Institution Free Essays

Institutions are establishments or organizations that contain individuals as a mechanism to maintain control and a secure environment. However, the institution can restrict to an extent of an individual’s experience and liberty of the world, resulting in conflict against the institution. Though many individuals apply themselves towards the institution with the nature of compliance, other individuals may be restricted therefore behaving in a conflicting fashion towards the institution. We will write a custom essay sample on Institution or any similar topic only for you Order Now This is demonstrated through Harper Lee’s â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† by concentrating the audience’s attention to the social inequality in Maycomb representing the communities institution. Similarly within Suzanne Collin’s novel â€Å"The Hunger Games†, the institutional government is illustrated and is explored through the situations face by the individuals contained in it. Furthermore, institutional confinements elaborate the hierarchical structure enhancing or limiting an individual within the system. As represented in Harper Lee’s â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird†, a nature of compliance and defiance is evident within the town of Maycomb. Evaluating on this, the protagonist ‘Atticus’ depicts elements of defiance by resisting to the social means that are accustomed to in the community. Accounting for the institution’s behaviour of containment, people at the top of the institution have the ability of corruption. This is best demonstrated in the court scene where the racist views of the white residents of Maycomb are juxtaposed with Atticus Finch’s desire to represent a black client. The injustice that is present in Maycomb, is best addressed as Atticus challenges the jury to â€Å"do their duty, in the name of God†, as they decide whether Tom Robinson is guilty, despite the fact that there is no â€Å"probable cause† for supposedly raping Mayella Ewell, a white woman. This empathetic challenge by Atticus acts as the voice of reason against the racist, regressive elements of â€Å"southern† culture in the 1930’s. The institution, the town of Maycomb has been operating in a corrupt manner by segregated black and white communities within Maycomb. This segregation is again demonstrated in the court some exchanges, as the black citizen must stand in the stalls, whilst â€Å"white folk† cans sit on the same level as the judge and other court officials. In addition, Suzanne Collin’s â€Å"The Hunger Games† illustrates the nature of a governmental institution and how individuals are able to adapt or resist to the establishment. Within the novel, the protagonist Katniss Everdeen is elected to compete in the annual ‘Hunger Games’ a brutal competition containing individuals to signify the former defiance from the past districts. Through the protagonist’s portrayal of defiance, it is evident that one’s institutional thinking undergoes transformation, furthermore granting ability of opinion and greatly influencing an individual’s extent of restriction within the institution. This is supported through the statement of a participant of the games, â€Å"if I am going to die, I still want to be me†. Suzanne Collin uses this to express the emotions of a character experiencing the effects the institution, depicting the individuals as a tool or equipment used for manipulation and subsequently dehumanizing the individual. Conversely, within â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird† the corrupted institution relies more on the community to progressively change people’s perspective rather than utilising threats. This is shown through the underlying nature of the public on how to behave within the town of Maycomb. Throughout the scene of the confrontation of Atticus Finch outside the town’s jail, the community’s men arise to form a mob creating a single identity. However, when the protagonist Atticus directs him individually towards a man, the man is shown to be contextually righteous and was only conforming to the society’s standards. This proposes the argument whether an institution is built on corruption demonstrated in â€Å"The Hunger Games† or is built on manipulation demonstrated in â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird†. Evaluating on the manner of both characteristics of each institution it is evident that they share common aspects. Throughout both texts it is apparent that institutional thinking and institutional behaviours derive from the different social rankings that individuals subconsciously acquire. How to cite Institution, Essay examples

American Business and Foreign Policy †Free Samples to Students

Question: Discuss about the American Business and Foreign Policy. Answer: Introduction The international business procedure is getting affected due to the geographical location of the country. As stated by Miranda-de la Lama et al., (2018), especially the business rules and regulation in the border area. Due to its location in between the south and North America, the business industry of Mexico gets influenced by both the countries. Here the study has focused on Mexico, which is situated in the southern portion of North America. In this study, the external environment of the country has been discussed by using PESTLE analysis. On the other hand, competitive advantages of the business organizations have been analysed. The existing trade rules and regulation of Mexico have been highlighted in this study. Impact of foreign currency in the business industry has been discussed. Depending on this the rate of foreign investors and their interests towards business development in Mexico, the study has discussed the position of the country in international business industry. At the end of the study, depending on issues in the market