I Shall Use Blackburn s `` Think `` - 1578 Words

Initial answer: My initial answer to the question of whether or not we have free will is yes, we do indeed have free will. Philosophical Context: I shall use Blackburn’s â€Å"Think† to discuss my question and initial answer. In Think, Blackburn has a chapter dedicated to discussing the presence of free will and both arguments for and against its presence. Objection 1: In the beginning of chapter 4 of Think, Blackburn brings up the idea of determinism, or the idea that â€Å"every event is the upshot of previous antecedent causes.† His argument goes â€Å"The past controls the present and the future. You can’t control the past. Also, you can’t control the way that the past controls the future. So, you can’t control the present or the future.† This means that every action or event that happens in the present was set in motion by the past and there is nothing that you can do it change it -- the future has already been set. Therefore, there is no free will involved because you are just doing what is a consequence of the past events and cannot be held accountable for your actions. Some may then reference quantum mechanics, as Blackburn does, and say some events â€Å"just happen† as shown in the quantum world. But this then leads to the same conclusion; whether determinism holds or it doesnâ€℠¢t and events just happen, you will lose freedom and responsibility. Response to objection 1: Even though we are not able to control the past, that doesn’t mean that one can’t change the future or be heldShow MoreRelatedEssay on Our Posthuman Future: The Philosophical Implications2960 Words   |  12 PagesIntroduction This essay is about the philosophy of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and it will delve deep into the question of the many philosophical implications of AI. 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Dear Newsletter - 3497 Words

Dear Newsmaker Letter Rory Pritchard Professor Brad Long October 3rd 2014 Actual article: Children working on tobacco farms in the United States are exposed to nicotine, toxic pesticides, and other dangers, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. While US law prohibits the sale of tobacco products to children, children can legally work on tobacco farms in the US. The world’s largest tobacco companies buy tobacco grown on US farms, but none have child labor policies that sufficiently protect children from hazardous work. The 138-page report, â€Å"Tobacco’s Hidden Children: Hazardous Child Labor in US Tobacco Farming,† documents conditions for children working on tobacco farms in four states where 90 percent of US tobacco†¦show more content†¦Though the long-term effects are uncertain, some research suggests that nicotine exposure during adolescence may have consequences for brain development. Several children told Human Rights Watch that they had been injured while working with sharp tools and heavy machinery. In Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia, children often hand-harvest tall tobacco plants by cutting them with small axes and spearing the stalks onto long sticks with pointed ends. The children said they often cut or puncture themselves on the hands, arms, legs, and feet. A 16-year-old boy described an accident while harvesting tobacco in Tennessee: â€Å"I cut myself with the hatchet.†¦ I probably hit a vein or something because it wouldn’t stop bleeding and I had to go to the hospital†¦. My foot was all covered in blood.† One 17-year-old boy interviewed by Human Rights Watch lost two fingers in an accident with a mower used to trim small tobacco plants.Almost none of the children Human Rights Watch interviewed said that employers had given them health and safety training or protective gear. 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Morrisons free essay sample

Formal education will make you a living; self education will make you a fortune. For me personally speaking, working on the Research and Analysis report has given me an opportunity I have always been waiting for. Not only has it taught me how to self discipline myself but allowed me to implement various aspects of my skills demonstrating that I have to necessary ability to understand, interpret, and explain qualitative and quantitative data and turning it into meaningful information. The preparation of Research and Analysis Report whilst studying and working was one of the few tasks that I knew would challenge my planning, prioritising, research and analysis abilities. There were numerous topics which appealed to me. But for some reason I was naturally drawn towards topic number 8 and finally came to the conclusion that I would base my report on this topic. My chosen topic is outlined below. ‘The business and financial performance of an organisation over a three year period’ The requirement of this topic was pretty straight forward. Having said that, I knew that a detailed analysis would certainly require all my knowledge and skills, developed whilst studying towards ACCA be put to the test. I have chosen to focus on was Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc, one of the largest food retailers in the United Kingdom. I would like to thank Oxford Brookes and ACCA for providing such a pleasant opportunity and making this degree possible. It has been a challenging experience and has taught me several valuable lessons. Finally I would like to take this opportunity and thank my Mentor and Almighty God for helping me though my project. Introduction of Wm Morrison Supermarket plc Wm Morrisons plc or Morrisons as the general public knows It today, was founded by William Morrison in 1899. It started as an egg and butter merchant in Rawson Market Bradford. It was not until 1958 that an initiative was taken to open a small shop in the city centre, offering a self-service, displaying its prices on the product and providing three checkouts. Within three years the company’s first supermarket â€Å"Victoria† was opened in Bradford, from here the company ventured into remarkable journey oing public within 10 years in 1967 after opening its first town-centre shop. Over the course of 30-40 years, from acquiring various stores throughout the country, to venturing into fresh food supplies and buying out bakery operations. Morrison was expanding, distribution centres and warehouses were opening up and down the country. Following a 35 year record of sales and profit growth since going public, Morrisons joined the FTS E 100 for the first time in April 2001 In 2004 Morrisons took over of Safeway stores, making them the fourth largest supermarket chain in the UK. It has since gone on to claim the ‘Retailer of the Year’ award in 2009 as well as other distinguished prizes such as ‘Grocer of the Year 2008’. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Morrisons (http://www. morrisons. co. uk/Corporate/About-us/Company-history/) Objectives The big economic meltdown hit the UK in 2007, more than two million people lost their jobs resulting in diminished income and loss of purchasing power. Inflation passing its peak, income levels remaining stagnant, even normal purchasing such as the weekly grocery became harder for an average person. Leaving less disposable income at hand, hence causing buyers to spend money wisely. The effect of recession was particularly felt by the poor people or those who were on low incomes. They felt the effects of the rising cost of living associated with food and fuel prices increases in international markets. This dramatically reduced their level of spending power forcing them to adapt in a range of ways which was not seen before, such as buying cheaper and sometimes buying poor quality food, including fast and frozen food. Major organisation had to modify their models because very few organisations are recession-proof. At the same time, Morrisons needed to strengthen their position in this competitive market, by attempting to lessen the gap between themselves and their top competitors, such as Tesco and Sainsburys. Therefore, the primary objective of my coursework is as follows: ‘To ascertain as to what realistic measures Morrisons have taken to stay as a going concern during the recession and to assess whether they made the necessary changes to be able to bridge the gap between themselves and the top competitors in the industry. ’ For me to be able to substantiate this, I am going to use following ratio analysis as secondary objectives: 1) . Common –size Analysis of Morrisons competitors’ performance showing over the course of three years 2) . Trend Analysis of Morrisons showing overall performance over the course of the three years I will also use the non financial data as secondary objectives: 1) Evaluate non-financial data for all parties concerned. http://www. ids. ac. uk/go/news/what-the-global-recession-means-for-poverty-in-the-uk http://www. jrf. org. uk/publications/impact-global-economic-downturn-communities-and-poverty-uk Objective For the purpose of this project, the years in consideration will encompass a financial period covering 2007 to 2009. The rationale behind choosing this particular period is because it covers the market at a time when it has already hit recession and was gradually recovering from it. For me to be able provide a true and fair view, I would need accurate comparisons which would result in an unbiased view of Morrisons performance. To assess Morrisons Performance, I will be comparing it with the two undisputed market giants which are Tesco and Sainsbury’s. As accurate industry averages are difficult to obtain I will be using comparisons with Tesco and Sainsbury’s on a like for like basis. I will make use of ratio analysis to assess the financial performance of Morrisons before focusing on the non financial areas. To further understand their capabilities I would use a strategic planning method called SWOT Analysis to evaluate the weakness, opportunities and threats involved in the organisation and compare them to their competitors. My primary objective to assess whether the gap between Morrisons and its main competitors has closed and what course of action may be best suited considering the information obtained and results of the findings.. Information Gathering Once the objectives are set, my next step is to gather as much information as possible relating to the organisations under consideration. This Information can be gathered in two ways; via Primary data or Secondary data. 1) Primary data Primary data involves collecting data at source such as questionnaires, surveys and interviews. 2) Secondary data Secondary data involves data which is already available, collected by someone else for their own purposes of for general use such as Financial Statements, reviews, and other related pieces of information. Financial Statements: Financial analysis cannot be performed without the availability of the company`s financial statements. Therefore financial statements are the only piece of information available to the stakeholder through which they can analyse company’s performance. Reliability Information that can be trust would be reliable. Therefore reliability is a key factor and although Primary data is generally reliable because is collected at source. Its interpretation can change the dynamics depending on the results seen by the user and the quality of responses provided by the recipients. Focus on using secondary data As mentioned earlier, secondary data is collected by others for their own purposes. I am going to focus on building up on my report using secondary data as it is more relevant and reliable hence interpreted more consistently. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Primary_source The Internet (World Wide Web) The World Wide Web as we know it, has been the biggest source of information in compiling this project. Since not all information available on the internet is reliable and accurate, I decided to utilise on highly reliable sources. Therefore I have attempted to focus on the following websites for information: www. accaglobal. co. uk www. economist. com www. ft. com www. morrisons. co. uk www. tesco. co. uk www. sainsburys. co. uk www. thegrocer. co. uk Secondary data gathered from these websites are as follows: Financial Statements Financial statements on their own are of limited use. When interpreting financial statements it is important to ascertain who the users of the information are and what information is needed. In the UK, all companies are required by law to prepare and publish financial statements annually. The form and content may be regulated primarily by national legislation and in most case must also comply with Financial Reporting Standards (FRS). For this reason most organisations disclose such information on their websites, in order for it to become more easily obtainable for potential investors. This information was sufficient for me to calculate the ratios that I had selected and perform the financial analysis. (http://beginnersinvest. about. com/od/gaap/tp/financial-statements. htm) Industry Publications The 21st century has brought a number of new technological changes to the publication industry. Food retail industry holds a big market share in the UK and they are regularly scheduled publications that present recent news. However, the Institute of Grocery Distribution www. igd. com compiles analyses and comments on trends on worldwide Grocery markets, with extensive information on the UK market. The website, www. grocer. co. uk, which also has its own magazine ‘The Grocer’ provides countless articles on the shape and events affecting the food retail industry. Newspaper Articles With easy access to the internet, most popular and reliable finance orientated newspapers are now accessible via the internet or through paid subscriptions. I have used The Economist www. economist and the Financial Times www. ft. com to gather information relevant for my report. Based on the findings I will use SWOT analysis to establish the business performance review. Accessing these websites not only gave me a wide-ranging level of information directly related to Morrisons, but also of the industry as a whole. Educational Publications As an ACCA student my main resource for educational publication was the ‘Student Accountant’, published by ACCA. This is a monthly publication which provides in depth knowledge and information relating the accountancy world. It provides information on how to improve your performance discussing exam techniques. From time-to-time, it publishes articles on guiding students in how to be successful in the RAP and the things to look out for. I have used the BBP â€Å"success in your research and analysis project† as a guide for my project. I Have also made use of my academic books such as F2, F3, F7 and F9 to consolidate the findings and refresh my concepts and theories. https://www. gov. uk/ Constraints on Information gathering (http://www. studymode. com/subjects/limitations-on-information-gathering-page3. tml /) Gathering information has its limitations and to minimise those limitations it is vitally important to understand what information is relevant or else it can lead to making a wrong decision due to unreliable information. I have attempted to filter out reliable information by investing a lot of time in carefully assessing and validating the information through cross referencing publications to the best of my abilities. Although I still believe that it is only natural that the above method used still has its limitations which I would like to highlight below: These are outlined as follows: ) As information gathered from the internet is of secondary in nature. It is possible that an element of human error exits. 2) Quality information is not readily available, requiring a great deal of time and effort to filter out using trade publications and analysing comparative data. Accounting and Business Techniques As mentioned earlier in this report, the main method I plan to use for establishing the company`s performance shall be Ratio Analysis and (SWOT Analysis) for non-financial analysis. Ratio Analysis (F2 Management accounting page 493) (http://www. renhall. com/divisions/bp/app/cfl/RA/RatioAnalysis. html) Financial performance measures are used to monitor the overall management of money in the business. Numerous financial measures can be used to assess the overall performance of an organisation as a whole. Interested parties including Analysts review a company’s financial statements in order to gain a better understanding of the organisations financial position. There are several performance measurement techniques which have been developed to assist in understanding the organisations true financial position. These performance measurement techniques known as ratios, can at times also provide in dept analysis into the company`s future growth. Typical tools used in the accountancy industry are : 1) Short term Solvency Ratios 2) Debt Management Ratios 3) Asset Management Ratios 4) Profitability Ratios 5) Market Value Ratios 6) Equations. Ratios under consideration The area of focus for this project will include ratio analysis and interpretation of the following: 1) Profitability ratios 2) Debt Management Ratios 3) Short term Solvency Ratios Limitations of Ratio Analysis http://accountingexplained. com/financial/ratios/advantages-limitations) Even though ratio analysis is a widely used tool it certainly has some disadvantages: 1) Comparability: Different organisations operate in different industries following different accounting policies. For example, inventory is valued differently by different organisation such as, some might follow marginal costing techniques whereas other might use absorption costing . Therefore it is not always practical to compare two organisations simply by analysing their ratios. ) Past Information: Ratios are compared on a quantitative basis explaining the relationship between past information where as users are more concerned on the organisations current and future information. SWOT Analysis (http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/SWOT_analysis) SWOT Analysis is an effective technique in identifying both the Opportunities open and the Threat an Organisation faces. It is also used as a means to understand the Strengths and Weaknesses of an Organisation. SWOT Analysis particularly aims to identify key in ternal and external factors as important to an objective. It groups key pieces of information into two main groups: 1) Internal activities- Strength and Weaknesses 2) External activities- Opportunities and Threats Limitations of SWOT Analysis as a non-financial analysis tool (http://www. mindtools. com/pages/article/newTMC_05. htm) Just like ratio analysis, SWOT analysis has its disadvantages. 