Sociology of Education Essay Example for Free

Sociology of Education Essay Education is a social institution that sociologists are very interested in studying. This includes teaching formal knowledge such as reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as teaching other things such as morals, values, and ethics. Education prepares young people for entry into society and is thus a form of socialization. Sociologists want to know how this form of socialization affects and is affected by other social structures, experiences, and outcomes. Sociology of education is a field that focuses on two separate levels of analysis. At a macro-level, sociologists work to identify how various social forces, such as politics, economics, culture, etc. , creates variation in schools. In other words, what effects do other social institutions have on the educational system? At a micro-level, sociologists look to identify how variation in school practices lead to differences in individual-level student outcomes. That is, when schools have different teaching methods or have different practices, how does that affect the individual students and what are the individual outcomes? Example of Sociological Studies on Education A classic study by sociologist James Coleman done in 1966, known as the â€Å"Coleman Report† looked at the performance of over 150,000 students and found that student background and socioeconomic status were much more important in determining educational outcomes than were differences in school resources, such as per pupil spending. He also found that socially disadvantaged black students benefited and did better in school when they were in racially mixed classrooms rather than black only classrooms. This ignited controversy that still continues today. Major Sociological Theories of Education Like any other topic in sociology, the three major theoretical perspectives (functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interaction theory) each have different views on education. The functionalist perspective argues that education serves many important functions in society. First, it socializes children and prepares them for life in society. This is not only done by teaching â€Å"book knowledge,† but also teaching the society’s culture, including moral values, ethics, politics, religious beliefs, habits, and norms. Second, education provides occupational training, especially in industrialized societies such as the United States. Unlike in less complex societies or in the United States prior to 1900 when most jobs and training were passed on from father to son, most jobs in the United States today require at least a high school education, and many professions require a college or post-graduate degree. The third function that education serves, according to functionalist theorists, is social control, or the regulation of deviant behavior. By requiring young people to attend school, this keeps them off the streets and out of trouble. The symbolic interaction view of education focuses on interactions during the schooling process and the outcomes of those interactions. For instance, interactions between students and teachers can create expectations on both parts. The teacher begins to expect certain behaviors from students, which in turn can actually create that very behavior. This is called the â€Å"teacher expectancy effect. † For example, if a White teacher expects a black student to perform below average on a math test when compared to White students, over time the teacher may act in ways that encourage the black students to get below average math scores. Conflict theory looks at the disintegrative and disruptive aspects of education. These theorists argue that education is unequally distributed through society and is used to separate groups (based on class, gender, or race). Educational level is therefore a mechanism for producing and reproducing inequality in our society. Educational level, according to conflict theorists, can also be used as a tool for discrimination, such as when potential employers require certain educational credentials that may or may not be important for the job. It discriminates against minorities, working-class people, and women – those who are often less educated and least likely to have credentials because of discriminatory practices within the educational system. The sociology of education is the study of how public institutions and individual experiences affect education and its outcomes. Educational Sociology and Sociology of Education are two branches of study that are sometimes understood as one and the same branch, but they are actually not so. They indeed show some differences between them when it comes to the subjects of their study and the nature of the branches f study On the other hand educational sociology is the branch of study that deals with the various methods providing better education to society through an in depth research of our culture and society. Educational sociology is a subject that has to take both the sociologists and the educationists into consideration. This makes the subject an invaluable asset to all the students and researchers of social sciences, particularly sociology and education. It is a general belief that such of those who are involved in a deep study of education will benefit more from the branch of educational sociology In the poem of Okot p Biteks â€Å"My Husbands Tongue is Bitter† is evident in its use of the self  and other. The speaker of the poem is a black woman talking to her husband. The husband sees their colonizers as modern, progressive, civilized and educated. He considers learning English and following their acts would also make him one of them (colonizers), and by doing so, he will acquire the identity of the self. On the other hand, he offended his wife and his own people by citing and ennumerating their deeds as backward, primitive and ignorant.

Irony in Guests of the Nation Essay -- Guests of the Nation Essays

Irony in Guests of the Nation      Ã‚   In the short story, "Guests of the Nation," Frank O'Connor uses irony to illustrate the conflict which men face when their roles as combatants force them to disregard the humanity of their enemies. In both life and literature, irony exists when there is a contrast between expectation and reality. Verbal irony is defined as "a figure of speech in which the actual intent is expressed in words which carry the opposite meaning" (Thrall 248). In dramatic irony there is a contrast between a character's perception of a situation and the actual facts. Often "some of the actors on the stage or some of the characters in a story are 'blind' to facts known to the spectator or reader" (155) . The short story "Guests of the Nation" by Frank O'Connor illustrates both types of irony.    The title of the story, "Guests of the Nation," is an example of verbal irony. In the story, the two Englishmen, Belcher and Hawkens, are not "guests," but rather prisoners of the Irish soldiers, Jeremiah Donovan, Noble, and the narrator, Bonaparte. The contrast between their "real" status as prisoners and their "apparent" role as guests is developed throughout the story. The narrator says that "I couldn't at the time see the point of me and Noble guarding Belcher and Hawkins at all, for it was my belief that you could have planted that pair down anywhere from this to Claregalway and they'd have taken root there like a native weed" (591). Thus it was obvious that the men had no intention of trying to escape; they were behaving like guests. Because of the contented, nonthreatening demeanor of the two men, Bonaparte says that "after the first day or two we gave up all pretense of keeping a close e... ... Belcher and Hawkins remain at ease, thinking themselves safe. In the end both Hawkins' futile appeal to the friendship of his "chums" and Belcher's resignation serve to emphasize the horror of the executions.    Thus, in "Guests of the Nation," Frank O'Connor uses irony to illustrate the conflict that soldiers feel when they recognize the humanity of their enemies and yet they are compelled to kill them. O'Connor suggests the soul destroying impact of the conflict in his final words: "And anything that happened to me afterwards, I never felt the same about again" (598).    Sources Cited: Thrall, William flint, Addison Hibbard, and Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature. New York: Odyssey, 1960. O'Connor, Frank. "Guests of the Nation." Literature for Composition. 4th ed. Sylvan Barnet, et. al. New York: Harper Collins, 1996. 590-598.

