Postcolonial Language Debate

The postcolonial language debate about African culture has become a big issue in determining if the African culture is actually being taught to younger generations. Some African writers believe that the culture of the African people is disappearing because all of the history books and novels written about African history and culture are in the English language. Other African scholars believe that they can finally break free from the postcolonial era by using English as a weapon. Chinue Achebe and Ngugi Wa Thiongo are great examples of African writers who take different sides about the English language and the postcolonial writings of African culture. Ngugi is a firm believer that the English language is not how African culture should be viewed by outside countries and that the only way to know about African culture is to have it in its native language. He refuses to write any of his books in English and wants people to learn the native language because that is the only way African culture can really be learned. Language is very powerful and Ngugi believes was a way the English got rid of African culture. â€Å"By removing their native language from their education they are separated from their history which is replaced by European history in European languages â€Å". Ngugi can recall growing up that he learned his culture and heritage through oral story telling by elders and the children would retell the stories to others. By being forced to learn English and being punished for acting or speaking in their native way, language was used as spiritual subjugation. Language carries culture and culture carries the entire body of values by which we perceive ourselves and our place in the world†. If this is true how can the African culture be expressed in a different language? Chinue Achebe took a different approach to the English language and the postcolonial language debate. He chose to learn the English language as a way to â€Å"infultrate the ranks of the enemy and destroying him fro m within†. He feels there is no point in fighting a language but by using the language forced upon him he can show others how culture really is in different African cultures. Using abrogation, meant to change the English language to suit their needs, because people accept different forms of English. There are many different villages and languages in Africa, an example he gives is his people the Igbo who have many different dialects about different things. He states that the standardized Igbo is due to Christian missionaries desire to translate the bible into indigenous tongues. Therefore he does not believe there is one Igbo language that all Igbo can understand so he refuses to write translate his book about the Igbo culture and people in its native language, but has translated it to over thirty different languages. By having thirty different languages able to read about the Igbo Achebe believes the African culture can be spread and shared with the world around it. The language debate in Africa has become a problem because people do not know whether or not they are learning the African culture or reading the African experience. Both Ngugi and Achebe present different ways the African people can begin to identify themselves and regain their culture that was taken from them by the colonizing European nations. Both stand at different ends of the spectrum by either using the English language as a way to inform others of the real African culture, or refuse to write in English so the reader is forced to learn the native language, because that is the only way to really understand and see the way African culture is.

Local Environmental Issues

The environmental problem that is significant in my city would be the water having chemicals in it that causes different parts of town to be on a boil water alert quite often. Due to industrial facilities, large amounts of toxic chemicals and other pollutants are being released into our water. This causes problems for the fish in the ocean and it contaminated our drinking water. This can also cause health problems for the persons consuming the water and even for those swimming in it. In order for a stop to be put to this, we need to have laws enforced in order to protect our rivers and beaches. The waterways are continually used for dumping grounds for toxic chemicals by polluters. This is causing a great health hazard that can be prevented if laws were put in place. There are several processing plants that contribute to the toxic chemicals being placed into the waterways. Industrial facilities also contribute to the chemicals polluting the water which is also linked to cancer that is being put into the St. John’s River. This problem is liable to cause birth defects or even fertility problems. Some of the chemicals discharged are lead, mercury, and dioxin. Not only do the toxins contaminate drinking water but it also contaminates the fish that we as people normally eat. There needs to be a law put in place that will not allow these pollutants to enter into our waterways with the probability of causing cancer or other health problems. There should be a reduction in the toxic chemicals discharged to safer alternatives. Permits should be issued with limits on the amount of toxins discharged by giving penalties and warning letters to those that don’t abide by it. Policies should be adopted that allow for water to be clean so that we as the people can be healthy.

