Estimate critical analysis of the companys recent history with Essay

Estimate critical analysis of the companys recent history with Financial Analysis of Heartland Express company - Essay Example (Rm-Rf) is the risk premium rate and beta can be defined as a measure of how much the stock and market move together. The following values have been traced through relevant financial sources WACC or the weighted average cost of capital is the weighted average cost of the company’s equity and long term debt. WACC is calculated by multiplying the cost of equity with the market value of the equity and cost of debt with the market value of the debt. Cost of debt is usually the interest rate that the company’s pay on its long term and short term financial borrowings. However, an analysis of the company’s financial statements will show that the company does have any long term or short term interest bearing financial debts. All of its debts comprise of trading nature and the company does have to pay any interest on such securities. Does the cost of debt for the heartland express is nil. Keeping all the above factors into consideration, the WACC of heartland express is equal to its cost of equity i.e. 6.11% The estimated value of the company’s equity is calculated by discounting the free cash flow of the company for the foreseeable future using the weighted average cost of capital of the company (WACC). Free cash flow method is basically a measure of financial performance of the company which is calculated as free cash flows minus the capital expenditure. From pure financial management’s perspective, free cash flow can be defined as the cash which the company is able to generate setting aside the money required to maintain or expand its current asset base. The following table presents the free cash flow calculation and the equity value of the company as at financial year end December 31, 2010. Note 2: In the free cash flow method, the depreciation and amortization expense are added to the profit after taxes since these are the non-cash items. For the

No topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 25

No topic - Essay Example Teamwork is the new individualism in most organizations and industries and hence all employees or employees to be are expected to be able to understand the dynamics of team work and work well with the team members to increase productivity and do so within the provided time frame. Working in teams is not as easy as it may sound as each team member has different personality and a combination of all this may either crash or empower the team in general. What is important to understand is the personality of each team member and how this personality can improve the efficiency of the team for example extroverts can negotiate deals. Leadership of the team is also important as the chosen leader should be assertive, good listener, dedicated to the team and the work, and should be a risk taker and do both leading and following. The team should be able to understand each other as well as find ways to remain motivated and solve their differences if it is to remain together and succeed. Ethics are another important issue in any work environment as breach of ethics may result to negative consequences such as getting fired, lack of promotion among other negative consequences. Every company and industry has its own particular set of ethics and ethical conducts expected from people in that industry. The presentations covered some of these ethics and also shed light that these ethics are the solution to any dilemma that is work related. Thinking outside the box is not as easy as it sounds as it involves doing more than just mediocre thinking which is what many people engage in. It involves not just everything at face value and trying to seek the meaning and reason behind it. It also requires an employee to seek solutions to problems even those that seem impossible through thinking of alternative solutions and different approaches to understand the problem better. These three

Article review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Review - Article Example The acts proposed to control ware pollution such as the water Act (1974), The Environmental Protection Act EPA (1986) are acts geared to protect water bodies from affluent from the industries. The acts have limitations in that they do not arrange for policies to measure pollutants from households and agricultural production3 (pg. 289). The methods used to collect data included observation methods. Researchers were strategically placed and monitored the movements of individual around various sources of ground water. The researchers also employed the use of questionnaires and interviewing method. Water pollution encourages the infection of waterborne diseases. 90% of the Indian of underground users reports of having contacted waterborne diseases on a weekly basis. The municipal of India needs to strategies policies that will minimise the disposal of industrial and other wastes in the water systems4 (pg. 295). The articles will enable the researcher to carry out the research process successfully; as the researcher will have back ground information on the strategies set to reduce pollution in underground water sources5 (pg.

Advertising on super bowl, internet Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Advertising on super bowl, internet - Assignment Example Secondly, Social Medias such as facebook is very popular. This has created an avenue to meet and communicate with all sorts of people in the entire world. Many companies have been advertisings on national television but with the entry of internet this has started to change. Small business should not spend most of its advertising budget on a television advertisement during the super bowl. Social media is also as major way that small business can use to reach large number of consumers especially the young consumers. Even if televisions are vital in informing families on the existence of new brands, it is not a competitive strategy. This is based on the fact that most companies have now embarked on use of internet to advertise their brands. As online shopping becomes popular there are still great fears among users. Most clients being used to the physical buying of goods and services, they tend to doubt the authenticity of the goods being sold online. Others fear payment transaction online as there is lot of cyber crime all over the world. Though there are lot of genuine goods and services being done on the internet which is much easier, cheaper and more so it can be done beyond