Match made in heaven Essay

â€Å"There is nothing nobler or more admirable than when two people who see eye to eye keep house as man and wife, confounding their enemies and delighting their friends. † Homer That bard created such two people in The Odyssey, their contrasting roles concealing the similarities in their natures. Both Penelope and Odysseus dealt with â€Å"a world of pain†, but in very different settings: she wastes away at home, while he faces a myriad of adventures and sufferings around the Greek world. Although Homer assigned them dissimilar parts in his epic, however, his story still reveals striking resemblances between Odysseus and Penelope: they possess positive qualities and several faults in common as well as one major dissimilarity, all of which are the secrets to their long and blissful marriage and help them to see â€Å"eye to eye. † One can easily see why Ithaca’s king and queen remained happily united for so many years when looking at the shining characteristics they share. Both are wondrously loyal, even when faced with an abundance of temptations. Over the course of twenty years, Odysseus knew countless lovely women, from Nausicaa to Calypso, yet he remained determined to return to his wife. Likewise, Penelope had her choice of one-hundred and eighty of the best men in Greece all vying for her hand, but she still â€Å"falls to weeping for Odysseus† every time she thinks of her beloved husband. Undoubtedly, The Odyssey’s happy ending could not have occurred without their mutual fidelity. Cunning brilliance is the second attribute common to both Odysseus and Penelope, and it served to reunite them as much as their reciprocal devotion did. Odysseus is known as the â€Å"man of twists and turns†, and presumably, he used his acumen to select a wife who could match him in matters of the mind. Being the hero of the story, Odysseus’s brains are flaunted by Homer in his every action, from his escape from the Cyclops to all the creative stories he fabricated. But Penelope’s wisdom can also be detected within the text, and is crucial to the plot. For example, take the often-retold story of her web, woven and unwoven to keep the suitors at bay for three years, or when in Book 18, she coyly elicited expensive gifts from each suitor to compensate for some of her husband’s squandered estate. One can also adduce the test she devised for the suitors as a confirmation of her sagacity: â€Å"The hand that can string this bow with the greatest ease†¦ he is the man I follow. † Penelope knows very well that it is highly unlikely that one of her brazen suitors could muster the strength needed to shoot â€Å"his polished bow†: it was just another clever way postpone marriage. Had Penelope not â€Å"sp[un] out her wiles†, much like her husband had done abroad, the lovely queen of Ithaca would probably have been coerced into an unwanted union long before Odysseus returned. Not only are the queen and king of Ithaca alike for possessing dominant traits of loyalty and astuteness, they also share several shortcomings. Firstly, although they are devoted enough to pine for each other for two decades, neither were one hundred percent loyal to their spouse. Odysseus did not remain faithful to Penelope, sleeping with Circe, then Calypso, and perhaps some mortal women unworthy of being mentioned as well. Odysseus claims that he lay with the Circe for the sake of diplomacy, but if so, then why did he stay in her â€Å"arching caverns† for over a year, leaving only at his crew’s urging? Homer also hints at Odysseus’s voluntary treachery during his seven-year detainment with Calypso, including lines such as â€Å"they lost themselves in love†, and â€Å"since the nymph no longer pleased. † Is the bard implying that the nymph with lovely braids once pleased him, and thus, he willingly copulated with her? Penelope, being a woman, could not have had such affaires d’amour and still be considered loyal. However, because she was only a woman, she still harbored an innate desire to attract men. In Book 18, she fulfilled Athena’s wish that she should â€Å"display herself to her suitors, fan their hearts, inflame them more† in order to receive the suitors’ gifts, but perchance also to satisfy her own longing for attention – after all, Penelope is a woman whose husband has been gone for more than twenty years. She succeeds in accomplishing both: After she descends the stairs, â€Å"the suitor’s knees went slack, their hearts dissolved with lust† and they showered her with â€Å"gorgeous presents. † Homer seems to reiterate this fact that Penelope enjoyed the courtship of so many fine, young princes, even though her suitors were a burden and a plague to the household. Book 19 includes a passage describing a dream Penelope had, in which an eagle, which later reveals himself as Odysseus, destroys her flock of geese by â€Å"snap[ping] their necks and kill[ing] them one and all†, the geese