Tuesday, January 28, 2020
Looking for Alabrandi and the Simple Gift Essay Example for Free
Looking for Alabrandi and the Simple Gift Essay Good morning teachers and fellow students. The idea that we continue on as we are: unchanged, unchanging is unbelievably illogical. In a time and world where things are constantly changing, it is impossible to be in existence without being affected by the process of change. Changes are inevitable, and they are happening everywhere around us. This idea is portrayed in the Prescribed film ââ¬Å"Looking for Alibrandiâ⬠and my ORT The Simple Gift by Steven Herrick. The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances if there is a reaction, both are transformed. This quote by Psychologist Carl Jung is clearly evident in both texts looking for Alibrandi and The Simple Gift. During the opening scene of the film looking for Alibrandi there is a Qantas plane taking off or departing likewise in the Simple Gift the symbol of Change is more dramatic with Billy illegally riding the freight train out of town; he is unsure where he will end up. This is very contrasting to the symbolism of leaving in looking for Alibrandi where Josie believes she knows exactly what she wants to do, where she wants to go and who she wants to marry. Josie Meets Jacob Coote from cook high at a public speaking event, the two have an instant reaction it could even be described by chemical. Josie and Jacob are portrayed as opposites Josieââ¬â¢s believes that she is better than Jacob. When the Sydney schools have the first social event of the year Josie looks to John Barton (the son of the national liberal party leader) But john never asks her it is Jacob that asks her to dance, Jacob Says ââ¬Å"Itââ¬â¢s a pity youââ¬â¢re not school captain we could have been perfectâ⬠this highlights that Jacob is aware of Josieââ¬â¢s views towards him. In The Simple Gift Billyââ¬â¢s life changes significantly, as does Old Billââ¬â¢s. When readers first get to know Old Bill, the technique of recounting is used as we learn why he is a homeless man. When Billy enters Old Billââ¬â¢s life, he is prompted to change the way he lives. At first, Old Bill opposes these changes, as he swears ââ¬Å"piss off kidâ⬠. He then begins to accept the changes as we observe him getting up early, having showers and quitting drinking. Old Billââ¬â¢s attitudes towards change develop through the novel and by the end, he looks forward to change as he deals with his past When Billy first becomes homeless I believe that this moment is the catalyst for change in Billyââ¬â¢s life. Billy meets many challenges in this new place, such as where to sleep and where to find food. He meets these challenges head up, as he is determined to enter this new world and make a new life for himself. He sleeps in an old train carriage, and most of his meals are scraps from McDonalds. His attitude towards this change is enthusiastic and he feels that this change is beneficial for him. Josie meets thernominal challenges also with the death of John Barton, Josieââ¬â¢s world is thrown into turmoil and Josie seeks answers as to why someone like John Barton with all the things he had going for him would commit suicide. And asks the rhetorical question ââ¬Å"I wonder what his parents will do with the sheets, will they throw them away or will they scrub and scrub so that they can always sleep on them.â⬠Josie is in an emotional state for quite a while. One day on the train Josie and Jacob cross paths and Josie has a break down, Jacob comforts her. I believe that this is the catalyst of change for Josie between her and Jacob. Josieââ¬â¢s Initial reaction to her father Michael Andretti coming back into her life was nothing short of her dismissing him as a useless selfish object. This is parallel with the reaction of Billy towards his father. This is supported by the extracts ââ¬Ësoulless tyrannyââ¬â¢ of ââ¬Å"the old bastardââ¬â¢ his father. This technique of expletive language is used to depict the poor relationship he shared with his father. I believe that Josie chooses to have a positive relationship with her father when she calls him after Josie hits Carly with one of her ancient history textbook. Michael gets Josie out of trouble at school and also changes Josieââ¬â¢s perception about fathers Josie now believes that fathers have a use, she is also growing quite fond of her father. Josie now stays at her father apartment on Sydney harbor on most weekends and enjoys spending time with her father. In the closing scene of the film it is exactly one year later on tomato day again and the picture quality is a lot sharper this conveys that Josie is clear about her decision to be there and even invites her friends over this time. The key idea conveyed in both ââ¬Å"Looking for Alibrandiâ⬠and ââ¬Å"The simple Giftâ⬠is quite nicely summed up by ââ¬Å"The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances if there is a reaction, both are transformedâ⬠this is clearly evident in both with Josieââ¬â¢s relationships with Jacob Coote and her father Michael Andretti and Also for Billy with his relationships with Old Bill and Caitlin.
