Time Value of Money Calculations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Time Value of Money Calculations - Assignment Example Capital budgeting decisions are based on an evaluation of the cash flows expected from investing in a specific project (Emery et al 2007). Projects are evaluated using methods such as: net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), payback period (described as simple payback) and discounted payback period. These methods can assist management in deciding which project among a set of options yields the best return or whether a particular project should be undertaken. The NPV is the net balance of the initial investment after deducting future cash flows at present values. The implication of a negative NPV indicates the failure of the project to generate enough funds to pay up the initial investments as well as to facilitate some returns to shareholders. Information contained in the Appendix indicates that the project has a positive NPV of $16,692. This implies that the project would be beneficial to the organization The IRR is the discount rate that equates the present value of a project’s cash flows with the cost of the project (Brigham and Ehrhardt 2005). This occurs when NPV is equal to Zero (0). If used appropriately it is a valuable tool in the selection of projects (Hazen 2003). The IRR of the Server Update project is 10.13 per cent. This is 2.13 per cent above the organization’s cost of capital and therefore offers a positive return to shareholders. See Appendix 1 for the solution. According to Brigham and Ehrhardt (2005) the simple payback period indicates the time period over which the project recovers the initial investment. In performing the calculations the annual cash flows are set off against the initial outflow until there is a positive balance. Investments with long payback periods are considered to be risky compared to those with relatively short payback periods and so this method has a bias for short term projects. Additionally, the simple payback method does not take into account the time value of money since it

Analysis the case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analysis the case - Essay Example companies do not care about their customers, it was noted that there were tires that were believed to be faulty, were supposed to be examined for safety only to be later passed as good for use under unclear circumstances. The ford company also stated that it was an issue with the tires, and that they had insisted on low pressure on these tires. The pressure recommended by firestone and ford on these tires differed. Both the Ford and the Firestone Company are not responsible in social ways as they differ on this issue of the recommended tires pressure, in addition, instead of soling the issue at hand, all they do comprises of pointing fingers at each other thus putting the consumer at a higher risk (Case 24 687). Both the Ford and Firestone are at fault in this situation, firestone should not have installed the tires that were in question to Ford trucks; on the other hand, the Ford Company should have made it clear on the recommended pressure of Firestone tires. The firestone name has ruined its reputation, so is the Ford trucks, the number of lives lost in this accident is not something to go away easily. Firestone has the responsibility of paying ford that money as they replaced these tires with their own funds, however, it would be much more important to find a solution to this type/truck issue as the safety of human beings cannot be compensated with money. Currently, the ford trucks have changed their tires from firestone, however the vehicles keep on rolling in most occasions, and therefore one cannot put all the blame on the firestone tors in these incidences (Case 24