obviously symbolizing her gaggle of suitors. Penelope is comforted by this dream and seems to hope that it foreshadows future events, but also acknowledged that she â€Å"wept and wailed† and was â€Å"sobbing, stricken† at the slaying of her geese. Hence, though Penelope does remain honorable and is faithful to Odysseus during the twenty years when they were apart, she still, perhaps subconsciously, fostered a desire to do otherwise. However, Penelope’s slight interest in her suitors may not be a have been such a bad thing; on the contrary, it could have inspired her to forgive her husband more easily if he ever told her of his dalliances with goddesses. Second, both Odysseus and Penelope are characterized as â€Å"wary†, and although their caution helped them to succeed in many situations, both are overly circumspect at times, causing them to be suspicious of those who love them most. One of the most tense and heartbreaking scenes in the book takes place in Book 23, when Penelope is face to face with her devout husband for the first time after twenty years of separation, yet refuses to acknowledge him, prompting Telemachus to reproach: â€Å"What other wife could have a spirit so unbending? Holding back from her husband, home at last for her After bearing twenty years of brutal struggle- Your heart was always harder than a rock! † Her son is right, but Penelope still refused to speak to Odysseus, even after Telemachus’s rebuking, causing the great-hearted Odysseus to â€Å"blaze up in fury† over his wife’s distrust. An analogous incident took place later between Odysseus and his old father. Seeing Laertes in the orchard, Odysseus observed him sitting alone, â€Å"his heart racked with sorrow†, a sight enough to make even â€Å"long-enduring Odysseus† stop to weep. Yet, even so, Odysseus decided to test the old man first, to â€Å"reproach him with words that cut him to the core. † It was wholly unnecessary to verify the loyalty of Laretes, for after all, the man is his father and if that were not enough, Odysseus had heard testimonies to Laretes’s grief from Eumaeus as well as his own mother in Hades. Odysseus’s often-praised caution prompted him to be rather irrational his handling of the situation, telling a tale that causes his dear father to grieve even more: â€Å"Both hands clawing the ground for dirt and grime, he poured it over his grizzled head, sobbing, in spasms. † His suspicion inflicts unnecessary pain on his father, much as Penelope’s caution angered him; nevertheless, it is because their minds operate in such a similar fashion that they are able to understand each other’s rash actions, caused by that extreme â€Å"wariness† which dominates their reasoning. It was because of their faults that Odysseus and Penelope could see â€Å"eye to eye. † But for all their innate likenesses, one main difference remains between the hero and heroine of The Odyssey: Odysseus has pride, a kind of virile self-regard that Penelope surely lacks, for better or for worse. Odysseus’s excessive self-respect gets him into many difficult circumstances: his odyssey of misery would not have occurred had he not revealed his identity to the Cyclops because he could not bear being remembered as â€Å"Nobody†. One cannot imagine that Penelope would find ever herself into such a predicament. However, there are some instances during the plot of The Odyssey when Penelope should have displayed more dignity. Several times throughout the story, Telemachus scolds her in a disrespectful manner, telling her to â€Å"Tend to your [Penelope’s] own tasks†, declaring that he â€Å"hold[s] the reins of power in this house. † Penelope didn’t put her teenage son in his proper place, opting instead to meekly withdraw to her own quarters. Had Telemachus spoken similar words to his father, Odysseus’s ego certainly wouldn’t have allowed such a lack of reverence, and Telemachus most likely would have received some tough love at his hands. Pride is the only significant distinction between the characters of Odysseus and Penelope, but it is a meaningful difference as well. If Ithaca’s queen was as self-righteous as its king, one could expect many royal family squabbles instead of the marital bliss they are famed for. Penelope is modest and demure, attributes that are absolutely necessary in order to live in harmony with a proud man like Odysseus. In conclusion, Odysseus and Penelope are alike in almost every respect, with their good qualities holding them together, their faults leading to understanding, and their one dissimilarity producing compatibility. That is why they were able to build the strongest kind of love, the love described in I Corinthians 13:7 : † Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. † The Odyssey itself is a testimony to this kind of bond between husband and wife, a bond forged by harmonious natures, able to survive through twenty years of separation, temptation, and suffering.

