Abraham Lincoln Essay -- biography bio biographies

Abraham Lincoln's adequacy as leader of the United States was incredible to the point that in every one of these years, and those before his time, no president has ever verged on rising to his accomplishments. Lincoln is known as a modest, genuine man whose administration irreversibly modified our general public. He got down to business in a period of strife for our developing country. During his organization he battled and won the bloodiest war in our history. Lincoln likewise went through congress the most momentous bit of enactment for social change in our history.      As social and financial contrasts tormented our country, Lincoln looked for to the exclusion of everything else to protect the Union. As the south withdrew from the Union, turned into the Confederate States, and the Civil War started ‘Honest Abe' clutched his objective. With taking on resolve through the conflicts of Bull Run, Antietam, and Gettysburg Lincoln exchanged commanders looking for the best heads for his soldiers. He at that point designated Ulysses S. Award who drove the Northern armed forces to triumph and empowered President Lincoln to protect the Union. On the off chance that Lincoln had released the south without a battle, lost the war, or exploited the south's acquiescence, America as we presently realize it would not exist.      On January first 1863 the Emancipation Proclamation was placed into impact, liberating all slaves in the insubordinate southern states. Lincoln needed the United States to be seen earnestly by different countries and imagined that subjugation was crude and wrong. With the Emancipation Proclamation he free...

Carl Jung and the Theory of Archetypes Essay

CARL JUNG AND THE THEORY OF ARCHETYPES Background Carl Gustav Jung was brought into the world July 26, 1875, in the little Swiss town of Kessewil†¦ He was encircled by a genuinely knowledgeable more distant family, including many pastors and a few unconventionalities too. [Jung’s father] began Carl on Latin when he was six years of age, starting a long enthusiasm for language and writing †particularly old writing. Other than most present day western European dialects, Jung could peruse a few antiquated ones, including Sanskrit, the language of the first Hindu blessed books. Carl was a fairly single youthful, who didn’t care much for school, and particularly couldn’t take rivalry. He went to life experience school in Basel, Switzerland, where he got himself the object of a great deal of envious badgering. He started to blame ailment, building up a humiliating propensity to black out under tension. In spite of the fact that his first profession decision was paleontology, he proceeded to contemplate medicine†¦he chose psychiatry as his vocation. †¦Carl Jung was to make the investigation of this â€Å"inner space† his life’s work. He went outfitted with †¦ an evidently unlimited information on folklore, religion, and reasoning. †¦He had, what's more, a limit with respect to clear dreaming and periodic dreams. In the fall of 1913, he had a dream of a â€Å"monstrous flood† inundating the vast majority of Europe and lapping at the mountains of his local Switzerland. He saw a great many individuals suffocating and human advancement disintegrating. At that point, the waters transformed into blood. This vision was followed, in the following not many weeks, by dreams of endless winters and waterways of blood. He was worried about the possibility that that he was getting maniacal. However, on August 1 of that year, World War I started. Jung felt that there had been an association, by one way or another, between himself as an individual and mankind all in all that couldn't be clarified away. From that point until 1928, he was to experience a fairly excruciating procedure of self-investigation that shaped the premise of the entirety of his later conjecturing. He deliberately recorded his fantasies, dreams, and dreams, and drew, painted, and etched them also. He found that his encounters would in general structure themselves into people, starting with a shrewd elderly person and his buddy, a young lady. The shrewd elderly person developed, over various dreams, into a kind of profound master. The young lady became â€Å"anima,† the ladylike soul, who filled in as his primary mode of correspondence with the more profound parts of his oblivious. A rugged earthy colored smaller person would show up guarding the passage to the oblivious. He was â€Å"the shadow,† a crude ally for Jung’s self image. Jung envisioned that he and the smaller person slaughtered a delightful light youth†¦ For Jung, this spoke to a notice about the threats of the love of magnificence and courage which would before long reason so much distress all over Europe†¦ Jung imagined a lot about the dead, the place where there is the dead, and the ascending of the dead. These spoke to the unconscious†¦a new aggregate unaware of humankind itself, an oblivious that could contain all the dead, not simply our own phantoms. Jung started to consider the to be sick as individuals who are spooky by these phantoms, during a time where nobody should even have confidence in them. In the event that we could just recover our legends, we would comprehend these apparitions, become alright with the dead, and recuperate our psychological sicknesses. Pundits have recommended that Jung was, basically, sick himself when this occurred. However, Jung felt that, in the event that you need to comprehend the wilderness, you can’t be content just to cruise to and fro close to the shore. You’ve got the chance to get into it, regardless of how weird and alarming it may appear. †¦But then Jung includes the piece of the mind that makes his hypothesis stand apart from all others: the aggregate oblivious. You could consider it your â€Å"psychic legacy. † It is the store of our encounters as an animal groups, a sort of information we are totally brought into the world with. But we can never be straightforwardly aware of it. It impacts the entirety of our encounters and practices, most particularly the passionate ones, however we just think about it by implication, by taking a gander at those impacts. There are a few encounters that show the impacts of the aggregate oblivious more obviously than others: The encounters of all consuming, instant adoration, of history repeating itself (the inclination that you’ve been here previously), and the prompt acknowledgment of specific images and the implications of specific fantasies, could all be comprehended as the unexpected combination of our external reality and the internal truth of the aggregate oblivious. More stupendous models are the imaginative encounters shared by specialists and performers everywhere throughout the world and in all occasions, or the otherworldly encounters of spiritualists all things considered, or the equals in dreams, dreams, legends, fantasies, and writing. A pleasant model that has been incredibly talked about as of late is the brush with death. It appears that numerous individuals, of a wide range of social foundations, find that they have fundamentally the same as memories when they are carried again from a nearby experience with death. They talk about leaving their bodies, seeing their bodies and theâ events encompassing them unmistakably, of being gotten through a long passage towards a splendid light, of seeing perished family members or strict figures sitting tight for them, and of their mistake at leaving this upbeat scene to come back to their bodies. Maybe we are all â€Å"built† to encounter passing in this design. Paradigms The substance of the aggregate oblivious are called models. Jung likewise called them dominants, imagos, fanciful or early stage pictures, and a couple of different names, however models appears to have prevailed upon these. A paradigm is an unlearned inclination to encounter things with a particular goal in mind. The mother model The mother prime example is an especially genuine model. The entirety of our precursors had moms. We have advanced in a situation that incorporated a mother or mother-substitute. We could never have made due without our association with a sustaining one during our occasions as vulnerable newborn children. It makes sense that we are â€Å"built† in a manner that mirrors that developmental condition: We come into this world prepared to need mother, to look for her, to perceive her, to manage her. So the mother prime example is our worked in capacity to perceive a specific relationship, that of â€Å"mothering. † Jung says this is fairly dynamic, and we are probably going to extend the paradigm out into the world and onto a specific individual, as a rule our own moms. In any event, when a prime example doesn’t have a specific genuine individual accessible, we will in general embody the model, that is, transform it into a fanciful â€Å"story-book† character. This character represents the prime example. The mother original is represented by the early stage mother or â€Å"earth mother† of folklore, by Eve and Mary in western customs, and by less close to home images, for example, the congregation, the country, a backwoods, or the sea. As indicated by Jung, somebody whose own mom neglected to fulfill the requests of the model likely could be one that goes through their time on earth looking for comfort in the congregation, or in ID with â€Å"the motherland,† or in thinking upon the figure of Mary, or in an actual existence adrift. The shadow Sex and the existence senses as a rule are, obviously, spoken to some place in Jung’s framework. They are a piece of an original called the shadow. It gets from our prehuman, creature past, when our interests were constrained to endurance and generation, and when we weren’t reluctant. Itâ is the â€Å"dark side† of the sense of self, and the shrewd that we are fit for is frequently put away there. As a matter of fact, the shadow is irreverent †neither great nor terrible, much the same as creatures. A creature is fit for delicate consideration for its young and horrendous murdering for food, however it doesn’t decide to do either. It simply does what it does. It is â€Å"innocent. † But from our human point of view, the creature world looks rather