Describe the challenge faced by John Proctor Essay

Describe a challenge faced by a character in the text. Explain how the character dealt with the challenge.  In ‘The Crucible’ by Arthur Millar, many of the characters faced challenges. One character who was faced with challenge was the protagonist John Proctor. He faced the challenge of trying to keep his reputation intact in the face of a judgemental Puritanical community ruled by superstition and religious intolerance. The fact that he had an illicit affair with a young woman named Abigail was a major obstacle to clearing his ‘good name’ along with the fact that his wife Elizabeth lied under oath in court to try to protect him. John Proctor was faced with the decision between life and death to deal with the challenge of trying to clear this ‘good name’ John Proctor, the protagonist, had the major challenge of trying to deal with his adulterous affair with Abigail, the key anatagonist in the play. Abigail envied John’s current wife Elizabeth and she wanted to take her place. When Abigail had the chance to accuse people of being witches, Elizabeth was her first victim. Proctor however had to ruin his good name in order to accuse Abigail of faking her claims. To do this though was a challenge he faced as he was a man with high morals and didn’t want to ruin his name. A further challenge that John Proctor faced was when his wife Elizabeth was accused of witchcraft and had to testify to clear his name. When his wife Elizabeth was arrested after she was accused by Abigail of being a witch, Proctor knew he could have stopped this trial from continuing. He had the option of telling the court that the trial is a sham because he had an affair with Abigail and that she was out for revenge after Elizabeth kicked her out of the Proctor household and also because Proctor firmly rejected her saying â€Å"I will cut off my hand before I reach for you again†. The problem was if Proctor admitted his affair with Abigail, his reputation will be ruined. Eventually he finally admitted his affair saying â€Å"God help me, I lusted† implying that he regrets having an affair, but it was too little too late as the trials were no longer in his hands and was controlled by the court. The reason why it was difficult for John Proctor to clear his name Religious intolerance was rife in the Puritannical town of Salem and the court system was based on Biblical law. and you were either with or against God and like Danforth said â€Å"you are either with or against the courts†, you can only support one side. It is hard for Proctor to keep his reputation clean because of this reason. When he testified against Abigail, he put his reputation at stake. Eventually he is betrayed by Mary Warren and his final words â€Å" it is a whores vengeance† states that the court is based on myths not facts and Abigail is only doing this for revenge in Proctor’s final attempt to turn the courts. In the end, the final challenge that Proctor faced was whether to live or die to clear his name. When he was declared a witch by the religious court, he had the option of either signing a confession admitting to this or going to the gallows. Initially, he signed the confession but then ripped it up when he realised it would ruin his reputation and he felt guilt over the others who had been falsely accused. after his plea â€Å"give me my name, I have given you my soul† is rejected. At this point Hale the witch-hunter feels guilty about his actions and pleads to Elizabeth to make him confess; all she did was say â€Å" he’ll have his goodness now, god forbid I take it from him† stating that it was his choice and she can’t take it from him.  Therefore, through the circumstances that Proctor had, he dealt with the situations with courage and dignity. He managed to redeem himself from his earlier sins and keeping his reputation clean by choosing to hang rather than living in shame and having nothing to live for. In this way Proctor has ended his life full of pride and having his reputation clean.

Causes of Conflict Essay

Scarce resources are very important to the country. It is a source of revenue for the country and it can be sold off for money and as raw resources for industrialization. Thus, countries would want to compete for scarce resources. An example would be the Iceland-britian conflict. As Iceland depends on the fishing industry for survival, its source of revenue comes from the fish caught. In 1970s, the number of fish, especially cod, dropped by 1/3 and these were due to the over fishing of Belgium, german and britian on Iceland seas. Thus, Iceland has came up with measures in controlling the number of fish caught to the UN but most were ignored. As 79% of the total export comprises of fresh fish and fish products, it is important for Iceland to maintain a sustainable levels of fish stocks in the seas around Iceland. Source of economic survivals is threatened, Iceland had to fight to ensure that this source of natural resource is sustained. This conflict resulted in Iceland breaking displomatic ties with britian. When a country’s scarce resources is being threatened, they have to fight back as it is their main source of revenue and survival. Losing the main source of scarce resource ewould lead to economic downfall, jobs and livelihood at stake resulting in poverty Different values and benefits. Countries fight over different values and benefits due when they feel that it is being threatened by others. This is evident in the Korean war. Korea is being separated into 2 halves in the 38th parallel after the Japanese surrended in the 1945. The Russian occupied the north of parallel and the American occupied the south of parallel. Attempt of un to establish a single government failed as the north parallel did not want to have an election in the north. North korea was then created and became a communist party whereas south korea was then created and became democratic party. Both the government claimed that they both have the rights to rule the Korean peninsula. China, afraid that the north korea would be influenced by the south korea’s democractic system, helped and supported north korea in the war of north korea and south korea to spread communism. This showed that when countries come into conflict to extend their balue systems to other territories and also protect their value systems from being threatened to fight back

Meat Tenderizer Essay

Which type of meat will tenderize most using cola drinks? Aim: -To help Namibians use a cheaper, easier and always available type of meat tenderizer. Hypothesis: Beef will tenderize most. Background: In my research,†Phosphoric Acid†, the main ingredient of cola drinks, is assumed to be of high enough concentration to deteriorate a piece of meat. So in this experiment, I want to prove if cola drinks can tenderize meat and what type of meat can it tenderize most. Plan: The plan is to come up with my researches and seek help from others. Then, I have to understand every single step from the start until the end, to reach to my conclusions. -Variables * The independent variable in this experiment is the kind of meat using: * BEEF * PORK * CHICKEN * The controlled variables are the following: * Cola drink’s quantity * Meat’s weight * Bowl’s size Meetings & Discussions: At first, I researched for experiments that can be done and I ask myself how cola drinks can clean rust and by that I found out that it was because of phosphoric acid. So, that brought me up to the idea of this experiment. Time Schedule: 5PM| Start of experiment| | Midnight| Observance| Recorded and investigated| 8AM-NEXT DAY| observance| Investigated| 10AM- NEXT DAY| Observance| Research and recorded| 5PM-NEXT DAY| Results| Recorded | *The experiment was 24hrs. Controls: -The meat has the same grams. -The same number of hours on the meat used. -The same amount of Coke poured on the meat. Material & Apparatus used: 1. Meat: 60grams of Pork, beef and chicken 2. 330 ml can of cola (3cans). 3. Bowls of the same kind and size. 4. Weighing scale 5. Chopping board and knife Experimental Work: -Weigh the meat separately. The scale of the meat should be 60 grams. Place the meat in bowls. Observe the colour, smell and texture. -With a help, add the 330 ml coke in each meat at the same time. -Observe what happens every time you see it. -Final observance is after 24 hours. -After 24 hours, observe the colour, smell, scale and texture. -Take out all the meat from the bowl and use a chopstick to feel, what meat is the softens (tenderize). Further Invest igations: -At first I had salmon. : I changed it to chicken. -The weighing scale was not working properly. : We bought a new one. -We added 2 cups of coke only, which was really little : We used 330 ml can of cola. Evaluation/Reflection: -I should have compared 4-5 meats, instead of 3 only. -I should have made the correct amount of cola(Exact amount). -I should have made the right scale. Results: 5PM: (START OF EXPERIMENT) 1-Most 2-More/Medium 3-Least MEAT| APPEANCE OF BUBBLES AFTER PORING| FLOAT| SMELLS LIKE -| COLOUR| Pork| 1| 3| Cola| Light Red/Pink| Beef| 3| 2| Cola| Red| Chicken| 2| 1| Cola| Light Pink| MIDNIGHT: MEAT| APPEARANCE OF BUBBLES| Pork| 1| Beef| 3| Chicken| 2| AROUND 8AM (THE NEXT DAY): -Pork sank. 10AM: N. B. Sedimentation is the process by which particles in suspension in liquid form sediment. Sediment is a material, originally suspended in a liquid, that settles at the bottom of the liquid when it is left standing for a long time. MEAT| SEDIMENTATION| Pork| 1| Beef| 2| Chicken| 3| RESULTS AT 5PM: N. B. Supernatant is usually a clear liquid above material deposited by sedimentation, precipitation, or centrifugation. MEAT| SUPERNATANT(CLEAR)| SEDIMENTS| TOP BUBBLES| Pork| 1| 1| 1| Beef| 2| 2| 2| Chicken| 3| 3| 3| MEAT| SCALE AFTER EXPERIMENT| SMELL| COLOUR| Pork| 60grams| None| Lighter than before/Light brown or pink| Beef| 60grams| A little bit of cola| Pale| Chicken| 60grams| Spoiled meat| Same colour as before/Light pink| MOST TENDERIZE: PORK BEEF CHICKEN Interpretation of results: 5AM: After pouring the coke in the bowl, I observed that the pork has more bubbles than the two. The pork sank, but the chicken and beef floated. MIDNIGHT: When I checked at midnight, I saw that the coke has a lot of bubbles at the top; beef has a few, while chicken has none- only in some places of the chicken. 10AM: I observed that the cola in the pork went below the bowl (sedimentation) and the top of it was clear (supernatant). The cola in the beef was also having sediments below the bowl, but not like pork. The top of it was really blurred. The cola in the chicken has neither sedimentation nor supernatant. 5PM: I observed that the colour of the pork became lighter than the original colour. I smelled it but there was no sense of smell there. The colour of beef became pale than the original one, and the smell was a bit of cola. The colour of chicken stayed as it is and it smelled like spoiled meat. I took out all the meat from the bowls and observed†¦ I scaled it all, and the scale was the same as before- 60grams. I used a toothpick to test which type of meat was tenderize most†¦. I observed that the chicken was really hard and it seemed like it was not tenderized at all. Beef was soft at some parts, but some parts are not. I observed that pork was the softest, which means it is the most tenderized meat. Conclusions: -In this experiment pork was tenderized most because the whole part of the meat sank in a cola drink, which therefore can be a good tenderizer. Problems and Solutions: -I did not get to find out the correct scale of meat, so I researched and asked help from elderly. -I did not know the correct amount of cola, so I researched. Skills Learned: -Not being shy to seek help from others. -Continue to what I am doing before going to another work. -Manage my time. -Cola drinks can tenderize meat because of phosphoric acid/we can tenderize meat easily and cheap. -Pork was tenderized most because it was the type of meat that sank and absorbed most cola in the experiment (In this case, I disapprove with my hypothesis). Bibliography: Tolman J. (UNKNOWN YEAR). Experiments with Meat and Cola (Retrieved 23 April 2012) http://www. ehow. com Acknowledgements: -Ms. Daisy Cortez, my Natural Science teacher -My mom & dad -My uncle

