Benito Cereno and American Characteristic

19th Century Literature Prof. Bland Typical American Character â€Å"Benito Cereno† is a work that exceedingly depicts how ideological self-delusion of an American character is one of the most dangerous capacities of mankind. Captain Delano a Yankee from â€Å"Duxbury Massachusetts† exemplifies these two American cultures of concerning nature and confidence. As Americans we have concerned and helped other less fortunate (i. e. the amount we donate to help third world countries), we are also confident and fearless in nature that we can accomplish anything (i. e. American dream).These traditional American characteristics I believe forms the American arrogance that we are stereotyped to have. We maybe helping others we have no business helping. Just like the American culture Delano truly believes he is doing the right thing, by showing concern and having confidence in being able to help the San Dominick slave-ship and he is incapable of seeing the horrifying consequences o f his actions both with respect to his â€Å"friendly racism† and his fantasy of â€Å"superiority†. He spends a day on the  San Dominick  following a slave mutiny, never quite aware that anything is wrong until the truth all but bites his head off.Delano subscribes to a typical â€Å"Northern† view of African slaves: he considers them to be naturally good-natured, submissive servants. He spends much of his time aboard the  San Dominick  condescendingly admiring Babo's performance. Melville critiques this naivete arrogance of superiority and friendly racism to which although these characteristic are positive if not careful, can be a barrier that blinds a person from seeing the actual situation. â€Å"None wore fetters, because the owner, his friend Aranda, told him that they were all tractable† (BC 224) As Delano first boards Benito's ship, the slaves are still unfettered. The ship seems unreal; these strange costumes, gestures, and faces, but a s hadowy tableau just emerged from the deep, which directly must receive back what it gave† (BC). This â€Å"shadowy tableau,† on the ship inhabited mostly by unregulated African slaves, roaming around freely is there for Captain Delano to develop his own understanding as to why this ship culture is the way it is. Having the traditional American character of concern, Delano in nature is concerned about the ship and his intention of genuinely helping the troubled captain Benito Cereno becomes a curtain that prevents him from seeing the real intentions of the slaves.Symbols that have previously been formed and encoded by the American culture and upbringing in the back of his mind; Delano's â€Å"trustful good nature† makes him accept the image of the faithful slaves in his understanding of the unknown Africans slaves on the ship. With this idea of faithful slaves, confronted with a genuine signs and warning; the frail captain Benito Cereno, the vigilant Babo, chained Atufal, the oakum-pickers and hatchet-polishers, the flaring moments of violence and unease—he is not capable of understanding and arranging them accurately or truthfully.This trustful and concerned nature of Americans is one of the characters Captain Delano represents. That an American upbringing create a perception even today that we, as a country, had a right to go around the world helping other struggling nations who were beset by tyrants or internal fighting with the attendant killing and raping of the populace. This trusting and concerned nature makes us delusional preventing us from seeing the facts that maybe these country America is helping does not want our help.The same goes for captain Delano his trustful nature creates a delusion of â€Å"faithful and harmless slaves† that helping this slave ship and its current condition of unfettered slaves is a result of the poor management of Captain Delano’s lesser Hispanic counter Captain Benito Cereno theref ore his is obliged to help to get it under control. This concerning nature blinds Captain Delano from seeing the truth. Before even making contact with the blacks on the ship, Delano readily stresses their good-natured and pristine qualities.These â€Å"unsophisticated Africans,† with their â€Å"self-content† and â€Å"peculiar love . . . of uniting industry with pastime,† (BC) bring out Delano's â€Å"weakness for negroes. † In his understanding of them, they are a mixture of docility and nobility. Delano feels confident as he sees â€Å"the affectionate zeal† and â€Å"good conduct† (BC) As this book reveals, Delano alternates between his images of the Africans as an innocent faithful slaves, he completely misinterprets the slave revolt and totally neglects the blacks' inner motivations.While revealing how Delano adapts these ideological images of the black man to fit his own understanding. This confidence from his own American upbringing and staying in his own paradigm of slaves being kind in nature, and are submissive servants make Captain Delano a benign racist. He does not express hate for the black people; he likes them. But his fondness of them shows in a characteristic of overconfidence or arrogance, in which that he is confident in his own knowledge that the slaves are obedient creatures, incapable of harm and completely demeaning the black slaves.He considers Babo, for instance, to be a childish slave of limited intelligence. In Delano's understanding, the faithful blacks are closer to animal nature than the white man is. Delano's dialogue continuously dehumanizes the slaves by attaching animal imagery to them. First, as the narrator mentions, â€Å"Delano took to negroes, not philanthropically, but genially, just as other men to Newfoundland dogs† (BC).When Babo looks up at Don Benito, he is â€Å"like a shepherd's dog,† (BC) whose grins denote â€Å"mere animal humor† (BC). These refe rences and comparison to animals of the slaves becomes not to decline them as human, but instead to acknowledge them within the white community in their position as docile servants, the image of the dog, domesticated animal, is significant in this context. At the same time, their animal reference accounts for their inability for being totally free.This show of confidence and trust completely blinds Captain Delano from the truth and maybe be seen by the majority as a weakness but this ignorance ultimately helped him from the slave revolt. Delano's trustfulness and perception that all the blacks are docile and faithful slaves and are good nature saves their lives. Delano's ignorance prevents him from discovering the truth, which would almost certainly lead him to a untimely demise.Cereno conveys his surprise that Babo refrained from murdering Delano,   Cereno conveys his surprise that Babo refrains from murdering Delano, â€Å"to think of some things you did – those smilings and chattings,  rash  pointings and gesturings. For less than these, they slew my mate† (BC) This reinforces the fact that if Delano makes any indication of recognizing the truth, he would have been killed on the spot. Delano’s confident, arrogant and absolutely insulting demeanor and perception of slaves being too stupid to be able to formulate a revolt ultimately saves him and Benito Cereno.If Delano is not so unaware of the events encircling him and exhibits a little more suspicion, Babo would certainly have him executed. This confidence that conveys a typical American characteristic is also part of Captain Delano’s. This confidence created a barrier that prevented him from once again seeing the truth in the situation. An arrogant demeanor that he underestimates his adversary, in which nine out of ten will completely destroy you but in this particular story turned out to be an advantage.Captain Delano’s overconfidence in his own â€Å"limited† knowledge and upbringing and from his own experiences growing up, and perhaps his interaction with the black community, he views them as a lesser being forming an idea of himself as a superior or idea of white supremacy that completely limits his understanding and cannot read the gravity of the situation. This overconfidence in his understanding became ignorance and although I believed it helped him from getting killed on the ship by Babo and the slaves, is the same overconfidence that can potentially be deadly.With the revelation of the slave revolt, we should realize that one of the main reasons Delano has been incapable of seeing through the masquerade has been his benign racism, in which that he see’s the slaves as harmless and too stupid to come up with such an idea. Delano’s racism can be understood most directly it seems to be a reflection of his upbringing in a somewhat liberal Northern racism that practice anti-slavery views (it’s important to rememb er Delano is from Massachusetts, a hotbed of anti-slavery activity during the period).The story suggests that Delano, like others who viewed slaves sympathetically, may have a weak recognition of the horrors of slavery and may consider himself the slaves’ friend, but such feelings depend on viewing himself as superior to the slaves and to the slaves staying in their appointed position of submission. In conclusion while Delano finds blacks utterly charming and â€Å"fun-loving,† fond of bright colors and of â€Å"uniting industry with pastime,† this â€Å"admiration† masks his deep-seated conviction that blacks are not entirely human.In fact, when in the midst of trying to understand the odd occurrences on the San Dominick, it briefly occurs to Delano that Cereno might be in league with the blacks, he dismisses the thought with a shudder: â€Å"who ever heard of a white so far a renegade as to apostatize from his very species almost, by leaguing in agains t it with Negroes? † (BC). This proves once again his overconfidence in his understanding limiting him from seeing the big picture that the slaves are controlling the situation. He can never imagine that the slaves are the one who thought up the grandiose plan, that he thinks Captain Cereno is orchestrating something gainst his kin. He fails to discern that the Spanish vessel is in fact in the hold of a complex, meticulously plotted mutiny, that the slaves have successfully revolted, and that the dutiful Babo is in fact the revolutionary in command. Delano's trusting and overconfidence in this regard is very nearly fatal, and in a way that the text explains, and that critics have frequently described, it is his concerning, unselfconscious, absolutely stubborn ideology of slaves and creates a benign racism—his offhand white supremacism—that drives and sustains this ignorance.Despite his several moments of deep suspicion, is his unmoved confidence that a slave like Babo, so naturally docile, so ideally suited to those watchful and pleasant â€Å"avocations about one's person,† could never surpass the â€Å"unaspiring contentment of a limited mind† common to all Africans (BC). The blacks in league with a piratical Cereno? â€Å"But they were too stupid,† Delano reminds himself (BC).Believing this, he cannot see what's before him, because of his paradigm and views of the slaves in a northern upbringing of being sympathetically to the slaves, He is incapable of imagining the black slaves in any but a passive role of devoted and faithful servants, docile and incapable of harming their white superiors, This overconfidence is ultimately ignorance that Delano cannot perceive the true situation on the San Dominick. Works Cited Page Melville, Herman, and Herman Melville. Bartleby ; And, Benito Cereno. New York: Dover Publications, 1990. Print.

Asian Cuisine

Like many other global cuisines, Asian cuisine is as varied as the countries on the continent. Asian cuisine is very much a part of the culture and history of the Asian countries but there are some food commonalities between the various cultures. In Asian cooking, the emphasis is on smaller portions, smaller amounts of meats and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Unlike the Asian-hybrid cooking that can be found elsewhere, traditional Asian food preparation involves very little fat, and very rarely is anything deep fried. While there are few commonalities binding Asian cuisine, there are many more differences that are based primarily on location. East Asian cuisine encompasses Chinese and Japanese cuisines as well as cuisines from Taiwan and Korea. Chinese cuisine is perhaps most famous for its Peking Duck as well as the myriad dumplings, steamed buns and stir-frys that are staples of Chinese cooking. Be sure to try different styles of Chinese cuisine such as Cantonese or Shandong. Chinese usually eat congee porridge for breakfast. China is also renowned for its many varieties of tea; this ancient beverage has been enjoyed for thousands of years in China. Japanese cuisine focuses on the freshness of ingredients and foods that are prepared more simply but with great finesse. Theirs is a very healthy cuisine, and they are known for eating myriad varieties of fresh fish. A must see market for foodies and culinary travelers in Japan, is the Tsukiji Market which is the world’s largest fish market. Have some sushi for breakfast, while watching all the hustle of the market. South Asian cuisine is also known as Desi cuisine and includes the exotic flavors of India. India has plenty of restaurants but the street food culture remains ever popular. This no frills kind of eating is particularly popular in Delhi. Also popular on a more global scale is Thai food. Pad Thai is universally recognized as the national dish of Thailand, and makong is a kind of Thai whiskey that has become much more affordable since the government started taxing beer and thus much more popular. Makong is the primary ingredient in Thailand’s welcome drink, the Sabai Sabai. The island nation of Laos has laap as its national dish but also popular is a salad called tam mak houng, made from green papayas. In the capital city of Vientiane, Laos you can drink a Beerlau at Sala Sunset Khounta boat on the banks of the Mekong while watching the sunset. The Philippines is well known for the adobo cooking style which is a preparation of chicken or pork that is braised slowly in vinegar, garlic, oil and soy sauce until very tender and nearly dry. In Vietnam, pho is of course the national specialty. Bali Indonesia’s national dish is nasi goreng and in Cambodia one can find amok, a dish of curried and steamed fish, as the national dish. On the islands of Java, or Sumatra, see if you can drink the rarest and most expensive coffee in the world, called Kopi Luwak, it’s made from coffee berries that have passed through the digestive system of Indonesian monkeys (also known as a Palm Toddy Cat). Southwestern Asian cuisine begins to borrow flavors and ingredients typically indigenous to countries in the Middle East, though they retain the focus on freshly prepared and simple dishes that are nutritious and packed with flavor. Asian cuisine is exotic and flavorful. The clever use of cooking techniques and spices has transformed what were originally humble peasant food dishes into specialties that are now known the world over. Conversely, with many Asian countries having a separate cuisine for the historical ruling King or Royal Family, the dichotomy between humble and royal food has lessened and dishes that were once only served to royalty can now be found in any common Thai restaurant. Nonetheless, traveling through Asia takes you on a tour not only of wildly exotic countries but of foods that are distinctly different from country to country.

