Interview Simplifying the RFP Response Process

INTERVIEW: SIMPLIFYING THE RFP RESPONSE PROCESS Regardless of the size of your business, you will likely have to answer a Request for Proposal (RFP) at some point, in order to secure larger, more lucrative contracts. But with so many RFPs containing 100 pages or more, the proposal writing process can be overwhelming for many companies. In this interview, writing expert Wintress Odom breaks down the response process into more manageable pieces and answers some of your most important questions about how to write a proposal that will land your company at the top of the â€Å"yes† stack, including: What are some of the biggest mistakes companies make when drafting  an RFP response? How should you prepare for an RFP? What challenges do companies typically face when answering an RFP? How can  you  best overcome those challenges? Click the play button below to listen to the interview. document.createElement('video'); https://www.thewritersforhire.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/POB_Interview_Wintress-RFP.mp4

Question of Silence essays

Question of Silence essays Over the weekend I was able to see the movie Question of Silence, directed by Marleen Gorris. Question of Silence, was directed without flaws. Maleen Gorris made great use of angles in the film. Essentially this movie was about women, power, and societies view on women, and Gorris portrayed and emphasized her points with angles. For instance, their was an opening scene in the movie where one of the leading actresses was working as a secretary with her boss, and Gorris used a low angle shot of the boss to portray power. Then when she would cut to the women secretary she would use a high angle to portray a sense of looking down. However, as the plot developed and the story unfolded Gorris changed her angles to match the story. For an example, as the women were committing the crime she used low angle to match the power that they were coming into, and matched it with a high angle on the man to show weakness. Another thing that Gorris did effectively was incorporating music with t he film. In many instances she would use music to exemplify the tension and suspense of the movie. During the crime she effectively used tone and tempo. As the crime was beginning the tone and tempo was low and slow respectively, but as the crime escalated she used a loud tone and fast tempo. It brilliantly added so much to the most dramatic scene in the movie. Marleen Gorris directed this movie very well, and from a directional enjoyment I definitely recommend everyone to go to this movie. Symbolism played another key role in this movie. I personally believe that Gorris used symbolism to tell a story behind the story. For instance, she opened the movie with a scene between the women psychiatrist and her husband, where she was seducing the man. I believe this was a very powerful and effective way to open this movie. Gorris was able to set the stage for the rest of the movie, she was showing the moviegoers how society por...

Career planning report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Career planning report - Essay Example The use of technology to enhance quality production has enabled different companies to demand experts in different fields of I.T from, hospitals, banks, schools to factories. Another reason for choosing these two fields is because they both fit the level of skills and talents that I possess and working for any of the two will enable me to perfect my skills and offer quality services. My skills include: currently doing computer science level 5, I have a taste for image and sites designing, and editing videos. In addition, I do have little knowledge concerning different programming languages, for example, java, python, SQL, DRroket, Pascal and HTML, CSS and javascript. Moreover, these two fields gives an individual the platform to learn because one will be offered different challenges or problems that he/she is supposed to help in and researching in such areas gives an individual extra knowledge to learn about. For the database administrator, they are responsible for the security, integrity and the performance of the database. Nevertheless, depending on the company or the levels of the employee skills or responsibility, the role can differ from inputting data to the total management of information (Americas Job Exchange, 2015). Different organizations will have different diverse requirements and database needs. In clinic or hospitals, for example, the information of the patient will in most cases be recorded in the database, whilst private organization will most likely store the sales record, the details of the customer and more (Total Jobs, 2015). This data is used to organize and structure the company, deliver target services and marketing and design the strategies of the business. Nevertheless, the work performed will in a great way assist the other organizations members, including the IT managers, the programmers, and the analysts who all needs these reports to collate information for

