Sources and Writing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Sources and Writing - Assignment Example Approximately 200 ethnic origins are found in Canada, according to the 2013 National Household Surveys. 13 other ethnic groups have a population of more than one million people (Edward, 2014). The recent immigrant population is relatively young. Since 2006, 58.6% of the immigrants belonged to the 25-54 working age group. Canada entails a linguistically diversified country. The country is increasingly being multilingual, due to the increasing immigrants who do not understand English or French. 72.8% of the immigrant population illustrates mother tongue which is not English or French. Two thirds of the Canadian population is Christian (Doug, 2011). But, the immigration patterns illustrates the increasing levels of individuals with several other religious beliefs; for instance, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhists. Before the 1970s, majority of the immigrants to Canada were from European countries like United Kingdom, Italy and Netherlands. Presently, the levels of European immigrants have drastically reduced (Brooks, 2013). Canada entails multicultural society that has an ethno-cultural composition that has been developed by immigrants over

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 13

Case Study - Essay Example On the other hand, Ralph has low energy but he has significant experience and he is a potential candidate because of his experience and expertise in the industry. The third candidate Yingzi is a very talented woman and she can bring new innovative managerial practices in the company and retaining her in the organization is very important. The first solution is to promote Carmen because for being an ethical organization, company has to show concern towards employees especially the women and minority. Carmen is one of those who is both an African American and she is also qualified for the position. However, following is the SWOT analysis of making this decision. Image of company â€Å"concerns towards employees† will further improve. From maternal ethics concept, the consideration given towards mother-child relationship can improve the nature and quality of workplace interactions (Frederick, 2002). Company will be able to improve its public relations through this decision. Actually in business world activities which appear as a result of generosity are the attempts of companies to make public relations (Flynn, 2008). The promotion of Carmen can appear as a strong example of it, if she is promoted. No doubt Carmen and Yingzi are the suitable candidates for the managerial position however, Ralph should be promoted because he has worked twenty years with the company and he is the most experienced as compared to other two. What should be the criteria of the company while promoting people? Most of the policies of organizations promote employees based on seniority bases; however, even the ethical nature of policy is sometimes challenged. The promotions which are based on seniority alone seem mindless whereas, the decisions which are based on qualification seem heartless, therefore, companies should take it as a challenge to merge the dual responsibilities of qualification