Bajaj Case Study

Financial Management at Bajaj Auto Bajaj Auto Limited is one of India's largest two-wheeler manufacturers. As the dominant player until the early 1990s, Bajaj's market share declined from 49. 3% in 1994, to 38. 9% in 1999 with the entry of major competitors like Hero Honda. Bajaj has initiated several measures to regain its market share and strengthen its competitive position. The case discusses the financial strategy pursued by Bajaj. Financial Management at Bajaj Auto We want to get back the leadership position in the two-wheeler segment and will use the cash if required to do so.However, in current volatile market conditions (not to forget the Japanese and their huge cash reserves), we would rather have the security of cash any day. We are competing not only with Indian companies, but also with large foreign two-wheeler companies, many of whom have much deeper pockets than ours. While our surplus cash will assist us in future growth, it also acts as a deterrent to others from indu lging in predatory pricing tactics – Sanjiv Bajaj, Vice-President Finance, Bajaj Auto Limited. 1 IntroductionIn 2003, Bajaj Auto Limited (Bajaj) was one of India’s largest manufacturers of both two and three-wheelers. The three-wheelers, also known as autorickshaws, were unique to the South Asian region. The company recorded revenue of Rs. 5125. 73 crores representing a 13% increase over the previous year 2. Once the unchallenged market leader, Bajaj trailed Hero Honda in the late 1990s. Bajaj’s market share declined from 49. 3% in 1994, to 38. 9% in 1999. 3 Thereafter, Bajaj had initiated several measures to regain its market share and strengthened its competitive position.In 2003, Bajaj had a workforce of 12,000 employees and a network of 422 dealers and over 1,300 authorised service centers. 4 The Indian Two-Wheeler Industry Two-wheelers had become the standard mode of transportation in many of India’s large urban centers. Use of two-wheelers in the ru ral areas had also increased significantly in the 1990s. The birth of the Indian two-wheeler industry could be traced to the early 1950s, when Automobile Products of India (API) started manufacturing scooters in the country.While API initially dominated the scooter market with its Lambrettas, it was Bajaj which rapidly emerged as the unchallenged leader in the scooter industry. A number of government and private enterprises who entered the scooter segment, had disappeared from the market by the turn of the century. The License Raj that existed prior to economic liberalization (1940s-1980s) in India, did not allow foreign players to enter the market, making it an ideal breeding ground for local players. But the Raj also hurt the growth of the industry by imposing various restrictions.In the mid-80s, the government started permitting foreign companies to enter the Indian market, through minority joint ventures. During this period, the twowheeler market witnessed a boom with Japanese p layers like Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha and Kawasaki, entering the market through joint ventures. 1 2 3 4 M. Anand, ? Is Munjal Being Too Generous Businessworld, 19th May 2003. B1 Source: Prowess Database. Gita Piramal, Sumantra Goshal and Sudeep Budhiraja, ? Transformation of Bajaj Auto Ltd,? Lessons in Excellence Case Contest, www. thesmartmanager. om, February-March, 2003. Source: Bajaj Auto Limited Annual Report 2003. 109 Financial Insights Figure (i) Indian Motorcycle Market Source: Honda Annual Report 2003. Foreign players quickly changed the rules of the game. From a supplier’s market, it became a buyer’s market. Companies tried to outdo each other in terms of style, price and fuel efficiency. The technological expertise that the foreign collaborators brought to the market place helped increase the overall quality of the products quite significantly. In the early 2000s, the competition intensified further.In 2000, Honda announced its intentions to set up a 100% subsid iary to manufacture scooters and motorcycles. Exhibit I Comparative Valuation of the Leading Companies Source: Motilal Oswal, Equity Research, February 2003. The Indian two-wheeler industry witnessed remarkable growth rates since 2000, due to a host of factors like fall in interest rates, availability of finance and affordable prices relative to the growing purchasing power. Despite the impressive growth rate of the last few years, two-wheeler penetration still remained low in the country.Analysts believed, increasing urbanization, expanding cities, lack of other modes of transportation and favourable demographics would support double-digit growth in the coming decade. The Indian two-wheeler industry could be broadly classified into three major segments— scooters, motorcycles and mopeds5. Until the early 1990s, locally manufactured scooters with gears dominated the markets. But in recent times, demand 5 Mopeds were small motorcycles, with less engine power which were priced l ow and were aimed at the low-income market. 110 Financial Management at Bajaj Auto or scooters had tapered off, while that for motorcycles looked buoyant. The motorcycle market in India had about tripled in size over the past 10 years 6. In 2002, the two-wheeler industry demand totaled 5 million units, making India the second largest market in the world after China 7. Exhibit II Two Wheelers Industry: Changing Dynamics Year 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total Two wheelers (unit sold) 1,503,172 1,763,210 2,208,231 2,660,005 2,965,474 3,042,347 3,403,471 3,776,719 3,745,516 4,318,531 5,053,562 Geared scooters 41. 8% 43. 3% 42. 6% 40. 6% 38. 4% 35. 4% 32. % 25. 9% 16. 0% 12. 3% 6. 7% Ungeared scooters 9. 4% 7. 9% 8. 6% 9. 1% 8. 9% 8. 8% 8. 3% 10. 0% 10. 9% 9. 5% 10. 5% Motorcycles 20. 2% 21. 6% 23. 9% 24. 8% 27. 1% 30. 0% 34. 6% 42. 7% 54. 1% 66. 2% 74. 4% Mopeds 20. 0% 17. 6% 15. 1% 16. 8% 16. 5% 15. 5% 14. 6% 14. 1% 12. 9% 8. 7% 6. 2% Stepthrus 8. 6% 9. 6% 9. 8% 8. 7% 9. 1% 10. 3% 9. 8% 7. 3% 6. 1% 3. 3% 2. 2% Source: Bajaj Auto Annual Report 2002-03. Background Note The Bajaj group was founded by Jamnalal Bajaj in the 1930s. His eldest son Kamalnayan established Bajaj Auto, the flagship of the Bajaj group, in 1945, as a private limited company.From 1948 to 1959, Bajaj imported scooters and three wheelers from Italy and sold them in India. In 1959, the company obtained a license to manufacture scooters and motorized three wheeler vehicles. In 1960, it entered into a technical collaboration with Piaggio of Italy and got the right to manufacture and market Piaggio’s Vespa brand scooters and three wheelers in India. The same year, it went public. Bajaj’s first full-fledged manufacturing facility at Akurdi (Bombay-Pune Road) was inaugurated in 1960. Scooter production commenced in 1961, followed by three wheeler production in 1962.Bajaj’s scooters and three wheelers started selling under the Bajaj brand name only in 197 1, when the agreement with Piaggio expired. Till the 1980s, Bajaj scooters were so popular that the basic strategy was long production runs along with a constant focus on costs. In 1984, Bajaj established its second plant (1000-acre plant) at Waluj, Aurangabad. Scooter production at this plant started in 1986, followed by three wheeler production in 1987 and scooterettes and motorcycle production in 1990 & 1991, respectively. 6 7 Source: Honda Annual Report 2003.China was number one with an annual production and sales of over 10 million. 111 Financial Insights As Bajaj’s products were in great demand, the company did not feel the need to introduce new products or upgrade its old models. The Chetak, which accounted for 60% of Bajaj’s scooter sales, did not even have an electronic ignition. The model’s 2stroke engine also had an emission problem that was quite serious by international standards. As competition became intense and the market was flooded with increas ing numbers of models, Bajaj’s market share declined.During this period, Bajaj also followed a highly centralized, paternalistic management style. In the early 1990s, as the motorcycle market began to expand and became an attractive proposition, Bajaj lost ground. Though Bajaj had a presence in the motorcycle segment with its KB100 and 4S Champion, it did not take the segment seriously enough. Bajaj believed, motorcycles were a temporary aberration and people would return to scooters. But the scooter market kept shrinking and Bajaj was relegated to fourth place in the motorcycle market. Exhibit III Comparative Analysis: Motorcycle Sales (Number)Year 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Bajaj Auto 32,028 34,672 42,080 75,067 89,675 129,263 137,717 200,132 255,129 421,966 670,117 % Share 10 14 14 17 16 18 17 19 17 22 23 Hero Honda 134,801 127,803 150,456 183,131 230,194 168,936 407,563 530,607 761,700 1,029,391 1,425,302 % Share 44 51 50 42 40 38 50 50 50 53 5 0 TVS Motors 33,744 30,085 42,080 53,120 125,286 164,083 211,667 268,099 326,357 354,497 450,113 % Share 11 12 18 20 22 23 26 25 21 18 16 Others 108,601 59,066 56,894 89,643 132,922 146,625 60,674 64,529 177,704 123,472 312,547 Total 309,174 251,626 302,550 435,053 578,077 708,907 817,621 1,063,367 1,520,890 1,929,326 2,858,079Source: Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers. In the late 1990s, Bajaj with the support of Kawasaki, started producing motorcycles. The result was an aggressively priced Boxer 100cc motorcycle in 1997, about Rs. 8000 cheaper than Hero Honda. As Bajaj’s volumes increased, it started pushing prices down by value engineering, localization and better capacity utilization that cut its costs by Rs. 4000 per vehicle. Exhibit IV Bajaj: Major Models Category Motorcycle Wind BYK Pulsar Eliminator 112 Products Year of Introduction 2003 2003 2002 2001 Financial Management at Bajaj Auto Category Caliber Products Boxer CT Boxer AT 4S Champion KB 100 LegendYear of Introduction 1998 1997 1997 1991 1987 1998 1976 1972 2000 1998 1990 1986 1987 Geared Scooters Super Chetak Saffire Ungeared Scooters Spirit Sunny M80 Major M80 Major 4S Step-Thrus Source: www. bajajauto. com In early 1998, Bajaj established a new plant (Rs. 3. 