Discuss the concept of marketing myopia and its benefits and Essay

Discuss the concept of marketing myopia and its benefits and limitations for a company - Essay Example They focused on products instead of customer requirements. This lack of vision and the customer dissatisfaction paved the way for the success of the auto industry on the highways. Further, the construction of super highways has created better medium for freight and passenger traffic, posing a formidable competition for the railways. Similarly, when small cars were introduced in the US market by Japanese companies, they became a hit in the first year of their introduction. Though there had been major researches going on for a long time in the US, none of them were able to find out what exactly the customers wanted. They focused on what was the best alternative available for a customer of the available options. They totally ignored customer requirements. Their researches focused on the product, not on customer requirements. Marketing Myopia occurs when a marketer is excessively preoccupied with product development, manufacturing or selling and ignores customer needs wants and interests. Marketing is a long-term function that involves anticipating a change in the future, and planning for it accordingly (Saxena, 1997). Another example that is apt quoting in this context of marketing myopia is that of the pager industry and radio broadcasting. Pager companies could not foresee technology changes and changing customer expectations and adapt themselves to fulfil customer expectations while mobile companies fulfilled the needs and succeeded in the market. Most companies that did not consider customers’ needs and preferences have suffered losses. With the changing times, a good marketer needs the vision to be on top of the changes and trends. Theodore Levitt in his book The Marketing Imagination has cited four conditions for business obsolescence as a result of marketing myopia. The following are the conditions: 1. The belief of

This represents one assignment, comprised of 4 related papers, each Thesis

This represents one assignment, comprised of 4 related papers, each between 10 - 15 pages - Thesis Example 363). Thus, theories are an expression of specifically defined domains that offer explanations of how and why causal links are formed â€Å"so that the theory gives specific predictions† (Wacker, 1998, p. 364). More particularly, theory is a â€Å"limited and fairly precise picture† (Wacker, 1998, p. 364). The limited and precise picture informed by theory is based on how terms, domains, links/relationships and predictions/assumptions are defined (Wacker, 1998, p. 364). In this regard, theories by definition are operational. As Wacker (1998) explains, a theory answers the questions of â€Å"how, when (or where), and why† which is distinguished from descriptive objectives which merely answers the questions of â€Å"what (or who)† (Wacker, 1998, p. 364). Gelso (2006) offers a more condensed definition of theory and in doing so defines theory as â€Å"a statement of the suspected relationship between and among variables† (p. 458). From this perspective, theories are expected to be present in just about all aspects of research. In other words, in all research it should be anticipated that variables should be linked in one form or another. However, Gelso (2006) cautions that theories can be either informal or formal. Informal theories do not contain explicit statements and lack objectives for formulating a â€Å"logically consistent and mutually interdependent body of knowledge† (Gelso, 2006, p. 458). According to Gelso (2006) a theory will have scientific value if it is able to reveal why it is anticipated that variable s will be related or will have an impact on each other. There must also be logical rationales for anticipating the link between and impact of variables (Gelso, 2006). In this regard, theory functions in four main ways: descriptive, delimiting, generative and integrative (Gelso, 2006). The

Ethical Issues in Marriage, Sexuality and Family Essay

Ethical Issues in Marriage, Sexuality and Family - Essay Example Generally, ethics is about determining and differentiating the good acts from the bad acts, developing good and accepted characters among people and fostering social order (Robin 20). Ethical issues Within the social structure, ethics is very much linked to marriage, sexuality and family. Ethics gives a guideline on what is expected of the contract union between husband and wife. Traditionally, marriage has been perceived as a lifelong committed relationship between a man and a woman with the purpose of procreation and upbringing of children with allowance of divorce only where any progeny have reached their maturity (McNeil, 198). However with introduction of new technology, this definition has been challenged and is loosing its meaning in the ethic. The universal acceptance of the contraceptives as a morally legitimate option that facilitates reproduction of children to be an optional choice for the married couples has brought a new face to the traditional marriage (Gallagher, 34). Marriage is no longer based on procreation achievement only but rather on ones happiness, pleasure and gain. Marriage has lost its ethical value in the society and adopted the contract perspective where couples can stay together and divorce or part ways at the will of either of the contracting party. Today, marriage is not necessarily a contract between people of the opposite sex but rather even people of the same sex (Cleves, 48). Homosexual and lesbian unions do as well qualify as marriages since today marriage is simply a contract between two parties that want to live together and not necessarily with the aim of procreation. This situation has been encouraged with the introduction of the new technologies that has seen people of the opposite sex using contraceptives to avoid procreation. At the same time, the scientific methods have made it possible for people of the same sex like the lesbian to also procreate and bear children (Allsopp & O’Keefe 78). Although this trend i s highly gaining popularity, it is still seen as in ethical for people of the same sex neither to marry nor to reproduce through the modern technologies that are seen as away of offending God who created human beings and advocated for opposite sex marriage as well as procreation. The sexual differentiation issue brings the debate of doing the good or bad in human being as per the ethics that do exists. The moral of doing well as in regard to sexual differentiation and reproduction is of importance since sex is a biological characteristic that is based with procreation. However sexuality faces ethical threat due to the fact that at the moment, developments in science and technology has made it possible for people to have sexual intercourse without necessary aiming to conceive a child (Aertsen 65). Also contemporary reproductive technologies have made it possible for people to conceive without necessarily engaging into sexual intercourse. This has witnessed severed relationship betwee n the link of sexual intercourse and that of procreation since they no longer depend on one another but they can be achieved independently of one another. Today people engage in sexual activities without the concern of being a father and mother but as personal preference to meet their desires (Gallagher 40). Naturally, men are supposed to be sexually attracted to women and women should be attracted to men. Today, men are attracted to follow men while women are attracted to fellow women and this has led to sexuality loosing its ethical standards and

Globalization debate Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Globalization debate - Assignment Example Some of the major factors that have necessitated the globalization process include advances in telecommunication and transportation infrastructure, the emergence and prosperity of the internet and telegraph technology, etc. These factors have played an essential role in the process of generating independence in the form of cultural and economic activities. The globalization process continues to influence business practices in various ways. Some of them include production, supply chain management, and marketing. In addition, it also defines the process of management of employees in businesses across industries. The process of globalization describes different dynamic phenomena that share similarities in various elements. First, the process cuts across national boundaries into other regions found far and beyond. Secondly, it causes increased integration and interdependence in human societies across the world. The globalization process often results in increased flows in the factors of production, most of which include labor and capital, products in the form of services and goods,and technology in national economies (Bernard 2003, 68). Globalization plays an essential role in influencing employment practices and workers in different countries. This paper examines the concept of globalization, and influences employees and employee management systems in organizations in both the developed and developing countries. One of the chief channels by which globalization affect developing countries is the existing labor market. It is important to realize that competition in the provision of goods and services, exchange rates, direct investments, and different forms of capital movements play an important role in labor earnings and employment in developing countries. In the processing of becoming competitive, developing countries break their trade

The freedom I value most. is the freedom of speech Essay

The freedom I value most. is the freedom of speech - Essay Example It is through the freedom of speech that tyrannical leaders who defy and maltreat their subjects are brought to account. In addition, freedom of speech is such an important human right in that it provides an avenue for business transactions. Freedom of speech has also enabled individuals negotiate and seek for peace in cases of misunderstanding among parties. Moreover, freedom of speech provides a favorable channel through which citizens of particular countries participate in decision making and ensure continued existence of democracy within their societies (Allport 14). Freedom of speech has been integral in shaping global politics as journalists use it as a tool to unravel hidden or corrupt activities of politicians (Kenneth 5). Freedom of speech has also assisted in the efforts to reduce corruption and discrimination within various societies. Additionally, freedom of speech has led to the development of equality across all genders as the interested parties are free to air their views and follow up to the achievement of the missions. In conclusion, the freedom of speech is the mother and foundation of all rights enjoyed by human beings. It is the foundation of every development in various spheres of life from political, social and cultural spectrums. Freedom of speech is the main liberator of human kind. It is also the factor of evolution and revolutions currently witnessed in parts of the world where human free will is

Tort Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Tort Law - Essay Example Are the current statutory and common law mechanisms sufficient to protect privacy interests of individuals? Main challenges individual face in bringing actions against invasions of their privacy in English courts. Shifting focus of reforms on civil law from questions, standards of liability to issues of civil procedure and damages. Challenges of procedure and damages in bringing actions to protect individuals privacy 3. Protecting privacy in the modern age Individual privacy in the modern age: challenges of protecting privacy. Relationship between internet and media and individual privacy protection. What changes can be made on the law to protect individuals’ privacy. Is the blame for the English law to achieve its duty to protect individual’s privacy blamed on media? 4. Privacy law reforms in the United Kingdom Press and individual privacy. Regulation of press for reforms in the UK for purposes of protecting privacy interests rather than the role of civil law in protec tion of privacy interests ( Joint Select Committee report –Chapter five and the Leveson report 2002) 5. Right to Privacy and freedom of expression Rights to privacy and freedom of expression: the conflicts arising from rights to privacy and freedom of expression in relation to individuals’ privacy (Mosley v News group Newspaper Ltd (2008) EMLR20). Media and the freedom of expression. ... m in order to protect the privacy of individuals.† Discuss Introduction In the old common law individuals are entitled to full protection in person and in property. However, there have been no clear definitions as to the extent of this protection.1 Personal privacy has been invaded with the introduction of instant photographs and newspapers. According to Hughes people are now afraid that what they do or speak in secret may come out into the public domain, if new laws are not put in place to protection individual invasion to privacy.2 The law of tort provided individual with remedy from life and property interference. The right to life only gave individuals protection from battery of all forms. With the recognition of the spiritual, intellect and human feelings legal rights have become broad. Laws have been formulated to protect individuals from offensive noise, odour, dust, smoke and excessive vibrations.3 Statutes and laws English law did not recognize the right to privacy4. I t relied heavily on law of trespass, nuisance, defamation and malicious falsehood to protect individual privacy5. Development of statutes such as Protection from Harassment Act 1997, The Data Protection Act 1998 and the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 saw increased advancement in the protection of privacy. With evolution of law it has become clear to individual that hurt, satisfaction and gains in life do not originate from the tangible things. This has therefore led to the legal appreciation of individuals’ opinions, sentiments and feelings. The growth in the common law has allowed judges to afford compulsory defence without having to ask for directions from the parliament.6 Introduction of tort on privacy in the English law Privacy deals with individuals’ information’s and

