Sunday, April 12, 2020

Writing About Literature - Sample Essay

Writing About Literature - Sample EssayMany authors have written about literature or are currently writing about literature. Some of them are famous, some of them are not famous. But one thing that is common to all the writers who write about literature is the fact that they are very passionate about what they write. They love the art of writing and they want to make their work available to the people, just like Shakespeare did.Writing a sample essay is very important in the writer's career. It will determine if you are successful in your career or not. For example, if you are an aspiring author, it is very important that you write a sample essay to prove that you are a talented writer. If you are not sure of what you are doing when you write, then the chances of you getting published are very high. However, if you are sure about what you are doing, then you have very low chances of getting published.Writing a sample essay is different from other kinds of essays. It can be done onlin e, it can be done offline or it can be done at the school. However, all types of essays do the same thing, which is to collect your ideas and think of writing an essay. If you want to know more about this kind of essay, then you should read the following article.In writing a sample essay, there are a lot of things that you need to consider. The first thing that you need to consider is how much time you have available for writing an essay. If you only have time to write an essay, then you can do it in one sitting. If you have enough time, then you should write it all in one sitting.The second thing that you need to do in writing a sample essay is to ensure that you have all the necessary information. This means that you need to have enough knowledge about a certain subject that you are writing about. You also need to make sure that you have enough knowledge about how to write an essay. This can be done by reading books, reading papers, reading the internet and by watching the news. O nce you have the required knowledge, then you can start writing.The third thing that you need to do is to make sure that you have the ability to write effectively. You need to make sure that you do not make spelling mistakes in your essay. If you are not sure of how to spell something, then you should ask someone who knows to proofread it for you. Also, you should not forget to include your contact details. This will help you in making inquiries in case you require any more clarifications.Writing a sample essay is important for anyone, whether you are a writer or not. If you are a writer, then it will be your best way to get published and it will be the most effective way to help your career. If you are not a writer, then you can make use of writing samples.

Friday, March 6, 2020

Monoprotic Acid Definition in Chemistry

Monoprotic Acid Definition in Chemistry Monoprotic Acid  Definition A monoprotic acid is an acid that donates only one proton or hydrogen atom per molecule to an aqueous solution. This is in contrast to acids capable of donating more than one proton or hydrogen, which are called polyprotic acids. Polyprotic acids may be further categorized according to how many protons they can donate (diprotic 2, triprotic 3, etc.). The electrical charge of a monoprotic acid is one level higher before it gives away its proton. Any acid that one contains one hydrogen atom in its formula is monoprotic. However, some acids that contain more than one hydrogen atom are monoprotic. Because only one hydrogen is released, the pH calculation for a monoprotic acid is straightforward. A monoprotic base will only accept a single hydrogen atom or proton. Monoprotic Acid Examples Hydrochloric acid (HCl) and nitric acid (HNO3) are both monoprotic acids. Although it contains more than one hydrogen atom, acetic acid (CH3COOH) is also a monoprotic acid, as it only dissociates to release a single proton. Examples of Polyprotic Acids Here are some examples of polyprotic acids. Diprotic acids:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1. Sulfuric acid, H2SO4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2. Carbonic acid, H2CO3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. Oxalic acid, COOH-COOHTriprotic acids:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1. Phosphoric acid, H3PO4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2. Arsenic acid, H3AsO4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3. Citric acid, CH2COOH-C(OH)(COOH)-CH2COOH

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

HY 1110-08F-2, AMERICAN HISTORY I (HY1110-08F-2) Essay - 4

HY 1110-08F-2, AMERICAN HISTORY I (HY1110-08F-2) - Essay Example ty acres of land in Oneida, New York, in 1848, becoming the Oneida Perfectionists. The Oneida Community formally adopted communism as a way of life, with property and marriage partners being held in common. The major tenets propounded by Hayes were (1) The beginning of the Millennium in 70 AD (2) Complex Marriage, or pent gamy, by which every man was married to every woman (3) Mutual Criticism, as a form of collective correction (4) Stripiculture, or the regulation of sexual activity, through male continence, and committee supervision, leading to scientific reproduction. The community practiced Noyes’ vision of ‘Bible communism.’ In order to be self-sufficient, the Oneida Community engaged in several economic ventures, including construction, farming, sawmilling, silk production, manufacture of steel beaver traps and the production of silverware, and was very financially productive. Individual and group skills were nurtured and practically directed for communal g ood. The Oneidans succeeded in establishing a strong community, with a collective spirit, and proved by their example that it was possible to live a life based on adherence to rigid religious principle. However, its success, which extended for over thirty years, finally was overcome by the failure of the concept of ‘complex marriage.’ The community disbanded in 1881, transforming itself into the Oneida Community Limited, a joint stock company, known today simply as ‘Oneida

