Environmental Scan Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Environmental Scan Paper - Essay Example This research centres on the environmental scan of the internal and external environments of two real-world organizations, their competitive edges and firm strategies for developing value and sustaining competitiveness. Scanning of the environment particularly the internal organizational environment mainly looks at culture of the firm, the relations between employees, management and the shareholders. Moreover, it will also focus on the organizational structure, access to natural resources and product awareness. On the other hand, scanning of the external organizational environment dwells on the industry analysis, national and macro-environment. Industry environmental analysis evaluates the level of competition of the company and that of its rivals. The national environment examines the effect of the national framework for enabling an organization accomplishes competitive edge on the international scale. The macro-environment reveals the social, legal, political, economic and political effects on the functioning of an organization. Apple Inc. is a global organization with deals with computer software, consumer electronics and communication servers (Kang, 2013). The primary apple products include iPad, iPod, iPhone, and Macintosh computer. The company was officially registered by its original founders in 1977 in California and has been operating since its incorporation. Apple employs environmental scan to evaluate its business. The firm has been effective in the technology industry in which it operates. The success of this company is mainly attributed to its revolutionary ideas and capability to bring ideas to reality, revealing a sound business strategy. Internal environment The internal environment of Apple is characterized by dynamism, creativity, and flexibility. The organization internal environment has been built such that it promotes its workforce to participate in branding of the company image (Kang, 2013). Apple appreciates its employees for

The Acquisition of Tense by Arabic Learners of English Language Thesis Proposal

The Acquisition of Tense by Arabic Learners of English Language - Thesis Proposal Example This proposal was motivated by an interest in the subject as well as the knowledge that the results of the study are potentially productive and could provide necessary knowledge in the area of linguistic science. This subject is a problem of significance for the students it affects and the knowledge to be gained from this study stands to benefit more than the population of peoples with Arabic as a first language. It is my hope that the findings of this study will also be used to assist other L2 students, and perhaps enrich their relationship with a second language. Among the problems faced by English students with Arabic as their first language is the acquisition of tenses. The morphemes of the English language differ greatly from those of Arabic, and the irregularities of tenses must be memorized, making the acquisition of tenses one of the most difficult parts of the learning process. As stated by Johanne Paradis, this situation â€Å"†¦is a vulnerable domain for English lang uage learners across acquisition contexts†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Since one of two allomorphs pertaining to the past tense is possible, either [td] or [t or d], the English past tense exhibits a quasi-regularity. These combined attributes create difficulties for the would-be English learner. To appreciate the hardship of the L2 student, data will be collected from thirty students at three consecutive levels of ability. Two approaches will be taken while analyzing the data in an attempt to prove two hypotheses.... Since one of two allomorphs pertaining to the past tense is possible, either [td] or [t or d], the English past tense exhibits a quasi-regularity (McClelland). These combined attributes create difficulties for the would-be English learner. To appreciate the hardship of the L2 student, data will be collected from thirty students at three consecutive levels of ability. Two approaches will be taken while analyzing the data in an attempt to prove two hypotheses. Problem Statement: Learning difficulties arising for L2 students can affect certain aspects of their lives. In the case of foreign students, attempts to integrate into a new country can be inhibited by linguistic difficulties. "knowing a language involves mastering an intricate system full of surprising regularities and idiosyncrasies." (Sag and Wasow, 2001) For people attempting to learn English as a second language, it can be embarrassing and often debilitating to incorrectly express tenses. In the workplace, people with English as a second language are often misjudged as unintelligent. Added to the difficulties most adults have with the correct acquisition of phonological sounds, (Escudero, 2005) the learning of English for Arabic speakers is quite a challenge. The confusion of past tenses was one of the major errors in tenses reported in a study of Arab learners of English at the University of Sudan (Kambal, 1980). Therefore, a study concerning the acquisition of English tenses by Arabic students can assist students with similar problems by determining the most effective solution. Hypotheses: There are two hypotheses which will be used to attempt an explanation of the difficulties that