Visual Literacy Essay Example for Free

Visual Literacy Essay Visual Literacy throughout the history of our world has been important; dating back to cave drawings and carvings, and developing all the way to automated street signs signaling vehicles when to slow, stop, or go. Visuals are a part of our daily lives today as much as they were at the beginning of man’s time-and other living beings’ time-and his, first ability to communicate, visually. Communication was not something that was first spoken or written, it was something shown or demonstrated; such as dance for instance, while someone else was viewing/watching, to portray a message or a feeling to that other person. Whether the Visual Literacy or communication is hand signals-similar to sign language, facial expressions-as simple as the way an individual winks at another individual today, a nod to another person, or something as complex as an artists’ message through a painting, sculpture, other, or not; Visual Literacy is and always will be the first mode of communication in the past, present, and future. Visual Literacy can be a considered a universal language because everybody, or most individuals understand pictures, drawings, artwork, or hand signals/sign language of today. â€Å"The only individuals who do not understand visuals are the blind community-however, this handicap is adapted by the body and other the other body senses become enhanced greatly† (B. Kennedy, 2010). Perhaps sign language varies throughout different regions of the world, but the basics will always be well-known, regardless. For example, pointing to oneself means me, no matter what country you are residing in. A simple sign such as this is a basic way to communicate, and is universal. If two individuals from different countries who did not understand each other were to sit down together and draw a picture of a house, hut, or dwelling of some sort; each individual would understand the drawing, or picture of a dwelling as a home. This is considered Visual Literacy, as well. These two individuals may not be speaking with their mouths, or sounds, but they are communicating with visuals. Brian Kennedy provides an excellent portrayal of what he believes Visual Literacy to be in today’s world. However, our text provides a wonderful explanation of Visual Literacy within the business world today as well, and between both of these resources is a wealth of information. Mr. Kennedy takes a very literal look at Visual Literacy- no pun intended. Kennedy believes that what we view each day through sight is a way that we can learn and communicate if we pay attention. Most of the time, however, we do not pay attention. In fact, he states, â€Å"everything we see is an image, but unless we connect cognition and memory, we do not remember what we see† (B.  Kennedy, 2010). We see hundreds of images everyday throughout our lives, but unless we have some connection to the image, we do not retain it. However, if we â€Å"slow-look, we can look, see, describe, analyze, and interpret or construct meaning† (B. Kennedy, 2010). As with this prior quote, Mr. Kennedy made many other interesting statements within his presentation. For instance, â€Å"we read non-text 60,000 times faster than written text,† and â€Å"90% of what we learn is taken in visually† (B. Kennedy, 2010). Regarding our text, and the definition provided regarding Visual Literacy compared to the video containing Brian Kennedy speaking about the subject, our text is more business oriented, or technically derived. The text this week seems to focus on the high-tech aspect of Visual Literacy. This includes television, billboards, computer images, etc. Also, there almost has to be a difference between the two definitions because one was presented visually, and the other was presented in a written format. Within the text, there are other terms for Visual Literacy, such as media literacy, for example. Also, within our text (W.Ryan, 2012), are two authors (Avgerinou and Ericson, 1997) featured who present this opinion of the definition of Visual Literacy along with 9 other definitions, but will not get into in this paper: â€Å"Visuals may be objects, events, actions, pictorial representations, nonverbal or digital symbols, written words, or numbers. They then argue that visual literacy refers to the use of visuals for communicating, thinking, learning, constructing meaning, creative expression, and aesthetic enjoyment. For example, supplementing a business meeting with visuals created in PowerPoint or Prezi communicate information in a manner alternative to the  spoken word, may engage visually literate audience members in critical thinking about the message, and help them learn more than they may have if they had only heard the message. When these media are used effectively and appropriately, they may stimulate creative thinking and generate affects or liking among audience members through the use of charts, graphs, audio, images, and video† (Avgerinou and Ericson, 1997). It seems that our text is much more technical as far as addressing the definition of Visual Literacy, than the video created by Brian Kennedy. Perhaps it seems that way because the definition that Brian Kennedy offers is visual, as well as audible, but it does seem that he offers a much easier explanation. Communication, through visuals such as photographs for example, have been a way of communicating across borders, oceans, and continents over the decades. One photograph that finds its way on a national magazine cover can convey much more than an entire book devoted to a certain topic. A wonderful example of this comes from our text this week, and that is The National Geographic cover of â€Å"Afghan Girl† that was the cover of the magazine when this girl featured was just 17. It touched many people, and many lives, enough for the photographer to search her out years later without even knowing her name. She was found, and reunited with the photographer, but how does a girl who did not want her picture taken to begin with, react to a huge worldwide reaction to her picture so many years ago, and now with so much attention? She never even knew, or saw her picture. That says quite a bit, as well, as far as Visual Literacy. Perhaps it does not reach as far as we think it does. Globally, perhaps we are not there yet, with our Visual Literacy-or, as easy of a definition, communicating visually. Perhaps we are still a bit Visually Illiterate when it comes to the way we want to portray others, our art, our people, or people from other countries. Also, we should be aware of the way that other countries present us visually. That is something that The United States has not really worried about too much, it seems. We find ourselves upon a pedestal at times and just burst in and start snapping pictures, or slapping paint, etc. The story regarding â€Å"The Afghan Girl† was a reminder of that. We, as a Great Big Beautiful, Wonderful, Intelligent Country believe that all of our media reaches every crevice in the entire world, yet it does not, by any means. We must be mindful of that, while still trying to see everything we are looking at†¦. References: Avgerinou, M. , Ericson, J. (1997). A Review of the Concept of Visual Literacy. British Journal of Educational Technology. Kennedy, B. (2010). Brian Kennedy’s TedTalk: Brian Kennedy: Visual Literacy and Why We Need It . Retrieved From: (http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=OefLEpds5Is). Ryan, W. (2012). Visual literacy: learning to see. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.