Tuesday, February 4, 2020

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT ON ALTAVISTA VS ASKJEEVES Assignment

OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT ON ALTAVISTA VS ASKJEEVES - Assignment Example When so many websites have come and gone without leaving a trail of their disappearance, AltaVista and Ask have quite successfully held on to the tide so far, with plans for further growth in the near future. The operations system of an organization is the part that produces the organization's products - in case of manufacturing organisations and that polishes the service operations making them more user friendly - in case of service oriented organizations. In fact operations management has its origins in the study of 'production' or 'manufacturing management'. In some organizations the product is a physical (tangible) good like a television, computer system, furniture item etc. while in others, the 'product' is a service like health care, insurance, telephone services, internet searches, tourist services etc. What is common in both these types of operations is the 'conversion process.' Resources are used by the system in the 'input' chain, which gets converted into valuable 'outputs' after passing through this conversions process. This is where the role of operations management comes into picture. ... e essence of operations management comes into play; it calls for making rational decisions in difficult circumstances with limited, imperfect information. Operations management can therefore be defined as1 'the design, operation and improvement of the internal and external systems, resources and technologies that create and deliver the firm's primary product and service combinations' Problem Statement In this study we'll be trying to study the operational strategies of AltaVista and Ask Jeeves. During the course of study, we'll be taking a look at how both these companies have evolved over the years. Both these search engines have had differing amounts of successes during the course of their journey. We'll try to compare some of operational aspects of these companies and comment on their success or failures. Analysis Internet has indeed established itself as a potent source of information. There are innumerable numbers of sources of information, which tend to prove detrimental for the information seeker. As per the latest available figures, more than a billion users have been using the internet worldwide. But to take the desired piece of information out of the huge information databank, search engine prove very useful. Search engines appeared on the scene during the early 90s. Since then there have been many evolutionary changes in the search engine technologies. The market is led by the likes of Google and Yahoo. This study is carried out to analyze the market position of AltaVista vis--vis Ask (formerly known as Ask Jeeves). The search engines started to provide a list of web sites where we were supposed to find responses to our search terms. The websites appearing in response may have answer to our query or might prove to be irrelevant. Search engines like Ask

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Business Essays Puma Company Brand

