The Torpedoes :: essays research papers

The Torpedoes  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The pre-war issue torpedo had the disadvantage of leaving a visible trail of bubbles on the surface on its way to the target.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The standard torpedo of the war suffered from early problems with its internal depth-keeping equipment, and its firing pistol, but these were solved after the Norwegian Campaign. In mid 1942 an improved version was introduced with an increased battery capacity. The increased battery capacity increased the range 50%. Falke, the first homing torpedo, was fitted with a passive acoustic homing device. It was introduced in March, 1943 and used by U-603,U-758, and U-221 against convoys HX-229 and SC-122. Few were used, as it was replace by the T5, which was faster, had a greater range and could be used with either magnetic or contact detonators. The Zaunkà ¶ning (Gnat) came into service during the autumn of 1943. Intended to be an escort-killer, it achieved some early minor success only to be countered by the allied Foxer noise-making decoy. It was scoring hits against escort and merchants to the end of the war though. The weapon was designed to lock onto the loudest noise after a run of 400m from its launch. This often proved to be the U-boat itself and standard issue-orders were to dive immediately to depth of 60m after launch from a bow tube while a stern shot was to be followed by a complete silence in the boat. Two U-boats were almost certainly lost when hit by one of their own T5 torpedoes, U-972 in Dec 1943 and U-377 in Jan 1944.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Variants All the German U-boat torpedoes were 53.3cm (21 inch) in diameter and had a warhead of 280kg. (The T5 had two important pattern-running devices, which could be applied to various torpedo types.

The Effects of School Uniform

The Effects of School Uniforms Jeanell Greene Eng121: English composition Instructor Katie Surber April 8, 2012 There are issues that probe our schools on a daily basis. Many are very important such as student behavior and performance, lack of funding, and highly qualified staff, and some are just minor such as use of technology and extra-curricular activities. There are many that are debatable and require extensive dialogue and research. However, there are those educational issues that just need simple discussions to formulate manageable and workable solutions.One of the major and current issues is whether school age children should wear school uniforms or wear regular clothing. There are many parents and school officials who want our children to wear uniforms and there are also many parents who don’t want our children to wear them. Many people feel that the uniform issue plays a vital role in the educational development of children. They feel school uniforms have a major imp act on the educational process of how children learn. It really does not matter whether the children wear uniforms or regular clothes.Children will not learn any differently with or without the school uniforms. The debates over school uniforms are very complicated and have many points of view coming from all directions including teachers, parents, and even students. In reality, school uniforms are becoming quite popular with society, but of course very unpopular with teens and younger children. However, that is to be expected. There are many pros to the use of school uniforms. A plus to school uniforms is that it makes students visible to school personnel, students, and members of the public.School officials will know, by the uniforms, who belong on campus and who do not. Moreover, when students are adorned in school uniforms it makes it easier to identify and recognize children in public in case of an emergency. Wearing school uniforms can give students a sense of belonging. Usuall y, students will feel a sense of acceptance because all of the students are wearing the same thing. Therefore, it reduces the chances of being taunted and/or being bullied. This also helps to build self-esteem and self-assurance. When children wear chool uniforms, parents do not have to worry about being able to purchase designer clothing or expensive brands. There are more advantages of wearing school uniforms. Many people consider that a child in uniform is likely to take school more serious and not play around as much. Many also think that wearing a uniform helps to maintain discipline in schools; it also decreases the amount of discipline problems. It is said that the lack of discipline comes from home because the parents refuse to take on the discipline aspect of parenting. Students fighting at school are another challenge for educators.Some of these fights have a lot to do with fashionable clothing. Students who wear the prescribed dress code will tend to fight less because th ere is no longer the pressure of wanting or desiring the fashionable clothing that everyone else is wearing. There is also the struggle that some schools have with gangs who are identified by certain clothing, colors, and paraphernalia. If school uniforms are worn, this will probably ease some of the tensions related to gang violence. Distractions are another argument in the school uniform issue.By wearing school uniforms, the staff in schools will know that the appropriate clothing is being worn to school daily instead of fads that are considered outrageous, too revealing or displaying the wrong and/or inappropriate messages. Some students have turned school into an everyday fashion show. Therefore, taking the real and main focus off of learning and putting more attention and emphasis on what is being worn to school. School uniforms look nicer and make students look very professional. The woes of finding appropriate dress for school can be alleviated by wearing school uniforms.This will afford them more time and resources to concentrate on their school work. It also gives the students a chance to express their individuality in another more constructive and productive way. Although school uniforms are a good idea to some people, there are others who oppose it. One of the most common reasons why people oppose school uniforms is that it supposedly suppresses individuality. Some educators say that academic progress encourages a student’s pursuit for individual thought which is much more important than what he/she wears. By forcing students to wear school uniforms this inhibits creativity and self-expression.Some people say that making students conform to the school uniform denies the students the opportunity express them through what they wear. When the students are able to create their wardrobe it makes them feel the part of individual more and not feel forced to be a part of a group. It is also felt that students are going to reject rules regardless, and what would the purpose of making them wear a school uniform