U.S. commercial crude oil inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels from the previous week,† indicating a strong market effect on petroleum due to the disaster (â€Å"Hurricane Katrina’s impact,† 2011). Businesses cannot control environmental disasters or economic conditions, which is why while ratio analysis is a very useful tool, it cannot always be relied on 100%. The use of market-value indicators is increasingly used in order to better forecast the future of a firm as it takes into account the economic climate at a specific point in time in order to predict the trend of future financial entities (Niazi, 2011) but again sometimes something like a natural disaster can negatively affect business. This is why having a high operating income and total assets is important to be prepared for such events. While not a perfect model as random economic turbulence can skew results, market-value indicators do still provide some insight into the future. Furthermore, when using ratio analysis to compare to another similar benchmark firm, there can also be pitfalls. Often it is impossible to find a company similar enough in size, corporate structure, and operations to properly compare to and gauge a market comparison. Thus, often ratio analysis when benchmarking can provide a skewed impression of where the firm stands against its competitors in the market. Financial statement and ratio analysis are very useful in corporate finance that provide much information to analysts, managers, stockholders, and creditors about the financial state of a firm. While there are some shortcomings to ratio analysis, its advantages in practice surely outweigh its disadvantages and offer valuable tools to cultivate a thriving company. References Hurricane Katrina’s impact on the U.S. oil and natural gas markets. (2011, September 12). Retrieved from http://www.eia.gov/oog/special/eia1_katrina_091205.html Niazi, G. S. K., Hunjra, A. I., Rashid , M., Akbar, S. W., & Akhtar, M. N. (2011). Practices of working capital policy and performance assessment financial ratios and their relationship with organization performance. World Applied Sciences Journal, 12(11), 1967-1973. Parino, R., Kidwell, D. S. & Bates, T. W. (2012). Fundamentals of Corporate Finance: Second edition. John Wiley & Sons; Hoboken, NJ.

The Matrix Film Editing Techniques essays

The Matrix Film Editing Techniques essays Editing Techniques The Matrix The movie that I have chosen is called The Matrix. The Matrix is directed by brothers Andy and Larry Wachowskis. These directors have created themselves as innovative filmmakers who push the boundaries of live-action films, such movies like Star Wars and The Terminator, which showcase a unique visual style. The Wachowskis achieved this breakthrough on a display of techniques and digital effects, some never before seen in Hollywood films. Even though computer morphing technology had been used before in films such as The Abyss and The Teminator 2, but the Wachowskis were the first to use Flow-Mo, according to the Wachoskis, Flow-Mo is a time-bending digital effect that utilizes both computer-generated imagery and still photography. These are the types of predominate scenes that are used throughout the film. The term Flow-Mo refers to the technique used to create primary foreground subjects. For Flo-Mo, the Wachowski brothers wanted to be able to move a high-speed camera around subjects so that the scene will have a slow motion shot with a dynamic camera move. What made it so difficult was that the directors wanted to shoot very, very fast. A few high-end cameras have rates of 300 fps and then they explode at 301. The directors wanted the flexibility to choose frame rates at higher than 500 at will, with the ability to move the camera around the subject as if the scene was occurring at normal speeds. This simply was not possible with conventional technology. Then they would combine Flow-Mo with virtual backgrounds. The result, what is called virtual cinematography, which was something that seemed as natural as any real photography, but was completed almost entirely on the computer. The film itself is a complex story that aspires to mythology, focusing on a computer hacker named Neo (Keanu Reeves) who search...

101 Prososal and Bien Pretty Professor Ramos Blog

101 Prososal and Bien Pretty The Game of Life Quick Write What do you wish you could do, or be better at? The Game of Life Jane McGonigal is a game designer. She wants to use games to make the world a better place. Why games? From the comments: Abstract: 1. Physical resilience: Move a bit every hour instead of sitting still, for example stand up and take 3 steps or lift your arms up for 5 seconds (increases physical health). 2. Mental resilience: Snap fingers with both hands for exactly 50 times or count from 100 to 0 with decrements of 7 (yes you stop at 2 or -5) (increases willpower and other things). 3. Emotional resilience: Watch in or out the window or look at a picture of your favourite baby animal (Feel love. I take it you have to try and look at people when you are watching in or out of your window). Try to think of, or experience 3 good things for every 1 bad thing as often as bad things occur. 4. Social Resilience: Shake hands with someone for 6 seconds or send a message to someone saying thank you (boost your oxytocin by touching people or showing gratitude). Repeat often (didnt say clearly how often but for the rest of your life) and live 10 years longer than is the average age of people. Non-Zero Days Bien Pretty (137) Characters, Themes. Bien Pretty Literary Analysis Free Writing Five minutes of free writing on whatever story you are thinking about writing on. Try to connect to the topic you are thinking about. Five minutes writing starting with the topic and what the support is going to be. Proposal 200 – 400 Words You can analyze a character, theme, or any of the items we will discuss in class. Pick something that interests you. An effective proposal has a narrow focus, clear thesis, includes primary claims, and context for why you think this is important to write about. Make sure you are annotating your book as you read so that you can easily find quotes and sections to include in your analysis paper. Questions to consider before writing your proposal: What is your topic? Why are you writing about this? Why does it interest you? Do you need to do any research to help with your analysis? What is your initial analysis for this paper? What is your original thesis? Homework Read There was a Man, There was a Woman (133) Proposal for Lit Analysis (10 points)