The way that law interacts with law enforcement Essay

The way that law interacts with law enforcement - Essay Example Criminal Justice System â€Å"A criminal justice system is a set of legal and social institutions for enforcing the criminal law in accordance with a defined set of procedural rules and limitations.† â€Å"The phrase criminal justice system refers to a collection of federal, state, and local public agencies that deal with the crime problem. These agencies process suspects, defendants, and convicted offenders and are interdependent insofar as the decisions of one agency affect other agencies. The basic framework of the system is provided by the legislative, judicial, and executive branches of government.† (Kirsten DeBarba) The system consists of the crime, the accused, the courts and then the jail where the accused is sent in case he is found guilty of committing the crime. It is the entire paradigm within which the focus lies on finding out the real culprit of the crime and involves various stages through which the accused is sent in order to determine the real cause of the crime committed. There is a certain criminal law which determines the entirety of the criminal justice system, and it is within the law through which the various bodies within the system work collectively. It has various sub-systems, and this paper shall be focussing on three broad categories and then identify the role of each and every body singularly. The bodies are as follows: 1. Law 2. Courts 3. Jail 4. Police Department 5. Prosecution and the Defence The above are broad categories within which the system is divided, and the paper shall focus on the relationship between law and the courts and jail on a collective basis. The paper shall compare each and every element exclusively with law and how it works in the real world. (What is Law Enforcement) Criminal Law: Let us first examine criminal law to understand the law behind curbing criminal activities, and how do we define such activities in the paradigm of criminal legislations. Criminal law has been designed to seek punish ment for the crimes which are committed by the citizens of the society, and it has a procedure code which allows for a process to take place in the lieu of providing justice. The law is designed in such a way that it allows for all the crimes which might be committed in the society to fall under its ambit. The law is only the beginning when it comes to curbing the crime, where it is just the starting point in the entire procedure to prevent the crime from happening. The law is a code which contains various clauses designed to punish the wrongdoer in each and every circumstance. (Law Enforcement and Crime) â€Å"Criminal law envelops the criminal procedure employed when charging, trying, sentencing and imprisoning defendants convicted of crimes, as well as regulation concerning how suspects are investigated, charged and tried. Criminal law is typically enforced by the government. The state, through a prosecutor, initiates the suit. Some subcategories of criminal law include Substant ive Criminal law; Criminal Procedure; and the special problems and issues arising in administration and enforcement of criminal justice.† (Crime and Law Enforcement) Courts The courts have a very specific role to play while dealing with law in criminal procedure. It is the duty of the court to be unbiased in its judgement and give both the parties a chance to be heard in essence. Courts usually listen to the prosecutor and the defence, and make their judgement

Timothy McVeigh Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Timothy McVeigh - Case Study Example As such, this brief analysis will consider the type of evidence that used against McVeigh by the prosecution as well as an enumeration of the converse evidence that the defense sought to use a means of casting doubt into the minds of the jurors with regards to the case. The prosecution relied primarily on a combination of physical and eyewitness testimony from those that either new McVeigh personally or professionally. One of the witnesses that the prosecution called was that of Jennifer McVeigh; Timothy McVeigh’s own sister. Her testimony regarding the letters that McVeigh had sent her concerning his fury and rage over the actions of the United States government and the means by which he ultimately sought to rectify this evil were of primal importance for helping to paint McVeigh’s act as something that was highly premeditated and filled with rage and anger that, in his mind, necessitated revenge. However, Jennifer McVeigh’s testimony was not so clean as one may like to think due to the fact that the defense was able to prove that she had lied under great duress to the FBI in prior statements (Roebuck & Gest 1997). This was proven to be a function of the fact that when they had first interviewed her, they had done so for 8-10 hours per day for 8 days straight; continually threatening her that if she did not comply completely they would charge her with treason or any other number of federal crimes that were ultimately punishable by the death penalty. As such, the way in which this witness was utilized by the prosecution was highly suspect with regards to whether she was telling the truth or a version of the truth that the prosecution felt would be the most useful to the case. However, the most detailed account of McVeigh’s motives and eyewitness testimony to hearing these motives expounded was that of Michael J. Fortier; one of Timothy McVeigh’s old Army friends. Among other information that Michael J. Fortier was able to enga ge the jury and the prosecution with was the fact that McVeigh had told him that McVeigh’s hatred for the government had reached such proportions that he intended to blow up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building as a means of causing â€Å" a general uprising in America† (Esposito 1998). Conversely, the testimony of the Fortiers, both Michael and his wife, was sought to be discredited by the defense due to the fact that they were known drug users who also could have easily been blackmailed by the government to testify against their former friend based upon the grounds that long prison sentences could have faced them had they chosen to refuse. Furthermore, evidence that was provided by the written and sworn statements of the Fortiers showed that they had repeatedly changed their earlier statements with regards to the key instances of the bomb plot and of their knowledge about its proceedings. With regards to the physical evidence that was presented, the prosecution soug ht to utilize the fact that explosive residue was found on the jeans, t-shirt, and earplugs that McVeigh was wearing at the time of his arrest (Cohen 1998). Further physical evidence was revealed to have shown McVeigh’s fingerprint on a receipt for approximately 1 ton of ammonium nitrate used to make the bomb. Further, VIN numbers from the Ryder truck rented under an alias were found

“Inevitable vs. Amendable” Essay Example for Free

â€Å"Inevitable vs. Amendable† Essay The film â€Å"Inequality for All† tries to explain; what is the current status of the distribution of wealth and that of income equality? Why this is happening and if this is a problem. Yes, as stated in the film, social inequality is inevitable. But, there is without a doubt a problem with United States distribution of wealth. One of the facts that really opened my eyes was the fact that the 400 richest Americans, together hold more wealth than the poorest 150 million Americans have together. This said, it is scary to think about how obscure was the knowledge we had on the one percent with given how much economic influence they have. The minimum wages vs. growth of productivity graph is one that I found very interesting. Why is â€Å"just† in today’s society to be part a more productive workforce that gets paid less than the workforce we had a few decades ago? The line graph for productivity growth is rising every year, meaning that more work is being done. On the other hand, the minimum wages growth rates were rising but after a while they seem to have plateau and they have been like this for about 30 years. Advances in globalization and technology are also inevitable because it is simple economics that a product shall be produced in the cheapest way possible. Yes, technology does create jobs but as we see in the film companies like Amazon are also opting to operate with high tech machinery instead of the traditional assembly line. Women going to work, general workforce working for longer hours and borrowing money from the financial sectors are coping mechanisms that the middle class used to keep up with their good lifestyles, but in my opinion these are more like defense mechanisms in order to survive in the concrete jungle with the same wages they had 30 years ago. One other comparison that I liked was how the widening inequality leads to a deficiency cycle and when the wealth is equally distributed economic stability is transfused from sector to sector creating a domino effect leading to a virtuous cycle.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty: An Evaluation