serve. Henceforth, by forcing students to wear uniforms will only aggravate their individuality and make them rebel by altering their school uniform.The students’ defiance of the school uniform will cause the students to choose an inappropriate size, length, and/or add color to try to individualize the uniform. This creates another problem for the teachers and school administrators. It is also believed that cliques, gangs, and groups will still be formed by the altering of the school uniform. Many feel that there is still no proof that the way our children dress for school will increase or decrease their ability to learn or curb violence in the school setting.Even if the school system does not require students to wear school uniforms, there is still a dress code that must be followed and if it is followed correctly there is no need for school uniforms. Most people feel that the school board should not spend time wor rying about school uniforms or dress codes; they should focus on a better education for children and enforce mandates by local school district and state boards of education along with national disciplines. The problem is not what the children are wearing; it is what they are and are not learning in school and at home.It has been said that some of the best students are bad dressers. Therefore, proving that dressing doesn’t improve learning, only the individual improves learning. Buying school uniforms for most people is considered cheaper than purchasing the latest and hottest trendy items. However, there of others who say it is not because it depends on where and how many school uniforms are purchased. Also, school uniforms can get ruined as well as any other clothing; therefore, the school uniforms will still need replacing just like regular clothing.With that being said, many ask the question how is it really cheaper? They feel that children will keep the clothes that they want to wear in better condition than a school uniform because in reality they don’t want to wear the school uniform anyway. Therefore, this makes the cost of school uniforms higher than the cost of regular clothes. There are also those that consider the school uniform to be ugly, unflattering, plain and boring. They feel it takes away from the individual’s appearance and makes the students not have a good self-image of themselves. The education f children must always be at the forefront of any discussion of any mandates and laws passed which effect and affect the lives of students entrusted to the care of school districts. The stakeholders must examine every avenue and exhaust all resources to enhance the academic development of these students. The school uniform has been a hot topic of discussion among educators, parents, administrators, politicians, and students for years. There are advantages and disadvantages of wearing the prescribed school uniform dress code. Ma ny people feel differently about the school uniform issue and have voiced their opinion in a myriad of ways.The discussion must continue as the data continues to reveal the benefits of school uniforms. Some of the benefits have been witnessed in the school setting in which I am employed. I feel that school uniforms should be worn for the comfort of the individual who doesn’t have what others have, so that he/ she won’t feel left out or inadequate. I really think that wearing school uniforms has helped with the self-esteem of some children because many of them are more focused on their learning and spend less time worrying about being picked on or bullied about what they are wearing.

Pirates of Silverland Essay

A. INTRODUCTION OF THE CASE Palm Haul Sdn Bhd (PHSB) was actively engaged in the business of transportation of crude palm oil (CPO). It was in a niche market because of high demand in delivering the CPO from the mills to the refineries. In addition, due to this reason, the industry players were rewarded with high gross profit margin which ranged on 35% – 45% with low administrative overheads. However, as PHSB involved in service industry, high cost of sales was inevitable in the operations. This issue created higher competitiveness in the market because the industry players tend to operate more efficaciously in managing cost of sales. Furthermore, oil piracy was the major issue which was difficult to be solved and avoided by the industry players. It also caused to significant impact and losses in this industry. In more serious extent, the persons committed this siphoning cases were not identified and red-handed. This was the reason contributed serious impact to PHSB, as the gross profit margin was substantially narrowed due to highly increased in direct costs. The drastic decrease of gross profit margin certainly not only caused by the single reason mentioned. PHSB was found to incur high compensation paid for CPO shortfall, inconsistency of drivers’ attendance and high expensed on maintenance. PHSB was in critical situation due to the emergence of these challenges. In depth of analysing problem encountered by PHSB, the CPO consigned by PHSB was justified and led to the quality issue in refineries. Oilene Refineries Sdn Bhd (Oilene), one of the major customers of PHSB, criticised the CPO delivered was frequently short and contaminated with water or sludge. The low quality of CPO affected the processing plant of Oilene and additional works had to be performed for cleaning purpose, by shutting down the plant. Because of the serious impact given by PHSB, the management of Oilene decided whether not to proceed for the contract renewal, which would be expired in June 2009. Therefore, En. Rossly must review the operations of PHSB and necessary actions must be taken in order to secure the contract from Oilene. B. COMPANY BACKGROUND Palm Haul Sdn Bhd (PHSB) was established in 2002, in Taiping, Perak. It was a medium-sized enterprise in the CPO transportation business. It had about 200  employees, out of which, 80% was in operations, primarily drivers of the company’s customized tankers. Generally, PHSB was owned and chaired by Datuk S. Najeed, who was the former chief engineer of Ministry of Transport PHSB. The routine operation of PHSB was managed by En. Rossly, the CEO and son-in-law of Datuk S. Najeed. Furthermore, this company was branched into three major functions which included Account cum Finance, Human Resource and Administration functions. And, they were in charged by three key personnel, Romsee Rossly, Ramli Ali and Aliah Ibrahim, respectively. En Rossly decided to engage with a management consultant who was also a friend of En. Rossly’s, to provide effective solutions for the issues endangered PHSB. C. ISSUES LEADING TO THE INCREASE OF DIRECT COST IN PHSB 1. Rising compensation to CPO shortfall and low operating margins 1.1 Issues 1.2.1 Compensation to the refineries Referred to the PHSB’s two years financial reports (2008-2009), there were increasing trends of compensation