Executive Summary
Grabbing America by the Horns Table of Contents Company Timeline 4 Executive Summary 7 ML the Early Years 1914 - 1929 9 Historical Overview 9 Industry Analysis 1 Five Forces 3 Barriers to Entry 3 Substitutes 4 Supplier Power 4 Buyer Power 5 Degree of Rivalry 5 Strategic Positioning 5 Activity System 6 Level of Fit 7 Conclusion/Takeaway 8 Activity System Diagram 9 A Period of Readjustment to Promote Growth 1930-1970 20 Historical Overview 20 Industry Analysis 22 Five Forces 23 Barriers to Entry 23 Substitutes 24 Supplier Power 25 Buyer Power 25 Degree of Rivalry 26 Strategic Positioning 26 Activity System 27 Survey 27 Compensation to Brokers 28 Upgrading Employee Status 28 Annual Report 29 Superior Customer Service 29 Mergers 30 Two-Fold Plan 30 Aggressive Advertising 31 Communications 32 Level of Fit 32 Conclusion/Takeaway 33 Activity System Diagram 34 Merrill Lynch Goes Public and Continues to Expand 1971- 1989 35 Historical Overview 35 Industry Analysis 37 Five Forces 37 Barriers to Entry 37 Substitutes 37 Supplier Power 38 Buyer Power 38 Degree of Rivalry 38 Strategic Positioning 39 Activity System 41 Thickening Core Competencies 41 Cash Management Account 41 Expansion into the Tokyo Stock Exchange 44 Management Science Group 45 Mergers & Acquisitions 46
Deutsche Bank : Discussing the Equity Risk Premium
Case Report Deutsche Bank : Discussing the Equity Risk Premium Summary Jamil Baz, global head of fixed income research at Deutsche Bank, and George Cooper, global fixed income strategist of the same group, are finalizing a client presentation on the danger of overstating the Equity Risk Premium (ERP) when comparing bonds and equities. For this purpose, they evaluate two different approaches used to calculate the ERP. Identification of the problem The general idea behind the calculation of the Equity Risk Premium can be divided in 3 steps: · Estimation of the expected total return on stocks · Estimation of the expected risk-free return of bond coupons · Calculating the difference of the above two estimations Two approaches are proposed for estimating ERP - The first is called the Gordon Growth Model (GGM). It uses a dividend discount model in order to estimate the Equity Risk Premium. The expected total return on stocks (%) is considered equal to the summation of the dividend yield (%) and the expected growth in dividends (%). The second approach is based on the price-to-earnings ratio of the company and its reciprocal, the earnings yield. The expected total return on stocks (%) is estimated to be the earnings yield. However, the two approaches produce highly different results and Jamil Baz is in the tough situation of deciding whether or not
History:
CONTENTS: Executive Summary 2 . Introduction 3 2. Cyprus Airways Position 4 3. Analysis of the International Airline industry Environment 4 3.1. PEST Analysis 6 4. Ways of Reinforcing the Strategic Decisions of Cyprus Airways 8 5. Company's Challenges 10 6. Actions that should be Taken 11 6.1 Possible Outsourcing 11 6.2 Alliances Participation 12 6.3 Reinforcing E-ticketing and IT Technology 12 6.4 Flight Network Redesigned 12 6.5 Fleet Standardization 13 6.6 Group Structure and Subsidiaries 13 7. REFERENCES 15 8. APPENDIX 1 16 9. APPENDIX 2 17 0. APPENDIX 3 23 Executive Summary: After years of financial difficulties, Cyprus Airways, the national carrier of Cyprus, has in recent months found itself faced with a real financial impasse. These financial problems were caused because of bad management decisions mainly on the fleet expansion program of the Company and due to wrong estimations of the industry tendencies. In February 2005, Cyprus Airways reported a full-year loss of 33.5
Capital Budgeting
Capital Budgeting, the decision making process regarding assets, resources, principal and investments, and how they are to be utilitized within a company. "Capital investment decisions comprise the long-term choices about which projects receive investment, whether to finance that investment with equity or debt, and when or whether to pay dividends to shareholders" (en.wikipedia.org). Careful budgeting is essential in marketing decisions, for any business. "Decisions on investment, which take time to mature, have to be based on the returns which that investment will make. Unless the project is for social reasons only, if the investment is unprofitable in the long run, it is unwise to invest in it now. Often, it would be good to know what the present value of the future investment is, or how long it will take to mature (give returns)". It could be much more profitable putting the planned investment money in the bank in order to earn interest, or to invest it. Typical Capital budget decisions include the decision to build or invest. A smaller business manager may need "to evaluate whether to spend more on advertising or increase the sales force, although it is difficult to measure the sales to advertising ratio" (www.fao.org/decrep). The following methods will evaluate Capital budgeting: Initial Investment Outlay includes the cash needed to purchase new equipment or to
Organisational and Managerial Performance - How, when, where and by whom should organisational, managerial, product and service performance be measured?