Using Industry Average Multiples For Valuation Finance Essay

Using Industry Average Multiples For Valuation Finance Essay Valuation of equity shares of a company is an important exercise and is performed on multiple occasions, be it investment decision in a particular company, merger, acquisition, restructuring, public issue, etc. Using industry average multiple is a common practice, especially when an unlisted security is to be valued. The study looks at eight industries and attempts to derive (a) which is the most stable industry average multiple by using the statistical tool coefficient of variation and (b) which would be the most important financial performance parameter, which could be driving multiple of a particular security within the industry by using statistical tool of coefficient of correlation. Executive Summary A company will get valued/re-valued on multiple occasions such as raising capital, sale of business, swap of shares, issue of stock options, etc. Valuation of publicly traded securities is quite straightforward and often regulated for different events, while valuation of thinly traded or un-traded securities requires some special approaches. There are three main approaches to security valuation such as discounted cash flows, asset based valuation and comparables. Comparables are regarded as one of the most useful and practical method. Ideal approach within comparables is to find out a publicly traded company which is exactly like the company being valued and adopt an appropriate multiple as valuation metric. Finding such a company is a challenge. Even if a company is financially alike, many non-financial factors such as general market reputation, stock liquidity, etc. could be influenced its valuation of a particular stock. Experts often use industry average multiples to counter this anomaly. They could be used on a stand-alone basis or along-with a set of exact comparables. The articles analyses the concept of industry multiples in eight industries: Private sector banks, Public sector banks, General food processing, Agri Inputs, Edible Oil, Rice, Sugar, Plantations (tea, coffee, flowers) and Auto-components and tries to answer two questions: Which is the most appropriate industry average multiple? The criterion used is co-efficient of variation. Multiples used are Market Capitalisation (MCap) / Profit After Tax, Enterprise Value (EV) / Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Ammortisation (EBITDA), MCap/Book Value, MCap/Sales Which factor is the major driver of a multiple in a particular industry? The author has calculated co-efficient of correlation between different multiples and factors like revenues, 5 year revenue growth, margins, total assets, provisions, Return on Equity (ROE), Net worth. EV/EBITDA was the most stable multiple followed by Mcap/PAT (similar to P/E ratio). Revenue, net-worth and margins were important drivers. Keywords: Industry average multiple, valuation, market capitalization, book value, coefficient of variation/correlation Background There are many situations wherein a company will get valued/re-valued such as raising capital, sale of business, swap of shares, issue of stock options, etc. While, valuation is easy and fairly regulated (SEBI, the regulator in India has defined how a security is to be valued for different purposes) for a publicly traded company, valuation of a thinly traded or un-traded securities requires some special approaches. At times, analysts also value a well-traded company to determine whether it is value fair or if there is any possible up-side. Different approaches to valuation are as described below: Comparables Asset Value EBITDA PAT Book Value Sales, etc. Equity Value DCF Figure 1 Different valuation methods Asset Value: Asset based approaches such as book value (asset less liabilities as reflected in books of accounts) and realizable value (market value of asset less liabilities) are more relevant when the company/vehicle is wound-up or dissolved in any manner. Discounted Cash Flow (Discounted Cash Flow to the Firm): Discounted cash flow is, theoretically, the best valuation method. The company calculates its projected financial performance. These projections and their assumptions are vetted against market factors, expert opinions. Once the parties are confident with projections, cash flows of the company (called Cash Flow to the Firm) are calculated as follows: EBIT X (1-Tax Rate) Less Working Capital Changes Less Capital Expenditure Add Depreciation. An important component of DCF based valuation is the Terminal Value. Last year in the projection period is capitalized as: Cash flow in terminal year X (1+ perennial growth rate) / (WACC perennial growth rate). This is again discounted to calculate present value of terminal cash flow. This approach is well recognized, but is not widely used due to the following limitations: The model involves a number of assumptions (i) Entire set of assumptions going into calculation of financial projections, (ii) Market risk premium, (iii) Long term growth rate, etc. which makes it very subjective. The method does not work with firms which have un-utilised assets, are in the process of re-structuring, which do not have positive operating cash flows, etc. Comparables: One of the most preferred methods of valuing a company is comparing it with a publicly traded company of similar nature called relative valuation. It is also the most intuitive method we practice it in pricing almost everything real estate, items of daily usage, etc. In relative valuation, the value of an asset is derived from the pricing of comparable assets, standardized using a common variable such as earnings, cash flows, book value or revenues. (Damodaran on Valuation: Security Analysis for Investment and Corporate Finance, by Ashwath Damodaran, Wiley Finance) A publicly traded peer is identified and compared to the company under consideration in terms of various valuation parameters like Price to Earnings, Price to Book, Price to Sales, Enterprise Value / EBITDA which ever is applicable and accordingly the value of the company/security under consideration can be calculated, e.g. If a comparable company is traded at 15 times its earnings, the earnings of the company under consideration are multiplied by 15 to calculate its value. The approach is fairly simple, however, the challenge lies in finding an exact comparable. There can be many differentiating factors, and some of them could be quite stark. The pricing of the publicly traded peer would also be influenced by many non-objective factors like: general market perception, promoter reputation, adverse market rumors, low liquidity in specific stock, low level of public holding, etc. In light of these, many analysts and industry experts use industry-average multiples, on a stand-alone basis as well as to moderate/rationalize multiples of an individual or group of comparables. This brings us to the questions which the article intends to ponder over: Which bench-mark should be used? Every industry has two or three popular benchmarks, which appropriately capture financial and operative strengths, such as the tea gardens are valued at certain times of their sales, so are football clubs. Manufacturing industries are valued at certain time of their EBITDA or PAT as the case may be. However, if an industry average is to be used, high degree of variability in the multiple will compromise its reliability. Another question is what drives a companys valuation. The range in multiples in many industries tends to be quite high. Some tangible financial factor could be an important driver/differentiator for a company. Which would be the driver in a particular industry? The article attempts to answer these questions via an exercise on 214 companies in 8 different industries. The author has: Chosen 8 industries based on his past work experience Selected different publicly listed companies in each industry Derived their multiples and financial parameters from various databases Checked the variability of industry averages of multiples by using the statistical tool co-efficient of variation to answer the first question (most reliable benchmark) Run correlation between a particular industry relevant bench-mark such as 5 year growth, margins, etc. and the multiple e.g. correlation between P/E ratios and book size in banking industry to answer the second question. The breakup of companies across industries is as follows: Table 1 Sectors and number of companies used in analysis Industry No of companies Private sector banks 14 Public sector banks 23 General food processing 16 Agri Inputs 8 Edible Oil 17 Rice 7 Sugar 17 Plantations (tea, coffee, flowers) 17 Auto-components 85 Total 214 The following multiples were used: Market Capitalisation (MCap) / Profit After Tax, Enterprise Value (EV) / Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Ammortisation (EBITDA), MCap/Book Value, MCap/Sales. Mcap/PAT is similar to more commonly used Price to Earnings per share (P/E), and Mcap/Book Value is similar to Price to Book value per share (P/B). The following financial performance parameters were selected for analysis: Revenues of latest available financial year, 5 year revenue growth, margins (PAT margin for banks and EBITDA margins for others), total assets, provisions, Return on Equity (ROE), Net worth Analysis Private Sector Banks The following banks were analysed within private sector banks: HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Limited, Axis Bank Limited, IndusInd Bank Limited, Yes Bank Ltd, Federal Bank Limited, ING Vysya Bank Limited, The Jammu Kashmir Bank Limited, Karur Vysya Bank Ltd., South Indian Bank Limited, City Union Bank Ltd., Karnataka Bank Ltd, Development Credit Bank Ltd., Lakshmi Vilas Bank Limited. Table 2 Results of private sector banks Banks (private) Multiple Parameter Mcap/PAT Mcap/Assets Mcap/Sales Mcap/Book Value Mean 8.40 0.09 0.88 1.19 StdEv 5.43 0.08 0.82 0.93 Coeff of Variation 0.65 0.99 0.93 0.78 Correlation between multiple parameter Revenue 0.10 0.08 0.09 0.09 Past 5 year growth 0.20 0.34 0.36 0.48 Margin 0.32 0.59 0.61 0.63 Total Assets 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.07 Provisions -0.05 -0.10 -0.09 -0.07 ROE 0.01 0.32 0.34 0.43 Net Worth 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.16 MCap/PAT, similar to Price to Earnings showed maximum stability. Margin (calculated as PAT/Revenue) showed maximum correlation with MCap/PAT, followed by high growth rate. The MCap/Book value Price to Book in popular parlance and Return On Equity showed the maximum correlation across all multiples and parameters. Margin and ROE showed maximum correlation with MCap/PAT. Public Sector Banks Public sector banks tend to have different operating objectives and are often valued differently compared to private sector banks. Mcap/PAT of public sector banks is 5.41 v/s 8.40 as observed in private sector banks. The following public sector banks were analysed: Indian Overseas Bank, Andhra Bank, Corporation Bank, Central Bank Of India, UCO Bank, Dena Bank, Bank of Maharashtra, State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Travancore, State Bank of Mysore, United Bank of India, Punjab Sind Bank. Table 3 Results of public sector banks Banks (public) Multiple Parameter Mcap/PAT Mcap/Assets Mcap/Sales Mcap/Book Value Mean 5.41 0.04 0.45 0.69 StdEv 1.36 0.01 0.15 0.16 Coeff of Variation 0.25 0.29 0.32 0.23 Correlation between multiple parameter Revenue 0.34 0.61 0.65 0.60 Past 5 year growth -0.05 0.12 0.13 0.07 Margin -0.46 0.79 0.81 0.76 Total Assets 0.31 0.62 0.70 0.63 Provisions 0.44 0.51 0.50 0.46 ROE -0.64 0.57 0.57 0.69 Net Worth 0.29 0.70 0.75 0.65 Public sector banks showed a different trend in variability of multiples. The book value multiple seems to show the least variation around mean as compared to Mcap/PAT observed in private banks. Within the book value multiple, margins show the highest correlation of 0.76 followed by ROE, 0.69. Food processing Food processing falls into manufacturing domain. EV/EBITDA multiple is introduced in place of the Total Assets multiple is relevant to the banking and NBFC company wherein income is primarily driven by book size. EV/EBITDA is one of the most popular multiples in manufacturing sector. It captures the operating strength of a company (EBITDA) v/s Enterprise Value. Enterprise