required suggestion have been provided. Business industry of Mexico has the higher level of contribution in the economy of the country. As per the GDP, it is in the 15th position in the world. Large portion of the Mexican GDP comes from service and industry sector (Grande, Islas Rios, 2015). Mexico has the significant business market for the food and beverages, aerospace, motor vehicles, clothing, tobacco, mining and petroleum industry. In the year 2017, GDP rate of the country was $1.147 trillion. It has been identified from a recent report that it has second largest economy in Latin America. However, due to various socio-cultural gaps, the Mexican people are facing various challenges regarding its business development. The economic condition of the country is good is few places, but in the case of rural areas, people are facing many challenges due to lack of financial backup (Aguilar et al., 2015). As the country is located in between the North and South America, therefore both the continents have influenced the busines s environment of this country. However, mostly in the case of technological development, the European influences have been shown. PESTLE analysis Situation Positive impact Negative impact Political The Mexican government has taken different initiative for making the stable political situation in Mexico (Walker, 2015). However, the initiative has faced the failure in the rural areas. By taking the advantages of this, few local organizations have increased the price of the products and earning huge from the rural market. As the study has discussed that the political situation of the country is not in the stable condition. This has been identified recently large number of people have died due to gang violence. Therefore, this can be said that the political situation is not in favourable condition for the foreign investors. Economic The GDP rate in the country is $1.147 trillion. Which indicates the stable economic condition (Valds Vzquez Fraire, 2017). Therefore this can be understood from the GDP rate is the business opportunities in the country is very high. Due to this reason, the small business organizations will get the chance to enter the market. At the same time rate of employment will also increase. On the other hand, this has been discussed in this study that although the economic condition of the country is good, however, it is not equal in every portion of the country. In rural areas, the people face different problems due to lack of financial support. They do not get any chance to develop any kind of business in the Mexican market. On the other hand, due to economic development labour wages increases. This creates challenges for the small organizations to appoint employees in low range. Social Due to economic development in Mexico, the standard of living of the people also increases (Valds, Vzquez Fraire, 2017). It impacts on the purchasing power of the people. It helps the business organizations to develop the pricing strategy as per the requirement. On the other hand, the social status is not same in every place of Mexico. This can be said that due to an unstable social situation. This is very difficult for the organizations to develop business in Mexico. Technological From the ancient period, the Mexican civilization is famous for their mathematics, technology and astronomy. In the current scenario, the country has introduced modern technology in the business industry. Due to the introduction of software and hardware in the business industry, the online business trend has been introduced. On the other hand, if the foreign technology will be developed in this country, it will be more beneficial for developing business organizations in Mexico. Due to technological development, the local investors are not able to compete with the foreign competitors due to their technological support. Legal The Mexican government has introduced various policies for foreign investors in order to develop business in the country. In the emerging market, the foreign investors are getting the chance to enter without any complication. Therefore, this can be said that the legal condition of Mexico is in the favourable condition for the foreign investors. On the other hand, due to easier business policies, the foreign investors can easily grab the Mexican business market. This will bring the difficulties for the local organizations, which are trying to develop their business in the Mexican market. Environmental The Mexican government has introduced various environmental laws in order to develop the waste management system in this country. In order to reduce the rate of pollution from the environment, this is considered as the wise step taken by the government On the other hand, due to strict environmental laws, the business organizations, which are trying to enter in the Mexican market need to bring the changes in their packaging materials and waste management (Charter, 2017). Therefore, this can be said that the strict environmental laws can bring difficulties for the foreign organizations. Competitive advantages The term competitive advantage indicates the advantages which are being taken by an organization or country over the competitors for achieving customers attention. Hence, this can be said that competitive advantage is an important part of market analysis. By using Ansoff Matrix, the competitive advantage of Mexican business industry in the international market has been highlighted. Market penetration strategies being adopted in the case of developing existing product in the existing market (Yin, 2016). Through this strategy, the market share of the company is being increased on the market. Depending on the market segment the market share is being increased. This also helps the organization to grab the attention of new customers in the existing market. In order to implement