Network Management Justification for Handmade Furniture Ltd

Network Management Justification for Handmade Furniture Ltd Based on the initial inspections carried out recently, Handmade Furniture Ltd has experienced difficulties managing the IT infrastructure as well as providing IT support for staff. The existing network management and support services are carried out in an uncontrolled procedures which have resulted in number of data losses and possible hacking attempts. This can lead to future compromises such as financial losses, disruption of services etc., which can tarnish companys reputation. This report includes the justifications of selecting network management plan for the company based on the current infrastructure and future implementations. The selection of the choice should consider multiple criteria which are costs, security and administrative controls as key points along with technical expertise.Report consists of terms of reference followed by justification for the selection of network management plan, elements of network management plan, options for improving IT support and recommendations.The suggested network management plan will be extended for the proposed network infrastructure and security upgrade project in near future. The scope of this report is to provide guidance on selecting an option for IT support by preparing a network management plan. The reports prepared for the reference of the Handmade Furniture Ltd board members. Report includes key elements of the network management plan and excludes technical details of design or configurations and product descriptions. Main sections are the elements of network management plan including fault management, configuration management, accounting management, performance management and security management. There will be several follow up reports after which include technical plan. This will be submitted after the IT staff have been hired. Overview It is suggested to have own IT support staff and completely manage and maintain IT support in-house for an agreed number of months. Once the IT operations are streamlined and new upgrades completed, IT support outsourcing option needs to be selected. As the Initial step, Handmade Furniture Ltd should identify the IT staffing needs. This should include identifying the job role, qualifications and experience level and the communication hierarchy. This step requires in-house human resource skills to recruit staff based on the recommended staffing needs. The option of selecting permanent IT staff or contract staff needs to be done carefully. The higher level positions need to be permanent whereas desktop support etc. can be on contract basis. Furthermore, the web development project needs to be outsourced as there is no need to have a permanent web developer in-house. Once the IT staff are available, next step is to assign job roles and duties to the staff. Along with the job roles, the immediate supervisors need to be listed. In addition to daily job role, IT team will have additional work to streamline the current network infrastructure and the operational procedures. Most important point is to have backup staff. Each IT job role needs to be backfilled with another staff member. There will be two sub plans included in the management plan. These are : 1. Plan to manage the network infrastructure restructuring. 2. Plan to maintain the new network operations and procedures. First sub plan will provide IT staff with adequate training to prepare for the upcoming network upgrades. Second sub plan is to use in-house IT staff for network management within the company. Justification of network management plan selection As opposed to IT support outsourcing, use of in-house IT staff has several advantages. Considering the existing network issues and incidents as well as operational procedures, company needs to have major changes. Subsequently this can result in backup/archiving companys data, changing passwords and creating user accounts etc.   The most important asset of the company is its data. Therefore, use of an outsourced party to handle companys data is not a recommended practice. (Vigeant, 2015). The upcoming project for network upgrades include implementing a WIFI system, upgrading all PCs   and   moving emails and systems   to cloud. These tasks require handling user accounts, data as well as security procedures . There will be high level of readiness for the future projects by establishing an in-house IT staff. One of the downside of the in-house IT staff is the operational cost when considering employed funds, claims and expenses. On the other hand, there is a big competition between the IT support companies offering attractive costs for maintaining networks. However most of these offers include limited number of support engineers compared to a team of staff available in house. The more support staff available in the outsource team more budget required. (Rossi, 2016) Another advantage is the efficiency of communication. With an in-house IT support team, there will be two levels of communication between staff and the manager or senior staff member. With an outsourced IT support team, there can be multiple levels of communication such as between managers/senior staff, senior level to junior level etc. A help desk is required to manage IT support requests handled by an outsourced IT team. At the current level, company should streamline the IT operations before implementing a help desk. Therefore, company is not in