How Unsuitable Diet Contributes to Illness & Diseases Assignment

How Unsuitable Diet Contributes to Illness & Diseases - Assignment Example It will require determination and discipline to gradually learn and become familiar with nutrients per food item. Then careful, intentional planning of what to purchase, cook, and eat will have to be practiced. This research paper simulates nutrient requirements per age and sex assuming an activity level that is low. It also took random samples of the usual food intake and computed the nutrient contents. This was thereafter compared with RDIs corresponding to the person involved considering their ages, sex, and sample favourite meals. Results of random sampling showed an imbalance in one or more nutrients per day. This means there is a need for planning ahead about what meals to take the following days in order to balance the nutrients and prevent a build up of excess nutrients. Introduction Last year, Dr. Brewer, Sarah (2011) reported an alarming report about the most common causes of death in UK. She said that the majority or a total of 70,196 was due to heart disease and over 25% was due to various types of cancer. Such diseases could have been prevented for a much longer number of years if proper diet and lifestyle were followed. Heart failure is a result of having a malnourished heart with dead cells. Eating at least one gram of fish with Omega 3 instead of smoking could maintain a healthy heart. Dr. Sharma, Rekha (2009) also recommended proper diet as one of the major guidelines. She was referring to low-fat intake, especially saturated fats and cholesterol, and less salt (less than 6 grams per day, preferably 2.3 gms. or less) or less salty food because these two cause hypertension. Furthermore, alcohol should be taken in moderation. And every person should exercise about 30 minutes per day. This paper focuses on poor diet as cause of a variety of diseases. It explains why unsuitable diet leads to different possible diseases. Aim With the aim of discovering what are the common reasons why improper diet or unplanned food intake results in meeting one or m ore diseases, this research paper seeks to forewarn people from all walks of life about failure to care about the right nutrition and combination of food to meet recommended dietary requirements. Because there are many possible combinations of food to meet the needed nutrients, the tools (mostly web links to programs) that can assist a person to determine the right alternatives are included in this project. Hypotheses The dietary requirements of individuals vary depending on the age, sex, and activity. Considering recommended daily intake (RDI) based on each of these demographics, calculations that are based on the findings of the Institute of Medicine Food and Nutrition Board, can be done to arrive at the needed calories, carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins, and minerals. There have been many scientific studies showing results of deviations from following the RDI or simply the result of lack of diligence to indulge in regular health maintenance. Such results can range from obesity, hypertension, heart diseases, malfunction of one major part of the body, to serious ailments like cancer, diabetes, and even early death Null Hypothesis Age, sex, and activity don’t matter in determining the proper diet that will avoid diseases. Another is that determining whatever should be taken will be too difficult for most people. And diseases happen by chance. These are the null hypotheses. Apparatus / Equipment Using

40 questions about corporate finance Coursework

40 questions about corporate finance - Coursework Example What was his annual rate of return on this sculpture? 4. You expect to receive $17,000 at graduation in two years. You plan on investing it at 9 percent until you have $94,000. How long will you wait from now? (Do not round your intermediate calculations.) 8. Teder Corporation stock currently sells for $55 per share. The market requires a 13 percent return on the firms stock.Required : If the company maintains a constant 6 percent growth rate in dividends, what was the most recent dividend per share paid on the stock? 10 Suppose you know a companys stock currently sells for $70 per share and the required return on the stock is 16 percent. You also know that the total return on the stock is evenly divided between a capital gains yield and a dividend yield. Required: If its the companys policy to always maintain a constant growth rate in its dividends, what is the current dividend per share? 14. Imprudential, Inc., has an unfunded pension liability of $500 million that must be paid in 18 years. To assess the value of the firms stock, financial analysts want to discount this liability back to the present. If the relevant discount rate is 8.5 percent, what is the present value of this liability? 23You own a portfolio equally invested in a risk free asset and two stocks. If one of the stocks has a beta of 1.6 and the total portfolio is equally as risky as the market, what must the beta be for the other stock in your portfolio? 25. Your coin collection contains 59 1943 silver dollars. If your grandparents purchased them for their face value when they were new, how much will your collection be worth when you retire in 2033, assuming they appreciate at a 7 percent annual rate? 26. You own a portfolio that has $2,500 invested in Stock A and $3,750 invested in Stock B. If the expected returns on these stocks are 9 percent and 14 percent, respectively, what is the expected return on the portfolio?(Do not round your intermediate calculations.) 34. You own a

Critically discuss the main theories of corporate governance, focusing Essay

Critically discuss the main theories of corporate governance, focusing in particular on how they apply to different types of co - Essay Example What this means is that corporate governance could be looked at from a perspective of the legal administration of different businesses. In effect, mechanisms and acts that would constitute corporate governance in one firm or business may not constitute corporate governance in another because of differences in the legal organization of the companies involved. Interesting, the demarcations that company law gives to the various forms of companies inform the basis of the existence of various corporate governance theories. With reference to company law, corporate governance could generally be seen as the legal mandate that binds players in various organizations and institutional set ups to ensure that companies meet the interest of all stakeholders, defined to include shareholders, customers, employees and the government3. Contract Theory and Corporate Theory Contract theory and corporate theory remain two of the major forms of theories of corporate governance. As indicated earlier, these two theories are directly related to the allocation and differentiations that exists in the types of business under company law. With reference to corporate theory, its principles could be dated to as far back as the era of â€Å"artificial† entity theory. The artificial entity theory dates back to the dates before the 1800s when governments made special legislations to ensure that the power to operate corporations was vested in the power and authority of public benefit units4. Some of these public benefit entities included schools, churches and the larger community. However, these public benefit units were not the outright owners of the corporations but the government. It is in light of this simulated ownership that the theory became known as the artificial entity theory. In relation to the present study, it would be noted that the corporate theory has a lot of influence on corporate governance in the sense that because the cooperation are supposedly owned by government, th ere are State defined legislations that affect and influence their operations. Though many who belong to the fiction theory school of thought hold that â€Å"corporations are simply legal fictions, created and sustained by an act of the state†5 and that there are weaker internal management principles that defeat the principles of corporate governance, the reality is that in a state where institutions are made to function properly, there is no way managers can expect to go away with lapses in corporate governance. Under contract theory, reference is made to contract-based corporate theory where actors in various companies and organizations are expected to play a collaborative role in ensuring that they use asymmetric information to regularize the construct of contractual arrangements6. In effect, the contract theory expects that managers and administrators would work and function as people who have been assigned to play specific roles within a specific timeframe for a specific reward. Essentially, contract theory greatly affects corporate governance because it is said to be an avenue by which managers and stakeholders in the running of businesses feel fundamentally obliged to work and operate within the premises of the contracts they agreed upon7. In certain quarters, this has been said to