the strategy, the organizations bring changes with its pricing strategy. By decreasing the prices of the existing products it tries to grab the attention of the customers. On the other hand, the promotional strategy of an organization gets changed for introducing existing product in the existing market in the better way. However, in this study, the market penetration strategy cannot be adopted because in this case, the study has discussed that due to rapid economic growth in Mexican market, the business organizations have decided to enter in the New Mexican business market. The strategy of market development is being adopted in the case of expanding business in a new market (Filippov, 2017). In this case the business organizations select various customer segmentation for entering the new market. These strategies are mostly taken by the organizations, which try to enter the foreign market. Though the market research the rules and regulation in the external market are being analysed by the company. By identifying the competitors in the market, the business strategy is being developed. The business segmentation gets influenced by the economic condition of the country. Here the study has focused on the strategy of market development as the business organizations are trying to enter in the Mexican market. In order to develop the business in the foreign market, the business organizations focus on the needs and demands of the market. As well as it also analyses the position of the competitors for understanding the competitive advantages. The strategy of product development is being adopted in the case of developing the new product in existing market. In this case, the organizations try to introduce new product or service in the market. In this case, the organization needs to focus on research on the market for understanding the needs and demands of the customers. On the other hand, in the case of new product development, different strategies can be adopted such as purchasing a product from the market and branding it, the joint development by connecting with other organizations and manufacturing the old product by adding more features and the new look. In the case of this study, this strategy cannot be adopted, because in this case, the Mexican market is totally unknown for the business developer. As stated by Yin (2016), the strategy of product diversification is being adopted in the case of developing new product in new market. This strategy is being adopted by the organization for increasing market share. It has been identified in this study that, in order to develop the strategy the organizations give strong effort for developing the market fist. Depending on the segmentation and target market, the product and its pricing strategy is being developed. In this situation the organizations adopt vertical and concentric diversification strategy for entering in the market with new products. Influence of foreign currency Foreign currency has the higher level of impact for developing business in any country. In the case of Mexico, in 2017, the Central Bank of Mexico has taken a drastic step towards increasing the interest rate of the country to near about 3.75% (Jensen, Quinn Weymouth, 2015). Here the government of Mexico has decided for selling the American dollar to the buyers directly in the market. Due to this reason, the value of PESO has fallen 17% in last year compared to the dollar. In this year, the PESO has recovered near about 17.81 to the dollar. As stated by Subedi (2016), after this recovery situation the volatility of Mexican PESO in the international market has increased. This has deteriorated the economic condition of Mexico in international trade industry. The chances of inflation can bring higher level of impact in the business market. The government is trying to bring the possible changes in order to stop this. The exchange rate will bring strong impact on the customer prices. Fro m a recent report, it has been identified that in the year 2014, the PESO was about 12.5 to 13.3 US dollar (Wilson, 2015). This was a significant movement taken by Mexican government. In 2015, PESO was 14.7 against 1 dollar. As opined by Cavusgil et al., (2014), due to the movement in currency exchange market, the business of the country gets affected. The payment of supplier gets affected due to this reason. On the other hand, employee wages also gets affected. As opined by Cavusgil et al., (2014), the sale forecasting report also gets influenced due to the influence of foreign currency. It becomes unpredictable for the financial experts. On the other hand, the study has highlighted the broader economy of the country, which is considered as the sensitive area and which mostly controls the export and important business, will get affected. Existing trade policies, system, barriers and incentives of the country According to Kollmann (2016), the Mexican government has introduced liberal trade policies for the business organizations, which are trying to enter in the business market of Mexico. As stated by Martn Meza (2015), wide range of trade agreements has been done by the government in order to reduce the tariff of goods. The country has taken membership in WTO in order to deal with the global rule and trade in the international market. The trade policies have been developed by the government in order to manage the export and import in Mexico. As stated by Subedi (2016), the government has also reduced the price for attracting a large number of investors. The trade system which is being followed by the business market is outward-oriented development business strategy. As the export and important business has highly contributed the GDP rate. Therefore, by following the macroeconomic policy, the trade movements are being analysed by the government. Although the government has taken various initiatives in