a good position to outsource IT operations. With the implementation of new proposed IT procedures such as cloud based email, etc. there can be more frequent support incidents as users are new to these applications. Assign to handle a large volume of incidents by an outsourced team can be expensive and inefficient without implementing a help desk. On the other hands, once new systems and network elements are in place, there can be an increase in IT support incidents. Therefore, having more IT support staff in house can be an extra cost. At this stage, best option is to outsource IT support. (Vigeant, 2015). One of the major decision point of the selection of in-house or outsourced solution is the size of the network. Generally a network with 50-100 PCs is consider as a small to medium business. It is not required to have a large IT support team as the supports requests can be handled in house. (Gluck, n.d.). Followings are the key benefits of outsourcing IT support (Editors, n.d.)  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Reduce labor cost  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Can focus on key business  ·Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Less training is needed as outsourced IT staff should have the required skills. IT Staff requirements Selecting skilled IT staff is essential for the successes of the management plan .There are no IT staff to train the new staff, So the new IT staff need to be able to work with minimum supervision and guidance. Following is an overview of the skills required. Role Skills/Qualifications Experience Comment Head of IT PM, Information security, Networking 10+ Years Optional ( If available in house) Senior network administrator Microsoft Windows server, Wireless networking, Cloud office 365 5+ Years Network administrators Microsoft Windows server/desktop, Wireless networking, Cloud office 365,cabling 3-5 years Desktop support Microsoft Windows desktop, Hardware, Wireless networking 1-2 Years Web Developer Web design/development skills 3-5 Years Needs to be outsourced Table 1: In-house IT staff requirements Job roles for IT staff This is important to define level of authority and responsibilities. At present, there are unrestricted controls between staff. Most important point is that no single person assigned responsibilities. Each task should have a backup person assigned. Security management -Install and configure central antivirus console This is required because currently the virus guards are installed as standalone in each PC. Monitoring of virus guards is not easy with this setup. It is not a good practice to assign users to monitor virus guards. Installation of new antivirus has to be done by the network administrators and the monitoring needs to be done on daily basis by the SNR network administrator. Also, a report on a given frequency can be submitted automatically to head of IT. (Safari, n.d.) Accounting Management -Configure a central backup plan User data for all the PCs has to backup automatically to a central storage. Existing NAS storage can be used for this. The important point is that data must be backed up automatically on a schedule. Two options available for this 1. Use backup software to backup files to NAS 2. Create folders for each user in server and the folders should backup to NAS storage. Also network segments need to be used (Ex Virtual Networks or VLANs) to provide access control, based on users and groups. Also, a directory service is required so that each user has their own user account and password. This helps to apply access controls to folders and files based on user ownership. Fault Management -Implement a help desk The existing and current IT support requests can be better handled by implementing a help desk. Help desk provides reporting and monitoring facilities for support requests. (Safari, n.d.)   Once company plans to outsource IT support,this help desk can be useful to manage the outsource team as well. However, since all the offices and users are in one location, having a help desk is not mandatory and the implementation is subjected to cost. Help desk has two options: 1. Develop a customized help desk (This needs to be outsourced). 2. Buy an off the shelf help desk product. Configuration management -Network and operational procedure documentation At present, there is no documentations about user accounts, configurations etc. This can cause critical issues especially in a crisis situation. As an element of the network management Plan, Company should start documenting all networks and IT related configurations, credentials etc. All changes have to be approved by head of IT and a sequence of version needs to be used. Documentations need to be stored as hard copies and soft copies in a secure place. (Safari, n.d.) Performance management Implement a network monitoring system There needs to be a network monitoring system (NMS) which provides network performance, speed, errors and alarms etc. in real time. This should have features to send alerts to administrators via SMS, generate reports etc.   One of the examples of a NMS is SOLARWINDS. (Solarwinds.com, n.d.)    Diagram 1-   Monitoring plan work percentage As shown in the diagram above overall management plan can be divided into 5 phases according to FCAPS model for network management. Out of these phases configuration management requires highest amount of time and effort followed by fault management.   