Objective 310.2.3-08 Develop an Ethics Program Essay example

Objective 310.2.3-08 I and two other individuals have decided to start a company that will provide management consulting services to nonprofit organizations. The company will have 15 to 20 employees. Since many of our clients will be paying with funds provided by government sources, we have decided it would be appropriate to have an ethics program in place before we start offering services. A company must have an effective ethics program to ensure that all employees understand its values and comply with the policies and codes of conduct that create its ethical culture (Ferrell, Ferrell Fraedrich, 2008, p. 211). In order to develop an effective ethics program, it must contain certain items. It must first have a code of conduct†¦show more content†¦As with other types of codes of conduct, it will contain methods for reporting violations, how discipline is distributed and how it is adjudicated. When developing the code, besides the input of stakeholders, I and my two partners will be directl y involved in forming its content. We will consult our legal counsel to ensure we have avoided any potential legal problems. Six values that have been suggested as being desirable for codes of ethics include: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship (Ferrell, Ferrell Fraedrich, 2008, p. 215). We will use these as a guide when developing our code, as it fits into our desire to have a values orientation for our ethic program. The code will direct all officers and employees while conducting company business to: obey all rules, regulations and laws, conduct themselves with honesty and integrity and to avoid all conflicts of interests with the company business, report to work in condition to work and be free from the influence of alcohol or drugs, respect the rights and deal fairly with all clients, keep honest and accurate records and reports of company information, respect the diversity of all and not engage in discrimination or harassment, preser ve the confidentiality of all company information entrusted to them, maintainShow MoreRelatedDevelop an Ethics Program2151 Words   |  9 PagesObjective 310.2.3-08: Develop an ethics program for a company. Created Company Name: Blue Moose Management Consultants Welcome to our team. We are dedicated to providing our employees a pleasant work atmosphere helps to ensure excellent customer service and protection to our clients through Blue Moose Management Consultants (BMMC) You have been selected from a pool of other candidates because we believe you have the right attitude for success.   In addition, we feel you will add value to our

Financial analysis of the worldwide performance of Starbucks - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 2957 Downloads: 1 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? The aim of this financial analysis of Starbucks is to obtain a deep knowledge of annual financial reports and other corporate information, which can provide us measurable conclusions about the company. It is essential to understand the nature of companys business, by analyzing its economic and financial environment and strategy choices made in the past. This report will begin with industry and company description, followed by financial performance overview and projection of company development over the next two years. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Financial analysis of the worldwide performance of Starbucks" essay for you Create order Conclusions drawn from above analysis will support managers in making a decision whether to invest in the company. 2. The industry description The coffee industry is growing since 2002, and in recent years there was a boom caused by consumers becoming more educated about espresso-based drinks and how they are made (H. Holmes, 2004). The coffee industry includes 20,000 outlets with combined revenue of $11 billion. Approximately 20 million people work in the coffee industry worldwide. Market is very concentrated at the top with the 50 companies taking up 70% of the sales, and fragmented at the bottom. Starbucks is the market leader (Franchise direct, 2010). 2.1. Starbucks description Starbucks Corporation is involved in: purchasing, roasting, and sale of whole bean coffees, cold-blended beverages, various food items, selection of teas, and beverage-related accessories and equipment, primarily through its company-operated retail stores. It was established in 1971 in Seattle, Washington. In 1986 Howard Shultz, Retail Sales and Marketing Manager, left the company to start his own retail coffee outlet, Il Giornale. In 1987 the original investors of Starbucks bought Peets Coffee and sold Starbucks to H.Shultz, who renamed Il Giornale to Starbucks. Firm expended with shops in Chicago and Vancouver. Starbuck was the first coffee company to offer employee stock options in 1991 and went public in 1992. In 1990s Starbucks started distributing coffee through department stores, bookstores, hotels, supermarkets and online; it signed contract with PepsiCo, AOL and Dyers and opened stores in Japan, Singapore, and UK. (Hoovers.com, 2008) Starbucks has built one of the worlds most powerful and recognizable brands and the image of a unique Starbucks Experience. Its mission statement was to revolutionize the coffeehouse industry by building a perception of a coffee shop as the third place between work and home. Wi-fi internet access in all stores makes it a place where customers can work. The companys goal was to make each location a community center for higher-income crowd of the young and college-educated, a group that tends toward higher luxury-consumption levels. (Wikinvest.com, n.d.) 2.2. Competition Starbucks close competitors include other specialty coffee shops, doughnut shops, and restaurants. Starbucks holds a dominant position in the coffeehouse market which is dispersed among the thousands of independent or small-chain coffee shops. Their largest direct competitors are Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds. Both offer specialty coffee at a lower price. Main competitors short description: Dunkin, specializes in fresh baked goods, but began offering coffee in 2005. Their level of sales is at $4.3b. Currently, their coffee sales start to exceed food sales, 5-10% of total sales are from espresso-based drinks. Dunkin has a 22.9% market share. (Starbucks in the aggregate category controls a 24.7% market share) McDonalds entered the coffeehouse industry in 2007, offering coffee at its flagship stores and opening its espresso-centric McCafe concept in some markets. McDs coffee sales generate $813m in additional annual income. Current revenue from coffee is around $490m, about 6-6.5% of Starbucks coffee sales. Their price point is at 18% discount on Starbuckss. The two competitorss targets are slightly different from Starbucks. They focus on cheaper coffee to go, whereas Starbucks is providing a premium experience for a luxury price. Consequently, they compete with each other more directly than with Starbucks, however McCafe has a negative impact on Starbucks. Analysts believe that competitors will settle into separate niches, McDonalds being the better value proposition and Starbucks offering higher quality experience. 