being made by PHSB to the refineries due to the shortage of CPO during the transportation. It showed that until March 2009, PHSB compensated about RM2 million, which already increased more than 33 % from the compensation they made RM1.5 million in 2008. The compensation cost was on increasing trend which it could be seen from the compensation figures from 2006 until 2009. In 2006, the compensation that PHSB had to bear was RM345, 111 and it was increased double in 2007, RM645, 222, and then again another two-folded increased in 2008, which was at RM1.5 million. PHSB should shoulder the differences in the amount of CPOs that were short-delivered to the refineries. The PHSB’s customer, Oilene Refineries Sdn Bhd (Oilene), claimed that the CPO delivered by PHSB’s tankers, were less than the recorded quantity in the delivery order and some of the CPO had been contaminated with water or sludge. Compared to another transporter hired by Oilene, Tiger Oils Transporter, PHSB’s consignment was the most difficult to be processed. Despite the claim by Oilene on the delivered CPO, there was also a possibility that the CPO turned into sludge because of their chemical reaction to the changes of temperatures in the tanker. Therefore, PHSB should look into this matter as well. Nevertheless, there was a possibility of five years contract, between PHSB and Oilene, would be insecure if these issues were not amicably settled by the PHSB as soon as  possible. 1.2.2 Compensation to the staff Another compensation that PHSB had to cover was regarding the compensation to the staff, such as salaries, allowances and ex-gratia. The compensation amount recorded until March 2009, costing PHSB around RM8.03 million, an increase of 7.1 % compare to 2008. There is a possibility that the increased amount was due too many festive seasons during the year’s end. The amount from both compensation lead to the lower operating margin for the PHSB in 2009 compared to 2008. 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. A healthy operating margin is required for a company to be able to pay for its fixed costs, such as interest on debt. Low operating margin for the PHSB, meaning they are not making a good profit on every Ringgit that they spending on. It will jeopardise their bottom line for the financial year. 1.2 Recommendations There are five possible recommendations for this issue, which are monthly financial report for the PHSB and to have an additional staff to monitor this irregularity in the account. 1.2.1 Monthly Financial Report By implementing the monthly financial report, PHSB could monitor their expenses on a monthly basis, thus any regularity could be taken care as soon as possible. The standard monthly financial reporting package includes the following two core reports (University of Michigan, n.d.): i. Statement of Activity (SOA) The SOA reports display the posted revenue and expense transactions for an accounting period (i.e. one month period) for the specified parameters (e.g. Project/Grant). By presenting the SOA on the monthly basis, PHSB’s management could thoroughly monitor and review their activities for that particular month. If there is any unnecessary activity, the management could take corrective action before it could jeopardise their operations. ii. Gross Pay Register (GPR) The GPR report is a record of each employee’s paycheck salaries and  allowances. By having this report every month, the management will be able to identify the compensation made to the employees on a monthly basis. And, they will be notified on the additional or irregularities payment that the PHSB made during that particular month. 1.2.3 Close Monitoring on the Tankers Temperature To train and educate PHSB’s drivers on the measurement of the tanker temperatures in order to avoid any chemical reaction which it could turn the liquid form of CPO to sludge. PHSB also have to invest more on the reliable tankers to keep the CPOs in a suitable temperature. 1.2.4 Trucksecure’s System PHSB may install tankers with the Trucksecure System. It is a unique, simple, non-invasive system fuel loss can be detected from either the main or secondary tank, whether taken through the fuel filler neck, sender hole or from puncturing the tank. One of the main problems encountered by haulers is detecting small but regular amounts of stolen fuel. The Trucksecure system has the ability to measure minimal fuel loss to combat this problem with the additional benefit for the operator to detect suspected internal theft covertly via an optional GSM text message. By installing this system, PHSB will be alerted on any attempt to siphon or steal the CPO immediately. Security Company will be alerted as well and they will investigate that particular tanker. This will decrease the possibility of siphoning and stealing of CPOs. 1.2.5 Balance Inventory Levels PHSB have to cooperate with Oilene in implementing the balance inventory levels in checking and manage the CPO. Both companies could review the consignment through the purchase orders, receipt and credit notes, return notes as well as delivery notes which all of it will be validated by representatives from both companies. To follow-up on this method, both companies could have a thorough check on their inventory records. By implementing this method, PHSB could avoid the possibility of receiving less amount of CPOs than stated in the delivery orders. 1 High oil pilferage 1. 2. 3.1. Issues 2.1.1 Siphoning caused to higher direct cost incurred to refineries In the transportation industry, the transporter is required to bear for any losses incur during its consignment. The same practice applied to PHSB, hence, it had to reserve huge sum of money as the compensation to the refineries. In fact, the management found that many of the loaded tankers were not delivered to the refineries, but were found to be abandoned at the roadside by the irresponsible drivers. In addition, the siphoning case also contributed to the high compensation paid to the refineries. As per the case reported, the compensation cost per turnover hit at 7.7% in 2008, and increased to 8.3% as reported in total of three quarters of income statement in 2009. The increase of compensation cost had led to narrower of gross profit margin as it was a part of cost of sales. 2.1.2 Increase of insurance premiums PHSB took a good practice where it mitigated the consignment risk to third party, the insurer. PHSB had bad track records because many cases happened to be the tankers left abandoned by the drivers. The insurer, Allianz Insurance might not be responsible on the abandoned tankers. Moreover, it brought to higher operation risk of PHSB. Thus, there will be a ground for the insurer to charge greater insurance premiums to cover the inconsistency of operation in PHSB. And, the cost of sales of PHSB will be risen significantly due to the Goods-In-Transit insurance is incurred directly to operation in the nature of transportation. 