1) Factor Weighting. The analysis does not provide a means to identify the significance of one item versus another in a list. Therefore further analysis is required to establish the impact of the individual strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats on the objective of the study. ) Validity Factors. SWOT analysis is a subjective process producing results which reflect bias on the person contributing towards its analysis. Furthermore the analysis uses data which is available at a particular moment in time and may be outdated fairly quickly leading to a business making a decision on unreliable or irrelevant data. Considering both methods have thei r limitations, in order for me to mitigate the effect of deficiencies, using various techniques simultaneously will better euip me to come to a more informed conclusion Performance Analysis I will start by using Performance Analysis to compare Morrisons financial performance with the industry leaders over a course of three years. Total UK Sales and Sales Growth over the whole period (in ? m)  | 2007| 2008| 2009| Tesco| 32,665 | 34,858 | 38,191 | Morrisons| 12,462 | 12,969 | 14,528 | Sainsburys| 16,860 | 17,837 | 18,911 | Choosing the sales figures from above and using a Compound bar (multiple) chart , I have been able illustrate the growth each company has had over the past three years. | Growth| Tesco| 16. 2%| Morrisons| 16. 58%| Sainsburys| 12. 16%| (Morrisons revenue increases by 16. 58 % from 2007 to 2009). Despite the recession, during the period 2007 to 2009, Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s, they all have had steady growth. Although Tesco Sales include non-food items such as clothing and electrical appliances, it is evident from the table above that Morrisons sales growth during this period was very similar to Tesco. This indicates that although Morrison s sales are significantly lower than Tesco, they appear to be improving. Operating Profits and Growth over the period Operating Profit (? m)| | 2007| 2008| 2009| Tesco| 2,083 | 2,164 | 2,540 | Morrisons| 423 | 612 | 671 | Sainsburys| 429 | 535 | 616 | | Growth| Tesco| 21. 94%| Morrisons| 58. 63%| Sainsburys| 43. 59%| (Morrisons operating profit increases by 58. 63 from 2007 to 2009) Operating profit margins for all three companies also increased over the three year period. . Although the figures show that there was a growth of almost 60%. In fact, it was a 30% higher than Tesco’s own operating profit growth. Tesco was showing interest in foreign markets such United States of America and India, as was mentioned in their financial review. On the surface of it, higher revenue may be a good sign for an organisation but the higher the revenues, the harder it is to exceed those expectations for the following year. Profitability/store Being the market leaders it is obvious that Tesco and Sainsburys have considerably larger operations than Morrisons. This can further be seen in the table illustrated below. | Total Stores| | 2007| 2008| 2009| Tesco| 1988| 2115| 2282| Morrisons| 368| 375| 382| Sainsburys| 788| 823| 792| Since Morrisons operates less than 20% of the total stores of Tesco and half the stores that which Sainsburys does. Morrisons has had similar level of revenue and, most surprisingly of all, a higher level of operating profit. In the period covering between 2007 and 2009 Morrisons opened 7 supermarkets where as Tesco opened 294 outlets and Sainsburys opened a total of just 4 outlets including 31 sites which were closed down in 2009. During this period, Morrisons opened a total of 14 supermarkets for the period. Keeping all fact at hand, Morrison has predominantly focused on opening larger supermarkets and their presence on the high street is fairly limited in comparison to Sansburys and Tesco. For an indepth analysis on this matter, I have decided to calculate the profitability per store for each of the companies for the three year period. I will be using the operating profit figures and total number of stores from the charts above. | Profitability per store (? m)| | 2007| 2008| 2009| Tesco| 1. 05 | 1. 02 | 1. 11 | Morrisons| 1. 15 | 1. 63 | 1. 6 | Sainsburys| 0. 54 | 0. 65 | 0. 78 | The result of calculating profitability per store clearly shows that Morrisons not only had the highest profitability per store but also the greatest profitability growth over the same period. This shows that Morrisons have a remarkable business model considering all this growth was in the middle of a deep recession. From the results above, it can be seen that Tesco did slightly suffer. As mentioned before, Tes co was attempting start operations abroad but they too posted a slight increase in profitability per store by the end of 2009. Although it is still a lot lesser than the profitability per store in relation to Morrisons. Closure of 31 outlets for Sainsburys meant that there was lost revenue from those outlets. Although it could be argued that having those outlets run could have meant even lower profitability levels. Sources of information: (http://www. tescoplc. com/index. asp? pageid=30) (http://www. morrisons. co. uk/Corporate/2009/AnnualReport/index. html) (http://www. morrisons. co. uk/Documents/Annual_Report2007. pdf) (http://www. jsainsburys. co. uk/ar09/financialstatements/groupincome. shtml) Ratio Analysis – Appendix 1 to 6 For ratios to be meaningful, they must be used in comparison to other companies in a similar industry. Even though I have been evaluating the sales and profitability figures of Morrisons to Tesco’s, I believe it would