order to bring the changes in the business industry, but due to the improper distribution in both the political and economic facilities in all over the country has created barriers for adopting the business policies (Walker, 2015). In order to motivate the foreign companies towards investing, the government has also introduced exciting incentive policies. Mexico follows the Maquiladora investment incentive policy, in which attractive incentives are being provided to the organizations which enter the Mexican market (Petras Veltmeyer, 2016). The existing level of foreign direct investment Mexico is considered as one of the popular country where the scope of foreign direct investment is very high. On the other hand, Mexico is being considered as the 15th largest FDI recipient. From the report of 2018, it has been identified that USD 93 billion has been invested in the Mexican trade industry. The investment has done directly in the Mexican industry through different foreign companies. If the foreign direct investment in Mexican industry will be analysed, it will be identified that in the year 2014, the FDI inward flow was 27508 and FDI stock was 37.5% (Petras Veltmeyer, 2016). On the other hand, in 2016, FDI inward flow was 26,739 and FDI stock was 45.3% (Salacuse, 2017). Recommendation From the above study, it has been identified country is facing the challenges due to lack of proper control on political situation. Therefore, this can be said that if the government takes strong step towards handling the political violence in the country, it will attract the foreign investors towards investing in the Mexican market. On the other hand, it has been identified in this study that due to improper economical distribution in the country, people from rural areas are facing different challenges. Therefore, this can be said that if the government notices the situation by providing financial support or providing job opportunity, the condition of the people in those areas can be improved. Conclusion In the above study, it has been identified that the government of Mexico has introduced various strategies in order to bring the development in the Mexican business industry. However, due to lack of political and Economic support in every places the business organizations may face various challenges. On the other hand, the liberal trade policies are also very influencing in the case of influencing the foreign investors towards the business market. It has been suggested in this study that if the government notices to solve the internal situation of the country, this will be helping the government in order to attract the foreign investors towards contributing in the Mexican economy. Reference list Aguilar, J. O., Xaman, J., Alvarez, G., Hernndez-Prez, I., Lpez-Mata, C. (2015). Thermal performance of a double pane window using glazing available on the Mexican market.Renewable Energy,81, 785-794. Cavusgil, S. T., Knight, G., Riesenberger, J. R., Rammal, H. G., Rose, E. L. (2014).International business. Pearson Australia. Charter, M. (Ed.). (2017).Greener marketing: A responsible approach to business. Routledge. DesJardins, J. R., McCall, J. J. (2014).Contemporary issues in business ethics. Cengage Learning. Filippov, D. V. (2017). Positioning of the Organization in the Target Markets Using the Modified Three Dimensional Matrix Model on the Example of Transport Education Market of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) of the Russian Federation.Advanced Science Letters,23(10), 9861-9865. Grande, G., Islas, J., Rios, M. (2015). Technical and economic analysis of Domestic High Consumption Tariff niche market for photovoltaic systems in the Mexican household sector.Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews,48, 738-748. Jensen, J. B., Quinn, D. P., Weymouth, S. (2015). The influence of firm global supply chains and foreign currency undervaluations on US trade disputes.International Organization,69(4), 913-947. Kollmann, R. (2016). Forthcoming in: International Journal of Central Banking (special issue on 2015 Annual Research Conference of the IJCB held in Mexico City, November 23-24, 2015) Discussion of" Financial Intermediation in a Global Environment"(Victoria Nuguer, Bank of Mexico). Martn, A. F., Meza, F. (2015).Informal Employment and Business Cycles in Emerging Economies: The Case of Mexico(No. 6780). Inter-American Development Bank. Miranda-de la Lama, G. C., Estvez-Moreno, L. X., Villarroel, M., Rayas-Amor, A. A., Mara, G. A., Seplveda, W. S. (2018). Consumer Attitudes Toward Animal Welfare-Friendly Products and Willingness to Pay: Exploration of Mexican Market Segments.Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 1-13. Petras, J., Veltmeyer, H. (2016).Multinationals on Trial: Foreign Investment Matters. Routledge. Salacuse, J. W. (2017). BIT by BIT: The growth of bilateral investment treaties and their impact on foreign investment in developing countries. InGlobalization and International Investment(pp. 25-45). Routledge. Subedi, S. P. (2016).International investment law: reconciling policy and principle. Bloomsbury Publishing. Vagts, D. F., Koh, H., Dodge, W. S., Buxbaum, H. L. (2015).Transnational business problems. West Academic. Valds, A. L., Vzquez, R. D., Fraire, L. A. (2017). Conditional correlation between oil and stock market returns: The case of Mexico.Revista Mexicana de Economa y Finanzas Nueva poca REMEF (The Mexican Journal of Economics and Finance),7(1). Walker, D. W. (2015).Kinship, Business, and Politics: The Martinez del Rio Family in Mexico, 1823-1867(Vol. 70). University of Texas Press. Wilson, J. H. (2015).American Business and Foreign Policy: 1920--1933. University Press of Kentucky. Yin, N. (2016). Application of AHP-Ansoff Matrix Analysis in Business Diversification: The case of Evergrande Group. InMATEC Web of Conferences(Vol. 44). EDP Sciences.