3.2. Recommendations 2.1 2.2.3 Implementation of Fleet Management System (FMS) In the view of Mukhriz Mohd, FMS is a must to be enforced in PHSB. This system allows PHSB to minimise the risks associated with tankers in consignments, improve the operation efficiency and reduce in compensation cost. With this FMS, siphoning cases will be drastically reduced because the management of PHSB is able to detect the delivery locations of the tankers. In addition, it helps to reduce the fuel consumption as well. The problem of abandoned tankers will be eliminated as the drivers will be red-handed with  serious punishments. Therefore, FMS is vital to be installed as PHSB operates in delivery services, despite the high cost of implementation. For the greater reduction in cost of sales and better preventive action, PHSB is strongly advised to enforce accordingly. 2.2.4 Serious disciplinary actions will be taken against drivers As the increase of insurance premiums was due to the irresponsible drivers, actions must be taken to penalise them. This solution is made to reduce or even eliminate such cases to be happened repetitively. Ex-gratia will be deducted for the drivers who are identified to commit on wrong-doing. In more serious extent, if the drivers ignore the disciplinary actions, termination of service will be given to the drivers. This solution may not contribute to immediate financial benefits, however, the insurer will reduce the insurance premiums in future when the abandoned tankers cases decline. In other words, it contributes to greater profit margin of PHSB in long term. 2 High Absenteeism/ Driver Shortage 3.2 Issues As per reported by Ramli Ali, Human Resource Manager of PHSB, the company had the problem on driver shortage due to better offer from bigger company. The company also encountered issue on high absenteeism of drivers. The problem occurred because of irregular routes and away from home for a long period, caused the drivers tend to search for a better jobs or remunerations. 4.4.1. Unattractive remuneration package According to Ramli Ali, PHSB was unable to offer an attractive remuneration package to their drivers. With more attractive remunerations offered by big companies, drivers tend to bite the bait, therefore, PHSB needed to hire and train new drivers more frequently. This activity had made increment in the Administration and Operation Expenses for year 2009. The pilferage activities are recognized to happen during year end. This was identified that most of the drivers more likely needed money during this period of  time, hence, the temptation siphoning the CPO was high. 4.2.1. 4.4.2. Irregular routes and tight scheduling Ramli also declared that irregular routes and tight scheduling were the factors of drivers’ high absenteeism and shortage. By having this problem, it has affected the quality of operation service where refineries claimed that the CPO had not been delivered on time. Lack of drivers means that same driver might be running several deliveries. Each delivery requires them to stay away from home for a few days. Thus, some drivers might not get well rested and home away more than they supposed to be. 4.4. Recommendations 4.5.3. Offering attainable remuneration package PHSB needs to consider giving year-end bonuses to the drivers in order to earn their loyalties. Hence, this will help to reduce drivers’ shortage as well as absenteeism problem that troubled PHSB throughout the year 2009. PHSB can emerge good remuneration package where year-end bonuses given to the drivers and staff. The bonuses will be much lower than the compensation cost that PHSB is currently bearing. PHSB can as well offer rewards to drivers with satisfaction attendance by giving performance incentives by year end. These incentives also can be applied to those who have delivered CPO as per Purchase Order or sludge-free. This will hope to lower the absenteeism percentage. 4.5.4. Realistic Schedule PHSB shall also consider giving annual leave based on Malaysian Industrial Development Authority’s guidelines which is normally provided with annual salary increment that is calculated based on a certain percentage of the basic salary and performance. PHSB shall come out with more realistic schedule which drivers are allowed to have some rest after their long journey. PHSB may as well to schedule more carefully to avoid continual shifts. This may be seen as increment in PHSB’s expenses but in long term, it will help to reduce expenses in staff training as per stated in Administrative and Operating Expenses table. With new remuneration package and realistic schedule, drivers can give their greater commitments on their shifts, as a result, PHSB shall be able to enhance their transportation service. Consequently, PHSB will acquire higher profit since the customers  are satisfied with the service provided, and indirectly, PHSB will able to expand to a bigger network. 3 High Cost of Maintenance 4.3 Issues Being a logistic service provider specialised in transporting CPO, it is crucial to emphasise on the upkeep of its tankers. Indeed, PHSB’s predicament is also related to this matter. As we have gone through the case carefully, we have identified that PHSB is incurring high cost of maintenance. The maintenance costs incurred for the three quarters of years 2009 and 2008 are RM 5.5 million and RM 2,3 million respectively. Thus, PHSB faced a 143.8 % increase in maintenance cost for 2009 compared to 2008* (estimated based on average calculation of total maintenance cost for 3 quarters of the accounting period). Marginal planned cost accounting or flexible analytic cost planning and accounting studies by Sharman (2003) can be referred to understand the cost of sales in the case of PHSB better. Below are the possible root causes of this predicament. 4.4.5 No regular upkeep and maintenance of the tankers. It was found that PHSB did not regulate the maintenance of its tankers. The tankers were only sent for service and repairs when the drivers complained of breakdown. At times, the damages occurred were severe, hence resulting in high cost of repairs. 4.4.6 No standardised administrative mechanism. PHSB is lack of a standardised administration mechanism. At the moment, the perform vehicle and driver allocation and scheduling are done manually. Hence, a lot of time is wasted in the process. The situation get worse if there were any absentee, as the delivery route and allocation of drivers need to be rescheduled. 