3. Financial Performance 2007-2009 3.1. Overview of Starbucks performance 2007-2009 In the fiscal year 2007, Starbucks achieved a solid performance. All goals like new stores opening, total revenue growth, comparable store sales growth and considerable cost rises from dairy products were completed. The consolidated operating income in 2008 was $503.9 and operating margin 4.9%. This was a significant decrease compared with the past few years, the reason for decrease was a changing of structure. In 2009, Starbucks faced many challenges caused by unexpected economic environment and more intense competition, which had impact on the revenue, comparable store sales, operating income and margins. 3.2. Income statement analysis 2007-2009 While net revenues of Starbucks havent been stable from 2007 to 2009 (first increasing then decreasing), its total operating income have also been moving in 2008 it decreased by 52,2% and it was $503.9 million, 4.9% of total net revenues. The reason for decrease was high distribution costs and high rent expenses. In 2009 it increase again by $58.1. Main reason for this improvement was the restructuring charges which contain: assets impairment, lease exit and severance costs. In 2008 and 2009 while net revenues were $10,383 million and $9,774.6, total operating expenses were $9,992.7 million in 2008 and $9,334.5 in 2009 that means expenses were highly eating up more than 96% of the net revenues. The company suffered a major loss of 113.185% in net earnings between 2007 and 2008. Starbucks realized that he need to re-think its business strategy. In 2008, the company incurred restructuring charges of $266.9 million due to store closures in the US and Australia and reduction of the work force. Starbucks Company derived 84% of total net revenue from the company-operated retail stores. They opened 681 new stores in the last 12 months and this offset -3% losses in comparable store sales. Total net revenue of 2009 was showed a decrease of 5.9%, stayed at $9,774.6. The company-operated retail also went down. In detail, there was a change of nearly 6.7% in comparable, for 4% decrease in transactions and a 2% decrease in the average value per transaction. Figure : Net Revenue of Starbucks 2007-2009 (Starbucks annual financial report) Figure : Operating Income of Starbucks 2007-2009 (Starbucks annual financial report) Figure : Net earnings of Starbucks 2007-2009 (Starbuck annual report) 3.4. Balance sheet In term of assets, the total assets for the three years kept staying around $5,600 million. The total current assets in 2009 were $2,036 million. This was higher than in 2008 and 2007 due to the high cash and cash equivalents in 2009. The marketable securities in 2007 were $157 millions so in 2007 the company had more short term investment. On the other hand, the total liabilities in 2008 were the highest in three years because of the commercial paper and short-term borrowing in 2008. Additionally, there was no short-term debt in 2009 but it was the highest accrued expenses during the three years. The shareholders equity in 2009 was the highest in three years owing to the additional paid-in capital. 3.4. Ratio analysis: By doing ratio analysis, the company performance would be evaluated more clearly. As we can see the current ratio for the 2009 was higher than 2008 and 2007. In 2008 and 2007, the current ratio was under 1. That means Starbucks was not in good financial health in these two years. However, this situation didnt exist for a long time but it was not a good sign. The current ratio for 2009 was 1.29, so the company had 1.29 times more current assets than current liabilities. That means Starbucks was able to cover its own obligations. As the Exhibit 1 shows the quick ratio was low for 3 years that is all below 1. This indicates that the company had difficult to turning their inventory into cash like a short-term liability which the company could not pay off immediately. In 2007, the profit margin of Starbucks was 7.15%. This means 7 cents of each dollar is companys profit. In the next two years, the profit margin decreased by nearly 3 percent. That means the net income in 2009 was visibly lower than 2007. It may mainly caused from the increase of the restructuring charges. The return on assets ratio in the year 2007 was 13.77% while the ratio declined to 6.95% in 2009. From this we know Starbucks earned more in 2007 and the net income in 2007 was higher than in 2009. The reason for this decrease results is also from increase cost of the restructuring and innovation in 2008 and 2009. In terms of leverage ratio, to measure its ability to meet financial obligation from 2007 to 2009 the debt ratio was around 50%. That means nearly 50% of funds for assets came from debt. This does not seem good for the company and the most liabilities were long-term liabilities. The debt to equity ratio from 2007 to 2009 was pretty high and the highest point was in 2007, so in 2007 more debt was used. Interests earned ratio in Starbucks during the 3 years was extremely high like in 2007, the ratio was nearly 28 times, but finally in 2009 the ratio was around 15 times a year. It could be a really good margin since the company was able to cover its interest expenses 15 times with operating income. 3.5. Cash flow Operating activities: the net cash provided by operating actives in 2009 was highest during the 3 years. The main part of activities was depreciation and amortization. Same as in 2008 the company spent $604.5 thousands on depreciation and amortization. Investing activities: the net cash used by investing activities in 2007 was $-1201.9 thousands. The main costs here were addition to property, plant and equipment and the company also spent money on purchasing available-for-sale securities. But in 2009 the net cash used by investing activities was $-421.1 thousands. This was much less than in the 2007. The reason for this was the company spent less money on additions to property, plant and equipment. Financing activities: the net increase/ (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in 2009 was $330.0 thousands. That means Starbucks gained money from financing activities in 2009 while in 2008 and 2009 they had losses in financing activities. The reason for the gain of money in 2009 was the profit in short-term borrowing and nothing spent on the issuing of long-term debts. 4. Forecasting 2010-2011 In order to project the next two fiscal year performance of Starbucks, particularly to construct the pro forma income statements of 2010 and 2011, establishing the revenue (or sales) projection should be the first task of all. In the next steps, the rest items of the statement would be projected by the percent of sales method since it does provide simple, logical estimate of many important variables (Higgins, 2009). In fact, there was a visible growth of Starbucks revenue in both volume and speed during the period of time from 2000 to 2009. Especially, from 2000 to 2007, the annual company sales increased in steady pace in the range of 20% to 29%. This impressive growth of Starbucks revenue was a sophisticated proof for its great business strategies during the beginning of this decade. However, the story had some changes since 2008. At the end of this fiscal year, Starbucks finished with $10,383 million revenue, in comparison with 2007, the growth ratio was 10.3% only, the lowest rat io since 2000. Continuously, in the midst of the US economic crisis, Starbucks sales got negative growth at 5.9% after