literature Review on Project Economical Analysis Free Sample

Question: Write a Literature Review on Project Economical Analysis. Answer: Literature Review on Project Economical Analysis This section of the paper analyzes the current literature in few areas of a business that have an effect on the appraisal decisions on investment. The project economic analysis is based on the various aspects case projects that can be influential in the preparation of a financial report. The literature review is established on the basis of one specific topic that has an influence on the appraisal decisions regarding investment (Kashyap 2014). One of the most significant factors that has an impression on the decisions regarding investment and on the preparation of the financial report is the process of capital and its budgeting process. Therefore, the review of the economic analysis will be constructed on this topic as this topic is the best practiced technique that could be discovered from the analysis of the project. Capital and Budgeting Process The construction of a Capital Budgeting process is the one of the utmost significant decisions regarding policy that an organization undertakes. It is seen that an organization does not wish to finance in any long-term schemes related to investment and does not wish to maximize the interests of the stakeholders especially with the wealth of the shareholders. The most favorable decisions in the process of capital budgeting is to maximize the major objectives of the organization. These include optimizing the wealth of the shareholders and aid the companies to stay viable as the company expands and grows (Burns Walker 2015). These decisions are few integral sections of the whole corporate governance and corporate financial management. A firm expands when they invest in capital assets like in machinery and plants to create future profits that are more than the initial costs. Mukherjee et al.,(2013) reveals that decisions with respect to capital budgeting are significant owing to their long-term monetary impact to the firm, and therefore they are key. The effect of capital budgeting is applicable even in the future and the company carries on for a lengthier time period than the effects on the operational expenses. Mbabazize, Daniel (2014) explains capital budgeting as the method of choosing the capital investments. Roy et al.,(2017) on the other hand explains capital budgeting has the differential features of conversation of funds for the assistance for the future, venture in long-run operations and the effect of future opportunities over a number of years. This paper makes use of the process of capital budgeting together with appraisal regarding investment and process of decision making regarding investment. Therefore, capital budgeting in a shorter form can be defined as the decisions undertaken by a firm to assign the capital resources in the most effective manner in the long-term operations with an expectation that the average benefits of the future increases from the primary investment so as to increase the interest and the wealth of the shareholders (Rossi 2014). The decision of the firm to invest in assets that are long-term has an effect on the direction and the degree of development. An inappropriate decision can be catastrophic for the existence of the industry in the long-run. Andor et al.,(2015) explains that purchase of unimportant capital assets lead to unnecessary allocation of capital and increase in the operating costs of the firm. The capital investment returns can be computed with respect to the surplus inflow of net cash and the maximization of the price of share. The cash flows are significant liquefied resources for any organization as the additional resources can be purchased and if the inflow of cash increases from the outflow of cash. The share prices that are given on the stock exchanges are near to cash with respect to its liquidity because they can be switched to cash with ease of the firm is registered in the stock exchange. Feasible level of capital reserves provide an income more than its budget to raise the total worth of the organization that means that the investment should generate a positive Net Present Value or the Net Present Value needs to be over zero to enhance to the value of the company (Chittenden Derregia 2015). Significance of Capital Budgeting in Corporate Financial Management The process of Corporate Financial Management involves the process of financing, investing, decisions regarding dividend and working capital. It is seen that capital budgeting is a vital part of the Corporate Financial Management. The process needs concurrent considerations with respect to the decisions discussed above. It involves planning for the organization to accomplish their objectives. It is seen that decisions varies in various departments as they are decentralized and they should be well constructed to accomplish the objectives of the company (Bierman Jr Smidt 2014). An effective financial management is inclusive of the following factors: Investment Decisions: It involves assigning the capital reserve to different schemes having the utmost Net Present Value. Financing Decisions: The capital sourcing involves choosing from the most reasonable source first and then to the last Working Capital: The management of working capital is essential for undertaking the operations of the business to meet the obligations of the firm. Working capital