merciless, brutal, so the shadow becomes something of a trash can for the pieces of ourselves that we can’t very admit to. Images of the shadow incorporate the snake (as in the nursery of Eden), the winged serpent, beasts, and evil spirits. It regularly watches the passage to a cavern or a pool of water, which is the aggregate oblivious. Next time you long for grappling with the villain, it might just act naturally you are grappling with! The persona The persona speaks to your open picture. The word is, clearly, identified with the word individual and character, and originates from a Latin word for veil. So the persona is the veil you put on before you act yourself to the outside world. Despite the fact that it starts as an original, when we are done acknowledging it, it is the piece of us generally removed from the aggregate oblivious. At its best, it is only the â€Å"good impression† we as a whole wish to present as we fill the jobs society expects of us. Be that as it may, obviously, it can likewise be the â€Å"false impression† we use to control people’s suppositions and practices. What's more, best case scenario, it very well may be mixed up, even without anyone else, for our actual nature: Sometimes we accept we truly are what we claim to be! Anima and enmity †¦The anima is the female perspective present in the aggregate oblivious to men, and the ill will is the male angle present in the aggregate unaware of ladies. Together, they are refered to as syzygy. The anima might be exemplified as a little youngster, exceptionally unconstrained and natural, or as a witch, or as the earth mother. It is probably going to be related with profound emotionality and the power of life itself. The ill will might be exemplified as an insightful elderly person, an alchemist, or frequently various guys, and will in general be sensible, regularly rationalistic, even argumentative†¦ Other models Jung said that there I

Planning Theory & Practice Essay

The making of an entirely different sort of network, the 'virtual community’, has done a lot to feature the potential for networks to shape past the bounds of geographic space (Rheingold, 1993). Mechanical utopians have discovered network in the internet. To a great extent narrative proof accentuates the capacity of PC systems to associate individuals across existence in solid steady connections, indiscriminately stretching out past qualities of ethnicity, religion or national source. Blameworthy of Plagiarism The making of another network, which is known as a virtual network, has permitted individuals to live past geographic space. The internet is the place innovative individuals have discovered a feeling of network. PCs can interface individuals across existence regardless of what their attributes (Hampton, 2002). Not Guilty of Plagiarism Keith Hampton (2002), has begat the term â€Å"virtual community† to allude to a spot where individuals can shape social gatherings â€Å"beyond the limits of geographic space† (p. 228). This â€Å"cyberspace† gives an opportunity to people of fluctuating races and religions to meet and communicate by means of PC. Numerous innovatively sharp individuals presently have a spot to meet other without having to genuinely travel (Hampton, 2002). Not Guilty of Plagiarism. PCs have took into consideration individuals to meet those of different nationalities and societies universes from each other through the PC. The systems administration capacities of PCs take into consideration individuals to manufacture social gatherings, or networks, in the internet as opposed to face to face. A sea or a mountain will not, at this point have the option to keep these innovatively adroit pioneers separated (Hampton, 2002).

Joint Venture In The Construction Industry In Spain - Free Essay Example

An estimated 20,000 joint ventures have been formed worlwide over the past two years. Such strategic alliances can provide business owners with long-term security, new revenue channels, and , often, the anchor needed to maintain stability in otherwise turbulent waters. A successful joint venture can open the door to a wold of future partnership opportunities (Robert L.Wallace 2004) Factors now at play in our economy make it more feasible and more critical than ever for small business owners to leverage the power of joint venturing. These factors include: The emergence of the customer economy Advances in technology that have neutralized time and space contraints Change brougt on by shifting demographics More entrepreneur- and more oportunities- as a result of downsizing In the midst of these world-changing trends, what is often missing from a succesffull business strategy are the critical alliances and strategic partnerships that will help leverage the strenghts and minimise weaknesses. Forging joint ventures and strategic alliances will allow business to win millions contracts as the partner with large companies to offer with, breadth, and depth demanded in the marketplace. Done well, joint ventures provide both participating businesses with a chance to learn and benefit from each other, and to achieve results neither could achive alone. In this dissertation will be explained- how to enter into joint ventures well so a company can prosper in ways it never could by doing it alone CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT ii CONTENTS iii LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF FIGURES vi INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 Introduction 2 1.2 Objectives of Dissertation 2 Contents 3 JOINT VENTURE EXPLAINED 2.1 Joint Ventures Explained 2.2 The Rationale of Joint Venture Formation 2.3 Joint Venture Formation 2.4 Management and Implementation LITERATURE REVIEW 3.1 Forms of Joint Venture 3.2 Motives of forming a Joint Venture 3.3 Selection of Partners 3.4 Preliminary Agreement and Negotiation Research Methodology 4.1 Research Approach 40 4.2 Research Ethics 41 4.3 Interviews 42 4.4 Survey 46 FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 5.1 Basic Conflicting Interests 5.2 Loss of Autonomy and Control 5.3 Findings CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF FIGURES Chapter One Introduction and Objectives of Dissertation Introduction à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Business once grew by one of two ways: grass roots up, or by acquisition. Today business grow through alliances- all kinds of dangerous alliance, joint ventures, and customer partnerign, which by the way, very few people understandà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? (Peter F.Drucker 2007) Experiences of joint venture management in the construction industry traced back to the early 60 ´s. It appears that characteristics of this industry favor the proposition of joint ventures formation. Although statistics are not available, this is obviously true in relation to the infrastructure development of Spain at the present moment The determination of the . 1.1 Objectives of Dissertation This paper attempts to review the existing literatures on management of joint ventures its merits and problems, particular issues arisen and suggested management techniques to cope with such obstacles in operating a joint venture. Interviews were conducted with two senior staffs of one of the partners of a joint venture formed by four construction firms. The joint venture is currently undertaking one of the Train Station Core Projects to be completed before July 2011. It is hoped that hand-on experiences of these senior staffs, at the level of Management Committee of the joint venture, as well as the operational level of the joint venture, would provide us valuable insight and opinion on the art of joint venture management, as a reflection and complement to the general review of the literatures. The key objectives are: To critically appraise the existing literature to Corporative alliances issues and the role of International Strategy in applying these issues. To establish the importance Strategic alliances with competitors in the international market. To evaluate the purposes of strategic alliances as well as to what extent might be successful a company. To determine other factors that influences companies in seeking Joint Ventures. To assess the sources of value creation. To study possible pitfalls in doing a Strategic Alliance. To draw conclusions upon a joint venture in a case study. 1.2 Contents In Chapter 2, the organization of interest is described in detail along with an explanation of its forms. In Chapter 3 the literature in relation to joint venture and strategic alliances in general and its application within the company is critically reviewed. Chapter 4 describes and justifies the research methods employed and includes a section on the ethical considerations of the project. In Chapter 5 the findings of the one-to-one interviews, In Chapter 6 the findings are analyzed and evaluated in relation to the published research literature. In Chapter 7 a joint venture framework for the SMART Services is presented along with a plan for its implementation. Finally, in Chapter 8 conclusions are drawn and recommendations are made for future work. A list of references is provided and the appendices contain pertinent information, documents (including, the survey questionnaire) and collated data. Chapter Two Joint Venture Explained 2. Joint Venture Explained A joint venture is the coming together of two (or more) independent business for the sole purpose of achieving a specific outcome that would not have been achievable by one of the firms alone. (Source: Wallace 2004) 2.1 The Rationale of Joint Venture Formation The form of joint venture provides benefits and a skeleton, based on which the management philosophy of the joint venture builds up. . (See Figure 1) Figure 1: Joint Venture. Business Benefit Source: Trendsetter Barometer, PWC In respect of share of management, there are dominant parent ventures, share management ventures and independent ventures. Degree of involvement of parents in these types of joint ventures differs, and in turn these joint ventures face different types of nature and management problems. At operational level, there are approaches of integrated structure and non-integrated structure. The nature of the business and the share of responsibilities in various aspects of the business will be the determination factors of choice Generally speaking, the choice of form of joint venture should be made in accordance to what contributions are required of the parents in order to achieve the purpose of forming the joint venture. Companies forming joint ventures basically intend to develop markets and products. Common reasons are: to suit government policies, pooling resources, risk sharing, building business relation and to reduce competition. The first step to form a joint venture, after realizing that such tactics is desirable, is to select a partner. Consideration on selection of partners concentrates on three major themes: shared objectives, mutual trust and co-operation, and abilities of the potential partners. Appropriate partners should be compatible in their objectives of forming the joint venture and their expertise/Knowledge on the business. Right partners also should possess similar management styles normally. Lastly it is important that potential partnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s real intention is realizes, to avoid future major disagreements. 