4.2 Recommendations 4.3.1 Scheduled maintenance program. PHSB should practice a more systematic method of maintaining its tankers. It should ensure each of its tankers have gone total check-up, let say in a  fortnight basis before be available for transporting scheduling. As we are concerned, PHSB is a small company with certain constraints. Its annual gross profit margin is just around 10% over the years. Thus, we understand it will be unable to spare extra cost especially if it wanted to establish an in house maintenance facility for its tankers. However, PHSB could overcome this problem by out-sourcing maintenance services from the market. A yearly contract with the service provider will assist PHSB to upkeep its tankers within a minimal cost. PHSB could use its power of negotiation to get good deals from the service provider for this mean. Moreover, PHSB would have an option to discontinue the contract and assign a new service provider in case of dissatisfaction too. Thus, PHSB will be able to cut sales cost, add competitive value to its company and eventually increase operating profit. 4.3.2 Computerised Scheduling. It was found that manual scheduling method utilised by PHSB delays time. Hence, a computerised scheduling method will be very convenient. This method will help PHSB to organise delivery routes, driver allocations, delivery durations, maintenance breaks and forecast the total cost of sales regarding this matter systematically. Some of Transportation Management System (TMS) softwares that are widely being used by major third party logistic (3PL) companies worldwide include RoadNet Technologies, TMW Systems and Precision. PHSB could employ any of these softwares too, to manage its operation and administration mechanisms. Moreover, this method does not need an expert to carry out or additional staffs as it could be done by single person who knows how to operate computer and familiar with data entering. Besides, PHSB could always acquire consultations and trainings from the system provider if it faces any difficulties related to the software. The quality of CPO transported and the safety of the drivers who work for PHSB are greatly influenced by the condition of the tankers. These aspects would affect PHSB’s entire operation processes if not tackled immediately. Therefore, we believe the recommendations given will hinder such quandary plus contribute to lower direct cost of sales in the future. Consequently, PHSB will be able to increase its operating profit. D. CONCLUSIONS As displayed on the financial statements of PHSB, the loss of RM 1.8 million  marked as the worst performance ever throughout seven years back. This circumstance shall not be repeated if PHSB wishes to remain its competitiveness and roles in the industry. From our analysis, we strongly believe the compensation cost to refineries is the â€Å"Achilles Heel† of PHSB operations. As mentioned above, 8.3% of turnover was solely contributed to compensation expenses. If PHSB is able to manage properly on the direct cost, the reduction portion of the compensation cost will be the additional gains to gross profit margin of PHSB. And, it surely remains PHSB at the higher competitiveness in the industry. However, the key personnel of PHSB must aggressively review on the inconsistencies of the financial reports. The financial reports shall be utilised effectively, as these reports provide a good avenue for the management to identify the weaknesses in the operations, although the informa tion is historical. It is reasonable that salaries and allowances of drivers are the leading cost component in direct cost, as the drivers are the human capital to PHSB. However, it should not be on increasing trend which the gap is bigger than the increasing turnover. Relevant of remuneration package is powerful to retain and attract more human capital. The relevance remuneration package would be in term of performance-based incentives. As this variable reward is individualised, drivers will be more motivated to work disciplinarily in PHSB. Although it will affect the gross profit margin, this direct cost is better to flow to the benefits of internal employees, which will improve the employees’ loyalty, rather than as the compensation cost to refineries. Besides, the upkeep and maintenance must be thoroughly monitored. As mentioned in the case, most of the tankers are fully depreciated. In other words, these aged tankers may lead to higher possibility of breaking down during delivery of PHSB. It is considered cost inefficient when high maintenance cost incurred repeatedly because it will cost a boom to PHSB. As a good recommendation, the tankers must be properly scheduled for regular maintenance checks. This is because preventive maintenance can avoid high repair and replacement costs. Last but not least, the effect from the inefficient operation of PHSB leads to higher inventories held by Oilene. This is because of the inconsistencies delivery provided by PHSB. This circumstance further indicates that Oilene will have poor inventory forecasting. The management of Oilene may find difficult to manage the inventory, as PHSB failed to  consign the accurate and planned quantities. And hence, Oilene is required to maintain high level of inventories. Furthermore, the low quality of CPO, which often contaminate by the drivers, also raises an impact on Oilene’s inventories. Therefore, higher operation cost will be incurred by Oilene. Besides, Oilene will encounter the bottlenecks issue when the inventories level is high. Production capacity of Oilene may not require huge volume of inventories in short period of time. Also, the product under demand will be another constraint which worsening the bottlenecks. As such, the identified inconsistencies of the financial statements shall be addressed with solutions proposed. These recommendations may contribute to higher confidence and possibility of PHSB to secure the service contract with Oilene. With tight monitoring and reviewing on the financial data, PHSB will be operated more consistently and achieve more competitive advantages for greater future growth. References University of Michigan. Financial Operation. Retrieved October 5, 2013 from http://www.finance.umich.edu/finops/reporting/department/standar Sharman, Paul A. (2003). â€Å"Bring On German Cost Accounting†. Strategic Finance (December)

Fast food automation system Essay

