Malleus Maleficarum, the Medieval Witch Hunter Book

The Malleus Maleficarum, a Latin book written in 1486 and 1487, is also known as The Hammer of Witches. This is a translation of the title. Authorship of the book is credited to two German Dominican monks, Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger. The two were also theology professors. Sprengers role in writing the book is now thought by some scholars to have been largely symbolic rather than active. The Malleus Maleficarum was not the only document about witchcraft written in the medieval period, but it was the best-known of the time. Because it came so soon after Gutenbergs printing revolution, it was more widely distributed than previous hand-copied manuals. The Malleus Maleficarum came at a peak point in European witchcraft accusations and executions. It was a foundation for treating witchcraft not as a superstition, but as a dangerous and heretical practice of associating with the Devil — and therefore, a great danger to society and to the church. The Witches Hammer During the 9th through 13th centuries, the church had established and enforced penalties for witchcraft. Originally, these were based on the churchs assertion that witchcraft was a superstition. Thus, belief in witchcraft was not in accord with the churchs theology. This associated witchcraft with heresy. The Roman Inquisition was established in the 13th century to find and punish heretics, seen as undermining the churchs official theology and therefore a threat to the very foundations of the church. At about that same time, secular law became involved in prosecutions for witchcraft. The Inquisition helped to codify both church and secular laws on the subject and began to determine which authority, secular or church, had responsibility for which offenses. Prosecutions for witchcraft, or Maleficarum, were prosecuted primarily under secular laws in Germany and France in the 13th century, and in Italy in the 14th. Papal Support In about 1481, Pope Innocent VIII heard from the two German monks. The communication described cases of witchcraft theyd encountered and complained that church authorities were not sufficiently cooperative with their investigations. Several popes before Innocent VIII, notably John XXII and Eugenius IV, had written or taken action on witches. Those popes were concerned with heresies and other beliefs and activities contrary to church teachings that were thought to undermine those teachings. After Innocent VIII received the communication from the German monks, he issued a papal bull in 1484 that gave full authority to the two inquisitors, threatening with excommunication or other sanctions any who molested or hindered in any manner their work. This bull, called Summus desiderantes affectibus (desiring with supreme ardor) from its opening words, put the pursuit of witches clearly in the neighborhood of pursuing heresy and promoting the Catholic faith. This threw the weight of the whole church behind the witch hunts. It also strongly argued that witchcraft was heresy not because it was a superstition, but because it represented a different kind of heresy. Those practicing witchcraft, the book argued, made agreements with the Devil and cast harmful spells. New Handbook for Witch Hunters Three years after the papal bull was issued, the two inquisitors, Kramer and possibly Sprenger, produced a new handbook for inquisitors on the subject of witches. Their title was Malleus Maleficarum. The word Maleficarum means harmful magic, or witchcraft, and this manual was to be used to hammer out such practices. The Malleus Maleficarum documented beliefs about witches and then enumerated ways to identify witches, convict them of the charge of witchcraft, and execute them for the crime. The book was divided into three sections. The first was to answer skeptics who thought that witchcraft was just a superstition, a view shared by some previous popes. This part of the book attempted to prove that the practice of witchcraft was real and that those practicing witchcraft really did make agreements with the Devil and cause harm to others. Beyond that, the section asserts that not believing in witchcraft is itself heresy. The second section sought to prove that real harm was caused by Maleficarum. The third section was a manual for the procedures to investigate, arrest, and punish witches. Women and Midwives The manual charges that witchcraft was mostly found among women. The manual bases this on  the idea that both good and evil in women tend to be extreme. After providing many stories of womens vanity, tendency toward lying, and weak intellect, the inquisitors also allege that a womans lust is at the basis of all witchcraft, thus making witch accusations also sexual accusations. Midwives are especially singled out as wicked for their supposed ability to prevent conception or terminate a pregnancy by deliberate miscarriage. They also claim midwives tend to eat infants, or, with live births, offer children to devils. The manual asserts that witches make a formal pact with the Devil, and copulate with incubi, a form of devils who have the appearance of life through aerial bodies. It also asserts that witches can possess another persons body. Another assertion is that witches and devils can make male sexual organs disappear. Many of their sources of evidence for the weakness or wickedness of wives are, with unintentional irony, pagan writers like Socrates, Cicero, and Homer. They also drew heavily on writings of Jerome, Augustine, and Thomas of Aquinas. Procedures for Trials and Executions The third part of the book deals with the goal of exterminating witches through trial and execution. The detailed guidance given was designed to separate false accusations from truthful ones, always assuming that witchcraft and harmful magic really existed, rather than being a superstition. It also assumed that such witchcraft did real harm to individuals and undermined the church as a kind of heresy. One concern was about witnesses. Who could be witnesses in a witchcraft case? Among those who could not be witnesses were quarrelsome women, presumably to avoid charges from those known to pick fights with neighbors and family. Should the accused be informed of who had testified against them? The answer was no if there was a danger to the witnesses, but that the identity of witnesses should be known to the prosecuting lawyers and the judges. Was the accused to have an advocate? An advocate could be appointed for the accused, though witness names could be withheld from the advocate. It was the judge, not the accused, who selected the advocate. The advocate was charged with being both truthful and logical. Examinations and Signs Detailed directions were given for examinations. One aspect was a physical examination, looking for any instrument of witchcraft, which included marks on the body. It was assumed most of the accused would be women, for the reasons given in the first section. The women were to be stripped in their cells by other women, and examined for any instrument of witchcraft. Hair was to be shaved from their bodies so that devils marks could be seen more easily. How much hair was shaved varied. These instruments could include both physical objects concealed, and also bodily marks. Beyond such instruments, there were other signs by which, the manual claimed, a witch could be identified. For example, being unable to weep under torture or when before a judge was a sign of being a witch. There were references to the inability to drown or burn a witch who still had any objects of witchcraft concealed or who were under the protection of other witches. Thus, tests were justified to see if a woman could be drowned or burned. If she could be drowned or burned, she might be innocent. If she could not be, she was probably guilty. If she did drown or was successfully burned, while that might be a sign of her innocence, she was not alive to enjoy the exoneration. Confessing Witchcraft Confessions were central to the process of investigating and trying suspected witches, and made a difference in the outcome for the accused. A witch could only be executed by the church authorities if she herself confessed, but she could be questioned and even tortured with the aim of getting a confession. A witch who confessed quickly was said to have been abandoned by the Devil, and those who kept a stubborn silence had the Devils protection. They were said to be more tightly bound to the Devil. Torture was seen as, essentially, an exorcism. It was to be frequent and often, to proceed from gentle to harsh. If the accused witch confessed under torture, however, she must also confess later while not being tortured for the confession to be valid. If the accused continued to deny being a witch, even with torture, the church could not execute her. However, they could turn her over after a year or so to secular authorities — who often had no such limitations. After confessing, if the accused then also renounced all heresy, the church could permit the penitent heretic to avoid a death sentence. Implicating Others The prosecutors had permission to promise an unconfessed witch her life if she provided evidence of other witches. This would produce more cases to investigate. Those she implicated would then be subject to investigation and trial, on the assumption that the evidence against them might have been a lie. But the prosecutor, in giving such a promise of her life, explicitly did not have to tell her the whole truth: that she could not be executed without a confession. The prosecution also did not have to tell her that she could be imprisoned for life on bread and water after implicating others, even if she did not confess — or that secular law, in some locales, could still execute her. Other Advice and Guidance The manual included specific advice to judges on how to protect themselves from the spells of witches, under the obvious assumption that they would worry about becoming targets if they prosecuted witches. Specific language was given to be used by the judges in a trial. To ensure that others cooperated in investigations and prosecutions, penalties and remedies were listed for those who directly or indirectly obstructed an investigation. These penalties for the uncooperative included excommunication. If the lack of cooperation was persistent, those who obstructed an investigation faced condemnation as heretics themselves. If those obstructing the witch hunts did not repent, they could be turned over to secular courts for punishment. After Publication There had been such handbooks before, but none with the scope or with such papal backing as this one. While the supporting papal bull was limited to southern Germany and Switzerland, in 1501 Pope Alexander VI issued a new papal bull. The cum acceperimus authorized an inquisitor in Lombardy to pursue witches, broadening the authority of witch hunters. The manual was used by both Catholics and Protestants. Although widely consulted, it was never given the official imprimatur of the Catholic church. Although publication was aided by Gutenbergs invention of movable type, the manual itself was not in continuous publication. When witchcraft prosecutions increased in some areas, the wider publication of the Malleus Maleficarum followed.