Innocent Until Proven Guilty: An Evaluation This claim is very similar to that of Blackstones ratio, which simply states that it is better that ten guilty persons escape, than that one innocent suffer When taken at face value, it simply means that no one should be punished for any alleged crime, unless it can be proven that they are guilty. This is so that justice can be done, where no innocent should suffer for anothers crime. Although it sounds logical and fairly straight forward, before we agree with the claim, we should seek to understand each detail of the claim, where the claim implies, and the consequences of the eventuation of the claim. Interpretation and Analysis As discussed above, the general idea of the claim is that everyone is innocent until proven guilty. The claim implies that as long as there is any doubt, however insignificant, that a defendant is guilty, he should be released, lest he be unjustly incarcerated. By using the word incarcerated instead of using more specific words like imprison, it opens up several other possible meanings to the claim. The other possible meanings would be confinement or, in other words, placed under detention. The claim also failed to specify the time frame, so it is also implying that innocent persons should not be unjustly incarcerated, even for the shortest period of time. In this context, it can be linked to that of Australias detention orders under the anti terrorism law, which allows a person to be detained for 24 hours, with the option for the order to be extended for a total period not exceeding 48 hours. This, in itself, is controversial, as it is said to infringe the personal rights of liberty of individuals. Sadly, a world where no innocents are unjustly punished is a utopian one. Indeed, it is the ideal scenario when only the guilty is punished, and the innocent walks free. That is what the justice system is about. However, this is not always the case, and there is always a possibility that an innocent person is found guilty. An example of such a case would be DOrta-Ekenaike v Victorian Legal Aid, when the plaintiff was unjustly convicted due to bad legal advice given by the Victorian Legal Aid  [2]  . In fact, in many criminal cases, there is always a small chance that, however ridiculous the argument or explanation the defence puts up, it could be actually true, and that the defendant is truly innocent. Therefore, in order to ensure that truly no innocent is punished by mistake, the defendant must be allowed to go free in such cases, no matter how probable that he is guilty of the accused crime. This is the exact scenario which the claim seems to suggest at face value, where it is better that fifty guilty persons walk free than a single innocent person be unjustly incarcerated, and this might lead to the breakdown of the justice system, when the accused would simply conjure up some story to use as defence in court, hence raising doubt about their guilt, so that they would get acquitted. The claim also failed to mention the type of crime which the fifty persons allowed to walk free were guilty of. The scenario the claim suggests might be within limits which are reasonable if it is for relatively minor offences such as littering or parking offences, but it is an entirely different story if the crimes of the fifty guilty people include serious offences such as murder. This raises the question on whether it is worth the personal rights of the person, to uphold justice for this one innocent person, and in turn, opening up the possibility that fifty violent psychopaths being allowed to walk free to wreak havoc in society. Even if it is argued that it is not necessary that all fifty people are those guilty of serious crimes, the damage that even just one serial murderer can do is very significant. We just cannot afford to let one serial murderer walk free, much less fifty, for the stability and peace within our society. In light of the terrorist acts on the September 11, 2001, as well as the subsequent acts of terror around the world, it raises another problem to the claim. The damage that a single terrorist could wreak in our society could possibly be beyond what many of us can imagine. Even if just one of the hypothetical guilty people who are released is a terrorist, much less fifty, there would be serious implications to our society as a whole. The terrorist, with an agenda to create as much terror as he can, could detonate bombs in crowded areas like what happened in the Bali bombings, go on a shooting spree or even disrupt important conferences which involves world leaders. Not only will these result in loss of numerous lives, it will also tarnish the nations reputation in the eyes of other countries, especially if it involved the leaders of other nations, and this, in turn would have negative economic consequences, an example being the decline in the number of tourists. Therefore, in these times of turmoil and terror, perhaps, if the incarceration, be it temporary or permanent, of one innocent along with the fifty guilty people would be the key factor in preventing a terrorist attacks which would possibly result in numerous loss of lives, perhaps, ignoring the personal rights of the individual, it is the better alternative than letting all of them walk free, with possibly disastrous consequences. Evaluation and Inference The claim can be related to many of the theories we have learnt in the course, the most prominent one being liberalism, which is linked to human rights. It also can be related to the theory of natural law, as well as utilitarianism, which focuses more on the morals of the consequences rather than that of the action itself. From the natural law point of view, which focuses on the ethics of ones actions rather than the consequences, the laws of the state which goes against the values set out in Gods law, or based on principles of justice, are morally wrong. Laws made by the state should follow the set of values, or they would not be just law. Some things are just plain morally wrong, such as the wartime atrocities under the German law, and most people, if not all, would agree. The punishment of an innocent individual, as suggested by the claim, although nowhere as serious as the former, is still morally wrong in the eyes of most people. It is even stated in the Bible in Genesis 18:23-32 that God would not punish the innocent, and that if ten innocent and just people are found within the city, God would not destroy the city for their sake.  [3]  Therefore it can be said that in the eyes of natural law, the claim is perfectly just, and that laws made by the state should adhere to the principles laid do wn by the claim. From the liberalism point of view, which emphasises on individual rights, the unjust incarceration of an individual, regardless of the duration, would be an infringement of the rights of the individual. In fact, by the incarceration of the individual, it already goes against a number of rights listed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, examples being Article 11, where everyone is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty, and Article 13, where everyone has freedom of movement within the boundaries of each state.  [4]  These are fundamental human rights which everyone is presumed to have, and it can be disturbing to suggest that some of this rights are being violated in a first world country, such as Australia. Examples would be the preventive detention order, control orders as well as questioning warrants in Australia, where individuals, in some cases even those without suspicion, may be detained for questioning.  [5]   However, the two perspectives mentioned above does not take into account the consequences of the actions. From the utilitarianism point of view, the most moral action would be the one which would benefit the most number of people in the end, instead of focusing on the morality of the act itself. This could be seen as for the benefit of communal wellbeing, which brings about the commonly heard phrase for the greater good. If by detaining the group of people, inclusive of the fifty guilty people as well as one innocent person, and as a result, terrorist attacks could be avoided, then in the eyes of the utilitarian, it is the act that is the most moral. In fact, by the very same Universal declaration of rights mentioned earlier, it is mentioned in Article 2 that Everyone has the right to security of the person.  [6]  Since in this scenario, it is impossible to be entitled to all the rights listed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is ultimately better to choose the out come which end up benefiting the most people. Since somebody is going to suffer in the end, it might as well be that innocent individual, rather than the whole of society being affected as a result. Of course, some people might point out the individual rights of the hypothetical innocent person. and the justification for the incarceration. They might even enquire how is it even permissible that the innocent can be incarcerated even without being proven that he is guilty. However, looking back in time, when man first came together to form society, they had to give up part of their liberty in exchange for stability when they had to follow the law, so that they are able to live peacefully in turn. In light of the terrorist attacks, each of us should be prepared to give up a bit more of our rights, so that we are able to have the peace of mind and live in security. It is due to the nature of the terrorist attacks, which we have to take extra precautions, as there can be almost no warning when a terrorist will strike, and when it does happen, the damage would be massive. It is not always possible to find sufficient evidence in time to detain the suspected terrorists, and new anti ter rorism laws had to be introduced to allow the detention of suspected terrorists without the need for evidence, and it is inevitable that innocents would be detained by mistake as well. This is further justified, when Australia is near the top of the terrorists hit list, and the danger of such attacks occurring in the country is very real indeed.  [7]  The possibility of being incarcerated by mistake, along with the actual guilty people is a risk we must be all be prepared to take, so that we can enjoy continued peace. Reflection When I first started working on the essay, my original intention was to write revolving around the issue of human rights. I actually intended to write in support for the human rights of the innocent individual, as in reality, no reasonable person would want to be put under detention even without being proven to be guilty. This, I believe, would be the more popular mindset, and the more popular perspective. It is also one of the reasons why I chose to study law, which is to fight for the rights of others, and for a small duration of time, I was focused on planning my essay argument solely towards that direction. Although I am not a fan of the utilitarian perspective, being from a Christian background and having the beliefs that the morality is all about the actions of the individual, throughout the course of planning and writing the essay I have realised that the consequences of the scenario suggested by the claim are also extremely important, and a balance has to be struck between the morality of the action and that of the consequences. Having held leadership appointments in the Singapore Armed Forces, I also understand that some measures, although harsh and unpopular, are necessary for the security and wellbeing of the society. This has also helped me to understand that the threat of terrorism is very real, and that the peace we are living in now should not be taken for granted. This essay has also revealed myself as a open-minded individual, as I was willing to reconsider my own views and beliefs throughout the course of writing this essay. The essay also revealed showed that I am courageous, by challenging the viewpoints which are commonly taken for granted, as well as taking up an unorthodox perspective. Conclusion Therefore, perhaps in these times of terror, and with Australia running the real risk of being hit by terrorist attacks, letting fifty people go free so that no innocents are incarcerated would be inappropriate. Although I support the laws allowing individuals to be detained even without being proved to be guilty due to the sheer necessity, I believe that the authorities should show discretion in doing so and not abuse the power it provides. This is after all, a delicate balance between human rights and the communal wellbeing of the society.

The Overuse Of Internet Surfing Media Essay

The Overuse Of Internet Surfing Media Essay We use the internet for our own favor and interest. It depends what we enjoy the internet surfing for; some like using instant messaging and face book. Now they are the most excessively used internet programs. Sometimes people do that in order to solve some mental disorders. Such as feeling isolated, or having lake of self-confidence. Meeting people over the internet and not having to meet them in person, solves their feeling of insecurity. Others are addicted to gaming on the internet, such as playing poker and chess. They are real life addictive games and having the opportunity to have them online, causes the same effect on them as they are in real life. There are many of internet addiction types like mental disorders cause people to reflect their sickness to their desired object of addiction. Some people are addictive to shopping, games, or drugs. In our case, the people addicted to the internet and computers have a lack of self-confidence and a tendency to feel shy in public. They are not capable to make a circle of friends as normal people do in their lives. So they choose making friends online, which is a much easier way for them to pursue their need. Also they use the internet as an escape from life troubles; whether its problems they face at home or outside in their daily life routines. Maybe playing some games or shopping online gives them the feeling of security within them. And helps them overcome their mental struggles. Basically, it makes them forget about their outside world and focus their attention to the inside wide world of the internet and computer use. This type of internet addiction, when people tend to gain their self-confidence through its usage is the most dangerous type of all. It could harm people, who are tending to get to know strangers through the internet chatting, It could lead to crimes such as theft and sexual harassment. It also causes them to neglect their outside world of communication and only feel secure while using the internet. Meaning they will tend to be more sociable and feel lively only while being on their computer; when this is the negative way of pursuing their careers and social life. The more time they spend online, the more they gain their self-esteem. Its like standing in front of a mirror before leaving their homes to go out, this way they make sure they look good and confident enough before they leave. Its the same for the internet use, after they get the security feeling within themselves. They feel completely relieved. The general causes of internet addiction are divided to certain categories; which lets us understand where the overuse of internet comes from. First thing we face generally is curiosity. Usually some of us are eager to know a lot about the technology which grows every day now. And most of these people are in their 40s and 50s. The ones who doesnt have enough information and practice with the internet use; so their curiosity drives them to start surfing the internet and learning the different ways of the computer use. Such as googgling (Google), chatting online or even gaming for the elders. The next category is the development and renewal of self. Exploring the internet is actually a self-development step; learning about it makes you in hold of everything in the world now. Connected is how you feel when you go through the internet. Its everything we use around the world now; nothing can go on without it. You can find anything concerning the subject of your interest easily and with full information about it. You need to update your look, you surf the internet. Or if there is a piece of information youd to like expand your understanding about. Certain types of food youd like to cook. Everything you need youll find through the internet, and especially if its a self-development and renewal situation. Surfing the internet made it easier for people who make researches and always in need of books to help them fulfill their search. Your desired book of interest can easily be found on the internet now. You no longer need to go to a library and search through the books to find your desired information to complete a research. Now you can go online, search the name of the book, and easily find quotations for it and a full biography about it and its author. You can even find the whole book to read instead of buying from a book store. The same goes to magazines and newspapers; if you have missed a weeks newspaper edition or a magazines issue. You can simply find it online, read it all and maybe save the needed pages for your record. The internet has made it so easy for people around the world to pursue their lives and careers outside or even from inside their homes. It has made everything easily accessible and far simpler. But that doesnt mean that it is the most trusted source of informat ion of all. Technology is definitely the reason why our lives are growing rapidly, and its why the world is connected to one another. Its the only way we get better at what we do, renew ourselves and explore what is around us. But we must still be wary of the Internet as it can be addictive and that is unhealthy. Its the reason why we ignore our lives, routines, and activities. Moving away from causes, this paper will now discuss the effects of Internet addiction The first effect of the internet addiction is obviously the amount of time wasted on it. Its usually more than the normal time that should be spent online. It used excessively, and sometimes out of control. Usually its used a lot when not needed at all; like when using face book more than 8 hours a day isnt necessary but you always feel the urge of needing to use it. When its nothing beneficial in the end; same for chatting online; some people have got a purpose of using it. Maybe to stay connected to their families overseas. But some others just go online all day long for the fun of it. They make new friends, or maybe just stay online because they feel like they need to be. Our second effect would be lack of sleep; since they use the internet excessively this way they are losing the feeling of sleep. The need of it isnt as important to them anymore. The computer symbolizes a huge importance in their lives now that taking care of their health is totally ignored. Also the location of the computer is a huge aspect of why you feel the urge to use it frequently. For example if you place it in the bedroom, it causes a big percentage of lack of sleep. Since its always there in front of you and it gets to be irresistible to use. The third effect would be a low job performance and having poor grades in school. People tend to be online more frequently at work, since they are always in access with their computers. Also some of them arent as busy so they use the computer as a way of entertainment. But the majority loses their focus on doing their jobs at work because of chatting too much online while attempting to do their required assignments. Teenagers tend to ignore their studies and prefer to stay online; therefore they get poor grades in school. Neglecting social relationships and activities is our fourth effect. While were staying online, there could be an important event or gathering going on and were not even paying attention to attend it. It could be a family gathering or even a friends birthday. Those things are important for us to participate in as they create our social relationships and shape our personalities. It also shows us the quality of life in some way or another. While gathering with people and sharing activities with them you tend to build your qualities and know your strengths and weaknesses within yourself. You start to recognize the outside world and its nature. Anger is a main symptom and effect of the internet addiction. Its usually obvious when someone starts to question your time spent online and then you start getting angry. Also it appears when youre offline and tense for not being online during the day. It shows on all of your actions during the day and effects your family and friends interactions. The feeling of the need to be online all the time gets you frustrated and it applies to all your daily activities. Giving away details to strangers is the most dangerous and common problem we face through internet addiction. The more you stay online and intend to make new friends and enter new networks; the more you stop thinking of the consequences which will occur later on. Strangers you get to know online could be criminals of any kind; such as sexual harassers, thieves or even drug dealers. The last symptom and effect of internet addiction is changes in your diet and eating speed. Being online too much makes you lose your appetite to food. Sometimes its the complete opposite; the more they stay online the more eat faster and with more quantities. Its like when youre watching television; you get caught in the movie or anything youre watching and keep eating. Thats how most overweight people get fatter. They are not conscious of their action while being caught in their addictive act. Internet addiction seems as uncontrollable and hard to get over. But there are several steps we should follow as our solutions to fixing the addictive act .They are very simple and easy steps to control all our previous symptoms and effects stated above. First of all we need to admit the problem were facing and our excessive use to the internet and the computer. Knowing that you have a problem and you need to work on it gives you an inner peace. It also gives you the push to be able to pass this phase of addiction and think of ways to work it all out. Or at least keep doing what you love most but still in a healthy way. The change of the location of your computer is a must. Its one of the main solutions for the addiction; as we stated before having it in your bedroom makes it feel irresistible to using the computer. You need to locate in a place which is uncomfortable for you. This will make you only use it for the needed purpose and for a short period of time and then go to your favorite place at home. For example, the living room to watch a movie or read a book in your small library. A password for your computer is very important to be able to decrease your use of the internet. Let you spouse or a family member change the password to only something they know. And only sign you in when you need to and for a specific calculated period of time. This way you will be able to control your usage wisely. Also you could have a Timer; which will control your time of usage. So if you use the internet for more than five hours a day, then decrease it to three hours for instance by using your timer. The last solution we should actively do is getting involved in several activities such as social clubs or fitness exercises. This way youre substituting your addiction with a healthier aspect which will involve you in a more sociable environment. And this will make you gain more confidence by time and make a circle of friends the right way. To conclude, there are no obvious reasons for way people are getting addicted to the internet but there are a lot of things drives us to use the internet .internet just a tool some people use it as skipping from life struggles and the things that made some people getting addicted to the internet could be general causes as use the internet for more knowledge, searching for anything that they need and also for making friends from all over the world, and there are some things considered as mental disorder like feeling lonely, depressed or feeling stress. But there are many effects caused by the internet addiction, lose the family sense, lack of sleep and caused back pains and headache also decreasing the social relationships. but there are some solutions the person who are addicted to the internet have to admit that he is addicted and know that very well (admitting that he have a problem) and start change computer location and put it in place that you dislike it ,never put it in sleepin g rooms because you will prefer playing or chatting then sleeping . And finally the person should make a specific hour for using the internet. Human have to know that they are the creditors of the technology so they shouldnt let the machines control them because machines doesnt have brains like human.so just if you use it smartly it wont ever effect you negatively.