Christian Service Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Christian Service Paper - Essay Example Initial Expectations and Alterations in the Viewpoints My initial expectations from the role in service site were highly influenced by the example of various social leaders. When joining Christian Services, I also expected a certain degree of spiritual satisfaction when serving the community with the sole motive of social welfare, apart from economic value obtainment. I also expected the job to be less challenging than the other tasks related with community welfare through non-profit firms. However, once I started working in Christian Services, I realized that even though the task comprised unambiguous responsibilities and a determined work process, the role presented significant challenges in terms of a varied range of the data obtained through the questionnaires used. ... Prior to my joining in the group, I also presumed that owing to governmental policies and the increased accessibility to resources, communities today have become quite competent to attain the demanded growth. However, after joining the group, I found that non-profit concerns and social groups, such as Christian Services play a significant role working as intermediaries to serve with adequate resources to the community. Correspondingly, my expectations have also altered by a significant extent after identifying the fact which has positively influenced the way I valued my service role in the group. One person who played a vital role in redefining my perceptions and expectations from the service role was my senior and also my mentor in the initial phase of my experiences in Christian Services. He not only made me realize the criticality of my job role but also conveyed me the actual aim and objective of the community. It has been through the influence of this information that my expecta tions have altered in relation to the service site being concerned towards a greater degree of efficiency in relation to the service deliverance of community welfare rather than focusing upon personal benefits. Benefits of Christian Work One of the major benefits of Christian work, which I have been able to identify during my course of service, is the opportunity that is offered by the group to its volunteers in offering the community with valuable assistance to grow. To be specific, the group offers with ample scope to serve the community with greater participation in identifying the growth needs and the obstacles witnessed by the common public. Hence, by being associated with the group, I realized myself to be quite benefitted with greater

Baseball Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Baseball - Essay Example Everyone wants to get out there and pitch that perfect curveball, or hit the first home run of the game. The air is rich with the scent of hotdogs as the vendors go to work feeding the masses. Young barmen and women do their best to satisfy thousands of thirsts filling endless plastic glasses with ice-cold beer. For some, a freshly baked pretzel is the way to go, plenty of salt and mustard, and a soda to wash it down. The wonderful mixture of odours in the air adds to the atmosphere and anticipation before the game. There's nothing quite like it. The stands are full of activity as everybody swarms to their seats. Not long until game time now. A hundred little boys hold on tightly to daddy's hand still not sure quite what to expect at their first ball game. They can feel the excitement building all around them and it is a new sensation. Although they may not know it they are beginning to understand the love of the game. Once full the ballpark is a magnificent picture of color and excitement. Music blares from the powerful sound system and adds to the already breathtaking atmosphere. Many fans are dressed in the shirts of their favorite teams. Others proudly wear their team's jacket, some just stick to the cap. The signs and banners are everywhere around the stadium held up high for all to see. Some of them simply display the name of a team; others send messages to the players wishing them luck in the game ahead. As the players make their way onto the park the stadium erupts with noise as so many thousands cheer, whoop and whistle for their favorite team and player. The sound is almost deafening but at the same time truly awesome. Everyone is on their feet knowing that all that stands between them and the first pitch of the game is a unifying rendition of the national anthem. Hands on hearts, the song brings everyone within the stadium together as it does every time. Even opposing fans are best of friends at this moment, proud to be American. The game starts and the crowd begins to settle down and enjoy the spectacle. The tension builds as several pitches fizz past the bat and smack into the heavily padded glove of the catcher. It's not long until the batter makes the first satisfying contact and the wonderful sound of bat on ball reverberates around the park. It is the sound that the fans love to hear, and to see the ball fly over the fence just makes it even better. Devout fans are pleased to be able to mark a home run on their scorecards, scorecards which they will no doubt show their children in years to come. The excitement of the final few innings is almost unmatched by any other game. Even after hours of play the crowd are once again on their feet yelling words of encouragement and willing their team to finish the job. Then it is over. The winner is decided and it is time to go home. As the stands gradually empty there is a feeling of satisfaction around the ballpark, even from among the supporters of the losing team. They have had their dose of the game, and nothing can take that away. Empty now, the ballpark stands and waits. It has done its job once again, providing a home away from home for the baseball fan. For now it rests, but soon its gates will open once again and the people will come. Baseball, what a