15 billion investment in 200-acre plot) at Chakan near Pune for its future generation vehicles. The new plant specialized in plastic bodied and tubular structure scooters. Bajaj’s relatively high level of backward integration helped it to keep raw material costs well below the industry average. For example, the company bought raw materials in bulk for itself as well as for its suppliers.For most of the two-wheeler companies, material costs accounted for about 70% of operating income, but for Bajaj it was only 57% in 1998, the lowest in the industry. In 1998, Bajaj was ranked India’s fifth most valuable company 8. Internationally, it was the world’s largest scooter producer and the fourth largest two-whe eler manufacturer after Hero Honda, Yamaha and Suzuki. But the delay in realizing the potential of motorcycle segment by Bajaj, allowed Hero Honda to race ahead to become the market leader in 2001. During 2000-01, Bajaj entered into non-life and life insurance business along with Allianz AG of Germany, one of the largest insurance companies in the world. Two companies were set up: Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd and Allianz Bajaj Life Insurance Company Limited.Bajaj and Allianz signed two separate joint venture agreements for these two businesses and respectively committed 74% and 26% of the initial share capital of Rs110 crore in case of the general insurance venture and Rs150 crore in case of the life insurance venture. Bajaj received Rs. 1. 17 billion from Allianz as goodwill. In 2001-02, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance issued the largest number of policies among all private players in the non-life segment, and became the leader in this line of business. Allianz Bajaj Life Insurance commenced operations in October 2001. 8 ?The BT 500,? Business Today, 7th September 1998. 113 Financial Insights Exhibit V Bajaj vs. Competitors: Major Models in Different Segments in 2003 Segments BYK Economy (Priced Rs. 27,000 – Rs. 37,000) Executive (Priced Rs. 38,000 – Rs. 5,000) Premium (Priced Rs. 45,000 – Rs. 75,000) Style (Priced above Rs. 75,000) Boxer AT Boxer AR (K-Tec) Boxer CT Delux (KTec) Caliber (K-Tec) Caliber Croma Caliber 115 Pulsar 150 Pulsar 150 (self-start) Pulsar 180 CD100 SS Dawn Splendor Passion Ambition Disc CBZ Disc CBZ (selfstart) Bajaj Auto Hero Honda TVS Motors No Competition Samurai Max 100R Max DLX Victor Fiero Fiero DLX Fiero ES Crux Crux R Libero Enticer Yamaha Eliminator No Competition Note: List is not exhaustive. Source: Compiled from various sources by ICFAI Knowledge Center. The shift in preference from geared to nongeared scooters continued in 2002, resulting in a 35% decline in yearly sales.The company†™s market share in the ungeared scooter market declined due to lack of models. Both LML and Honda Motorcycles strengthened their foothold in 2002 after the launch of ‘Nova' and ‘Dio' respectively. Bajaj Auto's ‘Spirit', the ungeared scooter, commanded around 25% market share in the below 100 cc category. Bajaj was one of the very few companies manufacturing three-wheelers in the world. It commanded a monopoly in the domestic market with a market share of above 80%. The rest was shared by Bajaj Tempo, Greaves Ltd and Scooters India. The company saw a sharp rise in three-wheeler demand. In early 2002, the market grew by 23%. Bajaj had also commenced the commercial production of goods carriers.In 2002, this segment generated 22% of the company’s profits. The profit per three-wheeler was estimated to be 2. 5-3 times that of a motorcycle. Bajaj gained market share in the motorcycle segment through its models like ‘Pulsar' and ‘Boxer AR'. Boxer virtu ally created the four-stroke economy segment and Pulsar expanded the lifestyle segment. Pulsar’s volumes surpassed the most optimistic expectations in terms of volumes. In February 2003, Bajaj launched ‘Caliber 115' and steadied its presence in the executive motorcycle segment. The new model registered sales of 25,706 units in March 2003. 114 Financial Management at Bajaj Auto Financial ManagementBajaj earned bulk of its revenue from the automotive business. In 2003, motorcycles dominated the automotive segment, accounting for 55 % of its revenues. In 2002-03, Bajaj achieved a turnover of Rs. 5071 crore and earning before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of Rs. 817 crore. EBITDA as a percentage of net sales and other operating income increased from 16. 8 % in 2001-02 to 19 % in 2002-03. Return on operating capital, which had dipped to a low of 14% in 2000-01, increased to 60% in 2002-03. Bajaj continued its efforts to drive top-line growth, imp rove operational efficiency, cut costs and improve economies of scale.Working Capital Bajaj continued to minimize its overall working capital. Debtors declined from Rs. 198 crores on 31st March 2002, to Rs. 167 crore on 31st March 2003 – a reduction of 16%. Bajaj succeeded in reducing inventory levels by using the direct on-line delivery of materials from vendors. Inventory of raw materials and components declined from seven days as on 31st March 2002, to six days as on 31st March 2003, and spare parts for replacement market from 42 days to 31 days. The inventory of finished goods however increased from six days to nine days because of the sluggish market. 9 Exhibit VI Bajaj: Operating Working Capital (Rs Million)Source: Bajaj Auto Annual Report 2002-03. Cost Structure Raw materials, advertising and marketing, and indirect taxes (excise, etc) were the major cost heads for Bajaj. During 2002-03, through its continuous efforts in value engineering and improving relations with t he vendors, Bajaj was able to reduce its 9 Bajaj Auto Annual Report 2002-03. 115 Financial Insights material costs. The share of materials to net sales and other operating income reduced from 63. 3 % in 2001-02 to 62 % in 2002-03, while the share of stores and tools was contained at 1. 5 % of net sales and other operating income. 10 Labor costs for 2002-03 included a sum of Rs. 461 million (Rs. 3 million in 2001-02) towards compensation paid to employees under the voluntary retirement scheme. A total of 1,106 employees opted for the scheme, which had a payback period of two years. Bajaj’s labor costs made up 4. 66% of its total revenue in 2002-03. 11 Despite a 16. 5% increase in net sales and other operating income – from Rs. 36. 96 billion in 2001-02 to Rs. 43. 06 billion in 2002-03, factory and administration costs had come down from 5. 3% of net sales and operating income to 4. 3%. This was the result of a thorough review of fixed costs with each plant head. Sales a nd after sales expenses were around 6. 7 % of net sales and other operating income. In 2003, Bajaj’s advertising and marketing expenditures were Rs 233. 9 crore (8. 61% of its total revenue), whereas Hero Honda’s expenditures were Rs. 147. 01 crore (4. 16% of total revenue) and TVS’ were Rs. 212. 49 crore (11. 06% of total revenue). Bajaj’s total indirect tax expenses were Rs. 601. 22 crore in comparison to Hero Honda’s Rs. 9. 75 crore and TVS’ Rs. 435. 77 crore in 2003. 12 Investments Bajaj invested its surplus funds in secured and fixed investment securities like G-Secs, T-Bills, etc. The return earned by Bajaj on its treasury portfolio was comparable with the return earned by the top mutual funds. During 2002-03, Bajaj reduced its equity investments and concentrated more on the G-Sec and bond market.Thus, the market value of the portfolio changed from a diminution in value to cost in 2002, to an appreciation in value to cost of Rs. 343 mi llion in March 2003. During 2002-03, Bajaj provided Rs. 26. 7 million towards impairment in the carrying costs of its investment portfolio. In addition, continuing its efforts to liquidate non-performing assets, Bajaj booked a total loss of Rs. 853 million. This loss was set off against gains on sale of assets of Rs. 1, 067 million that resulted in a net gain of Rs. 214 million. 13 Figure (ii) Bajaj: Liability Structure, 2003 Source: Prowess Database. 10 11 12 13 Bajaj Auto Annual Report, 2002-03. Source: Prowess Database.Source: Prowess Database. Bajaj Auto Annual Report, 2002-03. 116 Financial Management at Bajaj Auto Exhibit VII Bajaj: Investment of Surplus Funds (Rs. million) Source: Bajaj Auto Annual Report, 2002-03. Exhibit: VIII Income from Investments (Rs Million) 2002-2003 Dividends Interest on debentures and bonds Interest on government securities Interest on inter-corporate deposits and other loans Income from mutual fund units Lease rent and equalization Profit on sale o f investments Interest on fixed deposits Others Total Interest on tax refunds Total non-operating income Non-operating expenses Net non-operating income Source: Bajaj Auto Annual Report, 2002-03. 17 127 408 405 239 44 214 2 11 1,450 1,450 274 1,176 2001-2002 592 291 18 364 79 234 6 1,584 18 1,602 436 1,166 Financial Insights Return on Capital In early 2003, Bajaj maintained a free cash reserve of Rs 2,700 crore. The management had no intention of reducing that cash pile in the near future. Meanwhile, analysts argued14 that retaining surplus cash would only dilute a company's Return on Capital Employed (ROCE) and, over a period of time, destroy shareholder value. Bajaj had a capital employed of Rs 4,000 crore, of which only Rs 1,300 crore was deployed in its two-wheeler operations. This generated an excellent ROCE of 60%. But the remaining Rs 2,700 crore of idle cash, earned a return of only 17%.As a result, Bajaj Auto's overall ROCE was 31%, far lower than Hero Honda's 95%. Exhibit IX Return on Operating Capital (Rs. Million) As at 31, March 2003 Fixed assets Technical know-how Working capital Total Operating profit after interest and depreciation Pre-tax return on operating capital exmployed Source: Bajaj Auto Annual Report, 2002-03. As at 31, March 2002 10,910 128 699 11,737 4,834 41% 10,502 107 638 11,247 6,744 60% Exhibit X Dividend Payouts (%) Company Bajaj Hero Honda TVS 1999 19. 