Religion Essays Anselm and Descartes

Religion Essays Anselm and Descartes Anselm Descartes Religion Anselm and Descartes The debate regarding the existence of God has lasted for centuries. Man’s quest to establish the validity of God’s existence remains ongoing till this day. Saint Anselm and Rene Descartes were two thinkers who left a lasting impression from their philosophical works on the existence of God. Both men strived to prove the existence of God using rational and logical argumentation. Stylistically they differ, yet both share a cohesion of interest in which their common objective is to use philosophical reasoning to derive an â€Å"Ontological Argument† which favors the existence of God. Saint Anselm lived during 1033-1109, the prime of the Middle Ages. He was a devoted Christian who contributed significant works in theology and philosophy. As a faithful Christian, he yearned for a rational interpretation that proved the existence of God. The Augustinian phrase sums this idea; â€Å"faith seeking understanding† (Baird 322). In Anselm’s â€Å"Proslogion† he develops the â€Å"Ontological Argument† attempting to prove God’s existence. Anselm states that God is a being â€Å"in which nothing greater can be conceived.† He significantly quotes, the Psalms 13:1; â€Å"the Fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ He addresses this issue because he wants to prove the relevance of his prior statement, â€Å"we believe you to be something greater than which nothing greater can be conceived.† The Fool described in Psalms can comprehend this statement even if he is unsure that what he understands exists. Therefore, a major distinction is drawn by Anselm; â€Å"it is one thing for something to be in the understanding and quite another to understand that the thing in question exists† (Baird 325). Thus, the â€Å"Fool† can be convinced by his understanding that there is â€Å"something than which nothing greater can be conceived.† Anselm goes even further by arguing that â€Å"something in which nothing greater can be conceived† not only exists in the understanding, but can also be thought as existing in reality. Consequently, Anselm maintains, â€Å"without a doubt then there exists both in understanding and in reality a being greater than which nothing can be conceived† (Baird 325). Anselm develops his argument further by claiming that because such a thing exists, that thing cannot be thought of as not existing. Moreover, an interesting point is made by Anselm when he says, â€Å"It is possible indeed to think of anything other than you as nonexistent.† In other words, Anselm is trying to say that all other things can be thought of as not existing, but God has a perfect existence in which it is impossible to claim nonexistent because then it would be paradoxical. The measure of Gods existence supersedes all others because nothing greater can be conceived. Anselm once again discusses the fool who says in his heart that there is no God. Reason being, he wants to illustrate the connection between â€Å"to say in ones heart† and to think. The fool said in his heart that God did not exist, yet the same fool conceived a being greater than any other. Therefore, to say in ones heart is equal to thinking because to say in ones heart, one must first think. This also holds true for the reversal, if he does not think, than he does not say it in his heart. Thinking is initiated in two senses according to Anselm. In the first sense, thinking is signaled by a word that describes the thing. In the second sense, thinking is created when one thinks of the actual thing itself. Thus, from the perspective of the first sense it can be true that God does not exist. From the second sense, the denial of the existence of God is impossible because the thing itself has been thought or conceived. Since Descartes’ â€Å"Fifth Mediation† was written many years after Anselm’s â€Å"Ontological Argument† it becomes apparent, at least in one sense that Descartes refers indirectly to arguments established in Anselm’s â€Å"Ontological Argument.† This relationship or connection can be seen in both arguments as the idea of God’s â€Å"perfect existence.† Descartes however, in my opinion delves into the concept of perfect existence candidly. Whereas Anselm, attributes this perfect existence in his statement â€Å"we believe you to be something greater than which nothing grater can be conceived.† Regardless of the methods used they both attribute perfection to this supreme, eternal Being. Additionally, Descartes argument regarding the existence of God is not presupposed by faith like Anselm’s. Rather, Descartes begins his argument in a different manner then Anselm, speaking nothing about prior faith in God’s existence. He begins the â€Å"Fifth Meditation† by explaining how he has the ability to conceive in his mind a vast array of different shapes and dimensions. Even if these figments which he has created within his mind do not actual exist outside of his mind, they still contain immutable and eternal properties. A triangle is used by Descartes to elaborate upon this issue. He argues that even if the triangle did not exist outside of his mind it still contains indisputable properties. Therefore, once these properties are conceived clearly and distinctly they must be completely true. Like the triangle, the idea of a supremely perfect being exists in both our mind and Descartes. This idea does not differ from that of the triangle in any sense because each contains a nature or property. Descartes clearly and distinctly observes that Gods existence belongs to his nature, like a figure or number whose nature belongs to that figure or number. Descartes agrees that God can be thought of as not existing. This means, one can segregate his existence from his essential properties. Furthermore, this ability to separate existence and essence is also present within all other things examined according to Descartes. However, with closer inspection and with greater attention given to this notion Descartes discovered that, â€Å"we can no more separate the existence of God from his essence than we can separate from the essence of a rectilinear triangle the fact that the size of its three angles equals two right angles† (Baird 430). In other words, with other things we can separate the existence from the properties because the other things are not of a perfect being like God. Both Anselm and Descartes both use the premise of God as not existing, to prove his existence. They formulate their argument in this way because with closer inspection they refute the thought of God not existing because God has a perfect existence, and to claim that a perfect Being does not exist in reality would be â€Å"self contradictory† (Baird 430). Thus, according to Anselm and Descartes, a perfect Being must exist in both the mind and in reality since its existence is eternal, immutable, and perfect. In addition, Descartes maintains that he cannot think of God without existence any more than he can think of a mountain without a valley. Even though a necessary characteristic of a mountain is that it be contiguous to a valley, â€Å"it doesnt follow that any mountains or valleys exist.† Similarly, even though a supremely perfect being possesses certain attributes, it does not coincide with the existence of that being. Consequently Descartes says, â€Å"From the fact alone that I cannot conceive God except as existing, it follows that existence is inseparable from him, and consequently that he does, in truth, exist† (Barid 430) This acknowledgment of Gods existence is made by Descartes namely because God â€Å"possesses all sorts of perfections†, existence being one of them. Descartes then continues addressing an objection in regards to his prior argument. Consequently, he says that it is not necessary for him to suppose the thought of God, yet once he does think of God, then existence is necessary. This follows and is no different from it not being necessary for one to suppose something that is false. Descartes uses the inscription of a rhombus into a circle to illustrate this issue. â€Å"It is not necessary to think that all four sided figures can be inscribed in a circle; but if we suppose that I do have this idea, I am forced to admit that a rhombus can be inscribed in one, since it is a four sided figure, and by this I will be forced to admit what is clearly false† (Baird 431). Therefore, to Descartes one must not say, that even though it is not necessary for one to think of God, when one does think of the idea of a supreme being you are necessarily attributing an array of perfections. Thus, once it has been recognized that existence is perfection, one must conclude that this Supreme Being actually exists. Therefore, a distinction has been made by Descartes; there are many differences between false assumptions and true innate ideas, namely the thought of God. According to Descartes, this idea is not â€Å"imaginary or fictitious† because God is the only thing that can be conceived as having a â€Å"true and immutable nature.† There have been many attempts to refute the arguments of Anselm and Descartes. However, because of the rational and logical sequence that both follow in their arguments it has become increasingly difficult for others to prove these claims erroneous. Regardless, both men have provided invaluable documentation regarding the possibility of God’s existence in our minds and in reality. Even atheists find these arguments hard to refute because both thinkers cleverly used the thought of God as not existing, to prove that God, in his perfection does actually exist in our minds and in reality. Work Cited Baird, Forrest E., Walter Kauffmann. From Plato to Derrida. Forth ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2003.