value is a debt and cash neutral metric, calculated by Market Capitalisation + Debt Cash. Table 4 Results of food processing (general) Food Processing Multiple Parameter Mcap/PAT EV/EBITDA Mcap/Sales Mcap/Book Value Mean 18.50 9.39 0.97 4.21 StdEv 14.09 6.64 1.61 7.36 Coeff of Variation 0.76 0.71 1.65 1.75 Correlation between multiple parameter Revenue 0.39 0.64 0.49 0.75 Past 5 year growth -0.34 -0.27 -0.17 -0.14 EBITDA Margin 0.02 0.20 0.57 0.26 ROE 0.50 0.80 0.75 0.90 Net Worth 0.06 0.31 0.34 0.34 EV/EBITDA shows the lowest variation around mean (0.71). ROE is the most important driver for this multiple (0.8 correlation), followed by revenue. The following companies were considered for analysis in food processing: Hatson Agro Products REI Agro, Heritage Foods, KSE Limited, Nestle India Ltd., Glaxo SmithKline, Britannia Industries, Zydus Wellness, DFM Foods Ltd., Vadilal Industries, Himalya International, ADF Foods, Anik Industries, Srinivasa Hatcheries, Flex Foods, Bambino Agro, Foods and Inns, Tasty Bite Eatables, Freshtrop Fruits, Temptation Foods, Chordia Food Products. Vadilal Enterprises, Sita Shree Food Products, Simran Farms, Venkys (India), Waterbase. The companies belonged to multiple sub-sectors like dairy, poultry, consumer goods, ice creams, frozen food, etc . Agri Inputs Agri inputs included seed, special fertilizers and some special input companies in food processing industries. The larger fertilizer companies, which fall more into chemicals domain were not considered. The following companies were anlysed: Sukhjit Starch Chemicals, Narmada Gelatines, Sakuma Exports, Vidhi Dyestuffs, Saboo Sodium Chloro, Kaveri Seed, Advanta India, Basant Agro Tech. In agri inputs also, EV/EBITDA showed maximum stability, followed by MCap/PAT. EBITDA margin showed highest correlation with EV/EBITDA. Table 5 Results of specialised agri inputs Agri Input Multiple Parameter Mcap/PAT EV/EBITDA Mcap/Sales Mcap/Book Value Mean 11.27 8.53 0.98 1.68 StdEv 9.64 5.11 1.28 1.87 Coeff of Variation 0.86 0.60 1.30 1.11 Correlation between multiple parameter Revenue -0.36 0.25 0.04 0.11 Past 5 year growth -0.18 0.25 0.26 0.40 EBITDA Margin -0.88 -0.08 0.71 0.11 ROE 0.02 -0.03 0.40 0.48 Net Worth 0.33 0.66 0.48 0.53 Edible Oil: Edible oil is a special segment within food processing. The sector is characterized by high level of imports, benchmarking with international prices, low regulations compared to commodities like rice and pulses, etc. The following companies were anlysed: Ruchi Soya Industries, Sanwaria Agro Oils, Rasoya Proteins, Gujarat Ambuja Exports, Jayant Agro-Organics, JVL Agro Industries, Vippy Industries Limited, Vimal Oil Foods, Raj Oil Mills, BCL Industries, Hind Industries, Kriti Nutrients, Vijay Solvex, Sam Industries, Modi Naturals, Natraj Proteins, Poona Dal Oil Industries Table 6 Results of edible oil Edible Oil Multiple Parameter Mcap/PAT EV/EBITDA Mcap/Sales Mcap/Book Value Mean 11.10 6.43 0.21 1.53 StdEv 9.77 4.18 0.27 2.20 Coeff of Variation 0.88 0.65 1.31 1.44 Correlation between multiple parameter Revenue 0.43 -0.12 -0.12 -0.03 Past 5 year growth -0.28 -0.36 0.99 -0.20 EBITDA Margin -0.01 -0.03 0.51 0.16 ROE -0.20 -0.12 0.58 0.61 Net Worth 0.38 -0.14 -0.11 -0.04 EV/EBITDA showed the maximum stability, however, none of the parameters showed any reasonable correlation with the parameter. EV/EBITDA was followed by Mcap/PAT with 0.88 coefficient of variation. This factor showed relatively higher correlation with revenue followed by Net Worth. Rice Rice is also a typical sector within food processing. Most of the publicly traded rice companies have focused on basmati rice. Basmati is a famous variety of aromatic rice and has large export market in the middle east, Europe and US. The following companies were analysed: Khushi Ram Behari La, Usher Agro, LT Food, Lakshmi Energy and Foods, Emmsons International, Chaman Lal Setia Exports, GRM Overseas. The sector showed better stability of Mcap/PAT followed by Mcap/Book Value. Within Mcap/PAT EBITDA margin showed the highest correlation at 0.86. Table 7 Results of rice Rice Multiple Parameter Mcap/PAT EV/EBITDA Mcap/Sales Mcap/Book Value Mean 6.12 7.94 0.16 0.68 StdEv 2.27 3.95 0.13 0.30 Coeff of Variation 0.37 0.50 0.83 0.44 Correlation between multiple parameter Revenue 0.42 0.68 0.16 0.17 Past 5 year growth -0.70 0.47 -0.92 -0.98 EBITDA Margin 0.86 -0.60 0.59 -0.25 ROE -0.77 0.12 0.11 0.73 Net Worth 1.00 -0.17 0.55 -0.30 Sugar: Sugar is one of the largest organized sectors in agri processing. The sector has many large companies like Renuka Sugars, Bajaj Hindustan, etc. The sector also has some typical features like minimum procurement price, cyclical production, concentrated production in Asia and South America, etc. The following companies were analysed: E.I.D. Parry, Bajaj Hindusthan, Bannari Amman Sugars, Triveni Engineering, Andhra Sugars, Dhampur Sugar Mills, KCP Sugar, Ponni Sugars (Erode), Ugar Sugar Works, Dalmia Bharat Sugar, Thiru Arooran Sugars, Sri Chamundeswari, Piccadily Agro, Vishnu Sugar Mills, Kesar Enterprises, Piccadily Sugars, Indian Sucrose EV/EBITDA showed lowest co-efficient of variation (0.44). The multiple showed highest correlation with net worth, followed by revenue. Table 8 Results of sugar Sugar Multiple Parameter Mcap/PAT EV/EBITDA Mcap/Sales Mcap/Book Value Mean 14.38 6.90 0.35 0.80 StdEv 14.79 3.07 0.20 0.39 Coeff of Variation 1.03 0.44 0.56 0.48 Correlation between multiple parameter Revenue -0.01 0.20 0.00 0.19 Past 5 year growth -0.26 -0.04 -0.42 0.23 EBITDA Margin -0.51 -0.43 0.49 0.18 ROE -0.65 -0.69 0.44 0.61 Net Worth -0.01 0.44 0.08 0.01 Plantations Tea and Coffee are another specialized area in agri and food industries. The sector has stakes of many large FMCG companies like Tata Tea, Unilever, etc. This sector also has special policies, farming conditions, competitive factors. For the purpose of this analysis, flowers have also been analysed together with tea and coffee. The following companies for part of this analysis: Karuturi Global, Neha International, Pochiraju Industries, Tata Global Beverage, McLeod Russel India, Tata Coffee, CCL Products India, Warren Tea, Dhunseri Petrochem, Goodricke Group, Jayshree Tea, Assam Company India, Harrisons Malayalam, Russell India, United Nilgiri Tea, Joonktollee Tea, Diana Tea. Here also, EV/EBITDA showed minimum coefficient of variation, followed by Mcap/Sales. Revenue and net worth showed the highest correlation with EV/EBITDA. Table 9 Results of plantation (tea, coffee, flowers) Plantation (tea, coffee flowers) Multiple Parameter Mcap/PAT EV/EBITDA Mcap/Sales Mcap/Book Value Mean 15.17 9.60 1.09 1.13 StdEv 13.19 5.70 0.81 0.87 Coeff of Variation 0.87 0.59 0.75 0.76 Correlation between multiple parameter Revenue 0.22 0.33 0.09 0.27 Past 5 year growth -0.47 -0.38 -0.19 -0.43 EBITDA Margin -0.34 -0.42 0.20 -0.11 ROE -0.37 -0.27 0.20 0.54 Net Worth 0.18 0.29 0.16 0.21 Auto components Auto components industry comprises of a large number of specialized players focusing on different segments of auto industry. Major segments and their composition in total industry size are: Engine parts 31% Drive transmission and steering parts 19% Body and Chassis 12% Suspension and braking parts 12% Equipments 10% Electrical parts 9% Miscellaneous 7% The industry is estimated at USD 43.5 billion in FY 2011-12. (Auto Components Manufacturers Association of India) The following companies were anlaysed in the industry: Bosch, Cummins India, Exide Industries, Motherson Sumi Systems, WABCO, Amtek India, Kirloskar, Amtek Auto Limited, Federal-Mogul, Sundram Fasteners, Wheels India, Shanthi Gears, NRB Bearings, Automotive Axles, Mahindra Forgings, Commercial Engineers, Banco Products, Jamna Auto Industries, Fairfield Atlas, Gabriel India, Lumax Industries, Sundaram-Clayton, India Motor Parts, Saint-Gobain, Steel Strips Wheels, Setco Automotive, Minda Industries, Suprajit Engineering, Rane Holdings, ZF Steering Gear, Munjal Showa, Sona Koyo Steering, Munjal Auto, Lumax Auto Technology, Autoline Industries, India Nippon, FIEM Industries, L. G. Balakrishnan, Subros, Pricol, Hindustan Composites, Ucal Fuel Systems, Rane Madras, Rico Auto Industries, Jay Bharat Maruti, Shivam Autotech, Omax Autos, IST, Bimetal Bearings, Rane Engine Valves, REIL Electricals, Rane Brake Lining, Precision Pipes, Automotive Stampings, Harita Seating, JMT Auto, Alicon Castalloy, JBM Auto, Bharat Gears, Menon Pistons, Talbros Automotive, Triton Valves, Aunde India, Clutch Auto, Pix Transmissions, Bharat Seats, Lakshmi Precision, Menon Bearings, Simmonds Marshall, Kar Mobiles, IP Rings, Jay Ushin, Gujarat Automotive, Competent Automobile, Lumax Automotive Systems, Autolite India, ANG Industries, Hindustan Hardy, Raunaq Automotive, Remsons Industries, Porwall Auto Components, Spectra Industries, Kew Industries, Jagan Lamps, Coventry Coil-O Matic. In this industry again, EV/EBITDA is the most stable multiple. EV/EBITDA shows maximum correlation with revenue and net-worth. Table 10 Results of auto-components Auto Components Multiple Parameter Mcap/PAT EV/EBITDA Mcap/Sales Mcap/Book Value Mean 12.47 6.04 0.67 1.62 StdEv 13.09 4.65 0.93 1.67 Coeff of Variation 1.05 0.77 1.40 1.03 Correlation between multiple parameter Revenue 0.19 0.35 0.18 0.31 Past 5 year growth -0.04 0.05 -0.05 0.09 EBITDA Margin 0.03 0.06 0.47 0.12 ROE -0.31 0.04 0.21 0.45 Net Worth 0.13 0.35 0.30 0.24 Inferences: The most stable multiples across different industries and their respective coefficients of correlations with different financial parameters were as follows: Table 11 Summary of trends Coefficient of variation Correlation Industry Co-efficient of Variation Multiple Highest Correlation Second highest Correlation Private sector banks 0.65 MCAP/PAT Margin 0.32 Past 5 year growth 0.20 Public sector banks 0.23 P/B Margin 0.76 ROE 0.69 General food processing 0.71 EV/EBITDA ROE 0.80 Revenue 0.64 Agri Inputs 0.60 EV/EBITDA Net worth 0.66 Revenue 0.25 Edible Oil 0.88 MCAP/PAT Revenue 0.43 Net worth 0.38 Rice 0.37 MCAP/PAT Net worth 1.00 EBITDA margin 0.86 Sugar 0.44 EV/EBITDA Net worth 0.44 Revenue 0.20 Plantations (tea, coffee, flowers) 0.59 EV/EBITDA Revenue 0.33 Revenue 0.29 Auto-components 0.77 EV/EBITDA Revenue 0.35 Revenue 0.35 *In edible oil, lower coefficient was observed in EV/EBITDA. P/E was chosen because EV/EBITDA showed no correlation with any of the parameters studied. Co-efficient of variation was minimum in public sector banks and highest in auto-components. Industry multiple of public sector banks, hence, stands as the most reliable industry multiple among the industries observed. The co-efficient would be high if there is considerable heterogeneity within the industry in terms of size, profitability, product portfolio, promoter background, etc. Earnings based multiples EV/EBITDA and P/E showed minimum coefficient of variation in all industries, except public sector banks, which showed Mcap to Book Value as the most stable multiple. Considering the correlations observed with the most stable multiple, we can infer that: net margins are the main drivers of multiples in banks (both public and private) among the parameters observed, ROE was most influential in food processing and edible oil plantations and auto-components seem to be driven by revenue vis-Ã  -vis other parameters observed and agri inputs, rice and sugar were influenced by net-worth of respective companies. The following table shows the maximum correlation observed in a particular industry. Table 12 Maximum correlations across industries Industry Maximum Correlation Relationships Private sector banks 0.63 ROE and Mcap/Book Value Public sector banks 0.81 PAT Margin and Mcap/Book Value General food processing 0.90 ROE and Mcap/Book Value Agri Inputs 0.71 EBITDA margin and Mcap/Sales Edible Oil 0.99 5 year growth and Mcap/Sales Rice 1.00 Net-worth and Mcap/PAT Sugar 0.61 ROE and Mcap/Book Value Plantations (tea, coffee, flowers) 0.54 ROE and Mcap/Book Value Auto-components 0.47 EBITDA margin and Mcap/Sales ROE and Mcap/Book Value showed highest correlation in four out of nine industries, followed by EBITDA margin and Mcap/Sales. The results were quite intuitive a company generating higher returns on invested capital (ROE), or a company operating at a higher margin should be valued more than its peers. Table 13 Results of general correlation analysis Parameter Mcap/PAT