The reason for this is that currently there is zero level of documentation. Also no standard fault management procedure is in use.   Performance management requires less effort as the network is currently in acceptable performance level. Under accounting management more work will need to be done in proposed future project as there is a need for a directory to manage user accounts via server. Two options for having in-house IT staff at the initial stage is either to hire permanent staff or hire contract staff. Company needs a senior level IT manager on permanent basis to manage in-house IT staff as well as any future outsourcing requirements.   Desktop support and junior network administrators can be hired on contract basis either on an hourly rate or a fixed cost. However, the IT manager should ensure that all work done is being documented in order to provide continuous support services. After the initial stages of the management plan there should be reviews to decide to go with an outsourced option or to continue in-house IT support. The website development and help desk implementation work needs to be outsourced. Having these resources in -house is an additional financial overhead.Two options to outsource IT support services are either to   outsourced engineers internally within the company or to request support as required using either on-call or remote support. The first option requires extra operational cost for space, electricity and power etc. However, this option is more recommended than the second option. Second option requires service level agreement (SLA) with strict terms on initial response time. Also, this option requires a help desk to be maintained to log incidents and manage response time. In terms of help desk a customized help desk is most suitable as most of the off the shelf packages have extra features which is not required and is adding extra cost. Also, most of the outsourced companies offer a help desk service, included in their services being offered. This can be considered as well. It is recommended to have in-house IT staff for the initial stages of the network management plan and for the duration of proposed new network upgrades.   Company has to take the decision of continuing with in-house IT staff or outsource IT support services at the end of the implementations. The decision might be based on cost, number of incidents, as well as other operational policies and procedures. Having an in-house senior level managerial position to provide overall management of the IT services is mandatory. At present, company has zero level of IT support. From this point up to the completion of network upgrades, continuous support service is required with extra effort involving outside of the office hours work as well. With an IT outsource team, this is not practical as there are agreed work time in an outsourced agreement. The extra hours might be charged separately with a higher rate. Use of FCAPS model for network management is recommended as the five areas of these models is essential for the management plan. Documentation plan is an important sub plan of the overall plan. Company needs to start from level zero in documentation. Documentation includes network configurations, user accounts and passwords, file permission for users, backup plan as well as hardware warranty and software license vendor details.It is expected to increase efficiency after implementing the help desk. Managing operational procedures through help desk saves time and cost. The final conclusion is that Handmade Furniture Ltd requires in-house IT staff at the initial stage of the network management plan. Further they should recruit a senior level person as the level of CIO and head of IT for overall IT management role. In addition to this, company should start documenting all IT related work, configurations and procedures. Editors, A. (n.d.). The Benefits of Outsourcing for Small Businesses | AllBusiness.com. [online] AllBusiness.com. Available at: https://www.allbusiness.com/the-benefits-of-outsourcing-for-small-businesses-2-1084-1.html [Accessed 27 Feb. 2017]. Gluck, S. (n.d.). Benefits Vs. Risks of Outsourcing IT Services. [online] Smallbusiness.chron.com. Available at: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-vs-risks-outsourcing-services-2504.html [Accessed 26 Feb. 2017]. Phifer, L. (2003). WLAN security: Best practices for wireless network security. [online] http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/. Available at: . http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/WLAN-security-Best-practices-for-wireless-network-security [Accessed 26 Feb. 2017]. Rossi, B. (2016). In-house vs. outsourced IT: what makes the most business sense?. [online] Information Age. Available at: http://www.information-age.com/house-vs-outsourced-it-what-makes-most-business-sense-123461194/ [Accessed 26 Feb. 2017]. Safari. (n.d.). Example of Adapting a Network Maintenance Model [Book]. [online] Available at: https://www.safaribooksonline.com/library/view/ccnp-routing-and/9780133149906/ch01lev3sec14.html [Accessed 27 Feb. 2017]. Solarwinds.com. (n.d.). Network Management Software Network Tools | SolarWinds. [online] Available at: http://www.solarwinds.com/network-management-software [Accessed 27 Feb. 2017]. Vigeant, S. (2015). In-House vs. Outsourced IT Staffing: The Pros and Cons. [online] Dataev.com. Available at: http://www.dataev.com/it-experts-blog/in-house-vs.-outsourced-it-staffing-the-pros-and-cons [Accessed 25 Feb. 2017].