2.2 Joint Venture Formation When the partners have reached initial agreement to form a joint venture, often a preliminary agreement is signed. It forms a basis for the drafting of the detailed agreement, and provide framework for the partners to work together and proceed to more detailed planning works. But subsequent negotiations following for the preliminary agreement often provide good chances for the partners to understand more thoroughly the expectation of potential partners. It is not uncommon that a final agreement cannot be reached because major conflicts are revealed in the process of subsequent negotiations after preliminary agreement. It is always intended to write agreements to cover all contingencies. But some managers consider that it is not so practically possible in view of the rapidly changing environments nowadays. Instead, emphasis should be placed on building up mutual trust and thus it is important to incorporate a sense of fairness into the joint venture agreement. Generally defined, well understood mutually, and respectful to each other ´s rights in return to their contributions committed. It is suggested that the best solutions should be an agreement covering all possible contingencies, together with the design of a flexible mechanism allowing changes to be agreed between efficiently while promoting cooperation and mutual trust. A very important aspect in drafting the joint venture agreement is the design of reward system for the partners. Pay-off in the form of product flow between the parents and the joint venture is often the source of major management problems and conflicts. Such product flow diverts attention of the parents from the joint venture ´s benefits. Again, fairness and willingness to co-operate are the keys to resolving such problems. If at all possible, market comparison is a useful guide to fix the transfer price in a fair sense. The primary concern of a partner in forming a joint venture is probably the degree of control over the business. In respect of split of ownership, majority-minority shares are sometimes preferred, as the majority of partner can act as leader for the joint venture and thus gives direction in a less ambiguous manner for the operation of the joint venture. On the other hand, come companies prefer equal shares to ensure willingness of all partners to contribute efforts as required and they may also feel more comfortable that all partners have equal à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“statusà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? in the joint venture. Ownership distribution is less important than how operation control is actually apportioned. There is no rule on thumb on allocating operation control. General guidelines are that each parent should be motivated to make necessary commitments continuously in accordance to their abilities, and that each parent should be protected in its interests. To enhance long term co-operation, exploitation of other partner ´s interests must not be attempted. It must be emphasized that full equality in operating control requires much more efforts from all partner, and the joint venture would have to be operated in day-to-day on-going negotiations and compromise among the partners. 2.3 Management and Implementation Standard joint venture organization consist of two components the management board and operation organization. The management board is the highest authority of the joint venture. The composition of the board and jurisdiction of the board determine largely the share of power among the partners. To build an effective board, board members should be delegated enough and necessary authority by their own companies in making decisions and vote in the board. They should endeavor to maintain mutual trusts among the partners, to sustain the common goal and objectives of the partners and to the exercise effective control over the joint venture. This is better to clearly separate the operation organization independently from the management board, to avoid biases or perceived biases towards one particular partner. As mentioned earlier, staffing is a possible and often effective way of controlling the joint venture operations. But overact may generate resentment from other partners. It will be extremely difficult to build up cohesiveness of the operation organization from all the partners. The organization will possibly segregate into groups of their own companies. Theoretically, secondly is desirable only if considered necessary for the needs of the joint venture. Otherwise recruitment from outside can more easily maintain the independence of the operation organization. The joint venture manager is an important role, as the leader for the operation organization, the bridge between the child and the parents, and sometimes as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“mediatorà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? for the parents if disputes arose among them. He has to possess negotiation skills, people skills, and selling skills to bring together mutual co-operation form all parties concerned. He is often found to be involved in ambiguous relationship, with his sub-ordinates and supervisors, and wit the parent companies. In order to achieve his task of pleasing everybody and avoiding conflicts and tension between the parties concerned, he has to be highly tolerant and ambiguity. The joint venture manager should be loyal only to the joint venture, not to any of the parents. He has to be perceived as neutral, otherwise his opinions will never be convincing to other people. Biased loyalty of the joint venture manager will arouse other parents taking harmful measure against smooth operations of the joint venture. Being neutral is an important qualification of the joint venture manager in order to gain autonomy and trust, which in turn makes the joint venture more likely to succeed. The joint venture agreement implied an independent operation organization separated from the parents to be fully responsible for daily management of the business and that the operation organization enjoyed a high degree of autonomy. In practice, the independence and autonomy were granted to the operation organization, only if all parents, in particular the joint venture manager, will act truly neutral. Without such belief, parents were able to exercise disruptive negative measures to hinder the normal implementation of management for the joint venture operations. The case also supported that the quality if the joint venture manager in negotiation skills and human relations, and its relationship with the parents was a paramount importance of the success of the joint venture. A strong leader might be harmful for a joint venture, but a practical and flexible manager surely is very useful. Chapter Three Literature Review 3.1 Forms of Joint Venture 3.3.1 Share of management The fundamental question in management of joint ventures is the degree of involvement of partners in decision making processes on major policies as well as day-to-day operations of the joint ventures. In this respect, joint ventures are often categorized into three types: (Stephen I. Glover and Craig M. Wasserman 2003) Dominant parent ventures: in which management decisions are dominated by one parent, either formally by majority voting rights in all major aspects or informally by management settings to control key decisions makings without significant involvement from the other party. Shared management ventures: in which management of joint venture operations are shared between the parents, either shared by each providing resources in certain functional areas or shared by pooling resources at most levels of the joint venture operations. Characteristics of this type of joint venture are the necessity of frequent negotiation and agreement between the partners at most all levels and aspects of the business management. Independent ventures: in which parent ´s involvements in the management of the joint venture is very little, as it is left almost entirely to an independent group of personnel employed under the joint venture. The roles of parents are not too much different from shareholders, except that they may be providing other distinct types of resources as well as capital and there are only a few shareholders. Dominant parent ventures and independent ventures are thought to be more trouble free, as they require less interaction and thus less potential conflicts between the parents. However, there are no concrete evidence to suggest that these two types of ventures will be more likely to succeed than shared management ventures. Obviously the choice of joint ventures types is dependent on the situation and nature of the business and the parentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s  ´characteristics. Circumstances often call for shared management but no other choices, simply because joint efforts are required to achieve what is intended. Pooling of resources, and thus a mixed input of management efforts from both parents, may be the fundamental desire of forming the joint