Business Essays Puma Company Brand Puma Company Brand 1. Executive Summary Puma AG is a multinational company that is based in German and manufactures high athletic and sportswear shoes both for women and men, It was founded by Rudolf Dassler after a dispute with his brother Adi Dassler with whom they had founded the Dassler Schuhfabrik in 1924. Puma had a very poor brand image that show a decline in its market share and prompted puma to change it strategic decisions to improve on its image, this process of change was led by Jochen Zeitz Puma CEO based on phases one to four of strategic plan to change puma’s image so that it can compete favorable in the marketplace and within a couple of years Jochen Zeitz had change puma’s brand image into one of the most desirable and sought after brand of sportswear and footwear worn both buy celebrities and fashion followers all over the word. 1.1 Introduction Puma was founded in Dassler Schuhfabrik, Herzogenaurach, Germany by Rudolf Dassler after a dispute with his brother Adi Dassler with whom they had founded the Dassler Schuhfabrik in 1924. Until early 2003 puma had a very poor brand image that show a decline in its market share and prompted puma to change it strategic decisions to improve on its image, this process of change was led by Jochen Zeitz Puma CEO based on phases one to four of strategic plan to change puma’s image so that it can compete favorable in the marketplace and within a couple of years Jochen Zeitz had change puma’s brand image into one of the most desirable and sought after brand of sportswear and footwear worn both buy celebrities and fashion followers all over the word. This report is divided in three parts, Part one presents the factors that influenced puma to change it brand image and it further goes to describe these factors under Macro-environmental analysis basing on market trends, rivalry between customers and strategic group mapping. The second part presents the puma’s resources and capabilities in terms of strengths and weakness as well as virtuallity as seen as strengthens and the third part of the report presents puma’s winning strategies basing on pumas situation that fits the company, sustainable completive advantages and as a better performing company. According to case study of Puma AG (in Thompson, A.A., Strickland, A.J. and Gamble, J. (2005) Crafting and Executing Strategy (Fourteenth Edition), McGraw-Hill, New York, pages C411- C432), The environmental and competitive factors that influenced Puma’s strategic decision to improve its Brand image is identified under Macro- environmental factors, rivalry between competitors and strategic group mapping as below. 1.1.2 Macro –environmental factors Lack of social acceptance of Puma brand from the upper class customers who were not willing to wear the brand because they considered to of poor quality and were sold â€Å"dirt-cheap† Puma’s brand was compromised and this a affected it’s value for example Rudi’s son wanted puma products to reach all the customers of all social back ground and this move was seen by the upper class people as some thing below them and they can not be seen wearing the same brand as people on welfare recipients. In order for pumas brand to be accepted as a high quality brand of value, force puma to change and improve its brand so that it can be socially accepted by customers. Change in customers taste and style for example there was high demand for supports ware and fashion apparel tend that was oriented toward high value and lifestyle products, this change in customers demand influenced pumas to changed it’s brand image to meet the customers growing demand Demographic change in soccer market for example their was a high demand to respond to needs of both kids playing on local pitch and nationals soccer team playing professional at international level that required high quality brand and in order for puma to tap in to these demographic change puma needed to improve its brand image. Market change of 1980 when sports brand became more dynamic and consumers taste diversified into new and more exciting high price that make products more desirable this forced puma to change its brand image so that they can charge high price as customers associate high prices with quality of brand or product and the more highly charged the more desirable the brand. Introduction of niches in the market offered attractive growth rates both incumbent and new market players for example skateboarding markets, golf sports, sports equipments for out door activities made puma change its brand image, for example for puma to enjoy this attractive growth its brand has to be of high quality. Merging of manufactures to form one big group for example Rosso joined forces with several other manufactures in northern Italy to form Genius group this was seen as a threat because this means more resources and strong financial stand and this led to high fragmented global market and for puma to survive in a highly fragmented market it needed to change its brand image Puma’s brand was disreputable and had lost specailised sports dealers in its distribution network in order for puma to gain its distribution network it had to improve on its brand image 1.1.3 Rivalry between competitors Puma greatest rivalries are from the following competitors: Nike Inc Nike is the number one sports brand in world over and from the case study Based in USA Has got sub brand like Tiger words and Michael Jordan Adidas Salomon AG Deals on core sports (soccer, athletics skiing) Has got stronger financial resources Has got it’s marketing and design departments in Germany and France Prada Sports Luxury brand It has entered in to sports segments four years ago Deals in trendy fashion wear of high prices Diesel Based in Italy Fashion brand ,majoring in sunglasses, footwear Competitors entered the market such as Adidas, Nike, Rebook among others entered the market and made competition for market share was very high and these competitors had better quality brand than puma and among them, they shared 27% of the market share, this