is computed deducting the current assets from the current liabilities thereby revealing the organizations capability to met their short term liabilities when they are due. Dividend Decisions: Malenko (2016) suggests that dividend requires to be paid to the shareholders only when the obtainable investments having a positive Net Present Value are financed fully as it is known that the cheapest capital source is the internal source that is followed by debt and equity. In practice, Mendes-Da-Silva Saito (2014) reveals that the decisions to pay out dividends are established with the help of the dividend policy of the concerned firm to maintain their current shareholders and motivate new shareholders in the business. Capital Budgeting Methods It is known that there are various techniques that are used for capital budgeting by the financial managers. The methods of capital budgeting are categorized in two sections namely the Discounted Cash Flow Model (DCF) and the Non-Discounted Cash Flow Model (NDCF). DCF discounts the estimated Net Future Cash Flows by making use of the discount rate that are risk-adjusted to discover the present value by considering the Time Value of money. This process involves Net Present Value, Internal Rate of return and the Index of Profitability. The NDCF method does not price cut the net future cash flow and therefore, does not make use of the Time Value of Money and rejects the project, business risks and the financial factors (Goel 2015). This process makes use of Payback Period and the Accounting Rate of Return. The Discounted Cash Flow method and the Non-Discounted Cash Flow method are both important for a firm as they forecast the future trend of the business activities and even advise the firms about the effective budgeting of the capital that will enhance the business activities of the company. Therefore, it can be said that capital budgeting is a significant part for constructing a financial report that will develop will help an organization to expand their business. Developed Methodology for the case project The construction of the literature review is influential for the preparation of a research methodology that will aid in the development of an effective financial report. The methodology is prepared by primarily writing an introduction of the research topic that will generate the reason for the preparation of the methodology. After the introduction, an outline of the method is prepared where the process that will be undertaken to complete the methodology is explained in a summary. The research onion is prepared that consists of three layers that will be undertaken in the method and covers the various methods. The research philosophy underlines the style the research will undertake in order to obtain the final result. The style will determine the path and the genre the research will follow. The research approach is the next step that is useful in recognizing the actions that are necessary for completing the research. The research design is constructed with the prospect of directing the analysis towards obtaining an ideal goal by focusing on the goals for undertaking the research. The main aim of constructing the research methodology is to discover the process of data collection so that accurate data can be gathered in order to find out the most effective results that will enhance the operations of the business. It is essential that the methodology is prepared by maintaining the ethics so that sentiments of the firm and the stakeholders involved remain uplifted. The timeline for the preparation of the methodology is even prepared so that all the time taken for undertaking various activities can be understood. Therefore, it can be said that the preparation of an effective research methodology is fundamental so that the financial report can be prepared accurately. References Andor, G., Mohanty, S. K., Toth, T. (2015). Capital budgeting practices: a survey of Central and Eastern European firms.Emerging Markets Review,23, 148-172. Bierman Jr, H., Smidt, S. (2014).Advanced capital budgeting: Refinements in the economic analysis of investment projects. Routledge. Burns, R., Walker, J. (2015). Capital budgeting surveys: the future is now. Chittenden, F., Derregia, M. (2015). Uncertainty, irreversibility and the use of rules of thumbin capital budgeting.The British Accounting Review,47(3), 225-236. Goel, S. (2015).Capital Budgeting. Business Expert Press. Kashyap, A. (2014). Capital Allocating Decisions: Time Value of Money.Asian Journal of Management,5(1), 106-110. Malenko, A. (2016). Optimal dynamic capital budgeting. Mbabazize, P. M., Daniel, T. (2014). Capital Budgeting Practices In Developing Countries: A Case Of Rwanda.Research journalis journal of Finance,2(3). Mendes-Da-Silva, W., Saito, R. (2014). Stock exchange listing induces sophistication of capital budgeting.Revista de Administrao de Empresas,54(5), 560-574. Mukherjee, T. K., Rahahleh, N. M. A., Baker, H. K., English, P. (2013). Capital budgeting techniques in practice: US survey evidence.Capital Budgeting Valuation: Financial Analysis for Today's Investment Projects, 151-171. Rossi, M. (2014). Capital budgeting in Europe: confronting theory with practice.International Journal of Managerial and Financial Accounting,6(4), 341-356. Roy, D., Rudra, D., Prasad, P. (2017). Capital Structure and Capital Budgeting: An Empirical and Analytical Study of the Relationship.Research Bulletin,42(4), 50-60.