not be practical to compare their individual financial ratios. The underlying reason being, that Tesco’s financial statements include their worldwide figures, as well as cross sector earnings. Despite the fact that they use IAS 14 (International Accounting Standards) which is segmental reporting, it is unlikely that an accurate analysis could be made as it is not on a like to like basis. For me to be able to make a more informed opinion on the performance of the companies. I have chosen to use Key information from Sansburys financial accounts (Appendix 6). The ratio analysis will provide much more meaningful information because the revenues and profits generated are extremely similar and provide a better choice for analysis. (http://www. demonstratingvalue. org/resources/financial-ratio-analysis/) Profitability Ratios http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/profitability-ratios. html Profitability ratio is a measure that highlights the performance of an organisation in terms of its ability to generate profit. It gives an indication of how well the management is performing in achieving the organisational goals. These ratio include: Gross Profit Margin Gross Profit x 100 Revenue This is the margin a company makes on its sale and would be expected to remain reasonably constant. From the results obtain using ratio analysis, the Gross Profit Margin for Morrisons has increased by 1 percentage point. With the current figure being 6. 28%. From the analysis it can be seen that there was a slight decrease in the figure in 2008 which was of 0. 03 %. This decrease can be linked to the cause and effect of recession. Whereas, looking at the Gross Profit Margin of Sanisbuys, it can be seen noted that that the figures a showing a consistent fall over the course of three years. Since the revenue figures show an increase between 2007 and 2009, the margins actually fell by more than 1 percent from 6. 83% to 5. 48% during the same period. This could be due to higher cost of sales or increase an in inventory levels linking it again to the cause and effect of recession. Operating Profit Margin Net Profit x 100 Revenue Operating profit margins measures how well a company controls not only its cost of sales, but other selling and administrative costs. After a significant rise in the Operating Profit Margin for Morrisons, in 2008. There was a slight drop of 0. 01 percent in 2009, standing at 4. 62. % This is consistent with the fact that the Gross Profit Margin for Morrisons also fell by a similarly small percentage in the same period. A similar trend can be seen with Sainsburys because their Operating Profit Margin slightly fell in 2008. They recovered fairly well in 2009 with Operating Profit Margin of 3. 56%. Leaving them 1% behind Morrisons. Return on Equity Net Profit x 100 Average total equity Investors are interested in Return on equity (RoE) also known as ‘the investor’s ratio’ because it measures how much profit a company generates for its ordinary shareholders. The Financial Ratios in Appendix 4 show that Morrisons Return on Equity has significantly improved from 9. 40% in 2007, to 14. 49% in 2009, which is on the whole very commendable. The chunk of the increase came in 2008 as can be seen from the ratios while growth continued into 2009 at a much slower pace. Looking at the results of Sainsburys, the return on equity actually fell. The chunk of the fall was in 2008, falling by 1. 26% from 10. 97% in 2007 to 9. 71%. They consequently recovered to a RoE of 10. 65% in 2009. (http://www. investopedia. com/terms/r/returnonequity. asp) Profitability Analysis Commentary Since no organisation is fully recession proof, it is fair to say that Sanisburys drop in profit was partly to do with the recession and the diminishing value of pound sterling It is worthy of noting that Sainsbuys would naturally be effected by this drop in profits because some of its suppliers came from outside the country. The effect of this was that their purchasing power weakened due to the weakening of currency exchange rates. Whereas Morrisons predominantly source their produce locally, this model of procurement left them in a relatively stronger position. As Sainsburys was possibly facing increased cost of sales, it was not possible for them to pass them on to their customers in fear of losing them, they had to absorb those costs and reduce their margins. Liquidity Ratios Liquidity Ratio measures how well a company to turns its short term assets into cash to cover its financial obligations. Short-term creditors frequently use the Liquidity Ratios to establish whether a company will be able to continue as a going concern. Current Ratio Current Assets Current Liabilities The higher the current ratio, the more likely an organisation is in a position to pay its short term debts. A current ratio of less than one means that the company has a negative working capital and is probably facing liquidity issues. In such a situation it may be hard for a company to get credit from its suppliers. The results of Morrisons show an improved in their current ratio, although it may still be argued that they are still very low at 0. 53 in 2009. Sainsburys results show very similar results of 0. 54 in 2009. Although the current ratios for both companies may be similar in 2009, looking at the preceding years Sainsburys has been in a continuous decline from 0. 7 in 2007 to 0. 54 in 2009. Contrary to that, Morrisons has continuously improved over the same period from a current ratio of 0. 4 in 2007 to 0. 