BILABONG Australia †financial statement analysis assignment Essay

BILABONG Australia – financial statement analysis assignment ACCT 5910-Business Analysis and Valuation Contents Executive summary†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 Executive summary The purpose of report is to provide a comprehensive analysis of Billabong International Limited. This report is primarily based on a trend analysis of Billabong’s financial performance ratios from 2009 to 2011, common size table of the balance sheet and income statement and analysis of Billabong’s cash flows. Expect to provide a basis understanding of the company’s recent situation and future valuation. The company we compared, as a part of the surfwear industry is Quiksilver. Billabong is a multi-brand Australian company that was established by Gordon and Rena in 1973 in Gold Coast. After decades of expansion and restructuration of capitalization, Billabong’s shares have publicly listed on the ASX. Using four-step to analysis Billabong which including business strategy analysis, accounting analysis, financial ratio analysis and prospective analysis that would help a great deal in valuation of Billabong based on its current market situation. Business strategy includes continuous acquisitions and emerges like taking over strong brand and the products in the same sales area and expansion internationally by reaching more than 100 countries around the world. Billabong’s multicultural design of products featured new and fashion captures customer loyalty among targeted youth group. In order to ensure the company’s accounting information reflects its business reality. Three steps of accounting adjustments are taken in preparation for financial analysis, forecasts and valuation. First is to recast financial statements. This contains re-classifying accounts and preparing standardized balance sheet and income statement, using both reported statements and information from footnotes. After that is to identify accounts that should be adjusted. By analyzing notes and reports, three accounts are likely to contain  distortion information: provision for doubtful debts, leased assets and liabilities and goodwill. Last step is to make adjustments with accounting equation using more appropriate estimations and assumptions for the fiscal year from 2009 to 2011. The profitability of Billabong is unstable from financial analysis. However, compare with the other competing company, Billabong has higher ROE and ROA. The ability of Billabong sale its inventories decreased as its inventory turnover ratio decreased. It had a good control in liquidity with relative constant current ratio and quick ratio. However, it had decreased ability on unitize long-term asset and control its debt structure. Lacking of good control on debts structure and may face burden on debt expense, which may result a high financial risk and weak solvency. From prospective analysis, Billabong may be more profitable in the future after the reorganization, the decreasing sales growth may be appeared at first few year and then increase again. The ROE of the company will be higher than last year; the company may have better performance in the future. And the company may borrow or finance the equity for the operation or paying the dividend. 1. Introduction 1.1 Background Billabong is a famous Australian company with many brands, such as Element, Kustom and Xcel. Their main products are including clothing, watches and boardsports hardware. As surfing became more popular, the company constantly expanded its scale and exported its goods to Japan, USA and Europe during the 1980s, after that Billabong achieve leader in surfing area. In the recent ten years, Billabong had restructured its capitalization with growing global opportunities in the boardsports sector. 1.2 Business Strategy Analysis The business analysis through three aspects: industry analysis, competitive analysis and corporate strategy analysis. a. Industry Analysis With the expansion of world economy, surfing is not only a sport but also a life style and that leads to high demand of surfing products. The number of  firms enters that industry keep increasing as its attractive potential profits and less barrier to enter into that industry. Both companies have more bargaining power compared with their supplier and customer as their famous brand and diversified products could encourage suppliers to have long term business relationship with the company and satisfy the unique needs of customers. Overall, the prospects of this industry are optimistic; it did not shock too much under the downturn of economy. Surfing is an increasingly popular and well-known culture; companies need to continuing innovation in order to satisfy customer’s needs. b. Competitive Analysis As number of firms in the industry keeps increasing, greater competition force firms to earn more market share, innovate substitutes, produce differentiate products and be cost leadership to keep or improve their position in the industry. For example, some of the products of Billabong and Quiksilver are similar, consumer will choose to buy the one with lower price if they have similar function, or buy the one with higher price if the product is different from others. Thus, a firm could run well if it has different products and lower cost compared with rivals. c. Corporate Strategy Analysis Billabong hires different design teams for each different region to satisfy with customers from different cultural with different traditions and tastes. Billabong is expansion through strategic takeovers during last 10 years looking increase profitability through business synergies. Currently the group has direct company on operations and more than 50 countries. Sales are more than 100 countries under 13 different brands. The strategies expansion has been changing along with company’s growth. Billabong started with exportation of products to the USA and also licensed follow by relocated production off shore; FDI is the current global expansion strategy. Billabong buys bank licenses to take control of global operations and requires the existing business. 2. Accounting analysis Billabong’s performance from 2009 to 2011 shown downward trends in  profitability and market performance, therefore, it is possible that manipulation exists. In order to compare Billabong with other companies, standardized format and accounting equation-based adjustments are required. 2.1. Recast financial statements Because of the differences in the format of Billabong’s financial statements over years and that with other organizations, standardized financial statements should be made in preparation for accounting analysis, financial analysis and prospective analysis. 2.2 Accounting adjustments 2.2.1 Adjustments of revenues and provision for doubtful debts As can be seen in appendix, PDD (6.4%) has declined since 2007. Therefore PDD should be adjusted to 6.4% for the years 2008-2011. At the end of the fiscal year, the adjustments should be made to recognize PDD according to the adjustment calculation (Appendix A table (1)). 2.2.2 Adjustments of leased assets and liabilities As disclosed in Billabong’s financial report, it leases plant, machinery and warehouses of large dollar amount in order to maintain normal operation. Most of the leases are classified as operating lease. Thus, we need to record leases as assets and liabilities on balance sheet to make comparison with other companies (Appendix A table (2, 3, and 4)). 2.2.3 Adjustments of goodwill By calculating the proportion of goodwill in total non-current asset from 2007 to 2011, it can be seen that instead of being impaired, goodwill increased substantially from 12.94% to 42.13%. Set 12.94% as the standard level and overvalued goodwill could be recognized (Appendix A table (5)). 3. Financial Analysis Ratio analysis include time series and cross sectional analysis has been performed in this case to give investor’s direct understanding of the company’s historical and recent performance. 3.1 Dupont Analysis Exhibits 1: Dupont (Billabong) 2009 2010 2011 NOPAT/Sales 0.1141 0.1211 0.0989 Ãâ€" AT 1.4837 1.2428 1.4528 = ROA 0.1692 0.1504 0.1437 Spread 0.0597 0.0936 0.0945 Ãâ€" NFL 0.1993 0.1811 0.4031 = Financial Leverage Gain 0.0119 0.0169 0.0381 NI Margin 0.0994 0.1128 0.0853 ROE ( ROA + Spread * NFL) 0.1811 0.1674 0.1818 The Dupont approach can be decomposed into items as ROA, AT and net profit marginï ¼Å'which exists downward in 2011 compared with 2009. However, Billabong makes the new borrowings in its balance sheet and increases its financial leverage in 2011. Moreover, ROE is affected by ROA and financial leverage gain. As financial leverage increases and financial leverage gain increase, then ROE is back up to 0.1818 (almost similar to 2009) in 2011. Moreover, the enhancement in AT and leverage ratio also strengthened the ROE. The greater AT can increase company’s revenue. The higher leverage ratio reflected the lower capital cost. Consequently, high ROE of the company is represented the strong profitability in the same industry comparison, and company can increase ROE through changing the leverage by borrowing. 3.2 Operating Management Analysis Exhibits 2 Profitability (Billabong) 2009 2010 2011 Pre-Tax Income Margin 13.25% 15.23% 9.11% NI Margin 9.94% 11.28% 8.53% EBIT Margin 15.23% 16.39% 10.58% EBITDA Margin 17.51% 18.78% 13.06% NOPAT Margin 11.41% 12.11% 9.89% From exhibit 2, these margin ratios has increased from 2009 to 2010, and declined between 2010 and 2011. Pre-tax income margin is unstable; especially dramatically decrease from 15.23% to 9.11% in 2010 and 2011 due to revenue decreasing and expenses increasing. NI margin has been low, it had been increase from 9.94% to 11.28% between 2009 and 2010, but it again fell to 8.53% in 2011. Billabong should reduce its operating and interest expenses to increase the margin of net income, EBIT and EBITDA. NOPAT margin clearly shows the operating performance of Billabong is unstable. Therefore, Billabong should reduce expenses to increase revenue. Exhibits 3 Profitability (Quiksilver) 2009 2010 2011 Pre-Tax Income Margin -0.33% 0.65% -1.82% NI Margin -3.70% -0.44% -0.91% EBIT Margin -0.33% 7.03% 2.13% EBITDA Margin 2.45% 9.78% 4.79% NOPAT Margin -9.70% -0.34% -0.92% From comparison, Quiksilver has lower performance than Billabong just simply from profitability analysis. Because pre-tax income margin, NI margin and NOPAT margin have shown negative value from 2009 to 2011, only EBIT margin and EBITD margin are displayed positive value for these three periods. That indicates Quiksilver has higher expenses on interest, tax, depreciation and amortization than revenues. Exhibits 4 From exhibits 4, Billabong has higher ROA and ROE than Quiksilver for the last three years. It must be pointed out that ROA of Quiksilver has decreased to -65.33% in 2009. Higher sales and expenses of the company can lead to lower ROE and ROA. In terms of ROA and ROE which might attributed to  lower net profit margin. Moreover, compared to Quiksilver, Billabong has a relatively stable ROE and ROA from 2009 to 2011. Overall, Billabong has better performance than Quiksilver from probability ratio analysis. 3.3 Investment Management Analysis 3.3.1 Working Capital Management a. Inventory Turnover Exhibits 5 Billabong’s inventory ratio decreased from 3.08 in 2009 to 2.23 in 2011, it’s indicates that the ability of Billabong sale its inventories are decreasing. In contrast, Quicksilver also has decreased ratio but with higher overall level than Billabong. It implies that Quiksilver may face a problem of getting sufficient inventory to meet sales demand. Exhibits 6 b. Receivable Turnover Ratio Exhibits 6 indicates that Billabong operate on a credit basis. As Billabong increase receivables with store benefit card, with low account receivable turnover ratio. This low ratio implies that Billabong might need to re-assess its credit policies in order to ensure the timely collection of imparted credit that is not earning interest for the firm. c. Payable turnover ratio Payable ratio decreased from 2.32 in 2009 to 1.77 in 2011. It’s indicates that Billabong is taking longer time to pay its suppliers than before. d. Operating Working capital turnover ratio Exhibits 7 The working capital ratio of Billabong keeps increase from 5.17 in 2009 to 6.00 in 2011 (5.59 on average). It’s indicates that the effectiveness of Billabong using working capital to obtain revenue increase. However, the average ratio of Quiksilver (3.84) is quite lower. 