Bill of Rights Four Freedoms - 1528 Words

The first amendment of the Bill of Rights to the constitution guarantees four freedoms: freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly. The Bill of Rights was passed on December 15, 1791. Since then, the freedoms have been debated, discussed, and fought and died for. Many have immigrated to America to receive those freedoms. The Founding Fathers knew what they were doing because they believed in power of ideas and debate, not censorship. The first amendment to the constitution is important because it prohibits congress from establishing an official religion in the U.S., gives Americans the freedom to say what is on their minds, and gives the right to petition and assemble peacefully. The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United†¦show more content†¦During the Red Scare of the early 1920s, thousands were deported for their political views. During the McCarthy period, the infamous blacklist ruined lives and careers. Today, the creators, producers and distributors of popular culture are often blamed for the nations deep social problems. Calls for censorship threaten to erode free speech (American Civil Liberties union). All you ever hear about in the news lately is people getting in trouble for speech. Many Americans embrace freedom of speech for the same reasons they embrace other aspects of individualism. Freedom of speech is the right to defiantly, robustly and irreverently speak ones mind just because it is ones mind. Freedom of speech is thus bonded in special and unique ways to the human capacity to think, imagine and create. Conscience and consciousness are the sacred precincts of mind and soul. Freedom of speech is intimately linked to freedom of thought, to that central capacity to reason and wonder, hope and believe, that largely defines our humanity (Smolla). The right to assemble allows people to gather peacefully for protests to bring about changes. 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Regardless of Faith free essay sample

Being ambivalent about my choice of religion shouldnt  ­really surprise anyone, especially when Im still wading through the notorious teenage years of angst, when authority exists to be questioned. Nothing is set in stone, and religion is no exception. I think I have a right to be religiously ambivalent due to my family and the variety of religious experiences Ive been through. My dad is unquestionably an atheist, and my mom is a converted Baptist, although I suspect she may have converted simply because of peer pressure and her very limited understanding of English at the time. However, my mom eventually grasped the concept of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and has come to like the idea of having someone to pray to during difficult times. My dad, often the source of those difficult times, chides my mother for her new devotion to God and finds sport in undermining religion. We will write a custom essay sample on Regardless of Faith or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page He suggests that logic rules the world and spends ridiculous amounts of energy teaching me to depend only on myself. This conflict in my household might explain the lack of any serious conversations about religion, although neither of my parents has any problem saying the word â€Å"God† – my mom when she is appreciative of something, and my dad when he gets hurt badly. In the end, it is up to me to determine how I want to deal with religion. I know what the word â€Å"faith† means, so nobody can accuse me of not having any. I have faith before each tennis match, straightening my strings and jumping up and down. I have faith that no matter how unkind the late night gets as my head bows over my homework assignment or textbook chapter, the morning will eventually come to make it all worthwhile. And I have faith that my 81-year-old grandfather, who was denied a visa to visit the U.S., will keep his promise to quit smoking so that I can go to China to see him one more time. Id like to believe that being ambivalent about religion means I am  ­allowed to dabble in both area of belief and apply them as I see fit. As I go through my academic career, being ambivalent about religion means I can push through using my belief in myself and my willpower to succeed. It also means there is nothing wrong with whispering, â€Å"Oh God, please!† when I receive response letters from colleges next spring or closing my eyes and praying when I need strength or solace from sadness. While religion is a touchy topic for some, I find that kindness, forgiveness, perseverance, and hope do not fall under any specific doctrine. And Im glad that my desire to go to college and discover intellectual enlightenment is a secular pursuit. If a Christian, Jew, Buddhist, or atheist can do it, why cant a religiously  ­ambivalent person?

Trauma Centers Essays - Medicine, Health Care, Health,

Trauma Centers Yesenia Rodriguez South University Trauma Centers Due to the advanced state of industry a number of devices and machines have come into common use which, often through intentional misuse, result in very serious injuries. Two examples are the automobile and the gun. When a serious injury results from something such as an automobile accident the victim usually has a very short period in which to obtain emergency medical intervention before the shock resulting from his or her injuries is irreversible. Usually this period of time is no longer than one hour, and is often less. If measures to treat shock and the cause of the shock, massive internal bleeding for instance, are not instituted within this first hour after the injury the mortality rate increases exponentially every fifteen to twenty minutes. The state of emergency medical care currently practiced in this community involves an excellent pre-hospital phase under the jurisdiction of Los Angeles City paramedics. The paramedics have jurisdiction of about thirty -five emergency rooms to which their patients can be transferred after beginning medical treatment at the scene of the accident. This is where the problem occurs. To provide the best possible emergency care at the hospital, two factors play an important part. First, the staff must work on at least two to three severely injured patients daily to maintain their technical skill at top level. Second, surgeons and operating rooms must be available within 15 minutes notice, twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year. In the San Fernando Valley, this level of care is not met anywhere. In greater Los Angeles, this level of care is met at less than six hospitals. The problem involves too many emergency rooms for the population. The cost of maintaining an operating room on fifteen minute standby day and night would put hospitals out of business, since even the busiest hospitals only receive three to four severely injured patients each week. The patient load would not support the very high cost of this service. The best remedy to this situation would be to designate " Trauma Centers ". Instead of having thirty five emergency rooms taking care of the critically injured patients three or four selected emergency rooms would be geographically designated to receive all of the critical patients. This would provide enough of a case load to justify the special equipment and staff that is required for such system. Most importantly however, the morbidity and mortality rates from serious accidents would be decreased because the equipment and staff would be available to immediately treat a patient's shock as well as the underlying cause of the shock. By providing a higher quality of care without duplicating the services of an emergency room only a few blocks away, the rate of rising health costs could probable be effectively checked in the area of emergency medicine. This entire argument can probably be summarized by considering a hypothetical case study . A young woman falls asleep at the wheel of her V.W. bug and crashes into a telephone pole. Paramedics arrive finding her unconscious and in a sever state of shock, although she is showing no evidence of external blood loss the paramedics begin to treat the shock, but not the unknown underlying cause, and bring her to the closest trauma center. The emergency room team, having seen eight or ten cases similar to this in the last few weeks recognize the few possible causes of the patients shock and prepare to take her to the operating room while continuing to treat the shock. Within fifteen minutes a surgeon has evaluated his patient, received the results of the lab test and X-Rays, and is confident in his diagnosis of a ruptured spleen. The laboratory has twelve units of cross matched blood ready within twenty minutes of the patients' arrival to the hospital. Within thirty minutes of her arrival the patient has been taken to the operating room, had her abdomen open and explored f or injuries, and her damaged spleen removed. The cause of her shock has been treated within forty five minutes, the shock reverses, and the patient now has about a ninety five per cent chance of recovery. The cost of this to her has

Statement of the Business Proposal essay

Statement of the Business Proposal essay Statement of the Business Proposal essay Statement of the Business Proposal essayAt the moment, AESL faces the problem of the enhancement of the prevention of problems into the electrical network. Customers of the company need the efficient system of the identification of problems to resolve them fast because this is the only way to maintain the stable electricity supply to customers. In such a situation, the company has to introduce the new system that allow conducting the surveillance over the network and reporting to customers about identified problems that affect the functioning of the network. In this regard, the enhancement of AESL performance through the aerial inspection service for electrical power distribution networks using sensors integrated onto an autonomous uninhabited aerial vehicle (UAV) is one of the major priorities of the company. To enhance AESL performance, the new system can be introduced – ENSARS. ENSARS Electrical Network Surveillance and Reporting Service (ENSARS: Project 7057.141) will p rovide a full inspection service for power distribution networks.AESL NeedsFirst, AESL needs to collect the information the network and identify failures that will help the company to inform customers about actual problems or disruptions of the network that can stop the electricity supply via the network. The introduction of aerial inspections is one of the urgent needs because this is the most efficient way to track the network and identify possible problems.As the company collects the data on existing problems and failures of the network, it has to process the information properly. For instance, some problems may be crucial, while other may be insignificant and cannot interfere into the performance of the network. The information obtained from the aerial inspection has to be processed to range problems and to decipher information obtained after the aerial inspection.The next step is the analysis of data collected in the course of the aerial inspections and information processed af ter the inspection. In this regard, the analysis will involve ranging threats and problems, identifying the most urgent ones and the least urgent ones; developing recommendations for customers how to resolve existing problems: forecast possible impact of problems on the electricity supply and customers.Finally, the customer has to develop the effective system of reporting to customers. What is meant here is the fact that the company should not just report to customers about the problem but also they should provide the information in the plausible and coherent way. For instance, customers may fail to understand properly warnings of the company about the identified problems, if the information is presented in highly technical form and customers cannot always understand the real scope of problems reported.AESL SolutionThe proposed solution is the development of ENSARS. ENSARS Electrical Network Surveillance and Reporting Service (ENSARS: Project 7057.141) – that will provide a full inspection service for power distribution networks. The new system will enhance the performance of the company and resolve its key problems because it opens new opportunities for identifying the problem and reporting them to customers. Moreover, ENSARS will involve automatic processes mainly that will increase the accuracy and independence of the system and effectiveness and speed of reporting to customers.The proposed solution will include four key steps. First, designing the system is essential since ENSARS is a brand new system that needs to be designed first. The design of the new system should match the needs of the company mentioned above. Second, the company should build ENSARS that means the development of the required software, purchase of the equipment and transportation, including the equipment of aircrafts with photo- and video-equipment required for monitoring; singing contracts with suppliers of hardware, software, fuel and other essential items. The third step is operating ENSARS that will involve the training of the personnel of the company to teach them how to use the full potential of the new system and start running the system, when employees of the company are ready to use it. Finally, the company has to maintain the new system and this is the final step to complete the implementation of the proposed solution. The maintenance of the system will involve the employment of the maintenance staff and training of employees responsible for the maintenance system. The system will also need repair and regular upgrade to keep the system up-to-date.RisksOne of the major threats to the proposed system is the risks of information breaches because the company will need to have access to private information of customers to be able to communicate and report problems in the network. Therefore, while introducing ENSARS the company will also need to enhance its information security system.The failure of the system to detect problems is another risk since the proposed system may fail to identify all the problems of the network because some problems cannot be uncovered with the help of the aerial monitoring.Furthermore, there is a risk of communication gaps between the system and customers because of the complexity of reporting or customers’ distrust. If customers are not confident in the reliability and safety of the proposed system, they will not trust it and they may oppose to its wide implementation.Advantages and disadvantages of the systemThe major advantages of ENSARS are regular monitoring and large scope of monitoring. The aerial monitoring will take place regularly as the aircraft will fly regularly to record possible changes in the network and problems that can occur. Aerial monitoring covers the large space in short time that expands the scope of monitoring and allows the company to track problems fast.The major disadvantages of the proposed system are: first, aero monitoring may be not always accurate and, second, high costs of implementation.ScheduleThe implementation of the solution will undergo the following stages:Identification of goals of ENSARSDesigning of ENSARSDevelopment of operational plan of the functioning of ENSARSMaintenance and control over ENSARSEconomic AnalysisThe financial data presented show the clear trend to the steady improvement of the company’s performance due to the introduction of the new system. ENSARS will become profitable in three years and start brining return on investments with the net profit increasing from 1.54% in 2014 to 5.36 in 2016.