Transience And Eternity In The Elegy Theology Religion Essay

Transience And Eternity In The Elegy Theology Religion Essay Old English poetry can be divided into two main types: heroic poetry and Christian poetry. Christianity, as the most widely spread religion, is present in most literary works, including some of the heroic poems, although heroic poetry is considered separate from Christian poetry. There are many analogies to Christian themes in the poetry of the Old English period, since religion played a major part in peoples lives at the time. The Seafarer is an Old English poem which was recorded in the Exeter book, or Codex Exoniensis, a collection of Old English poetry, including The Wanderer and The Descent into Hell, which dates back to the tenth century. It is a poem which describes the lonely, full of hardship and suffering life of the seaman. It can be logically divided into two parts. The first is a typical elegy the speaker remembers his dismal life at sea, which he has chosen to the disturbing life on land. He knows he is alone, and he constantly has this internal conflict about choosing the sea to the land. The second part is more moralistic, or didactic. The speaker talks about the transience of wealth and fame on Earth, and how nobody will manage to outwit death and God, no matter how glorious a life they have led. Eventually all people will die, life will end for everyone at a certain point, and no amount of money will help them avoid their fate. In the beginning of the poem the seafarer makes a song about his travels and experiences at sea. He begins grimly with a description of the troublesome times and lonely life while hes sailing. This is a life which common people in the city know nothing about. They are safe on the land while the seaman risks his life at sea. The weather is cold and stormy, the terrible tossing of waves rock the ship, the seaman will soon freeze. He has to endure the fierce storms, the snow and the hail. The beginning of the poem is not only a description of a fierce weather. It is a description of the inner state of mind of the seaman the inner struggles and conflicts he has. He is not homesick, but he realizes he is alone in the sea. His troubles are represented as being caused by the sea, but in reality the sea only represents what is already inside him, in his soul. The seafarer feels grim sorrow at heart. He is unable to feel any pleasure from the surroundings; he does not enjoy it because of the darkness in his soul and heart. There are moments in which he holds life at sea in contempt. Yet there is something which draws him back to the sea. He can choose the safe life on land, at home, where there are his fellow men, possibly his family, and where food and warmth are ensured. However, he feels this constant urge to travel, to go back to the sea. The sea is mysterious it is wide and infinite; it holds many secrets; it offers a different lifestyle it draws one away from everything familiar and safe, and throws them into a new, different world the world of danger, uncertainty, constant change; a world with no boundaries or limits. This is what the seafarer seeks, this is why he constantly returns to the dangerous travels he needs the challenge of the hard life at sea; he needs the struggles either physical or emotional. His journey in the sea is not only a journey on the physical level. It represents the journey which his soul takes on the path to God. He has to go through hardship and struggles; he has to fight with the difficulties which God sends him; he has t o welcome the challenges of the sea as challenges which God sends to test his soul. He is sailing in the sea which suggests that he is going forward. His soul is, symbolically, about to walk the path which leads to God, passing through severe trials. His kinsmen, who live on land, stay where they are, they havent moved from their place not only physically, but figuratively as well their souls have not taken the path to God, but they simply enjoy the transient goods in life while they have them. They live a stable, secure life with no dangers or trials. They strive for the goods and the glory which earthly life offers, and never think of their spirituality and morality. They dont realize that everything on Earth is fleeting and that life as they know it wealthy, glorious and bountiful will only last until their death and not in the afterlife when their souls will meet God. This is a light transition to the second part of the poem which is a moral criticism of the people, especially the rich, who rely on their wealth and glory only. They may lead a sinful life, they may oppress the weaker or the poor people, but their deeds are the only thing which will accompany them in the afterlife, not gold or money, not friends and kinsmen. There is a similar concept in the English morality play Everyman, in which wealth and fellow men abandon Everyman on his journey to death, and only good deeds stay with him until the end. There is the Christian influence, which is present in almost every piece of work in the medieval literature. According to the Christian religion God is the only truly eternal and lasting thing in the Universe. The speaker strongly criticizes the sinful life of common men instead of living a good, honorable and humble life, they only rely on wealth and bounty, and they think these earthly goods will help them or benefit them in some way in the afterlife. They never challenge their souls, and they never even pray to God. The speaker tries to imply that the rich need to change their lifestyle but he realizes that they will not, because they do not understand how their sins and idleness will only harm them later. They dont realize that wealth is transient and they will not be able to take it with them after death. God will not take in mind how powerful a man was on Earth or how much money did he possess, but will only consider his good and brave deeds and his sins. Life in Heaven is eternal and Heaven is a sort of reward for leading a faithful, honorable life. The seafarer claims that earthly happiness will not endure. He mentions that age comes upon him eventually, which suggests that glorious life is only there for some time and then one gradually loses everything they possess, including their vitality, and outer things like their friends and kinsmen. The way one spends their life on Earth determines where they will spend their afterlife. The speaker urges people to think carefully what afterlife they would like to have and then decide what the right path to there is. He tries to explain to them that they will all be equal after death, no matter how wealthy some were and how poor the others were on Earth. Moreover, they all are equal even now in Gods eyes. It does not make a difference to God whether one is rich or poor; whether one is famous or not. What will differentiate them after death is how they led their life, what they did and what their deeds led to. This is the point at which some will be sent to Heaven and others will be sent to Hell. Afterlife will be eternal, that is why people have to think now how they want to spend it. The seaman has given up on all earthly goods and bounty because he has realized that they are not important, they will be lost in time and in the end nothing will remain, only memories of the glorious days and consequences from the deeds, good or bad. The Seafarer is not only a poem about life and death. It concerns transience in life and eternity as a concept mainly in the afterlife. It suggests that life on its own has no other meaning but to praise God and to prove that one is noble enough to go to Heaven. Moreover, life is a test for the soul whether it has to be sent to Heaven or to Hell. Life after death is what really matters, because it will be for eternity, in contrast to life on Earth which lasts only a few decades. The concept of eternity is important for the moral to reach the common people. If the common man does not fear God, or does not at least consider what will happen to him after his death, he will not try to live a better, noble life, but he will only keep in mind his earthly matters, and this will lead him to impious, even ignoble deeds. Thus The Seafarer can be considered a moral poem which teaches man how to live and how to save his soul, so that he deserves afterlife in Heaven.