Lears Relinquishment of Power in Shakespeares King Lear Essay

Lear's Relinquishment of Power in Shakespeare's King Lear King Lear is an actor who can only play the king. Thus, after he has abdicated his throne, passing the authority to his posterity, he still demands respect and power, which he is unable to claim from any of his former subjects, even his daughters. And as a king with no kingdom, he is an actor with no role to play, the most loathsome of all conditions. Lear himself realizes this, and in scene 4, he cries: "Why, this is not Lear" (4.204). And later in the same speech, he says: "Who is it that can tell me who I am?" (4.209). Lear is stuck in his role as king, unable to act in any other manner and powerless to provide for himself, causing the ultimate downfall of he and his family from their status of authority. As the play opens in the first scene, King Lear uses his authority to divide the kingdom. However, this is a power that not even the king possesses; no one may divide the kingdom. Per the divine right of the king, Lear is in control and must remain so; he cannot pass the powers of the throne to anyone, save his heir, and then only following his death. Yet, Lear contradicts his divine right and divides the kingdom. In this action, "authority is not destroyed but split between those with the greatest claims to land and wealth" (Spotswood 280). The authority transfers to Goneril and Regan, as Lear no longer has a claim having resigned his reign. But even though he has no claim, Lear still wants to play his kingly role. So then, the major problem of King Lear is that after he has relinquished control of the kingdom, he still desires to rule in principle, though not in deed: Only we still retain The name and all th... ...rature 40 (2000): 241-60. Righter, Anne. Shakespeare and the Idea of the Play. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1962. Spotswood, Jerald W. â€Å"Maintaining Hierarchy in The Tragedie of King Lear.† Studies in English Literature 38 (1998): 265-80. Squire, Sir John. Shakespeare as a Dramatist. London: Cassell and Company, 1935. Stevenson, William B. â€Å"A Muse of Fire of a Winter of Discontent?† Journal of Management Education 20 (1996): 39-48. Weimann, Robert. â€Å"Mingling Vice and ‘Worthiness’ in King John.† Shakespeare Studies 27 (1999): 109-33. Zamir, Tzachi. â€Å"A Case of Unfair Proportions: Philosophy in Literature.† New Literary History 29 (1998): 501-20. Note—all Shakespeare text is quoted from The Norton Shakespeare. In the case of Lear, all quotations are from The History of King Lear which contains scene numbers, but no act numbers.

King Of The Castle

The settings in ‘I’m the King of the castle’ beautifully portrays on how the character feels and thinks, she does this by having lucid themes that show emotions of the characters reflecting onto the theme. This means the reader can feel the atmosphere seemingly throughout the novel. In the novel there is one main theme of which is based around hatred between hooper and Kingshaw. straight from the start of when they meet hooper makes sure to let his feelings be shown. so throughout the novel Kingshaw and hooper are continuously battling each other, hooper immediately takes the role of being a bully.At Waring’s house the setting shows that it isn't a very pleasant place to stay in, the house lacks the warmth and homeliness of a proper home. â€Å"Warings was ugly. It was entirely graceless, rather tall and badly angled, built of dark red brick. At the front, and on both sides, there was the lawn, sloping downwards to a graveled drive, and then into the lane, and without any tree or flower-bed to relieve the bald greenness. †the house being made of â€Å"dark red bricks† contributes a very imposing, blood colour. The house was always comfortless and it looked graceless and boring this made Kingshaw feel as he was not at home.The room in which he had stayed in always had a presence of death due to the gloomy and morbid atmosphere. He lacked the love he desired and was left with the dreadful feeling of isolation in his own mind. The house built badly can contribute to the novel that no care was given into building the house including no love, this could reflect on hooper who stayed in the house which was only exposed to death and power. Kingshaw plays the role of a very weak character that is locked in his imagination. he has irrational fears.although this might be normal for most children, his fears are so crippling they are far beyond the typical childish nightmare as one of the examples are fears of swimming pools. early i n the book Kingshaw is taken to a pool by his father he feared the water exceptionally, not only because he couldn't swim but, also because of its â€Å"glassy, artificial blueness† and he also feared how people