Working in Teams Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Working in Teams - Research Paper Example This paper describes the work in team and compares it with individual work. Teamwork has lately become one of the most essential ways in which work is being organized as organizations are increasingly delegating work responsibilities to work groups rather than individuals. Structural changes at the workplace such as the implementation of teams are more likely to increase efficiency while encouraging workers to work harder and smarter. Working in teams does yield better results over the efforts of any one individual because when a group of people works together actively, all their skills are harnessed effectively, thereby leading to the achievement of a common purpose. Individuals in the group are more confident about their abilities and are more willing to contribute their ideas because they will be enriched through the team member’s input. Unlike teams, individuals working on their own are often under pressure to perform that they may end up making simple mistakes that could easily avoided when working in teams. The team players can tolerate twice as much pressure as individuals working independently in rowing games. This analogy can as well be extended in a general team context, to explain that the pain threshold of individuals working in teams is much higher than that of independent workers, and this enables them to overcome challenges that come with work. In that respect, working in teams increases individuals’ competence to handle tasks as the members often build each other’s capacity with the sole purpose of enhancing the overall group performance.

Does drug treatment reduce recidivism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Does drug treatment reduce recidivism - Essay Example Victim awareness, monetary penalties, and juvenile supervision interventions are rating poorly on their effectiveness (MacKenzie, 2006). Guts feelings help inform decisions about many things in life and experience helps sharpen gut feelings. The experience of community correctional officials enables them to infer about the effectiveness of certain aspects of correctional programs. Even so, there are elements about correctional programs that gut feelings cannot capture accurately and that need the input of research. Research provides scientific ways of testing the effectiveness and flaws of a correctional program (Craig et. al., 2013). An added advantage with research is that the findings can be replicated to test for their reliability, something that is difficult with gut feelings. Research uses empirical ways of generating knowledge whereas gut feelings use intuition. Overall, both research and gut feelings are important and community correctional officials should combine them in assessing the effectiveness of a program (White et. al., 2008). The inputs of the two should complement each

Speciation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Speciation - Essay Example These two processes  led to  the behavioural speciation between Sciuirus apbios and Sciuirus vulgaris. Allopatric speciation was a consequence of the geographic isolation of the Caribbean Sea. Initially, St. Kitts and Nevis were a single island and there only existed one squirrel species. However, there was the divergence of the initial island, and there emerged two small islands that contained different species of the first squirrel species. The diagram below best describes allopatric speciation: The bottleneck effect occurs when excessive tourism and development creates a genetic drift between animals of the same species. In this case, there was a volcanic eruption in St. Kitts that killed an enormous population of the squirrel population. The explosion led to massive loss of alleles in the genetic pool of St. Kitts rodents. Consequently, Sciuirus apbios evolved differently from Sciuirus vulgaris. The image below best describes the bottleneck effect: †¢ Sciuirus vulgaris has an average gestation period of 29.3 days compared to Sciuirus apbios that have a gestation period of 42.7 days. The difference in the gestation periods of the two species is significant enough to prevent successful reproduction. In conclusion, the emergence of Sciuirus apbios is a result of the divergence of the Sciuirus vulgaris population as a result of allopatric speciation and the bottleneck effect (Wolff & Sherman,