The Age of New Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Age of New Media - Essay Example But, the flip side to all such developments is that the technology is also being used by some anti-social groups to carry out some destructive activities. For example, the terror network of groups like Al-Qaida etc. has been quite active in making use of networking, satellite communication etc. to shape up the nasty designs and thus causing tension in the society. Well, such groups have their own versions of truth, which they claim to be the motivation behind such acts. Therefore the governments of the world are supposed to come out with measures which can detect such designs and take corrective steps. The business world today has become quite competitive. With shrinking profit margins and high levels of competition, the corporate world has been trying to minimise the costs associated with the production and manufacturing of goods and services. Minimising the pilferage happens to be another key motive during the production and transportation of goods and services. Therefore the company management tries out ways and means to take effective control of such happenings and plan out strategies to counter them. Similarly, the retail industry is known to have a number of items on display in such a manner that customers can have a reassuring look at the items and if they feel convinced, they can purchase those products. But there are occasions when some unscrupulous elements try to lift the items without the knowledge of the sales person. To avoid such shop-lifting attempts, retail stores are supposed to put in place a mechanism so that they can keep an eye on suspicious elements. All such developments point out to one common phenomenon known as surveillance. If we take a look at the history of surveillance, the image of a burly spy in trench-coat standing on the roadside corner in the rain keeping an eye on the movement of the general public immediately comes to our mind. But the system of surveillance has graduated from this scenario and today the spy is not required to sweat out in the hot summer or drench himself in the rain, he can gather all the information on his desktop, laptop, palmtop, mobile or other handy gadgets, at the press of a button, thanks to the information gathering network. Though the modus operandi defers depending upon the importance and strategic nature of the surveillance, but one factor common in all such acts is the monitoring of our actions in different measure. While on the one hand we have biometrics machines on airports, railway stations, bus station, important offices etc. the RF tagging is used to keep an eye on goods as well as the movement of the workforce at many companies. A report brought out by the surveillance society in the year 2006 pointed out that the heightened concerns in view of the levels of intrusion in citizen's lives2. There are of course the incidents like the 9/11 attacks, the London bombing, the Mumbai shootout, the Pakistani bomb blasts, the Afghanistan war etc. which require intelligence inputs so that the terror elements are not in a position to work out similar incidents, but at

Relationship between Instant Texting and Language Decline Essay

Relationship between Instant Texting and Language Decline - Essay Example It is common to find people busy with their phones in workplaces, in vehicles, in school, and in homes. This does not exclude streets, in which one can notice individuals walking heads down; perhaps text messaging or reading texts. With the increased use of mobile phones, a sensitive issue has emerged which concerns the over-use of text messages. According to David Crystal’s Texting, people extensively use instant messages, for their conversations, using abbreviations for most words (Crystal 15). An analysis of David Crystal’s works can establish the controversies associated with the relationship between language development and the increased use of text messages, for communication. The emerging issue of concern is whether the increased use of text messages has resulted in the decline of language, or whether it affects literacy. With respect to David Crystal’s works, text messaging makes extensive use of coded language which may be unfamiliar to non-users. Substa ntial understanding of the code language is of the essence for a mobile phone user to converse with friends using the code language. In the practice of text messaging, users condense multiple and single words via a technique which sees them replace words or syllables with digits or single letters. In the development of the coded language, used in text messaging, cell phone users may also get full of whole words within common phrases. The process of developing SMS language tends to be progressive; this has the implication that some phrases and words have been modified with time. For example, the phrase ‘Thank you’ has gone through three transitions which are ‘thanks’, ‘tnx’, and ‘tx’. The language used in text messaging is unconventional and can fall under a number of categories. G-Clippings, for instance, involves the removal of the letter g at the end of such words as ‘Going’ to read as ‘Goin’. The coded language can also fall under the shortening category in which some letters are omitted; for example, the word ‘after’ can be written as ‘aft’. In other forms, users contract the middle letters of various words while others make use of acronyms (Crystal 18). Others include the use of letter homophones, number homophones, and such non-conventional words as ‘nite’ for ‘night’. To some extent, the use of text messages results to a decline in spoken language. This is because the development of spoken language has a direct relationship with social interaction. In the era of technology, texting diminishes children’s ability to have face-to –face communication with others, a trait which affects them throughout the other developmental stages. Self-expression is a technique best acquired via practice; hence its development faces a significant degree of limitation from the mobile technology. The effect of this aspect is more pro nounced in the younger generation than the old generation. The childhood stage of an individual serves as the most appropriate time for learning; therefore, with the extensive use of text messages, children and teenagers may not develop adequate skills of spoken language. Research indicates that, with the introduction of latest technology, only a small proportion of teenagers talk face-to-face with colleagues, as opposed to the percentage of young people that sends texts several times in a day. Ideally, over-reliance on text messages, for communication, promotes social anxiety and shyness among children, a trait which extends even to the adult stage (Crystal 20). The mode of texting, stated by David Crystal, can significantly cause a decline in language with respect spelling. Ideally, individuals have