Three Principal Meetings that Led to the Adoption of the Constitution o

Three Principal Meetings that Led to the Adoption of the Constitution of the United States There were three principal meetings that led to the adoption of the Constitution of the United States, and only two Virginians attended all three. The meetings were the Mount Vernon Conference of 1785, the Annapolis Convention of 1786 and the Philadelphia Convention in 1787. James Madison was one attendee, and he is well known as the Father of the Constitution and our fourth President. George Mason was the other, yet his name does not spring to mind. Does George Mason deserve the accolade "Founding Father?" This paper will explore the political life of Mason and attempt to answer the question affirmatively. Before exploring Mason through his papers, his biographies and the papers of his contemporaries, it is necessary to decide what one must have done to be included in the list of our republic's founders. For purposes of this investigation, we must find that Mason's words or actions were influential in the document as finally ratified. While Mason's authorship of the Virginia Declaration of Rights is easily tied to the Bill of Rights, the question for this paper is whether Mason's handprints appear on the mold of our Constitution. Mason is well regarded as a political writer. "His three most brilliant papers - 'Extracts from the Virginia Charters', 'The Virginia Resolutions' and 'Declaration of Rights' have become immortalized as the very foundations of American democracy." Herbert Lawrence Ganter identified George Mason as an "eighteenth century champion of liberty for all." But these approbations are difficult to uncover. More commonly, one finds quotations such as "†¦the wr itings of the great thinkers of the age - Jefferson, Madison, Hamilton, Adams†¦" To adequately examine George Mason, a brief review of his pre-convention life and activities helps set up his provenance as a founding father. George Mason, the fourth so named in this lineage, was born about 1725. His father drowned during a squall while crossing the Potomac in 1735. His education was at the hand of his paternal uncle and co-guardian John Mercer of Marlborough who had "†¦assembled one of the outstanding libraries in the colony†¦" Mercer's collection was heavily weighted toward law and legal treatises but contained the currently popular classic literature as well as works on philosop... ...ited States." In further debate, Colonel Mason moved to insert the words "increased or" before "diminished" in the proposed clause defining the compensation of judges, but this motion was voted down. On August 28, Mason objected to the clause denying States the right to interfere in private contracts. On August 29 Mason joined the fray on the issue of regulation of commerce and States' rights, again expressing his concern that southern states are a minority. On the issue of new western states, he suggested that they be treated equally, a view opposed to those who had moved to place superior power in the existing States. August 30 was a day of silence for Colonel Mason. On August 31, Mason supported those who felt that only nine States needed to ratify rather than ten as was on the table. Nine States had been acceptable for the Confederation and there was no valid reason to change. As August came to a close, Mason seconded the motion of Elbridge Gerry to postpone a decision on how and when the States should be allowed to ratify the Constitution. It was during this speech that Mason declared he would sooner chop off his right hand than put to the people the Constitution as it