As usual large number of people deserves my thanks for the help they provided me for the preparation for this term paper. First of all i would like to thanks my teachers and for their support during the preparation of this topic . I am very thankful for their guidance. I would also like to thank my friends for the encouragement and information about the topic they provided to me during to me during my effort to prepare this topic. INTRODUCTION Fast food automation system is a program based on C language. Generally, in various fast food malls and stores we see a number of workers working there to give different items to people. The head of that particular mall has to give them salaries accordingly. By using this, fast food automation program the problem of workers is reduced and management of money becomes very easy. C is a programming language developed at Bell laboratories of USA in1972. It was designed and written by a man named Dennis Ritchie. Possibly C seems so popular because it is reliable, simple and easy to use. Moreover in an industry where newer languages tools and technologies emerge and vanish day in and day out, a language that has survived for more than three decades has to be really good . An opinion that is often heard today is –â€Å"C language has been already superseded by languages like C++, C# and JAVA. This project is a program on fast food automation system using C language. A function is a self contained block of statements enclosed between braces that performs a specific task. It groups a number of repeated statements in a program into a single unit and is identified by a name known as a function name. A program can contain one or more functions, but the main() function must be a part of every program. It is the main() function from which the program’s execution begins. Other additional functions must be subordinate to it and to one another. Every function in C consists of following components: Function definition Function declaration or Function prototype Function call Function definition: It is the part of function where the actual contents of the function are defined. It basically consists of first line which contains data type of the value to returned followed by name of the function and then the arguments enclosed in pair of parantheses. Syntax: Ret_type func_name(data_type par1, data_type par2,†¦.. ) function { header Local variable declaration: statement;

Investment and Debt Capacity

Stock Repurchase Repurchase of stock can be viewed in each of the following way: investment, financing, shareholder distribution and control issue. Repurchase of stock can be a way to use firm’s excess debt capacity. By doing so, firm can lower the cost of equity financing. If debt financing is more flexible and cheap, replace equity financing with debt financing is a good way to lower the weighted cost of capital. In this sense, such action is a financing issue because it controls the cost of financing. On the other hand, repurchase of stock can adjust shareholder distribution.If shareholders consist of most individual investors, they may require more dividends or other forms of profit sharing. Firm can repurchase stocks from such investors so that they can adjust their dividend policy. If management holds few shares of the company, they may lose their control over operating and strategy decisions. By repurchasing stocks, management could regain majority control over the comp any on strategic decisions. Finally, repurchase of stock is also an investment issue because it enables the firm to increase its return on equity by eliminating dilution effect.Higher return on equity will attract more favorable investors as well as better vendors. It has the same outcome of investing in businesses, so it can be viewed as an investment. Debt Capacity for Stock Repurchase From Exhibit 5, we get the total debt of Marriott at the end of 1979. We define total debt as sum of short-term loan, current portion of long-term debt, senior debt and capital leases. The average market price of Marriott in 1979 was $14. 9, and interest rate for Baa corporate debt was 12%. We assume that Marriott would repurchase stocks at price of $15 using 12% debt financing.Marriott used Adjusted EBIT over net interest as a measure for debt capacity, so we use such measure as well. The table above shows the main assumptions we make in the analysis. Before the stock repurchase, EBIT adjusted/Net interest rate was 6. 64, above the 5 times threshold Marriott set for itself. Because the net interest before repurchase was $27. 8 million, we conclude that adjusted EBIT was $184. 59 million. In 1979, additional debt from repurchase was $159 million, making the total debt $538. 83 million. Net interest after repurchase is the original net interest plus the 12% interest from new debt.Based on such analysis, the new adjusted EBIT/Net interest ratio is 3. 94, which is lower than 5. So we conclude Marriott may not have enough debt capacity to finance the stock repurchase. We further perform a scenario analysis. Suppose Marriott had just enough debt capacity, which means new adjusted EBIT/Net interest ratio equals 5. We find that repurchase price should be $7. 17 so that Marriott could utilize its debt capacity fully. We conclude that a repurchase price under $7. 17 is in fact transferring value to remaining group because they can share more future profits resulting from the concentrat ed equity.Yet a repurchase of $15 is way above $7. 17, which means selling shareholders have more value because they are compensated with higher return. Owned vs Managed Marriot has two options about the operation of hotel chains. First, it can own the hotel and enjoy the profit margin. Second, it can sell the hotel but retain management contracts so it controls the operation of such units. Following is the detailed decomposition of costs associated with two options. According to Exhibit 9, in 1978 the typical cost for a hotel room consists of improvement cost, furniture, fixtures and equipment cost, land cost, pre-opening cost and operating cost.For an owned hotel, Marriot had to pay the total cost for running the property, but if it is managed, Marriot only had operating cost because the buyer was responsible for the maintenance. In an attempt to emphasize more on return on invested capital rather than margins, Marriot sold some of their existing hotels and retained management con tract to free up capital. Managed hotels had operating margin of 8%-10%, while owned had 15%. We assume 10% margin for managed hotels and 15% for owned hotels.To decide when to sell the property, we analyze the remaining present value of future cash flow of a hotel at different point of time in its life cycle. We further assume that when the hotel is sold, the selling price is set so that present value of future cash flow equals the 10% margin. We assume $50 revenue per room night of a typical 150-room hotel, and one year has 360 days. Sales level for each year in the life cycle connects to the occupancy rate. From the graph of Exhibit 9, we get different occupancy rate for the whole life cycle. It reaches the peak 100% at year 8, and after year 10, it declines almost linearly to 10% in year 30.We can see that if Marriot sells the hotel before opening, the selling price would be $1. 63 million at time 0. After the peak, let’s say, year 9, the selling price would be $ 1. 55 mi llion at time 9. We can also see that in fact the max value of PV is at year 4, which has $2. 85 million in PV at 15% margin. Marriot would free up more capital if it sells the hotel before opening, but instead it would lose more operating profit. If Marriot is in short of capital, it could sell the hotel up-front so that the freed up capital can be invested in other profitable projects.Selling after the peak is a good choice if Marriot wants to enjoy the increasing operating profit before the peak. Shareholder value can be added if the return on freed-up capital exceeds the profit loss from selling the property. Recommendation Based on our analysis, we would recommend the company to investing in their core business to fully use their debt capacity. Since Marriott’s debt capacity is only able to repurchase 10. 