Ebonics :: essays research papers

Ebonics, which stands for Ebony + Phonics is a new term that Linguistics use to describe Black Dialect or Black English or many of the other names that it has been given for more that 350 years.. has been in the news recently but it is definitely not a new topic. Ebonics is a "language" that is a combination of "proper English" and a combination of African languages. Because of this combination a pattern was formed on how certain words are said such as this and that, would be pronounced dis and dat. In all words the "Th." sound sounded like a "D". There was also another pattern formed such as, no tense indicated in the verb, no "r" sound and no consonant pairs. These are just some of the many patterns that were created when Africans were forced to learn the English language.History states that around 1619, during the slave trade, ships collected slaves not just from one nation but from many nations. Although they were all Africans certain areas spoke different languages. Some Africans spoke Ibo, Yoruba and Hausa. They were then separated from each other and had to travel with people whom the could not understand. Captain William Smith wrote:...There will be no more likelihood of their succeeding in a plot...The slaves then had to learn English so that they could have some form of communication with their masters. Their native language and English would be combined and they would speak African-English pidgin. As the slaves began to learn how to communicate with each other, their words would merge into one common word that they could all understand. This is one of the ways that the language became mixed with English.When the African slaves had children they talked to them in African English pidgin. The slaves taught the children both languages so that they could communicate with the slaveowners and to other slaves. As each generation went on the Africans began to speak better English but there were still word that were never spoken correctly or said in proper form.In Georgia and other southern states there were blacks who were not brought from Africa and quite a few knew how to speak standard English. Around 1858 over 400 slave from Africa were brought straight to Georgia and none of them knew a word of English.(Smitherman) Being that these two groups merged together they adapted each others language whether it was correct or incorrectOn the east coast of America, the Blacks spoke a different degree of