expatriate failures :: essays research papers fc

EXPATRIATE FAILURES â€Å"The internationalization of business has proceeded at a rapid pace as the world has become a global economy.†(Mathis, Jackson 2000) This is the very reason why companies now have the need for international executives. As all aspects of a business spread worldwide, so must the employees. An expatriate by definition is a home-county national, usually an employee of the firm, who is sent abroad to manage a foreign subsidiary. (Rodrigues, 2001) A successful expatriate generally requires an extensive amount of time and money, however, a failed expatriate can be even more costly for an organization. A study of multinational corporations showed that 69% (of the firms surveyed) had recall rates of expatriates between 10 to 20 percent. Compared to Japan and their figures, (86% of firms had less than 5% recall rate) the United States has room for improvement. (Tung, 1981) There are many reason for expatriates to fail and many differences between Japan and United States’ hum an resource management planning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the main reasons why expatriates fail is due to the social and physical environments of the foreign country. Adaptation problems can effect the on-the-job effectiveness of the expatriate. Different value systems and living habits are a main cause of adaptation problems and the inability to communicate only worsens the problem. Lack of communication verbally and nonverbally can affect every aspect of a persons career and person life. If someone can’t communicate, imagine the difficulty of going to the bank, dealing with customers, and even going grocery shopping. In addition to the new surrounding environments, if the expatiates family can not accompany them or is not happy with the new living arrangements then it could result in separation anxiety. Humans need to feel secure in their environments and with all of these downfalls it is extremely difficult to accomplish. When an expatiate is not happy with their situation, it will reflect on their job p erformance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some other reasons for expatriates to fail are differences in the managerial and organizational principles. If a foreign country has different principles than the home-country than implementation can be very difficult. This also applies to objectives and policies. With such differences the expatriate may need to conform to the local situation. â€Å"If the expatriate manager’s authority is visibly constrained, his or her opportunity to establish and maintain an effective relationship with local associates is diminished.† (Rodrigues, 2001) An expatriate’s authority can appear constrained if the home office overcentralizes the decision making.

Appearance Can Be Deceiving

The outer appearance of people is the first thing that can be seen in the beginning. However, when you meet someone you shouldn’t judge him only by the way he looks like, because most of the times it can be deceiving. The beauty of some people can be only a good mask for covering their real faces, their real characters. And the first question that we always ask ourselves when we see people like that is exactly – do they posses nobility, pure soul and intelligence? In some cases, they just glitter with false beauty and seek fools who will befriend them or even fall inlove with them. They have nothing to do with the purity of beauty. Just like beautiful roses which have thorns though and the beautiful and tasty but poisonous apple which the witch give to Snow White in the famous fairy tale of the Grimm Brothers. But in other cases, we can meet nowadays on the streets people who really posses high moral virtue, combined with beauty. Just like some beautiful models that have high education and take part in a lot of charity organizations. And what about the people who haven’t got beautiful outer appearance? Are they low-inteligente or intentioned? In some cases, they are. But in most of the cases, they have beauty inside. They compensate the lag of good outer appearance with the possession of sweet character, kindness and responsivness. Just like an ugly and abominable caterpillar which reveals to us that it is beautiful in its nature, when one day it becomes a gorgeous butterfly. However, we shouldn’t forget the most important thing that the beauty of the people is immeasurable and someone can be beautiful for you but not for the others. There is a good piece in everyone no matter where it is (in the outer appearance or on the inside) and it’s only waiting to be found out by someone. In conclusion, as people say: â€Å"All that glitters is not gold† and â€Å"The eyes lie† so never trust your first impressions, but use your mind and soul to determine whether some is a good person or not.