Free sample - Alexamara Marine Group Case database management. translation missing

Alexamara Marine Group Case database management. Alexamara Marine Group Case database managementNormalization Normalization defines simple rules that ensure that a database is structured in the best way possible. it ensures that no data is unnecessarily duplicated .This means that no data is held in no more than one table. This is called duplication anomalies. It also ensures that the database has consistency (Date, 2006). The most important thing about normalization is that it allows the user to perform all types of queries which out errors. 1st Normal Formal Form (CategoryNum , Category Description ServiceID , SlipID, Description, CategoryNum, Status, EstHours ,SpentHours ,NextServiceDate). This is table in the first normal form. It has already been normalized from the 0nf because it has a primary key(Date, 2006). The table is in the first normal form (NF1) because it contains no repeating attributes or group of attributes. 2nd Normal Formal Form (CategoryNum , CategoryDescription ServiceID , SlipID, CategoryNum, Status, EstHours ,SpentHours ,NextServiceDate). This table is in second normal form because it is in first normal form and has no partial key dependency. It also means that there is no column that is not part of a primary key is dependent on only portion of the primary key. Â  Functional dependencies in Marina (Marina Num, Name, (Slip Num, Length, Rental Fee, Boat Name)) The functional dependencies are one is to many because marina can have many slips Marina Slip (Slip ID, Marina Num, Slip Num, Length, Rental Fee, Boat Name, Boat Type, Owner Num, Last Name, First Name) To convert this to third normal form one need to test non key dependency . A table in 3NF optimizes the way of holding data with no attributes being duplicated anywhere. Work cited Date, C. (2006) What First Normal Form Really Means in Date on Database: Writings 2000- 2006: New York, Springer-Verlag, pp. 127-128.

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980) Essay

The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980) - Essay Example The house was for the women while bringing money for the household needs was seen as a masculine job until an unexpected turn of event happened during the war, changed everything that was considered norm for centuries. Rosie the Riveter is a movie that shows these changes. When Japan bombed the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the United States was compelled to fight in the Second World War that broke in the dawn of the 1940s. men were recruited to wear uniforms and join the soldiers who valiantly fought for the sake of the country’s safety. Father, husbands and brothers left their jobs and became soldiers. Because of the need for more men in the army, the government did its best to convince all eligible men to brave themselves and serve the country in joining the most heroic responsibility of the male citizens, fighting the war. However, the nation was yet to be faced with another challenge- the lack of people to do the jobs the men left in the country. This called the attention of the government to the females and the propaganda to allure them to do masculine jobs was made. Posters of the image of a woman in bandana, showing her muscles with the caption, ‘we can do it’, was all over the country. Other attempts were quotations of the words of the president asking the women to join the war by doing the jobs that the men left. The works left in the country were as important as the works of the soldiers in the war because they needed planes, armaments and other materials produced in the country while the war was ongoing. This was the situation that was described to the women so that they will see their importance in the preservation of the country’s economy and safety. The husbands were afraid for this change, thinking their wives might not be able to do difficult jobs and the women were also nervous about this change. However, the necessity compelled everyone to do the tasks at hand. Women applied for jobs and learned the skills needed for

Sun Tzu Emphasizes the Importance of Intelligence, Surprise, and Essay

Sun Tzu Emphasizes the Importance of Intelligence, Surprise, and Deception - Essay Example This paper is a comparative analysis of application of intelligence, surprise and deception within the Iraq and United States military during the period between 1990 and 1998. Before investigating on the use of intelligence, surprise and deception in the two countries, it is important to interrogate the meaning of the three terms in military operations. Intelligence support plays a critical role in determining the success of military operation. According to Pace, military intelligence â€Å"provides crucial insights regarding sensitive opportunities that could be exploited by the military to overcome the targeted enemy† (12). Intelligence enables military commanders to clearly indentify the intended end state and establish when the end state of a particular operation is attained (Pace, 12). Pace argues that visualization of the battle space is one the most important role of intelligence to the military. Visualizing the battle space includes possessing the facts about the physi cal and manmade installations in the areas of military operation. In addition, visualizing requires the knowledge about the most current information about the activities of the enemy forces in that particular space and the future potential of the adversary to function in the region of military interest (14). According to Handel (60), collection of accurate military intelligence requires an in-depth understanding of the enemy, especially the objectives that motivate their actions in the battle field (Sharp, 17). Establishing the objectives of the enemy in war is one of the greatest challenges of collecting military intelligence. These challenges are caused by difficulties in determining and predicting actions and response between the enemy and the offensive force once the process of establishing the intent is initiated. In most situations, well intended actions from the joint forces trigger a reaction from the enemy and this could jeopardize the entire operation prematurely. Betts (8 3) argues that determining the extent of reaction from the enemy requires possession of accurate and timely intelligence that would enable the commanders to determine and plan future friendly actions to extract the intentions of the enemy without raising undue suspicion. Possession of appropriate intelligence enables the force commanders to consider different factors that affect the operation directly or indirectly before deciding on the action for establishing the intentions of the adversary. According to Pace, intelligence plays an important role in the three stages of military operations which include during peace, war and during other operations that do not involve war (36). During peacetime, intelligence assists commanders in purchasing relevant supplies, defend and protect their technological appliances and structuring their organizations to enhance efficiency. In addition, periods of peace provide military commanders with opportunities of designing appropriate training regime ns for the combatants and other servicemen. Moreover, intelligence agencies monitor foreign countries and organizations with objectives of establishing potential threats during peacetime (Pace, 38-40). During military operations other than war intelligence is helpful to military commanders because it enables them to make suitable decisions on which forces to deploy at a particular future period, how and where to deploy, in a