3.3.2 Long-Term Asset Management Exhibits 8 The net long-term AT ratio of Billabong decreased from 1.63 in 2009 to 1.25 in 2011. It implies that there is a decline trend of Billabong’s long-term asset utilization. Compared with Billabong, Quiksilver have quite stable net long-term asset turnover (2.30,2.21,2.37 respectively), which indicate that Quiksilver could utilizing its resources to increase its production more efficiently. b. PP&E Turnover Exhibits 9 From exhibits 9, there is a significant increase of Billabong’s PP&E turnover ratio from 4.60 in 2009 to 6.41 in 2010. It implies that BBG use its PP&E efficiently during that period, however it following a critical decrease from 6.41 to 4.34 in 2011. As the sales increased by $13299 from 2009 to 2011, too much investment in plant and equipment may be the reason of decreased PP&E turnover ratio. We can conclude that Billabong has been utilizing its fixed asset from 2009 to 2010 better than from 2010 to 2011. 3.4Financial Management Analysis 3.4.1Short-Term Liquidity Exhibits 10 Billabong 2009 2010 2011 Average Quiksilver Current Ratio 2.76 2.10 1.85 2.24 2.06 Quick Ratio 1.99 1.44 1.04 1.49 1.33 Cash Ratio 0.91 0.51 0.30 0.57 0.46 Overall, exhibits 10 illustrate the liquidity ratios of Billabong did not change much from 2009 to 2011 and Billabong had a good control in liquidity. From the analysis of the past three years, it’s indicated that the consistently falling of Billabong’s current ratio is due to a higher level of liabilities relative to assets. Current ratio produces a value that’s large than one means the current assets are greater than the current liabilities. Quick ratio also produces a value that’s large than one implies that Billabong has very less â€Å"dependency† on inventory or other â€Å"less† current assets to liquidate short-term debt. 3.4.2Debt and Long-Term Solvency a. Debt Ratios Exhibits 11 The value of Billabong’s D/E decreased from 0.49 in 2009 to 0.36 in 2010 and  then increase to 0.53 in 2011. The reason for this change is that debt structure and policies of Billabong was changed during the three years. Similarly, as total debts change from 2009 to 2011, L/E and Net debt to equity had the same trend to D/E. a. Coverage Ratios Billabong 2009 2010 2011 Average Quiksilver Financial leverage ratio 0.49 0.36 0.53 0.46 0.45 Interest Coverage ratio -2.34 -5.33 -4.41 -4.03 -4.59 Exhibits 12 Both firm have similar financial leverage ratio which means that each $1 of equity supports for $0.45 or $0.46 of total assets. The interest expense of the firm ($50840, $38367 and $50072 respectively) shows that Billabong had no good control on debts structure. Both firm’s interest coverage ratio is negative indicates that they may face huge stress on debt expense which may result a high financial risk and weak solvency. Exhibits 13 Billabong 2009 2010 2011 Average D/E 0.49 0.36 0.53 0.46 Retention Rate (b=1-D/E) 0.51 0.64 0.47 0.54 ROE 0.18 0.17 0.18 0.18 Sustainable Growth Rate (g=bxROE) 0.09 0.11 0.09 0.10 Exhibit 13 shows the changes in dividend payout ratio, retention rate and ROE from 2009 to 2011, which are used to generate the sustainable growth rate. On average, dividend payout ratio is 46%, retention rate is 54% and ROE is 18%. Thus, the growth rate is 8%. 3.5 Cash Flow Analysis Exhibits 14 $’000 2009 2010 2011 Net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities 175,685 187,247 24,336 Net cash (outflow)/inflow from investing actives -215,243 -105,764 -266,935 Net cash (outflow)/inflow from financing activities 249,873 -192,102 200,951 Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents 210,315 -110,619 -41,648 The CF from operating activities has increased from $175.685m to $187.247m, and then followed a rapidly decrease to $24.336m in 2011. Large payments to suppliers and employees are the main reason drive CF from operating activities down and further decrease net cash (outflow)/inflow from operating activities. The CF from investing activity had outflows from 2009 to 2011. As the Company has largely used its cash for purchase new subsidiary and this led to a net cash outflow in 2011. 4. Forecasts and valuation 4.1 Assumptions and forecast Billabong may be more profitable in the future after the reorganization as it will close underperforming stores based on the recent announcement. This would decrease expenses and increase EBITDA and may further lead to a higher profit in next decade. Therefore, sales growth may appear downward sloping at first few years and then increase again. However, stable turnover ratio with approved new strategies may enhance the development of the company although the sales growth changes more than AT during the last few years. In addition, from the financial analysis, there will be a downward trend in ROA  but a rise in the financial leverage. As the result, it can be forecasted that the company’s ROE may not vary obviously during next few years, which offset by the sum of ROA and financial leverage gain/loss. Therefore, some assumptions may be undertaken to forecast the performance of the company in the next decade and to estimate the PV of the company by using the abnormal earning valuation model. As the sales growth has a downward trend, the assumption for growth rate is 8.64% (average of last three years) in 2012 and it will keep constant in the future. It is forecasted to be 9% during next 10 years as possible potential profit growth may appear after downward sales. For the NOPAT to sales ratio, it is assumed to 7.89% in 2012 due to an evident declined historical pattern. Moreover beginning net operating working capital to sales ratio might have a decreasing trend in the future based on the historical data. Thus, it is assumed to be 13.69% on average with puny decline than last year and it is believe that the change of working capital of the company is slight. As we use average method in this assumption, the beginning net operating long-term asset to sales ratio was 6.92% that also be considered as long-term rate as the change of the rate was insignificant. Ratios that we assumed based on historical (Appendix B table (1)). Overall, as the forecast under the assumptions, Billabong will have higher ROE and better performance than previous. The company may have insufficient operating assets to generate operating profit with relatively lower ROA. From this, the company may borrow funds or finance equity to keep operating and pay dividends. 4.2 Cost of capital Cost of capital is a critical method of evaluating company’s asset, and it is using equation WACC=Vd/(Vd+Ve)*rd (1-T)+Ve/(Vd+Ve)*re, the cost of equity (re) is estimated by CAPM with a constant capital structure. Thus, it is assumed that the company has not change the capital structure. re is estimated to 16.13% in terms of the equity beta (1.49), market premium (7%) and risk-free rate (5.7%) from market. The cost of debt is 6% according to  historical YTM for the publicly traded bond. Therefore, WACC is calculated by: Exhibit 15 Debt 448,422 ($000) Equity 1,109,155 ($000) Value of firm 1,557,557 ($000) Cost of debt 6% Cost of equity 16.13% Tax rate 28% WACC 12.73% 4.3 Valuation The Discount Abnormal Earnings Valuation Model is a measure of determining the value of the company by abnormal earnings and discount rate. The abnormal earning is the difference between net income and change in equity. Through forecasting the sales growth and NOPAT/sales ratio to forecast net income; and working capital to sale ratio and long-term asset to sales ratio to calculate the change in equity. PV of equity is $436,567,619, which is discount by the abnormal earning each year and the number of share outstanding is 253,321,020. For that reason, the share price is estimated to be $1.72. A reduction in the abnormal earning during the assumption periods may result in lower share value compared with currently. (Appendix B table (2)). 4.4 Sensitivity analysis The sensitivity of the share price to changes was calculated in multi-factors, such as growth rate and beta. This analysis is performed to check how susceptible the company is to the changes in key factors in the future. Firstly, the share price shows a negative relationship with the growth rate when the growth rate changes to 10%. There will be 13% dropped on the share price if the growth rate increases by 11%. Secondly, the share price is increasing if there is a decrease on the beta of the company. If the beta changes from 1.49 to 1.2, the share price will increase to $2.34, which closes to the company’s current share price. Therefore, the share price is inversely affected by the change of beta. 5. Conclusion Above analysis would help a great deal in valuation of Billabong based on its current market situation. From time series analysis, Billabong had a good control in liquidity but it need to re-assess its credit policies in order to ensure the timely collection of imparted credit that is not earning interest for themselves, increase account payable turnover as it take longer time to pay its suppliers than before and increase interest coverage ratio to lower their financial risk and strong their solvency. Even though, the working capital ratio increase from 2009 to 2011, but very high working capital turnover ratio does not show good position of company because its shows company is operating with high short-term debt obligations. From cross sectional analysis, compared with Quiksilver, Billabong needs to improve ability of inventory management, asset utilization and debt control. From prospective analysis, revenue of Billabong increased, but expenses also increases at the same trend, the performance of Billabong is still unsatisfied. From valuation, Billabong’s share value still decreases with sales decrease. Therefore, we highly recommend that investors should hold their shares or do not buy it if Billabong continuously running business as its historical model. Reference: 1. Billabong Investors Home. http://www.billabongbiz.com (Accessed 5 April 2012) 2. Hoover’s company profiles: Billabong International Limited http://www.answers.com/topic/billabong-international-ltd (Accessed 3 May 2012) 3. Hoover’s company profiles: Quiksilver, Inc. http://www.answers.com/topic/quiksilver-inc (Accessed 3 May 2012) 4. Palepu, K. G., P. M. Healy, V. Bernard, S. Wright, M. Bradbury, P. Lee. (2010) Business Analysis and Valuation Using Financial Statements: Text and Cases. Asia Pacific Edition, Cengage Learning. 5. Quiksilver Investors Home. http://www.quiksilverinc.com (Accessed 13 April 2012) 6. Calif, A.V. (2011), ‘SIMA Retail Study Confirms Significant Changes-Surf Industry’s Footwear, Westuits and Board Categories Lead Growth in 2010.’ http://www.sima.com/news-information/news-detail/id/108.aspx (7 August 2011, accessed 8 May 2012) 7. Calif, A.V. (2009), ‘Surf Industry Riding Out the Economic Storm – Findings of SIMA’s Retail Research Show Resiliency of the Surf/Skate Industry.’ http://www.sima.com/news-information/news-detail/id/68.aspx (7 Sep 2009, accessed 8 May 2012) 8. Wikinvest. http://www.wikinvest.com (Accessed 13 April 2012) Appendix: Appendix A —Accounting Analysis Table 1 Worksheet: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement ($’000) Asset = Liability + ShareCap’ + RetEarning + Rev + Exp +Div 2009 Provision1 -6,964 -6,964 Deferred tax2 1,797 1,797 2010 Provision -12,306 -12,306 Deferred tax 3,507 3,507 2011 Provision -14,169 -14,169 Deferred tax 989 989 Table 2 Worksheet: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement for year 2009 ($’000) Current Assets Non- Current Tangible Assets Deferred Tax Assets = Current Debt Non- Current Liabilities Income Equity Retained Earnings 13 153,484 153,484 24 -29,162 -29,162 2 -8224 -8,224 35 45,276 46 -32,997 -12,279 4 102,373 102,373 57 -24,159 -24,159 68 -2,280 -2,280 79 57,824 -57,824 Total – 202,536 -10,504 = 57,824 165,036 6,558 -37,386 Table 3: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement for year 2010 ($’000) Current Assets Non-Current Tangible Assets Deferred Tax Assets = Current Debt Non-Current Liabilities Income Equity Retained Earnings 1 62,450 1 -49,247 -13,203 2 99,709 99,709 3 -38,069 -38,069 4 -894 -894 5 58,201 -58,201 Total 61,640 -894 58,201 -7,739 10,284 Table 4: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement for year 2011 ($’000) Current Assets Non-Current Tangible Assets Deferred Tax Assets = Current Debt Non-Current Liabilities Income Equity Retained Earnings 1 62,857 1 -50,273 -12,584 2 241,476 241,476 3 -37,563 -37,563 4 -1,017 -1,017 5 94,662 -94,662 Total 203,913 -1,017 94,662 96,541 11,693 Table 5: adjustments to BBG balance sheet and income statement ($’000) Asset = Liability + ShareCap’ + RetEarning + Rev + Exp +Div 2009 Goodwill10 -16,652 -16,652 Deferred tax11 4,296 4,296 2010 Goodwill -30,967 -30,967 Deferred tax 8,826 8,826 2011 Goodwill -36,161 -36,161 Deferred tax 2,524 2,524 Appendix B Table (1) assumption of the ratio