Dow Chemical’s Bid for PBB in Argentina Essay

1. (5 pts) Using the values from exhibits 9, 10 and 11, a terminal growth rate of 0%, and a discount rate of 20%, what is the value of each of the three investment stages? 2. (30 pts) Describe the two most relevant factors (only those related to the fact that the acquisition is in Argentina and not in the U.S.) that in your opinion add uncertainty to those cash flows. Please list each factor with a short explanation of why it is relevant, whether it is a diversifiable risk (assume Dow’s investors are global) and the likelihood that it will affect PBB. 3. (20 pts) For question 3 please state which statement you agree with and why. The numbers shown are there to provide an idea of sensitivity, they are not precise and there is no precise answer to these questions. That is, in the absence of much, much more information, there is no clear â€Å"right† answer (though there are many â€Å"wrong† ones). Your reasoning is what matters most. Suppose that â€Å"today† is 1997 (there’s nothing particularly special about 1997, I could have chosen any other year near 1995, the beginning of the valuation). a. The sensitivity of 1998 revenues, measured in US$, to 1997 changes in the Argentinian peso against the dollar is such that: a.i. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 40% fall in revenue, measured in US$, a.ii. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 20% fall in revenue, measured in US$ a.iii. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into no fall in revenue, measured in US$, a.iv. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 20% increase in revenue, measured in US$, a.v. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 40% increase in revenue, measured in US$. b. The sensitivity of 2010 revenues, measured in US$, to 1997 changes in the Argentinian peso against the dollar is such that: b.i. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 40% fall in revenue, measured in US$, b.ii. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 20% fall in revenue, measured in US$, b.iii. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into no fall in revenue, measured in US$, b.iv. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 20% increase in revenue, measured in US$, b.v. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 40% increase in revenue, measured in US$. c. The sensitivity of 1998 costs, measured in US$, to 1997 changes in the Argentinian peso against the dollar is such that: c.i. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 40% fall in costs, measured in US$, c.ii. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 20% fall in costs, measured in US$, c.iii. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into no fall in costs, measured in US$, c.iv. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 20% increase in costs, measured in US$, c.v. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 40% increase in costs, measured in US$. d. The sensitivity of 2010 costs, measured in US$, to 1997 changes in the Argentinian peso against the dollar is such that: d.i. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 40% fall in costs, measured in US$, d.ii. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 20% fall in costs, measured in US$, d.iii. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into no fall in costs, measured in US$, d.iv. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 20% increase in costs, measured in US$, d.v. a 40% devaluation of the Argentinian peso would translate into a 40% increase in costs, measured in US$. 4. (10 pts) Based on your answers to question 3, a. What would Dow’s short-run net exposure to the Argentinian peso be? b. What would Dow’s long-run net exposure to the Argentinian peso be? c. If Dow wanted to hedge its short-run net exposure to the Argentinian peso, what would it have to do? Please provide three different alternatives it could use to hedge that risk and explain which one is likely to be the cheapest. d. If Dow wanted to hedge its long-run net exposure to the Argentinian peso, what would it have to do? Please provide three different alternatives it could use to hedge that risk and explain which one is likely to be the cheapest. 5. (30 pts) In light of what you’ve answered in questions 2 through 4 and other material from class, please state whether the discount rate that Dow should use for this valuation is larger, smaller, or the same as in the U.S. 6. (5 pts) Based on your previous answers, should Oscar Vignart bid for PBB, and if so, how much? (Maximum 100 words.) 1. (Exhibit 1) The first stage has a value for the 51% of PBB of 160.833 million of dollars. The second stage has a value (100%) of 182.62 million of dollars. The third stage has a value of 92.66 million of dollars. The first problem that involves a risk factor for investors to Dow is political risk. The economic and monetary policy implemented by the Argentine government at this time, in recent years has allowed the country to recover from a decade of crisis and seems to work pretty well. However, the risk that these maneuvers are counterproductive in the long run is alive. In that case Dow suffer some problems. In fact, most of the production in the three stadiums and sold locally (PBB 100%, 89% Polisur, 31% of capacity due to the widening of stage 3) and, if there were problems due to the political instability, most of its current and potential customers (formed by small and medium-sized businesses that use POLYETHILENE to produce good consumer) could struggle and eventually fail. That would be a serious reduction in the margins of the Dow and in its cash flows. The second problem is related to foreign exchange risk. Regarding this risk factor should make some clarifications. For the moment the government is pursuing a policy of currency pegging, for which the exchange rate and artificially set at 1. However, this condition may no longer be sustainable. In this case if it were abandoned is easy to imagine the effect it would have on markets, putting in serious condition, the Argentine economy because of lack of confidence in its solvency and this would lead to a sharp appreciation of the dollar on the weight. This situation is not particularly influential on the budgets of 3 stages where Dow is going to invest because both revenues and the variable cost (about 90% of total costs) are in dollars and only a small amount of variable and fixed cost are in Peso, and anyway with devaluation of Argentinian currency would lead to an advantage per Dow (needed fewer dollars to pay in Peso, and those costs are slower to adapt to new exchange rates). On the contrary the negative effect of the abandonment of the peg you would in Argentine petrochemical market. In fact, polyethilene prices are in U.S. dollars and with the devaluation of the peso (the currency in which the players downstream of Dow are cashing) Dow’s Argentinian customers could find themselves in difficulty to support prices in dollars, which are international based. That would lead to a radical decline in the profitability of Dow. Finally, it is important to emphasize that, also selling outside the country, Dow would see margins decline due to higher costs of transportation and duties. 