Tribal Warfare Essay Example for Free

Tribal Warfare Essay Addressing the threats of tribal warfare and proposing alternatives for resolving such issue were given by Neuhauser in his article.   In the summary, Neuhauser elaborated on the issue and definition of tribal warfare.   Moreover, he pointed out the positive and negative effects of having tribes in the work environment.   The author exposed the issue of tribal warfare with regard to its origin and linked it to how it generates conflict among members of the workforce. With that argument in place, Neuhauser pointed out on the different points in determining the presence of tribal warfare in a workforce.    After giving out possible scenarios for the occurrence of conflict between co-workers, Neuhauser indicated the need for addressing tribal warfare by explaining possible alternatives and solutions in resolving the issue among co-workers and groups. Furthermore, Neuhauser pointed out the important traits and strategies needed by a manager to overcome and bridge the gap caused by tribal warfare; migrating and tribal management skills.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In reaction to the article made by Neuhauser, the paper sees that the author made a good summary of the issue of tribal warfare.   The issues were clearly pointed out and elaborated for the readers to have a clear idea of the whole picture.   Another thing that was good about the summary is Neuhauser gave certain examples by showing a diagram of how tribal warfare can be existent in certain work industries.   In this light, I will have to agree to what the author says that managers should address this issue primarily because if unattended, it will be the company who would suffer losses. Moreover, in response to the points given to address the problem of tribal warfare, the paper sees that Neuhauser limited his scope on the ways managers can effectively solve the issue.   The author just pointed out certain distinct traits that a manager should posses to resolve such issue.   It would have been better if the author elaborated on these concepts a little bit more so that readers might get important points regarding the issue.   On a high note, the methods and skills given by the author was sufficient enough for readers to comprehend and understand the ways of tackling tribal warfare.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After giving a brief summary and personal response to the article, the paper will now elaborate on the ways of tackling the issue of tribal warfare.   This next section seeks to explain further a concept that the paper sees is vital for a positive interaction between tribes and prevent the escalation of conflict between these groups.   The concept that the paper will choose and elaborate is the creation of a team-based organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     The activity of a group of people working cooperatively to achieve shared goals via differentiation of roles and using elaborate systems of communication is basic to our species. (Blackwell Publishing, p.1) With this thing in mind, the idea of creating an organization based on teams is important in a workforce. Firstly, the paper will justify why such concept is important.   This form of collaboration is vital to solving complex problems fast, gaining commitment to change, and tapping the full reservoir of latent energy and ideas possessed by most organizations. (Hastings, p.1) Moreover, â€Å"Organizations worldwide are using teams as a business strategy to increase quality and customer service, improve productivity, and decrease costs.† (Kricher, p.1) Thus, the overall objective of this concept is to promote teamwork among the workforce and groups to facilitate a better outcome for companies. Also, in addressing the issues of tribal warfare, applying this concept means that the manager must be able to link each team/tribes that work independently on specific tasks to harmoniously coexist together to achieve the goals set by the company.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   With the justification of the use of a team-based organization, the issue now at hand is how must the leader act in accordance to this concept and what particular methods must he/she establish to attain such endeavors.   â€Å"The leader of the change process will have to manage and tolerate the conflict, resistance and pain associated with the introduction of such a major change within the organization.† (Blackwell Publishing, p.6) In terms of addressing tribal warfare, the managers must use their necessary skills to influence groups to collaborate. â€Å"As a manager, your job is to reduce your organization’s tribal warfare primarily by building communication bridges between the tribes.† (Neuhauser, 1988, p.5) The next section elaborates on these methods and techniques that a manager can use to promoting a team-based organization.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An initiative that can be made on the part of the manager is setting an organizational support for teams.   â€Å"One important factor in building high-performance teams is the level of support for a team-based approach that exists throughout the organization—starting with senior managers.† (Kricher, p.1) In this process, proper and constant communication is vital among workers and managers to facilitate a more progressive work.   Thus, teamwork is vital in this process as each members of the group must interact to know what processes need to be done and accomplished.    Furthermore, a manager must be efficient enough to create methods for employees to understand and be incorporated to the actual working process. â€Å"In addition, senior managers need to model the values of teamwork and empowerment, because others in the organization will be looking to see if they â€Å"walk the talk.†Ã¢â‚¬  (Kricher, p.1) This method prevents the concept of tribal warfare because it prevents the catalyst of the escalation of this conflict; lack of communication.   With managers currently updated to the current events surrounding the team, issues that may cause tribal warfare with other teams can be prevented or negotiated.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The next method that can be implemented is narrowing or focusing the processes that each team should do. â€Å"In order for teams to succeed, the organization’s structure and people must be oriented to support core business processes.† (Kricher, p.2) This means that manager must be capable enough to create teams that cater to the process that defines what the company stands for.    â€Å"Success is more likely when teams include people with multiple skills who share responsibility for all or at least a significant portion of the overall business process.† (Kricher p.2) Moreover, the manager must be able to address the idea on keeping the business process as each ones focus rather than prioritizing on the interests of the group. Having this in mindset, tribal warfare can be prevented among groups.   Mainly because each one will be focused on the business process rather than their each individual’s group process which may lead to conflict.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another important method to look into is the clarification of roles by each group.   â€Å"Clarity begins with making sure that every team member understands the purpose of the team and how that purpose fits in with the overall organizational vision and objectives.† (Kricher, p.2) The failure of a manager to clarify each team’s roles may lead to problematic consequences.   â€Å"When roles and responsibilities of team members and managers are unclear, confusion and discouragement often follow.† (Kricher p.2) Thus, it is very important for a manager to inform their team what roles and objectives one plays in the overall business process.    â€Å"The best team-based organizations determine a â€Å"how far/how fast† plan that specifies which responsibilities will be assumed by teams and at what pace.† (Kricher, p.2) Tribal warfare can also be prevented by applying effectively this method.   When managers get the roles of groups straight, there will be no pin-pointing of failure to get the job completed because each groups are given the roles and objectives to fulfill and prevent conflict.   Moreover, since roles are clear for each group, passing around jobs to other groups which impede efficiency and effectiveness at work will be prevented.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Next thing that the manager should do is enforce innovations among members of the group to promote continuous learning.   A commitment to being a â€Å"learning organization†Ã¢â‚¬â€ where continuous learning and skill development are expected and encouraged—is critical.† (Kricher, p.3) Managers should be aware that skills need to be improved so that the group will grow and progress to address the current demands in the company. With regards to the issue of tribal warfare â€Å"if several members’ tribes migrate and works together to figure out how to implement a new idea, the possible advantages of a tribal system are often accomplished.† (Neuhauser, 1988 p.7)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Having elaborated on the four methods, the next section of the paper seeks to address certain strategies that can make a manager’s team successful.   Moreover, the paper will also link these strategies on how it can prevent the existence of tribal warfare.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first strategy is having an efficient communication to achieve business objectives. â€Å"By effectively communicating a clear and compelling business case for teams, organizations mobilize support for teams from every level in the organization.† (Kricher, p.4) Lastly is creating quick and effective solutions for the team if ever they encounter conflict. â€Å"When teams have already been implemented and an intervention is announced to increase their effectiveness, that intervention should also be implemented as quickly as possible.† (Kricher, p.4) In terms of tribal warfare, these strategies can also help prevent and at the same time solve the issue. Having an efficient communication among each members of the group is vital in preventing tribal warfare.   This strategy can help each members of the group to harmoniously work together to achieve the business objectives set by the company. Furthermore, coexistence among groups striving to achieve goals will create an environment suitable for every party with one aim in mind.   On the other hand, the latter mentioned strategy is also an important element in addressing tribal warfare. Imposing immediate and effective solutions to the problem can help prevent the workforce from losing its focus on objectives that need to be accomplished.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To conclude, the paper showcased the ways of addressing the negative implications of tribal warfare with the concept of creating team-based organizations.   The paper elaborated on the different methods and strategies a manager can implement to further improve the members of the workforce. As a manager, tribal warfare must never be taken for granted since it creates a barrier among the groups who should work harmoniously and collaboratively to address the needs of the company; growth and devekopment References Blackwell Publishing. Introduction to team-based organizations. Retrieved September 22, 2007 from http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/content/BPL_Images/Content_store/Sample_chapter/9781405106115/001.pdf Hastings, C. Creating a team-based organization. Retrieved September 22, 2007 from http://www.gowertraining.co.uk/docs/teambased.pdf Kricher, L.D. Best Practices of Term-Based Organizations in Development Dimensions International. Retrieved September 22, 2007 from http://www.ddiworld.com/pdf/ddi_bestpracticesteambasedorganizations_wp.pdf Neuhauser, P. (1988). Tribes Still Flourish: Tribal Warfare in Organizations (USA:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Soundview Executive Book Summaries)

A Comparison of High School and College :: Compare Contrast Comparring Essays

School plays an important role in our lives. Many people will spend more than fifteen years at school in order to get the qualifications that are required to work in a specific field. Those years are broken down into several levels, some of them being more enjoyable than others. Two very important levels that people go through are high school and college. Even though some think that these levels are almost the same, there are significant differences between them. The cost of high school is not the same as the cost of college. Also, some differences apply from an academic point of view. Typically, the social environment also differs from high school to college, which can be related to the question of freedom versus responsibility. High school and college are different in many ways. It is true to say that college is more expensive than high school. Of course, it provides a higher level of education, but that expensive fees make it hard for those that come from low income families. At college you also have to buy books where in high school you borrow them from the school. Paying for education can get expensive, but some people pay even more than imaginable. Some cities do not have colleges, so students that want a higher education have to move away to another city where they can get a higher education. This often involves paying for an apartment, food and transportation. However, the cost is not the only thing to consider when comparing high school to college. As college provides a higher level of education, the amount of homework increases. At high school, where it is more of a general education, the time spent at home doing homework is a lot less. This does not mean that in high school, t here is no work; it just means that it is a lot easier in some sense. At college you can also choose from subjects related to your field of study if you desired. There are also some differences between the social environment of students at high school and students at college. Since college students have more work to do at home, they have a limit on the time they can spend outside of school.