Effects of Junk food Essay

The moons of Saturn are a very interesting topic to research. Before beginning this amazing journey on the moons, first we must do a brief overview of the planet Saturn. Saturn is the sixth largest planet from the sun; it is very large and does not have very much water. This research paper will explore the different moons, the names, atmosphere, similarities and sizes of the moons. Saturn has 62 moons that have been discovered but only 52 have been given an official name while the others still are waiting to have specific information found out about them to give them a name. Only 18 moons have been officially sanctioned by the International Astronomical Union. The names of the moons come from characters in Greek and Roman mythology. The moons are made up of about 30 to 40 percent rock and about 60 to 70 percent water. The Saturn Moons so diversity in many area, let’s explore their differences. Since there are too many to name we will discuss the more poplar moons. Pan- Named a fter the Greek God of the wild, it is about 20km in diameter and its mass is 11x 10 15th lbs. Saturn is at a distance of 83,000 miles and has an orbital period around Saturn is 13.8 hours. Pan was discovered in 1990 by the Voyager team. A Pan orbit within the Encke Gap which is located in the Saturn’s A ring. The Encke Gap is a space in the A ring that helps Pan to orbit around Saturn. Helene- named after Greek goddess Helene popularly known as Helene of Troy and the name means torch. Helene’s moon is an irregular shape in body and is measured about36 x 32 x 30 km in diameter. The moon orbits Saturn at 234,500 in distance and its mass is 8x 10by 17. The surface materials are composed of particularly dark and organic rich mater and condense ices. Helene was discovered by P. Laques and J. Leacheus in the year 1990. Dione- Named after  Greek goddess Dione and the mother for Aphrodite she was describe as a temple associate. Dione is about 1,118km is diameter and has a density of 1.43gm/cm the rest is ice. The temperature is extremely cold and the distance from Saturn is 377,400 km, and includes crater area that measure about 100 km in diameter. Dione was discovered in 1684 by Giovanni Cassini. Rhea- Named after the god of fruitfulness the mother of Poseidon. Rhea is far away from and the second largest moon of Saturn. It is 1,528 km in size, its distance from the sun is 527,040 and it mass is2.31 x 10 sub 21 kg. Rhea’s temperature is cold like Dione and only one side of its surface faces Saturn. The surface of Rhea is a mixture of ice and rock similar to a frozen dirty snowball. Dione was discovered in 1672 by Giovanni Cassini. Mimas- Named after the Greek god giant of war. It looks like a bull’s eye by viewing in space. The surface of is covered with impact craters due to shock waves that happens on the moon which measure is size of about 40 kg . It is also very low in density and is composed of mostly water with small amounts of rock. The distance from Saturn is 185,520km, the period of orbit around Saturn is 22.6 hrs and its mass is 3.81 x 10 sub 19kg. The temperature of Mimas is minus 344 degrees Fahrenheit. It was discovered by Williams Herschel in 1789. Enceladus- Named the god that was responsible for tremors and volcanoes, and he was considered the leader of the giants. Distance from the Saturn is 237,378 km, about 512 x 494Ãâ€"489 km in diameter, its mass id 1.2 x 10 sub 20 kg. The period Encelasus orbit around Saturn is 32.8 hours. It is also covered in water ice and is about -330 degrees Fahrenheit. It also reflects the sunlight. It was di scovered by Williams Herschel in 1789. Titan- Named after group Greek gods who ruled the cosmos. Titan is largest of the Saturn’s moon and is the most Earthlike of its kind; it looks a lot like a frozen version of the plant earth. The surface is very cold; it has a temperature of -290 degrees Fahrenheit and has a thick atmosphere but does not hold gravity well. Titan’s atmosphere has an altitude 10 times higher than or nearly 600 km into space as oppose to the earth. According to a space expedition in 1980 by the Voyager 1Titan showed to only have air pressure of one and a half at sea level and four times as dense of the earth. Titan has chemical readings is mostly gas about 95% nitrogen and 5% methane, which are two chemicals that are present in earth’s surface. Nitrogen help produces this thick smog like cloud that can hold water and  produces rain. With the help of methane which is a gas allows the cloud s rain to produce or rain down liquids similar to gasoline. Titan orbits Saturn 1.2 million km or 745,000 miles it take16 days to make complete circle. The radius is 2,575 km and 112 km in diameter. The Greek mythology of how the naming group of Titans , hence thus the naming of the moons came about, the Titans devoured the limbs of Dionysus, the son of Zeus (the god of thunder and war) was intended to have dominion over the world. Zeus was so angry he struck the titans with lighting and the fire burned them to ashes. The moons of Saturn are too numerous to number, just like the story of the Titans. They all have their own characteristics, this paper only names a few, here are the rest: Aegean, Aegir, Albiorix, Anthe, Benhionn, Bergeimir, Calypso, Dapjnis, Epimetheus, Erriapus, Farbauti, Fenrir, Fornjot, Greip, Hati, Hyperion, Hyrrokkin, Lapetus, Lijraq, Janus, Jamsaxa, Kari, Kiviug, Loge, Methone, Mundifari, Narvi, Paaliaq, Pallene, Phoebe, Polydueces, Siamaq, Skadi, Skoll, Suttung, Tarqeq, Telesto, Tethys, Thrym, Ymir. The names of these moons will continue to grow as new moons are discovered. The moons will begin the naming process which astronomer gives each moon a temporary name that will follow this format S/2011-S1. The first S stands for Saturn and the second S after the stands for its satellite or location in space. Then the names are assigning by the International Astronomical Union. In conclusion, with the study of the moons of Saturn we learned that some range very large in size. We also learned the amount of time it takes each moon s to orbit Saturn. The time varies amongst the moon of Saturn. The all of the temperature each of the moons are too cold for human life to be sustained, and the surfaces of each one of the moons are somewhat similar; with the exception of the moon Titan. During the study of the Titan moons the discovery of the similarities between the planet Earth and Titan’s atmosphere. The naming of the moons came from Greek mythology and the history of the Greek gods were interesting the in its own way. Finally, scientists are still discover ing new moons in Saturn’s atmosphere, as of today there are only 53 moons officially named; who knows how many more are lurking out there. References The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Retrieved November 29, 2011 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Pan-ast.html Hatzitsinidou, Evangelia. (2005-2011). Greek-Gods.Info Gods and Goddess of Ancient Greece. October 26,2011, http://www.greek-gods.info/greek-mythology/a.php Munsell,Kirk. (2011). Cassini Solstice Misson. November 23, 2011, http://www.jpl.nasa.gov./science/mooms

Teen-age pregnancy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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American and Soviet Policies towards Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Essay

American and Soviet Policies towards Arab-Israeli Conflict and the Cold War - Essay Example The Second World War ended in the European theater on May 8, 1945. And the Cold War began on that day. The cold war had many dimensions; one was ideological, another was political, a third one was economic, and to all these we may also add the rivalry between America and Russia as to who would ‘rule’ the world. With an uncanny political insight Alexis de Tocqueville had predicted as early as 1835 that â€Å"There are now two great nations in the world, which starting from different points, seem to be advancing toward the same goal: the Russians and the Anglo-Americans. . . Each seems called by some secret design of Providence one day to hold in its hands the destinies of half the world† . It would appear; therefore, that history has destined these two nations to be at each other until a final and decisive victory is achieved by one over the other. But that time has not yet arrived, even though the cold war was declared to have been ended on December 3, 1989 at the conclusion of the Malta summit between George Bush Sr. and Mikhail Gorbachev. The ‘political Vacuum’ With the withdrawal of the colonial powers, Britain and France, from the Middle East after WW II, there was a virtual political vacuum in the region. By 1948 Soviet Union had consolidated its hegemony over Eastern Europe. The ‘Truman doctrine’ put a rein to its further ‘expansion’ into Greece or Turkey. But along with consolidating its domination over the East European nations, Soviet Union was busy trying to build and expand its influence among the ‘Islamic’ nations to its south.

Mass media and communication in International Management Essay

Mass media and communication in International Management - Essay Example Some amount of imagery is associated in a language and communication and complex thoughts are communicated. According to Whorf (2011), language tends to create real and imaginary plurals and conjures up mental patterns. When an image is created or presented, some associations tend to form in the mind and create patterns of objectification. Kramsch (1998) argues that language is the main method where social lives and relations are carried out. It is used for different communication contexts and people express facts, events, ideas that are communicated through words and images. These reflect the culture, attitude and beliefs of the authors and hence language is used to express cultural reality. Therefore, language is a system of signs with a cultural value that is symbolised by social appropriateness norms and social conventions. Language, culture and social norms help people to identify themselves as members of a social group where common ways of viewing the world are acquired. In lig ht of analysing the Ad by Jamie Oliver, these associations become relevant since he is attempting to use the language of cooking to sell products to people. According to Agar (1994), words can have words have multiple meanings and these are connotative or denotative. Denotation refers to the explicit meaning and translation of the word as mentioned in a dictionary.3. DESCRIPTION OF THE ADPlease refer to figure 1.1, where the celebrity cook Jamie Oliver is showing adding vegetables and cooking a dish of chicken. Prominent in the Ad is the ad copy with the words 'Chicken. Jamie Style' and these words are expected to have multiple implications for the audience. He is shown adding leafy vegetables to a large platter containing potatoes and chicken. Another similar dish filled with chicken pieces and potatoes is placed on the right side. In the background, a cupboard is shown and the top is filled with leafy vegetables, potatoes and