18 22. 89 21. 96 2000 20. 88 23. 08 23. 92 2001 35. 69 26. 74 32. 54 2002 27. 34 75. 53 42. 47 Source: Businessworld, 19th May 2003. Capital Structure Bajaj’s debt-equity ratio was 0. 6 and interest coverage was 717. 76 times in 2003. Bajaj mostly relied on internal generation rather than external funding. In 2003, Bajaj had Rs. 3139. 42 crore of reserve & surplus (49% of it total assets), where as Hero Honda and TVS had only Rs. 821. 09 crore and Rs. 399. 85 crore respectively. Bajaj deployed bulk of its funds in investments (44. 02% of total assets) and fixed assets (20 . 57% of total assets). 14 M. Anand, ? Is Munjal Being Too Generous Businessworld, 19th May 2003. 118 Financial Management at Bajaj Auto Exhibit XI Bajaj: Equity Holding, December 2003 Equity Holding Indian promoters Mutual funds and UTI Banks, FI's, Insurance Cos.FIIs Private corporate bodies Indian public NRIs/OCBs Any other Total equity holding Source: Prowess Database. No of Shares 29516461 1612731 3829868 19318255 13264490 29054237 401776 4185692 101183510 % of Total Shares 29. 17 1. 59 3. 79 19. 09 13. 11 28. 71 0. 40 4. 14 100 In September 2000, Bajaj had spent about Rs 720 crore to buy back 15% of its equity. The offer was announced at a price of Rs 400 per share when the prevailing price was around Rs 320. Though prices fell to Rs 200 immediately after the buyback, it had later recovered to about Rs 500. Bajaj believed buy back was a better way to distribute profits to shareholders than dividends.Bajaj had a cash reserve of $ 575 million and paid a final dividend of 120% an d a special dividend of 20% in 2002 (paid on account of the one-time premia received from Allianz AG, Germany, the company's partner in the two insurance joint ventures)15 and a final dividend of 140% in 2003. The amount of dividend and the tax aggregated to Rs. 1,598 million. The company’s dividend yield i. e. , (dividend per share by the market price) showed that Bajaj had a yield of 2. 7%. 16 Looking Ahead In the motorcycles segment, ‘Boxer' had performed well and had increased its market share to 45% in the entry-level market, which was estimated at 102,000 units (35% of total motorcycle sales). But growth was primarily led by ‘Pulsar', the premium-end motorcycle. Against the company's estimate of 10,000 units per month at the beginning of 2002, the model notched sales of around 17,000 units per month in late 2002.Encouraged by the success, Bajaj planned to ramp up sales to 25,000 units per month by early 2004 and expected to achieve total leadership in the mo torcycle segment, aiming at a growth rate of 15%. Bajaj expected to improve its relationships with customers by expanding its product range and widening its dealer network. It planned to launch a 125 cc motorcycle with Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd, which was in the final stage of development. A rear engine diesel goods carrier was in the testing stage 15 16 Source: Prowess Database. Chetan Soni & Nandini Sen Gupta, ? Rolling stock: Payouts put auto investors in top gear,? Times News Network, 4th June 2003. 119 Financial Insights and would be launched in 2004. Bajaj also planned to broaden its vision and work towards being a truly global player.Effective management of the company’s finances would play an important role in this regard. Figure (iii) Bajaj: Closing Share Price & Traded Quantity Source: Prowess Database. Figure (iv) Bajaj: Traded Quantity Source: Prowess Database. Figure (v) Bajaj: Dividend Yield & Earning Per Share Dividend Yield 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 Dec-97 Dec-98 Dec- 99 Dec-00 Dec-01 Dec-02 Dec-03 Jun-98 Jun-99 Jun-00 Jun-01 Jun-02 Jun-03 Earning Per Share 80 60 40 20 0 Dec-97 Jun-98 Dec-98 Jun-99 Dec-99 Jun-00 Dec-00 Jun-01 Dec-01 Jun-02 Dec-02 Jun-03 Dec-03 Source: Prowess Database. 120 Financial Management at Bajaj Auto Figure (vi) Bajaj: Assets Structure Source: Prowess Database. Exhibit: XIIBajaj: Capital History Issue Month Issue Type Face Value (Rs. ) 10 10 Security Amount (Rs. Crore) 0 0 Additional Increased Paid up Paid up Capital Capital (Rs. Crore) (Rs. Crore) 18. 81 37. 63 37. 63 75. 25 Security Type Sep-91 Bonus Jun-94 Bonus Euro Oct-94 Issue Sep-97 Bonus Equity Equity Global Depository Receipts Equity 10 10 10 345. 07 0 0 4. 34 39. 8 0 79. 59 119. 39 101. 18 Buybac Sep-00 k Equity Source: Prowess Database. Exhibit XIII Bajaj: Ratios Bajaj Auto Ratios Liquidity Ratios Current ratio Quick ratio Solvency Ratios Debt-equity ratio Interest coverage 0. 26 0. 22 0. 20 45. 04 0. 16 33. 85 0. 17 21. 23 0. 11 11. 83 0. 29 18. 43 0. 52 5. 63 0. 6 4. 58 2. 07 1. 20 1. 88 1. 01 1. 69 0. 69 1. 11 0. 16 1. 20 0. 25 1. 44 0. 81 1. 01 0. 34 1. 12 0. 47 1. 16 0. 36 2003 2002 2001 Hero Honda 2003 2002 2001 T V S Motor 2003 2002 2001 717. 76 161. 91 121 Financial Insights Bajaj Auto Ratios 2003 2002 2001 Hero Honda 2003 2002 2001 T V S Motor 2003 2002 2001 Efficiency Ratios (in Days) Average days of finished goods stock Average days of debtors Average days of creditors Net working capital cycle Profitability Ratios PBDIT (NNRT) as % of sales PBIT (NNRT) as % of sales PAT (NNRT) as % of sales Return on net worth Return on capital employed 20. 19 16. 65 11. 07 17. 50 21. 47 16. 87 13. 12 8. 63 13. 3 16. 74 13. 07 9. 18 8. 24 10. 26 9. 98 17. 59 16. 45 10. 02 67. 10 94. 64 16. 77 15. 63 9. 72 67. 67 95. 27 14. 46 13. 07 7. 87 47. 52 70. 98 9. 23 6. 66 3. 94 32. 89 42. 10 6. 79 4. 57 2. 47 8. 18 5. 78 3. 47 9. 90 13. 80 42. 40 -5. 68 10. 27 13. 95 43. 47 0. 69 11. 38 15. 42 49. 54 6. 61 3. 91 8. 62 35. 57 -7. 47 3. 53 5. 80 32. 71 - 4. 79 3. 93 4. 28 31. 10 14. 09 8. 14 52. 96 14. 97 13. 13 15. 95 19. 82 52. 05 44. 89 -1. 24 7. 54 2. 05 -14. 15 16. 05 18. 80 20. 86 20. 74 90. 00 80. 00 Dividend rate (sum of interim and final) 140. 00 140. 00 Market Ratios P/E P/B 16. 61 3. 19 9. 54 1. 63 80. 00 900. 00 850. 00 150. 00 120. 00 9. 25 1. 32 3. 46 7. 63 9. 27 5. 62 13. 66 6. 21 18. 41 5. 02 10. 35 10. 39 3. 08 0. 99 Source: Prowess Database. Exhibit XIV Common size Income statement Commonsize Income Statement 2003 Total Revenue Sales Other income Change in stocks Non-recurring income Bajaj Auto 2002 2001 Hero Honda 2003 2002 2001 2003 TVS 2002 2001 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 94. 22 3. 51 0. 64 1. 64 92. 27 4. 22 -0. 67 4. 18 91. 85 6. 18 0. 36 1. 61 97. 76 0. 44 0. 40 1. 40 98. 24 1. 04 -0. 13 0. 85 98. 75 0. 33 0. 56 0. 35 97. 76 0. 67 1. 25 0. 31 98. 96 0. 89 0. 15 0. 01 98. 04 1. 05 0. 90 0. 01 122 Financial Management at Bajaj AutoCommonsize Income Statement 2003 Exp enditure Raw materials, stores, etc. Wages & salaries Energy (power & fuel) Indirect taxes (excise, etc. ) Advertising & marketing expenses Distribution expenses Others Non-recurring expenses Profits / losses PBDIT Financial charges (incl. lease rent) PBDT Depreciation PBT Tax provision PAT Bajaj Auto 2002 2001 Hero Honda 2003 2002 2001 2003 TVS 2002 2001 52. 84 4. 66 1. 19 11. 73 51. 39 5. 12 1. 41 11. 80 52. 79 6. 20 1. 80 14. 57 67. 59 3. 86 0. 49 0. 19 68. 80 3. 71 0. 56 0. 12 72. 87 3. 67 0. 73 0. 19 60. 37 3. 27 0. 66 13. 69 63. 29 3. 37 0. 69 13. 86 73. 20 3. 46 0. 90 1. 72 8. 61 0. 86 3. 50 1. 63 19. 3 8. 62 0. 82 5. 28 0. 69 19. 06 9. 83 0. 90 4. 93 2. 85 10. 77 4. 16 1. 89 4. 57 0. 07 18. 51 2. 99 1. 88 5. 55 0. 22 17. 10 2. 74 1. 81 4. 12 0. 46 14. 18 11. 06 2. 08 3. 92 0. 10 9. 23 8. 37 2. 12 4. 65 0. 04 6. 69 8. 76 1. 60 4. 69 0. 04 7. 99 0. 02 19. 01 3. 34 15. 67 5. 24 10. 43 0. 07 18. 99 3. 47 15. 52 4. 06 11. 46 0. 19 10. 58 3. 57 7. 01 0. 68 6. 33 0. 48 18. 04 1. 11 16. 93 5. 81 11. 12 0. 72 16. 38 1. 12 15. 26 5. 08 10. 17 1. 09 13. 09 1. 38 11. 72 4. 04 7. 67 0. 35 8. 88 2. 51 6. 36 2. 30 4. 06 0. 80 5. 89 2. 20 3. 69 1. 28 2. 41 1. 24 6. 75 2. 35 4. 40 1. 03 3. 37 Source: Prowess Database. Exhibit XV Common size Balance SheetCommon size Balance Sheet 2003 Total assets Gross fixed assets Land & building Plant & machinery Other fixed assets Capital WIP Bajaj Auto 2002 2001 Hero Honda 2003 2002 2001 2003 TVS 2002 2001 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 41. 62 4. 02 35. 09 2. 45 0. 06 46. 97 4. 65 39. 56 2. 69 0. 07 53. 65 5. 30 44. 99 2. 88 0. 48 35. 60 5. 77 28. 21 1. 20 0. 42 40. 72 6. 96 31. 96 1. 25 0. 55 54. 82 7. 93 43. 57 1. 68 1. 64 77. 80 12. 72 58. 45 4. 01 2. 63 78. 81 10. 14 63. 09 4. 22 1. 35 77. 23 10. 39 59. 41 4. 40 3. 04 123 Financial Insights Common size Balance Sheet 2003 Less: cumulative depreciation Net fixed assets Investments In group / associate cos.In mutual funds Other investments Inventory Raw materials Stores and spares Finished goods Semi-finished goods Sundry debtors Accrued income Advances / loans to Group / associate cos. Advances / loans to Other cos. Deposits with govt. / agencies Advance payment of tax Other receivables Cash & bank balance Deferred tax assets Intangible assets & deferred revenue expenditure not written off Bajaj Auto 2002 2001 Hero Honda 2003 2002 2001 2003 TVS 2002 2001 21. 05 20. 57 44. 02 4. 13 3. 50 36. 39 3. 30 0. 89 0. 34 1. 82 0. 25 2. 65 0. 32 21. 67 25. 30 36. 82 4. 75 2. 29 29. 78 3. 31 1. 00 0. 57 1. 44 0. 30 3. 66 0. 47 24. 30 29. 35 25. 89 1. 46 2. 64 21. 79 5. 46 1. 96 0. 91 2. 23 0. 36 2. 60 0. 71 12. 47 23. 13 54. 3 0. 16 54. 37 0. 00 9. 18 5. 10 1. 14 2. 51 0. 43 6. 46 0. 00 12. 74 27. 98 41. 41 0. 20 41. 21 0. 00 10. 17 6. 17 1. 54 1. 94 0. 52 5. 69 0. 00 15. 55 39. 27 26. 18 0. 30 25. 88 0. 00 17. 18 10. 62 2. 32 3. 16 1. 08 3. 66 0. 00 28. 15 49. 65 8. 19 5. 60 2. 57 0. 02 19. 95 3. 89 4. 13 10. 36 1. 58 4. 87 0. 00 28. 18 50. 63 1. 66 1. 60 0. 00 0. 05 17. 15 4. 24 2. 50 8. 44 1. 97 9. 97 0. 00 24. 69 52. 54 1. 79 1. 68 0. 00 0. 12 18. 32 5. 49 2. 13 8. 46 2. 25 12. 89 0. 00 1. 68 3. 56 0. 11 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 1. 16 1. 60 8. 21 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 1. 43 4. 49 1. 86 0. 06 0. 40 0. 41 0. 01 0. 01 0. 11 0. 08 0. 02 3. 93 21. 99 2. 52 0. 