Eastboro Machine Tools Corporation Essay

Our main concern with Eastboro is their current dividend policy. With their current 40% dividend payout ratio, they will have to continue to borrow money to pay their dividend until the end of 2006. In 2007, they finally see an excess of cash after the dividend. With this current ratio, Eastboro’s hope to expand more in the international market is very restrained. Since management does not like to take on debt, they theoretically won’t expand until 2007. However, with the recent restructuring of the company and recommendation of a name change, we feel that the dividend policy needs a make-over, as well. Management wants to focus their energy to moving the image of the company to more of a growth company as opposed to a high dividend paying mature company. To obtain this image, the dividend payout ratio needs to be lowered drastically to a payout ratio of 10%. With this decrease in the payout, the new Eastboro Advanced Systems International (EASI) will convince shareholders of their change to a growth company. Switching to a 10% payout ratio allows Eastboro to see excess cash by 2004, rather than 2007 with the current ratio, giving them the ability to fund the international growth sooner. This will also attract new investors, which in the short-term will offset the expected loss of some current shareholders. We feel that this change will help increase the value of the company and the upside will, in the future, outweigh the downside. The idea behind reducing the payout to 10% is that EASI will be able to  consistently reach this target. At the end of each year, after all projects have been funded, EASI will be able to issue a special dividend to shareholders. With this ability, Eastboro will not have a problem retaining the shareholders or obtaining new shareholders. The recent attack on September 11, 2001 has caused the market to see some low results. Since the stock price has fallen from $30 to $22.15, this would be a good opportunity for EASI to repurchase some stock to help increase the value to the shareholders. Repurchasing some stock at this point will signal to shareholders that management feels strongly about the restructuring of the company. This, also, will give the shareholders the confidence to remain with the company. RECOMMENDATIONS We recommend that Eastboro change their name to Eastboro Advanced Systems International, Inc. to introduce the company as heading in the new direction of becoming a more technology advanced company. We also recommend reducing the dividend payout to 10%, as well as the repurchase of stock at the current price to help increase value. This will reduce the company’s dependency on borrowed funds, reducing the forecasted loss of the company and making them more profitable in shorter time period. This will give them increased cash flows to reinvest in CAD/CAM research to keep the company on the leading edge of advancement of their Artificial Workforce and related products at home and abroad. Along with the change in company dividend payout policy, a statement should be issued to inform the stockholders of the company’s direction and the continued importance to improve the company’s CAD/CAM products. To maximize shareholder wealth, we will be sticking to a 10% dividend in the future with the possibility of special dividends. With these changes, Eastboro will be signaling their focus on becoming a high growth stock. CRITIQUE Overall group five did a very good job addressing the major issues in this  case. They tackled the issues of the dividend policy, the proposed name change for Eastboro, and whether or not to buy back shares of stock. We agree with much of their analysis and recommendations. By lowering the dividend policy to 15%, they are allowing a larger portion of funds to be used for future research and development, an idea we agree with. By cutting this percentage back from a current rate of 40%, there will obviously be a reaction by both current and prospective stockholders. By approving the name change to Eastboro Advanced Systems International, they are signaling to the street that they are committed to future growth, and will no longer be able to be relied upon for high dividend payouts. We also like the fact that they did a dividend valuation, showing that Eastboro is currently under-valued, and does have a strong future. The only major issue we have with their analysis is a couple mistakes in the data they used. In reporting net income for 2001 in their forecasts for potential dividend payouts, they used 8. The correct number here, as given by the text, is 18. Also, they used the wrong depreciation data in several years in this forecast. These mistakes would have been realized if they had reviewed their brief adequately. These mistakes skew the numbers enough to mislead readers, showing the wrong timeframe for excess cash. In conclusion, group five did a very good job on the major issues in this case. However, they should have taken more time reviewing some of their data to ensure accuracy. LIMITATIONS There are several limitations in this case. One of the main issues is what kind of fallout will be produced by the cutting of the dividend payout from the current rate of 40% to a rate of 10%. We are assuming that those who are currently holding the stock for these large dividend payments will either stay with Eastboro, or will be replaced by new investors whose goals better represent Eastboro’s vision. We are also forecasting all numbers with an assumed growth rate of 15%, which obviously has the possibility, if not the probability of fluctuating below or above this number. Also, we are assuming the recent focus on the CAD/CAM technology will be profitable for Eastboro in the long-run, and that this new vision will create value for shareholders. Lastly, we are assuming that the market as a whole will perceive this move for what it is, a change in focus for a solid company with high potential for future growth. An alternative would be that people would look at the cut in dividends for a company who had historically paid them as a signal of weakness for Eastboro. We’re going with the assumption that the name change, as well as proper marketing practices by Eastboro should adequately address this problem.