Social and Economic Conditions of the Northern and Southern states in t

Social and Economic Conditions of the Northern and Southern states in the years 1820-1850   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early to mid 1800s the United States seemed to be split into two sections, the Northern states and the Southern states. Although they had the same flag, spoke the same language, and had the same president, the two regions seemed to be two separate countries, each one having different views and political opinions. But, because they were the same country, there were also many similarities. This mostly showed in the social and economic conditions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The economies of each region at the time where really only similar in that they were expanding and growing stronger. One way the two regions differed in economics was in the base of the economy. For example, the South’s economy was based on cotton farming, while the North’s economy was based on manufacturing. Because the South did not manufacture goods, they were forced to purchase finished products from the North- thus adding to the North’s economy. With the South’s money they would purchase cotton from the southern states. Also, in the South, there were little job opportunities for whites since slaves had the jobs in the field, unlike the North where jobs were abundant in factories for the unskilled workers. Many of these unskilled workers were immigrants from Ireland and Germany.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  While on the topic of immigrants, this brings me to how the to areas compared and contrasted in their social conditions. In compariso...

The Red Badge of Courage :: essays research papers

Chapter 1 Analysis: Stephen Crane begins a new course of realism in The Red Badge of Courage. Many critics point to him as one of the first American authors of a modern style, and The Red Badge as a fine example of this. The novel is built on a coming-of-age theme, and many of its descriptive elements, such as its concentration on nature and character's actions, are in the realist style, most popularized in America by William Dean Howells and Frank Norris. However, Crane's style in this book has some slight differences from earlier styles. The narrator does not name the characters. In the first chapter, we discover the names of Henry and Jim only through their dialogue with other characters. The narrator only refers to them by descriptors†¹"the tall soldier" in Jim's case and, most importantly, "the young soldier" in Henry's case. Calling Henry "the youth" is the most important indicator that this novel is about his maturity. In this first chapter, he is unproven even to himself. Before enlisting, Henry's thoughts of war and battle are those of valiant struggles for life and death; the possibility of cowardice does not arise in his initial thoughts of battle. However, his mother's speech leaves much more room for interpreting his own future struggles. Rather than give him the advice of the Spartans of ancient Greece to "return carrying your shield or on top of it" (meaning either victorious or killed in combat, not having dropped it fleeing), his mother tells him that, when faced with a situation of kill or be killed, he has to do what he thinks is right, and only that. This is a critical moment in the plot of the book. Henry's actions when facing battle are unknown, even to him. His convictions were strong enough to join the army. Yet these were not because of patriotism or a will to simpl y fight; the narrator shows Henry to be fantasizing of heroic deeds instead. His mother's farewell speech shows that no one, not even Henry or the narrator, is sure what he will do when faced with battle. Even Jim's answers, while they calm Henry's fears, still are so vague that they do not lead to any concrete predictions for their future actions in battle. Yet Crane has written into this novel a way to tell certain characteristics even without explicit direction from the narrator†¹the use of color metaphors.