looked huge, pale swolen underneath. another fear that kingshaw has is the fear of dead thing like crows, he describes them as having â€Å"ragged black wings† and â€Å"small, glinty eyes†.Kingshaw would constantly get his fears exploited by hopper during the novel. one example of this is when he brings kingshaw to the Red Room to show him the moths, it seems that hooper just wants to show off. but her immediately recognises that Kingshaw is afraid when, upon him seeing the moths, kingshaw â€Å"drew in his breath sharply†. Hooper realises this then mocks him and tries to order him to touch one. Kingshaw tries really hard not to touch it but hopper watches him and runs out of the room, locking the door behind him.another example of hoopers cold-b looded actions is when his guest, Kingshaw arrives he immediately tries to make Kingshaw feel unwelcome even before Kingshaw gets through the front door by throwing a lump of plasticine that reads† I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO COME HERE†. At one point kingshaw decided to explore around the surroundings but on his way back a hovering crow attacks him hooper then finds out kingshaws fears of dead things, later on hooper takes a stuffed crow and attempts to scare kingshaw, Kingshaw knew â€Å"the crow was not real, that it was stuffed and dead.† there are alot of dead things around the house this made Kingshaw feel even more miserable.After a while in the novel the writer has shown us how much Kingshaw disliked Warring’s, and how it was so unbearable for Kingshaw to stay there, he soon decided to pursuit his miseries and hopefully fine what he has longed for which was freedom, he sets out but then is stopped when he is attacked by a crow. he is in shock and fri ghtened and has no idea what will happen next but still continues to go.He thinks he is free and starts to enjoy his freedom â€Å"Kingshaw didn't look back† this shows how convinced he is about escaping from hopper and his mischievous. Hangwood is where Kingshaw escaped to he enjoyed it there due to the feeling that he was completely hidden and everything around him seemed innocent and pure. when Kingshaw had first stepped into the forest it looked dark and gloomy he was scared and thought of the forest as a threatening place.When he finally makes his escape the first thig he sees is the dead rabbit this is a foreshadow of his death in the future. Kingshaw soon becomes obsessed with the river and doesn't want to leave all of this foreshadows kingshaws death. Symbolism is a key method of writing that susan hill uses. this helps us to have a more deeper understanding of the novel and portrays power and the ability to unlock darker parts of their personality. for example when K ingshaw saw the â€Å"yew trees† it would symbolise death because yew trees are usually found in cemeteries King of the Castle The settings in ‘I’m the King of the castle’ beautifully portrays on how the character feels and thinks, she does this by having lucid themes that show emotions of the characters reflecting onto the theme. This means the reader can feel the atmosphere seemingly throughout the novel. In the novel there is one main theme of which is based around hatred between hooper and Kingshaw. straight from the start of when they meet hooper makes sure to let his feelings be shown. so throughout the novel Kingshaw and hooper are continuously battling each other, hooper immediately takes the role of being a bully.At Waring’s house the setting shows that it isn't a very pleasant place to stay in, the house lacks the warmth and homeliness of a proper home. â€Å"Warings was ugly. It was entirely graceless, rather tall and badly angled, built of dark red brick. At the front, and on both sides, there was the lawn, sloping downwards to a graveled drive, and then into the lane, and without any tree or flower-bed to relieve the bald greenness. †the house being made of â€Å"dark red bricks† contributes a very imposing, blood colour. The house was always comfortless and it looked graceless and boring this made Kingshaw feel as he was not at home.The room in which he had stayed in always had a presence of death due to the gloomy and morbid atmosphere. He lacked the love he desired and was left with the dreadful feeling of isolation in his own mind. The house built badly can contribute to the novel that no care was given into building the house including no love, this could reflect on hooper who stayed in the house which was only exposed to death and power. Kingshaw plays the role of a very weak character that is locked in his imagination. he has irrational fears.Although this might be normal for most children, his fears are so crippling they are far beyond the typical childish nightmare as one of the examples are fears of swimming pools. early i n the book