ACC557 †Financial Accounting Essay Example for Free

ACC557 – Financial Accounting Essay 1. Analyze each company’s history, product/services, major customers, major suppliers, and leadership and provide a synopsis of each company. The Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO ) vs. PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP ) war is one of the greatest rivalries in corporate history, just like Apple vs. Microsoft. Coca-Cola and Pepsi are the two most popular and widely recognized beverage brands in the world. They have been competing in the soft drink sector for over a century and both companies enjoy a high degree of brand consciousness globally. Both companies try to market as part of a lifestyle. At the same time, these two soda giants are among the most popular and respected dividend growth companies in the market, so lets take a look at the Coke vs. Pepsi debate from an investors perspective. Coca-Cola uses phrases such as â€Å"Coke side of life† in their website, while Pepsi uses phrases such as â€Å"Hot stuff† in their web, to promote the idea that Pepsi is â€Å"in sync† with the cool side of life. Ironically, both Pepsi and Coke have similar beginnings: both were created in the 19th century and both were the results of the experimental work of innovative pharmacists. Coke was created in 1886 by Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton while Pepsi was developed in 1898 by North Carolina pharmacist and drugstore owner, Caleb Bradham. The history of Pepsi began with a man named Caleb Davis Bradham. He was born in Chinquapin, North Carolina on May 27, 1867. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and attended the University of Maryland, School of Medicine, around 1890. After returning to North Carolina, Mr. Bradham taught public school for about a year, and later opened a drug store on the corner of Middle and Pollock Streets in downtown New Bern. In 1902, Bradham launched the Pepsi-Cola Company in the back room of his pharmacy and on December 24, 1902 the Pepsi-Cola Company was incorporated in the state of North Carolina. The business began to grow, and on June 16, 1903,  Pepsi-Cola was officially registered with the U.S. Patent Office. In 1910 there were 250 Pepsi-Cola franchises in 24 states and in January of that year the Pepsi Cola Company held their first Bottler Convention in New Bern. In 1926, Pepsi received its first logo redesign since the original design of 1905. In 1929, the logo was changed again. In 1931, at the depth of the Great Depression, the Pepsi-Cola Company entered bankruptcy. Assets were sold and Roy C. Megargel bought the Pepsi trademark. Megargel was unsuccessful, and soon Pepsis assets were purchased by Charles Guth, the President of Loft, Inc. Today PepsiCo, Inc. (PepsiCo) is a global food and beverage company. Through the Companys bottlers, contract manufacturers and other partners, the Company makes, markets, sells and distributes a range of foods and beverages in more than 200 countries and territories. PepsiCo is organized into four business units: PepsiCo Americas Foods (PAF), which includes Frito-Lay North America (FLNA), Quaker Foods North America (QFNA) and all of its Latin American food and snack businesses (LAF); PepsiCo Americas Beverages (PAB), which includes all of its North American and Latin American beverage businesses; PepsiCo Europe, which includes all beverage, food and snack businesses in Europe and South Africa, and PepsiCo Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), which includes all beverage, food and snack businesses in AMEA, excluding South Africa. In 2011 the company had revenues of $66.504 billion and a net income of $6.462 billion. The company has around 29700 employees worldwide. PepsiCo is also listed on the NYSE and is also a part of the Dow Jones Industrial composite. Pepsi Co’s current chief executive is Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi who has been at the helm since 2006. The history of Coca-Cola began with Col. John Pemberton. He was wounded in the Civil War, became addicted to morphine, and began a quest to find a substitute to the dangerous opiate. The prototype Coca-Cola recipe was formulated at Pembertons Eagle Drug and Chemical House, a drugstore in Columbus, Georgia, originally as a coca wine. In 1885, Pemberton registered his French Wine Coca nerve tonic. In 1886, when Atlanta and Fulton County passed prohibition legislation, Pemberton responded by developing Coca-Cola, essentially a nonalcoholic version of French Wine Coca. By 1888, three versions of Coca-Cola – sold by three separate businesses – were on the market. A co-partnership had been formed on January 14, 1888 between Pemberton and four Atlanta businessmen: J.C. Mayfield, A.O. Murphey; C.O.  Mullahy and E.H. Bloodworth. Charley Pembertons record of control over the Coca-Cola name was the underlying factor that allowed for him to participate as a major shareholder in the March 1888 Coca-Cola Company incorporation filing made in his fathers place. More so for Candler especially, Charleys position holding exclusive control over the Coca Cola name continued to be a thorn in his side. Today The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation headquartered in Atlanta Georgia. It is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola. The Company owns or licenses and markets more than 500 nonalcoholic beverage brands, primarily sparkling beverages but also a variety of still beverages, such as waters, enhanced waters, juices and juice drinks, ready-to-drink teas and coffees, and energy and sports drinks. It owns and markets a range of nonalcoholic sparkling beverage brands, which includes Coca-Cola, Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite. The Companys segments include Eurasia and Africa, Europe, Latin America, North America, Pacific, Bottling Investments and Corporate. In January 2013, Sacramento Coca-Cola Bottling Company announced that it had been acquired by the Company. Effective February 22, 2013, Coca-Cola Co acquired interest in Fresh Trading Ltd. In November 2013, Coca-Cola Company and ZICO Beverages LLC announced that Coca-Cola has acquired