WMP 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

WMP 4 - Essay Example The result of the appeal such argument present endows the writer with authority in his presentation. From the book, it is easy to point a few steps that the author has identified as the paramount process of ensuring effective arguments. First, the author suggests that there is a need to identify the weaknesses and the strengths of the argument. This should be further narrowed to specific weaknesses and strengths that are much more relevant to the argument. The writer is expected to take time to think of ideas that may support the position that they had identified. In the book, the author has tried to explain in details what narrative argument is and what entails the development of such argument. The author point that; a narrative argument is the argument which is developed through telling a story or a narrative. Narrative argument has been misconstrued to mean the same as a conventional argument. However this is not usually the case. Conventional arguments usually lack enough fact and figures that would work towards validating their position. This is in contrast with the narrative argument that always rely on the story itself it to justify and validate the position that one takes. The main objective of narrative argument according to the author is to ensure that the writer exploits the characterization of the story as presented by the writer so as to develop a justification that can be used as a support to the argument they are fronting. The same acumen by the writer of identifying the quality of the characters may be extended to the plot of the story. A plot of a story has certain sequence through which a story progress. Usually, arguments are always presented in a certain sequence. It is this attribute of arguments that may allow the writer to borrow a flow of a plot to ensure that they use such story to justify

CEO remuneration and a firm performance Dissertation

CEO remuneration and a firm performance - Dissertation Example Typically, it is a combination of salary, incentives, and shares of and call options on the stock of a company, ideally configured to consider the government rules and regulations; a company’s goals/strategy and its executive’s desires, tax law and recognitions for the performance. Executive compensation is viewed through the observable outcomes. It should be designed to give appropriate and befitting incentives. Many shareholders do not want or expect executives to take risk with an aim of getting large profit; in fact nowadays there is a significant emphasis on risk control and strengthening of audit committees to ensure that any risks are understood, assessed and managed properly. The financial collapse in 2007 has changed shareholders’ perception in the light of many ‘reckless’ actions taken by executives, particularly in the financial services sector. That is why the compensation of chief executive officers has increasingly been receiving a lot of attention. As basic salaries are not viewed as an adequate method of influencing the performance of the top executives, the other, different types of rewards were brought in. It is feared that top executives, driven by high profits, were/are acting in their own and not a company’s shareholders’ interests thus encouraging the separation of control and ownership in modern companies. That is why Remuneration Committees have now changed inventive plans to ensure that they do not reward short term behaviour or aggressive ‘risk taking’. The executive remuneration or compensation landscape has greatly and rapidly changed during recent years with executive pay remaining a focus point for the UK Government as well as European Commission, shareholders, and media. Draft new rules and regulations will give shareholders new powers to vote down pay arrangements and alter the way organizations will report on the remuneration of directors, which will considerably alter the environment of executive remuneration. Taking into account the changes in the attitude to the remuneration brought about by the last recession and current tightening legislation, the aim of his research paper is to analyse the correlation between Executive Remuneration and a firm performance. 1.2Aims and objectives 1.2.1Aims of the Study To identify and discuss contemporary issues in Executive Remuneration topic; To determine the impact of Executive Remuneration on a firm’s performance To access executive remuneration and its impact on a firm’s evaluation To establish the correlation between Executive Remuneration and firm’s performance. 1.2.2. Objectives of the Study To evaluate the arguments in Executive Remuneration To evaluate the impact of the Executive Remuneration on a firm’s performance using the following proxies: - Return on Assets - Return on Equity -Dividends Yields Share price. To verify the type of correlation between Executive Remunera tion and firm’s performance. 1.3. Main research questions The main purpose of this research is to determine the correlation and the impact, if any, of Executive Remuneration on a firm performance; hence this work is aiming to answer the following questions: What are the determinants of Executive Remuneration? 1.3.1 Objective 1- the determinants for executive

Network Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Network Design - Essay Example The result is a decrease in production and could lead to data getting lost. The strained technical team may be forced to cut out some features in the firewall to ensure that the throughput is optimum. The latter puts the organization at a risk of attack by malicious persons. Specification of individuals involved in implementing the security of the network. How well trained are the administrators trained regarding security? The manner in which the managers and users will become partisan to the objective is critical (Seigneur & Slagell, 2010). It also involves how the procedures followed to ensure that they are trained regarding security policies and what to follow. A security plan, therefore, requires the support of the entire team working in an organization. How to get the management team, the technical group and end users is a significant challenge for an organization to achieve its aims regarding security. There is also a tradeoff in ensuring that the security is. The following is vital with the changing risks now and again. Thus, an organization requires coming up with alerts, carry out frequent testing, offering training to the administrators and improving on their policy plan. Administrators may be through this process of constant testing, monitoring, changing of plans and making the security system better. They may need compensation that the organization may not consider as vital thus compromising the entire

Invitation meeting Essay Example for Free

Invitation meeting Essay Boston global is a company that has provided outsourced resources services for fortune 500 companies. The companies have been able to solve their problems through our advice. We are the industry leaders in taking care of our employees in terms of their compensation insurance and disability insurance coverage. Your company has recently experienced numerous human resource problems. This may be due to the expansion that you are undergoing. Your company is growing fast and needs to grown in human resource services too. I also understand that your company does not have the in – house expertise to quickly establish the human resource and the procedures needed within a larger, publicly traded organization. It is important for every company to have a human resource department with qualified employees that look into the welfare of its employees. I was wondering whether your company has ever considered worker’s compensation disability exposure. It is for these reasons that my company would kindly like to ask you to set up a meeting with us I order to discuss the problems you are currently facing and the services that our company offers. We are hopeful that we will enter into a contract with you for these services so that you company can continue growing.

Adaptation Evaluation Essay Example for Free

Adaptation Evaluation Essay Tom Bombadil: Add sense of mysteriousness. Boromirs confession: Proud, arrogant warrior The Spirit of LOTR: Was it kept? Improvements. A new power has arisen. All must unite or fall divided. This is the story of the Lord of the Rings. The ring of power, forged in secret by the dark Lord Sauron contained all of the might, malice and power of the Dark Lord. Its wearer would be invisible and almost invincible, but it would corrupt the heart of anyone who wore it. Lord of the Rings is a typical good vs. evil story. This time, however, good is losing badly. The Dark Lords forces will soon overcome all of Middle Earth, but there is one glint of hope for the forces of Good. Because the Dark Lord Sauron made the ring of power, his life is bound to it. If Good can prevent defeat for long enough so that the ring can be destroyed, Sauron shall be overcome. However, the ring of power can only be destroyed where it was made deep in Saurons realm. This means that hope is in speed and secrecy, not force. A fellowship of the ring is formed and the quest is begun. The Lord of The Rings: The Fellowship of the ring is the first part of the trilogy, which shows how the fellowship evades the servants of the Dark Lord and how the fellowship eventually breaks. A mighty warrior, Boromir is a member of the fellowship. He is lured by the temptation of power and tries to steal the ring. He does not fully understand that the ring corrupts any wearer. He is then asked by other members of the fellowship as to whether he has done anything, but he refuses doing anything wrong due to his arrogance. In the film, the plot is changed so that Boromir does try to take the ring, but he confesses everything. This was a major change as Boromir is meant to be a proud and arrogant human the author J. R. R. Tolkien always shows most humans as easily corrupted. A large omission was Tom Bombadil. He was a father of the forest type man who has powers of song and looks after the ring bearer. Tolkien added him to add a sense of mysteriousness to Lord of the Rings nobody knew who he was or where he came from. This was missed out in the film. Characters like him really did help the spirit of Lord of the Rings. Form one point of view; the film did not keep the spirit of Lord of the Rings at all. Parts were missed out and some of the film seemed like a traditional Good vs. Bad film the beauty of Tolkien was that he took well known types of book and added a slight change, but meant that the whole plot would be different. For example, in the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins goes on a quest to retrieve dwarven treasure. However, he does not want to go and as a result ends up doing a better job of getting the treasure than if he had wanted the treasure. This is the reason why keeping the spirit of Lord of the Rings is so important, Lord of the Rings is unique. However, the film of Lord of the Rings has kept a large part of the spirit. It swings my emotions better than the book did and each character looked almost exactly as I imagined them to be. Because films need a great plot to be good, the director (Peter Jackson) has taken the good parts and made them great he has really concentrated on the right parts. The film however was a bit too different from the book at times and too close at others. For example, there is an Im dead, oh no Im not scene part which was fine in the book, but should have been changed in the film. Another change that should have taken place was the fact that elves are shown as a dying any fading race in the Lord of the Rings film. In the book, elves couldnt die and the elves simply were leaving the land, not dying out. This was probably shown to make humans seem better. In conclusion, the Lord of the Rings film made great use of an excellent plot and unusual story. I think that the film was very good, but there was a small amount of room for improvement.