Monday, January 20, 2020
Conservative Judaism: Inception, History and Way Of Life :: United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
à à à à à ââ¬Å"The term ââ¬Å"Conservativeâ⬠had been attached to the moderates by the Reformers because the moderates had branded them as radicals. This name hardly describes the movement aptly. Conservative Judaism, is the American version of the principles of positive historical Judaism. The conservatives accept the findings of modern scholarship that Judaism is the product of a long period of growth and evolution. However, this process did not result in broken or inconsistent lines of development; quite the contrary, the major currents of Judaism run consistently through the extensive literature of the Jewish people, created in successive ages.â⬠(Rudavsky 338) Conservative Judaism is one of the largest of the various sects of Judaism. Conservative Jews make up about 40-45% of those Jews who affiliate. Conservative Judaism accepts the idea that Jewish law is binding upon Jews. Conservative Jews have an obligation to obey all the teachings and commandments of Judaism., For example, Conservative Jews emphasize the laws of keeping the Sabbath and keeping kosher. Conservative Jews believe that Jewish law is capable of evolution as humans learn more about interpreting the Torah. Therefore, Conservative Jews have changed some of the earlier interpretations. Men and women worship together in Conservative synagogues, people may ride in a car on the Sabbath to attend services, and women can be ordained as rabbis. ââ¬Å"Issac Leeser is generally regarded as the principal forerunner of Conservative Judaism in the United States. A native of Westphalia, Lesser acquired his religious and secular education before coming to American in 1824. He settled in Richmond, Virginia, where he was employed for several years in his uncleââ¬â¢s business. At the same time, he assisted the hazzan in the religious school of the local Sephardic congregation. During this period, he gained prominence by publishing numerous articles in defense of Jews and Judaism in American and foreign journals.â⬠(Dimont 231) Some Jews who affiliate with the Conservative sect claim that their main reason for belonging is the fact that they donââ¬â¢t want to be Orthodox nor Reformed. ââ¬Å"While some individuals describe themselves as Conservative because of their alienation from Orthodox practices, others define themselves from the opposite direction ââ¬â they point out that they are not reform.â⬠(Sklare 206) For the most part, Conservative Jews feel that if one were to be reformed they would not really be Jewish. The Reformed sect, unlike the conservative do not obey most of the Jewish laws and traditions.
Sunday, January 12, 2020
Policing Practices and Operations Essay
Policing agencies are incredibly responsible to the communities, counties, states, and nation to protect against crime and provide service to citizens. With this tremendous responsibility comes inherent scrutiny. The practices and operations of police agencies are under constant surveillance by the public as well as other policing agencies. To promote functionality police organizations are departmentalized to enhance efficiency and improve communication. Relationships within these organizational structures exist. Partnerships are developed between the community and policing agencies to increase crime reduction and improve order maintenance. The organizational structure of policing agencies will be reviewed along with communication patterns both within and outside of the agency. Current trends and issues facing policing agencies and communities will be examined and an analysis of changed that could be implemented to improve the partnerships between policing agencies and communities wi ll be determined. Relationships Between Traditional Organizational Structures of Policing Agencies Municipal Law Enforcement Municipal law enforcement is most commonly represented as the local police. These police departments provide local protection to cities and towns; departments vary in size in accordance to population. The structure of municipal law enforcement is generally broken into two divisions: investigation and patrol. Under these departments is an umbrella of subdivisions. Investigations houses units specific to vice, homicide, and juvenile relations. Additional departments exist such as ââ¬Å"community relations, internal affairs, training, and research and planningâ⬠(Pollock, 2012, p.93). Specialized teams have also been created in some departments servicing cases such as domestic violence, responding to the mentally ill, and various other issues. Departments of a smaller capacity carry more responsibility in handling multitudes of cases due to the lack of additional resources. Municipal agencies coordinate with state and federal agencies when crimes are not within their jurisdiction (Pollock, 2012). County law enforcement County law enforcement is publicly known as the sheriff department. The structure supports the county sheriff and the sheriff deputies. Sheriffs serve protection to the local police and assist in crime investigations in counties that do not have local law enforcement. Management of the county jail is generally the county sheriffs responsibility. Some jurisdictions assign jail responsibilities to deputies, but they generally do service patrol. Civil documents, warrants, and eviction notices are also served from the sheriffââ¬â¢s office. The position is attained