the ownership interest in ZICO. The company offers more than 500 brands in over 200 countries and serves over 1.7 billion servings per day. The company’s stock is listed on the NYSE and it is a part of the DJIA, SP index and the Russell 1000 index. The company had revenues of $48.01 billion in the year 2012 and a net income of $9.01 billion. Coca-Cola has a total asset base of $86.17 billion and 146,200 employees worldwide. Pepsi and Coca-Cola customers include authorized bottlers and independent distributors, including foodservice distributors and retailers. Both companies normally grant their bottlers exclusive contracts to sell and manufacture certain beverage products bearing the respective trademarks within a specific geographic area. These arrangements provide both companies with the right to charge their bottlers for concentrate, finished goods and bottled water (Aquafina Dasani) royalties and specify the manufacturing process required for product quality (Wyatt, 2012). Since The Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo do not sell directly  to the consumer, they both rely on and provide financial incentives to their distributors to assist in the distribution and promotion of their respective products. For the independent distributors and retailers, these incentives include volume-based rebates, product placement fees, promotions and displays. For their bottlers, these incentives are referred to as bottler funding and are negotiated annually with each bottler to support a variety of trade and consumer programs, such as consumer incentives, advertising support, new product support, and vending and cooler equipment placement. Consumer incentives include coupons, pricing discounts and promotions, and other promotional offe rs. New product support includes targeted consumer and retailer incentives and direct marketplace support, such as point-of-purchase materials, product placement fees, media and advertising. Pepsi supplies its concentrates to restaurants that they have contracts with. Another market segment that Pepsi targets are grade schools, colleges and universities. PepsiCo main suppliers include; Sandora, Sadochok and Toma juice brands which supply Pepsi’s concentrate, while G.D Searle and company supplies PepsiCo with NutraSweet for PepsiCo diet soft drinks. Ball Metal Beverage Packaging produces Pepsi’s aluminum cans. Amcor produces PETS for Pepsi. It also manufactures plastic bottles for Gatorade (Wyatts, 2012). PepsiCo products generate approximately $108 billion in cumulative annual retail sales. Here are PepsiCo products which had revenues of over $1 billion as of 2009; Pepsi cola, Mountain Dew, Lays, Gatorade, Tropicana, 7up, Doritos, Lipton teas, Quaker foods, Cheetos, Miranda , Ruffles, Aquafina, Pepsi max, Tostitos, Sierra mist, Fritos and Walker’s. PepsiCo foods generated 63% of the net worldwide revenues while 37% of the revenue came from beverages in 2012. Pepsi brand generated the most revenues with about $20 billion in revenues, followed by mountain dew with around $12 billion, the others followed in the order they are listed in above with Walker’s potato chips being the last of the 21 brands listed above. PepsiCo distributes its own product in parts of Europe while it uses contract manufacturers in other areas (PepsiCo, 2013). The main target markets for PepsiCo include the age group 14-30 which has always been the main target market for Pepsi. Historically, Pepsi has always targeted teens with heavy advertising, teen-oriented ads. Coca-Cola customers include large international chains of retailers and restaurants and small independent  businesses. Coca-Cola works with them equally to create mutual benefit. Together with their bottling partners, they serve their customers through account management teams, providing services and support tailored to their needs. Coca-Cola’s suppliers offer different services from packaging, information technology services, bottles and package labeling. The Coca-Cola Company’s main suppliers include; Alcan packaging which offers plastic bottle labels, Alcoa plastic caps, and Cannon provides steam boilers, water treatment systems and plastic products. EDS provides information technology services to Coca- cola for its operation in Latin America. Coca-Cola purchases syrups and concentrates from TCCC and other licensors to manufacture products. They also purchase their raw materials, other than concentrates, syrups, mineral waters, and sweeteners, from multiple suppliers. The beverage agreements with TCCC provide that all authorized containers, closures, cases, cartons and other packages, and labels for the products of TCCC must be purchased from manufacturers approved by TCCC. Leadership at PepsiCo Indra Nooyi is the CEO of Pepsi she describes her leadership style as â€Å"Performance with Purpose,† a mantra that has become central to the PepsiCo journey over these past seven years. Nooyi has chronicled five leadership lessons that together form the roadmap for global leaders in the 21st century (Snyder, 2013). 1. Balance the short-term and long-term. Today’s leaders are, all too often, driven only by short-term quarterly results, yielding decisions that are counterproductive for the longer-term health of the organization and society. Effective leaders must strike a balance. 2. Develop a deep understanding of public/private partnerships. Nooyi points out that many private sector leaders treat the public sector (NGOs, governments) as the enemy—and vice versa. † She believes that NGO leaders do their jobs as a â€Å"labor of love.†Ã‚  Treating them with respect and understanding, as opposed to distain and condescension can go a long way (Snyder, 2013). 3. Think global, act local. Nooyi argues this is not an outdated clichà ©, but instead, sounds advice that can yield innovative, out-of-the box solutions. She showed part of a nine-minute commercial video, produced for the 2012 Chinese New Year. 4. Keep an open mind to adapt to changes. The art of asking probing questions to facilitate dialog and exploration. All-too-often, leaders close their minds to dissent, cutting off much needed debate. To lead in an ever-changing world, Nooyi  says, leaders must adapt and stay nimble (Snyder, 2013). 