Strategic Issues Facing Lockheed Martin

Strategic Issues Facing Lockheed Martin Lockheed Martin is a global security Company that employs about 136,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. It was formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta. It has its Headquarters in Bethesda, MD (Maryland). The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion, a backlog of $78 billion, and cash flow from operations of $3.2 billion. Lockheed Martin is one of the biggest Defense Contractors in the world. One of the biggest news in 2010 was that the United States had decided to buy up to 2443 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets. The F-35, also known as the Joint Strike Fighter, is the U.S. defense departments costliest weapons purchase at up to $382 billion over the next two decades. This makes it the biggest military deal ever. All this helps to pose an interest in this company. Cost Surge: The Lockheed Martin F-35 program is facing manufacturing inefficiencies, part problems and at least six engineering technical challenges as stated by the U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO). As such costs have grown and scheduled extensions are likely. Companys contribution to the National Economy A large part of Q2 GDP performance, +0.39% of total GDP growth 1.6% for the U.S owes thanks to wars and general defense. The defense sector of which Lockheed Martin is a part has contributed heavily to the countrys overall GDP. Lockheed Martin is also involved in other public activities. Companys contribution to the Regional Economy Lockheed Martin is a global security organization with its reach in countries and regions like Canada, United Kingdom, Africa, Europe, and Middle East, the Americas, Asia Pacific and Australia. Lockheed Martin has customers around the world and has partners in more than 50 countries outside the United States. Furthermore it has helped countries like Turkey by enhancing their defense capabilities. Recent Strategic Choice Lockheed Martin completed the divestiture of its Enterprise Integration Group business to Veritas Capital on November 23rd, 2010 for $815 million and also plans to sell off PAE in 2011. Source of Information on the Company:Â  www.lockheedmartin.com (355 Words) Executive Summary This assignment basically tells about the Defense Industry, discussing one of the major Defense contractors in detail in the world and other variables linked to the industry and the company alike. This project covers a lot of areas, using various tools for the purpose of analysis based on facts and our judgment. There are a few models used in this project to assess the state of the company and the industry alike; the first being the Industry Life Cycle which specifies where the defense industry currently stands whether it is introduction, growth, maturity or decline. Another model used such as the Key Factors for Success is used to determine basically what factors any given company needs to survive in the defense industry. Another one would be Porters Five Forces which determines the forces affecting the company. These are models based on factors relating to the industry. The other three models used are based on the company itself including SWOT which analyzes a companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats; SFAS which take the most critical two factors of the lot; and TOWS Matrix which helps to devise new strategies in regard to SWOT factors. After an in depth analysis, the current company performance is assessed based on efficiency, effectiveness and return to investors in regard with their recent strategic choice. Review of options is the next step in the project which takes into account the strategies formulated in the TOWS Matrix and determining which ones are the most important or critical to implement. The next area which is implementation of strategies provides an overview of if the future strategies can be deployed effectively and efficiently based on factors like structure, systems and policies. And the last part of the project determines the usefulness of all the six models used in the project. (300 Words) The Defense Industry as you see is in the Growth phase of the Industry Life cycle. A few leading firms in the industry and the ones that are surviving are huge firms like Boeing, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. These leading giants continue to innovate and create new products and services and refine old ones in order to stay in the game. The defense industry is basically a never dying industry due to the global conditions and national security challenges faced by the different nations of the world. Companies like Lockheed Martin have been there for 16 years now. There are several reasons on why the Defense Industry is in the growth stage. To begin with, despite the time the defense companies have been around, they continuously monitor customer needs and introduce new products and technologies into the market. This leads to increase in sales and growth. For example, the recent development of the F-35 fighter jet which was made possible with the collaboration between Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and BAE Systems has given the defense industry a new source of life. It is a new innovative product, which will intrigue customers to buy it and hence resulting in increased sales and ultimately growth. Technology development, innovation and engineering are the core areas of the defense industry. Companies like Lockheed Martin and Boeing analyze these areas and respond accordingly. They keep up with changing times by introducing new products and technologies keeping the Defense Industry well in the Growth phase. Moreover it can be said that the Defense Industry is in the High Growth part of the Growth phase. Why it can be said so is because although the sales are increasing, the increase in sales is not exceptionally high. The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of the Aerospace and Defense sector in the period 2005-2009 was 8.7%. The sector grew by 0.4% in 2009 compared to 10.4% in the previous year. As said before, the Defense Industry is a never dying Industry and it continues to grow year by year by providing new technologies, weapons and advanced warfare systems. These Key Factors listed above are very important to survive in the Defense Industry. Taking Innovation and Technological advancement first, these are two of the most important factors for success in the Defense Industry. The giants in the industry like Boeing and Lockheed Martin have to keep up with changing times by providing or innovating new technologies and products. The National demands for defense technology are very high. And hence, the defense companies need to have advanced technology and innovative and creative personnel in order to deliver to the nation and hence succeed in the defense sector. The quality of the products is also very important. Customers can switch between defense contractors if they are not satisfied with the quality. The reliability of the products is also an important factor in the Defense Industry. As the products are designed for Warfare, product reliability is very crucial. Cost effectiveness is also among the most important factors in the Defense Industry. Every country has a defense budget. The Defense companies have to comply with the budget. Companies also need to have a skilled workforce in order to deal with complicated tasks including the likes of manufacturing military aircrafts. Diversification is also a very important factor to survive in the defense industry. Companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Boeing are heavily diversified into related markets including manufacturing naval shipbuilding, aircrafts, helicopters etc. Also, Defense companies need to have government contacts in order to carry out Lobbying. Overall Lockheed Martin is fairing pretty well in the Defense Industry. Although, compared to Boeing and Northrop Grumman, it has a few shortcomings in areas like being Cost Effective; it is handling the other key factors very well. It is well above the average level of operations in the defense sector. Porters Five Forces Threat of New Entrants (Low): The threat of new entrants is quite low in the Aerospace and Defense Industry. Few factors like very high capital requirements to sustain operations, having highly differentiated products act as entry barriers into the industry. The defense industry has a few big firms including Lockheed Martin, Boeing etc. who are very well established. Their products are highly differentiated, acting as a barrier; also the customers are reluctant to switch to a new companys product because personnel have to be trained again in order to use the new products raising switching costs. Companies in the defense industry need to have a huge amount of capital in order to sustain activities like building military aircrafts, naval ships etc. A new company will not have a large customer base and hence wont achieve economies of scale in order to reduce per head costs. Rivalry among Existing Firms (High): The rivalry among existing firms in the Defense industry is quite high. The leading Defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman have intense competition over winning defense contracts. As the firms in this Industry are few, they analyze each others move very carefully and issue counter moves accordingly. Firms in the defense sector use innovation and new technology to in order to differentiate their service and deliver better than the competitor which ultimately increases competitive rivalry. Threat of substitutes (Low): There are actually no real substitutes for the defense industry. The military aircrafts, equipments, and other systems cannot be replaced with anything else. For example, considering the commercial aircraft segment in the Aerospace and Defense Industry, there are alternatives like Rail Transport which may act as a possible threat due to factors like global warming and carbon footprints. But, the Defense Sector doesnt have any substitute. For example, a countrys Air Force cannot be replaced by zero emission gliders; it has to be military aircrafts. It is because they cannot serve the same purpose. A nations Defense Sector cannot be substituted as they are the only ones who can serve the National Security purpose. Bargaining power of Buyers (Low): The bargaining power of buyers is low in the Defense sector. Although, the buyers have some financial muscle as they are mostly Government organizations, this power is somewhat diluted as the government needs the defense systems and programs. It is very important to the government. Now, companies in the Defense Industry like Lockheed Martin dont just provide military aircraft and hardware like missiles and other weapon systems but also cater to the repair and logistic needs of their buyers. This means that it increases switching cost for the buyers and hence reduces buying power. The differentiated products provided by the Defense companies also decreases buyer power. For example, a product specially designed by Lockheed Martin like the Exoskeletal Load Carrier HULC cannot be designed by Boeing and vice versa. Bargaining power of Suppliers (Low): The bargaining power of suppliers is low in the Defense Industry. Firstly, there are many suppliers to choose from. Also, there is no switching cost considering the suppliers which makes the power of the suppliers weak. The supplier costs also dont form a large part of the organization. In the defense industry, the defense companys major costs are in regard with RD, advanced technology and skilled workforce rather than supplier price. The major suppliers of the defense industry like Steel and aluminium manufacturers cannot forward integrate and compete directly with the defense companies. For Example, a steel manufacturer cannot build complex aircrafts and weapons. This further reduces supplier power. Relative power of Stakeholders (High): The relative power of stakeholders is pretty high in the Defense Industry. Stakeholders like the Government, customers and suppliers can affect the company majorly. Taking into consideration the government, the government has strict laws and regulations for each company to follow. In case of a breach or due to any other viable reason, the government has the power and to match it the authority to terminate contracts and transactions. This may lead to losses in the company. The suppliers and customers can also affect the company. Internal Factors Strengths: Lockheed Martin has quite a number of strengths. Having a well diversified portfolio has enabled Lockheed Martin to not be over dependent on a single market segment and also serving a large customer base. Lockheed Martin is strong financially as per the stats given over the years. It had shown an increase of 5.8% in revenues in 2009 compared to the fiscal year 2008 and is also the largest defense contractor by revenue as of FY2009. In addition, it is one of the leading companies in providing tactical and transport aircraft and other defense systems. Lockheed Martin serves a very large customer base, which provides for economies of scale. And also the company is very advanced technologically, its recent achievement being the JSF F-35 program. Weaknesses: Lockheed Martin also lags in a few areas. In 2009, about 85% of the net sales were made to the US government. This shows over dependency on one customer which would affect its growth. Another area it has to consider is cost. It is not really a cost effective firm. A recent example would be the high developmental costs for the JSF F-35 project. Plus, the employee attitude is poor in Lockheed Martin. And the turnover rate is also pretty much near high. Lockheed Martin also ranks no. 1 in federal misconducts. This affects the reputation of the company and the scenario of future contracts. External Factors Opportunities: One of the opportunities that Lockheed Martin can capitalize on is the rise in defense spending by the US. The DoD has seen consistent growth within the last ten years as it grew from $300 billion to almost $550 billion. Further, the congress agreed to fund military operations in various countries. Also, the US space and military market has witnessed strong growth and the trend is likely to continue. Another point could be the space business initiatives. Lockheed Martin is a prime contractor for a number of space business initiatives initiated by NASA. More initiatives will create new business opportunities for Lockheed Martin. One other point is the easing of export controls by the US with India in order to trade with the country. Another one would be the cyber security needs which are increasing globally to deal with cyber