6 million shares at a price significantly lower its current trading price (according to Exhibit 12). It is unlikely the repurchase strategy would take place as expected .The negative impact of false interpretation that the Marriott has reached its growth limit may not be offset even if the repurchase take place. To decide whether to invest in core business or diversify by acquisition we take a look of the hotel’s current state. The company now is operating in four main sectors, hotel group, contract food service, restaurant group theme parks and cruise ships& other. Based on exhibit 3, all of MC’s sectors are doing well in the past few periods; Hotel group is still the main profit sector account for 51% of the total operating profit and 16. % of the gross margin. Theme park and restaurant sectors have contributed a lot to total revenue but at the same time involve more risk. The asset associated with that new business couldn’t be mortgaged easily. Marriott’s theme park alone was estimated to cost 80 million but double of the estimation eventually, the investment made MC to lower its debt credit level. If we use the extra debt capacity on acquisition of new business, there could be a higher risk of availability and cost of long-term debt financing, which may cause MC to lower its debt credit even lower and increase its defalt risk.As a company mostly processioned in hotel management, invest in new businesses that required new management style also increases MC’s operating risk. Marriott’s hotel business has positioned itself to operate for customers whose travel plans were less subject to change than those of vacationers. Its historical operation has showed steady healthy growth even in recessions. Most of the sector’s assets are real estates and tends to appreciate over time rather than depreciate, it is easy to issue debt secured by hotel assets. Prevailing trends also indicate sighs of need of rapid room expansion.As MC’s major competitors Hilton and Holiday Inn are shifting their core business to a more diversified market, keep focus on core hotel business enable MC t o maintain its own competitive advantage in operation. Overall we would suggest MC to use its excess debt capacity to invest in existing hotel with some clientele base but lower entry cost where the Marriott‘s acquisition can significantly improve the operation. To invest in such assets, there is low research and construction cost but easy to manage with sustainable growth. We believe that the best investment for corporation would be investing in the existing business.The hotel business was the most promising area for Marriott’s Corporation. When MC’s competitors expand their business into gambling and casino ventures, MC was more likely to expand in the traditional market. To invest in the hotel business, a large amount of external financing is needed. A large amount of Marriott hotels were managed rather than owned by the MC. Despite the MC could limited capital investment by holding the equity up to 50% so that they could increase the opportunity to be awarded the management contract, they might still need to cost a lot in investing more hotels. MC could also choose to expand their existing hotels.Those hotels have higher occupancy rate and higher local demand. Doing this expansion will need full capital investment in property. With high growth rate of hotel rooms, this investment seems valuable. However, this way of investment still needs large amount of external financing to support the expanding. Even though MC’s new hotels are profitable in the end, the cost of developing hotels is still required a big financing. In addition, due to the increasing inflation rate, the cost of equity and the cost of debt increased. Therefore, as inflation rate becomes higher, the unused debt capacity becomes less in the future.

Grotesque Characters

Brittany Luckey Mr. Clements American Literature 21 March 2013 Grotesque Characters What is a grotesque character? In literature, a character or location that is irregular, extravagant or fantastic in form. When used as a device, the purpose is often in the style of expressionism, making the grotesque a parody of human qualities or a distorted reflection of a familiar place. In many ways grotesque characters have some kind of problem in society, and example would be a veteran who lost a limb in war and trying to fit back into society, or anything that we see as not normal in our society.Characters in this particular subject can be deformed, obsessed, or in our terms just not normal or right. Another definition of a grotesque character is characterized by ludicrous or incongruous distortion, as of appearance or manner. Flannery O’ Connor, Angela Carter, and Carson McCullers all experienced uses with grotesque characters whose works can be seen with characters who are deformed, disfigured, or social outcasts. What elements make up grotesque characters? One element of the narrative that is a character can be irregular, extravagant or fantastic in form.A grotesque character may possess a exaggerated personality trait or characteristic for the purpose of eliciting both empathy and disgust in the reader. In Flannery O’ Connor’s stories she uses two different types of grotesque characters. One type of characterized grotesque characters are called â€Å"physical grotesques† and the other type of grotesque is called â€Å"secular grotesques. † Two characters in particular are Mrs. Crater and Mr. Shiftlet; they are both grotesque characters, because they are both ruled by obsession. Mrs. Crater’s obsession is trying to marry off her daughter, and fails to see the character flaws of Mr.Shiftlet who cheats and lies. He uses Mrs. Crater for her money, Mr. Shiftlet is obsesses with morality and that makes both these characters grotes que, because their obsession rules their lives. Mrs. Crater’s obsession is trying to marry off her daughter, and fails to see the character flaws of Mr. Shiftlet who cheats and lies. Mr. Shiftlet is obsesses with morality and that makes both these characters grotesque. (â€Å"The Life You Save May Be Your Own†). Why are grotesque characters so popular in the Modernist movement and the Southern Gothic movement?In Southern Gothic literature grotesque characters are used to portray deeply flawed characters. Grotesque characters allow a talented writer to exaggerate their writing making it longer and believing it made their writing better. Grotesque characters can also help with unpleasant aspects within society without making it to church-like. McCullers used grotesque