venture. In such cases, dominance of one parent certainly cannot fulfil the purpose of the strategic alliance and the question is to overcome the difficulties of shared management on joint ventures operations. Legal Form In terms of the legal form of the joint venture, there can be three choices: (Dennis Campbell and Antonida Netzer 2009) Consortium: it refers to a grouping, formed on a one-off basis, which is governed by a contractual agreement. The contractual agreement is made to define clearly the position of each of the parents, including a specification of the authority, responsibility, liability and power of each party. Parnership: it can take a form of formal partnership. The parties are then effectively recognised in law as partners. The joint venture is considered as a business entity on its own, in legal terms, separated from the individual parties. As partners, each of the parties is legally liable for any debt or default committed by other partners on behalf of the joint venture, which may not be the case if formed as a consortium depending on details of the contractual agreement of constituting the consortium. Incorpotation: joint ventures which are intended to be a permanent business are usually constituted as an incorporate entity. This would enable the parties being insulated from the risks of the business of the joint venture, as a limited company. The major disadvantage is that the profit and loss sustained by the joint venture as incorporation cannot be set off against that of the parent companies for tax purpose. 3.1.3 Operational Structure The two extreme categories of operational structure of a joint venture are integrated joint venture and non integrated joint venture (Dennis Campbell and Antonida Netzer 2009) Integrated Structure: the parties agree on a certain proportion of capital and resources investment and a prescribed profit or loss sharing formula, and they both participate on every level of execution of the joint venture business. Non-integrated Structure: in such case, the joint venture usually provides for general management machinery, which looks after overall administrative and coordinative roles for the joint venture business. The whole business is then divided into packages or portions which are assigned to the parents to execute and operate such packages or portions as designated in the joint venture agreement (Appendix A) In practice joint ventures are usually a mixture of these two approaches. The question is the degree of integration to be adopted for the given set of circumstances faced by the joint venture. For that joint venture business that can be divided into clear cut portions and such divided portions will suit the capability and resources of different partners, non-integrated approach will usually be adopted. While the joint venture business is complex and it requires a centralised management of all aspects of the business, the management will be integrated. Integrated approach is more difficult to manage. Conflicting interests and ideas between the partners can arise more often than non-integrated approach. But it is often unavoidable as the nature of the joint venture business mar not is possible to be divided neatly into portions. On the other hand, for non-integrated approach, complicated contractual argument can arise between partners. In case of joint venture agreement in a basis of joint and several responsibilities, it is not uncommon that the partners lodge contractual claims against each other on non-performance or default of the other parties in executing their portion of the joint venture business resulting loss to the whole joint venture from third party claims. The Case Study The parents attempted to adopt a mixture of shared and independent management for the joint venture under study, as implied in the conditions of the joint venture agreement. The management committee of the joint venture, which was the highest level of decision making and policy setting, were composed of one representative each partner. In respect of operational structure, a mixture of integrated and non-integrated approach was adopted. While a separate joint venture organization supposedly independent from the partners managed and operated the whole joint venture business integrally, the project was divided into portions and packages which were then subcontracted back to the partners under the joint venture 3.2 Motives of forming a Joint Venture Companies forming joint ventures basically intended to develop markets and products i.e. to strength the firmsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ existing business, to take the firms existing products to new market, to obtain new products that can be sold in the firm ´s existing markets, and to diversify into new businesses (Mark de Rond 2003) These objectives can be achieved through various ways, as shown in figure 1.1 But why choose a joint venture to try to achieve these objectives? Common reasons are: (Das y Teng 2000) Government Policies: because of licensing requirements of the government for undertaking a certain type of business in a country, e.g. for construction works in Spain many foreign companies may wish to form joint ventures with local companies who have the required licenses at hand in order to enter the market first, while they at the same time apply for the necessary licenses which may take months or even years in some cases. Many governments, who attempt to protect the development of certain industry of their countries, establish regulations that prohibit foreign companies to set up wholly owned subsidiaries. If foreign companies wish to explore the market of those countries, they have no choice to form joint ventures with local companies. Risk Sharing: in very large and risky projects that companies feel uncomfortable to bear but unwilling to give up the business opportunity, several companies share the risk by undertaking the project jointly. These risk may be commercial risks (finance, source of materials, technical uncertainties, etc) or political risks (change un government policies, unstable political status of the country, etc) Figure 1: Motives for joint venture formation New Markets Existing Makets To Take Existing Products To Foreign Markets Open Markets Closed Markets To Diversify into New Business Learning from your partner Learning with your partner To Strengthen the Existing Business Achieving economies of scale Acquiring technology Reducing financial risk To Bring Foreign Products To Local Markets Marketing and distribution à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Screwdriver à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“assembly Developing local technology Technology flow back to parent Existing Products New Products Source: (Das y Teng 2000) Pooling of resources: companies often join to develop business that requires a combination of different resources (finance, technology, market access, local experience, etc) that none of these companies possess all of them, e.g. a combination of market access by one company and technical knowledge of a product by another, combination of different technical skills that are necessary to develop a product, or a combination of several companies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"resources to achieve economies of scale. Building business relation: some companies form joint ventures with in order to build up wide business relations among the industry. They believe that this will enable them to widen their networks of business and that it may be helpful for their further business developments in long term. Reduce competition: joining with your competitor automatically reduce the degree of competition. This is particularly useful if there are only a few potential competitors only. It is not uncommon to find in certain industry that formations of joint ventures effectively create monopolistic or oligopolistic conditions. The Case Study In the construction industry inherent risks involved in the projects are the major concern of a company ´s business strategy. Sharing of commercial risks (financial burdens on the company, source of raw materials, technical uncertainty involved with the works) for large scaled projects is the major reason of forming joint ventures. Because of the huge amount of resources involved and the multi-disciplinary nature of the projects, pooling if resources from several companies is necessary to gain sufficient competence in order to tender for the works. Not a single company may have all the necessary skills and sufficient amount of resources that are required for those Train Station Core Projects. Formations of joint ventures become the most common tactics for the construction firms to undertake those projects. Political risk is also a major concern especially for foreign firms who are not familiar with the policies. Most foreign firms conceive that formation of joint ventures is an effective way of securing the safety of the business, particularly when undertaking infrastructure development projects of payment terms. Large construction firms (both local and international firms that were interested and had potential to undertake these large projects) gradually formed into groups of consortium to tender for these jobs. As a result, the industry transformed into competing allied groups, instead of competing among individual firms. Although such transformation might be unintentional at the time these companies first formed joint ventures, they now became aware of such advantage and might use this again as one of the useful tools in future when considering the companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s strategy competitions in the industry. 