warfare. Threats: There are quite a number of threats that Lockheed Martin is facing. Lockheed Martin deals with numerous government agencies and entities, and as a result has to face regulations relating to disclosure of cost and acquisitions. Also, Lockheed Martin has to deal intensely with competitors like General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman and BAE systems in regard to competitive factors such as technical superiority, reputation, price, etc. Also, The Company is involved in environmental and potential proceedings relating to soil and groundwater contamination, disposal of hazardous waste etc. which impact the companys profitability. Substitutes like the Russian MIG fighter jets and others can act as a possible threat to the company. Also, Lockheed Martin has to keep up with changing times by innovating new products and services and acquiring new tech to keep up with rapid technological changes. Strategic Factor Analysis Short: The fact that the US military market is going to grow may be viable for a short period or an intermediate period. So the company has to look for other viable opportunities which would be there for a long term. For the short term, it is definitely an opportunity which the company should capitalize and ultimately as a result it will benefit the company in different ways like for example increase in sales. Intermediate: A factor like not being dynamic is in the intermediate segment. Not being dynamic or not being very agile to change is a weakness which will affect the company in medium term. This is because issues like these need to be addressed in the medium term at least if not in the short. If not done so, the company may not be able to deliver accordingly and lose out to the competition. Same is with the factor of substitutes. They can be there for an intermediate term. Lockheed Martins main competitors like Boeing and Northrop Grumman are always there with new innovations and products. So, in order to stand up to the competition, Lockheed Martin has to bring in new technologies and unique products every time. As discussed earlier, the rivalry is intense and companies come out with new and unique products to stay ahead in the game. Long: Factors in the long run considers all the four; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Considering financial performance, a company like Lockheed Martin earns about 80% of its revenues from military sales. It receives many of the defense contracts and if delivered as supposed to, it will stay in a good position financially. It is also in a position to acquire some other firms. An example would be Gyrocam Systems LLC on 31st august, 2009. Also, all the companies have to be advanced technologically in order to meet the demands of the customer. They have to provide distinctive products which are not possible without advanced technology. Factors like export control easing by the US towards India are also in the long run. Once eased, it will trade with the nation for quite some time. Government regulations also stay for a long time. TOWS Matrix Strengths (S) Financial stats New Technology Well balanced Portfolio Economies of scale Strong market position Weaknesses (W) Dependence on the U.S government Cost management Not agile to changing conditions Employee attitude Contract misconducts Opportunities (O) Rising defense spending Growing military and space market Space business initiatives Export-control easing Cyber Security needs SO Strategies Expand business into India by acquiring firms Use advanced technology to deliver new and unique products to the growing market WO Strategies Reduce the dependence on US government by expansion into other countries Change employee attitude to deliver better products Threats (T) Government contracts and regulation Intense competition Environmental compliance costs Substitutes Technological changes ST Strategies Regular and timely Upgrades of systems and technology to stay competitive Acquisition of firms to gain new technology in order to deal with substitutes WT Strategies Be dynamic to keep up with rapid technological changes Reduce costs in order to comply with the regulations SO Strategies (Maxi-Maxi): SO strategies are formed considering the use of a companys strengths to capitalize on the opportunities. According to the figure above, I have devised two strategies which will do so. As the US has eased its export controls towards India, Lockheed Martin can expand its business there by acquiring firms and so on. This can be done as the company is financially strong and is in a position to do so. Another strategy that can be used is that Lockheed Martin can use its advanced technologies and systems to capitalize on the opportunity of the growing military and space market by offering new and differentiated products. ST Strategies (Maxi-Mini): Now, ST strategies are formed by considering the use of a companys strengths to minimize the threats. Two strategies have been devised. The first one is to regularly upgrade the systems and technology of Lockheed Martin in order to deal with threats like rapid technological changes. In the defense sector, big players like Boeing and Northrop Grumman may have better tech compared to Lockheed Martin and so in order to compete it has to have timely upgrades of its own technology. Also another strategy to be considered would be an acquisition strategy. In the defense sector there are quite a number of substitutes. Lockheed Martin can acquire more firms in order to gain access to new technologies and minimize the threat of substitutes. These strategies are possible because of the strong financial position of Lockheed Martin. WO Strategies (Mini-Maxi): WO strategies are formed by considering the capitalization of opportunities by overcoming weaknesses. One of the strategies that can be considered is reducing the dependence on the US government by expanding overseas. Recently, US eased its export controls towards India, which means Lockheed Martin has the opportunity to make sales in the latter. This can reduce the over dependence on the US government for sales. Another would be changing employee attitude by providing a better work environment, which in turn will help to develop better products for the growing military and space market and hence increasing sales. WT Strategies (Mini-Mini): WT strategies are formed by considering the minimization of weaknesses and avoiding threats and are basically defensive. One of the strategies would be to be more dynamic to changing conditions. By being more dynamic, Lockheed Martin can stay up with changing times and avoid the threat of rapid technological changes. By analyzing the conditions and acting, for example, Lockheed Martin upgrading its systems and technology, the company will be able to stay competitive. Another would be to effectively reduce costs by using methods that are efficient, so as the excess costs are not transferred to the final products. In case of Lockheed Martin, it has to comply with government regulations regarding costs and any default may result in termination of contracts and transactions. Assessment of current Company performance Efficiency: Lockheed Martin was very efficient in its recent strategy of divesting its business in EIG (enterprise integration group). It also plans to sell most of its PAE business unit. Lockheed Martin was very efficient in using the Divestiture strategy. Lockheed Martin had an after tax gain of $184 million ($0.51 per share). Not many resources were required to do so as EIG was a very high quality segment of their business associated with the support of organizations like the National Reconnaissance Office, other elements of the intelligence community. Lockheed Martin did not require much effort and resources in order to carry out their divestiture strategy. Effectiveness: Lockheed Martin was very effective in carrying out the divestiture strategy. There were many prospective buyers for the business unit. Lockheed Martin effectively made the sale to Veritas capital without much hassle from either side. The cash generated from this transaction was effectively deployed in various ways like in the specific 4th quarter of 2010; 13.2 million shares were repurchased for $916 million, discretionary contributions of $840 million to the pension trust, cash dividends totalling $269 million which is an increase from the previous year in the same quarter and expending capital of $426 million. Return to Investors: Lockheed Martin paid a total dividend of $269 million in the fourth quarter which shows a $29 million increase from the payout in the 4th quarter of 2009. Also the total dividend payout in 2010 being $969 million showed an increase of $61 million over the previous years total payout. It clearly shows that Lockheed Martins profits had gone up in 2010 by quite a good margin. The corporation was paying out more dividends makes it clear, that quite some money was being made by it. The share value also went up after the divestiture was completed by $0.51 per share. Review of Options Lockheed Martin can consider the use of various strategies devised above in order to deal with major threats and weaknesses by using opportunities and strengths. One of the most critical strategies that should be considered as an important option by Lockheed Martin is the expansion strategy. Adopting this strategy will help Lockheed Martin to capitalize on a valuable opportunity and at the same time, help it to reduce its excess dependence on the US government. Lockheed Martin can expand in to other countries by using either acquisitions or maybe they can enter into a Joint Venture with some other companies. Another strategy could be the acquisition strategy. Lockheed Martin can consider acquiring firms in order to get new technology. This will help them to stay very competitive in the market, deal with the competition and at the same time help them to deal with a major threat of substitutes. Another strategy that would be recommended is being more dynamic to change. By being more dynamic, Lockheed Martin will analyze the market constantly and keep up with changing trends and factors like rapid technological changes. Being a defense contractor, it has to keep up with such changes in order to keep up with the competition. Another one would be the changing of employee attitude towards the organization and work. This can be done by providing a cooperative and healthy work environment and proper training of personnel. This in turn will benefit the organization in the long run by providing dedicated and motivated personnel which will help to produce higher quality products and services. Implementation of Strategies Structure: Now, in order to carry out the most critical strategies that are stated above, the company should analyze their structure and make changes if they have to. The current horizontal structure of Lockheed Martin can well serve the purpose. Lockheed Martin gives all the employees initiative to work and deliver better results. There is an immense sense of team work and team spirit. Lockheed Martin enables its employees to make decisions at their respective levels and hence shows decentralization of power to a certain extent. It is useful in motivating employees and efficiently catering customer needs. Systems: Lockheed Martin basically has all the system facilities to deliver the strategies. In order to deliver the expansion strategies Lockheed Martin needs to develop software(s) and systems for the place where they are expanding. Lockheed Martin has all the necessary systems in place in order to deliver the most critical strategies. It can enhance its capabilities by upgrading systems factors like software(s) and machines in order to cater better to the strategies. Policies: In order to comply with the strategies above, Lockheed Martin should adopt a recruitment policy. Specially in using the expansion strategy, Lockheed Martin needs to employ new workers in order to sustain such strategies. Employing dedicated and motivated personnel would surely benefit Lockheed Martin. Another policy that can be adopted by Lockheed Martin is a reward policy. Lockheed Martin can reward individuals by using factors like pay increments and bonuses. Cooperative teamwork and appropriate rewards will help to change employee attitude and motivate them to deliver better products. Usefulness of Models Industry life cycle: The industry life cycle was very helpful in assessing the specific stage of the life cycle in which the defense industry currently is. More importantly it has helped in analyzing the fact that why the defense industry is in that specific stage. Industry life cycle is an important tool in the analysis of an industrys life. It has given us an in depth view of where the industry is and also what the companies in the industry are doing to stay alive. Key factors for success: The second model is very useful in assessing the most critical factors that a company needs to survive in the specific industry, in this case the defense industry. It was useful because it gave us an overview of the industry in regard with the factors required to succeed in it. It told us what a company needs to survive, how their competitors are fairing in the core areas and which areas can the company make changes. Porters five forces: Porters five forces helped us to analyze the six crucial and constant forces that affect the industry. It has helped us to analyze how the industry is affected by these six forces and what stand do the companies have in consideration to these forces. SWOT: SWOT analysis was very useful as it helps is assessing the companys internal factors; strengths and weaknesses and external factors; opportunities and threats. It helped us to look into the company in depth to find out where it lags and where it excels. Also it helped us to look into valuable opportunities which the company can capitalize on to grow or expand and also threats which the company faces. SFAS matrix: The SFAS matrix is basically derived from the SWOT. But what makes it very useful is that it helped us to choose the most critical factors of the four points; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It has helped us to analyze what are the critical strengths and opportunities for our company and how long are they going to stay there. Also, It helped us to analyze our weaknesses and threats and how much time we should take to address them. Overall, it was a very important tool in assessing the critical factors to which the company should respond accordingly to grow and stay competitive. TOWS matrix: Another model derived from SWOT. This was very useful in basically formulating the best strategies possible for our company that they can deliver in accordance with the four factors.