by election but deputies are employed through procedures similar to the selection process of the municipal law enforcement agencies (Pollock, 2012). State Police Highway Patrol, State Patrol, and the Department of Public Safety are State law enforcement agencies. Hawaii is the only state without a state police force. The demand for law enforcement on roads passing through townships created these agencies. State law enforcement agencies are publicly known for enforcing traffic law violations and deal exclusively with state laws. This limited jurisdiction separates them from municipal and federal agencies. Statewide criminal investigations involving auto theft or drugs are within the state polices jurisdictions. Assistance to local detection and investigations are also services provided by the state police. This limited jurisdiction separates them from municipal and federal agencies (Pollock, 2012). Federal Agencies The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Secret Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are federal agencies. These agencies deal with the enforcement of federal laws implemented by Congress. Functions are primarily investigations, and a very limited amount of patrol work is implemented. The largest federal law enforcement agency is the Department of Homeland Security. The agency with the broadest jurisdiction is the FBI. An investigation of a violation of both federal and state laws is permissible by federal law enforcement agencies. The sale of controlled substances is the most common example of this (Pollock, 2012). Communication Patterns Within and Outside the Policing Agency Technology has greatly improved the efficiency of policecommunications within the agency. In-car computers and laptops allow officers to have quick access to vital information. Loc al and federal information on a suspect from data files nationwide can be retrieved within moments. Dispatch and assignments are available to officers through the in-car computer system eliminating the reliance upon two-way radios. Officers and vehicles are monitored through Global Positioning Devices (GPS) (Maguire, 2011). Police officer responsibilities also include communicating with the public. Officers are expected to be competent with problem-solving skills, mediation, and social interactions. Training and education in these areas is vital in earning the trust and confidence of the community. Functions such as community policing, which will be discussed later, rely heavily on the public as a resource for crime fighting. Positive interaction with the public is achieved by exhibiting solid problem solving skills, social adaptability, and admirable temperaments (Maguire, 2011). Current trends in the approach to the policing function Problem-Oriented Policing (POP) SARA is a problem-solving model associated with problem-oriented policing. ââ¬Å"SARA stands for scanning, analysis, response, and assessmentâ⬠(Pollock, 2012, p.102). This approach to fighting crime applies available resources such as crime reports to target crimes centralizing in specific areas. The information is analyzed in an attempt to explain the origin of the crime. Officers then respond with the proposed solution, which could mean increased patrol in specific areas, or direct enforcement. Measures are then assessed to determine success rates (Pollock, 2012). Community Policing Community policing is trending in the recent years. The idea is that the police would create a partnership with the community to aid in the reduction and prevention of crime. Community support can greatly benefit in the resolution of neighborhood problems. This style of policing is service-oriented encompassing ââ¬Å"many different types of tactics and programs, all with the goal of officers and community members developing partnerships to solve some of the neighborhoodââ¬â¢s problemsâ⬠(Pollock, 2012, p.99). Additionally, community policing places an emphasis on the decentralizing of policing (Pollock, 2012). Order Maintenance and Zero Tolerance policing Order maintenance and zero tolerance-policing places focuses on eliminating public order crimes such as public drinking, noise violations, graffiti, public urination, and intrusive panhandling, in full force. The ideology is that the elimination of the smaller crimes will ultimately reduce the larger crimes. The targeting of minor offenses affects a broad spectrum of the community including the general law abiding citizens. The strict implementation of city ordinances violations such as property maintenance and parking violations can greatly improve the probability of accusations of biased enforcement directly affecting various cultural groups (Pollock, 2012). Existing Issues with the Partnership Between Law Enforcement and Community Law enforcement fights a constant uphill battle to achieve harmony between maintaining order in society and protecting the rights of individuals. Police must encompass the element of authority while remaining approachable and socially accessible. The mil itary structure that has developed within the police organization poses a threat to community relations and hampers efforts of community policing. Officers are trained to protect due-process constitutional rights. Aggressive officer behavior, and in some cases bearing inappropriate weaponry, creates the components of militarization. This contentious behavior fosters fear in society and serves as a daily reminder of government intervention (Maguire, 2011). Changes to Improve