3. a. ii. PBB Is cashing in dollars so a fall of 40% of Peso would not have a direct impact of translating the cash flow of PBB into dollors. However PBB operates in Argentina, and its revenues are tied to the ability of its customers to buy in dollars. With such a devaluation of the Argentine pbb customers may find it difficult to pay but it is said that everyone is unable to do so because they could be covered in the market for coins. pbb also may move and take advantage of the amount of unmet demand in Latin America. However, this in a year is not feasible to perfection then a reduction in revenues of 20% is predictable. b. iii. The reasoning is similar to that outlined above. However, in this case one can imagine that pbb reacted to the change occurred 3 years before or however that the situation has changed. If the economy has recovered, it’ll be exporting outside of Argentina for the amount of capacity can not be sold in argentina, decreasing their margins because of the cost of export revenues, but keeping to the level in the case of PEG. c. ii. Talking about the good things are different costs. Even tough much of the costs are in U.S. dollars for pbb there is a part of them that is paid in pesos. It is part of the variable costs and fixed costs. However a devaluation of the peso would be a gain for PBB, which, cashing in dollars, will convert fewer dollars to pay in pesos. As mentioned, however, this effect would be taken with a not too substantial part of the costs of pbb, and also it can be assumed that during the year some of these costs are aligned in part to the conversion values ​​before the write-down for an inflationary process. d. iii. The reasoning is similar to that described above, however, it is assumed that in the course of 3 years, the monetary costs of PBB align to those pre devaluation, thus not allowing to benefit from the effect devaluing. a. the net peso short run exposure is about the fixed cost, other variable cost and taxes, for an amount of (EXHIBIT 1) of 116.7 million of dollars. b. the net long run peso exposure is 374.22 million of dollars. c. to hedge a currency risk the alternatives are: forwards (or future) contract options currency swap. The best alternatives in the short run are the forward, they are cheap (no entry expense) and very versatile. To hedge the amount the just have to enter in a contract of the opposite direction of what they need. In this case they have to buy the total cost in pesos ad the current exchange rate in dollars. Using options it would much costly because of the option premium which has to be paid once you entered in such a contract. Anyway, because you will only exercise your right if it the exchange rate is favorable, they leave gain opportunities in exchange rates. The currency swap doesn’t fit well the short run exposure because of the length of such a contract and and the cost to be inside that kind of contract if there is not an existent debt. d. In the long term forward could be costly for the premium that the controparty may put in the exchange rates (they are commonly banks in over the counter markets), and because for long term the market could be illiquid. In this particular case the long term are just 3 years so using forward could still be a good choise. Options in the long term are not good because it is difficult to find in markets contract with such long expiring date (and exact date in order not to incur in basis risk) and because you have to buy several contract. Swap could be an idea, but as forward don’t allow gains on favorable exchange rate; a currency swaption (option on a currency swap) could be an idea, but looks costly at time of entering in the contract. The discount rate that Dow should use, should be higher than that used for evaluating such an investment in the United States. This is due to the fact that the rate of between 8-10% used in US incorporates a risk premium relative to the U.S. market, which is different from that required for a similar investment in the Argentine market. In fact, looking at the performance of American and Argentine sovereign bonds, we see that the latter are higher than the U.S.. this difference is no more than the country risk premium that an investor requires to invest in Argentina compared to investing in the U.S.. this spread can be introduced into the calculation of the value of the correct discount rate using the following formula: Keu is identified with the unlevered cost of capital, or the return required to invest in certain asset class. With rf the risk-free return to us, ï  ¢u with the unlevered beta for the sector (plastic and specialized chemicals) with rm the market return and cpr country risk premium. Now, in the specific case under investigation in research on international databese you identify that the unlevered beta of the sector is close to the unit. You can also add that in the long term all beta approaching market beta (as a consequence of the Efficient Market Theory that states that as all information becomes known, the market will settle to its proper level as everyone will be able to make correct choices), and therefore since our beta in databese is equal to one, the hypothesis of adjusted beta only reinforce this assumption. So in this particular case it can be assumed that the country risk premium can be simply added to the discount factor used for an American investment. The problem is now correctly assessing the market risk premium. You can see from the exhibits proposed (Exhibit 2) that in recent years, with the PEG CPR has fluctuated around an average of about 700 basis points. Despite the markets already incorporate the possible abandonment of the peg and its causes is not difficult to think that if that happened the â€Å"cpr† suffer a considerable leap and this estimate might be not prudent, but we must remember that the market is not only Argentina in the presented 3 stages, and potentially due to the increased demand in Latin America (exhibits 3), Dow could be exported elsewhere. A CPR of around 5-7% is so reasonable, for a total discount rate between 13-17%. By using the rate of growth proposed in the case of 3.3% per annum and a discount rate of 16%, the NPV of 51% of PBB is of U.S. $ 207,476 million. This amount is not however the correct the price of the bid. Just the cash flows are not enough to assess the correct price to offer the Argentine government. As first analysis the two competitors do not seem serious bidder in the auction because they do not meet the request of combined 5 billion net worth. There are still 10 days at the closing of the auction and if they succeed caming forward with a capital increase bringing their combined wealth over 5 billion, then Dow should also consider the fact that it can benefit not only the cash flows of PBB but also those of the 3 stage of the project, which provide in part an increase in production capacity of PBB and especially of its efficiency. A price around $ 300 million should keep out other potential bidder, which they cannot reach the advantage of being the mainly argenitian producer . However, this scenario is not credible given the close smebra operating times were competitors to meet the demands of the government, then the minimum bet request for $ 150 million should be sufficient and would allow Dow generate a significant positive NPV. 150 ultimately is ultimately the value to offer.