Comparing Evil, Abuse and Escape in Oliver Twist and Great Expectations :: comparison compare contrast essays

  In Oliver Twist and Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, both main characters refuse to except the poor hand the world has dealt them.   Pip and Oliver reach a great epiphany in regards to social injustice, and in turn rebel against the system that oppresses them.   They are tired of being mistreated and neglected, and therefore decide to make a stand.   Charles Dickens exhibits through Oliver and Pip that the revolt of the weak against the strong results from the oppression of the poor.   As a result of their revolt against the system, Pip and Oliver are ostracized for their non-conformist ideals.   Thus change in an oppressing and conformist society can only be achieved through change in moral, social, and political instincts.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In both novels the main character faces abuse and neglect which result in rebellion and distancing of them from the society which chooses to hold them down.  Ã‚   In Oliver Twist, Oliver receives a great amount of abuse through the orphanage.   While suffering from starvation and malnutrition for a long period of time, Oliver is chosen by the other boys at the orphanage to request more gruel at dinner.   After making this simple request, â€Å"the master aimed a blow at Oliver’s head with a ladle; pinioned him in his arms; and shrieked aloud for the beadle† (Oliver Twist 16).   This pain and neglect caused a change in Oliver.   He realized that he must rebel against the society that wishes to oppress him, in order to truly start living.   In Great Expectations, Pip receives a great deal of abuse at the hands of his sister, Mrs. Joe Gargery.   On one occasion â€Å"I soon found myself getting heavily bumped from be hind in the nape of the neck and the small of the back, and having my face ignominiously shoved against the wall, because I did not answer those questions at sufficient length† (Great Expectations 12).   This anguish inflicted by the hands of his sister resulted in Pip distancing himself from any ties with his family.   Thus his independence grew as a direct result of the abuse he had faced.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In both novels the main characters have to escape from harsh living conditions and evil surroundings which in turn forces them to grow as individuals, and become independent from a conformist society.   Oliver finds himself residing in an orphanage that is dark and sordid.   As well he finds himself in London’s lowest slums, such as the pickpockets hideout, the surrounding streets, and the bars, which are all described as dark, gloomy, and bland.

Personal Finance Essay

Personal finance addresses the way an individual or families earn, budget, save, and spend money gained from employment, loans, or gifts. As a college student, my personal finances are based upon money I have obtained, seasonal employment and parental support. In creating my budget, I had to realize that my income was not the same each month so I had to make sure I had enough money to pay for my gas, phone bill, and entertainment. Sometimes I would go over budget due to unexpected bills so I would ask for help from my parents. I use a debit card through my bank City National Bank. I chose this bank because my parents also bank there and it’s a small personal bank. It makes it easier if I need my mom to transfer money to my account in case of an emergency. I do not use checks only my debit card and occasional cash, the debit card pulls money out of my account somewhat like a check. I do check my account online, and my statement looks similar to the on in The Money 101 Student Workbook. The format is a little different, but the same kind of information is given. I do not keep a register much to my mother’s dismay. Every Christmas, she gives me a register to keep track of my spending but I fail to use it. I do track my spending through balance inquiries that I receive via the ATM, as well as online. If I wanted to change banks, I would choose a bank that would be in Marshall and has the small town feel to it. I would also want one that might offer interest on my account. I didn’t find any new information concerning debit cards, but I do prefer a debit card to a credit card because it takes money out of your account instead of possibly spending what you don’t have. You can also abuse a credit card and use it unnecessarily. I did check on annualcreditreport. com to see if I had a credit report, but I do not because I don’t have any accounts in my name. The best card deal I found was on chase. com because if I put my name on my parents account then I could also have their 8. 99% interest rate. There were lots of credit card offers that had 0% introductory rates, but since I have no credit, then the interest rate would rise dramatically. Some insurance policies that would be important for personal finance would be disability insurance, car insurance, and health insurance. Identity theft insurance would probably be a good insurance protection. The thing that stuck out to me when Mike Brady came and spoke was the concept of â€Å"full coverage† insurance for your car, he said that it’s only an interpretation and not something that is written down, he also stated that there is no such thing as â€Å"full coverage. I would probably put my savings in the savings account in my bank since I would have access to it. My retirement plan would be to match whatever my company is putting into my 401K and putting money into stock that I can draw from when I actually do retire. The test that we took in the back of the booklet was fairly easy after looking through this so many times I answered a credit card would be the one to hurt you the most when in fact it says the student loans would affect your credit score more. My parents educated me very well on a lot of these subjects especially budget and checking account, my mom has preached to me about having a budget for as long as I can remember. The thing I learned from this unit, just to point one out, was the savings and retirement planning I didn’t realize it was such a priority because at my age you really don’t think about those things but I’ve learned that I do need to start early.

Feedback: What can go wrong? Essay

When identifying a problem in the performance appraisal process, managers need to focus on the employee rather than on the performance (Gomez-Mejia, Balkin, & and Cardy, 2010, p. 218). Focusing on the employee’s development helps keep a sense of objectivity. If the manager focuses on the performance, instead of on the employee development, the employee may become defensive. If this happens, the effectiveness of the feedback will decrease because the employee may become self conscious. It’s better to direct feedback toward skill improvement rather than toward the employee performance. Encourage the employee to discuss their feeling and ideas about the problem. If the employee feels they are not a part of the discussion and that they are just being lectured to, the feedback may not be taken as seriously. Getting the employee actively involved in the feedback process helps ensure they take an active role in the process. In addition, making sure to accurately define the problem helps in developing a solution. If the problem is not accurately identified and defined, then the right solution will be very difficult to determine. Furthermore, if the feedback from the manager is vague or wishy-washy, the employee may not understand what the manager is trying to say. This miscommunication can diminish the effectiveness of the appraisal process. Make sure to plainly state the problem and be clear about the desired solution. A performance appraiser may not identify what you are doing well as an employee. As a result, her feedback to you highlights your flaws. You may feel that no matter what you do, your employer cannot be pleased. If you receive a performance appraisal with feedback describing your faults. In addition, make sure to communicate to the employee that they are in control of their solution. If the employee feels empowered, they will be more active in fixing any performance problems they are faced with. If they don’t feel empowered, they may not understand that the solution to the problem is in their hands. Managers need to help employees understand they are accountable for solving their performance problem with the help of the manager. The pre-appraisal checklist and preparing for the appraisal. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://hrweb.berkeley.edu/performance-management/cycle/assessment/tips/supervisors/checklist-prep Paulding, B. (2012, 04 09). Performance appraisals: Post-appraisal activities. Retrieved from http:http://human-resources-payroll.knoji.com/performance-appraisals-postappraisal-activities/

Twain essays

Twain essays Drifting toward Freedom In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Mark Twain, through the character Huck, tells the story of a young boys coming of age amidst the conflicts and constraints of mid-1800s society. A recurring theme throughout the novel is the conflict between society and the individual. As Twain developed the plot he was able to to weave in his criticism of society. The idyllic life on the raft contrasts sharply with the deceit, greed, and prejudice found on the shores of the Mississippi. For Huck and Jim, the River serves as a refuge from the crippling values of the dry land of civilization. The river embodies the freedom for which Huck and Jim were searching. These two runaways - one a slave, the other an uneducated, and defiant boy - attempt to build a sanctuary from civilization upon their raft. It is here on the river that they can experience what it is like to be truly free from the expectations of society. Huck longs for nothing more than an escape from the harsh cruelties of sivilization so he lit out...and was free and satisfied(Twain). The river offers Huck refuge from a society so corrupt, that it would place a young boy in the hands of a drunken and abusive father. On the river Huck is finally able to be himself. He is free to make his own choices and form his own opinions. Jim, a slave, is not even considered as a real person, but as property, yet he was free, while on the raft, to live and think as any white man. Jim speaks with great compassion of saving money buy his wife..and...work[ing] to buy the two children(Twain 75). The dialogue between Huck and Jim also illustrates the fact that Jim is more than someone's property. He is a human being with feelings, and hopes for a better future. The river represents opportunity and chance at the freedom and equality that civilization lacks. ...