53 in 2009. (http://www. investopedia. com/terms/l/liquidityratios. sp) Quick Ratio Current Assets Stocks Current Liabilities Quick Ratio measures the company`s ability to meet its short term obligation with its most liquefying assets. The concept behind this is to be able to generate cash as soon as possible. Amongst other items, current assets consist of cash, receivables and Inventory. Some organisations in the market sell their receivables using, factoring or for that matter, invo ice discounting as a means to generate cash flow. On the other hand Inventory is considered as a slow moving item with inherent attributes of obsolescence nd perishablity. Since inventory is dependent on variables such as supply and demand it is usually hard to liquefy it when cash is needed. For this reason the quick ratio eliminates the inventory from the equation giving a much more rigorous measure of liquidity. As a food reseller Morrisons, Sainsbury and Tesco, they all hold high inventory levels, for this reason, almost half of their current assets comprises of stock. From the results obtained in Appendix 4, Morrisons has had a steady improvement in its quick ratio, resulting in a ratio of 0. 28 in 2009. Looking at Sainsburys results for the same period, The Quick Ratio has fallen from 0. 49 in 2007 to 0. 30 in 2009. Although the ratio figures for both companies are somewhat similar, both are moving in totally opposite directions. Liquidity Position Analysis – Comments Looking the statement of financial position of both companies, it is evident why Morrisons Liquidity position continued to improve where as Sainsburys weakened. Debtors level for Sainsburys fell between 2008 and 2009, resulting in a further weakening of their liquidity position as they may have been discharging debts sooner than needed. Although both companies increased their creditor balances quite significantly, Morrisons actually managed to offset this by having increased levels of cash and cash equivalents. As a consequence Sainsburys position weakened quite significantly where as Morrisons marginally improved their liquidity position. Finance Leverage Ratio A finance leverage ratio indicates the extent to which the business relies on debt financing. http://www. bizwiz. ca/financial_leverage_ratio. html Gearing Ratio Total Long-term Debt Total Equity The financial leverage ratio is also referred to as the debt to equity ratio. t is undoubtedly seen as a key ratio in establishing how the company is geared. Although the overall gearing of Morrisons fell from 0. 40 to 0. 37, this is despite an increase between 2008 and 2009. This increase can pre-dominantly be explained by the fact that a floating credit facility – which is normally secured against inventories – of ? 250m was obtained in the period le ading up to 2009. Sainsburys reduced its gearing between 2007 and 2008, but it dramatically increased by more than 11% in the subsequent period to 2009. The main contributing factor to this was the fact that ? 80 of share capital was returned by way of a B share scheme. This is evident in the fact that it has more skilled staff preparing fresh food in-store than any other supermarket. According to The OCamp;C Grocer Index, Morrisons is in the Top 5 food producers in the UK. It owns 3 bakeries, 6 food and vegetable packhouses, 3 Abattoirs and 1 Food Preparation factory that provide fresh produce to all their stores throughout the year. 2) Self-sufficient Logistics: over 2000 trailers and 680 tractor units move in excess of 16 million cases of products to Morrisons stores each week. These are operated through one of the 12 distribution centres that are operated ainly by Morrisons themselves. This allows Morrisons almost complete control over deliveries and stock levels, which in return affords them the luxury of being able to get fresh produce in store as soon as is physically possible. 3) 100% British – reduction in Carbon Footprint: All pork, beef and lamb produce sold in Morrisons is 100% British. Not only does this appeal to customers in th e UK – who would be even more assured of its freshness because of its source – but also has a massive impact on their carbon footprint which benefits the entire population. This reduction not only saves on additional costs, such as transportation and storage, but is in line with their Corporate Social Responsibility Targets which aim to significantly reduce their Carbon Footprint over the course of the subsequent years. In fact, the previous target that was set in 2005 (of reducing CO2 emissions by 36% by 2009) was successfully completed midway through the year. 4) Own Properties: 95% of all of Morrisons estate is freehold. This is a significant amount as it firmly places operational control in the hands of the organisation. Lease negotiations, solicitor fees and the time and effort utilised in such activities can be focused entirely on their primary concern – increasing revenue by offering best value for money. WEAKNESSES All organisations have areas that can be improved on, especially when they are competing with some of the biggest companies in the world. In this regard, Morrisons is no different. However, some of their weaknesses have more cause for concern: 1) Lack of Visibility: According to a study by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (Spring 2010), Getting the right mix, over 50% of shoppers identified accessibility as a key driver of store choice. This is in response to rising fuel costs around the world, and a pick up in the world economy will likely lead to a further rise in oil prices. Thus, more and more shoppers are looking to make their purchases closer to home or to their workplace. With just 382 stores, Morrisons is at a severe disadvantage to market leaders such as Tesco and even Sainsburys, who have more than double their stores and hence cover more geographical area. With ust 7 stores opening in each of the last 2 years, it will become quite difficult to gain a larger share of the market if they are not stores quicker and becoming as easily accessible as their competitors. 