The try-catch-finally Blocks in Java

The try-catch-finally Blocks in Java To make a Java program as robust as possible it needs to be able to handle exceptions. The compiler does its part by not allowing you to compile a program until it is syntactically correct and can also point out checked exceptions that must be handled. But the exceptions that are likely to cause the most headaches are the ones that appear once the program is running. To help handle these exceptions the Java language provides the try-catch-finally blocks. The try Block The tryblock encases any statements that might cause an exception to occur. For example, if you are reading data from a file using the FileReader class, its expected that you handle the IOExceptions associated with using a FileReader object, for example,FileNotFoundExceptionand IOException. To ensure this happens, you can place the statements that deal with creating and using the FileReader object inside a try block:However, the code is incomplete because, in order for the exception to be handled, we need a place for it to be caught. This happens in the catch block.The catch Block The catch block(s)  provide a place to handle the exception thrown by the statements within a try block. The catch block is defined directly after the try block. It must specify the type of exception it is handling. For example, the FileReader object defined in the code above is capable of throwing a FileNotFoundException or an IOException. We can specify two catch blocks to handle both of those exceptions:In the FileNotFoundExceptioncatchblock we could place code to ask the user to find the file for us and then try to read the file again. In the IOException catch block, we might just pass on the I/O error to the user and ask them to try something else. Either way, we have provided a way for the program to catch an exception and handle it in a controlled manner.In Java SE 7, it became possible to handled multiple exceptions in one catch block. If the code we wanted to place in the two catch blocks above was exactly the same we could write the code like this instead:In order to do a bit of housekeeping as far as resources go, we can add a finally block. After all, we want to release the file we have been reading from once we are finished. The finally Block The statements in the finally block are always executed. This is useful to clean up resources in the event of the try block executing without an exception and in the cases when there is an exception. In both eventualities, we can close the file we have been using.   The finally block appears directly after the last catch block:

The Little Theatre Accounting Flexible Budget Analysis Essay Example

The Little Theatre Accounting Flexible Budget Analysis Essay Example The Little Theatre Accounting Flexible Budget Analysis Paper The Little Theatre Accounting Flexible Budget Analysis Paper The Little Theatre Case 9. 26 Case 9. 26 After the beginning of the year, the board of directors of the theater authorized expanding the theater’s program to seven productions and a total of 168 performances. Not surprisingly, actual costs were considerably higher than the costs from the planning budget. Grants from donors and ticket sales were also higher. After completing the analysis for the Little Theatre we found that several items could be implemented to have an accurate cost model in the future. First, we prepared a flexible budget for the Little Theatre based on the actual activity of the year. We found that there were a number of cost items such as wages, scenery items, and administrative expenses that were under estimated compared to the original anticipated budget. We also found that there were items such as the theater hall rental and the cost of the printed programs that cost less than the budgeted items. Secondly, we prepared a Cost Budget Performance Report for the year that reflected the breakeven point. We have identified the price and the number of tickets we have to sell in order to cover the cost of the number of productions and the number of performances. The breakeven point was based on the actual cost of each expense. The question was asked, â€Å"If you were on the board of directors of the theater, would you be pleased with how well costs were controlled during the year why or why not? † We were not totally satisfied with the way costs were controlled during the year because the costs below were higher than we anticipated. Wages Costumes Publicity Administrative Expenses The market may be the reason for the expenses being higher than we forecasted. For example, the theatre may not be able to pay a lower wage to the actors. In the future in order to have an accurate cost model we may improve on expenses such as costumes. We may submit bids to other vendors to see if we can lower costs. Finally, the cost formulas provided figures for the average cost per production and average cost per performance. We wanted to find out how accurate these figures would be for predicting the cost of a new production or of an additional performance of a particular production. Our analysis revealed that if the Little Theatre did six productions and one hundred and eight performances, the total cost would be $514,921 and the number of tickets that would need to be sold would be 10,298 at a price of $50. 00. We also found that the cost to produce seven productions and one hundred and sixty eight performances would be $726,900. In addition, the number of tickets that would need to be sold in order to cover this cost would be 14,438 at a price of $50. 00. Over all we project the Little Theatre will be successful if they continue to master the flex budget model.