stiff competition influenced puma to improve on it’s brand image to survive to survive in the competitive market Nike was the biggest competitor of all and it had the largest market share for example Nike was became the world’s largest sports equipment manufacture in the late 1980 and maintain this position since then. Puma was dealing in almost identical products like puma but its brand was poor so in order to have a share in the market place puma needed to improve on its brand image. Adidas-Salomon was also another competitor that entered the market as the second world’s largest producer of sports equipment manufacture in world with approximately $6.5 billion in sales and was present in every country this put puma in a very difficult situation and in order for puma to have a favorable share in the market it needed to change its brand Reebok also entered the market at the time when puma brand was poor, Reebok was the world third largest player in the sports market, Reebok identified footwear industry as a key market and began to aggressively into overseas market this expand was seen as a threat to puma and to survive it puma had to change its brand image Prada though a luxury bran, it also started deal in sportswear four years ago and this is a threat for Puma and because though the price for Prada brand is high, it high quality goods do attack customer who are willing to spend for example super starts, this is a threat to puma because puma has to not only with Prada but with Nike, Adidas and Reebok for customers. 1.1.4 Marketing strategies Acquisitions of groups for example Rosso bought out other partners and embarked on growth and expansion this means more competition for market shares as he built a solid and vast distribution platform across five continents reporting annual sales of $330 million with luxury brand selling jeans for as much as $100-$200 a pair making it’s brand more appealing to customers and in order for puma to survive Such a hash market, it needed to change its brand image Innovations as a marketing strategy for example Nike diversified his product portfolio to target people of ages 20 -30 with enthusiastic sports appeal, Reebok changed its marketing strategy and began transition toward football, baseball and soccer which Puma was one of puma product line and in order for puma to attract new customers it has to change it brand image for example puma designing and new functionality in new collections and launched retro looks of the 1970s/80s All companies engaged in massive advertisement for their brand a awareness so that they can compete favorable in the market for example in Nike marketing strategy, it focused on sponsoring huge events and popular events, Reebok also sponsored popular events and had a licensing agreement with national basket association that increased its brand awareness To compete with each other favorability each company outsource production and raw materials where their cost was cheap and labour was available this enables each company to cut on production cost. Product differentiation causes constraints on rivalry for example the is high rivalry for example between Nike, Adidas and Reebok because thought there is high brand identification in the market they almost dealt in similar sports equipments which offer customer the usage. 1.1.5 Strategic group mapping to position competitors Strategic Group Map on Footwear Mark From the strategic group mapping, the rivalry between Puma and Nike is very low and puma doesn’t pose a threat because Puma doesn’t enough market shares as compared to Nike, This is because Puma is a stage where its brand is poor and customers are not willing to buy puma products and this explains why the position of puma and Nike are far a part from each The close positioning of Nike, Adidas and Reebok are and narrow and almost tight because they are competing for almost the same size for example the rivalry between Adidas and Reebok are almost of the same size in market share and they have to keep competing for the market with no dominance from Adidas and Reebok as a leading rivalry, this is because the cost of production is low and so is the cost of labour The cost of switching from one brand to another is very low for customers the rivalry firms because customers can freely buy from another from Nike, Adidas and Reebok especially where there is no brand royalty that’s why they are so close together Nike, Adidas and Reebok entered the market almost at the same time when puma’s brand image needed improving this cause high competition for the market shares and for customers and this explains why less room for expansion for Nike , Adidas and Reebok that needs to protect it’s market share from Puma The cost of production was low between the rivalry firms as most of had outsourced all production and raw material where they were cheap to produce, this made the market so unstable and due to high competition for the market share. 2 Puma’s strengths and weakness 2.1 Strength Puma had collaboration with some of the famous designers from different cultural back ground for example puma’s new projects were developed under the supervisions of trendsetters like Yashuiro Mihara and Jil sanders which are strongly influenced by kickboxing. This cooperation and collaboration opened a new wide market for puma for example where high fashion meets sportswear, for example this collaboration led puma to produced high quality brand that suppers starts like Madonna were happy to be spotted wear puma brand and this made many fashion and brand wearer buy more of puma products Puma launched new collections which blended with sports, lifestyle and fashion for example puma curato shoes, unala cropped woven women’s ware which are very sport fashionable and trendy, such causal sportswear became like very day kind of wear for certain age group for example the young starts who identified themselves with puma logo and style, this made it easy for puma to target and reach the right market as at the right time as puma knew it’s market and customers well Innovations -puma