3.3 Selection of Partners 3.3.1The Criteria of Choosing a Partner Considerations on selection of partners concentrate on three majors themes: (Lynn Krieger 1991) Shared objectives Mutual trust and willingness to co-operate and Having necessary skills/resources The task is to find a compatible partner in respect of these three major themes. The right pair or group of partners often implies an asymmetry of partners, i.e. the right partners often have different quality and characteristics so that they will complement with each others on the need of the business. Basic consideration is whether the potential partner can provide what you need and the confidence of the potential partner ´s willingness to co-operate. They may not have the same objective but their co-operation should fulfill each other ´s objectives. They may not have the expertise on the same area, and they should possess different knowledge so that when combined together their competence will be strengthened. In fact two partners having expertise on the same area often is the source of conflicts as both will consider their own approach is superior without due respect on the other partner ´s expertise on the field. But right partners should desirably have similar management styles and outlooks so that their overall business strategy would go along the same direction. Otherwise, conflict on major business policy that is originated from the incompatibility of the partners expectation on what the joint venture should achieve eventually arise someday Lyn Krieger put forward two prepositions: The more similar the culture of firms forming a shared management joint venture, the easier the venture will be to manage. The more similar in size are the parents of a shared management venture, the easier the venture will be to manage. A significant size mismatch between a venture ´s parents can create a lot of problems for the venture. Culture here refers to both corporate culture and the culture of the country from which the firms are based. These propositions are based on the principle that managers, to be effectively working together, need to be able to evaluate each other ´s judgment and the way of working before they can build up a cohesive team. The second proposition is an extension of the first one as size of the company can contribute to difference in corporate culture. One should also be alert on any hidden agenda of your potential partner (Kathryn Rudie 2003). Confidence on the observation of your potential partner ´s real intention and objective to form the joint venture is a pre-requisite condition before a decision can be made on the choice of partners. The classic tragic case of Beijing Jeep is a good example of hidden agenda. Both partners did not spell out clearly their real intention of what was to be achieved, and both partners did not understand thoroughly the other partner ´s real intention before signing the joint venture agreement. Unreasonable conflicts arose not long after formation of the joint venture, when both parties realized that they were expecting something beyond the wishes of the other party. The tragedy ought to be avoidable if both parties made clear of their expectations before signing on the joint venture agreement. 3.3.2 The Process Selection It is suggested that a step-by-step approach should be adopted to develop relationship with potential partners (Kathryn Rudie 2003): Prepare a checklist desirable quality of the partner Searching out for potential partners based on the checklist Prepare proposals and issues to study and negotiate with the potential partner If possible, try out a joint venture of small scale before committing long term and large scaled joint venture business Theatrically, this process enables the partners to develop faith and mutual trust and allows better mutual understanding before placing large financial stakes on joint ventures with unfamiliar partners. Obviously, this takes a long time and in practice the ever changing business environment often does not wait for such long process of partner selection. Business opportunities simply slip away before the good partner relationship can evolve in this way. In real life, it is often founded that good joint venture partner relationship is assumed at the time of signing the joint venture agreement, and the assumption is often based on personal relationship between the CEOs of the companies. The Case Study Major consideration in selection of partners was what resources the partner could bring in to supplement his shortages and strengthen the competence of the company to successfully tender for the job. Reputation and track record in the international construction industry was the first item to check on, particularly as the potential partner was new-comers to Spain. It was admitted that the other partnerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s intention of choosing the company was not fully known at the time of forming the joint venture. At that time, it was only understood that the company was chosen by other partners because of its local experiences in Spain and the feeling of political security that the firm could provide as a whole owned company. It was now gradually revealed that the partners also intended to build up long term business relationship with the major company on future prospects of exploring the company, obviously because of the relationship with municipal government. In fact, one partner had already been discussing with the company on the possibility of undertaking infrastructure development project in Spain. There was hidden agenda although it was not detrimental in this case. In the contrary, it helped to enhance their co-operation spirit in the present joint venture. The selection process was not systematic and objective at all. It was in fact a very quick decision to form the joint venture after very brief discussions with the potential partners and examining on the partner ´s information such as auditor ´s report and the partner ´s previous track records of large construction projects undertaken. Two major factors contributed to the quick decision: Reputation of the companies in the construction industry: this gave confidence to other partners in believing that the partners could bring in the right resources as promised Personal relationship between CEOs of the companies: the CEO of the company had been previous colleagues of the CEO of one foreign partner, who in turn had very close personal relationship with the CEOs of the other two foreign partners. This was probably the most important factor of making the bold assumption of mutual trust and faith in future joint venture works. 3.4 Preliminary Agreement When the partners have reached initial agreement on the formation of joint venture, often a preliminary agreement is signed to confirm the intention of the partners Chapter Five Findings and Discussion 5. Findings and Discussion To sum up the discussion above, major drawbacks and difficulties encountered of forming a joint venture can be categorized into two main types: basic conflicting interest and loss of autonomy and control. 5.1 Basic Conflicting Interests Those ventures formed with parents of basic conflicts in their intentions and directions on what the joint venture should achieve are bound to failure. Typical examples of such joint ventures happen in some countries that are starting to open internationally such Venezuela or Cuba. In those countries real intentions of foreign firms were to import into huge markets, while state owned enterprise only intended to import a minimal amount of foreign goods together with technology for the development of the industry. These different intentions required two completely different approaches to be adopted in the joint venture to develop business. Compromise could never be reached in such cases and the results were often disastrous for both parties. Such joint ventures should not be formed at all in the very first beginning. They existed only because of the misinterpretation of the other partiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ intention, or there were hidden agenda of the parties at the negotiation stage. It is therefore important that when choosing the partners, through mutual understanding and realizing each other ´s intention are the basic starting point, to make sure that at least the overall direction of the joint venture as expected by all parties would be the same. Like most construction joint ventures, partners in the studied case had no doubt on the overall direction of the joint venture, to undertake the particular construction project as contracted with the client and construct the work within the time and budget as planned. Failure to achieve the very specific target would incur substantial loss to every parent. This basic characteristic ensured the common efforts of all parents in future to strive for a common goal, which was the fundamental factor leading to success of the joint venture. But there were some secondary conflicts of interest, arising from the transfer price of sub-contracting packages back to the parents. But because of the appreciation from all parents that failure of the basic goal would be disastrous for all parents, they presented a high degree of tolerance and willingness to compromise on such issues of secondary conflicts of interest. This assisted a great deal to ensure smooth operation of the business and to avoid deadlock between parents. As discussed previously, there were hidden agenda revealed from foreign parents. Fortunately, the hidden agenda (develop business relationship with the company parent in order to explore further business opportunities) Compromise could be reached more easily in such a commercial atmosphere between the parties, although this might give opportunities to the company parent to exploit more benefits from the joint venture. It can be concluded here that joint ventures are preferred to have a very specific and clearly defined goal of physical achievement, which are shared and deeply concerned by all parents. This will almost guarantee co-operation attitudes and contribution of efforts from the parents. Appreciation of long-term business relationship among the parents is also a determining factor in this respect. Most construction joint ventures were formed to undertake a specific project, with clearly defined scope of works and time limit. This basic characteristic is probably the most important factor that joint ventures in the construction industry have a very high rate of success. 