8 1. 08 21. 04 2. 28 0. 47 0. 84 21. 71 4. 74 0. 46 0. 00 0. 52 4. 48 1. 11 0. 04 0. 59 7. 31 6. 21 0. 05 0. 88 7. 08 3. 90 0. 00 0. 00 7. 59 7. 69 0. 55 0. 59 6. 48 8. 56 0. 41 0. 77 5. 93 1. 92 0. 00 0. 17 0. 24 0. 35 0. 53 0. 58 1. 75 0. 00 0. 03 0. 05 124 Financial Management at Bajaj Auto Common size Balance Sheet 2003 Total liabilities Net worth Paid-up equity capital Reserves & surplus Secured borrowings Unsecured borrowings Deferred tax liabilities Current liabilities Sundry creditors Interest accrued / due Other current liabilities Provisions Tax provision Dividend provision Dividend tax provision Other provisions Bajaj Auto 2002 2001He ro Honda 2003 2002 2001 2003 TVS 2002 2001 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 100. 00 51. 36 1. 60 49. 75 0. 85 12. 46 3. 81 7. 21 6. 56 0. 00 0. 65 24. 30 21. 01 2. 25 0. 29 0. 76 52. 99 1. 87 51. 12 0. 59 10. 99 4. 36 8. 41 7. 60 0. 00 0. 81 22. 65 19. 56 2. 62 0. 00 0. 47 56. 80 2. 18 54. 62 1. 21 9. 86 0. 00 10. 07 7. 70 0. 00 2. 37 22. 06 19. 77 1. 74 0. 18 0. 37 39. 34 1. 82 37. 52 0. 00 6. 14 3. 53 31. 14 18. 73 0. 00 12. 41 19. 86 0. 50 16. 42 2. 10 0. 84 39. 10 2. 28 36. 82 0. 00 6. 64 4. 07 34. 97 22. 73 0. 00 12. 24 15. 22 0. 48 13. 66 0. 00 1. 08 54. 44 3. 46 50. 98 0. 00 5. 75 0. 00 31. 63 22. 03 0. 00 9. 60 8. 18 0. 82 5. 18 0. 3 1. 64 39. 42 2. 15 37. 27 3. 82 7. 54 8. 27 37. 87 37. 81 0. 00 0. 06 3. 08 0. 00 1. 51 0. 19 1. 38 37. 27 2. 66 34. 61 10. 50 8. 74 9. 14 33. 31 33. 08 0. 00 0. 24 1. 04 0. 00 0. 00 0. 00 1. 04 43. 06 2. 78 40. 28 19. 09 9. 09 0. 00 25. 55 25. 51 0. 00 0. 05 3. 20 0. 00 2. 23 0. 23 0. 75 Source: Prowess Database. Exhibit XVI Comparative Income Statement Comparative Income Statement 2001 Total Revenue Sales Other income Change in stocks Non-recurring income 3628. 74 4172. 1 4829. 37 3177. 2 4471. 87 5107. 7 1820. 98 2213. 59 3111. 28 244. 19 190. 61 179. 85 14. 13 -30. 4 32. 58 83. 93 10. 63 18. 17 11. 42 47. 21 -5. 81 38. 54 23. 24 21. 08 72. 8 19. 57 16. 65 0. 27 19. 8 3. 27 0. 23 21. 4 39. 82 9. 94 Bajaj Auto 2002 2003 Hero Honda 2001 2002 2003 2001 TVS 2002 2003 63. 66 189. 21 125 Financial Insights Comparative Income Statement 2001 Expenditure Raw materials, stores, etc. Wages & salaries Energy (power & fuel) Indirect taxes (excise, etc. ) Bajaj Auto 2002 2003 Hero Honda 2001 2002 2003 2001 TVS 2002 2003 2085. 47 2323. 71 2708. 23 2344. 39 3131. 72 3531. 81 1359. 65 1415. 78 1921. 32 245. 14 231. 48 239. 05 117. 96 168. 94 201. 63 64. 26 75. 37 104. 05 71. 03 63. 64 61. 12 23. 4 5. 98 25. 61 5. 39 25. 82 9. 75 16. 63 15. 44 20. 85 575. 8 533. 48 601. 22 31. 88 309. 94 435. 77Advertising & marketing expenses 204. 94 200. 41 233. 29 Distribution expenses Others 35. 46 37. 02 44. 23 64. 17 58. 1 93. 73 147. 01 119. 04 118. 49 212. 49 85. 39 98. 92 29. 64 47. 36 66. 27 194. 82 238. 63 179. 61 132. 45 252. 48 238. 84 31. 25 83. 7 14. 65 10. 24 3. 86 87. 15 103. 91 124. 72 0. 83 0. 86 3. 28 Non-recurring expenses 112. 59 Profits / losses PBDIT Financial charges (incl. lease rent) PBDT Depreciation PBT Tax provision PAT ppropriation of profits Dividends Retained earnings 425. 47 861. 9 975. 28 456. 32 778. 31 967. 36 148. 39 149. 74 293. 69 7. 4 3. 38 1. 12 35. 1 44. 27 32. 92 51. 01 24. 82 57. 98 303. 8 22. 97 43. 73 81. 69 19. 12 62. 7 17. 96 49. 22 28. 61 11. 24 79. 91 73. 19 418. 07 858. 52 974. 16 421. 22 745. 39 942. 54 125. 42 131. 78 282. 45 141. 12 156. 68 171. 16 276. 95 701. 84 803 376. 95 694. 38 884. 56 82. 56 202. 54 53. 95 129. 35 27 183. 68 268. 36 130. 08 231. 45 249. 95 518. 16 534. 64 246. 87 462. 93 580. 76 89. 21 141. 66 159. 81 160. 74 66. 01 349. 67 405. 49 20. 36 42. 21 22. 91 31. 04 29. 79 99. 56 376. 5 374. 83 180. 86 113. 26 175. 27 Source: Prowess Database. Exhibit XVII Comparative Balance Sheet Comparative Balance Sheet (Rs Crore) Assets Gross fixed assets 2001 Bajaj 2002 2003 Hero Honda 2001 633. 61 2002 714. 21 2003 779. 25 TVS Motor 2001 641. 3 2002 683. 85 2003 834. 7 2490. 26 2540. 08 2626. 18 126 Financial Management at Bajaj Auto Comparative Balance Sheet (Rs Crore) Land & building Plant & machinery Other fixed assets Capital WIP Less: cumulative depreciation Net fixed assets Investments In group / associate cos. In mutual funds Other investments Inventories Raw materials Stores and spares Finished goods Semi-finished goods Receivables Sundry debtors Accrued income Advances / loans to Group / associate cos. Advances / loans to Other cos. Deposits with govt. / agencies Advance payment of tax Other receivables Cash & bank balance Deferred tax assets Intangible assets (goodwill, etc. Deferred revenue expenditure not written off 245. 85 Bajaj 251. 53 Hero Honda 253. 42 Mar-00 May-00 May-00 503. 59 19. 45 18. 95 179. 76 453. 85 302. 59 3. 46 299. 13 0 198. 54 122. 79 26. 81 36. 47 12. 47 135. 54 42. 29 0 560. 54 21. 89 9. 69 223. 47 490. 74 617. 32 26. 37 9. 19 273. 01 506. 24 TVS Motor 86. 24 493. 09 36. 49 25. 21 204. 92 436. 11 14. 89 13. 92 0 0. 97 152. 03 45. 53 17. 65 70. 2 18. 65 210. 64 106. 95 0. 04 88. 03 547. 47 36. 66 11. 69 244. 54 439. 31 14. 39 13. 92 0 0. 47 148. 79 36. 76 21. 73 73. 23 17. 07 187. 09 86. 52 0 136. 47 627. 07 42. 97 28. 19 302. 03 532. 67 87. 92 60. 08 27. 58 0. 26 214. 07 41. 71 44. 32 111. 1 16. 94 149. 87 52. 21 0 088. 17 2139. 11 2214. 16 133. 81 22. 43 1127. 91 145. 48 3. 96 154. 59 4. 01 1171. 8 1327. 95 1362. 35 1368. 28 1298. 23 1201. 65 1991. 42 2777. 68 67. 62 122. 77 257. 02 123. 99 260. 88 220. 77 726. 29 1193. 52 3. 46 3. 46 722. 83 1190. 06 0 178. 36 108. 27 26. 96 34. 02 9. 11 238. 52 99. 72 0 0 200. 92 111. 67 25. 04 54. 84 9. 37 251. 26 141. 49 0 1011. 26 1610. 41 2296. 03 253. 43 91 42. 17 103. 49 16. 77 179. 1 54. 32 30. 57 77. 95 16. 26 207. 98 56. 16 21. 15 114. 63 16. 04 1786. 88 1785. 53 1917. 13 120. 72 33. 01 198. 17 25. 34 167. 04 20. 24 5. 3 380. 88 19. 24 192. 75 86. 6 21. 73 106 73. 11 3. 87 1387. 8 159. 07 30. 03 68. 06 10. 68 0 1. 26 10. 14 81. 85 45. 09 0 0 0 0 0. 21 10. 34 128. 25 108. 96 0. 81 0 0 0 0. 32 11. 31 98. 14 24. 33 0. 89 0 0 15. 43 32. 66 6. 38 49. 18 15. 91 0 0 0 39 0. 14 5. 16 56. 27 74. 27 3. 57 0 0 15. 3 0. 86 0. 03 81. 47 82. 46 5. 9 0 1007. 75 1137. 62 219. 98 21. 32 0 0 123. 32 25. 2 45. 48 12. 8 16. 03 0 0 20. 2 10. 22 11. 52 0. 44 0. 3 0 127 Financial Insights Comparative Balance Sheet (Rs Crore) Share issue expenses not written off VRS expenses not written off Other misc. expenses not written off Total assets Net worth Authorized capital Issued equity capital Paid-up equity capital Bonus equity capital Buy back amount Buy back shares (nos. Reserves & surplus Free reserves Specific reserv es Borrowings Bank borrowings Short term bank borrowings Long term bank borrowings Govt. / sales tax deferral borrowings Debentures / bonds Fixed deposits Other borrowings Secured borrowings Unsecured borrowings Bajaj Hero Honda TVS Motor 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0. 44 0 0. 3 0 0 0 16. 03 0 0 20. 2 10. 22 11. 52 0 830. 02 357. 41 25 23. 1 23. 1 0 0 0 334. 31 291. 81 42. 5 233. 95 107. 37 76. 12 31. 25 0 0 4641. 66 5407. 81 6309. 79 1155. 81 2636. 53 2865. 79 3240. 61 150 101. 18 101. 18 114. 17 18. 21 1820730 4 2535. 35 150 101. 19 101. 19 114. 17 0 0 150 101. 19 101. 19 114. 17 0 0 629. 19 50 39. 94 39. 94 23. 96 0 0 589. 25 589. 25 0 66. 48 0 0 0 1753. 9 2188. 68 685. 76 50 39. 94 39. 94 23. 96 0 0 645. 82 645. 2 0 116. 44 0 0 0 861. 03 50 39. 94 39. 94 23. 96 0 0 821. 09 821. 09 0 134. 28 0 0 0 867. 72 1072. 89 323. 39 25 23. 1 23. 1 0 0 0 300. 29 270. 59 29. 7 166. 94 53. 64 34. 89 18. 75 422. 95 25 23. 1 23. 1 0 0 0 399. 85 380. 05 19. 8 121. 89 16. 13 16. 13 0 2764. 6 3139. 42 2515. 39 2744. 64 3121. 21 19. 96 513. 71 55. 97 55. 97 0 19. 96 626. 09 31. 83 31. 83 0 18. 21 840. 23 53. 91 53. 91 0 451. 64 0 6. 1 0 55. 97 457. 74 588. 96 0 5. 3 0 31. 83 594. 26 781. 9 0 4. 42 0 53. 91 786. 32 66. 48 0 0 0 0 66. 48 116. 44 0 0 0 0 116. 44 134. 28 0 0 0 0 134. 28 0 85 0 41. 58 158. 49 75. 46 0 59. 4 0 53. 9 91. 11 75. 83 0 39. 6 0 66. 16 41. 03 80. 86 128Financial Management at Bajaj Auto Comparative Balance Sheet (Rs Crore) Current portion of long term debt Total foreign currency borrowings Deferred tax liabilities Current liabilities & provisions Current liabilities Sundry creditors Interest accrued / due Other current liabilities Share application money Provisions Tax provision Dividend provision Dividend tax provision Other provisions Total liabilities Bajaj Hero Honda TVS Motor 0 0 0 0 0 0 65. 38 36 11. 48 0 0 0 236. 05 0 240. 47 0 0 0 0 71. 47 77. 16 0 0 0 79. 35 0 88. 72 1491. 42 1679. 88 1988. 48 467. 55 357. 29 0. 11 110. 15 454. 93 411. 13 0. 1 43. 7 454. 9 413. 86 0. 08 40. 96 460. 14 365. 62 254. 61 0 111. 01 880. 3 1116. 21 613. 32 398. 61 0 214. 71 681. 52 409. 94 0 271. 58 238. 66 212. 1 211. 71 0 0. 39 298. 04 289. 05 287 0 2. 05 439. 33 406. 26 405. 65 0 0. 61 0 0 0 0. 02 94. 52 9. 51 59. 9 6. 11 19 0. 02 266. 91 8. 34 239. 64 0 18. 93 0 434. 69 10. 9 359. 44 46. 05 18. 3 0 26. 56 0 18. 48 1. 88 6. 2 830. 02 0 8. 99 0 0 0 8. 99 0 33. 07 0 16. 17 2. 07 14. 83 1023. 87 1224. 95 1533. 58 917. 58 1057. 94 1325. 98 80. 95 8. 26 17. 08 141. 66 0 25. 35 141. 66 18. 15 47. 79 4641. 66 5407. 81 6309. 79 1155. 81 1753. 9 2188. 68 867. 72 1072. 89 Source: Prowess Database. 129 Financial Insights Bibliography 1. 2. ?The BT 500,? Business Today, 7th September 1998.Gita Piramal, Sumantra Goshal and Sudeep Budhiraja, ? Transformation of Bajaj Auto Ltd,? Lessons in Excellence Case Contest, www. thesmartmanager. com, February-March, 2003. M. Anand, ? Is Munjal Being Too Generous Businessworld, 19th May 2003. B19th May Chetan Soni & Nandin i Sen Gupta, ? Rolling stock: Payouts put auto investors in top gear,? Times News Network, 4th June 2003. Motilal Oswal, Equity Research, February 2003. Honda Annual Report 2003. Bajaj Auto Limited Annual Report 2003. CMIE – Prowess Database. CMIE – Industry Analysis Service. www. bajajauto. com. www. siamindia. com. www. indiainfoline. com. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 130