5. Lead with your head and your heart. Leaders must develop deep emotional intelligence, and bring â€Å"their whole selves to work every day.† They must continually remind themselves that everyone who works for them is a unique human being and seek to strengthen this human connection and bond. Leadership at Coca-Cola is expected from the CEO Muhtar Kent. He runs his company by being an entrepreneur and focusing on cash. He calls his leadership philosophy constructively discontent. (Bhasin, 2012). – According to Kent his preferred description of his leadership – means Its all about an entrepreneurial mentality. Injecting entrepreneurial religion involves getting Cokes 146,000 employees to think like owners. â€Å"People need to feel like they are chasing pennies down the hallway.† Its about the respect for cash,† Kent told Sellers. His devotion to that manifests itself in many ways. For instance: And at Coke, managers have to pay $15 a month if they want to use their cellphones for personal calls (and yes, that rule applies to the CEO too). When you dont see cash, all sorts of things go wrong, he told Sellers. You overspend as an individual and overspend as a company. Kent suggests that people need to be connected with the cash impact of choices and decisions in order to make rational choices. 2. Based on the stock price for the timeline listed below, present a graph that illustrates the stock price of each company. Indicate conclusions that can be drawn based on the trend: a. The day of its initial public offering b. January 1, 2012 c. January 1, 2011 d. January 1, 2010 PepsiCo’s initial public offering was $23 a share in 1999. Coca-Cola’s initial public offering was in 1919, by a consortium of businessmen led by Ernest Woodruff, Robert W. Woodruffs father, purchased The Coca-Cola Company for $25 million. The business was re-incorporated as a Delaware Corporation and its stock was put on public sale on the New York Stock Exchange, with common stock at $40 per share, and preferred stock at $100 per share. The chart below shows the changes in the stock prices of the organization from January 1, 2010, January 1, 2011 and January 1, 2012. While PepsiCo has outgrown Coca-Cola in terms of revenue over the last five years, Coke is doing better than its rival when it comes to earnings-per-share growth over the same period. Coke has considerably higher profit margins than Pepsi, in the area of 21.8% at the op Even if both companies have seen decreasing margins due to bottler acquisitions over the last years, Cokes dominance in drinks seems to provide an advantage when it comes to margins on sales. As incomes rise, so does health awareness. But does any of this actually matter to Coke and Pepsi shareholders? Pricing here is complicated. Coke may have the most valuable brand in the world, and Pepsi’s brands are also quite valuable. It is the value of these brands that allows the stocks to trade at premiums to the market even while their basic products are seeing weak demand. 3. Research and summarize at least two (2) news events (this may include mergers, acquisitions, or political issues) that occurred from 2010 to the present day and the potential impact on the stock price of each company. Indicate how this influences your investment decision related to the company. Events that occurred in 2013 and the potential impact to be on the stock price for both PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. A New York Times article, published October 1st 2013 by Keith Bradsher, expressed concern about land grabs related to the sugar industry and the companies that supplied from it. The advocacy group Oxfam has accused three big international food companies of buying sugar from what they described as a plantation that had unfairly taken land from farmers in Cambodia and Brazil without proper compensation (Bradsher, 2013). Oxfam, called on the food and beverage companies to disclose more about the sources of their sugar supplies. It contended in a report that sugar, soybeans and palm oi l were the three crops producing the fiercest competition for land by large, often foreign, investors. The group’s report assailed three companies by name: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Associated British Foods. Coca-Cola stated that it asked suppliers â€Å"to recognize and safeguard the rights of communities and traditional peoples to maintain access to land and natural resources. According to† Amanda Rosseter, a company spokeswoman, Coca-Cola does not buy sugar directly from farms but from larger suppliers. These purchases have included buying from Tate Lyle Sugars, which in turn has bought limited quantities from Cambodia, but Tate Lyle Sugars has already said that it has no further plans to buy from Cambodia. PepsiCo stated in a  statement that it also paid attention to social responsibility issues in its contracting. The company added that it had â€Å"reached out to the suppliers; they have assured us they are in compliance with applicable laws.† How will it impact the stock price of Coca-Cola and PepsiCo being associated with the idea of taking land away from indigenous poor people so they have access to cheap sources of sugar? In another New York Times article published December 12th 2013 by Stephanie Strom, PepsiCo sealed an unusual deal that goes far beyond the soda wars, PepsiCo is expected to announce soon that it is unseating Coca-Cola as the beverage supplier to one of the nation’s hottest restaurant chains, Buffalo Wild Wings (Strom, 2013). The deal, which will start with the introduction of Pepsi, Mountain Dew and other drink brands in 2014, is the biggest sign so far of how PepsiCo is deploying its thriving snacks business and Quaker, which it also owns, to offset declines in its traditional soda business. â€Å"But what this partnership does is give Buffalo Wild Wings a full access pass to all that PepsiCo has to offer.† And the deal also allows Buffalo Wild Wings to capitalize on PepsiCo’s relationships with major sports organizations like the National Football League and Major League Baseball. 