Article Critique

The association between suicidal ideation, friendships with delinquents, and social/parental connectedness in high-risk youth is poorly understood (Logan, Crosby, Hamburger, 2011). The participants include 2,598 pre/early adolescents, but no further information is described regarding the individuals. The results are included: After adjusting for demographic and mental distress factors, suicidal ideation was positively associated with having delinquent friends; yet, after factoring in substance abuse and mental distress, this was negative for males (Logan, Crosby, Hamburger). Furthermore, after adjusting for all factors (demographic, mental distress, illicit substance abuse, and peer/date violence victimization), suicidal ideation was negatively associated with school and parental connectedness, but a higher association did exist for females (Logan, Crosby, Hamburger). The significance levels are not reported. Future research is touched on in the conclusion; potential benefits may exist in increasing school connectedness and improving parenting strategies, especially for females, as well as the improving the violence and substance-abuse prevention strategies, especially for males, connected with delinquent peers (Logan, Crosby, Hamburger). After reading the entire article and re-reading the abstract, it remains clear and provides a good relevant description of the problem under study. The purpose is also clear. The specific hypothesis is not clearly stated, however. The research questions are not clearly stated, but can be interpreted. The review is objective and unbiased, but does not contain any alternative viewpoints. Methods The participants are identified: English-speaking students enrolled in grades 7, 9, 11, and 12 at all 16 public schools within a school district (ranking among the 25 nationally highest in poverty, highest 15 in single-parent families, highest 10 in serious crime rates, and the highest 35 in unemployment rate). The number of the entire population is not stated here, but that only data from grades 7 and 9 are used in the study; (3,314 in 7th grade and 2,598 in 9th grade). The participants were selected for the study by voluntarily completing an anonymous self-administered 174-item questionnaire. 78% participated and each student received a $5 gift card for returning the parental permission form and another $5 gift card after completing the survey (Logan, Crosby, Hamburger). There is no mention of approval from the Institutional Review Board. The variables of interest included the following: friendships with delinquents, parental caring and supervision, social support, school connectedness, and number of perceived close friends. Each of the aforementioned variables were further divided as well. The outcome variable, suicidal ideation, was dichotomized: did or did not seriously consider attempting suicide within the 12 months prior to completing the survey. Three analyses were conducted: (1) basic descriptive analyses to characterize the population (including logistic regression to assess crude associations between each characteristic and the outcome variable; associations were reported via odds ratio); (2) logistic regression to determine the associations of each connectedness variable with the outcome variable, adjusting for potential confounding factors; and (3) interaction terms were added to each model-building step that adjusted for demographic actors between the main variables and the outcome variable by sex (Logan, Crosby, Hamburger, 2011). Enough information to replicate the design is not provided, nor is the data analysis plan. Results Descriptive results are reported in a table, including demographics. A lot of information from the tables is not described in the text, but the tables can be interpreted stand alone. The results are written in plain English: 17% had seriously considered suicide within the previous year; 71% had delinquent friends; 66% experienced peer or date abuse within the previous year; 53% experienced mental distress within the previous 30 days; 12% drank alcohol within the previous year; 10% used illicit drugs within the previous year; 80% felt connected to school; 70% felt they had moderate to high levels of social support; and 63% felt they had parents who cared about them and supervised their activities.