List and describe the 10 best uses of internet in Teaching and Essay

List and describe the 10 best uses of internet in Teaching and Learning - Essay Example the comfort of one’s home being now possible with online learning on the internet, the utopian concept of the physical need of sitting in a classroom to learn is no longer mandatory. With barriers of distance and financial status demolished, learning has becoming feasible through sites like (http://www.troy.edu/), (http://www.khanacademy.org/) and (http://www.nixty.com/), including access to pertinent information of specific interest and curriculum needs. 2. Unlike the drab static notice boards of yore, school websites like (www.mail.tro.edu), (http://lifelongeducationalopps.com /), (www.eduscapes.com), (http://www.kidzworld.com /), (www.lessonplans4teachers.com), (http://www.teacherligo.com), (www.troy.blackboard.com) et al, allow creating and sharing of information regarding school calendar, lesson plans, rubrics, course- specific particulars, teacher and administration contacts in attractive and novel ways. 3. Online worksheets have obviated the need of purchase of expensive workbooks and substitute them by free storage space; some of the reasonably priced member web sites are (http://edhelper.com/), (http://qldscienceteachers.tripod.com/), (www.teachers.net), (www.teacherweb.com), (http://www.homeschoolmath.net/) et al. 4. Blending gaming constituents within educational materials has made it possible for students to be better engaged through educational games and social networking in web sites like (http://www.pbskids.org/),(http://www.funbrain.com/) et al; while social networking web sites like Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, LinkedIn, Google Plus etc. allow the user to establish instant, need-based personal and professional connections, Groups within the Yahoo, MSN Live, Skype, and Google networks permit individuals, classrooms and organizations to meet and collaborate on topics of mutual interest with the options for public or private access through web conferences and webinars. 5. File sharing feature available in Google, MSN Live etc. permits

Law and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Law and Management - Essay Example Leaders aspiring to be visionary should be able to mentor their successors at all levels and look beyond the horizon. To maintain the quality of leadership and lead people effectively, one needs to maintain the time and adopt the change required by the market. To be ahead in the competition, he should be the market leader in product development and technology. The leader should be a continuous learner, who always observes the global economic trends very closely, improves his listening skills and maintains a good relationship with his employees, while showing the empathy that will lead to better organizational culture. This will help to attract, nurture and retain the best talent in the organization. An effective leader should ask himself some retrospective questions like whether he is inspiring his own employees in the right direction or not Whether he is able to communicate effectively his vision, mission and strategic goals of the business, across the organization or not How courageous he is to implement his strategies, even during difficult times How frequently he takes the feedback whether he is in the wrong direction or right How best is he able to take timely decisions And, at the same time, whether he directs his employees towards right path or not An effective leader should maintain the simplicity and should be careful enough in matters of costs for the company and if the company is global he should not think in terms of dollars but should see each pie in terms of that country's currency. This will help him become aware of the local problems and culture that, in turn, will be helpful in solving such issues by adopting a suitable strategy related to that unit. An effecti ve leader lays emphasis on leadership principles, especially on the awesome responsibility of taking care of a good number of people's life and livelihood. According to James C Hunter, the author of "The Servant Leadership", the true foundation of leadership is not power, but authority, which is built upon relationships, love, service and sacrifice. Traditional Leadership Styles Comprehending the types of leadership styles is an essential first step in leadership development, which will help one to decide the leadership style that would work best for oneself and the organization Basically there are three classic leadership styles Laissez Faire, Autocratic, and Participative. 1. The Laissez-faire Style This style works well if one has highly skilled and highly motivated people and where direct reporting is done. The laissez-faire style employs low control; it depends more upon the leader's perception of how much freedom one should give to the people. 2. The Autocratic Style An autocratic leader is one who demands instant conformity to his words. These are the characteristics of autocratic leadership: Directs others what to do; restricts ideas or novel ways of doing things; generates fear of power, nepotism and humiliation; the team does not experience the teamwork sensation; shows immediate discontent at the petite blunder in accomplishing the business goals. This style is the least effective, because of hierarchical decision-making. It slaughters the creativity of employees. The autocratic style is found to be very effective when time is scarce, team members are unknown, persons/team lack expertise and know-how, and also in turning around a company, or in a formidable hostile takeover. 3. The Participative Style This style

Abuse of prescription of narcotics in primary care Dissertation

Abuse of prescription of narcotics in primary care - Dissertation Example Chronic non cancer pain in primary care and use of opioids (Nicholson & Pasik, 2007).  In the USA estimates suggest that 50 million people suffer from chronic non cancer pain, with 41% dissatisfied with the outcomes of their pain treatment. The frequent site at which these patients seek health care is from primary care. In the primary care environment prevalence of chronic non cancer pain ranges from 5% to 33% (Nicholson & Pasik, 2007).3) Extent of opioid misuse in primary care and causes (Von Korff et al, 2011).   True estimates of the extent to which prescription opioids are misused among primary care patients are not available, but the limited evidence from surveys conducted suggest that the prevalence of prescription opioid misuse in primary care could range from 4% to 26% (Von Korff et al, 2011)4) Primary care givers need to have adequate knowledge on preventing opioid misuse Salloum, 2010).   Though the true prevalence of prescription opioid misuse remains elusive the ind ications of high abuse of prescription opioids raises the relevance of prevention practices at the point of misuse (Ruiz & Strain, 2010).B.  Establish a working definition of prescription opioid abuse and identification of the characteristics of prescription opioid abuse    1)   According to Friedman et al p, 454, NUPM in a wide perspective may be taken to mean â€Å"the use of a scheduled prescription medication without the prescribing clinician’s knowledge† (Friedman et al, 2009).2) Characteristics of abuse of prescription narcotics (Liebschutz et al, 2010)... ry care patients diagnosed with chronic pain and prescribed opioids shows that the characteristics for PDUD in such patients include cigarette smoking, high severity of pain, personal and family history of substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder, and experience of a jail sentence (Liebschutz et al, 2010). 3) Caregiver knowledge and attitudes in the prescribing of narcotics for non cancer chronic pain (Srivatsava, 2007). Evidence coming from surveys conducted on care givers points to knowledge deficits in care givers and attitudinal issues acting as barriers to efficient management of pain. Quite often fear of addiction and misuse of prescribed narcotics is the basis of unsatisfactory management of pain (Srivatsava, 2007). 4) Patient perspective on prescribing of narcotics for non cancer chronic pain (Srivatsava, 2007). From the perspective of patients it is the care providers in the form of medical and nursing professionals that are knowledgeable on issues pertaining to emplo ying narcotics in the treatment of pain, and they expect that these professionals provide them with the appropriate information on narcotics in the treatment of non cancer chronic pain, to make it a useful part in their treatment (Srivatsava, 2007). II Theoretical Considerations (Not done as no guidelines received and not mandatory for the annotated outline) III Review of Literature A literature review matrix has been generated for effectively developing the literature review. 15 peer reviewed primary research articles relevant to the topic of the dissertation were selected. The inclusion criterion was that these articles were published on or later than 2006. The rationale behind such an inclusion criteria was to make the literature deliver the currently relevant body of knowledge on the

I need to paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

I need to paraphrase - Essay Example re cash flow, then the value of the asst is determined by discounting the future cash flows properly through taking into account the total of all the cash flows. d) The value of bonds is determined by the discounted value of the Principal and all the coupon payments and this is done through the use of discount rate. For instance, a ten year value bond that has a value of 10 % will yield value of 1000 or par. g) It can be observed that annual payment of 10 year bond is more risky compared to a similar bond of one year since the value is derived from cash flows that are closer to the current date and vice versa in case of the first one. Slight changes in the yield mean big changes in the discounted far away cash flow values. This results in more fluctuation of the 10 year bond. h) When discount rate (yield) is used to discount the future cash flows, it is assumed that the same return on the investment as the discount rate would be obtained. As commonly known, the discount rate or the current expected return constantly fluctuates depending on the market situation which means that the expected return might not be obtained. This type of risk is referred to as reinvestment risk. i) When there are semiannual payments, the number of periods used also increases. When there is a 10 year semiannual coupon bond with rate of 10% coupon while the current nominal rate is pegged at 13%, the value of the bond would be USD 834.72. j) If a 10 year bond with coupon of 10% as well prevailing interest rate of 10%, between an annual coupon bond and semiannual is bought, the semiannual one is bought while the cash flows are received more quickly. In such a scenario, both coupon rates and current interest rates are the same where there is no price difference. In the event that the coupon rate is different from the nominal rate, a difference is found. For instance, if the current nominal rate is 8%, the annual coupon bond will then be valued at USD 1134.20 while the semiannual is

Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Film - Essay Example Essentially considering which specific context would inspire the film to convey its core substance and value, Linklater and the rest of the filmmaking body could have schemed for direction and production on account of the city structure of Paris, the significance of open spaces within this big city, as well as the use of mixed concepts involving places whose functions are distinct from each other. Paris had shaped and created a colourful indispensable mark in the world history as much as the mother nation had so that through it, one would gain ease and good point of recollecting the period of Renaissance or the age of Enlightenment across Europe where fields like arts, literature, music, and philosophy flourished upon the emergence of intellectuals. To this day, the essence of creativity and critical thinking lives on in a manner that encourages a culture of thinkers to run the course of nature which apparently determines the mild rustic look of Paris, as a whole, though it is widely known to the world for its high sense of fashion. Its preserved humble yet classical structure occurs as the leading ground behind how the city manages to remain conducive for intellectual sort of reflections among real individuals whose roles might probably be those assumed by Jesse and Celine. Watching â€Å"Before Sunset† with intent look into the general structure of the city, the audi ence may naturally recognize the feel of society that lacks industrial appeal or some technological approach of projecting the theme, for the thematic relevance that proceeds along the conversation of the couple seems intimately connected to the historical roots of civilization. The structural worth of the city provides context to a depth of insight possessed by the main act of exchanging words from point to point where no high-rise postmodern constructions blend in so as to secure the notion that the city is at the level close to the view of humanism rather than industrialism. On the other

Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 5

Operations Management - Essay Example Market segmentation process involves the identification and grouping of similar needs of the market. Segmentation than helps the marketing team in devising better marketing plan for different groups and better satisfying their needs. Derby Castle is a historical monument of UK. The marketing team has the task of inviting attention of more and more people towards the interesting features of this castle so that they feel like visiting this monument again and again. This will help in good revenue generation and will help in the maintenance of this castle. It is highly likely that different set of people come here with different purposes. For example a team of school children would love to play in the sprawling green lawns the whole day while a research scholar will spend his day in studying the architecture and other historical features. Visitors to Derby Castle can be categorized as;†¢Ã‚  Researchers: This segment prefers to learn about the historical facts, architectural features etc. †¢Ã‚  Students: This segment too could be here on a learning mission or may just be here on a picnic tour. But the ‘learning’ needs of students are vastly different from ‘research’ needs of researchers.†¢Ã‚  Art Lovers: This segment is more interested in the artistic features of Derby castle.†¢Ã‚  Young Couple: Youth desirous of spending some solitary moments in the company of their chosen ones can make use good use of the gardens of the Castle.General tourists happen to be on a sightseeing spree. For them attractive features i.e.