Kingshaw is taken to a pool by his father he feared the water exceptionally, not only because he couldn't swim but, also because of its â€Å"glassy, artificial blueness† and he also feared how people looked huge, pale swolen underneath. another fear that kingshaw has is the fear of dead thing like crows, he describes them as having â€Å"ragged black wings† and â€Å"small, glinty eyes†.Kingshaw would constantly get his fears exploited by hopper during the novel. one example of this is when he brings kingshaw to the Red Room to show him the moths, it seems that hooper just wants to show off. but her immediately recognises that Kingshaw is afraid when, upon him seeing the moths, kingshaw â€Å"drew in his breath sharply†. Hooper realises this then mocks him and tries to order him to touch one. Kingshaw tries really hard not to touch it but hopper watches him and runs out of the room, locking the door behind him.Another example of hoopers cold-b looded actions is when his guest, Kingshaw arrives he immediately tries to make Kingshaw feel unwelcome even before Kingshaw gets through the front door by throwing a lump of plasticine that reads† I DIDN’T WANT YOU TO COME HERE†. At one point kingshaw decided to explore around the surroundings but on his way back a hovering crow attacks him hooper then finds out kingshaws fears of dead things, later on hooper takes a stuffed crow and attempts to scare kingshaw, Kingshaw knew â€Å"the crow was not real, that it was stuffed and dead.† there are alot of dead things around the house this made Kingshaw feel even more miserable.After a while in the novel the writer has shown us how much Kingshaw disliked Warring’s, and how it was so unbearable for Kingshaw to stay there, he soon decided to pursuit his miseries and hopefully fine what he has longed for which was freedom, he sets out but then is stopped when he is attacked by a crow. he is in shock and fri ghtened and has no idea what will happen next but still continues to go.He thinks he is free and starts to enjoy his freedom â€Å"Kingshaw didn't look back† this shows how convinced he is about escaping from hopper and his mischievous. Hangwood is where Kingshaw escaped to he enjoyed it there due to the feeling that he was completely hidden and everything around him seemed innocent and pure. when Kingshaw had first stepped into the forest it looked dark and gloomy he was scared and thought of the forest as a threatening place.When he finally makes his escape the first thig he sees is the dead rabbit this is a foreshadow of his death in the future. Kingshaw soon becomes obsessed with the river and doesn't want to leave all of this foreshadows kingshaws death. Symbolism is a key method of writing that susan hill uses. this helps us to have a more deeper understanding of the novel and portrays power and the ability to unlock darker parts of their personality. for example when K ingshaw saw the â€Å"yew trees† it would symbolise death because yew trees are usually found in cemeteries

Capital Budget Recommendation: Guillermo Furniture

Capital Budget Recommendation: Guillermo Furniture ACC/543 Monday October 8, 2009 YouKnew Abstract Guillermo Navallez is the owner of a successful furniture and manufacturing company located in Sonora, Mexico. Navallez’s establishment is known for its quality pieces, crafting a variety of chairs and tables from the abundant supply of timber in the area. In the late 1990’s, Navallez competitors became a real threat to the ongoing success of Guillermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company, producing like quality furniture for a fraction of the cost.What is more, the competitors were producing these pieces at an alarming rate, and using high-tech equipment and absolutely no labor costs. Over the years, Navallez noticed that his profit margins shirked as prices decreased and costs increased. Navallez decided to do his own research on some of his competitors and discovered that to keep up, many of the local competitors was either consolidating by merger or acquisition . Navallez, being proud of his accomplishments did not want to industrialize his company and contacted Wells Accounting firm to help him with alternatives to match the competitors.Wells Accounting Firm plan of action is to assist Navallez by helping him understand the difference between the various capital budget techniques, and then providing Navallez a recommendation on the best-fit project to bring Guillermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company back to excellent financial health. Capital Budget Recommendation: Guillermo Furniture Wells accounting firm was contacted by Guillermo Navallez, business owner after realizing that his company faced considerable profit loss with the onset of competitors producing like quality pieces for a