Partnerships Between Law Enforcement and Community Partnership between law enforcement and the community can be improved by consistently following protocol and procedures. Any time an officer fails or violates standard procedures or protocols trust within the community weakens. The machismo attitudes that can be fostered from the military style training and organizational structure can create soldiers instead of law enforcement officials. Agencies need to have harsh consequences for officers who directly violate standard procedures. The machismo attitude can cause an overlap of jurisdictional formalities. Officers cannot assume the role judge, jury, and prosecution. Partnerships are built on common interests and trust. The only practical way to eliminate bias and unnecessary infringement upon citizens from law enforcement is to create a more superior breed of officials. This can be achieved by creating enhanced psychological and practical testing methods. Agencies must strive to uphold theà service-based theme of community oriented policing. Inappropriate behavior and excessive use of force are shortcomings that should be immediately dispensed. Conclusion The organization structure of policing agencies is broad and complex. Levels of hierarchy have been established to implement a chain of command and create jurisdictional boundaries. Communication within agencies, between agencies, and the communities they serve are vital to the promotion of commonality of service and protection. Technology along with skill training aids in achieving this goal. Policing agencies have developed methods such as POP and COP to boost functionality and efficiency in crime reduction. The ever present issue facing policing agencies remains in achieving a balance between authority and service. References Maguire, M. (2011). Critical Issues in Crime and Justice: Thought, Policy, and Practice (1 ed). : Sage. Pollock, J. (2012). Crime and Justice in America An Introduction to Criminal Justice (5th ed.). : Elsevier.
Saturday, January 4, 2020
Definition And Scope Essay Example Pdf - Free Essay Example
Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3111 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Thomas Cook Group plc is one of the leading leisure travel groups in the world which offers wide variety of package to satisfy different needs generate from different market segment. Packages offered ranges from charter packages (two or more components of travel such as flights, hotels, transfers and representative services are bundled together), to independent travel management, and travel-related financial services (pre-paid foreign exchange, travel assurance and travel finances). The group manages its operations in 22 countries through six geographic operating divisions. According to the exhibit A, TCG shows a à £9.8b of revenue in FY11 where à £304m underlying the profit from operations. The main competitor for TCG is TUI Travel, which is another worlds leading leisure travel companies, with over 250 trusted brands. It competes head to head with TCG by providing similar services 2.0 Thomas Cook Financial and Non Financial Analysis 2.1 Financial Analysis 2.1.1 Analysis on Sales and Cost Graph 1 Table 1 above shows that there is a sales growth throughout the year but at the same time cost incurred has been increasing. Value for both cost and revenue from FY 2007 to FY2010 is relatively close (Graph 1). Financial situation was at the worst scenario where the total cost was even higher than the sales revenue generated. No gap between graph line for both sales revenue and cost indicating that TCG has a very minimum net profit margin. TCG failed to manage their cost effectively. Donââ¬â¢t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Definition And Scope Essay Example Pdf" essay for you Create order 2.1.2 Gross Profit Margin Gross Profit Margin (GPM) is a financial metric used to assessÃâà a firms financial health by revealing theÃâà proportion of money left over from revenues after accounting for the cost of goods sold (Steve, 1995). GPM for TCG was averagely at 23% and 24% and eventually fall to 22%. As sales revenue value is increasing and therefore, it could be the increment of cost of goods sold that leads to the downfall of gross profit margin at FY 2011. 2.1.3 Operating Profit Margin Table 5 Operating Profit Margin (OPM) indicates the effectiveness of a company in cost and expenses control associated with their normal business operations (Steve, 1995). In table 4, OPM has been dropping from FY 2007 to 2009 indicating failure for TCG in handling their overhead cost. TCG has made an adjustment on the proportion on overhead cost from 21.7% to 19.2% in FY 2011 which helps the company to slightly pick up in their operating profit margin. 2.1.4 Finance Cost Analysis Table 6 Table 6 shows that the interest cost has been increasing over the year and reaches its peak at 2009 and 2010 whereby the financial cost was à £0.018 every à £1 of sales. Financial cost has then reduced slightly in year 2011. 2.1.5 Tax on Sales Table 7 In table 7, income tax burden for TCG was relatively low from the FY 2007 to FY 2010. However, it has suddenly increased dramatically in year 2011. This could be one of the reasons that cause loss for the company. 2.1.6 Net Profit Margin Table 8 Net Profit Margin (NPM) is an indication on effectiveness in cost controlling and conversion of revenue into profit (Steve, 1995). TCG manages to earn a NPM of 2.38% initially at the FY 2007 but suffered from losses of 5.31% at FY2011. 