The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

William Shakespeare's classic, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, is about two lovers that are forbidden to be together and their solution. The writing style of this Shakespearean play reveals the era of the play by highlighting the social classes. Skillfully using his writing, Shakespeare develops his characters by implying the social classes of each character. Shakespeare uses language usage and style to suggest the individual social standings. In the Renaissance Era, the separation of the social classes is prominent. The four main social groups are the nobles, merchants, the middle class, and laborers (Dowling, â€Å"Renaissance Social Hierarchy†). At the top, the nobles have extensive property, live in large lavish homes outside of the city, and are owners of large businesses (Dowling, â€Å"Renaissance Social Hierarchy†). Since the nobles own most of the land, they have a lot of power and tend to be military officers, advisors to royalty, and politicians (Dowling). Nobles are trained to be warriors, to have social skills, to dance properly, and to carry themselves with a certain air about them (Dowling). Laborers, on the other hand, do not live in such luxury. Their employers did not guarantee them employment and their employment status and paycheck depended on their performance in their duties (Dowling). Despite the hardships in a laborer's life, the life of a peasant was far worse. All of society frowned apon the peasants. The separation of social standing during the Renaissance Era was obvious. Language usage between the different classes was quite different. Those who are higher up in the social ladder have more education opportunities and as a result are more educated. In Shakespeare's writing, the language usage by each character helps to identify the social classification of the character and develop the character. Romeo and Juliet often use an oxymoron or an antithesis when talking to and about each other (â€Å"Bitesize†). † †¦ † (1.1.44–69). Characters like Romeo and Juliet tend to speak in an iambic pentameter blank verse. Common folk or people that are considered laborers tend to speak prose. † †¦ † (1.1.44–69)