DISCRIMINATION AND AFFRMATIVE ACTION Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Marketing and product life cycle - Assignment Example Product Life Cycle (PLC) is a continuous process. It does not end like the human lifecycles. Brands and products do not die. They can be kept in the market for eternity if proper marketing techniques are used. There is a new field innovative marketing that is being used to revive the declining products and brands. These techniques improve the product’s position in the market and help the decline stage of a flagging brand. The paper did not discuss the extension stage and these strategies which are often used by marketing managers to cure the negative demand of the product. The paper also fails to identify the various marketing strategies that can be used in each stage of the product life cycle. The paper also talks about the advertising in the introduction phase to generate the trial purchases. However, advertising and promotion are integral parts of any product’s success and they are needed in every stage of the product lifecycle. However, the nature and kind of advertising and promotions change in each stage of the product life cycle. For example, in the introduction stage, informative advertising is done. In the growth stage, persuasive advertising is done. In maturity when there is a lot of competition in the product market, competitive advertising is done to hedge and leverage the position of the product against the competing products. Similarly, there are different kinds of promotional techniques that are used in the different stages of product life cycle. In introduction stage, there is product testing and free samples are given. In grow th stage, brand endorsements are used. In maturity stage, usually special discounts and other offers such as â€Å"buy 2 get 1 free† are used. A company that does not use different advertising and promotion campaigns in different lifecycle stages usually suffers and loses business. Good marketers develop correct strategies in each stage of product life cycle. However, the paper failed to realize

European Treaties Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

European Treaties - Case Study Example Lisbon retains the present categories of legislative acts (regulations, directives, decisions), rather than using the categories of framework decisions, decisions and conventions in the Constitution5. The Lisbon Treaty also says explicitly, for the first time, that a country has the right to leave the European Union, something that has always been so under international law, but which has not been formally stated in a European Treaty before. In so doing, the Member States of the European Union have created the largest, and indeed the only, voluntary multinational democracy in human history6. Another major change is the procedure for conferring jurisdiction on the European Union courts to rule on patent disputes between private parties would, in the Reform Treaty, remain (as at present) unanimity in the Council and national ratification, whereas the Constitutional Treaty provided for qualified majority voting in the Council and co decision with the European Parliament7. The provisions for an 'emergency brake' on certain criminal law measures (allowing a Member State to block decision-making on criminal procedure or substantive criminal law, where voting will take place by a qualified majority) would be altered to make it explicit that European Union leaders must act by consensus if the issue is referred to them. The provision on social security for migrant workers, which would also be made subject to qualified majority voting and which also contains a similar emergency brake, would be altered to provide that European Union leaders could decide not to take action on a proposal; a declaration would also confirm that the EU leaders must act by consensus if the issue is referred to... Treaty Of Lisbon: Amendments to the treaty on European Union, House Of Commons Library, 24th January 2008, retrieved on 12th January 2009. Hilary White, Ireland to Hold Second Lisbon Treaty Referendum: Prime Minister Confirms, Lifesitenews.com, 22nd December 2008, retrieved on 13th January 2009. http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/dec/08122202.html