Can You Use Old Practice SATs to Study for the New SAT

Can You Use Old Practice SATs to Study for the New SAT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Since the SAT has just been redesigned, you might feel like there aren’t very many practice questions around for you to use. The College Board has released four free practice tests, but once you get through those, what should you do? You might be wondering if you can use old SAT practice tests to study for the new SAT. The answer is yes, you can! I will show you how. Read on to see why you would want to use old practice tests, what practice tests won’t do for you, and then a how-to guide on the most effective way to use old tests to prep for each section. Finally, I’ll also briefly discuss using the ACT for new SAT prep, since the tests are surprisingly similar. Why to Use Old SAT Practice Tests Simply put, you should use old practice tests if you want to increase your stock of practice questions! While you will have to be careful to skip the irrelevant questions, and there are some new question types you won’t be able to prep for using old tests, they are still a valuable resource, especially if you need extra questions to work on a particular section or skill. While the SAT has been redesigned, many of the question types are still the same between the old and new tests, so you can use old tests for practice questions for those question types. I will break down which question types to use and which ones to skip in the next sections. They are also useful because they are official College Board materials, and you can expect rigorous quality control from the official makers of the SAT more so than from most prep book or test prep companiesso no situations where the correct answer is actually ambiguous, for example. You know old tests were really administered to students, which means those questions are College Board-approved! So high quality they should put this seal on them! What Old SAT Tests Won't Help You With Taking an entire old test from start to finish won’t really prepare you for the experience of sitting down to take the new SAT, so don’t do that. The overall tests are too different structurally for taking the old SAT to give you a good sense of what taking the new one will be like. If you want to take a complete test to get a sense of what your SAT experience will be like on test day, take one of the College Board’s four complete free practice tests for the redesigned SAT instead of an old one. Old tests also won’t help you practice the new SAT essay. Instead of a 25-minute opinion-based essay as on the old SAT, the revised SAT gives you 50 minutes to analyze an argument. These are completely different in form and content, so looking at old SAT essay prompts is a waste of time. Now I’ll move through each section in turn and describe how best to use it to prepare. I’ll go over what question types to use, which question types to skip, and what’s missing from the old SAT that is tested in the new one.All of my old SAT question examples will come from the2014-2015 Practice SAT, and my new SAT question examples will come from Practice Test 1. With all these questions you'll be as prepared as this lady! And she looks ready. Using Old SAT Practice Tests: Reading The Reading section has not changed too dramatically with the revision, so you’ll be able to use most of the old Reading questions to practice for the revised SAT. The primary changes are that all of the questions are now passage-based, passages are longer, and Sentence Completion questions have been eliminated. Old SAT Reading: Questions to Use Using any and all of the passage-based questions will help you prep for the new SAT. The Old SAT has some very short (i.e. one paragraph) passages, while the revised SAT only has longer passages, but the questions are similar and useful for practice. Old SAT Reading: Questions to Skip The redesigned SAT has done away with Sentence Completion questions. There were complaints that these unfairly prioritized arcane vocabulary knowledge. So when you see these on old SATs, skip them. Example: Old SAT Reading: What's Missing Old SAT Reading did not have any charts or graphs integrated into the passages and questions. New SAT does, so be sure to study those! (If you want more practice questions to do with reading charts, skip down to the â€Å"Practicing with the ACT† section). Example: Old tests did not have any Evidence Support question pairs. These are question pairs in which you are first asked to identify something about the passage, then to select evidence from the passage to support your answer. Example: Using Old SAT Practice Tests: Writing Writing has changed the most of any test. While the old SAT had very few passage-based writing questions, the revised SAT is entirely passage-based in the Writing section. There aren’t very many one-to-one matches on question types between the old and new SAT, but you might still find some of the old SAT practice questions useful. Old SAT Writing: Questions to Use Passage Revisionthese are questions that ask you to edit a â€Å"rough draft† of a passage or essay. While the errors in these passages are a little more focused on style, and the revised SAT writing section is more focused on skilled argumentation, these questions are still helpful for getting a feel for answering passage-based SAT writing questions. Example: Even though the specific format of the Sentence Errorquestion typewhere you had to choose from five potential errors in one sentenceis missing from the revised SAT, doing old Sentence Error questions is still a good way to drill down on your grammar skills. You should be aware, though, that the revised test does have a slightly different grammatical focus. The old SAT often tested dangling modifiers and subject/verb agreement in tricky ways, while the revised SAT has a greater emphasis on punctuation and common English usage. But if you need to work on your grammar, practicing those skills with Sentence Error questions is a fine way to do so. Example: Similarly, the Sentence Improvement question type, in which you have to edit a single sentence for grammatical clarity, no longer exists on the revised SAT. But you may be asked sentence-improvement like questions on the revised SAT in the context of the passage-based questions. So knowing how to approach these in isolation will help brush up on your grammar and writing-style skills, which will be useful for the revised test. Example: Old SAT Writing: Questions to Skip The essay - the 25-minute â€Å"opinion† essay from the old SAT used to comprise part of your writing score. The new essay is 50 minutes, asks you to evaluate another author’s argument expressed in a passage, and is a completely separate score from your 1600-point score. Don’t write any old essay prompts; they won’t help you at all on the new SAT. The old essay: as obsolete as this car. Old SAT Writing: What's Missing Old tests really don’t have the same format and feel as the revised SAT. The revised SAT asks all questions and question typesthose on grammar, writing style, organization, argumentationbased on passages, while the old SAT has very few passage-based questions. So while the old SAT writing section will help you brush up on your grammar, style, and editing skills, it really won’t give you a great sense of what the writing section of the revised SAT is actually like. Example: To practice more passage-based writing questions once you’ve used all four free practice tests, you might turn to the ACT English section, which is passage-based. (More on using the ACT for new SAT practice below.) Additionally, the writing section now includes questions that involve graphs and charts: both interpreting them and understanding how they act as evidence for arguments. Example: Using Old SAT Practice Tests: Math The primary changes in Math are that the questions are distributed differently across topics, a small amount of trigonometry has been added, and logic-type problems have been eliminated. For a complete breakdown of these changes, see our guide to the revised SAT. Old SAT Math: Questions to Use The truth is that you can use most of the questions on the old SAT to practice for new SATMath. However, you should be aware that old tests contain a different percentage of some of the question types than the revised SAT. For example, the old SAT contains much more geometry than the revised SAT. Old SAT Math: Questions to Skip The revised SAT has done away with â€Å"logic problem† type questions, so if you see any of those, skip them. There were usually only 1-2 on the old SAT anyways. Example: Old SAT Math: What's Missing From Old Tests The revised SAT has two no-calculator sections: one for grid-ins, and one for multiple choice. The old SAT was all-calculator. You might try working on some of the less calculation-heavy questions on the old SAT without a calculator to practice answering math problems without one. The new SAT involves more â€Å"real-world† type questions and word problems. Example: The revised SAT now has multi-part questions, in which the answer to one question affects the answers to the following question. It’s very important to get the first question correct or you could have a negative cascade effect! Example: The revised SAT also contains some basic trigonometry questions, which is a new topic area for the SAT. Example: Practicing For the New SAT With the ACT The revised SAT is actually more similar in many ways to the ACT than the old SAT. Both exams have four answer choices per question, there is no guessing penalty, and the Reading and Writing (or English in the case of the ACT) tests are entirely passage-based. For this reason, you may wish to practice with ACT questions. The key difference (other than the scoring scale) is that the ACT has four sections to the SAT’s three- English, which corresponds to SAT Writing, Reading, Math, and Science. While it has no directly corresponding section on the SAT, practice questions from the Science test will be very helpful in preparing for the data-based questions on all sections of the revised SAT. I’ll go over questions to use, ones to skip, and what’s missing from the ACT that’s covered on the SAT. Science: the fourth section on the ACT. ACT: Questions To Use There are questions you could use to prep for the new SAT in all four sections of the ACT. Reading You can use all of them! The ACT is focused slightly more on reading comprehension, but the general idearead and interpret a passageis the same. English You can (and should!) use most of the questions on the English section of the ACT for SAT Writing practice. Not only is it great practice for the passage-based style of the revised SAT, many of the questions offer similar tasks as those on the SAT. The ACT is slightly more focused on grammar, however, while the SAT really hones in on writing style. Math You can use most of the questions on ACT math to practice for revised SAT math. However, you should be aware that there is more geometry and trigonometry on the ACT than the revised SAT. Additionally, you may see one or two topics on the ACT that aren’t covered on the SAT, like matrices, logarithms, graphs of trig functions, and even scientific notation! Science ACT Science questions are passage-based, which is good practice for answering the data interpretation questions linked to the passages for the revised SAT’s Writing and Reading tests. The questions that will be most useful, however, will be those about interpreting data and figures. So focus on those and skip the rest. Example: ACT: Questions to Skip Save SAT prep time by skipping unnecessaryquestions. Reading No need to skip any reading questions. However, it’s worth noting that unlike on the SAT, questions on the ACT are not â€Å"in order†- the questions on a particular passage don’t move through the passage from start to finish, but instead may jump around A question may ask about the beginning of the passage, then the next may ask about the very end. This is just something keep in mind in terms of differences when you are using the ACT for practice. English You can skip the questions asking if the author fulfilled their purpose in the passage and why, as there is no similar question style on the revised SAT Writing test. There is normally about one of these â€Å"author’s purpose† questions per passage, towards the end of the questions on a particular passage. Example: Math You may want to skip the occasional question on logarithms, matrices, graphs of trig functions, and scientific notation, since you won’t see these things on the SAT. Science You can skip any question on the science test that’s not directly concerned with interpreting or representing data. This would include questions about hypothesis testing, experimental design, the scientific method, and so on. Example: What's Missing From the ACT That's Covered on the New SAT There are some key question types missing from the ACT that you need to be prepared to see on the SAT. Reading There are no Evidence Support question pairs on the ACT. Remember, evidence support question pairs involve answering a question about the passage and then providing evidence to support that answer in the following question. The Reading test on the ACT also does not include any questions on charts or data. These questions are covered on the Science test. English The English section on the ACT does not involve charts and graphs as on the revised SAT's Writing section, probably because these skills are tested on the Science section. Math The ACT math section lacks two key features that the revised SAT has: a no-calculator section, and grid-in questions. You may want to try solving ACT questions without a calculator when reasonable for some no-calculator practice. Also, practice ACT questions are all multiple-choice, so they won’t help you prepare for the SAT’s free-response grid-ins. Be prepared to be without this on the SAT! (The calculator, not your hand.) Where To Find Old SAT Practice Tests and ACT Tests The College Board and ACT, Inc. have kindly published free practice tests. We've collected them here for you. Old SAT Tests 2014-2015 Practice SAT|Answers 2013-2014 Practice SAT | Answers 2007-2008 Practice SAT (includes answers) 2004-2005 Practice SAT (includes answers) Practice ACT Tests ACT Practice Test 2015-2016 (Form 72CPRE) ACT Practice Test 2014-15 (Form 67C) ACT Practice Test 20-12 (Form 64E) ACT Practice Test 2008-09 (Form 61C) ACT Practice Test 2005-06 (Form 59F) A soothing rock pile in case you get overwhelmed by all these tests. Key Takeaways You can use old SAT tests as a resource for practice questions for the revised SAT. Old tests won’t give you the same feel as taking the revised test from start to finish, but many of the question types are similar.Writing has changed the most out of any of the sections; revised SAT Writing is much more similar to the ACT than the old SAT. In addition to old SAT tests, you can also use the ACT to prep for the new SAT. The English section and questions on the Science section about interpreting data and graphs may be particularly useful. There may only be 4 official free revised SAT practice tests available, but between old SATs and the ACT you can still build up a substantial stock of practice questions! What's Next? Check out our complete expert guide to the revised SAT. Need more prep materials? See our reviews of the best SAT prep books for 2016. If you're wondering how important your SAT score is, read our breakdown of the SAT and admissions. Taking the ACT? See our complete index of critical ACT prep articles. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

6 top retail jobs this holiday season and how to get them

6 top retail jobs this holiday season and how to get them As the weather gets colder, that means two things: the holidays are coming, and there will be a lot of seasonal retail jobs opening up. Whether you’re looking for a side gig to make extra money or a right-now job to get you through the holidays, retail is the place to be from October until January. The seasonal holiday job is a perennial classic opportunity for temporary work, or an experience-building job that can be your entry point to a longer career working in retail. Let’s look at six of the top retail job opportunities available this holiday season.Retail Sales AssociateThis is kind of the classic seasonal job. Brick and mortar stores are busier than ever around the holidays, and they need the kind of all-hands-on-deck staffs that will let them boost those crucial holiday sales while keeping the store running smoothly. Retail sales associates may be responsible for stocking shelves, merchandising, cashier-ing, or working directly with customers. They may also be b ehind the scenes, assisting with incoming shipments and helping to manage inventory.Holiday sales associates are usually expected to work long or late shifts to accommodate for expanded store hours, and potentially on holidays (especially as more and more stores creep their Black Friday specials into Thanksgiving Day). It’s a hectic pace and you may be expected to be on your feet for most of it, so it’s important to have the physical stamina to withstand the holiday rush. This job may also involved a certain amount of heavy lifting and reaching.To get started as a retail sales associate, the bigger retailers (think Target, WalMart, Kohl’s, Toys ‘R Us, etc.) are almost always hiring seasonal help, but also be sure to check out smaller stores, who may also need holiday associates.What you’ll need: A solid retail resume, for starters, and also a strong set of customer service skills. You’ll also need general retail skills like good organization, time management, the ability to work independently without constant oversight, and math skills. You’ll also need to be flexible on your availability to work.Customer Service RepresentativeMore customers means more customer needs, and many stores and companies bulk up their customer service departments for the holidays. In retail, that often means manning the phones, internet chat programs, or social media platforms to make sure that customer issues and complaints are being handled quickly and appropriately. Customer service representatives may also be tasked with giving information to customers, processing returns or refunds, escalating customer issues appropriately, and troubleshooting specific issues. Because customer service doesn’t necessarily coincide with a store’s hours (and even less so if a store does a brisk holiday business online), the shifts may be overnight, over weekends, or over holidays. This can be a good job for night owls, or someone who has daytime obligations.What you’ll need: A solid customer service resume. You’ll need customer service skills first and foremost, as well as tech skills like handling multi-line phones, recordkeeping software, and internet chat programs. You’ll also need strong problem solving skills, as much of your time may be spent helping to diagnose and resolve problems for customers.Holiday ActorMany malls and stores (especially department stores) have a holiday display with some kind of interactive component (like Santa visits and photos). If you resemble the jolly old head elf himself, all the better. But people of all shapes and sizes are often needed to help out with these displays, shepherding kids through, or acting as elves/reindeer/other holiday characters. You don’t need to have an Academy Award-winning resume, but if you’re interested in working in a retail store without being an associate on the floor, this can be an option. You may be assisting with photo setup, or working on crowd/line management. The name of this position may vary by store. For example, Macy’s calls their fleet of seasonal Santas and elves â€Å"Santaland Sales Associates.†What you’ll need: Great people skills, especially kid-friendly ones. If you’re interested in being Santa himself, there are actually schools for that. Otherwise, skills like organization and time management also serve you well, as stores are just as interested in having these customers spend money in the store as waiting in line to see the holiday display.Retail Housekeeping Associate/JanitorWith all of the holiday shopping chaos, stores can get cluttered and disorganized. Enter the housekeeping staff. Like just about every other retail department, stores often need extra help in the cleaning department as well. These associates may be responsible for cleaning the store before or after hours, maintaining clean public areas during business hours, restocking thing s like boxes and bags in checkout areas, and generally cleaning up messes that occur in all the holiday hubbub. The housekeeping staff helps the operations of a store run more smoothly.What you’ll need: Good time management and organizational skills, and the ability to work independently to do what needs to be done.Warehouse/Shipping AssociateWarehouse staff are more important than ever in the ecommerce boom, and are essential to more traditional retail stores as well. These associates keep products on shelves and arriving at customers’ doors, and during the holidays, companies hire more staff to accommodate the higher volume of orders. Warehouse associates may be responsible for assembling shipments, preparing shipments, processing outgoing and incoming shipments, tracking inventory, and using heavy equipment (Iike forklifts) to move goods and shipments around. Many companies (like Amazon) hire warehouse staff all around the country to make sure their warehouses and s hipping facilities are operating at peak capacity during the busy holiday season.Most companies hire seasonal warehouse associates on a part-time basis, but there may also be full-time opportunities available through the holiday season.What you’ll need: Good physical stamina, as this is often a very physical and demanding job. You may need to be on your feet for shifts, and may be required to perform heavy lifting or other physical tasks. You will likely also need to be flexible on scheduling, as many warehouse jobs have shifts around the clock to accommodate holiday volume.Loss Prevention/Asset Protection AssociateWith holiday crowds come holiday shoplifters, unfortunately, and stores are aware of the need to bring on more security staff than usual to keep an eye on shoppers. Loss prevention and asset protection associates (perhaps better known as security guards) are responsible for ensuring that employees and customers are stealing, and for ensuring the general safety and security of the store. These associates may be stationed at particular points in a mall or store, or may be tasked with circulating and monitoring potential threats. Security associates may also work behind the scenes, monitoring cameras or other surveillance equipment to maintain order and safety, and catch would-be criminals in the act. You may need to work with police or other law enforcement as necessary, and will likely receive on-the-job training about store safety and security procedures and best practices.What you’ll need: A high school degree or equivalent, and prior security experience is ideal. You may also need to pass a background check. And this job also requires strong people and customer service skills.Retail jobs can be pretty diverse, especially when it’s the holidays and stores need more people to do just about everything you can think of. If you feel at home out on the store floor in the holiday crowds, great- but if your skills lean more toward beh ind the scenes customer service, or maintaining the store’s logistical status quo, there are plenty of opportunities there as well. If you’re interested in finding a holiday retail job, the time to get started is now. Hiring is usually done in a fast and furious way to make sure all the staffing is in place before Black Friday ads start hitting the airwaves, so you need to be able to jump on opportunities as you find them.We’ve got all the tools you need to get started in retail, create your resume, and prep for the interview. Good luck, and happy holiday job hunting!