Accounting Essay

Contents 1. Introduction2 2. Main Body2 2. 1 Ratio Analysis2 2. 1. 1 Profitability3 2. 1. 2 Efficiency4 2. 1. 3 Liquidity6 2. 1. 4 Risk7 2. 2 Evaluation of Mulberry’s shares as a potential investment7 2. 2. 1 Revenue and Share price8 2. 2. 2 Return10 2. 2. 3 Risk14 2. 3 Funding and capital analysis15 2. 3. 1 Funding analysis15 2. 3. 2 Working capital18 2. 4 Risk management and governance20 2. 4. 1 Corporate governance of Mulberry20 2. 4. 1 Risk & control management22 2. 4. 3 Information and Communication24 2. 4. 4 Monitoring24 3. Conclusion25 Reference26 1. IntroductionThe company that we chose is Mulberry Group. PLC. This is a company that produces and sells bags and purses, as well as designs them for both individuals and other companies. We have chosen the annual report of Mulberry Group. PLC that gives us an in-depth view of the company’s finance performance, investment potential, capital structure and manage operating during the period of time which from financial year 2010 to 2011. With this annual report, we will try to analyze and critically appraise the company’s accounting information, market report and management control system.The following content will be included in this paper: Ratio analysis, investment return, debt and capital analysis, governance and risk management. 2. Main Body 2. 1 Ratio Analysis Ratio analysis is frequently used in evaluating a company’s financial condition. The financial ratios are able to provide us significant information to analyse the company’s financial performance. Depends on these ratios, we can examine the condition of the company’s finance and check whether the results of the company’s operating meet its targets (Atrill and Mclaney, 2008).Normally, we will use cash flow, income statement and finance position to calculate ratios. In the ratio analysis parts, we will calculate and analyse the core ratios of Mulberry plc, these ratios will also be the base of the follo wing parts of this article. According to Mulberry’s annual report, during the financial year 2010 to 2011, the company has experienced a successful year. Mulberry Group’s business mainly focused on the UK market, and the revenues of this company comprised retail and income of design, as the demand of its products increased strongly during the past financial year, the sales raise rapidly.In this part, we will try to analyze the core ratios of the company and simply analyze the probable reason for the changes of these ratios. 2. 1. 1 Profitability To analyse a company’s profitability, there are three ratios concerned: gross margin, net margin and return on capital employed (Collier, 2009). Firstly, we will look into gross margin. This margin mainly shows the relations between the costs and the price of finished goods. Gross margin (2011: 65. 35%; 2010:58. 97%) Gross margin is: (Sales – cost of sales)/sales * 100% The gross margin in 2011: 79501 / 121645*100 %=65. 35 % The gross margin in 2010:42487 /72052*100%=58. 7 % From the ratio, we can see that the gross margin of Mulberry increased to 65. 35% in 2011 from 58. 97% in 2010. The reasons that can cause changes in gross margin is the changes in prices and costs. In Mulberry’s case, the higher gross margin results from the dramatic improvement in revenue as well as cost of sales. According to Note 5, apart from the growth in sale of goods which caused by the impressive performance in new oversea stores and online stores, the 900,000 income, which disclosed in other income, received on the exit of the New Bond Street lease also contributes to the increase in revenue.Net margin (2011:18. 92%; 2010:6. 74%) Net margin is an important ratio to examine a company’s profitability. The formula is: Net margin=Operating profit / sales * 100%, and the ratio for Mulberry is: The net margin in 2011: 23010/121645*100%=18. 92 % The net margin in 2010: 4856/72052*100%=6. 74% Net margin is closely connected with gross margin. From the information above, we can see that during the last year, the gross margin of this company has increased. But the extant of the increase of net margin is higher than it of the gross margin.The most crucial factor result in the increase of operating profit is the operating profit before exceptional items. Details about those exceptional items can be found in Note 7 that a deferred consideration of ? 1,000,000 has been paid to Challice Limited in terms of the growth in the USA operations. Return on capital employed (2011:55. 54%; 2010:19. 26%) Return on capital employed shows the ability of the company to get rewards which can be added into its equity through company’s operating behaviors (Atrill and Mclaney, 2008)Return on capital employed: Operating profit / assets- current liabilities) * 100% Return on capital employed in 2011: 23010/ (76587-34555)*100%=55. 54 % Return on capital employed in 2010: 4856/ (40284-13819)*100%=19. 26% From the ratio above, it is easy to find that the return on capital has raised rapidly in last year, from 19. 26% to 55. 54%. ROCE increased not only because the growth in operating profit and raised asset which mainly contributed by increased inventories as a result of the demand of growing sales and trade receivables.The trade creditors as well as accruals and deferred income have been included in current liabilities since all of them could be paid within 12 months. Moreover, there are ? 1,000,000 provision for the USA deferred consideration, ? 3,900,000 relating to payroll and bonus payments made post year end cut off and ? 1,537,000 accruals for fixed assets happened in 2011 while there were all nil in 2010. 2. 1. 2 Efficiency Based on Collier’s study (2009), there are three core ratios that are usually used to analyse a company’s efficiency, they are asset turnover, stock turnover and sales per employee.The first two ratios are used to measure the efficiency of t he company’s operating of turning its property to generate marketing behaviors and sales, the sales per employee is try to evaluate the employees’ performance. Asset turnover (2011:5. 90x; 2010:6. 70x) Asset turnover: Sales / non-current assets, from it we can calculate: Asset turnover in 2011: 121645/20620=5. 90x Asset turnover in 2010: 72052/10760=6. 70x The asset turnover has slightly fallen, from 6. 70 to 5. 90. The drop of asset turnover indicates a less efficiency use of shareholders’ assets in terms of sales, although the revenue has increased dramatically.However, according to Note 16, it might because the investment in software of ? 615,000 which cost nil in 2010. It also can be interpreted that the return of investment can be effective and huge if invest on new stores or flagship, however, it could also be inefficient but significant return on investment if invest on software, such as ERP system, which might be expensive and need much more time to gain benefit from them. Stock turn (2011: 1. 9x; 2010:3. 3x) The main business of Mulberry is design and retail, according to Collier’s work (2009), stock turn is one of the most important ratio to evaluate the company’s management of its stock.Stock turn: Cost of sale / stock Stock turn in 2011: 42144/22408=1. 9x Stock turn in 2010: 29565/9090=3. 3x The stock turn in 2011 is lower than it in 2010. That means the stock of Mulberry turns 1. 9 times each year now. The considerably increase in inventories which related to the growing demand of sales of goods has contributed to the decline of stock turn. This ratio should be one of the most important ratios of it (Atrill and Mclaney, 2008). Stock turn stands for how many times the stock will turn in a year.Generally, it is important because some businesses treat too much stock as a waste of sources and a high stock turnover rate will usually be regarded as a sign of good management. Although in 2011, there is a decrease from 3 . 3 to 1. 9, it didn’t necessarily mean the company’s management of stock had some problems because the inventories of the company has increased rapidly as we discussed before. As a retailer, the inventories are very important to ensure its market position and the increase of inventories as a result of preparation for market exploring is reasonable. 2. . 3 Liquidity Atrill and Mclaney (2008) stated that the liquidity stands for the short-term finance ability of the company. The ratios that generally used to analyse liquidity are current ratio, and acid test. Current ratio (2011:1. 62x; 2010:2. 14x) First of all, current ratio stands for the proportion between current assets and current liabilities. It is used to analyse the company’s ability to repay its short-term liabilities. High current ratio means the company has enough property to cover its debt, if the current ratio was below 1, the company could be in danger.However, a too high current ratio might mean t he company doesn’t make full use of its property. Current ratio: Current assets / current liabilities Current ratio in 2011: 55967/34555=1. 62x Current ratio in 2010: 29524/13819=2. 14x According to Note 24, the decrease of current ratio mainly because of the current liabilities has increased more than current assets because of those trade payables in current liabilities that not exist in 2010. Acid test (2011:0. 97x; 2010:1. 48x) Acid test is a ratio which trying to evaluate the company’s monetary asset.Different from current ratio, acid test is focusing on whether the company can repay its short-term liabilities with its monetary assets. Acid test: Monetary current assets / current liabilities Acid test in 2011: 33519/34555=0. 97x Acid test in 2011: 20453/13819=1. 48x Because there is high level of inventory in 2011 in order to support the adequate amount of goods to be sale, it is not unacceptable that the monetary current assets without inventory are less than curr ent liabilities for this year. Furthermore, there are several trade payables occurred in 2011 while nil in 2010 in terms of Note 24. . 1. 4 Risk Interest cover (2011:531. 57x; 2010: 197. 00x) The interest cover has increased as a result of much higher profit since it can be seen in Note 22 that there is no changes in borrowings these two years. Therefore, it can be a good thing to shareholders that interest cover increased healthily. The confusing things we found in the annual report were that there is no debt within these two years, only borrowings can be taken into consideration the risk. The details about borrowings can be found in Note 22 that seems all the borrowings are repayable on demand.So, we can’t analyze the risk of this company through these ratios. The reasons why the company didn’t borrow long-term loans from banks and the advantages as well as disadvantages will be discussed in risk management analysis and funding analysis part. The investor part will b e analysed in next part, in the form of buying shares. 2. 2 Evaluation of Mulberry’s shares as a potential investment Mulberry has experienced a significant growth in revenue from 2010 to 2011 and the basic earnings per share increased by 473% to 29. 8p while it was 5. 2p in 2010, both of which are shareholders would like to appreciate.Moreover, it might be out of question that those figures would attract a good deal of investment. However, it is always necessary to assess whether it is an appropriate timing to invest a company in terms of several financial indicators, such as, market value of equity, the P/E ratio (price earnings ratio), dividend yield as well as gearing (Fonseka and Tian, 2011). This part is going to critically interpret these indicators respectively after an overview on the fundamental financial circumstances and provide a suggestion for investment in the end. . 2. 1 Revenue and Share price |? ’m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Revenue |121,645 |72 ,052 |58,585 |51,174 |45,078 | |Share price (p) |1,333. 33 |183. 33 |64. 52 |133. 33 |187. 5 | (Table 1) Before conducting a thorough analysis of return and risk, it is worth reviewing Mulberry’s revenue for last five years.It can be seen from Table 1 that Mulberry has kept a sustainable growth in revenue since 2007, which indicates the optimistic picture of their financial condition. Furthermore, it is remarkable that Mulberry group performed satisfyingly as usual even when other organisation experienced a depressing year result from the financial crisis happened in 2009. [pic](Figure 1) However, comparing the FTSE All-Share, which is a market-capitalisation weighted index of all shares traded listed on the London Stock Exchange’s main market (Ince and Porter, 2006), Mulberry group’s share price has changed significantly since May 2011.As can be seen from Figure 1, the share price has increased dramatically after May in 2010 while the FTSE All-Share index has g one up slightly with fluctuation. [pic] (Figure 2) Furthermore, according to Figure 2, which clearly shows Mulberry’s share price combined with FTSE All-Share index from 2007 to May 2010, the performance of Mulberry basically enable the share price to track market all the time. Although the price touched bottom in 2009 due to the financial crisis, when there has been an uptrend in market between April in 2009 and April in 2010, Mulberry seemed to catch that opportunity and in April 2010, he price went up to the price peaked point in 2007. It is crucial to mention that the marketing strategy as well as the performance of Mulberry group has contributed most to the significant increase since the second half year of 2009. According to Mulberry’s annual report and financial statement for the year ended 31 March 2010, they have continuously invested their business both in the UK and internationally, using retained profit and cash flow.For example, the showrooms opened in New York and Paris could be successful attempts, both of which have played an important role in the growth of profit. In terms of the strategy has made an initial success, it can be assumed that there might be an unpredictable potential market share for Mulberry to explore. Actually, the assumption has been approved with the significant increase in revenue and share price for the next half year in 2010 and continued in 2011. [pic] (Figure 3) Figure 3 shows Mulberry’s one-year share price associated with FTSE All-Share index comparison starting with June in 2010.As can be seen from this chart, the price of Mulberry increased too enormously to see the change of FTSE All-Share index, which means Mulberry performed outstanding when the general financial background was not optimistic. Although it is rare to see the share price recover and grow in such a short time after the financial crisis, the increase of Mulberry’s might had already been predicted and both managers and shar eholders are confident enough to take more market share. Consequently, the ambitious attempts of opening 9 new stores and on-line shop during the next half year of 2010 have been achieved successfully.Fortunately, the dramatic revenue increase harvested by those new stores and flagship indicates the significant demand of Mulberry’s products and services existing in market. In addition, the remarkable performance attracts more investors. However, it is crucial for them to weigh if it is a good timing to invest even though the performance of Mulberry after the financial crisis is extraordinary brilliant. Thus a depth analysis in terms of both return and risk will be conducted in the following sections. 