characters to bring about the truths of the human society. In the Modernist movement grotesque characters were used to describe the aberration from ideal form, it helped to create misshapen, ugly, or formle ss characters.In Modernism they are characterized by the qualities they lack such as fixity, stability, order, and sometimes even sanity. Writers in this period used grotesque characters to shape the history, practice, and theories in the nineteenth and twentieth century’s. What type of effect does a grotesque character have on a story? In Angela Carter’s story (John Bowen par. 1-5) they dominate, they are not beautiful, they tend to be dirtier than they clean. The main characters are Honeybuzzard, Morris, Ghislaine, and Emily. Honeybuzzard is the prettiest, but she is selfish, cruel and a killer.They are used in a lot of gothic writing to improve, and interest and keep the reader in the book. They affect the book in many ways such as people not wanting to be around them. They normally have problems such as obsession, missing limbs, mental illnesses, or just not right in physical appearance. They stand out from other characters in a story, because of how they look or h ow they act. They are also known as outliers. Grotesque characters face many problems in society or wherever they live, because people judge them for how they look or how they act.How does this story characterization add or subtract from the story? These types of characters give the story a mix of fear, abnormality, and it causes the reader to want to keep reading, and not put the book down. They can subtract from a story by having a book full of grotesque characters and the book becomes less interesting to a reader, because there is nothing happening except a group full of deformed and disfigured people. They give a book something to talk about and allow a reader to understand why they have been outcast, or why they have certain obsessions.They bring out some qualities a lot of authors don’t write about, and that makes the book just that much more entertaining. Who is a good example of supporting grotesque characters? An example from Malcom Griffith about grotesque character s â€Å"For example, he uses vague guidelines such as â€Å"the open-ended nature of grotesque† without prior explanation of which way the grotesque is open-ended (Griffith 49). What Griffith lacks in cohesion of a definition, he tries to make up for in examples. † He breaks down trying to explain what causes a grotesque character, to be open- ended, and why they are different from other characters.Grotesque characters help make literature entertaining and enjoyable to read. They bring out the other side of literature in which characters aren’t normal. These things show how far literature has come from very different authors. Different types of grotesque characters have very different obsessions, problems, and living situations. Grotesque characters are used a lot and can be found in literature such as Southern Gothic Literature and some Modernism. Grotesque characters shape a lot of our books in literature today. Grotesque add thrills and excitement to our book s and other sources of literature.In conclusion, we find grotesque characters to be unwanted, socially awkward, sometimes helpless, dysfunctional, overall just not what we consider normal in our life. They don’t fit in they are just abnormal and freakish. Works Cited Griffith, Malcolm. â€Å"The Grotesque in American Fiction. † Ohio: Ohio State University Press. 1996. Fearnow, Mark. The American Stage and the Great Depression: A Cultural History of the Grotesque. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Witkin, Joel-Peter. and Stanley B. Burns. Masterpieces of Medical Photography: Selections from the Burns Archive. Pasadena, CA: Twelvetrees Press, 1987.

Brora Scottish Cashmere Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Brora Scottish Cashmere - Article Example It is a privilege to be writing an article on this personally beloved, globally renowned Cashmere brand. Victoria Stapleton who is the founder, owner and creative director at Brora, was brought up in the North of England, which is home to the Scottish cashmere industry. Having lived so close to the hub of the cashmere industry Victoria often found herself in the mills, as she â€Å"spent many childhood hours browsing mill shops and feeling the delicious quality of their cashmere†. In 1990 when her family got involved with ‘Hunters of Brora’, a 100 year old tweed mill, Victoria jumped at the opportunity to get involved and was soon managing the mills retail venture. Having been brought up in an entrepreneurial family she knew that she wanted to have her own business one day. The experience of working in a mill and gaining knowledge of how a business is run â€Å"†¦sowed the seeds for the founding of Brora†. Victoria began her entrepreneurial career by o pening a retail outlet in London and now, Brora has expanded its outlets all over the UK, the most recent being opened in Cambridge, Covent Garden and Westbourne Grove in London. Brora is a retail company that strongly follows the philosophy of ‘Buy British’. ... e clothing manufactured by the company is produced in mills which are situated in the UK, using only the finest raw materials and carefully selected yarn from selected herds. Being a private and democratically run company not only builds a strong relationship with the customers that Brora caters to but also with the suppliers and employees that are associated with the company. Brora has a strong culture of workmanship & camaraderie within the company. People who work there don’t often leave, primarily because the company is socially responsible towards its workers. There is a true-to-the-word democratic process involved in all core decision making efforts and this practice of mutual consultation is not only confined to the insides of the organization, in fact every customer is treated as part of the family. Brora claims that every customer is a friend & thus, should be treated like one, â€Å"The Company is run personally and democratically and this ethos extends to our custo mer, who becomes a good friend with whom Brora has a relationship, built on honesty & trust.† The clothing collection at Brora offers a variety of beautiful and luxurious products for women, men, children and babies, all available in a various materials for everyone in the family. The company is dedicated to producing affordable clothing for every age group, where each collection is dynamic with a wide variety of colors and designs to choose from. No matter what piece of clothing or accessories you choose, it will give you a luxurious and stylish aura. It is vividly evident that each clothing collection is a result of Victoria’s love for the arts and the natural beauty of the Scottish landscape, which offers her a vivid palette to work with; â€Å"When I want a focused day of inspiration, I do love