MANAGING DIVERSITY( analysis of a newspaper article ) Essay

MANAGING DIVERSITY( analysis of a newspaper article ) - Essay Example re words shared by the Richard, an Establishment Services Manager at BA: â€Å"Working and traveling with BA as a disabled traveler (paraplegic in a wheelchair) I get to see at first hand the service offered to additional needs customer and staff, good and bad. In most instances the service levels are of high standard but if things have not been right on the day, feedback had been acted upon. I would urge all disabled travelers to tell us about their travel experience in order that we can offer the highest level of service† (British Airways’ diversity strategy, online). The company also espouses a strong culture of respect, for which it has deployed an employee questionnaire. Through responses to the survey, it has crafted the following objectives towards building a culture of equality: Still towards this thrust, BA has joined Stonewall champions scheme last year (2005). It is a venue that advocates diversity within work settings. The emphasis placed on the management of harassment and bullying is captured by BA Chief Executive Rod Eddington, as follows: â€Å"Dignity and respect for other people are basic values we must all adopt.   We should all be aware of the impact of our behaviour on others and be tolerant of people who have different values, religions and beliefs to our own.   This applies to our peers, colleagues and customers.†   On age, the company has already proposed flexible retirement and is watching out for the new government regulations on the matter (British Airways’ diversity strategy, online). Thus, the article on BA which presents that it discriminates against a religious practice – the wearing of a cross of a Catholic – seems contradictory to all of these publicity regarding diversity. This shall surely have an impact on their image as a fair employer and they must thoroughly ensure that they exercise fair practice and do not ostracize employees on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, or religion. At first glance, the

Proposal Outline Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proposal Outline - Assignment Example No profits arise, as any surplus income over expenditure is paid as extra rebate to the Department of Defense, normally to service central funds. DEFCO is monetarily self-sufficient, has no assets or shareholders and provides no personal interests. No one has taken any stake in the organization [1]. DEFCO has self-service shops in all the military camps. In total, it has 29 shops, which provide services to Military Personnel. Initially it was created solely for service provision regardless of whether a branch was making profit or not. Over the years, it managed to adopt profit motives and achieve growth in both sales and profitability. It has also managed to expand its branch network to a maximum of 29 shops. The Managing Director of DEFCO working in collaboration with various Chief Officers is responsible for managing the organization. The DEFCO Board of Management exercises the daily operation of DEFCO through the Managing Director who is appointed by this board. The policy of DEFCO is in the hands of Council of Members who comprise the Chief of General staff as chairman, the Army, Commanders and the Managing Director of DEFCO act as members. The ICT department uses the centralized management technique. This makes is difficult to be able to sort a problem that arises in those shops that are located in distant places. This resulted to many problems being presented to the Help Desk, hence becoming difficult to tackle the problems all at once. Therefore, this technique is not efficient in solving of problems. The E-Business Suite is a new system, and a good number of the employees have the proper expertise of how to go about it. As a result, many mistakes are made and it takes time for those mistakes to be

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Economic Essay

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Economic Growth of the Host Economies - Essay Example ects of FDI on economic growth in host countries greatly depend upon the local conditions and contexts of doing business there: for example, human capital enhances the positive effects of FDI on host economies, while the existing technology gaps make it possible to implement even the simplest foreign direct investment reforms (Wang, Gu, Tse & Yim, 2012). Added to this is the role which market size plays in attracting FDI to host countries, whereas technology-absorptive abilities predetermine host returns from FDI (Li & Liu 2005; Blalock & Gertner 2008). These results have far-reaching implications for policy development and implementation, although all risks and factors changing the nature of FDI inflows to host countries need to be thoroughly considered. Even more interesting are the results of another study conducted in the three major countries-recipients of FDI. These include Malaysia, Chile, and Thailand (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). Again, the researchers confirm that the effects of FDI on economic growth are very heterogeneous and primarily depend upon the level of GDP in host countries (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). At least in Thailand and Malaysia, the relationship between GDP and FDI is very explicit (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). Again, these findings have far-reaching implications for policymaking, since understanding causality between FDI and economic growth is crucial for the creation of policies that encourage the inflow of investments from abroad in the developing world. Both studies confirm the importance of the FDI-economic growth causality but also imply that the nature of this causality and its direction should be placed under professional scrutiny. As long as the effects of FDI on economic growth in host countries are characterized by considerable...This essay outlines the difficulties in establishing the functional relationships of FDI influence on economic growth in host countries. One of the greatest problems in this respect is the lack of suff icient empirical data. Another difficulty is the lack of organization and poor systematization of the existing knowledge. Theoretically, FDI promotes economic growth through an increase in investment volumes, leading to increased efficiency of all economic and financial operations. Another theory suggests that economic growth is a direct result of the technological diffusions caused by FDI. Objectively, there is no single explanation to the effects of FDI on economic growth: numerous variables moderate the relationship between FDI and economic growth in host countries, and the current knowledge of financial markets and macro/microeconomics does not allow producing a comprehensive theory of FDI and its impacts on host countries’ economies. In order to understand how and why FDI impacts host countries’ economic growth, the meaning of both terms needs to be clarified. For the goal of this paper, foreign direct investment is defined as â€Å"the process whereby residents of one country (the source country) acquire ownership of assets for the purpose of controlling the production, distribution, and other activities of a firm in another country. FDI impacts economic growth through structural effects, skill and technology, and size effects. TNC play a huge role in the transfer of capitals and skills from one country to another.

Hrm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hrm - Essay Example There are various differences between leadership and management; however, their biggest difference is how they get their followers to do what they want. This makes all the difference in various aspects of how they do things. Managers’ power given to them by the organizations they are employed in and they have assistants who work for them. Management uses transactional method to have tasks done. This means that the subordinates do what they are told because they expect something in return, this is normally salary. Managers act out of motivation that they will get paid after delivering. Therefore they put focus to their subordinate to reach the organizations’ expectations. On the other hand leaders do not have subordinates, unless in formal setting where they also hold management roles. In normal circumstances, leaders have followers who are inspired by their actions (Daft, & Lane, 2005, P. 5). Leadership requires that a person appeal other people so much that they are ready to stop doing what they are doing to follow them. It means they are ready to take risks they would not have considered to take were it not for the influence of a particular person (Bertocci, 2009, P. 6). Leaders get things done through their strong charisma and they do not promise their followers material reward; they persuade them by promising them positive transformation. Therefore, leadership is about making positive effect in people’s lives and leaders are able to convince people that they will become better people after following their leadership. Leadership focus a lot of their attention to people they work with. Leaders are charismatic but they do not necessarily hav e a loud personality they use a quiet, genuine style of addressing people. They are also ready to take blame for other people’s mistakes and always give credit to others. Leadership has many positive effects to

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among Children Research Paper

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among Children - Research Paper Example Atopic eczema is the most prevalent chronic inflammatory disease in children. The prevalence of this disease in Western countries, in children of six years old, reaches 20% (Department of Health, 2010). ADHD is significantly associated with dermatitis. Allergic comorbidities (asthma, allergic rhinitis) are not significantly associated with ADHD (Rubin, Fein & Vandenberg, 1983). The clinical relevance of this association is small, as it does not establish a causal relationship between them and the direction of the association. From time to time, most of the people have trouble concentrating or paying attention in class. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that help transmit messages between nerve cells in the brain (Department of Health, 2010). Besides in the form of tablets, methylphenidate is also available as a patch, called Daytrana, which can be placed directly on the skin to allow the drug to be absorbed. There are various disorders that prevail amongst the children and female in the current era. One such disorder is the attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) disorder. This paper will elaborate upon the background, features, symptoms, and causes of the disorder existing amongst children. It will also discuss the relationship of ADHD to Eczema and explanation regarding the safety of the ADHD medications on children. This topic has been chosen o be studied due to the reason that the prevalence of ADHD has become widespread amongst women and children these days. The symptoms of the disorder are now commonly occurring amongst the people of young ages. Therefore, it is necessary that the topic is studied in terms of its relevance, significance, and background.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (UAVs) Thesis Proposal

Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (UAVs) - Thesis Proposal Example This paper will examine the controversy at hand and examine the validity of these arguments regarding the concerns of not only private citizens and international organizations, but also the military and federal law. This research paper will investigate â€Å"How the development of technology in Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Systems (UAVs) has improved the governments objective of minimizing, preventing and anticipating terrorist attacks inside and outside the United States, in spite of controversies affecting citizens privacy regarding constitutional rights.† The use of drones or UAVs to target alleged terrorists networks within the Afghanistan war zone and other foreign regions of conflict has expanded despite of the controversies regarding drone strikes and the collateral damage of killed or injured innocent civilian casualties. The military brass and the government tend to consider these instances, many times as a necessary cost of war therefore an acceptable loss or cost. Regardless of controversies, it appears that the use of weaponized UAVs or drones is here to stay and will only expand in the scope and use of such technologies in the future not only in foreign conflicts but domestically also. Many opponents of the use of drones for conflicts argue that this so called â€Å"drone war† is a symptom of the failure of U.S. ground wars in Afghanistan and they caution against the overuse of such unmanned technologies. Drone strikes have already been reported in Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and even in Iraq where the ground war is ove r and in Afghanistan is dwindling down. The use UAVs will probably become more commonplace since the fight against terrorists will become more decentralized and technologically driven. Clinton Watts, a senior fellow at The George Washington Universitys Homeland Security Policy Institute, argues† I Think this is the future†...It is the most effective tool we have in a counter terrorism

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among Children Research Paper

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Among Children - Research Paper Example Atopic eczema is the most prevalent chronic inflammatory disease in children. The prevalence of this disease in Western countries, in children of six years old, reaches 20% (Department of Health, 2010). ADHD is significantly associated with dermatitis. Allergic comorbidities (asthma, allergic rhinitis) are not significantly associated with ADHD (Rubin, Fein & Vandenberg, 1983). The clinical relevance of this association is small, as it does not establish a causal relationship between them and the direction of the association. From time to time, most of the people have trouble concentrating or paying attention in class. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that help transmit messages between nerve cells in the brain (Department of Health, 2010). Besides in the form of tablets, methylphenidate is also available as a patch, called Daytrana, which can be placed directly on the skin to allow the drug to be absorbed. There are various disorders that prevail amongst the children and female in the current era. One such disorder is the attention deficit hyperactivity (ADHD) disorder. This paper will elaborate upon the background, features, symptoms, and causes of the disorder existing amongst children. It will also discuss the relationship of ADHD to Eczema and explanation regarding the safety of the ADHD medications on children. This topic has been chosen o be studied due to the reason that the prevalence of ADHD has become widespread amongst women and children these days. The symptoms of the disorder are now commonly occurring amongst the people of young ages. Therefore, it is necessary that the topic is studied in terms of its relevance, significance, and background.