Comparing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparing - Essay Example Human beings are becoming more inquisitive, than ever before, about the authority of religion and religious scriptures, which sometimes may not match with the scientific discoveries. However, the presence of ‘God Particle’ and ‘Big Bang’ theory has baffled many scientists and philosophers, compelling them to think in terms of God’s existence and creation of universe, with perfection. In response to thinking of certain radicals, a new philosophy of life has emerged, during last few decades, which is called ’Humanism’. This philosophy aims at making human lives ethical and responsible for betterment of human kind, without any religious or supernaturalism. The humanism and its aspirations might be the path to enlightened living for the future generations, as it gets inspiration from the experiences of life, while being guided by reason. Humanists acknowledge that values and ideals are subject to changes as people gather more knowledge about life. Approach to existence of God Russell has his own arguments to explain that he is not a Christian. He has simplified the dogma of Christianity by comparing the similar beliefs that people following two different religions may have. For example, it is essential to believe in God and immortality, for being a true Christian. However, according to Russell, Muslims also must believe in God and immortality. ... Roussell also nullified the â€Å"Natural Law Agreement† and â€Å"Argument from Design†. According to Russell, the â€Å"Moral Argument for Deity† and â€Å"Argument for remedying the injustice† could not stand the test of time, as injustice is evident everywhere and innocents suffer, while wicked people prosper. This is great injustice done by the God, if he exists.(Russell) While Dawkins has similar views about the existence of God, he further treats the Old Testament as a work of fiction and its God the most unpleasant character in this fiction. Dawkins has accused God with different allegations that range from being jealous, vindictive, bloodthirsty, racist, genocidal, unjust and unforgiving, among others. Dawkins has defined the God hypothesis, as God being the supernatural intelligent super being, who has created the universe including the human beings living in this world. However, the alternate view presented by Dawkins explains that the creative intelligence is the result of on-going evolution process and it has the capability of designing complex events.(Dawkins) Hitchens had similar views about the existence of God. In his â€Å"God is Not Great†, he has explained that he does not believe in personal God. Hence, no religious convictions for him. Instead, Hitchens feels that he has religious faith in the revelations of science, which unfolds the structure of this world.(Hitchens) Arguments about meaning of religion While the three philosophers had similar views about any religion being only a dogma, they had their own version to justify this. Hitchens has explained the religious plagiarism, in which all three major religions, Christianity, Islam and Jewish Zoroastrian have borrowed different rituals from each

Social thought and social changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social thought and social changes - Essay Example SOCIAL CHANGE. Social Change continues to this day because of the many inventions since the time of the cave dwellers. Humans had emerged from the caves during his 650th life time. New ideas, inventions, and conditions may have caused man to adjust to changes in society. The internet has allowed us to talk to persons from different parts of the world by using the chat and web camera technology of the computers. Social change has brought about equality between the male and the females. DIVISION OF LABOUR. During the ancient times, men worked men's jobs and women were delineated to work in the house to care for the family. During our present time men and women are now treated equally. According to Vecchio, Division of labor has helped speed up production. The work force has been divided into different departments. The workers in each department had gained mastery of their craft due to daily repetition and boredom from work. The finishing department employee was not allowed to transfer to grinding department because the new environment will cause delay in production as the new employee has to be trained in the new environment. In fact, Division of labor was recognized during the industrial revolution when farm and factory machines were newly put in place to replace manual labor in picking of farm produce. Because of this Adam Smith recognized the importance of division of labor as an important factor in production. (Vecchio, 1995) This has been further... The organization has become more complex as compared historically to the early times because computers were not yet invented and management, finance, economics and other related book were not as complicated as today . HISTORY. History shows that the early Americans bought black people from Africa to do everyday work as slaves. Today workers from different races are treated equally under pain of being violators of the law. Today, these blacks are free because the Union won over the confederates. Had the Confederates won, there may still be slaves in the United States. The blacks, Asians, American Indians and other non American races have now been catapulted in this SOCIAL CHANGE situation where they are treated under the law as equal to the White Americans in terms of applying for a job or asking for delivery of its services. CONCLUSION: History shows that Division of labour had already been in place a long long time ago because division of labour result to specialization. ORGANIC SOLIDARITY AND MERITOCRACY ORGANIC SOLIDARITY According to Sociology ( Bryjak, 1992) Organic Solidarity can easily be spotted in large and complex business societies marked by division of labour. Under this theory of organic solidarity, the workers are deeply dependent on each other to accomplish tasked. For example the painting department employee of a chair manufacturing plant is dependent on the work in process department to finish their work before sending the chair to the finishing department for painting the chairs. Society is dependent on all workers and departments in for the failure of one part will cause the failure of the entire organization or society itself. MERITOCRACY - is a