carried innovations at each part of the process for example puma worked with engineering teams of Jordan grand prix Racing to learn about new materials like carbon fire which are then built into pumas shoes like shudou shoes, this innovation enabled Puma to produced high quality sportswear that were so desirable that puma gain a lot more customer that puma became looked upon as a trend starter in the footwear market for other companies like Nike and Adidas as follow Puma outsourced all productions and raw material procurements in European were to expensive and raw martial were cheap in Asians countries , this allow puma to reduce it’s working capital and allow puma to shorten the production and enable full quality control of input factors Puma had knowledge and experience, this is one of pumas major strength because according to the case study Zeitz’s understanding of fashion as â€Å"the new combinations of elements of the past it easy for puma to produce products without having to design for scratch rather than use its heritage, this made it easy for Puma to re-launched older products for example the retro look where some parts were taken from 1970/1980 collections were re-launched after adding modern elements such as fit or color way shoes Puma has good planning and timing for example puma for example puma entered the sports market two years before its revival in order to maximize profits and this gave puma enough time to prepare for up coming demand, Puma had gain market experience and gave customers the impressions of always being in the sports market. Puma participated in various marketing campaigns to arose customer brand awareness for example it sponsored big events, chose music television channel which was known for its young audience who tired to differentiate themselves and targeted them with puma adverts, for example Puma use the MTV and Music Mongol as Jazzy to promote footwear and other apparel this made lead to the popularity of puma brand and in the last five years saw increased sales as the brand was considered â€Å"rebellious and stylish â€Å" as two most desirable attributes as compared to it’s competitors Acquisitions of other company for example puma acquired Swedish company Tretorn, Europe’s third largest manufacturer of tennis ball from Proventus for â‚ ¬23 million which the contributed to â‚ ¬45 million in sales and puma was able to allocate its over head cost of distribution functions Puma had a shareholder New Regency which put puma in several successful Hollywood movies such as devil and high crime this benefited puma massively from generous product placement. This new regency made it easy for puma to reach it market audience through movies, adverts that portrays the image of puma as a company Technologically puma created a web presence that fit its imaged for example its home page displayed different adverts from Jamaica line. Interactive stories transported readers into managers’ thoughts during his 96 hour business tripe around the world wearing pumas casual and business attire. A project promoted on the internet was the â€Å"top winner thrift† A collection of 510 unique and individual shoes was created and sold at premium prices all over the world. 2.1.2 Weakness Poor brand Image Before the revival, puma has a very bad brand image that most customers from the upper social class did not want to buy puma products because it was considered cheap, this ruined poor reputation and it took years for this image to be rebuilt through phases. Luck of financial resource Puma did not have a strong financial resource as can be seen from the balance sheet of 1999-2002 this could have been due to reduced sales as the brand was of poor image. From the case study puma has the lowest balance sheet compare to its competitors Luck of customers Due to puma poor brand image of 1992-2002 it was not attracting customers because the brand was poor the substitute were readily available on the market most of pumas customers might have crossed to Nike or Adidas as they had better quality footwear Limited market when the brand was poor puma has the least market share as compared to Nike, Adidas and Rebook that to gathered shared 27% of the market share. This failure by puma to capture a larger make share is a weakness and this decreased on brand attractiveness, this can be due to puma’s marketing communication which is different for market segment Puma lost its sports dealers distribution network due to poor brand image and unhealthy sale. Though this was gained, Puma still missing the sports segments distribution systems From the case study Puma has a higher overhead as compared because some of its products were sold cheaply at a very low price making it really hard to figure out what the profit was made as costs were being attached to total sales regardless of what product segment was sold 2.1.3 Virtuality Puma is the first virtual sports company according to pumas mission statement and uses Virtual Warehouse Management System. According to Jochen Zeitz, CEO of puma Virtual actually may be the wrong word. One should probably say a virtualized company, where location doesnt really play a role anymore. Its totally independent from location and how you do business, and move things forward. Take product development, for example. Its actually divided among all the three hubs, with certain development functions in Germany, certain in the U.S., and others in Hong Kong. They each complement each other and work together. Its all integrated through proper IT, so no matter where you are, you can access the same kind of information and add to the entire development chain†. (Reveries.com, Dec 2202). 