Business blue print document Essay Example for Free

Business blue print document Essay Recurring payments/deductions infotype (0014) in which you capture the details of periodic/regular earnings or deductions. For Mastek, Indian payroll, they will be Medical Reimbursement, Reimbursement of Books, Leave Without Pay, Guesthouse Deduction, Personal Courier and Personal STD/ISD Phone Call.   Additional payments infotype (0015) in which you capture the details of annual or irregular earnings or deductions. For Mastek, Indian payroll, they will be LTA and Performance Pay.   Contract elements infotype (0016) Monitoring dates infotype (0019)   Family details infotype (0021). Membership fees infotype (0057), which you can also set up to make payments to third-parties in particular cases Cost distribution infotype (0027), which you can also set up to assign the internal order number if the cost of the employee is to go to the internal order number. You can also assign the percentage so that only that percentage of cost goes to the internal order. If this infotype is not maintained or the percentage assigned to the internal order in this infotype is not 100 percent, then the system picks the cost center assignment from infotype 0001 to attach the cost. Personnel IDs infotype (0185) These infotypes have been modified to handle Indian requirements. India-specific infotypes containing payment information: These infotypes have been created for India payroll only:   Previous employment tax details infotype (0580)   Housing (HRA/CLA/COA) infotype (0581)   Exemptions infotype (0582)   Car Conveyance infotype (0583)   Income from other sources infotype (0584)   Section 80 deductions infotype (0585)   Investment details (Section 88) infotype (0586)   Provident fund contribution infotype (0587). Other statutory deductions infotype (0588)   Long term reimbursements infotype (0590) * Nominations infotype (0591) 1. 7 POSTING TO ACCOUNTING Purpose Reporting for posting payroll results to Accounting, otherwise known as posting to Accounting, is a subsequent activity that is carried out after a successful payroll run. It usually takes place for each payroll period. During posting to Accounting, all posting data for the payroll results is selected, summarized, formatted, and then posted to the integrated components in Accounting. You can also archive the data created in posting to Accounting. Integration Different R/3 components are involved in posting to Accounting, and these components have different data requirements:   Payroll (PY)   Financial Accounting (FI)   General Ledger Accounting (FI-GL)   Accounts Payable (FI-AP)   Accounts Receivable (FI-AR)   Special Ledger (FI-SL)   Controlling (CO) INTEGRATION OF THE COMPONENTS IN POSTING TO ACCOUNTING Payroll (HR) The principal organizational concept in Payroll is the wage type. A wage type classifies personnel expenses according to tax, insurance, labour legislation, pay scales and other operational characteristics. In Payroll, wage types are also used for saving additional information in the payroll results, for example, in the form of cumulation wage types (total gross amount or gross tax amount), or in the form of wage types for other important amounts (statutory net pay or transfer amount). The organizational assignments valid for all periods are also created within Payroll as well as special cost assignments, and the wage types are assigned to this information. During payroll, additional wage types are created to provide data for cost accounting and these are saved in the payroll results, for example, the portion of the wage that is not applicable on public holidays. Financial Accounting (FI) Financial Accounting is responsible for the flow of payments. The payment flows are posted to particular accounts depending on the type or identity of the receiver, and on the due date of the payment. Cost Accounting (CO) Cost Accounting splits the costs according to the type (cost type = G/L account) and assigns them to cost centers or to other cost assignment objects (additional account assignment). Posting to accounting allows you to post costs to the following account assignment objects:   Position in customer order Implementation Considerations To ensure that the process of posting to accounting is completed successfully and without problems, please make the following settings: Customize the components involved (wage types, accounts, other account assignment objects)   Customize Reporting for posting to Accounting. The individual components involved in posting to Accounting can be organized as follows:   All components are in the same clients of the R/3 System.   The accounting components are in a different system to the Payroll application component. This could be a different R/3 System, an R/2 System, or a third-party system. If the individual components are distributed in various systems, see setting up Posting to accounting.   Reporting for posting payroll results to Accounting   Posting documents In Customizing for Cross-Application Components under Scenarios Posting payroll results to Accounting. Features Posting to Accounting allows you to perform the following functions:   Post retroactive accounting runs Pension Fund report for exempted Trusts (Though this is not applicable for Mastek, this is for the information only): 1. Form 4 Return of members leaving service 2. Form 5E Return of the members leaving service during the month 3. Form 6 Statement of contributions for the month ESI Reports 1. Form 6 2. Form 7 These reports are generated every half-year, in the months of October and April for the preceding contribution period. Professional Tax (PTax) Reports Payroll-India caters to the PTax Reports for the following states: 1. Andhra Pradesh (Monthly) Not applicable for Mastek 2. Gujarat (Monthly) Not applicable for Mastek 3. Karnataka (Monthly) Applicable for Mastek 4. Maharashtra (Monthly) Applicable for Mastek 5. West Bengal (Monthly) Applicable for Mastek 6. Tamil Nadu (Half-Yearly) Applicable for Mastek 7. Madhya Pradesh (Annual) Not applicable for Mastek These reports are to be generated at the relevant frequency for those states where PTax is applicable. The selection screen captures the following information: 1. The PTax report can be generated for a PTax grouping created for the Personnel Subarea. 2. The report is printed in the relevant format for each state as applicable and for those employees for whom the PTax and return is applicable. Labour Welfare Fund Reports Payroll-India caters to Labour Welfare Fund reports for the following states: 1. Gujarat (Half-Yearly) Not applicable for Mastek 2. Using the standard SAP ADP link the gross payroll results shall be uploaded to ADP for the final processing. The SAP US Payroll allows MSI to process payroll for employees in the United States, using data from SAP Personnel Administration and Benefits under a wide variety of configurations. The SAP Payroll system also offers a number of standard payroll reports. The Tax Reporter component will allow MSI to generate all required state and federal tax forms, such as SUI reports and W-2s. Further reports can be generated using Ad Hoc Query in conjunction with an SAP Payroll Infotype. However bulk of MSI requirements for legal reporting etc shall be met by ADP as the net payroll processing will be in their domain. Integration The Payroll component is integrated with other SAP HR components, such as Personnel Administration and Benefits. There are also interfaces to other SAP modules such as Financial Accounting and Controlling. 2. 1 COMPENSATION FOR USA PAY SCALE TYPE During the discussions it was realized that across Mastek Group, the compensation paid to the employees is divided into the following classifications: 1. Technical Professional 2. Technical Semi-professional 3. Non-Technical Professional 4. Non-technical Semi-professional 5. Others Professional 6. Others Non-professional The same will be configured as the Pay Scale Types in the SAP R/3 system. PAY SCALE AREA The Pay Scale Area will remain same as we have defined our Personnel Areas. Therefore the following will be the Pay Scale Areas in the SAP R/3 system: 1. Santa Clara 2. Dallas PAYROLL AREA PAYROLL PERIOD In MSI, a semi monthly payroll period shall be used for running the payroll. Hence the payroll area defined in the SAP R/3 system for MSI is: 02 Semi Monthly USA PAY SCALE GROUP The Pay Scale Group will be in terms of grades in the organization. The list of Pay Scale Group that is to be customized as under: 1. T2 2. T3 3. G2 4. G3 5. G4 6. G6 7. G8 8. G10 9. G12 10. G14 11. G16 12. G18 13. G20 14. Project Trainee 15. Temporary PAY SCALE LEVEL There is no sub-classification of Pay Scale Groups, which can be mapped to the Pay Scale Level. At Mastek the salaries are defined in terms of Total Annual Gross (TAG) and then the money is divided into the various wage types of the employee. For the purpose of customization, one Pay Scale Level will be defined For the US compensation, Dallas has been taken as base location. The location is also considered for the US compensation package. To start the compensation review, first Mastek has to map the US Grades with the Indian Grades. The US Grades are as follows: D2 D1 C2 C1 B2 B1 A2 A1 How they are mapped: Indian Grade US Grade G4 D2 G6 D1 G8 C2 G10 C1, B2 G12 B1 G14 A2 G16 A1 The salary survey is done by an external agency and the salaries are fixed based on that. There are four major heads under which the salary is fixed for the review: 1. Base Salary 2. Location Allowance 3. Skills 4. Performance Pay NOTE: MASTEK has decided that Indian grades shall be applicable globally and the US grades shall be mapped to equivalent Indian grades. However MASTEK is yet to provide the mapped list of grades for the same. The Reviewed salary is paid as Base salary and the relevant amounts are paid under the other heads. Thus the salaries are finalized for each and every employee in USA. It is to be noted that the salary survey report is Grade based in USA. As Dallas is taken as Base location, the amount for Location Allowance is fixed on the basis of the location the employee is scheduled to work in. For finalizing the location allowance the following factors are taken into account: 1. Accommodation Cost, 2. Transportation Cost, 3. Tax Rate, and 4. Food Cost. All this is relevant to the Indian employees who visit USA from India. There is no information available as to how the compensation review takes place for the US nationals in USA. 2. 2 USA SPECIFIC BENEFITS ADMINISTRATION COBRA COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985. It requires the vast majority of employers to offer continuation of coverage to covered employee and their dependents who, due to certain COBRA qualifying events, lose group health plan coverage. Infotype 0211 COBRA Qualified Beneficiary Infotype 0212 COBRA Health Plan Infotype 0270 COBRA Payments MSI pays 100% for its employees health insurance premiums. Employees dependents are eligible to participate in the same health insurance, however its the employees responsibility to pay the premium costs. Anthem Health provides both Medical and Dental insurance for MSI employees and their dependents. LIFE INSURANCE MSI provides life death and dismemberment insurance coverage for all of its employees through UNUM Life Insurance Company effective from the date of joining MSI. The beneficiary will receive two times the employees annual base salary. 401 K PLAN All employees are eligible for this plan MSI does not make any contributions to this plan Employee can contribute up to 25% to a maximum of USD 10,000 per calendar year. CAFETARIA PLAN Also known as Section 125 Plan. Employees can pay for medical and dependent care expenses with Pre Tax Dollars to avail of tax benefit under this plan. Employees may choose to have designated amount of their income directed towards this plan. This is solely and employee contributed benefit. 2. 3 STANDARD SAP US PAYROLL FEATURES SAP Payroll allows MSI to run payroll for employees in all states. Requisite statutory reports, such as Federal forms 940, W-2, W-3, and all state SUI forms are also supported by the SAP system. Payroll does not just involve the calculation of remuneration, but consists of a variety of processes that are becoming increasingly important due to the employers increased obligation to supply benefits and medical welfare. You can also control the financial system of third-party providers. The System calculates the gross and net pay, which comprises the individual payments and deductions that are calculated during a payroll period, and are received by an employee. These payments and deductions are included in the calculation of the remuneration using different wage types. However, since MSI has out sourced its net payroll processing to a third party called ADP. Hence only the gross payroll shall be run and an interface shall be provided to send data to ADP for net payroll processing and deduction of Taxes etc. After the remuneration payroll you can carry out various subsequent activities, for example, you can see to remuneration payment or the creation of various lists, and make evaluations. The Gross Payroll component processes employee master data from SAP Personnel Administration and generates wage types and amounts to be used by the Net Payroll component, or to be exported to a third-party product for net calculation. Pre-tax deductions and earnings are processed within the Gross Payroll component. Integration. The Gross Payroll component is closely integrated with the SAP Personnel Administration and SAP Benefits components Payroll in Dialog Mode Purpose The payroll program is run at a specific point in time, not only to calculate an employees basic remuneration but also any special payments, overtime payments or bonuses that must be effected for the period in question. You can follow the procedure of payroll directly in dialog mode. Payroll in dialog mode is particularly suited to simulate a payroll run for an individual payroll area or individual personnel numbers. Payroll in a Background Operation Use When you have checked all the settings for the payroll run, and have tested the run in a simulation run, you can perform the payroll run in a background job. Off-Cycle Activities Purpose As an addition to regular payroll, which carries out payroll at fixed regular intervals, this function enables you to carry out specific off-cycle payroll activities for individual employees on any day. You can issue a check to replace payments that were originally made to an employee by check or by transfer but which the employee did not receive, or if the check is in an unusable condition (for example, torn). You can reverse payroll results that were created by a regular or off-cycle payroll run. You can enter a check number into the system retrospectively for a payroll result for which you have already issued a check manually. 2. 4 MSI US PAYROLL GROSS PROCESSING Purpose The Gross Payroll component processes employee master data from SAP Personnel Administration and generates wage types and amounts to be used by the Net Payroll component, or to be exported to a third-party product for net calculation. Pre-tax deductions and earnings are processed within the Gross Payroll component. Integration The Gross Payroll component is closely integrated with the SAP Personnel Administration and SAP Benefits components Payments The individual payments form the basis for the calculation of an employees gross remuneration, which is the core part of payroll. Gross remuneration is the starting point for the calculation of social insurance and tax payments, and also for the calculation of net remuneration. Structure In the R/3 System, payments are split into the following categories according to their characteristics: Basic pay. Basic pay consists of the fixed wage and salary elements that are paid in every payroll period. You enter them in the form of wage types in the basic pay (0008) infotype. Recurring payments and deductions Recurring payments and deductions are paid or retained with fixed frequency. The system determined the payments using factors such as overtime, leave or substitutions. The wage types that illustrate these factors are entered in the recurring payments and deductions (0014) infotype. In the processing stage the system uses the Customizing settings representing the collective agreement.   Additional Payments. Additional payments are remuneration elements that are not usually paid in each payroll period, and that are not paid at regular intervals. You enter them in the Additional Payments (0015) infotype. Benefits Integration to Payroll Purpose Users of the R/3 Benefits component can use Benefits Integration to streamline the payroll calculation process for their employees. The Benefits Integration component allows benefits-related deductions and contributions entered in master data to be processed during net payroll processing. Integration This component integrates the Payroll component with the Benefits component. Deduction and contribution amounts can be remitted to benefits providers using functionality from the Third Party Remittance component. 2. 5 THE PAYROLL PROCESS 2. 6 US PAYROLL REPORTING Introduction The R/3 HR Payroll System provides all regulatory and tax reports required by U. S. federal and state law, such as SUI reports for state unemployment agencies, W-2 reports for the federal and state governments, and the Multiple Worksite Report for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Additional payroll reports are available for other business purposes, such as the New Hire Report. These reports allow efficient evaluation of payroll data and ensure compliance with government regulations. Integration Payroll reports access information from all HR Infotypes and evaluate data from HR Time Management and HR Organizational Management as well as HR Personnel Administration. Features R/3 Payroll offers numerous internal and regulatory reports, including: New Hire Reporting Tax Reporter for federal and state reports Law requires companies to report the results of their payroll calculation to several tax authorities, including the federal government and many state and local governments. This component enables you to produce regulatory reports for government authorities in the format required by each authority. Reports that Tax Reporter supports include Form 940 Employers Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return, Form 941 Employers Quarterly Federal Tax Return, Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statement, the 1099-R form and the Multiple Worksite Report. NOTE:-In case of MASTEK the above reports may be provided by ADP since ADP shall be responsible for running net payroll and doing all calculations and deductions for the same.