2. 2. 2 ReturnPrice / earnings ratio (P/E Ratio) Price earnings ratio indicates that the common stock of a company is priced in terms of the ability to generate earnings of this company. Meanwhile, it also can be used to examine whether a stock is cheap or expensive (Muresan and Wolitzer, 2001). |? ’m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |P/E Ratio (adjusted)|45. 20 |27. 60 |14. 30 |22. 20 |23. 00 | (Table 2)Table 2 shows the adjusted P/E ratio of Mulberry between 2007 and 2011. Comparing with the persistence increase in revenue, the P/E ratio, which related to shareholders as well as potential investors, still has declined since 2008. However, the decrease is completely reasonable because the share price was influenced by the unpleasant economic circumstances. In addition, to some extent, it is the financial crisis that reminds Mulberry to consider expand their business internationally rather than focus on UK local market in order to distract risk.According to Mulberry’s five-year P/E ratio, the expansion strategy enables the company not only to recover from the financial crisis but also to double their share price. However, it is also indispensible to take the probability of continuous earnings growth into account, regardless of the appealing dou bled return indicated by the P/E ratio. In terms of Mulberry’s following strategy will concentrate on production capacity expansion to meet the growing demand, the considerable ability of generating earnings may be guaranteed and remained, even though it seems impossible to gain the similar incredible increase in revenue next year.Consequently, although Mulberry is a company worth investing since it has extraordinary performance in reacting to crisis, as well as the considerable demand for their products in the market, the best timing of investment in Mulberry has already lost. Market capitalisation (value of equity) The market value of equity is a measurement of present value of all future cash flows to shareholders from both assets and future investment opportunities (Adam and Goyal, 2008). It can be calculated by P/E ratio time earnings which is the profits after tax. |? m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Share price (p) |1,333. 33 |183. 33 |64. 52 |133. 33 |187. 5 | |Mark et value of equity |771. 11 |81. 97 |36. 89 |76. 37 |91. 54 | |P/E Ratio (adjusted) |45. 20 |27. 60 |14. 30 |22. 20 |23. 00 | |Profits after tax |17. 06 |2. 7 |2. 58 |3. 44 |3. 98 | |Equity |42. 03 |26. 47 |24. 38 |22. 52 |16. 87 | (Table 3) According to table 3, the market value of equity changed with share price instead of the number of equity. However, it is remarkable that even when the market value of equity decreased by half in 2009, it still surpassed the equity in that year. Additionally, with the dramatic growth in revenue, the market value of equity has increased by nearly 95% to 771. 1 million between 2010 and 2011, which gives the confidence not only to shareholders but also some potential investors. Nevertheless, if investors decided to invest Mulberry now, it is possible to have two results in terms of return. Firstly, investing for short-term, investors would buy shares with an extremely higher price than two years ago whereas the return would be incredibly smaller. S econdly, investors may harvest a steady return in a long-term investment and there might be another significant increase when Mulberry conducts some other expansion strategies.Dividend yield Dividend yield can be calculated by taking the dividend per share and divide by the share price. To analysis the investment opportunity with dividend yield, this part applies Burberry as a competitive objective. Even though Mulberry’s share price overweighed Burberry’s slightly in 2011, Burberry has a much longer history with high share price as in a same industry. Table 4 provides the share price, dividends per share as well as dividend yield for Mulberry and Table 5 shows Burberry’s. Mulberry group plc: |? m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Share price (p) |1,333. 33 |183. 33 |64. 52 |133. 33 |187. 5 | |Dividends per share |4. 00 |2. 20 |2. 00 |2. 00 |1. 50 | |(p) | | | | | | |Dividend yield |0. 30% |1. 20% |3. 10% |1. 50% |0. 0% | (Table 4) Burberry group plc: |? ’ m |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Share price (p) |1,176. 47 |700 |279. 07 |444. 44 |656. 25 | |Dividends per share |20. 00 |14. 00 |12. 00 |12. 00 |10. 50 | |(p) | | | | | | |Dividend yield |1. 70% |2. 00% |4. 0% |2. 70% |1. 60% | (Table 5) With comparing Table 4 and Table 5, it is obviously that Mulberry has not adjusted their dividends instantly when the share price increased significantly, which results in the unpleasant dividend yield this year. In this circumstance, Burberry seems a wiser investing choice since the 5 times dividends per share of Mulberry’s, which will generate more returns for investors. However, Kothari and Shanken (1997) argues that a considerable increase in share price is possible to result in not only the large positive returns but a downward in yield as well.In addition, according to Akhigbe and Madura (1996), managers’ expectation to alter performance strategy would be a factor contributed to the dividend adjustment. Consequently, Mulberr y needs more time to balance share price and dividend. Burberry has been mature in its global marketing expansion, while Mulberry has just started to occupy its international market share, and therefore there are more potential opportunities for Mulberry’s global development. Thus, Mulberry could be the company suitable and profitable to be selected as a long-term investment. 2. 2. 3 Risk Gearing Gearing (%) |2011 |2010 |2009 |2008 |2007 | |Mulberry |n/a |n/a |0. 54 |0. 14 |23. 05 | |Burberry |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a | |ASOS |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a |n/a | (Table 6) It seems strange that Mulberry does not have debt which results in the incalculable gearing.However, it is a common phenomenon in rag and accessories trade industry in terms of the gearings of the other two companies presented in Table 6 are unavailable. As a result, the risk of investment on Mulberry would be limited. However, considering the high share price this time, it would be a better decision to invest Mulberry for a long time instead of short time. 2. 3 Funding and capital analysis In this part, we are going to identify the sources of funds, analyse the capital structure of Mulberry Group PLC and try to evaluate its suitability.It is easy to witness from its balance sheet in 2011, the company did not have any non-current liabilities. This situation can be triggered by a wide range of reasons, we will try to figure them out in this essay. 2. 3. 1 Funding analysis To begin with, it is necessary to draw on the annual report of Mulberry Group PLC in 2007, and to compare the different data in the two years. According to Mulberry’s annual report, in 2007, the quantity of total non-current liabilities was ? 3. 99 million, composed by borrowings (? 1. 25 million), preference shares (? . 564 million), deferred tax liabilities (? 149 thousand), and obligations under finance leases (? 27 thousand). Therefore, the gearing in 2007 is 19%, which was quite low. So, the relevantly large proportio n of funds, used for maintaining the enterprise’s operation, was from internal financial resources. Besides, it also lowered the financial cost, which is used to pay the interest to the financial institutions. In terms of the cash flow in 2007, it was clearly stated in the balance sheet, the cash generated from operation was ? ,926 thousand and, after the corporation taxes, interest and preference dividends were paid, the net cash from operating activities was ? 5700 thousand. Afterwards, the primary use of cash lied in the investing activity, with ? 3,518 thousand. Finally, the cash and cash equivalents at the end of 2007 was ? 10,271 thousand, with a big increase of ? 2,989 thousand. This absolutely intensified the repayment ability and liquidity, when we compare this data with the number of non-current liabilities. Apart from that, the retained profit in this year surged from ? 4,562 thousand to ? ,186 thousand, acting as a significant role in the sources of funds (annual report 2008). By contrast, in 2011, the company had no non-current liabilities. So we use the current liabilities to calculate the gearing of this year, which is 45%. The cash generated from operation was ? 26,264 thousand and the net cash from operating activities was ? 22,724 thousand. At the end of 2011, the cash and cash equivalents fairly increased from ? 12,171 thousand to ? 21,373 thousand. The increase in raw materials (? 13,318 thousand) and purchases of property, plant and equipment (? 1,176 thousand) were the important components of cash outflow in this year. When it comes to retained earnings, the data increased by ? 16,080 thousand to ? 30,696 thousand. | |Gearing |Non-current liabilities |Net increase in cash and cash|Cash and cash equivalents at the end|Retained profits | | | | |equivalents |of the year | | |2007 |19% |? 3,990 thousand |? 2,989 thousand |? 0,271 thousand |? 8,186 thousand | |2011 |0 |0 |? 9,202 thousand |? 21,373 thousand |? 30,696 thousand | It is ob viously displayed in the table above that Mulberry’s sources of funds and the capital structure are greatly distinct from each other. The gearing of Mulberry in 2007 was 19% due to the existence of Non-current liabilities. By contrast, since there were no non-current liabilities at all in 2011, the gearing of Mulberry this year was 0.This definitely lowered the financial expenses which were incurred by bank loans, and the company did not need to face the financial risk triggered by bank loans as well. Furthermore, the operating profit in 2007 was ? 6,672 thousand and the interest payable of that year was ? 298 thousand, the interest cover ratio in 2007 was 22. 4 times. By contrast, due to the dramatic increase in operating profits (? 23,110 thousand) and the large drop in interest payables (? 44 thousand), the interest cover rate in 2011 became as high as 525. times. As Gillespie et al(2000) stated that high operating profits could be seen as the company has abilities to cont rol its costs effectively, or the volume of sales are increasing faster than operating cost. Currently, Mulberry has got a much better capacity in paying the interests to the financial institutions, those financial institutions may become more willing to lend money to Mulberry now. Although the retained profits in 2007 played an greatly important role as the major internal funds, but taking the non-current liabilities (? ,990 thousand) into consideration, the level of its significance is partly weakened when we compare it with the situation in 2011, because Mulberry currently just use retained profits as the primary source of their funds for operation. It is worthwhile to mention that, one of the Non-Executive Directors, Melissa Ong, who was appointed on 7 September 2010, her parents held about 57% voting rights of the company. Although it is not clarified in the annual report, we can easily deduct that her parents input a large amount of investment for Mulberry, which is also a mai n source of funding.Inventories acted as another source of funding in Mulberry. The stock turn of Mulberry in 2011 was 1. 88x, so the stock turn period was 194 days. The period was relatively long when we compare it with the one (130 days) in 2007, this was partly due to the striking increase in the quantities of inventories, from ? 6,688 thousand to ? 22,408 thousand. However, as mentioned in the annual report, the demand of the market surged in recent years, so the high level of stock is beneficial for Mulberry. When the company suffers from the shortage of cash, they can simply turn their large amount of stocks in to the form of cash.Apart from that, a relatively large proportion of inventories were occupied by the finished goods with ? 20,069 thousand. For Mulberry, which used internal funds as the major source of funding, the high level of inventories is reasonable. However, the reason why Mulberry stopped acquiring long-term funds from banks can be quite complex. As we all kne w, the overwhelming Subprime Crisis happened in the year of 2007,forcing a wide range of banks to close down, simultaneously the interest for applying for long-term loans from financial institutions rocketed since then. The telegraph 2007) This big trend of the economic environment might lead to Mulberry Group’s cease of issuing new loans from the bank. Also, there may be some other reasons. It is fairly clear in the table above, the net increase in cash and cash equivalents in 2011 is about 8 times more than 2007, the balance of cash and cash equivalents in 2011 is approximately 3 times more than the previous and the similar situation also happens in the retained profits and inventories of these two years.Therefore, it seems quite normal for Mulberry to cease the long-term creditors and use its retained profits, inventories and the short-term loans as their source of funds, which can also lower the financial expenses for the enterprise. 2. 3. 2 Working capital In order to fi gure out the suitability of the current financial structure, it is necessary to calculate the number of the working capital and the working capital cycle. Broadly speaking, working capital is a measure of capability for the company which can pay its debt in the short-term liability.It is certainly important to distinguish between positive and negative working capital (Dyson, 2011). The amount of the working capital is equal to the total amount of receivables, payables, stock of raw materials, work-in-progress and finished goods. As what we mentioned above, we can calculate the working capital of Mulberry in 2011. Receivables: ? 12,186 thousand Payables: ? 11,949 thousand Stock of raw materials: ? 1,684 thousand Work-in-progress: ? 