2.1.7 Total Assets Turnover Table 9 Graph 2 Total assets turnover has an upward trend since 2007 to 2011 from 1.10 to 1.47. Hence it can be noticed that the sales level of TCG have improved with the utilization of the Assets. 2.1.8 Return on Assets Table 10 Return on assets indicates the profitability of a company in relative to its total assets (Steve, 1995). Table 10 shows that ROA for TCG has been decreasing and even dropped to the negative value. This indicates that the company is investing a high amount of capital into its production but receiving little income.Ãâ 2.1.9 Financial Leverage *Note: Assuming that the total equity at the end of financial year 2006 is à £3,942m Table 11 In Table 11, financial leverage has been increasing throughout the financial years and this indicates that TCG falls at the risky side as they might face bankruptcy issue if they fail to repay their debt in the near future. 2.1.10 Return on Equity Table 12 In Table 12, return on equity has been declining throughout the financial year and even dropped to negative 29.6% at the FY 2011. According to DuPont Model analysis, we could further examine which part of the financial management resulted this (Atrill McLaney, 2011). First of all, looking into the net profit margin, the high total cost has leads to a downfall of NPM and negative at the FY 2011. Secondly, looking into the Total Assets Turnover, it shows an increment where TCG has improved in managing their Assets for generating sales. Lastly, looking into the financial leverage where there is an increment from 1.5 to 3.8 at the financial year. This indicates that the company has borrowed more money for the business and debt increased. Base on the analysis carried out, the decline of ROE of TCG is caused by two main reasons which are the increment of total cost and the large amount of debt borrowed. 2.2 Non Financial Analysis TCG has been in the market for ages and has built global umbrella brand for all the well known regional brands across geographies (refer to Exhibit D). This serves as a great strength that allows them to leverage better. Besides, TCG has a strong portfolio in other service category such as airlines, financial services and hotel which allow the group to cross sell their product and generate better revenue which eventually helps to increase the overall companys financial performance. Even though TCG is serving in 22 different countries, the revenue breakdown in appendix 3 shows that 55% of its revenue come from European market. This is identified as a very risky step as being over relying on this segment, the group is sensitive to the demand of this region. In addition, sovereign debt crisis in Euro zone has greatly affect the demand of TCG product as consumers become more reluctant in spending on travelling. This critical condition is predicted to be prolonged for quite some t ime and therefore, it is foreseeable that the turnover and profitability would fall under a negative development in the near future if TCG is still being overly dependent on the European market. As for the distribution channel, it is shown that TCG has established 799 of retail premises with à £2.5m of employees (appendix 8). Even though it is shown that the actual sales per employee are à £315,429 (appendix 4), the cost per employee inclusive with the rental as well as overhead cost should not be overlooked. The incremental of net profit is foreseeable with the switch of distribution channel to online distribution, which only contributes to 24.5% of the total sales in FY2011 (appendix 9) and highlighted the opportunity to growth, that allows redundant cost reduction. In addition to the reduction in cost, the switch of distribution channel is also essential as it helps TCG in preparing a better platform in serving the UK holiday market which is expected to generate à £22.7b n of sales in the near future, in FY 2015 (appendix E). As mentioned in the chairman statement, higher input cost such as fuel cost serves as a major threat in contributing another challenging year in the near future. Fuel price has been increasing rapidly after its decline in year 2007-2009 due to the recession. It is predicted that fuel cost would still continue to increase due to the high demand from china. Lowered sales revenue due to the lower demand could hardly covered the increment of fuel cost and eventually serve as a major threat to TCG. Company would face liquidity problem and sustained a negative working capital gap. . 4.0 Budgetary Control System According to the chairman, managers have been quite dissatisfied with their current traditional budgeting system which is based on previous year data, decisions, uncertain estimates and forecast (Drury, 2009). Despite the fact that traditional budgeting system provides a direction which can be used as a framework for planning and controlling the overall activity of the business, it is criticized on its failure in identifying the waste, incoming workloads and cost drivers. Critics also found out that it is very time consuming for the benefits to be achieve. In short, traditional budgeting practice does not seem to connect connected to the overall organizational strategy. Limitations of traditional budgeting give rise to many beyond budgeting techniques for instance, zero based budgeting. Zero Based Budgeting is one of the recommended options for TCG as it always assumes that the expenditures is always based on zero, is in contrast to the