Causes Of The Cold War Summary And Analysis History Essay

Causes Of The Cold War Summary And Analysis History Essay The Big Picture: Who, What, When, Where (Especially) Why. In 1945, the United States and Soviet Union were allies, jointly triumphant in World War II, which ended with total victory for Soviet and American forces over Adolf Hitlers Nazi empire in Europe. Within just a few years, however, wartime allies became mortal enemies, locked in a global struggle-military, political, economic, ideological-to prevail in a new Cold War. How did wartime friends so quickly turn into Cold War foes? Who started the Cold War? Was it the Soviets, who reneged on their agreements to allow the people of Eastern Europe to determine their own fates by imposing totalitarian rule on territories unlucky enough to fall behind the Iron Curtain? Or was it the Americans, who ignored the Soviets legitimate security concerns, sought to intimidate the world with the atomic bomb, and pushed relentlessly to expand their own international influence and market dominance? The tensions that would later grow into Cold War became evident as early as 1943, when the Big Three allied leaders-American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Soviet Premier Josef Stalin-met in Tehran to coordinate strategy. Poland, which sits in an unfortunate position on the map, squeezed between frequent enemies Russia and Germany, became a topic for heated debate. The Poles, then under German occupation, had not one but two governments-in-exile-one Communist, one anticommunist-hoping to take over the country upon its liberation from the Nazis. Unsurprisingly, the Big Three disagreed over which Polish faction should be allowed to take control after the war, with Stalin backing the Polish Communists while Churchill and Roosevelt insisted the Polish people ought to have the right to choose their own form of government. For Stalin, the Polish question was a matter of the Soviet Unions vital security interests; Germany had invaded Russia th rough Poland twice since 1914, and more than 20 million Soviet citizens died in World War II. (The Soviets suffered nearly sixty times as many casualties in the war as the Americans did.) Stalin was determined to make sure that such an invasion could never happen again, and insisted that only a Communist Poland, friendly to (and dominated by) the Soviet Union, could serve as a buffer against future aggression from the west. Stalins security concerns ran smack into Anglo-American values of self-determination, which held that the Poles ought to be allowed to make their own decision over whether or not to become a Soviet satellite. At Tehran, and at the next major conference of the Big Three at Yalta in 1945, the leaders of the US, UK, and USSR were able to reach a number of important agreements-settling border disputes, creating the United Nations, organizing the postwar occupations of Germany and Japan. But Poland remained a vexing problem. At Yalta, Stalin-insisting that Poland is a question of life or death for Russia-was able to win Churchills and Roosevelts reluctant acceptance of a Communist-dominated provisional government for Poland. In exchange, Stalin signed on to a vague and toothless Declaration of Liberated Europe, pledging to assist the peoples liberated from the dominion of Nazi Germany and the peoples of the former Axis satellite states of Europe to solve by democratic means their pressing political and economic problems. The agreements allowed Churchill and Roosevelt to claim they had defended the principle of self-determination, even though both knew that Poland had effectively been consigned to the Soviet sphere of interest. The provisional Communist government in Poland later held rigged elections (which it, not surprisingly, won), nominally complying with the Declaration of Liberated Europe even though no alternative to Communist rule ever really had a chance in the country. In the end, the Yalta agreements were not so much a true compromise as a useful (in the short term) misunderstanding among the three leaders. Stalin left happy he had won Anglo-American acceptance of de facto Soviet control of Eastern Europe; Roosevelt and Churchill left happy they had won Stalins acceptance of the principle of self-determination. But the two parts of the agreement were mutually exclusive; what would happen if the Eastern Europeans sought to self-determine themselves out of the Soviet orbit? Future disputes over the problematic Yalta agreements were not just likely; they were virtually inevitable. And the likelihood of future conflict only heightened on 12 April 1945, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt unexpectedly died of a brain hemorrhage. Vice President Harry S. Truman-a former Missouri senator with only a high-school education, who had served just 82 days as vice president and had not been part of FDRs inner circle-suddenly became the President of the United States. Truman, who may not have ever known just how much Roosevelt had actually conceded to Stalin at Yalta, viewed the Soviets later interventions in Eastern Europe as a simple violation of the Yalta agreements, as proof that Stalin was a liar who could never be trusted. Truman quickly staked out a hard-line position, resolving to counter Stalins apparently insatiable drive for power by blocking any further expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence, anywhere in the world. Under Truman, containment of Communism soon came to dominate American foreign policy. The Cold War was on. So who started the Cold War? In the early days of the Cold War itself, American historians would have answered, nearly unanimously, that the Soviets started the Cold War. Josef Stalin was an evil dictator, propelled by an evil Communist ideology to attempt world domination. Appeasement hadnt worked against Hitler, and appeasement wouldnt work against Stalin either. An innocent America had only reluctantly joined the Cold War to defend the Free World from otherwise inevitable totalitarian conquest. In the 1960s, a new generation of revisionist historians-disillusioned by the Vietnam War and appalled by seemingly endemic government dishonesty-offered a startingly different interpretation. In this revisionist view, Stalin may have been a Machiavellian despot but he was an essentially conservative one; he was more interested in protecting the Soviet Union (and his own power within it) than in dominating the world. Americans erroneously interpreted Stalins legitimate insistence upon a security buffer in Poland to indicate a desire for global conquest; Americans subsequent aggressive efforts to contain Soviet influence, to intimidate the Soviets with the atomic bomb, and to pursue American economic interests around the globe were primarily responsible for starting the Cold War. More recently, a school of historians led by Yale professor John Lewis Gaddis have promoted what they call a post-revisionist synthesis, incorporating many aspects of the revisionist critique while still insisting that Stalin, as a uniquely powerful and uniquely malevolent historical actor, must bear the greatest responsibility for the Cold War. In the end, it may be that Who started the Cold War? is simply the wrong question to ask. World War II destroyed all other major rivals to American and Soviet power; the US and USSR emerged from the conflict as the only two nations on earth that could hope to propagate their social and political systems on a global scale. Each commanded powerful military forces; each espoused globally expansive ideologies; each feared and distrusted the other. In the end, it may have been more shocking if the two superpowers had not become great rivals and Cold War enemies. What was the Cold War The Cold War is the name given to the relationship that developed primarily between the USA and the USSR after World War Two. The Cold War was to dominate international affairs for decades and many major crises occurred the Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, Hungary and the Berlin Wall being just some. For many the growth in weapons of mass destruction was the most worrying issue. Do note that USSR in 1945 was Russia post-1917 and included all the various countries that now exist individually (Ukraine, Georgia etc) but after the war they were part of this huge country up until the collapse of the Soviet Union (the other name for the USSR). Logic would dictate that as the USA and the USSR fought as allies during World War Two, their relationship after the war would be firm and friendly. This never happened and any appearance that these two powers were friendly during the war is illusory. Before the war, America had depicted the Soviet Union as almost the devil-incarnate. The Soviet Union had depicted America likewise so their friendship during the war was simply the result of having a mutual enemy Nazi Germany. In fact, one of Americas leading generals, Patton, stated that he felt that the Allied army should unite with what was left of the Wehrmacht in 1945, utilise the military genius that existed within it (such as the V2s etc.) and fight the oncoming Soviet Red Army. Churchill himself was furious that Eisenhower, as supreme head of Allied command, had agreed that the Red Army should be allowed to get to Berlin first ahead of the Allied army. His anger was shared by Montgomery, Britains senior military figure. So the extreme distrust that existed during the war, was certainly present before the end of the warà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..and this was between Allies. The Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, was also distrustful of the Americans after Truman only told him of a new terrifying weapon that he was going to use against the Japanese. The first Stalin knew of what this weapon could do was when reports on Hiroshima got back to Moscow. So this was the scene after the war ended in 1945. Both sides distrusted the other. One had a vast army in the field (the Soviet Union with its Red Army supremely lead by Zhukov) while the other, the Americans had the most powerful weapon in the world, the A-bomb and the Soviets had no way on knowing how many America had. So what exactly was the Cold War? In diplomatic terms there are three types of war. In diplomatic terms there are three types of war. Hot War : this is actual warfare. All talks have failed and the armies are fighting. Warm War : this is where talks are still going on and there would always be a chance of a peaceful outcome but armies, navies etc. are being fully mobilised and war plans are being put into operation ready for the command to fight. Cold War : this term is used to describe the relationship between America and the Soviet Union 1945 to 1980. Neither side ever fought the other the consequences would be too appalling but they did fight for their beliefs using client states who fought for their beliefs on their behalf e.g. South Vietnam was anticommunist and was supplied by America during the war while North Vietnam was pro-Communist and fought the south (and the Americans) using weapons from communist Russia or communist China. In Afghanistan, the Americans supplied the rebel Afghans after the Soviet Union invaded in 1979 while they never physically involved themselves thus avoiding a direct clash with the Soviet Union. The one time this process nearly broke down was the Cuban   Missile Crisis. So why were these two super powers so distrustful of the other? America Soviet Union Free elections No elections or fixed Democratic Autocratic / Dictatorship Capitalist Communist Survival of the fittest Everybody helps everybody Richest world power Poor economic base Personal freedom Society controlled by the NKVD (secret police) Freedom of the media Total censorship This lack of mutually understanding an alien culture, would lead the world down a very dangerous path it led to the development of weapons of awesome destructive capability and the creation of some intriguing policies such as MAD Mutually Assured Destruction. Cold War chronology 1945 : A-Bomb dropped on Hiroshima + Nagasaki. USA ahead in the arms race. 1947 : Marshall Aid to the west of Europe. Stalin of USSR refused it for Eastern Europe. 1948 : start of the Berlin Blockade ended in 1949 1949 : NATO established; USSR exploded her first A-bomb; China becomes communist 1950 : Korean War started. 1952 : USA exploded her first hyrogen bomb. 1953 : Korean War ended. USSR exploded her first hydrogen bomb. Stalin died. 1955 : Warsaw Pact created. Peaceful coexistence called for. 1956 : Hungary revolts against USSR. Suez Crisis. 1957 : Sputnik launched. 1959 : Cuba becomes a communist state. 1961 : Military aid sent to Vietnam by USA for the first time. Berlin Wall built. 1962 : Cuban Missile Crisis. 1963 : Huge increase of American aid to Vietnam. 1965 : USA openly involved in Vietnam. 1967 : Six-Day War in Middle East. 1968 : USSR invades Czechoslovakia. 1973 : Yom Kippur War. 1979 : USSR invaded Afghanistan. 1986 : Meeting in Iceland between USSR (Gorbachev) and USA (Reagan). 1987 : INF Treaty signed. The Iron Curtain http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/clear.gif http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/clear.gif http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/uploads/pics/winston_03.jpg http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/clear.gif On March 5th 1946, Winston Churchill made his iron curtain speech at Fulton, Missouri, USA. The speech was officially entitled The Sinews of Peace but became better known as the Iron Curtain speech. It set the tone for the early years of the Cold War. Some saw it as unnecessary warmongering while others believed it was another example of how well Churchill was able to grasp an international situation. I am glad to come to Westminster College this afternoon, and am complimented that you should give me a degree. The name Westminster is somehow familiar to me. I seem to have heard of it before. Indeed, it was at Westminster that I received a very large part of my education in politics, dialectic, rhetoric, and one or two other things. In fact we have both been educated at the same, or similar, or, at any rate, kindred establishments. It is also an honour, perhaps almost unique, for a private visitor to be introduced to an academic audience by the President of the United States. Amid his heavy burdens, duties, and responsibilities unsought but not recoiled from the President has travelled a thousand miles to dignify and magnify our meeting here to-day and to give me an opportunity of addressing this kindred nation, as well as my own countrymen across the ocean, and perhaps some other countries too. The President has told you that it is his wish, as I am sure it is yours, that I should have full liberty to give my true and faithful counsel in these anxious and baffling times. I shall certainly avail myself of this freedom, and feel the more right to do so because any private ambitions I may have cherished in my younger days have been satisfied beyond my wildest dreams. Let me, however, make it clear that I have no official mission or status of any kind, and that I speak only for myself. There is nothing here but what you see. I can therefore allow my mind, with the experience of a lifetime, to play over the problems which beset us on the morrow of our absolute victory in arms, and to try to make sure with what strength I have that what has been gained with so much sacrifice and suffering shall be preserved for the future glory and safety of mankind. The United States stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power. It is a solemn moment for the American Democracy. For with primacy in power is also joined an awe-inspiring accountability to the future. If you look around you, you must feel not only the sense of duty done but also you must feel anxiety lest you fall below the level of achievement. Opportunity is here now, clear and shining for both our countries. To reject it or ignore it or fritter it away will bring upon us all the long reproaches of the after-time. It is necessary that constancy of mind, persistency of purpose, and the grand simplicity of decision shall guide and rule the conduct of the English-speaking peoples in peace as they did in war. We must, and I believe we shall, prove ourselves equal to this severe requirement. When American military men approach some serious situation they are wont to write at the head of their directive the words over-all strategic concept. There is wisdom in this, as it leads to clarity of thought. What then is the over-all strategic concept which we should inscribe today? It is nothing less than the safety and welfare, the freedom and progress, of all the homes and families of all the men and women in all the lands. And here I speak particularly of the myriad cottage or apartment homes where the wage-earner strives amid the accidents and difficulties of life to guard his wife and children from privation and bring the family up in the fear of the Lord, or upon ethical conceptions which often play their potent part. To give security to these countless homes, they must be shielded from the two giant marauders, war and tyranny. We all know the frightful disturbances in which the ordinary family is plunged when the curse of war swoops down upon the bread-winner and those for whom he works and contrives. The awful ruin of Europe, with all its vanished glories, and of large parts of Asia glares us in the eyes. When the designs of wicked men or the aggressive urge of mighty States dissolve over large areas the frame of civilised society, humble folk are confronted with difficulties with which they cannot cope. For them all is distorted, all is broken, even ground to pulp. When I stand here this quiet afternoon I shudder to visualise what is actually happening to millions now and what is going to happen in this period when famine stalks the earth. None can compute what has been called the unestimated sum of human pain. Our supreme task and duty is to guard the homes of the common people from the horrors and miseries of another war. We are all agreed on that. Our American military colleagues, after having proclaimed their over-all strategic concept and computed available resources, always proceed to the next step namely, the method. Here again there is widespread agreement. A world organisation has already been erected for the prime purpose of preventing war, UNO, the successor of the League of Nations, with the decisive addition of the United States and all that that means, is already at work. We must make sure that its work is fruitful, that it is a reality and not a sham, that it is a force for action, and not merely a frothing of words, that it is a true temple of peace in which the shields of many nations can some day be hung up, and not merely a cockpit in a Tower of Babel. Before we cast away the solid assurances of national armaments for self-preservation we must be certain that our temple is built, not upon shifting sands or quagmires, but upon the rock. Anyone can see with his eyes open that our path will be difficult and also long, but if we persevere together as we did in the two world wars though not, alas, in the interval between them I cannot doubt that we shall achieve our common purpose in the end. I have, however, a definite and practical proposal to make for action. Courts and magistrates may be set up but they cannot function without sheriffs and constables. The United Nations Organisation must immediately begin to be equipped with an international armed force. In such a matter we can only go step by step, but we must begin now. I propose that each of the Powers and States should be invited to delegate a certain number of air squadrons to the service of the world organisation. These squadrons would be trained and prepared in their own countries, but would move around in rotation from one country to another. They would wear the uniform of their own countries but with different badges. They would not be required to act against their own nation, but in other respects they would be directed by the world organisation. This might be started on a modest scale and would grow as confidence grew. I wished to see this done after the first world war, and I devoutly trust it may be done forthwith. It would nevertheless be wrong and imprudent to entrust the secret knowledge or experience of the atomic bomb, which the United States, Great Britain, and Canada now share, to the world organisation, while it is still in its infancy. It would be criminal madness to cast it adrift in this still agitated and un-united world. No one in any country has slept less well in their beds because this knowledge and the method and the raw materials to apply it, are at present largely retained in American hands. I do not believe we should all have slept so soundly had the positions been reversed and if some Communist or neo-Fascist State monopolised for the time being these dread agencies. The fear of them alone might easily have been used to enforce totalitarian systems upon the free democratic world, with consequences appalling to human imagination. God has willed that this shall not be and we have at least a breathing space to set our house in order before this peril has to be encountered: and even then, if no effort is spared, we should still possess so formidable a superiority as to impose effective deterrents upon its employment, or threat of employment, by others. Ultimately, when the essential brotherhood of man is truly embodied and expressed in a world organisation with all the necessary practical safeguards to make it effective, these powers would naturally be confided to that world organisation. Now I come to the second danger of these two marauders which threatens the cottage, the home, and the ordinary people namely, tyranny. We cannot be blind to the fact that the liberties enjoyed by individual citizens throughout the British Empire are not valid in a considerable number of countries, some of which are very powerful. In these States control is enforced upon the common people by various kinds of all-embracing police governments. The power of the State is exercised without restraint, either by dictators or by compact oligarchies operating through a privileged party and a political police. It is not our duty at this time when difficulties are so numerous to interfere forcibly in the internal affairs of countries which we have not conquered in war. But we must never cease to proclaim in fearless tones the great principles of freedom and the rights of man which are the joint inheritance of the English-speaking world and which through Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights, the Habe as Corpus, trial by jury, and the English common law find their most famous expression in the American Declaration of Independence. All this means that the people of any country have the right, and should have the power by constitutional action, by free unfettered elections, with secret ballot, to choose or change the character or form of government under which they dwell; that freedom of speech and thought should reign; that courts of justice, independent of the executive, unbiased by any party, should administer laws which have received the broad assent of large majorities or are consecrated by time and custom. Here are the title deeds of freedom which should lie in every cottage home. Here is the message of the British and American peoples to mankind. Let us preach what we practise let us practise what we preach. I have now stated the two great dangers which menace the homes of the people: War and Tyranny. I have not yet spoken of poverty and privation which are in many cases the prevailing anxiety. But if the dangers of war and tyranny are removed, there is no doubt that science and co-operation can bring in the next few years to the world, certainly in the next few decades newly taught in the sharpening school of war, an expansion of material well-being beyond anything that has yet occurred in human experience. Now, at this sad and breathless moment, we are plunged in the hunger and distress which are the aftermath of our stupendous struggle; but this will pass and may pass quickly, and there is no reason except human folly of sub-human crime which should deny to all the nations the inauguration and enjoyment of an age of plenty. I have often used words which I learned fifty years ago from a great Irish-American orator, a friend of mine, Mr. Bourke Cockran. There is enough for all. The eart h is a generous mother; she will provide in plentiful abundance food for all her children if they will but cultivate her soil in justice and in peace. So far I feel that we are in full agreement. Now, while still pursuing the method of realising our overall strategic concept, I come to the crux of what I have travelled here to say. Neither the sure prevention of war, nor the continuous rise of world organisation will be gained without what I have called the fraternal association of the English-speaking peoples. This means a special relationship between the British Commonwealth and Empire and the United States. This is no time for generalities, and I will venture to be precise. Fraternal association requires not only the growing friendship and mutual understanding between our two vast but kindred systems of society, but the continuance of the intimate relationship between our military advisers, leading to common study of potential dangers, the similarity of weapons and manuals of instructions, and to the interchange of officers and cadets at technical colleges. It should carry with it the continuance of the present facilities for mutual security by the joint use of all Naval a nd Air Force bases in the possession of either country all over the world. This would perhaps double the mobility of the American Navy and Air Force. It would greatly expand that of the British Empire Forces and it might well lead, if and as the world calms down, to important financial savings. Already we use together a large number of islands; more may well be entrusted to our joint care in the near future. The United States has already a Permanent Defence Agreement with the Dominion of Canada, which is so devotedly attached to the British Commonwealth and Empire. This Agreement is more effective than many of those which have often been made under formal alliances. This principle should be extended to all British Commonwealths with full reciprocity. Thus, whatever happens, and thus only, shall we be secure ourselves and able to work together for the high and simple causes that are dear to us and bode no ill to any. Eventually there may come I feel eventually there will come the principle of common citizenship, but that we may be content to leave to destiny, whose outstretched arm many of us can already clearly see. There is however an important question we must ask ourselves. Would a special relationship between the United States and the British Commonwealth be inconsistent with our over-riding loyalties to the World Organisation? I reply that, on the contrary, it is probably the only means by which that organisation will achieve its full stature and strength. There are already the special United States relations with Canada which I have just mentioned, and there are the special relations between the United States and the South American Republics. We British have our twenty years Treaty of Collaboration and Mutual Assistance with Soviet Russia. I agree with Mr. Bevin, the Foreign Secretary of Great Britain, that it might well be a fifty years Treaty so far as we are concerned. We aim at nothing but mutual assistance and collaboration. The British have an alliance with Portugal unbroken since 1384, and which produced fruitful results at critical moments in the late war. None of these clash with the general interest of a world agreement, or a world organisation; on the contrary they help it. In my fathers house are many mansions. Special associations between members of the United Nations which have no aggressive point against any other country, which harbour no design incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations, far from being harmful, are beneficial and, as I believe, indispensable. I spoke earlier of the Temple of Peace. Workmen from all countries must build that temple. If two of the workmen know each other particularly well and are old friends, if their families are inter-mingled, and if they have faith in each others purpose, hope in each others future and charity towards each others shortcomings to quote some good words I read here the other day why cannot they work together at the common task as friends and partners? Why cannot they share their tools and thus increase each others working powers? Indeed they must do so or else the temple may not be built, or, being built, it may collapse, and we shall all be proved again unteachable and have to go and try to learn again for a third time in a school of war, incomparably more rigorous than that from which we have just been released. The dark ages may return, the Stone Age may return on the gleaming wings of science, and what might now shower immeasurable material blessings upon mankind, may even bring about its total destruction. Beware, I say; time may be short. Do not let us take the course of allowing events to drift along until it is too late. If there is to be a fraternal association of the kind I have described, with all the extra strength and security which both our countries can derive from it, let us make sure that that great fact is known to the world, and that it plays its part in steadying and stabilising the foundations of peace. There is the path of wisdom. Prevention is better than cure. A shadow has fallen upon the scenes so lately lighted by the Allied victory. Nobody knows what Soviet Russia and its Communist international organisation intends to do in the immediate future, or what are the limits, if any, to their expansive and proselytising tendencies. I have a strong admiration and regard for the valiant Russian people and for my wartime comrade, Marshal Stalin. There is deep sympathy and goodwill in Britain and I doubt not here also towards the peoples of all the Russias and a resolve to persevere through many differences and rebuffs in establishing lasting friendships. We understand the Russian need to be secure on her western frontiers by the removal of all possibility of German aggression. We welcome Russia to her rightful place among the leading nations of the world. We welcome her flag upon the seas. Above all, we welcome constant, frequent and growing contacts between the Russian people and our own people on both sides of the Atlantic. It is my duty how ever, for I am sure you would wish me to state the facts as I see them to you, to place before you certain facts about the present position in Europe. From Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic, an iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central and Eastern Europe. Warsaw, Berlin, Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Belgrade, Bucharest and Sofia, all these famous cities and the populations around them lie in what I must call the Soviet sphere, and all are subject in one