4. Provide an overall financial analysis for each company that highlights the key characteristics for investment and how this may impact an investor’s decision. While PepsiCo has outgrown Coca-Cola in terms of revenue over the last five years, Coke is doing better than its rival when it comes to earnings-per-share growth over the same period. Coke has considerably higher profit margins than Pepsi, in the area of 21.8% at the operating level for the soda giant versus 14.3% for the salty snacks leader. Even if both companies have seen decreasing margins due to bottler acquisitions over the last years, Cokes dominance in drinks seems to provide an advantage when it comes to margins on sales. Coca-Cola has also done better than PepsiCo in terms of reducing share count via stock buybacks; the company has reduced the amount of shares outstanding by 4.6% over the last five years while Pepsi has not managed to reduce its share count by more than 1.3% over that period. On the other hand, the trend could be reversing in the middle term as Pepsis buyback program for 2013 will likely have a bigger impact on shareholders returns. As of the third quarter of 2013 Coke had spent $2.8  billion in stock buybacks during the first nine months of the year, and the company is planning to end 2013 with a repurchase of between $3.0 billion and $3.5 billion for the full year. Pepsi is planning to end 2013 with nearly $3 billion in buybacks. Even if Coke repurchases $3.5 billion during the year, that would represent roughly 2% of the companys $174.8 billion market cap. While Pepsis buyback would still be smaller in absolute terms, $3 billion would account for a slightly higher 2.3% of the co mpanys market value around $130.1 billion. Cokes buyback program has been bigger in recent years, but the company may be losing that advantage over PepsiCo in 2013, so its hard to tell which company will return more capital to shareholders via repurchases in the coming years. 5. Based on your review of the financial data for each company, indicate the accuracy and reliability of the data for making investment decision. Provide support for your conclusion. When the ratios of the two companies are compared, Coca Cola has a higher return on asset ratio, a higher dividend yield and a higher dividend growth rate over the last five years. Coca Cola also has a higher P/E ratio but PepsiCo has a higher EPS compared to Coca Cola. From the above information I would advise an investor to buy Coca Cola stock as compared to PepsiCo. My recommendation is based on expected earnings from the stock in terms of dividends and dividend yield, return on assets and the P/E ratio. A higher return on assets shows that a company is utilizing its assets effectively and efficiently in generating earnings. A higher P/E ratio also shows that the investors expect more earnings from the stock. Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo are Dividend Aristocrats, meaning they have been able to increase dividends over the last 25 consecutive years. Coke has an amazing track record of 51 consecutive dividend increases in a row, while Pepsi has a smaller but still impressive trajectory of 41 consecutive dividend increases. When it comes to dividend growth, however, Coke has a better trajectory than Pepsi over the long term, and the company also delivered a bigger increase for 2013 with a 10% hike versus Pepsis 6% dividend rise for the year. 6. Recommend which company you consider as the better investment for your client and how you will present your recommendation. Support your recommendation with data from your analysis. Recommendations for Investment In order to make an investment in a particular organization, it is necessary for the investors to make sure  that, the investors consider certain key things. The points to be considered by the investors include earning per share, net income and trend in movement of the price of the security of the organization (Pogue, 2010). The price of the stock of the organization Coca Cola Company is $37.67 whereas; the price of stock of PepsiCo is $70.27. This shows that, PepsiCo has a better stock price in comparison to Coca Cola. The earnings per share of PepsiCo is $3.76 whereas, the earnings per share of Coca Cola Company is $1.91. PepsiCo has net income of $6443000 whereas; Coca Cola Company has net income of $8572000. Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have earned their rights to be among the most popular dividend growth names in the market due to their rock-solid competitive strengths and time-tested dividend growth trajectories. However, Coke has been able to deliver superior dividend growth over the last few years thanks to its higher profitability and earnings growth rates. Valuations are very similar so, for the same price of a Pepsi, Im having a Coke. Therefore, from this, one can make a conclusion on the expected future earnings and capital gains. The information deducted from the ratios presented above show that Coca Cola is the best buy. This therefore, shows that before buying a stock there is a rigorous exercise that must be undertaken to gather financial information and from that deduct the effect that information will have on the stock prices. (Cardenal, 2013). References 1. Bhasin, Kim (2012). Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent Explains Why Everythings All About Cash. Retrieved on March 14, 2014 http://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-ceo-muhtar-kents-leadership-philosophy-2012-5 2. Bradsher, Keith (2013). Worried About Land Grabs, Group Presses 3 Corporations to Disclose Sugar Purchases. Retrieved on March 12, 2014 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/02/business/3-corporations-pressed-to-disclose-data-on-sugar-purchases.html?ref=pepsicoinc_r=0 3. Cardenal, Andres (2013) Better Buy: Coca-Cola vs. PepsiCo. Retrieved on March 12, 2014 http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/11/06/better-buy-coca-cola-vs-pepsico.aspx 4. -Cola (2013). Bloomberg Business Week. Retrieved on March 12, 2014 investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/ratios.asp? 5. â€Å"History of Pepsi vs. Coke Rivalry at Rivals4Ever†. Rivals4ever.com.