Midterm Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Midterm Paper - Essay Example Modern computers and technologically improved mobile phones have become close substitutes to television. However, it is very difficult for new players to enter the industry due to the high entry cost. 1b. According to Edwards, from a resource based view of the firm framework, it can be observed that the company nowadays increasingly focuses on sales of television sets, which provide standard features such as 3D displays. As part of this strategy, the company has recently announced an extensive reorganization of the unit. The company â€Å"has eliminated 30,000 jobs, entered into joint manufacturing ventures with rivals, and shed assets.† (Edwards, 2011). In addition, the company sold a number of its production plants. 1c. Referring to the structural characteristics of modern television manufacturing industry, the Sony’s strategy may fail in the long run. As discussed, television sets are being largely replaced by the modern computer and mobile phones. At this juncture, it is a cumbersome task for the company to survive the market competition by focusing only on the products’ standard features. 2a. In the words of Tracy, online retail industry is a rapidly growing market sector and this immense growth can be attributed to the industry’s ability to reach millions of potential customers at cheap cost. Market forecasts show that online retail industry would become one of the world’s most profitable industries by 2015. Nowadays, marketers are increasingly focusing on online shopping with intent to serve the interests of customers at a fairly low cost; and this situation is significantly intensifying the competition. Buyer power is higher in the online retail industry because of the stiff market competition whereas suppliers have a weak bargaining power over their clients. However, threat of substitutes is relatively high in the online retail industry although there are a

Corruption in sports Essay Example for Free

Corruption in sports Essay Corruption has been a well known problem of sport and it has touched a lot of walks of sport life. Many people say that these days corruption in sports has escalated and although they see same solutions of this problem it stills very difficult to combat. Our society is well informed about corruption in sports. People from teenagers to the elderly, men and women know that corruption in sports exists. A survey of seventeen people conducted at SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary, Orchard Lake, in September 2001 revealed that knowledge about this issue comes mostly from TV, internet, and newspapers (Survey 2001). According to Eric Christiansen who is a former sports reporter for a local TV station in Nebraska, everybody knows about corruption in todays sports but everybody is afraid to say something against it because it can pose them unnecessary problems (Christiansen, 2001). The problem of corruption in sports is very universal. People are connected with corruption in many ways. For example, two popular sources ESPN and Associated Press say that the presidents of the American Boxing Federation and the French Ski Federation took bribes from sponsors (Graham 1999) (Associated Press [Annecy, France], 28 March 2000). In addition a captain of the South African Cricket National Team admitted to taking a bribe from bookmakers (Associated Press [Cape Town, South Africa], 25 May 2000). The list of countries, sports, and participants involved in athletic corruption is very long, but the list has a common thread which is desire for money and sometimes fame. People dont have too many ideas on how to combat corruption. Almost everyone says that restriction in the law can solve corruption in sports but reality shows that it isnt as easy as it looks (Survey 2001). Almost every day we can read or hear new information about it. The legislative branches of many countries work all the time on new legislations to help combat the problem of corruption. The results are very weak. According to Christiansen, the way to solve this problem is by teaching children that corruption is always bad and giving a good example of an  anti-corrupt life (Christiansen, 2001). This is probably the most reasonable solution for destroying evil at its roots. Finally, protecting the beautiful idea of rivalry through sport from corruption isnt easy. People might know about corruption in sports. They may even have ideas about how to solve the problem. However, the problem of corruption is like a dragon. Cut off one head and seven more grow in its place. You can kill him only before his birth, when he is inside the egg.

Higher education Essay Example for Free

Higher education Essay †¢Assignment # 2 – Comprehensive Case: â€Å"Muffler Magic† Read the â€Å"Muffler Magic† case and write a four-to-five (4-5) page report that answers the following: 1. Specify three (3) recommendations about the functions of recruiting, selection, and training that you think Ron Brown should be addressing with his HR manager now. Currently youre allowing your HR to hire employees without carefully screening each and every candidate, checking their references and work ethic due to such a high demand of staff. Envitably, youre higher mediocre applicants for more than mediocre pay and at the risk of your name and overall profitability. Being able to answer minimal questions shouldnt be enough to be hired as a technician and questions such as what do you think the problem is if a 2001 Camery is overheating? What would you do? should not be enough to secure a position within the company. Muffler Magic offers a range of products and services and engine issues is merely one of the many situations an employee may come across. How do these types of generic questions answer if your applicant is able to fulfill the requirements for muffler replacements, oil changes, and brake jobs? Obviously, from looking at the handful of situational mishaps youve described your HR department is merely hiring whoever walks into the office and in return youre given inaccurate and potentially life threatening break jobs and repairs out of the companies pocket. This is not acceptable and it is no wonder why the company isnt profiting. One of the reasons behinds why you dont necessarily want to adapt or change some crucial points within the company is the money. If you broke down one instance where there was an error made by one of your associates, take the engine for instance a new engine can cost any consumer somewhere in the ballpark of $2,000 to $4,000*not including the benefits or any extra perks. Now lets say that one of these errors happened in every single store then youre looking at $50,000+ worth of mistakes coming out of Magic Mufflers pocket (keep in mind that estimated figure is from 1 mistake). With that type of money, I would imagine you could hire and appropriately train quite a few applicants that would be worth your time and money. I would recommend changing your recruiting, selecting and training standards immediately. Starting with the recruiting aspect of Magic Muffler. Instead of allowing the applicants come  to you, why dont we go above and beyond and seek the preferred applicant. We can still advertise through local newspapers and internet, but we really should be seeking out those employees that have some kind of responsibility and potential retainability. The one major thing I didnt see in the recruiting process youre currently using is zoning in on what type of candidate are you looking forin terms of education level and experience level based upon the types of work they will be working on. One of the huge factors to remember is Presently, vehicles use high-tech computers and complex electronic systems to monitor the performance of the vehicle. A strong sense of understanding concerning the operation of a vehicle, including how each device interacts, as well as the ability to deal with electronic diagnostic equipment and digital reference manuals is key to the success of a technician(http://www. careeroverview. com/auto-mechanic-careers. html) Therefore, Magic Muffler is in need of a qualified individual that is capable of working with UTD automotive machinery and possible situations that could arise. Therefore Magic Muffler should be spending their money recruiting individuals that have successfully completed a vocational training program in automotive service technology(ie:Automotive Youth Education Service (AYES)). For a more advanced position they will need ,in addition to vocational training, stoma kind of Postsecondary automotive technician training whether through a prior company, community college or technical college. Finally other qualifications you should be focused on while recruiting is the ability to diagnose the source of a problem quickly and accurately, good reasoning ability and a thorough knowledge of automobiles, strong communication and analytical skills and good reading, mathematics, and computer skills to study technical manuals with the drive to continuously keep up with new technology and learn new service and repair procedures and specifications. To find these types of applicants I would recommend some type of college recruiting; starting with on campus recruiting and then continuing the recuriting process with an onsite visit. Continuing with the selection process, I think its quite obvious that we should be focusing on a Personality Profile Analysis, which applicants can perform online and follow this up with a PPA(200 HRM BOOK). If you chose not to go that route you can always focus on tests of cognitive abilities (more specifically aptitude testing and motor/physical abilities). If these tests pan out then we should go forward with a background check/reference check. This may seem to be an overwhelming process, but finding the perfect candidates is essential to low turnover rates and high satisfaction level across the board. The next step is to select the applicants that you are satisfied with their performance on the tests, interview and background check. After applicants are chosen and hired, we need to start with an orientation of the company and its overall goals and next is training. Although OTJ training does offer a lot to the employee it is not enough for these types of positions. Considering car technology is constantly advancing there needs to a need to continuously further your mechanics knowledge. As a responsible employer you should send your experienced automotive service technicians to manufacturer training centers to learn to repair new models or to receive special training in the repair of components, such as electronic fuel injection or air-conditioners and even beginner mechanics who show potential may be sent to manufacturer-sponsored technician training programs to upgrade or maintain employees skills. There are of course crucial training necessary, which cannot be offered OTJ and that is electronics training. This is vital because electrical components, or a series of related components, account for nearly all malfunctions in modern vehicles. As the employee continues to thrive the company should offer additional training for possible certifications or advancement opportunities. For example: the ASE certification has become a standard credential for automotive service technicians. While not mandatory for work in automotive service, certification is common for all experienced technicians in large, urban areas. Certification is available in eight different areas of automotive service, such as electrical systems, engine repair, brake systems, suspension and steering, and heating and air-conditioning. For certification in each area, technicians must have at least 2 years of experience and pass the examination. Completion of an automotive training program in high school, vocational or trade school, or community or junior college may be substituted for 1 year of experience. For ASE certification as a Master Automobile Technician, technicians must pass all eight examinations. *http://www. ehow. com/facts_4830630_cost-car-engine-replacement. html 2. Write three (3) questions for a structured interview form that Ron Brown’s service center managers can use to interview experienced technicians. (Note: do not list possible answers. ) As I had said previously asking generic questions are not going to offer you the results in which most employers desire. There are a couple of things that should be kept in mind when creating these questions such as; which type of questions would be more effective in displaying the qualities Muffler Magic desires? Considering HR already has a lot to do with the hiring process, I think the appropriate form of interview would be a structured situational interview. After analyzing the positions and rating the jobs main duties, we would need to create questions reflecting such duties and daily knowledge to perform them. Three questions I would use to test the waters would be: What training(classroom or on the job), have you had with engine, transmission or brake diagnostic equipment? Identify the diagnostic program and was it computer and software based? Have you worked with engine, transmission or brake diagnostic equipment computer and software? What was the diagnostic program and what was your involvement? What experience, knowledge, and skill do you have with air brake systems, anti lock, and heavy-duty truck suspensions? Relate your experience and describe your skills working with school bus, heavy-duty trucks, light duty pick-up truck, and van bodies/Relate your experience and describe your skills working with heavy and medium-duty diesel and gasoline-powered engines and light-duty pick-up truck and van engines. (www. msbo. org/library/HumanRes/Interview/Mech. doc).