Hafford furniture free essay sample

A Crisis at Hafford Furniture: Cloud Computing Case study MMBA 507 Student ID: 300333323 PROBLEM DESCRIPTION Hafford Furniture was a furniture manufacturer since 1970, supplying to furniture retailers, wholesalers and occasionally one-time bulk purchasers across the United States. Hafford relied on a Business Information System (BIS) to handle all the internal business processes. The BIS was seamlessly connected to a VAN-based EDI system, which served as the customer’s interface for making orders. In 2008, Hafford’s entire IT infrastructure and data storage were destroyed by a massive hurricane. Hafford was able to restore the company data with its disaster recovery plan, but not all its IT function. In March 2009, VP of IT proposed in a management meeting to adopt SaaS cloud solution to restore the IT function. Hafford could access to the same BIS without having to worry about the cost to rebuild another IT data centre. He projected that the IT staff strength could be halved, as the cloud vendor would take care of the management of the software’s platform and its infrastructure. We will write a custom essay sample on Hafford furniture or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The next day, the president of Hafford ignored the internal decision-making protocol and contracted their disaster recovery vendor, PFI Services for that same cloud service. In January 2010, Hafford was faced with appalling sales report for the year before, mostly caused by bottlenecks in the ordering system supported by PFI. Not only was the cloud capability insufficient, PFI was also filing for bankruptcy and undergoing liquidation. Hafford once again fell into a desperate situation. REVIEW OF KEY ISSUES Management issues Lack of Corporate governance The weak corporate governance in Hafford is especially notable in the fundamental change process. While there was an internal policy for creating a fundamental change in Hafford (Fig 1), Feckle, the President, had ignored it by entering into a cloud contract without consulting any of his top management, just one day after the premature proposal was shared with him. It was extremely risky to make such a significant business decision without sufficient knowledge in the service that he engaged. To make a well-informed decision, Feckle should have adhered to the corporate policy and trusted the IT professionals to evaluate and recommend a suitable vendor. Figure 1 Fundamental change policy 2. Failure to think critically during decision-making It is understood that Hafford used to adopt a VAN-based EDI-system specifically due to its security, despite it being slower and more costly. In Norris’ proposal for using cloud, he altered the company’s priority by pushing for an internet-based EDI-system, without providing solid justification. Questions like â€Å"will the internet-based EDI change the business in any way?† or â€Å"will it compromise customers’ security? † were not asked. The management seemed to have accepted this change too easily, without understanding its impacts. This concern should have been analysed more thoroughly before concluding to transit to an internet-based EDI-system. 3. Poor understanding of business needs The IT obj ective was not fully aligned with the business objectives. For example, in 2009, while the company was expecting a 30-35% increase in sales due to the efforts in a series of product improvements, the IT team was preparing a cloud proposal to the company basing only on the old IT functions. It had missed out on considering how it could support an explosive sales surge. Furthermore, Hafford was switching its VAN-based EDI to an internet-based EDI, which could potentially allow Hafford to widen its reach to attract a new group of SME customers. This could play a part in increasing their sales. However, Hafford did not foresee these changes, likely due to lack of communication between departments within Hafford. IT issues 1. Lack of thorough analysis in cloud computing The IT team failed to conduct due diligence in exploring all possible solutions that could meet its needs. While cloud offered great advantages for the company, it might have been too hasty to consider only private cloud as the final solution. In fact, public, private or hybrid cloud offered different potentials and could achieve the goal within competitive cost as well. The IT team should also have analysed each cloud model against its business needs before determining if software as a service (SaaS), platform as a service (PaaS), infrastructure as a service (IaaS) or a combination of services would work best. 2. Lack of on-going management While cloud is said to be flexible, it demands some level of active management to harness the most of it after implementation. The IT team should be able to react quickly to resolve problems like the order bottleneck or a data lock-in. Besides, the IT team should have been more vigilant in ensuring business continuity for the company. RECOMMENDATION The key failure observed in the case was the lack of understanding in cloud computing and the lack of communication in the company. Like any other business decisions, the management should have exercised prudence by developing clear objectives and analysing the opportunities and threats before arriving at its conclusion. In this section, a recommended methodology to approach Hafford’s IT restoral problem is presented. Step 1. To develop business objectives The most important step is to approach a business problem with a clear business objective. It will be necessary for the management to look at the restoral of the IT centre as a collaborative business problem. Communication within the organisation is crucial in aligning all the stakeholders’ goals. With effective teamwork, the IT will appreciate the business values better and be able to analyse the suitability of various options. Step 2. To compare various viable options The IT team should research on what the available solutions are, before zeroing into a particular infrastructure option. While the restoral of a physical data centre may be expensive, there may be payment structures that could help reduce the impact. On the other hand, cloud computing may appear cheaper but it inextricably exposes users to a range of risks, especially in the aspect of security. Also, there are hybrid options that can minimise risk while offering cost benefit. In short, the IT team should fully understand the merits and shortcomings of the following options before selecting the IT infrastructure. 