ENVS1130 E.J. de Renzy-Martin Foundations of Management December 2002 Coursework 1 Organisational and Managerial Performance . How, when, where and by whom should organisational, managerial, product and service performance be measured? It has never been more important to accurately measure business and managerial performance. Since the post-War renaissance, companies' prospects of obtaining a competitive advantage have solely depended on a combination of the expertise, knowledge and skills of its staff. There is, however, no single measure of performance in any situation. A large proportion of performance measures are qualitative not quantitative, and therefore value judgements can only be calculated with supportable and justifiable standards. Consequently, it is imperative that the main attributes of those who measure this performance can analyse and interpret the results, with a fundamental understanding of the environment, people, customers, the market- and the organizations' position within it. This is not possible without the full and latest information, constantly gathered and assessed. It is important that a central element of this approach is that targets need to be measurable, and reflected on consistently and frequently; but these are not always measurable quantitatively. However, a quantitative output may not always add value: "Value is
Depreciation at Delta Air Lines and Singapore Air lines
Case Study 2 Depreciation at Delta Air Lines and Singapore Air lines Harvard Business School Annual Depreciation Expenses Depreciation for each $100 gross value of aircraft Annual Depreciation expenses = (Initial value - End residual value)/ (number of years) .1 Delta airlines Before July 1st 1986 From July 1st 1986 - March 31st 1993 From April 1st 1993 - today Residual (Percentage %) 0 0 5 Average Age of Aircraft (Years) 0 5 20 Depreciation expenses per annum (Dollars) 9 6 4.75 Depreciation expenses calculation for $100 worth of aircraft value: . Prior to July 1st 1986 Depreciation expense = (100 - (0.1 * 100))/10 = 90/10 = $9 2. From July 1st 1986 to March 31st 1993 Depreciation expense = (100 - (0.1 * 100))/15 = 90/15 = $6 3. From April 1st 1993 to today Depreciation expense = (100 - (0.05 * 100))/20 = 95/20 = $4.75 .2 Singapore airlines Before April 1st 1989 From April 1st 1989 - 1993 From April 1st 1993 - today Residual (Percentage %) 0 20 20 Average Age of Aircraft (Years) 8 0 0 Depreciation expenses per annum (Dollars) 1.25 8 8 Depreciation expenses calculation for $100 worth of aircraft value. . Prior to April 1st 1989 Depreciation expense = (100 - (0.1 * 100))/8 = 90/8 = $11.25 2. From April 1st 1989 to end of FY-1993 Depreciation expense = (100 - (0.2 * 100))/10 = 80/10 = $8 3. From end of FY-1993
Business Planning.