Driving Forces For Smartphone Industry

Driving Forces For Smartphone Industry The mobile Internet is growing so fast. There is about 500 million people use the mobile internet worldwide in 2009. The Smartphone will be the most popular method to access the internet than PCs in the next few years. There are more and more people want to have Smartphone instead of desktop or laptop. In Egypt and India this is 70 percent and 59 percent of mobile internet users are mobile-only. Even in the US it is 25 percent. (MobiThinking 2010). Now there are about 150 million presently users log in Facebook from mobile devices. People use Facebook on their mobile devices are twice more active on Facebook than non-mobile users.(Mobithinking 2010) These make the reason of the Smartphone growth very fast recently. Changes in who buys the product and how they use it The target market of the Smartphone is young generation. There are two parts of the young generation that are college students and fresh graduates. College students want to have Smartphone. According to the researcher at Ball State University, there are 49 percent students own a Smartphone at college in 2010, compared with 38 percent in 2009. The 97 percent of students use text messages for their primary communication method and 30 percent of students will use email to communicate to each other. There are about 90 percent of Smartphone users that use their phone to surf the internet. About 97 percent of the users will take and upload photos and 87 percent of the owners will look at videos and upload videos by their Smartphone. (Kelly Truong). Fresh graduates need a Smartphone, too. Fresh graduates continue their habits from the college, but they use their Smartphone on the different way. They use their Smartphone for their work in order to have more efficient than others. The Smartph one can help them check their email anywhere, stay in touch with their office and update the news from office quickly. Increasing globalization of Smartphone industry The demand of the Smartphone is growing rapidly worldwide, because of mobile internet becomes more popular. Gartner expects the worldwide touch-screen mobile device market to top 362.7 million units in 2010, an increase of 96.8 percent over 2009 sales of 184.3 million units. (Michelle Maisto). More and more people start to buy a Smartphone, because of the trend market. Smartphone is going to instead of the traditional phone. Changing societal concerns, attitudes, and lifestyles Smartphone changes the way people used to be. First, the communication between the people is changing. People use social media to communicate to each other. Facebook user base has risen to 430 million year-over-year, roughly the same increase as QQ in China. Twitter, while sporting only 58 million users experienced a 1238% year-over-year growth rate. Facebook now dominates in chat, messaging, video sharing, games, VoIP and more. (MobileBeyond). People want to check the social media instead of text message and give a phone call. For example, Facebook shows a lot of information that people want to express for their days and also upload their photo to their friends. Smartphone can give people to see the latest news from the social media anywhere and anytime. Second, the lifestyle is going to change. People used to go to the bank to make transaction and deposit the check. After we have Smartphone and internet, we can just take a photo with check and upload to your bank. Finally, the atti tude is going to change. People used to buy the products and compare the price in the different stores. It was not convenient and efficiency way to shop. Now you can easily to check the price of the product by using Smartphone that can help you make the right decision to shop. Smartphone is changing our lifestyles, attitudes and societal concerns. Industry life cycle There are five stages of the industry life cycle. In the embryonic stage, the industry starts to begin and develop the product to the public. In the growth stage, the company produces more products and increases the market share. In the shakeout stage, some of competitors start to see the opportunities in this market. In the maturity stage, the product price is stable and more competition comes to market. In the decline stage, the sale of the product decreases until the product innovation or discontinue in the market. (Hill Jones, 2008). The Smartphone industry is in the growth stage. The demand of the Smartphone industry is growing rapidly. The sale of the Smartphone was 174 million units in the 2009; there were 270 million units sold in 2010. In 2011, the sales forecast is going to be double from 2010 to 2011 that means about 500 million units. (Oliver Van Dervoort). The demand of the Smartphone is going up twice than 2010 that make the Smartphone industry is in the growth stage, because of the strong demand of the Smartphone. Internal Analysis Value Chain The value chain is that an organization creates value by performing a series of activities and it represents how each competitive advantage created via an organization adds value to the service or product for each customer. In the HTC Company, RD, Production, Marketing Sales, Customers Service and Human Resource are adding the value to their company. (Hill Jones, 2008). Research and Development HTC extremely concerned about research and development department. In 2009, HTC has nearly one-third of RD personnel which in total HTC personnel. They also invest in R D development about 5% to 7% of the total revenues. HTC also pay attention on their innovation and design. HTC introduced the worlds first Android Smartphone in the Android operating system. After that, HTC also develop the new 4G high speed Smartphone that customer can download or upload their games, picture, video and mobile multimedia fast than before. (HTC Annual Report) In 2010, HTC introduce the worlds first windows phone which is HTC HD2. HTC HD2 has a capacitive touch screen interface and 1 GHz processor. (HTC Annual Report). It allows consumers to enjoy the fast and smooth touch experience and quickly respond to every touch of the action which is a major breakthrough for Windows Mobile phones. It is the worlds first embedded HTC Sense for Windows Mobile; make the phone more intuitive operation. HTC Sense has three core principles for the design -Make it Mine, Stay Close, Discover the Unexpected. The ideal of the HTC Sense is easy to operate in order to attract more customers to buy their Smartphone. HTC develops the product designs to meet china market with China Mobile. In China, TD-SCDMA is Chinas telecommunications industry with independent intellectual property rights of international communications standards. Each of the phones needs to have TD- SCDMA in order to use in china. In 2008, HTC launched their first TD-SCDMA Smartphone in china i n order to extend their market into China. Production HTC is growing so fast. According to the annual report, with worldwide demand for mobile phones expected to continue rising through 2010, we can expect the tight supply situation to continue as well. (HTC Annual Report) HTC needs to make sure their suppliers to increase productivity in order to meet the demand of the market. HTC also needs more manufacturing plants and facilities to meet the increasing demand of HTC products. HTC pay attention on their quality from each of the product that they produce. HTC introduces their new HTC Hero to the market In June 2009. After that HTC Hero has win a lot of awards which are Stuff Magazines -Gadget of the Year award, Mobile Choices- Phone of the Year, T3 Magazines Phone of the Year. During the worlds largest annual Telecommunications industry event, the 2010 Mobile World Congress, HTC Hero was further recognized with the 2010 Best Mobile Handset or Device Award. (HTC Annual Report) As HTC is growing so fast in order to meet the demand of the market, they still focus on their high quality control. Marketing and Sales HTC business is focus on European and North America markets in 2009. There are 48.8% of revenues from North American, 30.4% from European and 20.8% from Asia and other regions. Especially, the annual growth rate is 28.6% in North America which is the most potential markets. HTC development strategy is the current worldwide brand positioning HTC have a good development and increase HTC brand image in order to create long-term competitive advantage HTC. (HTC Annual Report) HTC has different products to meet the different level of the markets. For example, HTCs HD2 is the luxury and high-end product. Second, they have mid-price products which are HTC Tattoo and HTC Touch2 in order to have competitively in their market segment. HTC focus on the Smartphone industry, wireless communication technologies and become more sophisticated in this market. HTC Cooperate with Telecommunication Company to place their phone in the store in order to increase sale of their phones such as Verizon, Sprint and T-mobile. HTC mobile phone now, through Europe, America, Asia, sales of leading carriers and distributors, and has gradually penetrated into the Smartphone market in developing countries such as the Middle East, Central and South America and Russia. (HTC Annual Report) Customer Service HTC opened the worlds first HTC Care Customer Service Center in Taiwan Taipei in 2007. Fred Liu, Chief Operating Officer of HTC said HTC believes that providing superior after-sales support is important to our continuing success, which is why we place such a high degree of importance on HTC Care. In the future, a number of HTC Care centers will be launched in Taiwan and overseas, allowing our customers to enjoy their mobile lifestyles without missing a call, (HTC Annual Report). Customer service center is very valuable for customers. Customer service center can save time and more efficient to solve the problems from customers. Customers can just walk into the center and get personalized consultations by HTC products, Warranty repairs and buy HTCs products. HTC also provides a loaner phone during repair time. Customers do not need to worry about the alternative phone during that period. Human Resources The most valuable asset in HTC is employees. In recent years, HTC hires recruits outstanding talent to its ranks in the areas of product design, user interface, brand promotion and sales and marketing. HTC also hire the professionals employees from Europe and American that make HTC increases their diversity, challenging, vital and encouraging. As of the close of March 2010, HTC employed 8,948 staff worldwide. The 169 non-Taiwanese staff employed by HTC filled 30% of all HTC managerial positions. Non-Taiwanese managerial and technical staff filled 8.3% of all HTC positions worldwide. Women hold 21.4 %of HTCs 557 current managerial positions. (HTC Annual Report)

Polymorphisms of Crystalline Solids :: Chemistry Engineering Science Essays

Polymorphisms of Crystalline Solids Polymorphism is the phenomenon where a compound can precipitate to form numerous crystal structures. Due to space and time limitations, we have decided to confine the scope of this paper to only include polymorphisms of crystalline solids and not include polymorphisms associated with DNA and genetic related topics. It is important in many areas of technology, that people are aware of the presence of polymorphisms and the properties of the different polymorphisms. The different crystalline structures each have different physical properties, which can change the use of the chemical. The physical properties that may differ from one polymorphism to another include: solubility, density, melting point and even color. One of the variables that affect the crystallization process is the solvent that is used in the precipitation. The solvent may cause less stable polymorphisms to form instead of those that are more stable. Predictions can be made as to which polymorphism wil l be formed based on the solvent and its properties. The mixing conditions also have an affect on the formation of various polymorphisms. (Meyerson) Different polymorphisms can also be formed by manipulating the solute concentrations, flows rates, and equipment configurations. Research involving polymorphisms is becoming increasingly important to the pharmaceutical industry due to the number of pharmaceuticals that are prone to polymorphisms, patents on certain polymorphisms, the differing bioavailability of the polymorphisms and the differing effects of the polymorphisms on the body. (Meyerson) During the 1970’s, G.M.J. Schmidt coined the term crystal engineering and defined it as predicting the crystal structure of solid-state organic molecules (Sharma). In 1989, G.R. Desiraju revised the meaning as the â€Å" ‘the understanding of intermolecular interactions in the context of crystal packing and in the legalization of such understanding and the design of new solids with desired physical and chemical properties’ † (Sharma). Crystal engineering has grown to encompass the study of the hardness and color of solids, nanotechnology, protein receptor binding, pharmaceutical development, and polymorphisms (Sharma). Crystals are used in many areas of science, pharmaceuticals, and materials engineering. Crystals differ from many other organic and inorganic materials because of their ability to form polymorphisms.

Katherine Anne Porter Essay -- Authors Writers Biography Essays

Katherine Anne Porter Katherine Anne Porter was born on May 15, 1890 in Indian Creek, Texas. Her mother died when she was two, and she was raised by her father and her paternal grandmother, who assumed the role of Katherine’s mother. Her formal education consisted of convent schools and ended after a year at the Thomas School in San Antonia when she was fifteen. A year later, only sixteen years old, Katherine ran away and married her first husband, John Henry Koontz. Lasting nine years, this was the longest of her three marriages. She left Texas and her husband in 1913 to become an actress in Chicago, and tow years later she contracted tuberculoses. It was upon her recovery that she decided to become a writer. She became a journalist for the Fort Worth Critic in 1917 and then, a year later, joined the staff of the Rocky Mountain New in Denver. It was her subsequent move to Greenwich Village, though, and the influence of its artistic environment, which led Porter to pursue serious fiction writing (w ww.lib.umb.edu/arcv/kapbio). What is commonly considered the first stage of Porter’s literary writing occurred from 1920-1931. During this time Katherine spent many years in Mexico and became involved in Mexican politics and culture. Although Katherine spent no more than a total of three years in Mexico, they provided important material for her writing, most significantly the three short stories â€Å"Maria Conception† (1922), â€Å"The Martyr† (1923), and â€Å"Virgin Violeta† (1924), all of which were published in Century magazine, and which comment on the Obregon Revolution and the theme of betrayal (Unrue, 22-23). These stories helped to further immerse Porter into literary and intellectual circles. In 1930 Flower... ...re self-motivated, without the author’s omnipresence. She has been called â€Å"a maker of darkish parables for her treatment of individuals who are impoverished by the modern environment and also for her use of the themes of guilt, isolation, and spiritual denial. Bibliography Brinkmeyer, Robert H. Katherine Anne Porter’s Artistic Development. Louisiana State University Press; Baton Rouge and London, 1993. Hendrick, George. Katherine Anner Porter. Twayne; New York, New York, 1965. Unrue, Darlene Harbour. Understanding Katherine Anne Porter. University of South Carolina Press; Columbia, South Carolina, 1988. www.kirjasto.sci.fi/kaporter.htm . 02/24/04 www.lib.umd.edu/arcv/kap/kapbio.html . 02/224/04 www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/porter_k.html . 2/23/04 www.csustan.edu/enligh/reuben/pal/chap7/porter.html . 2/22/04