2) Brand awareness: In the introduction to the financial statements for 2008, it was mentioned that although Morrisons is known for its low value and particularly great offers, they are not so well-known for the high-quality of their products – simply because Morrisons hasn’t marketed it as well as some of their competitors have. Now although they immediately began a campaign in order to rectify this, it will not be possible to correct it straight-away. To gain such a reputation demands a long-term cultivation and focus. It will be sometime yet before Morrisons has remotely the same brand value as organisations like Tesco, however it is not impossible but does require a significant amount of work. 3) Costs: Although having their own distribution centres, logistical arrangements and food production centres is certainly an advantage for Morrisons, it is vitally important for them to assess whether continuing with them is the best way forward. Larger organisations do not necessarily have the same infrastructure, but rather than it being a hindrance, they use it to great advantage and manage to save a significant amount of expenses due to the economies of scale they receive when they purchase in larger quantities. 4) Non food Sales almost non-existent: With food retail being Morrisons primary activity they have managed to perform remarkably better than competitors such as Sainsburys in areas such as profitability per store. However, as more and more shoppers prefer to go to supermarkets which can cater to all their non-food needs, there will come a time when Morrisons will need to consciously make the decision of whether or not they will be able to compete for a share of this market. 5) No online retailing: All of Morrisons major competitors have launched online grocery shopping, either directly or in conjunction with a caretaking company. As this facility is not available at all to Morrisons customers, they may be at risk of losing them to competitors that can provide this service. OPPORTUNITIES Every organisation must evaluate each opportunity that may present itself. However, as these opportunities will not remain forever, it is important for Morrisons to be pro-active in their search and quick to act upon finding such opportunities: 1) Increasing visibility: This is by far the most promising of opportunities that Morrisons has identified and acted upon. The impending acquisition of Co-operative/Somerfield stores that was disclosed in the 2009 financial report will certainly add significant visibility to the Morrisons brand in 2010. As I discussed earlier, more and more shoppers are willing to switch stores simply due to their accessibility and acquiring more premises and developing more sites will almost certainly be to the benefit of Morrisons. 2) Diversification: Having a firm foothold in the food retail market is a good place to start. To build on this platform, Morrisons should consider diversifying its product range to include non-food product ranges, such as Tesco has done with its Famp;F Fashion range. It will require significant capital expenditure to research, develop and market such products. However, done correctly, it could well assist Morrisons in gaining market share – at the expense of their competitors. 3) Loyalty Schemes and Special Offers: At the moment, Morrisons does not have a loyalty scheme in place. Both Tesco (Clubcard) and Sainsburys (Nectar) have these in place and undoubtedly benefit from it as the shopper has an additional reason to go to one of their particular supermarkets. According to the Institute of Grocery Distribution (Spring 2010), Getting the right mix, shoppers are increasingly being influenced by these factors. In 2009, almost 25% of customers decided where to shop based on in-store promotional activity, whilst approximately 23% of customers made their decision of where to shop on the basis of loyalty schemes. In order to be able to compete with their competitors, Morrisons would be well advised to investigate the feasibility in rolling out such a scheme. ) Online Retailing: Although this was discussed in their weaknesses, it is also an opportunity. This has become a much bigger market in recent years, as more and more customers would much rather they spend what valuable free time they have in doing leisurely activities, than queuing up at checkout counters. Morrisons are the only Top 4 organisation to have yet to enter this market. THREATS In order to stay ahead of the game – regardless of the industry – organisations need to be aware of what possible threats exist. Morrisons, as one of the smaller food retailers, will need to be doubly aware and pro-active in this regard, as the food retailing business is extremely cut-throat. Some of the threats they face are: 1) Over-reliance on local produce: Although sourcing produce locally is seen as one of Morrisons’ main strengths, there is a fear that they may be over-reliant on them. Epidemics of mad-cow disease have previously banned UK meat being sold and although such situations arise very rarely, should they come about they could be potentially disastrous for the company. Morrisons should effectively plan for such disasters in order to not be shown up at that time and therefore have a contingency plan to fall back on. 2) Price Cut war: The food retail industry is an extremely competitive market. On an almost daily basis each supermarket analyses and attempts to beat their fellow competitors’ prices. Although Morrisons themselves are quite efficient and proactive with their special offers, it is only to be expected that market leaders such as Tesco have not gotten to where they are without being particularly ruthless. With such a dominance of the market, Tesco and other market leaders are in prime position to make the most price cuts, as they undoubtedly benefit from increased economies of scale due to the sheer volume of purchases that they do. Morrisons must ensure that, whilst they maintain the high quality that they promise, they also look into cost-saving measures so that they are not caught out if and when a major price-cut war breaks out. Conclusion Morrisons has continued to develop as an organisation, and its financial performance clearly indicates this. Reduced levels of gearing, higher operating profits per store, and significant increments of return on equity all point to this fact. The review period selected coincided with an unexpected recession. However, Morrisons has gone from strength to strength, not only increasing its operating profit levels, but profits before taxes as well. One of the main reasons for not being as affected by the reduced power of