Crickets :: essays research papers fc

Insects have been a nuisance to man since the beginning of time, up until the present. One of the plagues that struck Egypt was swarms of crickets, and locusts, which destroyed crops, and ate entire fields. Swarms of Crickets can cover up to 210 km. There have been cases of up to 100,000,000,000 insects in a swarm (one hundred billion). In these huge masses, they can completely destroy the land and everything on a farm. I chose to do this experiment because when I am at camp I am constantly woken up by the loud chirping of these annoying insects. There are three types of crickets: Mole Crickets, Field Crickets, and House Crickets. The Mole Cricket’s body is designed for digging subterranean tunnels. This Cricket’s body is well adapted to digging. The Mole Cricket usually lives in hot dry areas, and are extremely harmful to plants such as barley, and flax The Field Cricket has had a history in ancient China. This cricket’s beautiful song was held in particularly high esteem. These crickets were often kept in exquisitely ornamented cages made of sandalwood, ivory or jade. The Most common cricket is the house cricket. The house cricket’s body is more slender than that of the field cricket. It is also generally lighter in color. This crickets appears in abundance in central Europe, such as cellars, houses, bakeries, and so on. Procedure Problem: How do I make a cricket deterrent that is environmentally friendly? Hypothesis: If I use a deterrent that has a strong odor, then it will deter the crickets from that area. 2 I started my experiment by first buying 60 crickets. The crickets were stored in bags until they were ready to be used. I purchased a clear plastic box with holes in the top for breathing. I made a divider out of cardboard and secured it in the center of the box, making four equal sections. One section was the control, and in the others I put a deterrent. Two tests were made that were thrown out because they were irrelevant. In the first case, the crickets were not deterred at all by any of the substances. The test was done outside, and the crickets seemed to simply move their position depending on the location of the sun. The crickets seemed only deterred by the sun. They all moved to wherever the shadow of the sun seemed the darkest. I concluded that crickets are deterred, to some extent, by sunlight. The other test seemed erroneous because all of the crickets died very quickly. In this test, the crickets all died within 15 minutes, in whichever substance they went in first. There was too much of liquid in each

Standardized Testing Is Inaccurate For Teacher Evaluation Essay

The United States of America is ranked 15th in the world for it’s quality of education. Improvement in our education system is necessary if we want to keep up with the best nations in the world. Over the past ten years, a new push has been made to improve education in America through programs like No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top. States across the country are assessing teachers and schools by using standardized test scores. By using standardized test scores, states link high stakes to the results such as grant money, salary, and jobs as incentive to improve the scores for the following year. In Wisconsin and other states, 50% of these evaluations are based solely on how students score on these tests making the results have a critical impact, affecting not only the futures of the students, but also the futures of their teachers. Although it is important to give schools and teachers feedback so that they can better educate students, high-stakes testing should be used mi nimally for this purpose because of the lack of conclusive results they produce, and the detrimental effects that they can have on students, teachers, and even the whole schooling community. The first problem with evaluating schools and teachers with standardized testing is that the scores are so heavily correlated with factors other than intelligence. Background factors like like their family’s socioeconomic status or disabilities that a student may have all affect a students ability on a standardized test. Proponents of the use of standardized testing to evaluate schools and teachers argue that standardized tests are a fair and objective way of evaluating students because it is a common standard for everyone. The problem in their argument is that not all s... ... Student Test Scores to Evaluate Teachers. Economic Policy Institute Briefing Paper #278. 2010 , Economic Policy Institute, 13 November 2014. http://www.epi.org/publication/bp278/ Kohn, Alfie. "The Real Threat to American Schools." Tikkun. March/April 2001: 25+. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 18 Nov 2014. Teachers Need Real Feedback. Perf. Bill Gates. TED. The Sapling Foundation, May 2013. Web. 17 Nov. 2014. . Strauss, Valerie. "Massachusetts Professors Protest High-Stakes Standardized Tests." Washington Post. 22 Feb 2013: n.p. SIRS Issues Researcher.Web. 17 Nov 2014. "What the Research Says on Teacher Evaluations." Learn More About Teacher Evaluations. New York State United Teachers, Nov. 2011. Web. 13 Nov. 2014. .