1. Public cloud 2. Hybrid cloud 3. Private cloud 4. Public cloud – Physical data centre 5. Physical data centre Step 3. To choose the suitable cloud service model There are three common service models in cloud computing. It is important to evaluate each model’s attributes and determine which cloud model would be more suitable for the business needs. 1. Software as a service (SaaS) To understand threats and opportunities of cloud computing Cloud computing offers the following powerful advantages but also opens a gateway to a wide range of threats. 1. Elasticity Usage-based pricing model, charging users only for the capacity used Scalability in terms of network and speed depending on demand 2. Simplicity Setting up and maintaining a data centre can take significant manpower. Cloud computing offers convenient and economical business solutions to clients, while taking advantage of the economy of scale by taking care of one specialised area in bulk. 3. Cost-efficiency No capital cost required. Companies benefit from the transference of risk (of over-provisioning and under-provisioning) of investing in a private data centre. While accepting these benefits from cloud, users should also exercise due diligence by being aware of all the possible problems cloud computing brings. Some of the crucial problems are outlined as follows. 1. Business continuity There is always a risk with placing valuable business information with a single third party. As such, the best way to go about is to even out the risk by employing multiple cloud providers and devising a business continuity strategy should any of them fail. Data lock-in It would be risky for a company to be unable to easily extract their data and programmes from one cloud provider to another due to compatibility issues of the programme and data from one cloud provider. In order to mitigate this risk, SaaS developer could use standardised API so that the business can remain flexible and mobile. 3. Data security While most cloud providers invest a considerable amount of attention on managing security, users should assess the security standards adopted by the cloud provider against their requirements before engaging it. 4. Insufficient capacity Although it is said that cloud is scalable, in rare occasions, businesses may experience traffic surges beyond what their contracted cloud can offer. Hence, it is important to strategize carefully before deciding on the cloud service. Step 5. Choosing the cloud vendor After thorough analysis and establishing a clear description for the cloud service needed, the user will have to evaluate the following factors to arrive at the most suitable vendor. 1. Pricing structure While cloud vendors typically follow a pay-as-you-use pricing model, pricing structure varies. For example, Google AppEngine charges users by the cycles used while AWS charges by the hour for the number of instances the user occupied. 2. Security Users need to look at a cloud service’s physical as well as network security. This refers to the physical location the cloud provider houses its equipment and network security measures like firewall and data encryption. Also, a cloud provider should be compliant to government standards specific to your business. In the case of Hafford Furniture, it was an auditing requirement for Hafford to ensure the cloud vendor is compliant with Statement on Auditing Standard No.70. 3. Other factors A clean record does not promise anything, it would be beneficial to also look at the vendor’s track record against available benchmark systems. Also, it would be helpful to have a vendor that can provide reasonably good service. Hence, it is important to know about the extent of customer support services, the setting up process and the ser vicing response and resolution time. Step 6. Engagement of cloud vendor and getting started During cloud rollout, especially from a different sort of data management, it would be common to face various teething problems. Cloud vendor should try to achieve seamless implementation, and companies might need to prepare their staff and/or customers should it affect their routine jobs significantly. Step 7. On-going active management of the cloud service Internal IT team should be continuously vigilant towards possible threats to ensure that the cloud service adopted by the company is safe and secure. Active backups of data must not be neglected. Also, internal feedback reviews could help the IT team understand the possible difficulties faced by the users, and also stay up to date with the company’s business initiatives.

Kmart Workbench essays

Kmart Workbench essays Based on the findings of our research, the feasibility analysis of upgrading the internal inventory system "Workbench" proved to be of benefit to the Kmart Corporation. Our cost benefit analysis, which spanned over a 5-year period, reports total benefits at $2,126,000 and total cost at $1,652,000, providing a return on investment of 28.65%. Further analysis concludes that the breakeven point of this project is at 3.15 years. The development company that initially created the Workbench system will be solely responsible for design and implementation of the upgrade, and, because of this, our costs will be significantly lower than if a random developer was appointed. In addition, end-users of the system feel that training will be relatively straightforward because they will only have to learn the new improvements, keeping project costs even lower. Because the system upgrade will save employees time, make the system more user-friendly, and improve overall efficiency of the inventory system, the willingness of users to participate is high. Further, support from stakeholders will be positive because the system upgrade will increase customer satisfaction, thereby increasing overall sales and profits. The current business condition of the Kmart Corporation has made economic feasibility a top priority of the company in recent months. Because economic conditions are continuing to deteriorate and employee and customer morale has continued to decline, Kmart management is highly committed to the enhancements of the system. Overall, it can be concluded from our analysis that the end result of the upgrade will be an increase in profits for Kmart Corporation, which is becoming increasingly important as Kmart prepares for a road to economic recovery. Project Name: Inventory Tracking System Scope: Improve overall quality tracking of inventory thru the Workbench system. Responsible User, Responsible Ana...

Disability Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

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Contemporary Separatist Conflict Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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