the pound was because they mainly source supplies from local producers. Competitors, such as Sainsburys, are not as active in the British market and as they source more products from abroad, their purchasing power has diminished and reduced their margins, as the additional costs could not all be passed onto the shoppers for fear of losing their custom. This is the source of Morrisons greatest strength and biggest weakness. They must ensure that over-reliance on a few local suppliers does not leave them susceptible to any potential local disasters such as reduced rainfall or diseases to livestock. This would be catastrophic and they must ensure they have a plan B to resort to should such an event arise. Morrisons has continued to open new sites, albeit at a far slower rate than the industry leader, Tesco. This is an area that Morrisons should be looking at, and, according to their financial reviews, they are currently in the process of acquiring and redeveloping a number of Co-operative stores – which should increase their visibility and accessibility to both, existing and newer customers. Another area that will need some attention will be to the continued absence of Morrisons non-food range. With all major rivals having their own fashion brand, extensive home ware and electronic departments, this is obviously something that Morrisons should attempt to break into. Loyalty schemes and online retailing are further areas that Sainsburys and Tesco are already established in. Although it is never too late to introduce such schemes, it is important that Morrisons try and establish how feasible such schemes would be and whether they could benefit from it before it becomes too difficult to break into this market. Morrisons has also set optimistic and ambitious targets with regards to their Carbon Footprint, and as society as a whole is much more aware of these ‘green’ issues, it will certainly not harm their reputation, but enhance it. They are actively involved with the community and although this would once be lauded, it is now considered the norm as Tesco and Sainsburys both have their own community support projects.

Reaction Paper - The Things They Carried Essays -

Reaction Paper - The Things They Carried The Things They Carried was a story about soldiers caught in the confusion of the Vietnam War. There are a lot of apparent themes that are dealt with when writing a story about war, especially about death. I enjoyed reading this story, however there were some things about it that I was concerned about. I would like to discuss the authors style of writing, his meaning of the title The Things They Carried and the way the author and his characters deal with death. This story was written with a variety of styles, and it was in a non-traditional format. The main style seems to be a third person, limited omniscient story. However, this story also includes elements of flashback. In a traditional flashback however, the character having the flashback usually is telling the story, the flashback or past events is told only once, and then we view the character or characters revelations afterwards. This story breaks all of the rules of the traditional flashback. In the story, a comrade dies, Ted Lavender. The event of his death is retold 4 or 5 times within the story, from all different angles. For some readers who read this for the first time, especially myself, this was very confusing. Its almost as if the story is being told as a movie, where we are supposed to have some visual reference as to where we are in the story. Another element that was confusing is that if the reader has no knowledge of famous or foreign wars, the reader would not know that this is set in the Vietnam War. The word Vietnam is not mentioned until later on in the story. This story could have easily been set in WWII, since this war did deal with some of the Far East countries. The story did have a modern feel to it, so I believed that it was the Vietnam War. Finally, the author used vulgar words in the story. I believe that you take a serious risk when you write literature with swear words, because then you separate most of your audience. Either your audience is liberal and understands the use of the words, or your audience is conservative, and they are offended and dont finish reading. However, I also believe that the words are put in not for the vulgarity, but for an authentication of what was going on in the war. They were not used in every dialogue, or every sentence, but in places where you might normally hear them. All of these different elements together provided for a very dynamic story. I did pick up on the central themes in the story. One thing that was apparent was Lt. Jimmy Cross, and his use of his girlfriend Martha to deal with the war. Another is the death of one comrade, Ted Lavender, and how it affected the soldiers. And then there is the title, The Things They Carried, in which the author takes time to emphasize throughout the story. I felt that author also tried to mislead readers by the title, because the story is really not about the Things. In the story there are large passages in which the author describes, to the pound, the weight of the physical things that each of the soldiers carried. In each passage however, there was one statement or something that didnt fit into the physical things category. The soldiers were also sectioned off into stereotypes, which I also believe was on purpose. For example Ted Lavender, who was scared, carried tranquilizers . . . Dave Jensen, who practiced field hygiene, carried a toothbrush, dental floss, . . . Ted Lavender carried six or seven ounces of premium dope . . . Ironically, the soldier who was scared, Ted, was the one who ended up dead in the story. Later in the story, the passage about The Things They Carried changes into mental things. For example, They carried their reputations. They carried the soldiers greatest fear, which was the fear of blushing . . . This is the authors way of coming out and explaining that the soldiers do have some kind of emotion, however they cant show or