Zoe’s Tale PART I Chapter Nine

â€Å"Oh, look,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Teenage boys, about to do something stupid.† â€Å"Shut up,† I said. â€Å"That couldn't possibly happen.† But I looked anyway. Sure enough, across the Magellan's common area, two clots of teenage males were staring each other down with that look of we're so gonna fight about something lame. They were all getting ready for a snarl, except for one of them, who gave every appearance of trying to talk some sense into one guy who looked particularly itchin' to fight. â€Å"There's one who appears to have a brain,† I said. â€Å"One out of eight,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Not a really excellent percentage. And if he really had a brain he'd probably be getting out of the way.† â€Å"This is true,† I said. â€Å"Never send a teenage boy to do a teenage girl's job.† Gretchen grinned over to me. â€Å"We have that mind-meld thing going, don't we?† â€Å"I think you know the answer to that,† I said. â€Å"You want to plan it out or just improvise?† Gretchen asked. â€Å"By the time we plan it out, someone's going to be missing teeth,† I said. â€Å"Good point,† Gretchen said, and then got up and started moving toward the boys. Twenty seconds later the boys were startled to find Gretchen in the middle of them. â€Å"You're making me lose a bet,† she said, to the one who looked the most aggressive. The dude stared for a moment, trying to wrap whatever was passing for his brain around this sudden and unexpected appearance. â€Å"What?† he said. â€Å"I said, you're making me lose a bet,† Gretchen repeated, and then jerked a thumb over toward me. â€Å"I had a bet with Zoe here that no one would start a fight on the Magellan before we actually left dock, because no one would be stupid enough to do something that would get their entire family kicked off the ship.† â€Å"Kicked off the ship two hours before departure, even,† I said. â€Å"Right,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Because what sort of moron would you have to be to do that?† â€Å"A teenage boy moron,† I suggested. â€Å"Apparently,† Gretchen said. â€Å"See – what's your name?† â€Å"What?† the guy said again. â€Å"Your name,† Gretchen said. â€Å"What your mother and father will call you, angrily, once you've gotten them kicked off the ship.† The guy looked around at his friends. â€Å"Magdy,† he said, and then opened his mouth as if to say something. â€Å"Well, see, Magdy, I have faith in humanity, even the teenage male part of it,† Gretchen said, plowing through whatever it was that our Magdy might have had to say. â€Å"I believed that not even teenage boys would be dumb enough to give Captain Zane an excuse to kick a bunch of them off the ship while he still could. Once we're under way, the worst he could do is put you in the brig. But right now he could have the crew drop you and your family at the loading bay. Then you could watch the rest of us wave good-bye. Surely, I said, no one could be that incredibly dense. But my friend Zoe disagreed. What did you say, Zoe?† â€Å"I said that teenage boys can't think beyond or without their newly dropped testicles,† I said, staring at the boy who had been trying to talk sense into his pal. â€Å"Also, they smell funny.† The boy grinned. He knew what we were up to. I didn't grin back; I didn't want to mess with Gretchen's play. â€Å"And I was so convinced that I was right and she was wrong that I actually made a bet,† Gretchen said. â€Å"I bet every single dessert I'd get here on the Magellan that no one would be that stupid. That's a serious bet.† â€Å"She loves her dessert,† I said. â€Å"It's true, I do,† Gretchen said. â€Å"She's a dessert fiend,† I said. â€Å"And now you are going to make me lose all my desserts,† Gretchen said, poking Magdy in the chest. â€Å"This is not acceptable.† There was a snerk from the boy Magdy had been facing off with. Gretchen wheeled on him; the boy actually flinched backward. â€Å"I don't know why you think this is funny,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Your family would have been thrown off the ship just like his.† â€Å"He started it,† the boy said. Gretchen blinked, dramatically. â€Å"‘He started it'? Zoe, tell me I heard that wrong.† â€Å"You didn't,† I said. â€Å"He really said it.† â€Å"It doesn't seem possible that anyone over the age of five would be using that as a rationale for anything,† Gretchen said, examining the boy critically. â€Å"Where's your faith in humanity now?† I asked. â€Å"I'm losing it,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Along with all your desserts,† I said. â€Å"Let me guess,† Gretchen said, and waved generally at the clot of boys in front of her. â€Å"You're all from the same planet.† She turned and looked at the other boy clot. â€Å"And you're all from another planet.† The boys shifted uncomfortably; she had gotten their number. â€Å"And so the first thing you do is you start picking fights because of where you used to live.† â€Å"Because that's the smart thing to do with people you're going to spend the rest of your life living with,† I said. â€Å"I don't remember that being in the new colonist orientation material,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Funny about that,† I said. â€Å"Indeed,† Gretchen said, and stopped talking. There was silence for several seconds. â€Å"Well?† Gretchen said. â€Å"What?† Magdy said. It was his favorite word. â€Å"Are you going to fight now or what?† Gretchen said. â€Å"If I'm going to lose my bet, now's as good a time as any.† â€Å"She's right,† I said. â€Å"It's almost lunchtime. Dessert is calling.† â€Å"So either get on with it or break it up,† Gretchen said. She stepped back. The boys, suddenly aware that whatever it was they were fighting about had been effectively reduced to whether or not some girl would get a cupcake, dispersed, each clot headed pointedly in a separate direction from the other. The sane boy glanced back at me as he walked off with his friends. â€Å"That was fun,† Gretchen said. â€Å"Yeah, until they all decide to do it again,† I said. â€Å"We can't use the dessert humiliation trick every time. And there are colonists from ten separate worlds. That's a hundred different possible idiotic teenage boy fight situations.† â€Å"Well, the colonists from Kyoto are Colonial Mennonites,† Gretchen said. â€Å"They're pacifists. So it's only eighty-one possible idiotic teenage boy fight combinations.† â€Å"And yet still only two of us,† I said. â€Å"I don't like the odds. And how did you know about the Kyoto folks, anyway?† â€Å"When my father was still thinking he'd be running the colony, he made me read the reports on all the colonists and their original planets,† Gretchen said. â€Å"He said I was going to be his aide-de-camp. Because, you know, that's really what I would have wanted to do with my time.† â€Å"Comes in handy, though,† I said. Gretchen pulled out her PDA, which was buzzing, and looked at the screen. â€Å"Speaking of which,† she said, and showed me the screen. â€Å"Looks like Dad's calling.† â€Å"Go be aide de camp-y,† I said. Gretchen rolled her eyes. â€Å"Thanks. Want to get together for the departure? And then we can go have lunch. You'll have lost the bet by then. I'll get your dessert.† â€Å"Touch my dessert and you will die in horrible ways,† I said. Gretchen laughed and left. I pulled out my own PDA to see if there were messages from John or Jane; there was one from Jane telling me that Hickory and Dickory were looking for me about something. Well, they knew I was onboard, and they also knew how to reach me by PDA; it's not like I went anywhere without it. I thought about giving them a call but I figured they would find me sooner or later. I put the PDA away and looked up to find the sane boy standing in front of me. â€Å"Hi,† he said. â€Å"Uh,† I said, a testament to my smoothness. â€Å"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you like that,† he said. â€Å"It's okay,† I said, only a little flustered. He stuck out his hand. â€Å"Enzo,† he said. â€Å"And you're Zoe, I guess.† â€Å"I am,† I said, taking his hand and shaking it. â€Å"Hi,† he said. â€Å"Hi,† I said. â€Å"Hi,† he said, and then seemed to realize he was back where he started. I smiled. And then there was about, oh, 47 million seconds of awkward silence. It was only actually a second or two, but as Einstein could tell you, some events have a way of stretching out. â€Å"Thanks for that,† Enzo said, finally. â€Å"For stopping the fight, I mean.† â€Å"You're welcome,† I said. â€Å"I'm glad you didn't mind we stepped in on what you were doing.† â€Å"Well, I wasn't doing a great job of it anyway,† Enzo said. â€Å"Once Magdy gets himself worked up, it's hard to get him to back down.† â€Å"What was that all about anyway?† I asked. â€Å"It's kind of stupid,† Enzo said. â€Å"That I know,† I said, and then wondered if Enzo would take it the wrong way. He smiled. Score one for Enzo. â€Å"I mean what caused it.† â€Å"Magdy's pretty sarcastic, and he's also pretty loud,† Enzo said. â€Å"He made some snide remark about what those other guys were wearing as they passed by. One of them got upset and they got into it.† â€Å"So you guys nearly had a brawl over fashion,† I said. â€Å"I told you it was stupid,† Enzo said. â€Å"But you know how it is. You get worked up, it's kind of hard to think rationally.† â€Å"But you were thinking rationally,† I said. â€Å"That's my job,† Enzo said. â€Å"Magdy gets us into trouble, I get us out of it.† â€Å"So you've known each other for a while,† I said. â€Å"He's been my best friend since we were little,† Enzo said. â€Å"He's really not a jerk, honest. He just sometimes doesn't think about what he's doing.† â€Å"You look out for him,† I said. â€Å"It goes both ways,† Enzo said. â€Å"I'm not much of a fighter. A lot of kids we knew would have taken advantage of that fact if they didn't know Magdy would have punched them in the head.† â€Å"Why aren't you much of a fighter?† I asked. â€Å"I think you have to like to fight a little,† Enzo said. Then he seemed to realize this was challenging his own masculinity a bit, and this would get him kicked out of the teenage male club. â€Å"Don't get me wrong. I can defend myself just fine without Magdy around. We're just a good team.† â€Å"You're the brains of the outfit,† I suggested. â€Å"That's possible,† he allowed, and then seemed to figure out that I'd gotten him to make a whole bunch of statements about himself without getting to find out anything about me. â€Å"What about you and your friend? Who is the brains of that outfit?† â€Å"I think Gretchen and I both hold our own pretty well in the brains department,† I said. â€Å"That's a little scary,† Enzo said. â€Å"It's not a bad thing to be a little intimidating,† I said. â€Å"Well, you have that down,† Enzo said, with just the right amount of offhandedness. I tried very hard not to blush. â€Å"So, listen, Zoe – † Enzo began, and then looked over my shoulder. I saw his eyes get very wide. â€Å"Let me guess,† I said, to Enzo. â€Å"There are two very scary-looking aliens standing directly behind me.† â€Å"How did you know?† Enzo said, after a minute. â€Å"Because what you're doing now is the usual response,† I said. I glanced back at Hickory and Dickory. â€Å"Give me a minute,† I said to them. They took a step back. â€Å"You know them?† Enzo said. â€Å"They're sort of my bodyguards,† I said. â€Å"You need bodyguards?† Enzo asked. â€Å"It's a little complicated,† I said. â€Å"Now I know why you and your friend can both work on being the brains of the outfit,† Enzo said. â€Å"Don't worry,† I said, and turned to Hickory and Dickory. â€Å"Guys, this is my new friend Enzo. Say hello.† â€Å"Hello,† they said, in their deadly monotone. â€Å"Uh,† Enzo said. â€Å"They're perfectly harmless unless they think you're a threat to me,† I said. â€Å"What happens then?† Enzo asked. â€Å"I'm not really sure,† I said. â€Å"But I think it would involve you being turned into a large number of very small cubes.† Enzo looked at me for a minute. â€Å"Don't take this the wrong way,† he said. â€Å"But I'm a little afraid of you right now.† I smiled at this. â€Å"Don't be,† I said, and I took his hand, which seemed to surprise him. â€Å"I want us to be friends.† There was an interesting play across Enzo's face: pleasure at the fact I'd taken his hand, and apprehension that if he showed too much pleasure at the fact, he'd be summarily cubed. It was very cute. He was very cute. As if on cue, Hickory audibly shifted its weight. I sighed. â€Å"I need to talk to Hickory and Dickory,† I said, to Enzo. â€Å"Will you excuse me?† â€Å"Sure,† Enzo said, and took his hand out of mine. â€Å"Will I see you later?† I asked. â€Å"I hope so,† Enzo said, and then got that look that said his brain was telling him he was being too enthusiastic. Shut up, stupid brain. Enthusiasm is a good thing. He backed off and went away. I watched him go a little. Then I turned to Hickory and Dickory. â€Å"This had better be good,† I said. â€Å"Who was that?† Hickory asked. â€Å"That was Enzo,† I said. â€Å"Which I already told you. He's a boy. A cute one, too.† â€Å"Does he have impure intentions?† Hickory asked. â€Å"What?† I said, slightly incredulous. â€Å"‘Impure intentions'? Are you serious? No. I've only known him for about twenty minutes. Even for a teenage boy, that would be a pretty quick ramp-up.† â€Å"This is not what we have heard,† Hickory said. â€Å"From whom?† I asked. â€Å"From Major Perry,† Hickory said. â€Å"He said that he was once a teenage boy himself.† â€Å"Oh, God,† I said. â€Å"Thank you so very much for the mental image of Dad as a teenage sack of hormones. That's the sort of image that takes therapy to get rid of.† â€Å"You have asked us to intercede for you with teenage boys before,† Hickory said. â€Å"That was a special case,† I said. And it had been. Just before we left Huckleberry my parents had gone off on a planetary survey of Roanoke and I was given tacit permission to have a good-bye party for my friends, and Anil Rameesh had taken it upon himself to sneak into my bedroom and get naked, and upon discovery, to inform me that he was giving me his virginity as a good-bye gift. Well, he didn't put it that way; he was trying to avoid mentioning the whole â€Å"virginity† aspect of it at all. Regardless, this was a gift I really didn't want, even though it was already unwrapped. I told Hickory and Dickory to escort him out; Anil responded by screaming, jumping out my window and down off the roof, and then running all the way home naked. Which was a sight. I had his clothes delivered home the next day. Poor Anil. He wasn't a bad person. Just deluded and hopeful. â€Å"I will let you know if Enzo presents any problems,† I said. â€Å"Until then, you leave him alone.† â€Å"As you wish,† Hickory said. I could tell it was not entirely pleased about this. â€Å"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?† I asked. â€Å"We have news for you from the Obin government,† Hickory said. â€Å"An invitation.† â€Å"An invitation for what?† I asked. â€Å"An invitation to visit our homeworld, and to tour our planets and colonies,† Hickory said. â€Å"You are now old enough to travel unaccompanied, and while all Obin have known of you since you were young, thanks to our recordings, there is a great desire among all Obin to meet you in person. Our government asks you if you will not accede to this request.† â€Å"When?† I asked. â€Å"Immediately,† Hickory said. I looked at them both. â€Å"You're asking me this now?† I said. â€Å"We're less than two hours from departing to Roanoke.† â€Å"We have only just now received the invitation,† Hickory said. â€Å"As soon as it was sent to us, we came to find you.† â€Å"It couldn't wait?† I asked. â€Å"Our government wished to ask you before your journey to Roanoke began,† Hickory said. â€Å"Once you had established yourself on Roanoke, you might be hesitant to leave for such a significant amount of time.† â€Å"How much time?† I asked. â€Å"We have sent a proposed itinerary to your PDA,† Hickory said. â€Å"I'm asking you,† I said. â€Å"The entire tour would take thirteen of your standard months,† Hickory said. â€Å"Although if you were amenable, it could be extended.† â€Å"So, to recap,† I said. â€Å"You want me to decide in the next two hours whether or not to leave my family and friends for at least a year, maybe longer, to tour the Obin worlds by myself.† â€Å"Yes,† Hickory said. â€Å"Although of course Dickory and I would accompany you.† â€Å"No other humans, though,† I said. â€Å"We could find some if you wanted,† Hickory said. â€Å"Would you?† I said. â€Å"That would be swell.† â€Å"Very well,† Hickory said. â€Å"I'm being sarcastic, Hickory,† I said, irritated. â€Å"The answer is no. I mean, really, Hickory. You're asking me to make a life-changing decision on two hours' notice. That's completely ridiculous.† â€Å"We understand that the timing of this request is not optimal,† Hickory said. â€Å"I don't think you do,† I said. â€Å"I think you know it's short notice, but I don't think you understand that it's offensive.† Hickory shrank back slightly. â€Å"We did not mean to offend,† it said. I was about to snap something off but I stopped and started counting in my head, because somewhere in there the rational part of my brain was letting me know I was heading into over-reaction territory. Hickory and Dickory's invitation was last-minute, but biting their heads off for it didn't make much sense. Something about the request was just rubbing me the wrong way. It took me a minute to figure out why. Hickory and Dickory were asking me to leave behind everyone I knew, and everyone I had just met, for a year of being alone. I had already done that, long ago, when the Obin had taken me from Covell, in the time I had to wait before my father could find a way to reclaim me. It was a different time and with different circumstances, but I remember the loneliness and need for human contact. I loved Hickory and Dickory; they were family. But they couldn't offer me what I needed and could get from human contact. And besides, I just said good-bye to a whole village of people I knew, and before that had said good-bye to family and friends, usually forever, a whole lot more than most people my age. Right now I had just found Gretchen, and Enzo was certainly looking interesting. I didn't want to say good-bye to them even before I properly got to know them. I looked at Hickory and Dickory, who despite everything they knew about me couldn't have understood why what they were asking me would affect me like this. It's not their fault, said the rational part of my brain. And it was right. Which was why it was the rational part of my brain. I didn't always like that part, but it was usually on point for stuff like this. â€Å"I'm sorry, Hickory,† I said, finally. â€Å"I didn't mean to yell at you. Please accept my apology.† â€Å"Of course,† Hickory said. It unshrunk itself. â€Å"But even if I wanted to go, two hours is not nearly enough time to think this through,† I said. â€Å"Have you spoken to John or Jane about this?† â€Å"We felt it best to come to you,† Hickory said. â€Å"Your desire to go would have influenced their decision to let you go.† I smiled. â€Å"Not as much as I think you think it would,† I said. â€Å"You may think I'm old enough to spend a year off touring the Obin worlds, but I guarantee you Dad will have a different opinion about that. It took both Jane and Savitri a couple of days to convince him to let me have that good-bye party while they were away. You think he'd say ‘yes' to having me go away for a year when there's a two-hour time limit attached? That's optimistic.† â€Å"It is very important to our government,† Dickory said. Which was surprising. Dickory almost never spoke about anything, other than to make one of its monochromatic greetings. The fact Dickory felt compelled to pipe up spoke volumes in itself. â€Å"I understand that,† I said. â€Å"But it's still too sudden. I can't make a decision like this now. I just can't. Please tell your government I'm honored by the invitation, and that I want to make a tour of the Obin worlds one day. I really do. But I can't do it like this. And I want to go to Roanoke.† Hickory and Dickory were silent for a moment. â€Å"Perhaps if Major Perry and Lieutenant Sagan were to hear our invitation and agree, you might be persuaded,† Hickory said. Rankle, rankle. â€Å"What is that supposed to mean?† I asked. â€Å"First you say you wanted me to say yes because then they might agree, and now you want to work it the other way? You asked me, Hickory. My answer is no. If you think asking my parents is going to get me to change my mind, then you don't understand human teenagers, and you certainly don't understand me. Even if they said yes, which, believe me, they won't, since the first thing they will do is ask me what I think of the idea. And I'll tell them what I told you. And that I told you.† Another moment of silence. I watched the two of them very closely, looking for the trembles or twitches that sometimes followed when they were emotionally wrung out. The two of them were rock steady. â€Å"Very well,† Hickory said. â€Å"We will inform our government of your decision.† â€Å"Tell them that I will consider it some other time. Maybe in a year,† I said. Maybe by that time I could convince Gretchen to go with me. And Enzo. As long as we were daydreaming here. â€Å"We will tell them,† Hickory said, and then it and Dickory did a little head bow and departed. I looked around. Some of the people in the common area were watching Hickory and Dickory leave; the others were looking at me with strange expressions. I guess they'd never seen a girl with her own pet aliens before. I sighed. I pulled out my PDA to contact Gretchen but then stopped before I accessed her address. Because as much as I didn't want to be alone in the larger sense, at that moment, I needed a time out. Something was going on, and I needed to figure what it was. Because whatever it was, it was making me nervous. I put the PDA back in my pocket, thought about what Hickory and Dickory just said to me, and worried.