5.2 Loss of Autonomy and Control It is repeatedly emphasized that problems of joint venture arise simply because there is more than one parent. Each parent wants to control its child ´s activities in its own way. They are often concerned about perceived loss of control over invested capital, technical resources and propriety information. They are worried that such valuable assets may be undesirable distributed to outsiders and other partners. Unanimous decisions makings are often required in order to protect interests of all parents fairly. As a result, the mechanism of decision making on major policies as well as day-to-day operations if not carefully designed in an appropriate manner will be a major bottleneck for the efficient and effective management of the business. Poorly structured joint ventures often encourage political behavior problems. Parents exercise formal and informal tactics to gain control over the business, in a way not expected by the joint venture agreement. This often generates deterioration and degrading of trust among parents, which in turn create more political behavior. To avoid such political scenario, very clearly defined responsibilities (either in the joint venture agreement, or to be agreed from time to time) are a pre-requisite condition. The best approach would be the sharing of responsibilities in accordance to the capabilities of the parents. In relation to sensitive issues that involve conflicting interests among parents or between a parent and the joint venture as a whole, it is advisable to confer the jurisdiction to a truly independent party. But it is recognized that to find a truly independent party, who also has to be an insider knowing details of the issues, is often practically difficult. Negotiation remains the last resort. If all parents can overcome the fear of being exploited, the extent of political behaviors will be reduced. 5.3 Findings In the studied case, management control was ideally designed to separate operational management policy makings. Almost full authority was entrusted to the joint venture organization, as stipulated in the joint venture agreement, on all matters of operational management. To avoid bias to any parent, the joint venture organization was composed only by staffs recruited from outside. No from any if the parents was allowed. Policy making was decided by the management committed, in which all decisions was expected to be under full control, without disruptions from interference by the parents, by the joint venture organization. Practically, two loopholes were found. First of all, flexible interpretation of major policies and operational matters resulted in a unclear division of authorities among the joint venture organization and the management committee. Second of all, expectation of truly independence of the joint venture staffs was impractical, as it was impossible to prohibit personal a nd private relationship between managers of parent companies and the key staffs of joint venture organization. Political scenario was unavoidable, especially when there were more than two parents. It was also inevitable that some of the parents, who were more experienced in joint venture management and more capable in the business, gained more control formally and informally on the operation and overall direction of the business. At the same time, certain degrees of exploitation of benefits over other parents from the joint venture were inevitable. Co-operation among the parents, stopped from the fact that joint venture still expected a good profit. Commercial advantages were fundamental consideration. Chapter Six Conclusion Recommendations 6.1 Conclusion and Recommendations It must be emphasized again that the picture of the case revealed from the interviews were one sided story only. But nevertheless it represented opinions and feelings of the partner concerned on the experiences and insights drawn from real life in relation to joint venture problems. Both Manager A and Manager B considered that the joint venture was a successful one so far, but only looking from the position an employee of the Spanish company, obviously because the joint venture itself expected reasonable profit and most importantly product flow between the wholly owned company and the joint venture resulted in good profits. It was also considered successful in the sense that Spanish company could exercise effective control in most important policy makings of the joint venture management to suit the interest of the effective control stopped from the political position of the company with its partners and the commercial environment at the moment. The characters and culture, reasoning of the parents to form the joint venture, and the real expectations of the partners to be gained from the joint venture contributed to the overall atmosphere and management settings of the joint venture. Difficulties encountered in the early stages of the studied case could eventually be resolved only if all partners were willing to compromise and sacrifice short term benefits. It was not easy for partners who had no long term business relationship previously, in which case faith and mutual trust in other partners looking forward to future mutual benefits could not be expected. It appears that, from the experience of the Spanish company in this joint venture, the selection of partners in the outset of the formation of joint venture almost fixed the fate of the joint venture. Whether the partners matched with each other, in respect of both resources and management styles determined to a large extent the atmosphere of co-operation amongst them. It is also noted that the current strategic position of the company which allowed him very beneficial conditions to gain or exploit from the joint venture business, was not a planned strategy of the company.

The Reasons Behind The Collapse Of Clive Peeters Limited Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2281 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Cause and effect essay Did you like this example? The purpose of this report was to discuss the reasons behind the collapse of Clive peeters limited, one of the leading electronic appliances sellers in Australia and examine these reasons to reach an ultimate conclusion on the future of this company. Research for this report was based mostly on this companys annual report for financial years 2006-2009, calculating various debt ratios and web based researches done on Clive Peeters Limited collapse done by experienced academics. The major findings indicate that the company had serious flaws in its business structure and eventually failed to deliver due to its heavy dependency on debt coupled with some other factors like: bad image caused by the theft of the company accountant, too much discounting, company size and recession. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Reasons Behind The Collapse Of Clive Peeters Limited Finance Essay" essay for you Create order This report also sheds light on the current position of the company and explains different methods of external administration: receivership, voluntary administration and liquidation. Table of Contents Contents Page Number Company Background: Clive Peeters Limited 1 Types of Companies 2 Debt Analysis of Clive Peeters Limited (2006-2009) 4 Debt-Equity Ratio 4 Current Ratio 5 Debt Ratio 7 Acid Test Ratio 8 Times Interest Earned Ratio 10 Cause of Clive Peeters Limiteds Collapse 11 Status Quo of Clive Peeters Limited 13 Conclusion: Personal View on the Future of Clive Peeters Limited 14 References 15 Company Background: Clive Peeters Limited Clive Peeters Limited was one of the leading computer and electrical appliance retailer throughout Australia. The first store for Clive Peeters Limited was opened in Melbourne way back in the years of 1972. Since then it expanded its business to other states of Australia including: Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania. In the year of 2005 Clive Peeters took over Rick Hart, a chain retail store located in Western Australia (Company Overview: Clive Peeters Limited Website). Around August 2010, Clive Peeters Limited failed to pay ASXs listing fee which disabled them to be listed in Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Just few days before Clive Peeters Limited losing their ASX position, their accountant was found guilty of misrepresenting accounting figures for payroll and stealing a mammoth amount of 20 million dollars. According to a lot of critics Clive Peeters Limiteds demise was caused due to this bad image created by their accountant to the public. Soon after that Clive Peeters Limited went into administer ship. About that time Harvey Norman took over 32 of the Clive Peeters Limiteds and Rick Harts stores. According to Gerry Harvey the person who bought most of the stores of Clive Peeters Limited, Clive Peeters Limited may have been trading as insolvent for the last two years before getting into administration (Recent Highlights: on Clive Peeters Limited). Types of Companies Usually companies in Australia are registered with Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) under the corporations act. The two main branches of companies are: Public Companies and Proprietary Companies. Proprietary companies are of two types: Limited by Share and Unlimited with share capital. On the other hand, public companies can be of four main types. These are: Companies Limited by Shares: Usually as per s.9 of Corporations Act whereby the liabilities of the members of the company is only limited to the unpaid amount of shares held by them (Australian Corporations Act, 2001). Unlimited with Share Capital: In this case members of the company usually have no limit on their liability towards the company. Company Limited by Guarantee: Company formed on the principle of having the liability of its members limited to the respective amounts that the members undertake to contribute to the property of the company in the event of it being wound up. No Liability Company: In this case company is formed on the basis that members of the company would bear no liabilities towards the company (Harris et al 2009). Clive Peeters Limited was a public company prior to its collapse. It was also listed in Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) index. Its main area of business was retail. Before it collapsed it was operating as company limited by shares. This meant that members of the company were its shareholders and their liabilities