traditional budgeting system which assumes that the current years expenditure level is justifiable which may not be true. Zero based budgeting provides an efficient allocation of resources. It identifies and eliminates wastage and obsolete operations, detects inflated subjects and drives managers to find out cost effective ways to improve operations. But despite of all the benefits of it, there are also criticisms and drawback against it such as it may lead to micro management, it involves a huge amount of money and it may lead to a material shift in the use of resources. Another option which could be considered by the management is to implement flexible budgeting, a technique for budgeting based on the future variability of business volumes, which allows them to adjust accordingly toward the changing environment and economic factors. Despite the fact on its difficulties in associating with marginal analysis, it is one of the best control devices available to management as it is required to measure radical changes from n ormal operating levels. In addition to that, it provides management with real-time and offers much greater cost control over a business operation and makes it more competitive. This also targets more accurately where performance levels are falling below or meeting expectations. 5.0 Recommendation To decide whether to invest in to TCG, investor needs to look into the internal and external environment. Internally, financial information provided shown an incremental revenue throughout the financial year from 2007 to 2011 but majority of the key performance indicators such as ROE, NPM, ROA and other KPI are showing a downward trend. Financial leverage for TCG has been increasing throughout the financial years and this indicates that TCG falls at the risky side as they might face bankruptcy issue if they fail to repay their debt in the near future. Externally, global economic crisis is expected to prolong for 5 more years which would have a definite impact on travel industry where people have a general tendency to spend less and weakening pound further adds fuel to this. In short, analyzing the financial health of TCG indicating a clear lack in the way operations are managed currently and highlights room for improvement., as well as the macro environment of the industry which se rves as a non controllable factor, it is not encouraging for One-World Investment Consortium to invest in it. Profit maximization could be achieved via sales increment and cost reduction. In appendix B, it is seen that there is a great opportunity for independent growth in several areas such as city break, tailor made travel, flight only and hotel room in cities that TCG can explore by leveraging through their greatest strength, TCG brand. Appendix C further suggests the opportunities of growth by the introducing differentiated concepts allied with new product pipeline. Effective marketing strategy play an important role in introducing the right product to the right target market through the right distribution channel. For instance, identify the potential market by analyzing the TCG customer database and send them a customized email to introduce the promotion available. Vouchers and discount, which is only effective within certain period, could be included in the email as it help s in triggering customer interest. This benefited both customers and TCG as customer is satisfied with the great savings they had and TCG has obtained earlier sales. Cost reduction is another critical step that should be considered the result of the financial analysis shows that the high total cost is the key factor that results in the downward trend of NPM. Therefore, it is recommended for TCG to close down the non-profitable offline distribution retail and direct the market to online mode. This helps in reducing overhead cost such as rental, salary and other operating cost. Furthermore, due to the intense competition, HRM plays an essential role in ensuring retained employees to be trained with multi skilling capability and competence enough to be a source of the competitive advantage for TCG. Relationship with employees could not be overlooked as satisfied employees would helps in driving improved customer satisfaction by creating and fostering trust and relationship with cust omers. Therefore, it is recommended that TCG must ensure that employees need is met. Other than that, it is recommended for TCG to engage in a genuine B2B relationship with their suppliers as the cost is expected to be reduced when the organization has a deepening relationship with suppliers where margin premium is expected to improve. Zero based budgeting is recommended as it requires a programmes existence to be justified in each financial year, as opposed to simply basing budgeting decisions on a previous years allocation. It provides a systematic method of planning company financial resources. It may require an extensive amount of time and paper work. A combination of zero based budgets with traditional budgeting spreads the workload involved in justifying new budgets and is one possible method by which zero-based budgeting can be incorporated into current budgeting techniques. 6.0 Long Term Investment Decision Before making any investment decision, capital budgeting, should be taken into consideration by evaluating using different techniques. An organization which makes a capital investment incurs cash outlays in the expectation of future return or cash inflows (benefits). 