finish the fiscal year 2009, stay at $9,744 million. Figure : Starbucks Sales chart in 2000-2009 (in Millions) Obviously, the trustable estimation should be the sophisticated one, that normally came from data base statistic analyses. Specifically, with the availability of the last ten years data of Starbucks revenue, it was possible to apply most of time series forecast methods such as moving average, weighted moving average, exponential smoothing, and so on. Since each method had its own advantages and limitations, it is necessary to compare how every method would reflect the same provided data (Exhibit 4). The value of W3 (for the Weighted moving average method) and ÃÆ'Ã… ½Ãƒâ€šÃ‚ ± (for the Exponential smoothing method) were decided high at 0.6 and 0.3 due to the emphasis of the closest time period in term of its impact to the next following year. As a result, the forecasts for 2010 sales were quite low though there was still a slightly growth than 2009. Among the three methods, the weighted moving average method seems to be the most appropriated one since it had the smallest value of the Mean Absolute Deviation. Basically, it proved that this method had less forecasting error than others and might be the best choice of all. To be clear, the plot chart was established base on the result of the three forecast methods in Figure X. Figure : Plot of Actual Sales and Forecast Sales for 2010 in three different models (in $ Million) Visibly, the line created from weighted moving average method was the closest one to the actual sales line. Its trend reflected almost similarly to the actual during the period of time from 2003 to 2009. That is why this method was chosen to determine the 2010 Starbucks sales instead of the two methods remaining. Objectively, $9,920.81 million may not be a number that Starbucks shareholders and investors really expect, even it showed slightly growth at 1.5% than 2009. However, in some levels, it seems to reflect quite appropriately the reality of the economic conditions as well as the Starbucks status. In spite of many positive signs of the economic recovery, Starbucks is still continuing its plan to close 800 retail stores over two year 2009 and 2010. Since the 566 stores had already released in 2009, another 244 are expecting to be cleared in fiscal year 2010. Thus, it could be hard to see a rapid growth in revenue of Starbucks at the end of fiscal year 2010. In regard to fiscal year 2011, since all of the three forecasting method above only allowed forecaster to see the result of 2010 revenue, the Linear Regression method was applied to estimate the sales in 2011. By collecting the sales data from the last three years (2007 to 2009) in quarterly, by the calculation of the regression line (Exhibit 11), the value of a ( the y intercept) and b (slope of regression line) were found. These two values were use to determine the dependent variable (y). The regression forecast of sales in equation is: y = a + bx (Exhibit 5 ). The forecast results of $10,078.21 and $10,189.41 for each year of 2010 and 2011 once again confirmed about the growth trend of Starbucks sales in the next two year. Nonetheless, base on the Starbucks plan of opening over 500 new stores in US and over sea during 2011, there should be a stronger increase in sales of Starbucks in this year. Subjectively, the authors believed that Starbucks revenue would increase no less than 15% in 2011. In other words, if the 2010 revenue was forecasted at $9,920.81 million, the same item in 2011 would be around $11,408.93 million. This result was also determined base on many positive factors that Starbucks could get benefits from such as the economic recovery in higher volume and speed, the more effective operating of Starbucks after the reorganizing process in its retail stores system as well as the objective increase in customers demand. Moreover, the volume of average transaction would be higher due to the increase in cost of goods sold and the im pact of inflation. In the Exhibit 6, all the operating performances of Starbucks from 2005 to 2009 were displayed in detail by the percent of total revenue. Base on those historical data and theirs visible trends, it was possible to anticipate logically the operating results for next two fiscal years 2010 and 2011 (Exhibit 7). According to the Exhibit 14, the net income of Starbucks stays at $466.27 and $479.18 million for each of 2010 and 2011. This may be considered as the acceptable results in regard to the challenges of the current circumstance. In fact, the forecast net income of 2010 is 19.3% higher than 2009. Since the revenue of 2010 did not rise in a strong level (only 1.5%), this impressive net income mainly came from the reducing the stores operating expenses and the more effective tax rate. In 2011, the operating expenses are expected to increase and stay at 95.2% of total sales, this is an objective fact that many items in operating expenses areas are in trend of steady increase year by year accompany with the business enlarge strategy of Starbucks, such as store operating expenses or general and administrative expenses. However, this ratio might be less in the next following years if the restructure process of Starbucks would get its aims of improving efficiency of cost control in various act ivities. Conclusion and recommendation Starbucks has been the largest specialty coffee retailer in its industry, but due to the problems with our economy, it has been seeing an effect on its sales and profits. The economic situation has affected consumers spending at Starbucks and other luxury goods. Starbucks also raised prices by an average of 9 cents a cup in July of 2007, causing U.S. customers who face higher food, fuel and housing expenses to go to McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts for cheaper coffee. These issues have affected Starbucks stocks performance in the market and are slowly making this stock an unfavorable one for potential investors. My recommendation for potential investors would be to hold off on purchasing stocks from Starbucks at this moment because now is not a good time to invest in them. I would advise these investors to keep looking into this stock until they see a positive change in its market pattern and that would be when I would advise them to purchase the stock; before its price increases higher t han the average market price. My recommendation for investors holding the share of the company would be to hold on to it until they can see for certain if Starbucks stocks will continue to go down and become a loss or maybe potential go back up and become profitable as they once were. After conducting my research, I believe the Starbucks stock will eventually start going up again after they put into effect their plans for the upcoming year. This stock is definitely a valuable one that I would not let go of if I owned shares in it. Starbucks hold value to its stock, which is why my advice to shareholders is to hold off on selling their shares until they see how the upcoming year goes for the company. In a response to the McDonalds challenge Starbucks is teaming up with Burger King, which has announced that by September 2010 it would begin selling Starbucks Seattles Best Coffee in about 7,250 U.S. outlets it would launch its first national advertising campaign. India, Russia, and China represent key areas of focused future expansion.

The Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered - 1705 Words

Alcohol is usually sought after within the adolescent community and has been an issue among young people. On July 17th 1984, congress passed The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 which enforces the legal drinking age and purchasing of alcohol in the United States to be twenty-one. Since then, the debated idea of whether or not the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen has been an ongoing topic for decades. Alcoholism affects many people in the United States but promoting it at such young age would not be such a great idea for the youths in today’s society.The drinking age should not be lowered due to the fact that it poses many dangers in the lives of teenaegers especially brain damages, underage drinking has declined since 1984, enforcing alcohol among teenagers may cause an increase in drunk driving and deaths and most importantly, teenagers who start drinking at an early age are more than three times more likely to develop alcohol dependency later on in life t han those who started at the legal age of 21 or later. Drinking among teenagers is prone to cause long term damages in their life. At the adolescent stage, teenagers brain are still developing up until the they are in the 20’s. It is a fact that alcohol causes brain damages to anyone who consumes it but because of this occurrence in adolescent’s body,they are more affected by this. According to Saner in the article Health: Drunk young things: Teenage drinkers don t just risk making fools ofShow MoreRelatedShould The Drinking Age Be Lowered?995 Words   |  4 Pages Should the legal drinking age be lowered to age 18? Recently people have been debating whether If the drinking age should be lowered to 18. Some people think 18 is a better age but others think it’s outrageous to lower the drinking age to 18. After much reading and observing, I myself think the drinking age should be kept at 21 years old,because young adults who drink while they re underage make poor decisions and majority of the young adults are in college lacking in classes. The legal drinkingRead MoreShould The Drinking Age Be Lowered?853 Words   |  4 Pagesactivities around their friends to feel like they are a part of the team. Many people often wonder if the court of law stepped in and changed the age of drinking would this help the case of underage drinking. This proposed law would lower the drinking age to make the teenagers less rebellious and allow them to feel more like adults. If the drinking age were to be lowered then teenagers would feel as if they didn’t have to drink every day because they wouldn’t have to wonder when this opportunity will happenRead MoreShould The Drinking Age Be Lowered?875 Words   |  4 Pages Should the Drinking Age Be Lowered? Should the legal drinking age be lowered to age 18? Recently people have been debating whether If the drinking age should be lowered to 18. Some people think 18 is a better age but others think it’s outrageous to lower the drinking age to 18. After much reading and observing, I myself think the drinking age should be kept at 21 years old,because young adults who drink while they re underage make poor decisions and majority of the young adults are in collegeRead MoreThe Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered1135 Words   |  5 Pages In today’s society, underage drinking is seen all around us. It is in TV shows, movies, schools, and even in our own communities. Although it may be understood as something we are not supposed to do, many of these shows do not depict the real issues that can come from drinking under age. While only 11% of the alcohol sold in America is consumed by those under the age of twenty-one, it is still a horrific, nationwide problem. Alc ohol is a drug that can make you do things you would neverRead MoreShould The Drinking Age Be Lowered? Essay2027 Words   |  9 PagesShould The Drinking Age Be Lowered? One of the major problems today in United States society is the amount of people in college who are drinking while underage. Every day on college campuses we see rebellious young adults disobey the law and drink alcohol under the age of 21. How would things be different if the drinking age was lowered? Would college students abuse it or is it a good idea? Many people believe the drinking age should be kept where it is now based on statistics. I feel the drinkingRead MoreShould The Drinking Age Be Lowered?994 Words   |  4 PagesShould the Drinking Age Be Lowered? Approximately 2 out of every 3 high school students have drank to the point of getting intoxicated (binge drink), in more than one occasion (Centers for Disease and Control Prevention [CDC], n.d.). Binge drinking has become increasingly common for youth under the minimum legal drinking age, making it increasingly dangerous because of the lack of supervision that young adults have that can consequently, lead to death because of fear of the law (Bonnie O’ConnellRead MoreThe Drinking Age Should Not Be Lowered1639 Words   |  7 PagesMost people would concur that alcohol should not be given to teenagers. Despite the fact that we concede to this essential truth, underage drinking is still a noteworthy issue in our nation. Since adolescents need development and information with regards to liquor, they put themselves, as well as others in incredible danger when they decide to consume. Regardless of the risk, there are individuals out there who believe that the drinking age should be lowered. However, their argument is weak, andRead MoreThe Drinking Age Should Be Lowered2353 Words   |  10 PagesDrinking Age Over the years the drinking age or the drinking laws have been questioned and changed many times. For a few years now more recently question being, should the drinking age be lowered to eighteen? Or why shouldn’t it? In the United States, binge drinking has been a big problem. Its one of the top causes for traffic tragedies as well as other health issues that come along with it, especially among college students. However since the drinking age has changed from being 18 to 21 thereRead MoreThe Drinking Age Should Be Lowered1599 Words   |  7 Pagesmany years is whether the drinking age should be lowered to eighteen years old, as opposed to where it is now, at twenty one. Some argue that at age eighteen, a person is legally an adult and able to go to war, vote, and partake in other adult activities. If they are an adult at this age, why are they unable to legally drink alcohol? There are numerous reasons why drinking is unsafe for those under twenty one. The drinking age is s et at age twenty one for a reason, and should stay that way. Some statesRead MoreDrinking Age Should Be Lowered1039 Words   |  5 Pages2017 Drinking age is already dangerous as is In recent discussions of the drinking age limit, people have always said that the drinking age limit should be lowered. Some may argue that alcohol is not bad and that it can actually be beneficially. Many people would want the drinking age limit to be lowered so that it is legal for young adults to drink. If the drinking age limit were to be lowered there would be a drastic difference in society. In my perspective I will argue that the drinking age limit