Business Planning THE MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS OF MY BUSINESS PLAN C2 & A1 - Viability Now that the business plan is complete, I need to back up section E5. I might say my business will be a success, but now I need to back some of that up by looking at targets set and whether I will be achieving them. It's not only financial target I am concerned about, but my other targets were: * Actually running a successful business all by myself * To develop my hobby, into a full-time business interest. I will need to know how much I need to invest and how much of it I expect to get back. I feel that it is important to keep up-to-date and keep looking at the following important financial areas: - * The return on capital employed (ROCE) * Profit margins * Ability to reward/repay investors * % of market share gained Cashflow Forecast The cashflow forecast for my business shows that I expect to earn £27753 in a year. However this can be wrong because the sales and payments figures are all estimations, which could affect my figures by either increasing or decreasing the figures. As my sales figures are all predictions, it can affect my other figures e.g. net cash flow. If you look at June and July it shows that Mcbains will have not enough money coming in to cover my expenses going out, which is why I have a negative forecast between those months. Incorrect cashflow forecasting
Financial Services
50 FIN Coursework Insurance Explain the terms "Uberrimae fidei" and "Adverse Selection" and how they interact to shape the world of UK insurance. The definition for Uberrimae fidei is "All contracts of insurance are subject to 'utmost good faith' in that applicants for insurance are obliged to disclose any detail which may be of importance to the insurers whether or not it is requested." uberrimae fidei is part of a good faith contract, not only part of an insurance contract but other forms of commercial agreements. We have this contract because the innocent party will be unaffected by any fraud, misrepresentation or deliberate non disclosure of materials and facts. If any sort of fraud does occur from the other party, the contract becomes void; therefore it will no long be valid. Andrew Tulloch suggested "Absence of good faith should give rise to the power of the aggrieved party to claim damages". He also implied that the party that breached "the good faith" (uberrimae fidei) should result in a loss or fraud. This may happen if the risk of loss or claim results in prejudice against the innocent party. The principle of uberrimae fidei (good faith) originated from England through marines insurance practices. All transactions should be made by up most good faith, however not all facts are need to be discussed with both parties. Under common law doctrine "Common Law
Discuss the main factors which influence the prices which firms set for their products.
3/03/04 EQ1082 - THE UK ECONOMY - MICROECONOMICS (BAEcon.) By Gurtej Singh Sahi Discuss the main factors which influence the prices which firms set for their products. Firms have many objectives that they want to fulfil. They include, optimisation, i.e. maximising profits, increasing sales revenue and other objectives such as managerial objectives and gaining market share. Firms set prices for their goods and buyers buy these goods from firms. This is how a firm makes profits or gains sales revenue. This takes us to the main question, what factors influence the prices firms set for their products. To answer this, we need to look at market structures. Market structure may influence firms' pricing. For more concentrated industries the degree of market power may be greater and prices may be higher. We can start by looking at pricing in a monopolistic market. In a monopoly, there is 1 dominant firm with 100% market share. The firm can set prices higher than the profit maximisation point MC=MR in order to obtain supernormal profits. The main influence of the size of the mark up the firm uses is the fact that there is no competition therefore the monopolistic firm can charge the higher price. In comparison with perfect competition, which we will look at later, a monopolist produces a lower output at a higher price assuming, no changes in demand function and no changes in
Dissertation Proposal
Dissertation Proposal Title: How Has Consumer Spending Fluctuated In The Recent Economic Downturn? Introduction The purpose of this present research is to explore and evaluate the impacts and challenges of the current economic crisis on consumer buying behaviour. It is clear to see that the unprecedented gathering of 3 major economic factors - deterioration of house value, a significant rise in oil prices and a credit crunch - has affected the overall economy and is significantly changing our consumer behaviour. The backlash of the financial crisis on consumer buying behaviour is an area of importance for a wide range of commercial and academic companies, as it is the aim of every business to continuously generate profit and the knowledge of consumer buying behaviour can be considered an advantage and would anticipate profit as it reveals the changes of buying behaviour over a period of time and also the new marketing and sales strategies to which these changes are likely to predispose. The primary research question is : 'Which industry has been most affected by the fluctuations of consumer spending ( and plans to regenerate the losses????)' The main research objective is to investigate the ways consumer spending has changed over the past 5 years through the financial crisis and to address the research question. This can be done by dividing the explored area into 4