were only limited to their unpaid amount of capital. This company was listed in the ASX meant that the shares of the company was available to the public and they could trade them easily individually or through their brokers. This meant that as shareholders they all were members of the company and would be affected if something is to happen to Clive Peeters Limited. There are lots of differences between the companies based on their types. Clive Peeters is a public company limited by share capital and ASX listed company where CPA Australia is a public company limited by guarantee and ASX unlisted company. CPA Australia limited by guaranty that means no required share capital for its formation. A public company limited by guarantee is one of which members guarantee to contribute a certain amount in the event of liquidation. Kimberley Diamond Company NL was a public company with no liability but it had a share capital and it was listed before 2008. The main revenue generating source was diamond mining and exploration. Singapore telecommunications Limited is listed on the Australian and Singapore stock exchanges. Its a private limited company and limited by share capital. SingTel is the parent company of Optus since 2001 and listed on both the Australian and Singapore stock exchanges. (ASX Website) Debt Analysis of Clive Peeters Limited (2006-2009) Debt-Equity Ratio Usually a debt equity ratio indicates the amount of debt a business has borrowed from external lenders in comparison with the owners equity. This gives an idea out of the whole equity how much a business has borrowed and how much it has received from its owners. Normally a debt equity ratio can be calculated using the following formula: Total Liabilities/owners equity If the ratio is too high, it means that the business is too much dependent on external financing and these external lenders have higher risk in case the business becomes insolvent. For Clive Peeters Limited the debt equity ratio was following starting from year 2006 to 2009: For 2006: 87.6 / 71.6 = 1.22 For 2007: 118.1 / 77.6 = 1.52 For 2008: 174.8 / 80.2 = 2.18 For 2009: 150.8 / 69.4 = 2.17 We can see from the above figures that Clive Peeters Limiteds debt-equity ratio increased dramatically over the years from 2006 to 2009. This meant that over the years Clive Peters Limited had relied a lot on borrowings from external lenders for their business activities. Current Ratio This ratio helps users to figure out the ability of a business to pay its short term liabilities. The formula for current ratio is as follows: Current Assets/Current Liabilities If a company has a higher current ratio, it indicates that the company would be able to pay its short term liabilities like: debts and payables using its cash, inventory and receivables. For Clive Peeters Limited the current ratio for the period of 2006-09 are as follows: For 2006: 115.3/83.5 =1.38 For 2007: 140.5/114.9 =1.22 For 2008: 193.0/138.0 =1.40 For 2009: 158.9/111.1 = 1.43 This clearly indicates that Clive Peeters Limiteds ability to pay its current liabilities like payables and debts were clearly decreasing using its current assets like cash, inventory and receivables over this particular period of time which surely is not a good sign. This implies that Clive Peters Limited was unable to manage its cash properly and had a severe loophole in their cash management system. Debt Ratio A debt ratio refers to the amount of the debt a company has in regards to its assets. It is calculated using the following formula: Total Debt/Total Assets The higher the ratio indicates the lower the chance of a company to pay its debts using its assets. For Clive Peeters Limited the debt ratio for the period of 2006-09 are as follows: For 2006: 87.6/159.2 =0.55 For 2007: 118.1/195.7 =0.60 For 2008: 174.8/255.0 =0.68 For 2009: 150.8/220.2 = 0.68 The figures clearly indicates an upward movement of debt ratio which indicates over this particular period Clive Peeters Limiteds debt in comparison to its assets increased quite enormously. Acid Test Ratio This ratio helps users to figure out whether a company can pay off its current liabilities like payables and debts using only its cash, receivables and current investments but not using its inventory. If this ratio falls below 1, a company usually has to work out its strategy with extreme caution so that in case of bad times they do not fall into any financial hardship and become unable to pay their debts. It is calculated using the following formula: (Cash +Accounts Receivables + Short Term Investments)/ Current Liabilities For Clive Peeters Limited the acid test ratio for the period of 2006-09 are as follows: For 2006: 41.2/83.5 =0.49 For 2007: 41.6/114.9 =0.36 For 2008: 61.7/138.0 =0.45 For 2009: 150.8/220.2 = 0.46 From the figures it is quite clear that through out the whole period Clive Peeters Limiteds acid test ratio was below 1 which indicates that in case of financial hardship Clive Peeters Limited would face difficulty to pay off its current debts using its cash, receivables and other forms of short term investments. Times Interest Earned Ratio Again this ratio is used to indicate whether a company would be able to pays its debts. It is calculated using the following formula: EBIT/total interest payable on bonds and other debts This ratio usually indicates how many numbers of times a company can pay its interests on debts using its pretax income. Sometimes if a company is unable to maintain a certain times interest ratio may enable its creditors to undertake further actions. For Clive Peeters Limited the Times Interest Earned ratio for the period of 2006-09 are as follows: For 2006: 19.51/1.4 =13.94 For 2007: 20.51/27.2 =0.75 For 2008: 17.3/16.7 =1.04 For 2009: (8.1)/14.1 = (0.57) From the above numbers we can easily understand that over the years of time Clive Peeters Limiteds Times Interest Earned ratio dropped dramatically to a negative figure on 2009 which eventually forced Clive Peeters Limited to be declared as bankrupt. Cause of Clive Peeters Limiteds Collapse One of the major contributors of Clive Peeters Limiteds collapse was the theft by its own company accountant for an amount of $ 20 million dollars. In her two year period as an accountant of Clive Peeters Limited, Ms. Sonya Causer had been involved in stealing of almost 19 million dollars worth of money which later she used to buy herself 44 properties and expensive cars and jewellery. According to the prosecutor in charge of this case a primary cause of the collapse of Clive Peeters Limited was this theft and the bad image that they earned due to this incident. Apart from this, too much debt and borrowings from external creditors were another reason held for Clive Peeters Limiteds collapse. During the time it was booming it used quite a substantial amount of debt to expand its business but as soon as the economy was hit by a recession a people stop buying luxury goods like plasma TVs and LCD TVs Clive Peeters Limited started to experience its consequences. To increase their volume of sales Clive Peeters Limited kept on providing discounts to their customers. Since their discounts were on pretty much all through the year, when the economy was hit by recession and people stopped buying their products they could not even reach their breakeven. The size of Clive Peeters Limited is another important factor to be considered. With only 45 stores across all over Australia it would be considered as a fairly a medium company compare to its direct competitors during that time like Harvey Norman. Harvey Norman could easily provide huge discounts to its customers and still could make profit margin due to its size but its not as same for Clive Peeters Limited. But Clive Peeters Limited tried to follow the strategies of Harvey Norman and ultimately paid the price. Overall it can be concluded that Clive Peeters Limited had serious flaws in their business models which eventually made them to pay dearly. Relying on too much debt, too much discounting, and following its competitors strategies and not coming up with some differentiating strategies were the main reasons for its demise (Thomson 2010). Status Quo of Clive Peeters Limited Clive Peeters Limited collapsed and went into voluntary administration on 19th of May, 2010. During that time the appointed administrators started to investigate whether the company could be preserved through a deed of company arrangement or a sale (Stafford et al 2010). There are different types of external administration in case a company is in financial hardship. The main three of them are as follows: Receivership Voluntary Administration Liquidation Both receivership and voluntary administration are methods to keep a company alive during their time of financial hardships. The main difference between them is that in case of receivership, the process is being initiated by one of the secured creditors of the company. Usually they appoint a receiver who tries to sell the assets of the company in order to recover the money of the companys creditors. On the other hand, in case of voluntary administration, an administrator is appointed by the court who tries to keep the company afloat by restructuring its strategies, selling part of it and reducing the costs incurred by the company. Liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to a complete end. All the assets and properties are distributed amongst companys creditors following a certain order. After the company is liquidated it would no longer exist in that name and the company would be de-registered from Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC). (Harris et al 2009). Conclusion: Personal View on the Future of Clive Peeters Limited We all know that part of the Clive Peeters Limiteds business was bought by Harvey Norman Holdings Limited after it went into voluntary administration. Its original name was kept as it is and its staffs in some of its stores were being able to keep their jobs. In my view, though Harvey Norman has bought part of its business, to keep the company afloat more money needs to be injected and its whole business structure needs a restructuring. Otherwise, it is going to be very difficult to keep Clive Peeters Limited from getting liquidated.