Grim First-Quarter Results for Newspapers Essay Example for Free

Grim First-Quarter Results for Newspapers Essay This particular article talks about the continuing decline in newspaper subscriptions and purchases by the general public.   Many people believe that the newspapers and all print magazines are well on their way to being extinction.   Many critics believe the reason for this is because the news can easily and efficiently be found and read on the internet.   The world wide web offers a great source of news but beyond that it allows for people to have a discussion about news topics.    This leads to a more well rounded approach to every issue that becomes news worthy.   No longer is the public blindly fed whatever the newspapers want them to read. The public can aggressively seek out information, both sides of the story, on the internet.   Obviously, as an online news reader you have to be good at research and just as good at telling the truth from fiction.   However, I think the decline of the newspaper has very little to do with the internet and blogging. In todays world, newspaper are so focused on selling adds and inserts that they fail to offer the public any interesting information.   Who wants to wade through all the advertisements only to find the information you want squished between what is on sale at the grocery store and whats one sale at JcPenneys.   When you pay for a newspaper you are paying for the news not be manipulated by marketing companies telling you what you should be, buy, and strive for.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Online I can search for exactly the news story I want.   I have direct access to all the information and I dont have to dispose of all those paper inserts trying to sell me shoes.   Newspapers have failed to keep up with the demands on a now much more well informed public.   Instead of having better articles written by better authors to increase circulation (thus increasing profit) they have chosen to fill up every extra piece of space with marketing junk that most news reader could care less about.   Newspapers will die out but only because they believe money was more important than truth. lGrim First-Quarter Results for Newspapers lAd Revenue From Web Operations Become More Important to Publishers By Nat Ives Published: April 14, 2006 NEW YORK (AdAge.com) Newspapers made a bit of a grim display this week when they reported their first-quarter earnings, revealing profit declines at The New York Times Co., Tribune Co., McClatchy Co. and powerhouse Gannett Co., but displayed at every turn the rising importance of the Web to their businesses. The New York Times Co. reported perhaps the brightest results yesterday, even though first-quarter profit fell 68.5% to $35 million from $111 million a year earlier. That apparent free fall, however, mostly reflected the extra income in last years first quarter when the company sold its headquarters in Times Square. About.com boosts Times Co. The Web played a big role in the companys overall respectable results. Ad revenue rose 3.9% in the first quarter to $554.6 million, up from $533.8 million in the year previous quarter. The Times Co. ad increases were largely delivered by About.com; without that property, ad revenue would have increased just 0.7%. Earnings per share were 4 cents, a penny higher than the analysts consensus expectation compiled by Thomson Financial. Our results in the first quarter reflect higher advertising and circulation revenues at The New York Times Media Group and the Regional Media Group, in part due to the introduction of innovative new products, said Janet L. Robinson, president-CEO. But The Boston Globes unit, The New England Media Group, was again hit hard by consolidation among advertisers and a tough competitive environment, she said. Tribune looks to Web assets Another heavy-hitter, The Tribune Co., reported yesterday that its first-quarter earnings also fell to the tune of 28%, with flat ad revenue. The Tribune owns newspapers including The Los Angeles Times and The Chicago Tribune. Tribune expects online ad revenues to contribute about $350 million in 2006; it counts a stake a CareerBuilder.com among its Web assets. McClatchy Co., which agreed last month to buy Philadelphia Inquirer parent Knight Ridder, reported a 14.2% decline in first-quarter net income. Ad revenue at McClatchy, which houses newspapers including the Sacramento Bee, grew 1.4% to $237.1 million. The powerhouse that is Gannett turned in perhaps the most surprising report on April 12, announcing that net income sank 11.5% in the first quarter. Its newspapers ad revenue grew 5.7% to nearly $1.3 billion, but that factors in acquisitions without which first-quarter ad revenue would actually have fallen 1.8%. At its flagship USA Today, ad revenues declined 4.2%.