Communication †Pizza Essay

Introduction Pizza Hut is based in Wichita, Kansas USA 19581. A woman and her two sons created pizza recipes. From here, a family friend advised the sons to open their own Pizza Parlor. 2. Pizza Hut is one of the flagship brands of Yum! Brands, Inc. , which also has KFC, Taco Bell, A&W and Long John Silver’s under its umbrella. Pizza Hut is the world’s largest pizza chain with over 12,500 restaurants across 91 countries 3. In India, Pizza Hut has 133 restaurants across 34 cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chandigarh amongst others. Yum!is in the process of opening Pizza Hut restaurants at many more locations to service a larger customer base across the country 4. Borrowing $600 from their mother, the two brothers purchased second-hand equipment and rented a small building on a busy intersection in Wichita, Kansas. The result of their efforts was the first Pizza Hut and the foundation for what would become the largest and the most successful pizza restaurant in the world 5. Pizza Hut franchisees exemplify the entrepreneurial spirit, which launched their system back in 1958. Through interest and initiative, the Pizza Hut system was able to develop new territories in the United States and overseas. Today, franchisees and joint-venture partnerships account for more than half of the Pizza Hut system’s total units. Their development on the international front is a good indication of the growth that has characterized their system. Following the opening of the first international restaurant in Canada in 1968, the Pizza Hut restaurants quickly appeared in Mexico, South America, Australia, Europe, the Far East and Africa. Today, Pizza Hut operates in more than 100 countries and territories throughout the world 6. When Pizza Hut opened its outlet in Baroda, Gujarat they firstly thought that they should make a new pizza to the recipe of the local style in order to attract the local population. g They decided to provide the pizza according to the customer’s taste of choice7. This essay aims to answering the following question: â€Å"Should Pizza Hut open a new outlet in Baroda? † 1. http://www. pizzahut. com/OurStory. aspx 2. http://www. pizzahut. com/OurStory. aspx 3. http://220. 226. 195. 78/pizzahut. co. in/about_us. php 4. http://220. 226. 195. 78/pizzahut. co. in/about_us.php 5. http://www. pizzahut. com/OurStory. aspx 6. http://www. pizzahut. com/OurStory. aspx 7. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview RESEARCH QUESTION Pizza Hut is an established brand all over India. To increase the growth of the new outlet, Pizza Hut recently set up a new market research on the outskirts of Baroda with the investment of __ Basically, Pizza Hut firms in India send Managers to spread proper awareness about their new outlet among the customers through different types of advertising and keep the customers informed about their advancements in current outlets 10. Commercially, I expect that the opening of the new branch will lead to an increase in sales in Baroda, Gujarat, and could increase the market share of Pizza Hut. For this reason, they want to be able to successfully market their new firm when it is commercially launched. As previously mentioned, to increase its growth and successfully market their upcoming outlet, Pizza Hut has been reviewing various promotion strategies like price reduction, to increase the price in their marketing budget and increase in number of staffs 11. So increasing the production by opening the new outlet and to increase the number of staff to work in both of the outlets is a strategy that Pizza Hut is strongly considering in order to increase their growth in the domestic market 12. 8. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 9. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 10. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 11. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview THEORETICAL FRAME WORK The Growth of a business can be measured in many different ways such as assets, sales revenue, operating profit, market share, value added, and number of employees 13. As information of pizzas is involved, Pizza Hut believes that what they bring new in the market is not compared with any of the products of any another firm which is selling pizza’s14. I commercially expect that the opening of the new firm will lead to increase in sales in Baroda, Gujarat, and could increase the market share of Pizza Hut. Due to this, they want to be able to successfully market their new firm when it is commercially launched. Pizza Hut aims to convince the customers to set down their new business, (target market) 15. The other promotional method used by Pizza Hut and to spread the awareness about their new outlet is to do market research. I did the market research for Pizza Hut so that they can locate their new outlet where there are more potential consumers. High income group was also asked about the opening of a new outlet, before it is brought up in the market. Pizza Hut believes that the methods used to research on opening a new outlet take hold of the attention of the customers for long time, so that they can visit the outlet frequently16. For reasons mentioned above, growth is widely regarded as the most favorable method to increase the profit level. 12. http://www. tutor2u.net/business/presentations/strategy/businessgrowth/default. html 13. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 14. _________ 15. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 16. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview METHODOLOGY To reach a suitable conclusion, an in-depth qualitative and quantitative analysis shall be conducted by using different business tools to the primary data as well as the secondary data collected. The primary data contains the interview of the Manager of the Pizza Hut outlet which already exists, the opinion of the customers who visit the exiting outlet and a few other people. Market research: This will contain the content of the market research and what it entails. This was conducted by me. Analysis of market research: This will contain the graph and an explanation about how many people will visit the new outlet (assumption) from the old outlets daily earning. Swot analysis: This will contain the strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats of the business for opening the new outlet. Ansoff’s matrix: A model which identifies growth strategies for a business and it is based on an analysis of their products and their market. Pest-g: This will identify the political, economical, social and technological, as well as the environmental problem of the firm. Cost analysis: Cost analysis will be conducted to find out the quantifiable and unquantifiable cost involved in increasing the personal selling. MARKET RESEARCH Market research is the collection, collation and analysis of the data relating to the marketing and consumption of the goods and the services18. Market research helps in opening the new outlet, tells us were we stand in the market and how we can improve. How many times does the customer visit Pizza Hut? Group of people |More than once a week |Once a week |Fortnight |Monthly or less | |Family |04 |20 |45 |25 | |College students |35 |50 |36 |19 | |Above 50 |00 |05 |36 |30 | |Teenagers |40 |45 |26 |17 | (18) Here the market research data is organized according to age group. |Market research done of the location |Yes |No | | |(%) |(%) | |Sayajigunj |66 |34 | |Karelibaug |68 |32 | [pic] Here I have conducted the market research for the two different areas and I have come to a conclusion that in Karelibaug there are 90% of people saying yes to open the new outlet 20. This is due to one outlet of Pizza Hut not providing delivery services to distant areas21. So if it is in that area then many people can visit the outlet and this will give more profit to Pizza Hut. As people from Fathegunj, Sayajigunj, city area and Karelibaug can visit as it will be nearer to them 22. 17. market research done by interviewing different people 18. business studies book by Dave hall pg 147 19. interviewing different age group of people 20. People gave reason that why in these two areas. 21. Told by the people staying in that area. ANALYSIS OF THE PRIMARY DATA The finding of the market research which I have done for Pizza Hut will be analyzed to identify specific market attributes such as the manner in which the customer will respond more. In addition to this, it will identify important information such as the effectiveness of the market research results given by the customers will be discovered. From this data, it will be possible to judge the weaknesses of Pizza Hut. Recommendations will then be made by me on methods which Pizza Hut can adopt to overcome these weaknesses. Once Pizza Hut overcomes these weaknesses, it will have a better chance to successfully market their new outlet, and at the same time increase the sales from their current outlet. The graph below compares the frequency of teenagers who visit Pizza Hut as opposed to college students. [pic] 22 The ratio of college student is more than teenagers23. This means that on an average, college students visit Pizza Hut more compared to the teenagers. This graph tells us how many families and those above 50 wish to go to Pizza Hut. [pic]24 22. market research done by interviewing different people 23. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 24. market research done by interviewing different people SWOT ANALYSIS Swot analysis: swot analysis is an analysis of the internal strength and weaknesses and the external threats and opportunities that Pizza Hut faces. The swot analyses will illustrates how the external opportunities and the threats can be matched with the Pizza Hut’s internal strength and weaknesses to result in a set of possible strategic alternative. This would identify Pizza Hut’s distinctive competencies and the opportunities that the Pizza Hut is not currently taking a due to lack of appropriate resources swot means : S-strength W-weaknesses O- Opportunities T-threats Strength(S): these are the things which I observed, Pizza Hut and their staff do and which is the strength for them: They are well known for their pizzas 26. They provide good quality, taste and quick service 27. Their good service; grooming, cleanliness, and good interaction with the customers make customers want to visit them again 28. Due to their good taste and grooming, the other domestic pizza outlets try to compete and learn from Pizza Hut 29. Reputed brand, market excepted very easily, Due to the above, Pizza Hut makes good profit30. Pizza Hut has the ability to provide it’s customers with deals, offers and specials so that they can save money and get more value. This is a strength for the organization as it makes customers purchase more while receiving more value for their money. Customers use these vouchers and specials when ordering in bulk or for everyday orders. Weaknesses (W): these are the things which I observed and Pizza Hut does poorly and in which they can be affected are: During the weekends, Pizza Hut is full of customers, during that time the service is poor 31. There is little to no place for the people to sit who are waiting to be seated32. Availability of other multinational outlets like Mac Donald and Dominos will be the competitors of Pizza Hut too. 33 Opportunities (O): the directions which the business could take in future like: By opening a new outlet there will be an opportunity for growth of the business and development for employees34. If a person was previously employed by Pizza Hut and has passed the Pizza Hut course with the appropriate certificate, then they are able to receive double their salary35. Pizza Hut is a branded and a multi-national chain, therefore it allows staff salaries to be double that which is offered to other staff in other company’s36. Threats (T): the threats to a business arise from the activity of the competitors and failing to take opportunities like: Pizza Inn is the domestic pizza outlet in Baroda; both of them are doing very good profit-wise therefore Pizza Inn is a threat for Pizza Hut37. Pizza Inn is a well-known organization to the Baroda community as it also provides good quality and taste and this is a threat to Pizza Hut as this is one of Pizza Hut’s strengths. 25. business studies book by Dave hall pg 38 26. http://www. tutor2u. net/business/strategy/SWOT_analysis. htm 27. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 28. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 29. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 30. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 31. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 32. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 33. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 34. interview taken while doing market research 35. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 36. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 37. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 38. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview THE ANSOFFS MATRIX The ansoff matrix: The Ansoff Growth matrix is a tool that helps businesses decide their product and market growth strategy38. Ansoff’s matrix will allow the firm to consider the alternatives open to it for entering a new market or entering new product into the market39. Product | |Existing |New | |Existing |Market penetration |Product development | |New |Market development |diversification | Market Market penetration: market penetration is used to achieve the growth in the existing market with the existing product40. Market penetration uses the marketing mix to push the product which is gaining as much as market share and as quickly as possible41. Market penetration seeks to achieve four main objectives: Increase usage by existing customers, maintain or increase the market share of current products42. Pizza Hut is the branded outlet so that people use the substitute outlet less (Pizza Inn, u s pizza, Uncle Sam’s Pizza, and Dominos). Pizza Hut encourages customers to use their outlet more regularly by providing new taste to the customers43. Product development: this is concerned with marketing new or modified products in the market for the customers 44 like: Normal pizzas intend to act as a replacement for the new product which will be introduced45. Market development: this involves the marketing of the existing product in the new market such as: As Pizza Hut has one outlet already in the market, they will open a new outlet in Baroda but in a different area. They will introduce some new products when they open their new outlet. However, they will need to continue the marketing of their old and classic products along with the new products46. Diversification: this will occur when the product is developed for the new market. Diversification allows a business to move away from the trust upon the present market and product47. 38http://www. tutor2u. net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix.htm 39oxford study course book by jo toy pg 32 39. http://www. tutor2u. net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix. htm 40. business studies book by Dave hall pg 239 41. oxford study course book by jo toy pg 32 42. http://www. tutor2u. net/business/strategy/ansoff_matrix. htm 43. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 44. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 45. Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 46. business studies book by Dave hall pg 239 PEST –G ANALYSIS Pest g: this will look at the external environment and the global factors that may or will affect a business. It can provide a quick and visual representation. It is usually divided into five external influences on a business-political, economic, social, and technological and green46. Political: this is concerned with how political developments, regionally, nationally and internationally might affect a business’s strategy47. Political development is not so relevant in this instance as Pizza Hut has an existing established branch which is not affected by this external factor, the political issues are not so important because they do have the outlet in India and Baroda. For opening the new outlet government factors are not important as it already has opened one outlet48. Economic: this might include the analysis of a variety of economic factors and their effect on business they include: consumer activity, economic variable, government policy, the effect of change in product and labor markets49. Pizza Hut’s outlet which is Baroda, Gujarat – has competitors in Baroda, Gujarat50 however, these are not Pizza Hut branches – they are other competitors such as Dominos and Pizza Inn. These have an economic external influence as it affects the consumer activity as customers may prefer to go to Dominos if there is better service, quality and price offered. The new place suggested trough market research, there mainly the people with their families and above 30 will visit. It is not that the youth’s wont visit but there are less youth’s in that area compare to the area where the current Pizza Hut is located. Social: how is Pizza Hut affected socially? It is not likely that Pizza Hut will be affected socially as each age group visit’s Pizza Hut51. Due to the location of the old Pizza Hut site (located near commercial places) it attracts a lot variety of consumers. The new site will be located in a suburb where there are families therefore the market will be families. When a whole family eats a meal at Pizza Hut, they tend to splurge on extras such as drinks and sides. This is positive for the organization in terms of profit. However, in Karelibaug, families won’t come daily or once a week to have pizza’s so it can be affected socially. Generally in the new outlet older segment people will visite. Technological: Businesses operate in a world of rapid technological change. The organization needs to regularly review the impact of new technologies upon their activities. The product can become old-fashioned quickly. The production method can become out of date52. Pizza Hut looks that how they are different from other firms such as Pizza Inn, Domino’s pizza, us pizza and many other domestic outlets for pizza’s. Even Mac Donald’s is a competitor. One technological factor which could effect the environment is how Pizza Hut creates its products such as the production line in which a pizza is made. 47. business studies book by Dave hall pg 38 48. business studies book by Dave hall pg 38 49. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 50. business studies book by Dave hall pg 38 51. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 52. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview. 53. business studies book by Dave hall pg 38 COST ANALYSIS Cost analysis is currently a some what controversial set of methods in program of evaluation one reason for the controversy is that these terms cover a wide range of method, but are often used interchangeably. There are two types of cost associated with hiring new place. They are fixed cost and variable cost. Both these cot will be identified to check the financial growth of the undergoing new outlet. Both are classified as below: Fixed cost Hiring charges foe the new place Salary of the staff Minimum hiring charges of telephone. Variable cost Production cost Office usage Approximately amount of profit for the new outlet May by through which you will be able to fine out pbit (profit before interest and tax), pbt (profit before tax), pat (profit after tax). | | |Per month |Per annum | |Sales | |1350 |16200 | |- variable | |60 |720 | | |contribution |1290 |15480 | |- fixed cost | |45 |540 | | |PBIT |1245 |14940 | |- interest | |78 |940 | | |PBT |1167 |14000 | |- tax | |350 |4200 | | |PAT |817 |9800 | 55 From the above assumption we can conclude that profit on pbit is approximately equals to 65. 60% |1260 |720 | |100 |? | |= 57. 14 | This is the variable cost |1260 |540 | |100 |? | |= 42. 58 | And this is the fixed cost. Variable cost of new outlet is higher than its fixed cost about 14. 12. Contribution of new outlet is about 96% which can be calculated by following formula: |Sales |contribution | |16200 |15480 | |100 |? | |= 96 | 56 Variable cost depends upon number of units of new outlet but the fixed cost is fixed. Cost may also be defined in different class For example: production cost office cost selling and distribution cost We can include raw material cost for the pizza’s and service cost for the pizzas. In production cost all the administration expense and legal and professional charges in office expense. We can bifurcate the transportation of the delivery man and advertisement expenses as selling and distribution charges. Selling and distribution charges can depend on number of unit sold and cost up till cost of goods sold always depends on goods sold57. 55. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 56. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview 57. (Manager of Pizza Hut). Personal interview INVESTMENT APPRAISAL Investment appraisal is the evaluation of an investment project to determine whether or not it is likely to be worthwhile. It is essential to appraise the investment Pizza Hut will undertake and to establish weather it is going to be beneficial. Below are the techniques, which will assist appraising the investment: †¢ Pay back period and †¢ Net present value Pay back period This technique assesses the number of years it will take foe the Pizza Hut to recover all their initial costs. This is a very simple tool as it ignores most of the costs the firm would incur due to opening a new outlet. The cash flow is also an approximate estimate when there are too many variable then Pizza Hut cannot control. They assume that they have more customers and 10% more profit throughout the year than what they had the previous year. There were a few assumptions made for the cash flow. These were that the machine they used to make pizza’s worked at 100% capacity and all products were sold. |Pay back period for the new outlet | |Year |Net cash flow | |0 |-10,00,000 | |1 |2,00,000 | |2 |6,00,000 | |3 |3,00,000 | |3,00,000 |12 months | |2,00,000 |? | |= 8 months | You can get 2,00,000 in 8 months so our net pay back period for investing RS 10,00,000 in new outlet is 2 years and 8 months. Analysis of pay back period. The pay back technique has shown us that it takes 2 years and 8 months to pay back for the new outlet. However, we learn form the market research and swot analysis that there are mainly people above 35 hence it would be smarter from them to do some thing which might attract the youth from other areas and influence them to visit that outlet too. Net present value Net present value incorporates the principle of time value of money by converting payments at different times to the equivalent values at the common reference time. The discount factor used is 4% as the interest they could have got from the bank currently is 4%. I then did NVP. |Year |Net cash flow |Discount factor 4$ |Present value | |0 |-10,00,000 |1 |10,00,000 | |1 |2,00,000 |0. 9615 |1,92,300 | |2 |6,00,000 |0. 9246 |5,54,760 | |3 |3,00,000 |0. 8890 |2,66,700 | Analysis of net present value The new outlet will generate ____ amount after 5 years. ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES To effectively deal with the increase in the growth by expansion, it is necessary for there to be some internal changes. It is very necessary that the staff’s grooming should be done properly, so that they can serve the customers in a professional manner. When they open their second outlet from a single, Pizza Hut will have to keep some one on whom they can trust and can rely on and they have to shift a few staff from the present one to the opening one. As they opening a new outlet, they are turning from one into two outlets. Due to this the position of many of the staff’s have been will be changed. This change does not affect their work, they have an effective communication channels among the employees. This could be in the form of giving the staff a proper atmosphere in which they can settle easily, the changes in the outlet and the goals that the Pizza Hut wants to attain. RECOMMENDATION Starting up the new outlet, initially it will not give them that much profit but it will definitely give some. For this: 1. Pizza Hut should shift few of their staff and of course one of the leader to supervise from the existing outlet to the one which will open in the near future. 2. They should appoint few new staff for the existing outlet and also foe the future’s outlet so that the one who are new in the new outlet can get t know more from their seniors who are shifted from the existing business. 3. For marketing about their new outlet they should restructure they method in which the do the marketing. 4. The market research was done on few people in Baroda, Gujarat, and not in the whole of Baroda. So the extensive market research needs to be conducted across the whole Baroda, Gujarat to get the proper kind of information about the location. CONCULSION The report shows that Pizza Hut should pen the new outlet in Baroda, Gujarat, India. If Pizza Hut increases their staff, then it would be in a better position to serve the customers and if they shift few of their trained staff and give training to the new staff to whom they are going to appoint then they would also be in the better position. They should also shift one of the managers to the new outlet so that in case if any problem occurs then they will be able to handle it. The financial aspects of the undertaking are not the problem for the Pizza Hut as it is in a strong financial stage. But the recruitment of the new staff cold affects the staffs. The environment and the working portfolio of the staffs will be changed as Pizza Hut will reconstruct the marketing set-up. So before employing the new staff Pizza Hut should let the old staff settle into their working environment. As previously said, the personal interview were only conducted in Gujarat, and the result of this only represented he view of customers from Gujarat. Hence, the further market research needs to be done to get a broader perspective on this study. The indirect costs associated with the undertaking the project will have to ascertain. As previously mentioned, one indirect cost is that a large recruitment could lead to a decrease in the motivation of the existing staffs. Other indirect cost could be in the form of the training program for the new recruits to a specialist company, so that it is done efficiently. If the new recruits do their job well, serve the customers in the proper way, follow the training properly, are groomed very well and give the best service then this would motivate the customers to visit them again. `Graph showing the frequency of visits to Pizza Hut by college students and teenagers 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 More than once a week Once a week Fortnight Monthly or less time period College students Teenagers graph showing the frequency of visit to Pizza Hut by families and people above 50 0 10 20 30 40 50 More than once a week Once a week Fortnight Monthly or less time period Family Above 50.