Chaucers Models of Authorship and his Anxiety Essay Example for Free

Chaucers Models of Authorship and his Anxiety Essay Chaucers Models of Authorship and his Anxiety of Influence in the Prologue to the Legend of Good Women.  There is no doubt that Sir Geoffrey Chaucer placed immense value upon the integrity and accuracy of his work. This is clearly evident in the poem, Chaucers Wordes Unto Adam, his Owne Scriveyn, where he reprimands his scribe Adam for his negligence and over zealousness in copying texts he has given him. But after my makyng thow wryte more trewe, So ofte adaye I mot thy werk renewe,  It to correct and eke to rubbe and scrape,  And al is thorugh thy negligence and rape. (Chaucer, Adam 4-7)  It is a short, yet passionate poem as it succinctly illustrates the intense ferocity Chaucer felt toward Adam for altering his creations; as demonstrated when he calls down a plague upon poor Adams head! Chaucers preoccupation with the transmission of texts that are of quality and trewe spills over into another of his works, prologue to Legend of Good Women [G Text], in which he examines the whole concept of his responsibility as an author in a more holistic fashion. This essay seeks to discuss how Chaucer felt about his accountability as an author, translator and mediator of texts and the influences that fashioned his subjectivity as a writer. It also seeks to explore the anxiety that Chaucer displays in the prologue as to his justification as an author and his realisation of the influence that his subjectivity would have in the future on his readership. It is clear that about the time Chaucer commenced to write the prologue to the Legend of Good Women, that he was beginning to feel very self-aware of his impact upon his readers and his responsibility as an author. In a time when illiteracy rates were high and his works were scantly distributed among a privileged coterie, Chaucer began to awaken to his accountability to adequately transmit the truth of a text. Chaucer saw himself as the saviour of these tales, which only for his penning would be lost to the world forever. And if that olde bokes were aweye/ Yloren were of rememberance the keye (LGW 25-26). A most interesting metaphor that he uses to convey this in the prologue is the image of himself as the reaper of left over ears of corn thereby salvaging the tales and legends of old by committing them to the written word. For wel I wot that folk han here-beforn  Of makyng ropen, and lad awey the corn;  And I come after, glenynge here and there,  And am ful glad if I may fynde an ere  Of any goodly word that they han left (LGW 61-65).  Chaucer saw himself as undertaking the labour of collecting, recording and translating these stories, at times even reconstituting them using his own discretion As of the lef again the flour to make (LGW 71-72). Chaucers labour of love was to remember these stories and in doing so form a bedrock upon which to establish English as a literary language his flowers will become the bread upon which English literature will be sustained. It is also interesting to note that Chaucer uses a specific flower as the metaphor for his works the daisy. This is a simple, humble, unpretentious flower perhaps a metaphor for the English vernacular: numerous but unadorned. Chaucer blatantly announced in the prologue, his ultimate objective in the compilation of these tales was, The naked text in English to declare (LGW 86). Using the English vernacular, over French and Latin, Chaucer wanted to establish the artistic integrity of the English language and he did this with fabulous success. Less than a century later, Thomas Hoccleve canonised Chaucer as a literary progenitor, as a quasi-religious icon, as a model of authoritative advice, and as the founder of a national poetic tradition (Perkins, 103), in the im mortal lines: My deere maistir, God his soule qwyte, And fadir, Chaucer, fayn wolde han me taght,  But I was dul and lerned lyte or naght. (Hoccleve, 2077-2079)  It is possible that Chaucer projected that his name would be draped with the mantle of a title so weighted with reverence and respect as the father and creator of a literary tradition and it is evident a certain anxiety about his role as the author is manifested in the prologue to Legend. It is unusual that a 14th century author would be concerned about his bearing over a text as this view to the writing and development of an authors work is commonly associated with the Modernist approach to literary theory which was first brought into vogue during the 20th century. In practical terms, Chaucer understood that in each text he wrote, there was a part of him in it it was subjective. Chaucer was the vital and central ingredient to the flower that he had reconstructed. In the prologue Chaucer thoroughly considered his credibility as an author and translator of these stories, contemplating the influences and modes of authorship, which had constructed and influenced his own style.