Essay about Ulysses S. Grant, the 18th President of the...

Ulysses S. Grant the 18th president of the United States who served two consecutive terms, Andrew Jackson being the last to do so, has border lined the average presidential ranking with a 23 in 2009 and a 33 in 2000. Grant’s legacy will include the huge impact of Reconstruction after the Civil War with much repairing left on his hands. Grant was Republican and supported Civil War values that included union, freedom and equality. Grant expanded federal law that protected African American’s civil rights against terrorism in the South. Grants Reconstruction policy was challenged by the difficulties of preserving democracy and equality against the resistance of Ignorant Southerners Reconstruction During Reconstruction, Freedmen (freed†¦show more content†¦The long-term goal for the Grant Administration was to open Korea to Western markets in the same way Commodore Matthew Perry had opened Japan in 1854 by a Naval display of military force. On May 30, 1871 Rear Admiral John Rodgers with a fleet of five ships, part of the Asiatic Squadron, arrived at the mouth of the Salee River below Seoul. The fleet included theColorado, one of the largest ships in the Navy with 47 guns, 47 officers, and a 571-man crew. While waiting for senior Korean officials to negotiate, Rogers sent ships out to make soundings of the Salee River for navigational purposes.[118][119] The American fleet was fired upon by a Korean fort, but there was little damage. Rogers gave the Korean government ten days to apologize or begin talks, but the Royal Court kept silent. After ten days passed, on June 10, Rogers began a series of amphibious assaults that destroyed 5 Korean forts. These military engagements were known as the Battle of Ganghwa. Several hundred Korean soldiers and three Americans were killed. Korea still refused to negotiate, and the American fleet sailed away. The Koreans refer to this 1871 U.S. military action as Shinmiyangyo. President Grant defended Rogers in his third annual message to Congress in December, 1871. After a change in regimes in Seoul, in 1881, the U.S. negotiated a treaty – the first treaty between Korea and a Western nation.[118] 2 Grant was a Republican, and his main supporters were the Radical and Stalwartfactions.Show MoreRelatedEssay about Hiram Ulysses Grant : Sloppy Drunk or Honorable Icon?534 Words   |  3 PagesHiram Ulysses Grant was born on April 27, 1822 in Point Pleasant, Ohio. Ulysses grew up loving horses. He loved riding, and taking care of them. His father Jesse Root Grant was a tanner and made a good living for his family. His mother Hannah Simpson Grant was said to be a mysterious and distant woman who didnt offer much Support or affection to young Ulysses. Nonetheless his parents had very high Expectations of him. His father wanted him to attend school and become a successfulRead MoreEssay on Ulysses S. 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Cell phones in our lives free essay sample

Is there anyone who doesn’t have a cell phone? Probably not. Not so long time ago a cell phone was a sign of prosperity and wellbeing, but these days we have a different scene. Cell phone industry is booming recently affecting many areas in our lives. Since 80’s a cell phone have changed a lot, becoming more than just a phone. These gadgets connect people through social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Nowadays everyone has a cellphone, and even a toddler know how to use it. Because of that, cellphones have affected many areas in our lives, for some effects are truly negative, and the others have a positive effect on our lives. First of all, cell phones are ruining the social life of people. I consider this is a huge problem for our society. People have forgotten how to interact with each other. Before that, individuals went out to see each other, and to talk to each other, but now if you look around you’ll see that everyone is checking on his cellphone. We will write a custom essay sample on Cell phones in our lives or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In restaurants, everyone is viewing their smartphones checking on their Facebook status, messaging or doing other activities instead of sharing things with the person who is sitting next to him. Personally for me, this fact is very annoying. I have some friends who are checking on their smartphones all the time. Once, my friend came to me; we were talking, and then suddenly she took her phone out and checked her Facebook. I was very angry because she didn’t hear a word what I said. I was offended. In my opinion, when a person is looking at his phone while someone is talking to that person that means that that person is showing lack of respect regarding the other person. Soon this phenomenon will become a disease, but I hope it won’t happen. People will realize that a real person is better than a cell phone. Another negative effect of cell phones is on education. Without a good education we can’t hope to have a healthy and prosper society. In schools and colleges cell phones have become a major problem. Students text each other during classes. Sometimes it might be something really urgent and important, but most of the time students make fun of someone who is sitting in front of them, or make fun of the teacher. The worse part of this activity is that when you’re texting or checking you’re Facebook account, you can’t hear what teacher says. I guess the student could be considered absent from that class. He can’t process any information that teacher tried to give him. Also, many student use cellphones to cheat on the tests and exams. Some of them try to find the information surfing the internet, and others have the answers in their cellphones saved in text format. I studied a few years in college in Romania, and I learned that students get very creative developing methods in cheating. In Romania, the most common way of cheating with cell phone is using a micro hand free earphone that is introduced in the ear. When the student hears the question, he will whisper them into a small microphone attached to his jacket, and someone else will look up the answers for him and will tell him. I think this is very sad. Students get very creative with cell phone cheating, and it is very hard to detect a cheater. Cellphones can destroy the basics of our education. Cell phones not only have bad effects on our lives, but they also have major positive which keeps us connected. I think that cell phones improve lives for people who have families that live far away. Before cellphones people had just house phones, and it was hard to find somebody at home. Especially for people who travel a lot, cellphones have helped considerably. You can call home or another cell device from any part of the world and tell people who care about you that you’re fine. Parents also appreciate the effect of cellphones on their families. If you’re children are late from school or from a party, you can always call and check if they’re fine, and where they are. Also, for people who emigrate to another country, cellphones have saved some nerves because sometimes you have a feeling that something isn’t right back at home, and you need to hear the voice that tells you that everything is fine. Particularly during disasters it’s very important to have an opportunity to call home and to ask if they are fine. Cell phones facilitate reconnection with those relatives who live far from us, and keep us in touch with those who live much closer. In conclusion, cellphones have brought many things to our society. Some people consider them evil machines, others lifesavers. Every person can decide for himself how he feels about cellphones. In my opinion, cellphone is a great invention of XXI century, but people must learn to use them in moderation.