International hospitality environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

International hospitality environment - Essay Example The IBE encompasses differences as well as similarities of cultures, impact of globalization, entry of foreign markets, emergence of new markets, competition between local and foreign companies, competition within domestic markets, foreign direct investments, exchange rates, corporate finances, global marketing, trade agreements, regional focus and differences, global and emerging forces, among other interrelated factors. According to the Economist (2007), in view of the four-day World Economic Forum in Davos, the international business environment is in its bullish mood as profits are at record levels, remarkable and robust financial system, abundance of liquidity, structural imbalances caused by outsourcing, minding the green or environmentalism, among others. Wikipedia and words such as "supercapacitor" are "in" as the next big thing, with predictions of structural recession and stable international political relationships. Biggies such as the Citigroup, Google, and Andre Kudelski of a security badge company were declared main players as protectionism (basically US politicians playing on their middle-class voters) was emphasized. If anything, competition is at stake as World Social Forum take on the WEF. The report basically gives a picturesque view of the global business environment. In your own words discuss the 3 levels of th... Macro - the international business environment encompasses global trends from e-commerce, profit for being green, merging and separation of cultures in trade, foreign direct investment, marketing across countries and the ever- present sustainable development. This has emerged due to globalization, information and communication technology (ICT), and outsourcing which has threatened the United States' workforce, slowly levelling-up economic play fields, and transferring forces like tsunami. Micro - in this level, the business environment factors are customers who are diverse, cosmopolitan or culture-based, broad, demanding or passive; there are also employees scattered all over the world with multinational corporations (MNCs) having their manufacturing offices somewhere in China, research and development in India or Germany, distribution all over third-world countries in Asia, Africa and South America, and luxury in Europe or the North Americas. Suppliers in this sense, considered B2B are also all over the world: from Asia, Africa, and South Americas, towards China, Taiwan and other manufacturing favourites. In this micro environment, the stake holders, basically investors are mostly from the capitalist countries of North America and Europe, although emerging bullish actors are now largely coming from Asia, and South America. It is also of importance to mention communication facilitators which are the media, largely funded by US moguls, which not only includes tradition al print and broadcast but streaming media brought about by ICT. The last for consideration is competition which are basically bullish new comers shaking old established MNCs and their ageing techniques

Construction Best Practice Programme Assignment

Construction Best Practice Programme - Assignment Example Human Resource Evaluation: is the evaluation of current employees to assess suitability to current job and skill requirement in terms of interests, skills, experiences and overall abilities. Job analysis & Design: Involves the restructuring of an organization to optimize its human resource, to best meet the possible forecast requirements for human resources for any project. Analysis of Internal Availability: The organization reviews the availability of its current employees before deployment to a project. Job descriptions & Specifications. Employees with the most suitable skills and capabilities are shortlisted for deployment, with a degree of flexibility to mitigate unforeseeable risks. Training and development. Providing project-specific training to shortlisted employees Impact of Human Resources deployment planning Technical performance: An ability to meet technical requirements of the project. Technological innovativeness: The team on site is able to meet challenges to problems technical in and find solutions that are fast, efficient and cost-effective. Project efficiency in execution: Overall improved adherence to time and cost projections for the project. Team performance: is effective towards reducing risk, streamlining decision making, improved information exchange and a higher level of motivation achieved through teamwork. Possible Difficulties in this process Methods to negate problems / difficulties Ill-trained personnel deployed to site. Deployment only after appropriate training and vetting of skillsets Attrition of personnel during project attrition Project continuity assured through teamwork, where contingencies in terms... Evaluation of the effectiveness of human and material resource control can be done setting up and analyzing KPIs for all the different stakeholders in a project; the clients, contractors, workers, consultants and the suppliers. Benchmarks, both internal and external, assist in evaluating performance of all stakeholders in the project. Criticality of the activity. Monitoring is more extensive and frequent for activities that are an important part of the Project Critical path, to the extent that all activities that lead up to it are also monitored extensively to mitigate any potential risks in the timely execution of these activities. Time frame and sub-components of the activity. An activity that has several components that have to come together over, say, a 36 hr period, shall be monitored at the beginning and end of each component sub-activity. Criticality: Installation is a 36 hour process, and factors like availability of the crane, completion of chiller platforms on terrace, completion of housing nuts, presenc