6.1 Payback Period The payback period is commonly used as an investment appraisal technique in measuring on the period needed in recovering the initial investment. Despite the fact that it is very simple to apply and understand, it does not take the time value of money into account neither it take account of the earnings after the initial investment is recouped. Therefore it is not recommended as these may prevent the ranking of projects. 6.2 Accounting Rate of Return Another commonly used appraisal technique used is ARR which compares the profit that can be earned by the concerned project to the amount of initial investment capital that would be required for the project and projects that can earn a higher rate of return is accepted. However, again, ARR does not take into consideration the time value of money involved. In addition, this method uses net income rather than cash flows while net income is a useful measure of profitability where the net cash flow is a better measure of an investments performance. Furthermore, the inclusion of only the book value of the invested asset ignores the fact that a project can require commitments of working capital and other outlays that are not included in the book value of the project. 6.3 Discounted Payback Period The introduction of discounted payback period is to backup the drawback of the PB by adding the net positive discounted cash flows arising from the project. This could be useful as a performance indicator to contextualise the projects anticipated performance but is not recommended to use as the sole appraisal method. 6.4 Net Present Value In the NPV method, the revenues and costs of a project are estimated and then are discounted and compared with the initial investment. Projects with positive NPV should be accepted and rejected if the NPV value is as it indicates that the present value of the stream of benefits is insufficient to recover the cost of the project. Compared to other investment appraisal techniques such as the IRR and the discounted payback period, the NPV is recognized as the most reliable technique in supporting investment appraisal decisions. However, its sensitivity in discount rate is identified as the main drawbacks. Since discount rate is always the denominator of NPV and its always critical to know the final result of the output. NPV can be positive or it can be negative depending on the discount rate which has been taken in calculations. 6.5 Internal Rate of Return IRR corresponds to the rate for which the present value of the investments money in-flows are equal to the present value of the money out-flows. It helps evaluate individual projects as investment opportunities and helps investors in determining whether the projects would help in increasing the organization value and determining the percentage of return in comparison to the initial investment. In addition, it takes into account the time value of moneyÃâà and adjusts for the risk that the project will not meet the income projections. However, many firms are guilty of rejecting worthwhile investments due to the understating of NPVs and IRRs because of the incorrect treatment of inflation and the use of excessively high discount rates. 7.0 Risks on Long Term Investment Failure in identifying risk in long term investment could lead to unforeseeable consequences. Therefore, there are two main traditional investment appraisal frameworks which could be considered by managers prior in making any investment decision. One of the simplest and most effective ways to analyse risk is through simple sensitivity analysis where investor could just change certain variable involved in a potential investment to see how that change would affect the overall investment. For instance, when considering buying a company, managers may look at the production cost of an item the company makes, and the cost of the components needed to make that product and further verify several eventualities, by adjusting these prices, either lower or higher. This will help them make an educated decision about their purchase in light of better understand the change of the company value if certain variables change. Another way to evaluate the risk is by conducting scenario analysis w here multiple analyses could be performed at the same time. Investors conducting this type of analysis will look at the variables that affect a companys bottom line and use them to plan accordingly. For example, managers considering purchasing a company will want to understand the cash flow of the business. This is more than just considering revenue and expenses. Expenses can manifest themselves in a number of ways including wages, pensions, benefits, costs associated with production, and so forth. By changing a combination of these factors, investors can get a feel for a number of different scenarios. Kaplan (1986) has further criticised aspects of traditional appraisal techniques are in truth a function of the user and not the technique itself by highlighting the mistake of the NPV user who use of static discount rates. In addition, the inconsistent treatment of inflation, the overemphasis on the short-term, faulty assumptions about the status quo alternative, and the adoption of a narrow organisational perspective are again all mistakes of the user. Even the difficulty of including nonfinancial benefits is seen as a lack of financial analyst imagination rather than an inherent shortcoming of traditional evaluation approaches.
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