fraction of the cost.Wells accounting firm was challenged to help Guillermo Navallez understand the various capital budgeting techniques and to present a recommendation to restore Guillermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company to excellen t financial health. Wells accounting firm immediately went to work, employing various budgeting techniques such as the payback technique, break even analysis, and net present value, internal rate of return, and cash flow expected based on a variety of alternatives. Each technique provides essential information for Guillermo Navallez, and helps the firm best determine how to move forward.To best determine which approach would be most beneficial, the firm must first determine Navallez Company’s current financial position. The figures below represent Guillermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company current financial position for previous and current year, respectively. TOTAL ASSETS $1,350,627 USD $1,356,534 USD According to Guillermo Navallez, his company produces two grades of products to service a wide-range of customer: Mid-Grade, and High-End. Navallez believes that his prices are reasonable.The first capital budgeting technique, the payback technique, or the cash payb ack technique is used to identify time periods needed to recover the cost of capital investments from the net annual cash flow produced by the investment. For example if Navallez decides to purchase equipment and continue manufacturing High-End products at faster rates, employing less human capital also deciding to purchase as opposed to leasing the new equipment, we will calculate his payback as following: Payback TechniqueInitial Investment1,200,000. 00 Estimated Useful Life10Years Estimated Salvage0 Estimated Annual Cash flows Cash Inflow from Customer $ 217,630. 33 Cash outflow for Operating $ 77,298. 28 Net Annual Cash Flow $ 140,332. 05 Cash Payback Period $ 8. 55 The payback period is associated with the useful life of the equipment (asset). In this case the payback period is unacceptable seeing that the period is longer than 60% of the life of the equipment (asset), yielding 86%.Another technique is the break even analysis. This technique helps the firm understand the lower ranges of profit where margins are concerned. The firm will be able to determine when Guillermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company will begin to make a profit after all expenses are considered. For example, at current Guillermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company produces the following: Break even analysis makes the following assumptions: 1. Fixed costs are constant 2.Quantity of goods are constant per output 3. Variable cost are constant per output unit Because Break even is a variation of payback technique, the firm is able to further determine the monthly current or projected sales before Guillermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company yields a profit. Net present value is another technique taken into consideration. This technique uses time value of money, and determines the difference between costs and market values of projects. NPV :Investment (150% of book value of assets) $(2,023,244. 07) Year 1 after tax cash flow $ 362,496. 81 Year 2 after tax cash flow $ 362,496. 81 Year 3 after tax cash flow $ 362,496. 81 Year 4 after tax cash flow $ 362,496. 81 Year 5 after tax cash flow $ 362,496. 81 When the net present value of the Guillermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company net present value is a positive number, the general rule is to approve the project because this means that the project will add value to the company.The intent of reviewing these techniques is to determine which project will yield positive profits for the company and how much profit can be expected. Similar to net present value is the internal rate of return, which is used to measure an acceptable investment opportunity. The internal rate of return is equivalent to the net present value rate of zero for an investment. When looking at a variety of alternatives, the firm determined that Guillermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company could be profitable using a variety of alternatives, thus the recommendation.Wells Accounting Firm determined that Gui llermo’s Furniture and Manufacturing Company should market and push the flame retardant product, while also coordinating the company’s existing distributor network and essentially becoming a representative for the other manufacturer. Reference(s): Edmonds, T. P. et al. (2007). Fundamental financial & managerial accounting concepts. New York: McGraw-Hill. Retrieved from the University of Phoenix eBook Collection. Fast4Cast. (2007). Retrieved from http://fast4cast. com/break-even-calculator. aspx