655 thousand Finished goods: ? 20,069 thousandIn 2011, the total working capital of Mulberry was ? 22,645 thousand. From the composition of the working capital, it is apparent that a comparably large amount was occupied by the form of inventories (? 22,408 thousand). As the manufacturer, designer and the seller of their own products, it is normal for Mulberry to hold such a proportion of working capital in the form of inventories, thereby meeting the needs of customers and quickly reacting against the sudden change of market’s demand, like the big increase in seasonal demand.When we compare the amount of working capital (? 22,645 thousand) and the retained profits (? 30,696 thousand), it seems that there are not any problems for Mulberry to cover the working capital with their retained earnings, due to the considerable gap between them. Taking the cash and cash equivalents (? 21,373), this indicates that the cash in Mulberry was allocated in operating activities appropriately and there was no idle cash existing in the company, which would lead to an opportunity cost to Mulberry.In terms of the working capital cycle, we need to draw on some other data from the income statement and the cash flow statement. Sales of goods: ? 121, 645 thousand Cost of sales: ? 42,144 thousand Material cost: ? 13,318 thousand Bought-in service: ? 11,176 thousand So the working capital cycle of Mulberry in 2011 was 85 days. The credit given cycle was 37 days, comparatively a short period when we compare it with the data of credit taken cycle (178 days). This means that Mulberry just spent 37 days getting the cash back for the portion of which was sold to customers on credit.Also, it could guarantee that Mulberry got enough time to enhance the balance of cash, in order to cover the following trade payables and avoid the running out of cash at the mean time. In another aspect, the liquidity of Mulberry was intensified at the same time as well. However, if we take the company’s long-term strategy into consideration, keeping more cash is not the bad thing for Mulberry, as stated in the annual report, they are planning to continually expand the international market and opening more and more retailing and flagship stores throu ghout the world. Expansion at such a fast rate may call for a large amount of cash.So, even though there are no problems at all currently for Mulberry to utilize retained profits and short-term creditors as the only source of their funds, issuing some long-term funds, like bank loans, will not bring any disadvantages, although this may incur some charges on financial expenses. From the long-term perspective, it will be beneficial for the company to get some long-term and stable external funds, thereby avoiding the shortage of cash and funds during the process of expansion. 2. 4 Risk management and governance 2. 4. 1 Corporate governance of MulberryAt the beginning of the corporate governance part, the company states itself as an AIM (Alternative Investment Market) member and complying with the Corporate Governance Code is not required (Mulberry, 2011). AIM is a second board enables smaller  companies  to  float  shares with more flexible stipulations (Tricker, 2009). Still, Mulberry follows the fundamental principles of the code (Mulberry, 2011), and importantly, they fit the code contents with their individual situations. Based on this state, our analysis still follows the UK Corporate Governance Code primarily and detects any issues contrary to the code.Besides, comments and debates are connected with the company’s own factors. In the board of Mulberry, the chairman and CEO is the same person. This person, named Godfrey Davis, has been in charge of this company for nearly ten years from November 2002. This setting goes against the UK Combined Code which states, â€Å"The role of chairman and chief executive should not be exercised by the same individual† (the UK Corporate Governance Code, 2010:13). In this case, we doubt that if Godfrey’s power is over-concentrated, which makes him have too strong influence on decision making process in the board (Goyal and Park, 2002).Consequently, strategies may be generated subjectively. Howev er, a specific explanation is not given in the report. Instead, they only point out several criteria of director selection should be carefully assessed, as a way of reduce the possibility of the problems addressed above. But actually, this state explains nothing about the problem, which conversely doubles our doubts. Next, the numbers of Executive Directors and Non-executive Directors are unbalanced, with five Non-executive Directors and only two Executive Directors.The five Non-executive Directors are not entitled to govern company routine affairs and the specific running plans while these two Executive Directors actually do (Mallin, 2004). Hence it is doubtful that if these two people really execute independently or just execute generally. Moreover, combining the fact of Godfrey Davis’s acting as both chairman and CEO, it especially intensifies our thought on the existence of subjective decision making process (Mallin, 2004), or even the over-centralized management in the c ompany.On the other hand, these outside directors, instead of actually contributing to the company’s strategy and policy making relating to its performance, they are actually â€Å"pushed into a conformance and compliance mode† (Tricker, 2009) and do not take much positive effect. Conversely, McKinsey (2002) debates that a sensible structure is combined with a majority of Non-executive directors because they are indeed independent and can result in an effective evaluation. On the other hand, it is found in the profile of directors that, both the executives have the FCA background.Obviously, it enables them to detect and control the financial risk better, by using their financial knowledge (Dionne and Triki, 2005). Conversely, we may also suspect they are fully capable to use professional financial tricks to disguise the poorer performance areas, and at the same time, make their stewardship looks proper. On the other side, according to the UK corporate governance code ( 2010), audit committee is required to monitor the financial performance and check the company’s risk assessment.Chris Robert, the chairman of the Audit Committee, as another financially educated director, suits the requirement of responsibilities stated in the code. Considering the independence of Non-executives, several problems which may raise suspicions are found referring to the code. Firstly, all the Non-executives except Melissa Ong, have been appointed for more than 6 years. Especially Robin Gibson, this person has been in this position for more than 14 years since 1996. These facts raise some questions about the independence of the board and no explanations are given by Mulberry.Additionally, both Steven Grapstein and Bernard Lam Kong Heng are presently serving in Como Holding Group, though in different subsidiary company. This relationship particularly could pose a negative impact on the independent base (Mallin, 2004). Thirdly, Melissa Ong, who is quite young at 37, was newly appointed in 2010. This lady does not directly hold any shares for Mulberry, however, her parents are â€Å"beneficially interested approximately 57% of the Company’s total voting rights† (Mulberry, 2010:14). In other words, Melissa though not own the huge amount of share, she’s actually represent a significant shareholder indirectly.In contrast, according to the code (UK corporate governance code, 2010), some aspects are shown to enhance independence of the Non-executives. For example, no bonus was paid for these Non-executives during the year and none of them was included in the company’s pension contributions (Mulberry, 2011). The company’s internal ‘watchdogs’, three recommended sub-committees (Audit, Remuneration and Nomination) (Pierce, Personal Communication, 2011) are established by Mulberry, with a combination of Remuneration and Nomination body.Additionally, both committees are chaired by Non-executives and effects of the committees are related to the independence of these Non-executives (Mallin, 2004) which has been discussed above. Moreover, the responsibility appointing is reasonably complying with the code (2010). In specific, the Audit Committee is entitled to check issues regarding to the company’s financial affairs, while Nominations and Remuneration is responsible for employment terms and conditions and the remuneration (Mulberry, 2011).However, the numbers and identities of other committee members are not mentioned in the report, which interfere our assessment of Mulberry sub-committee structure and quality. 2. 4. 1 Risk & control management In this part, COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework (COSO, 1994) is sited as the principal structure to consider Mulberry’s risk control and management. Control Environment A formal system is required make sure the risks are appropriately evaluated and controlled in board level (Tricker, 2009). It is manifested in the report that the Board is fully responsible for Mulberry’s internal risk (Mulberry, 2011).Specifically, Directors pay great attentions to the control throughout the comprehensive aspects of the company’s business running and make it available in practice. These states, though quite simple with only few sentences, clarify the Board’s serious attitude to risk control. Additionally, increasing literature viewpoints in recent years call for â€Å"a formal system to ensure that risk is properly assessed board to give assurances that systems are in place to handle corporate risk in their regular corporate governance reports to shareholders† (Tricker, 2009:328).For Mulberry, the control system was established and the report model well fit the requested as mentioned. Specifically, the control system mainly consists of subsystems including budgeting, actual running results comparison, forecast and review (Mulberry, 2011). Also, the information is reported to shareh olders twice a year (Mulberry, 2011). Risk assessment and control activity First of all, as a result of continuous recession in the UK economy which leads to sales reduce in domestic market, Mulberry considers relieving from the decrease risk by international expansion (Mulberry, 2011).It is reasonable that they concern about the negative impact of recession in the UK (OECD, 2010). However, it seems lack considered by their merely switching to international market because the international market is much more complex with various risks involved (Hollensen, 2006), for example, local regulation limitations, economic environment in foreign market, competitors, customer preference diversity and so on (Kotler, 1994). Also, failure of the global risk transfer may occur that leads to even serious financial crisis for Mulberry. Secondly, terrorist attack, as regarded a principle risk by Mulberry, is related to warehouse disruption.The company tries to prevent it by developing â€Å"a busin ess continuity plan† (Mulberry, 2010). However, it is illogical to take terrorist attack as a major risk, which is a rarely happened incident. Moreover, there is no any further explanation about the so called ‘business continuity plan’ solution. Conversely, an improved warehouse control and management system accompanying an emergency program may be a better approach to prevent the risk. Besides, the risk may be more sensible to be associated with stock disruption or supply chain failure (Aon, 2007) rather than terrorist attack as is stated.On the other hand, key personnel loss is mentioned in the report with simple solutions of remuneration review and succession preparation. However, either the reasons or the details are not revealed. So it is uncertain that if the methods are valid or not. For example, if the loss was caused by unreasonable decision making caused by the arbitrary executive as we mentioned above, then either these ways can hardly solve the problem . As to the online system establishment and accomplishment, Mulberry involves more senior managers for supervising and impose carefully test to reduce the risk of system implement failure which is quite reasonable.With increased attention paid by senior managers, staffs in relative department will do the task more carefully. Also, comprehensive test further guarantees the system implemented successfully. Finally, it is mentioned in the report that the company intends to solve the risk by building a ‘natural hedge of Euro and US Dollar denominated sales and purchases’ (Mulberry, 2011:12). This sector involves professional knowledge about the currency policies and financial operating. Unfortunately, we are lack of knowledge in this area. Hence we would not analyse this issue in depth. . 4. 3 Information and Communication The company includes an information and reporting subsystem in the integrated internal control procedure (Mulberry, 2011), which obviously, is used for c ollecting and conveying relative information. Furthermore, since the internal control is taken charge by the Board at the top of the company’s management layer, it is essential to ensure the effectiveness of information collecting and communication in time according to COSO framework (1994). However, relative details are not mentioned for the assessment and herefore, the facts for the effectiveness are unsure. 2. 4. 4 Monitoring According to COSO Framework (1994), there are two approached for monitoring, one is undertaking it along with the ongoing activities, the other is put it into a separate process. Mulberry adopts the later approach by putting the monitoring process separately. However, a combination of both approaches is recommended in COSO framework (1994), in order to ensure the effect of internal control. In other words, it can be more sensible for Mulberry to develop monitoring affairs in the whole business running procedure.Moreover, the internal audit is function ed by the Board (Mulberry, 2011), for which the details are not given in the report. For example, factors like how the deficiencies been detected and conveyed upstream to the Board are not revealed. Thus the monitoring effect of Mulberry internal control can not be evaluated comprehensively through the report itself. 3. Conclusion From the information above, we can see Mulberry made efforts for market place on the Uk market during the year of 2010 to 2011 and managed each aspect of overseas development.In 2010, Mulberry has become aggressive in invest oversea markets and online stores. As a result, the income of Mulberry has created its new page for share price. 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