Hill Country Case Solution Essay

Hill County operates in a very competitive market where new potential entrants can be a threat to its operation either through lower price offering or lower production cost. Competition from peer companies has significant effect on its operation, because Hill County is price taker in the market, that is, increase in prices is not one of the choices it can implement. Also, due to the fact that its profitability relies heavily on cost management, an intense competition can worsen the situation of Hill County in the future. Hence, the company needs to be very efficient in order to compete with other low-cost production firms. In addition, cost management may also link to the bargaining power of Hill County over its suppliers, which plays an important role in the manufacturing cost of the firm. Whenever their suppliers have more bargaining power, Hill County would face a potential decline in its profit margin. Macroeconomics conditions also contribute to the business risk of Hill County. During an economic downturn, consumers are less likely to spend money on snacks or attend venues, where they would normally purchase snacks. This would result in declining sales. Hill County does not seem to offer as much diversification in their line of production needed, in order to diversify their exposure to macroeconomic contractions away. The change of consumer behaviour is another business risk faced by Hill County. Recent surveys have shown that, consumers tend to become more aware of Health food. This indicated that they may turn away from less healthy snacks to other choices such as organic food. Selling snacks through school systems also requires the company to alter its products. Therefore, Hill County has to conduct researches and develop alternative choices in response to such preferences and requirements, which leads to an increase of cost. 1.2 How much financial risk would the company face at each of the three alternative debt-to-capital ratios presented in Exhibit 4? The following table compare the potential financial risk faced by the company under each of the debt-to-equity ratio alternative. In general, the higher the leverage ratio is, the higher the risk level will be. Item 20 % Debt to Capital 40% Debt to Capital 60% Debt to Capital The company has the same tax level across each scenario, and thus there is no difference in the relative advantage of An increase in the debt level is leading to higher The highest tax shield advantage in Tax Shield tax shield. However, in absolute terms, an increase in the tax shield benefits absolute terms to the company debt-to-capital ratio will enhance the tax shield benefit The bond rating is AAA/AA, indicating that the default risk is rather low. In terms of financing cost, comparing with the corporate bonds with same rating that pays at rates from 2.5% to 3.2%, the interest rate 2.58% is considerably acceptable. Higher debt levels are leading to higher financial distress costs for the company. However, 20% is still below the industry’s average and appears as a considerable level in order to benefit from advantages that debt provides. The rating of the bond would fall to BBB indicating that the credit risk increases higher debt levels. Although the credit increasing thi s is still in line with the average. According to Exhibit 3 the bond This is rating drops to B. This seems rather due to high and risky and would raise the risk is concern of the management and market especially the equity holders, which are described as risk averse. Too much debt-to-capital ratio can cause severe financial distress cost to the company (details to be discussed in section 3). The 4.52 ICR indicates that the debt level is rather risky, as a significant amount of the cash flow generated by the company would be tightened up by a higher repurchase premium and a higher risk premium. Credit Risk Financial Distress Cost Higher financial distress cost as the company is entitled to debt obligation where debt holders have the ability to file bankruptcy toward the company. An ICR 11.82 is in line with the industry average and much higher than the bonds with the similar rating (4.1). But as the amount of stock being repurchased rises, the premium required would also increase, resulting in more cash outflow. In terms of financial flexibility, a relatively high interest coverage ratio (ICR) of 36.8 supports the company’s ability to Flexibility take on more debt. Especially by comparing the ratio with its peers, such ratio seems to match with its risk aversion philosophy. Agency Cost of Debt Increase in debt-to-capital ratio can cause agency cost of Agency cost of debt will be more problematic This level will involve highest agency debt to be higher. However, at level of 20%, it is still because the managers are not left with freedom cost of debt. considerably low. to operate the company. Agency Cost of Equity Adding more debt into capital structure will reduce agency As more debts are added, agency cost of debt cost of equity as managers are left with less free cash flow Lowest agency cost of equity. would be further reduced. that could have been exploited for perk consumption. Since part of the earnings is paid to meet the debt repayments, dividends paid deceases comparing with actual 2011. But this is counter-balanced by increased earnings per share (EPS) as the shares outstanding is reduced Comparing with 20% leverage, dividend continues to decrease but EPS goes up on the scale of EPS in actual 2011, which is favourable for valuation and is in the interest of shareholders. Dividend Policy Dividend paid and EPS decline at the same time, which would lead to a lower valuation of the firm. 1.3 How much value could Hill County create for its shareholders at each of the three alternative debt levels? In order to answer the question we use the change in return of equity (ROE) as an appropriate measure. For the sake of simplicity we used the book value of equity rather than market values. According to Exhibit 4 and 5, the profit margin, total capital and tax rate remain unchanged over the forecasting period. Judging from the table below, the ROE increases when the leverage ratio rises. This is indicating that the more aggressive the capital structure is, the more the extent to which the value is maximized. However, we should take into account the benefit and risk involved when deciding which capital structure is optimal. Alternative 20 % Debt to Capital By implementing 20% of debt into the capital structure the company is able to increase the ROE by over 30% to 16.31%. 40% Debt to Capital An increase to 40% debt to capital is leading to an increase of over 60% in the ROE t o 20.52%, which is a positive indicator of increased shareholder value. 60% Debt to Capital ROE In the third alternative the ROE can be more than doubled to a ROE of 27.64%. 2. What debt-to-capital structure would you recommend as optimal for Hill County? What are the advantages of adding debt to the capital structure? How would issuing debt impact the company’s taxes and expected costs of financial distress? How would the financial markets react if the company increased its financial leverage? In order to determine the optimal capital structure for Hill County Snack, we examined the debt-to-equity ratios for A-rated companies within the food and beverages industry. Based on figure 15.13 in Financial Theory and Corporate Policy by Copeland, we see that the median is 65% debt-to-equity, which in debt-to-capital term equals 40%. We can also see from the figure that none of the firms within the industry operates with zero debt-level, and this gives us an indication that the firm is likely to gain firm value by introducing debt to its capital structure, mainly due to the tax shield of debt. Referring to Modigliani-Miller proposition I (MM I) with taxe s, we know that the value of levered firm is equal to value of unlevered firm plus Figur 15.13 tax shield of debt. Also, according to Tread-off Theory, the firm will increase its value by adding debt up to the level where the marginal cost of financial distress is equal to the marginal gain from the tax shield. We used the ICR to evaluate the likelihood of financial distress when the firm introduces debt to the company. The financial market is likely to have a positive reaction if the company increased its financial leverage, since it will increase firm value and ROE, making the company more attractive to investors and other stakeholders. To what extent the stock price will appreciate depends on the market expectations of how the firm will cope with its debt obligations. From Exhibit 4 we see that the firm can easily adopt the 20 % debt-to-capital ratio, having a very high ICR of 36.90 which implies very low probability of financial distress as well as it will be in shareholders’ interest since it increases ROE from 12.5% to 16.31% without adding much risk and reduces f ree cash flow and agency cost of equity. Having a closer look on the next scenario where the company is tested with a 40% debt-tocapital ratio, we can see that ROE increases from 12.5% to 20.5%. With this capital structure, the firm operates with the same level as the industry median of its competitors. Implied by Pecking Order Theory, since this is the median, it might indicate that this is somehow the optimal debt structure for this type of industry. The firm will still be very liquid with a relative low probability of financial distress based on the high ICR of 11.82. Finally, we have to consider the 60% debt-to-capital ratio, which results in an ICR of 4.52. This ratio is, just above the median for BBB rated companies by Standard & Poor’s (Exhibit 3). Although the ROE increases form 12.5% to 26.2%, it introduces a significant amount of risk to the company and the firm would be much more sensitive to macroeconomic conditions and fluctuations in revenue. Based on the three alternatives, we believe that the optimal debt-tocapital structure is around 40%. This is because the company will have a significant benefit from the tax shield of debt and it will cause a large increase in ROE for the shareholders such that they are able to compensat for the increase in risk, reduc agency cost of equity and still be very liquid to fulfil their debt obligation, by having a very high ICR of 11.82, which is  even above the median for A-rated companies. The reason we chose this alternative instead of 20% is because we believe that the company can increase its firm value even more with this alternative, without adding a significant amount of risk. Also, if the company were to introduce 60% debt-to-capital, we think this is a too aggressive approach for the company that is new to debt in its capital structure. 3. How could Hill County implement a more aggressive capital structure? What methods could be used to increase debt and decrease equity? A more aggressive capital structure would in general mean that the company is increasing the leverage ratio by either increasing the debt or reducing the equity or both. The main two reasons why companies look to reduce the share capital and make capital distributions to shareholders (i.e. return cash surplus to shareholders in excess of the immediate requirements of the company) are: a) enhancing shareholders’ value though an improved ROE; and b)to achieve a more efficient capital structure. The following are possible approaches that Hill County can undertake to adopt a more aggressive capital structure. 1) Implement Debt Financing Debt financing refers to any borrowed money which Hill County would have to pay back to the lending institution. It can come in the form of a loan, line of credit, bond, etc. We would highly recommend Hill County to seek capital by issuing bonds rather than having bank loans. In our view, Hill County can benefit more from bonds issued than from a bank loan. The interest rate and other terms of bank loans are set by the bank, whereas when issuing bond, it can actively set the interest rate and schedule the payments based on the current market conditions. Even though it would be its first issue of bonds, we see the risk involved and cost incurred rather minor, due to the relative strong financial reports of the company, assuming the market is efficient. Although most companies, including Hill County, can borrow from banks, they view direct borrowing from a bank as more restrictive and expensive than selling debt to the open market. In order to maintain the degree of flexibility that is offered by all equity financing, the CEO would try to avoid any restrictions that come with debt financing. Most bank loans come with multiple conditions, or covenants, that the borrower must follow for the life of the loan. Bank loan covenants protect the bank (and in effect  bank loan fund investors) but impose restrictions on the borrower. As the advantages outweigh the disadvantages we recommend Hill County to seek for bond financing rather than a bank loan. 2) Reduction of Equity Alongside the debt financing via bonds, we suggest that Hill County should reduce their share capital.. A reduction of equity is used to increase distributable reserves to make dividend payments possible, or to make a large return of capital more efficient. There are a number of possible mechanisms, including: A share buyback, where Hill County buys its own shares back in the market. These shares are usually then cancelled. Companies do sometimes retain bought-back shares as treasury shares in order to be able to re-sell them, or allocate them to fulfil share options or to otherwise avoid issuing new shares. In the case of Hill County, we would advise them to cancel the shares as we are seeking for a possibility to reduce the equity share capital. Another alternative for County Hill is the conversion of share capital and nondistributable reserves into debt capital. This approach has been used by large UK listed companies, and is basically the conversion of share capital into debt. Existing shares are cancelled and replaced with new shares (fewer, or with a lower par value) and bonds, the latter typically redeemable at the option of the holder. This allows shareholders to take the return of capital as a capital gain, and time it to their advantage. One easy solution would be the conversion of non-distributable reserves into distributable reserves, which is followe d by the payment of a special dividend. This, however, would mean that many shareholders would be unable to avoid paying income tax on the special dividend. 3) Hybrid Securities In addition to financing either by debt or by equity, such hybrid securities as convertible bonds can both alter the capital structure and provide the management with flexibility. Within a certain time period or when the share price is low, the convertible bonds would contribute to the total debt amount, which requires fixed and rather low periodic payment. Hence, the leverage ratio would rise. However, as time goes by or when Hill County’s stock price appreciates, these bond holders may convert the bond and thereby such amount would switch into equity. 4) Off Balance Sheet Financing (OBF) Apart from general debt financing we would also consider the implementation of off balance sheet financing. As the  leverage ratio goes up and increase the riskiness of the company, the CEO and share holders may concern such would weaken the strength of balance sheet and periodic performance. But certain OBF methods like leasing and factoring can enhance the cash flow of the firm and substantially build up the leverage without adding to the amount of the debt. 4. Considering Hill County’s corporate culture, what arguments could you use to persuade CEO Keener or his successor to adopt and implement your recommendation? Considering the management focus of Hill County is to maximize shareholders’ wealth, raising the leverage ratio of the firm can help the management to achieve such goal. First of all, using the issued debt to repurchase stock can not only push up the stock price but also bring shareholders tax benefit, which supports equity holders in managing their wealth more efficiently. Also, in line with our previous discussion, introducing debt into the firm’s capital facilitates managers to take up slightly more risky but also more profitable investment opportunities. This is because leverage can reduce the risk that is bore by equity, instead of missing out potentially profitable projects so as to maintain sufficient cash flow. Regarding the company’s strong commitment to efficiency and cost control, issuing debt can provide the company with considerable tax shield as interest payment is tax-deductible. Thus, reducing tax payments can lower expenses and retain more economic benefit within the company. Another advantage is that leverage can lower the weighted average cost of capital since the cost of debt is usually lower than the cost of equity, which contributes to its cost control policy. In such way, Hill County can more efficiently (lower cost of capital) and sufficiently (higher level of retained earnings) finance its daily operations and other investment projects. A third aspect of the Hill County’s corporate culture is caution and risk aversion, meaning that the managers always prefer financial safety and flexibility. Introducing debt into the capital structure of the company can stabilize the cash outflow as the company can schedule whichever principle and interest payment that is suit able to the operating and financing requirements and thereby enable the management to control risk exposure. Also, Hill County can issue debt with embedded options such as callable bonds, enabling the firm to buying back the bonds at a certain  price when debt-financing is unfavourable. Lastly, if the management is still concerned about rising debt levels would lead to weaker financial reports, other capital sources such as off-balance sheet financing can change the capital structure without much dynamic and unfavourable change of the crucial financial ratios, say, debt-to-equity ratio and interest coverage ratio, which have a strong impact onto the evaluation of Hill County’s risk level.