Network And Internet Connections Essay Example For Students

Network And Internet Connections Essay The Internet is a network of networks that interconnects computers around theworld, supporting both business and residential users. In 1994, a multimediaInternet application known as the World Wide Web became popular. The higherbandwidth needs of this application have highlighted the limited Internet accessspeeds available to residential users. Even at 28.8 Kilobits per second(Kbps)the fastest residential access commonly available at the time of thiswritingthe transfer of graphical images can be frustratingly slow. Thisreport examines two enhancements to existing residential communicationsinfrastructure: Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), and cable televisionnetworks upgraded to pass bi-directional digital traffic (Cable Modems). Itanalyzes the potential of each enhancement to deliver Internet access toresidential users. It validates the hypothesis that upgraded cable networks candeliver residential Internet access more cost-effectively, while offering abroader range of serv ices. The research for this report consisted of casestudies of two commercial deployments of residential Internet access, eachintroduced in the spring of 1994: Continental Cablevision and PerformanceSystems International (PSI) jointly developed PSICable, an Internet accessservice deployed over upgraded cable plant in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Internex, Inc. began selling Internet access over ISDN telephone circuitsavailable from Pacific Bell. Internexs customers are residences and smallbusinesses in the Silicon Valley area south of San Francisco,California. 2.0 The Internet When a home is connected to the Internet,residential communications infrastructure serves as the last mile ofthe connection between the home computer and the rest of the computers on theInternet. This section describes the Internet technology involved in thatconnection. This section does not discuss other aspects of Internet technologyin detail; that is well done elsewhere. Rather, it focuses on the services that need to be provided for home computer users to connect to the Internet. 2.1 ISDNand upgraded cable networks will each provide different functionality (e.g. typeand speed of access) and cost profiles for Internet connections. It might seemsimple enough to figure out which option can provide the needed level of servicefor the least cost, and declare that option better. A key problemwith this approach is that it is difficult to define exactly the needed level ofservice for an Internet connection. The requirements depend on the applicationsbeing run over the connection, but these applications are constantly changing. As a result, so are the costs of meeting the applications requirements. Untilabout twenty years ago, human conversation was by far the dominant applicationrunning on the telephone network. The network was consequently optimized toprovide the type and quality of service needed for conversation. Telephonetraffic engineers measured aggregate statistical conversational patterns andsized telephone networks accordingly. Telephonys well-defined and stableservice requirements are reflected in the 3-3-3 rule of thumb reliedon by traffic engineers: the average voice call lasts three minutes, the usermakes an average of three call attempts during the peak busy hour, and the calltravels over a bidirectional 3 KHz channel. In contrast, data communications arefar more difficult to characterize. Data transmissions are generated by computerapplications. Not only do existing applications change frequently (e.g. becauseof software upgrades), but entirely new categoriessuch as Web browserscomeinto bein g quickly, adding different levels and patterns of load to existingnetworks. Researchers can barely measure these patterns as quickly as they aregenerated, let alone plan future network capacity based on them. The onegeneralization that does emerge from studies of both local and wide- area datatraffic over the years is that computer traffic is bursty. It does not flow inconstant streams; rather, the level of traffic varies widely over almostany measurement time scale (Fowler and Leland, 1991). Dynamic bandwidthallocations are therefore preferred for data traffic, since static allocationswaste unused resources and limit the flexibility to absorb bursts of traffic. .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .postImageUrl , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:hover , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:visited , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:active { border:0!important; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:active , .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub3ff4dcfd3cf90aaa65671be48fd06ab:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: As We All Filled Up The Large Room To Watch The The Interview You Coul EssayThis requirement addresses traffic patterns, but it says nothing about theabsolute level of load. How can we evaluate a system when we never know how muchcapacity is enough? In the personal computing industry, this problem is solvedby defining enough to be however much I can affordtoday, and relying on continuous price-performance improvements in digitaltechnology to increase that level in the near future. Since both of theinfrastructure upgrade options rely heavily on digital technology, anothercriteria for evaluation is the extent to which rapidly advancing technology canbe immediately reflected in improved service offerings. Cable networks satisfythese evaluation criteria more effectively than telephone networks because: Coaxial cable is a higher quality transmission medium than twisted copper wirepairs