2.1.4 Virtuality as strength for puma Information sharing Puma has a global management structure several head quarters supported by a strong information technology infrastructure this makes it easy for sharing of vast network resources on a global scale for example during design stage and using the Lotus notes and information database application, key information about design process and procedures and it can be entered in to the database and it can viewed by all the production team located in all the regional hub, this makes exchange of idea and decision making fast without the need for production team and designers to be physical locations in one place. For example footwear can be designed in German then it can be checked by product development team in another country, the review is done throughout the production cycle till the product is finished and ready for sale. Hi technology infrastructure The strong information technology infrastructure can be used to link all the global regions together for example during executive meetings video-teleconference can be use link all the mangers in the various regions together during a meeting enabling fast sharing executive information for managerial decision marking Online Reseller Puma’s virtuality has enabled puma to provide its customers with aid of viewing and buying products through a web based stores and retailers for example puma’s â€Å"Qualified Puma Online Reseller† has made it possible for customer to order products and view their purchase status as they a wait delivery whenever their locations Family Websites Through virtual presence puma has been able to a couple of puma family websites for example in 2000 puma featured an online store in offering a few product in United States only though this has become more common of Pumas online stores, this makes it easy for puma presence to be very where in any country in the world and makes it easy for puma sales team to interact with customers online. Puma also open it’s door to the public via web presence (Pumabiz.com) by allow users access to company information such as corporate structure, financial reports and puma performance in the market, this web presence enabled puma attack potential and future business partners as well as recruiting new staff using the Pumabiz.com website. Virtual warehouse Puma’s virtualisation process lead to the creation of a virtual warehouse where as soon as customers order goods they are assigned with unique making it easy to locate the goods and goods are dispatched to customers no matter where they are with the specific given period. The virtual warehouse system solves puma’s traditional way of storage and led to a feeling that puma is everywhere as the virtual warehouse was everywhere puma has a subsidiary. By using vitulised system puma has competitive advantage for example Puma all core competence is seen as a single big company and globally it’s employees are all over the world and through use of puma communication technology employees are able to share all the resources and the process of virtualisation is being seen as a future that most companies will follow (cf Fuderholz, 1998) The interaction of customers, suppliers and shareholders through the use of information system and communications between organisations have brought only supplier and investors together but has brought shareholders closer for example shareholder through the use on information system are able to search and find out how the company id performing in the market 3 Winning strategies There are evidences from Puma financial reports that suggest puma strategies in the resent years have led to winning strategies; this can be seen from its broad actives that have improved puma’s image considerably. 3.1 Fits the Company’s situation well Increase in orders Pumas orders has increased by product line according to puma’s outlook for example order for footwear went up by 4.7% to â‚ ¬ 721.1 millions and order for apparel has increased by 19.9% to â‚ ¬ 397.7millioms followed by accessories which increased by 13.6% to â‚ ¬68.9 million See Appendix ii 111 Global branded Sales growth Puma management confirmed increase in sales on of footwear, apparel and accessories for based on the financial results for the first quarter of 2008 this has the strength of Euro against other currencies for example footwear sales were down by 4.6% to â‚ ¬404.1 millions, Apparel almost remained the same as last years total â‚ ¬246/9 millions and accessories increased by 30.0% to â‚ ¬ 90.1million Consolidated sales In the first quarter of 2008 consolidated sales grew for example sales in footwear flat but with all puma region meeting satisfactory sales level except USA, the sales of apparel goods increased by 18.5% to â‚ ¬ 231.8 million and accessories in creased by 16.5% to â‚ ¬ 47.3 million with contributions from the entire region in double digits Europe, Middle East also saw increased sales of 19.9% which all together left the company with 3.4% revenue of which footwear sales accounts for up to1.9%, apparel increased by 5.7% and accessories by 3.7% despite a slow sales in America. (26 February 2008 | Source: just-style.com) Pumas sales for the full year of 2005 consist of consolidated and license sales which increased by 18.4% to â‚ ¬ 2.4 million for which the sales of apparel accounts for 16.5%, accessories increase to 16.5% and footwear increased by 17.7% Gross profits at 5% from the sales and earning development report, puma’s gross profit from the first quarter increased to 52.2% as compared to last years. The margin of footwear increased from 52.0% to 52.1%, accessories increased from 53.4% to 54.9% and apparel was low compared to last year’s gross profits Puma embarked on phase IV Puma has started its phase IV in 2006 of becoming â€Å"most desirable sports lifestyle company† that consists of expansion out side of European market as all as expansion of product categories; this includes entering the already existing markets as well as entering into new areas for example puma aim to offer products that cover all the sport lifestyle such as incorporating sportswear into fashion and making puma more distinguished to beat off competition from its rivalry. Phase IV expansion strategy show tremendous growth in profits as result of continuous high sales and puma ability to spot new trends in the market and offer products accordingly Puma’s shareholders value In 2007 Puma’s main long term goal was founded, when Pinault Printemps Redoute of France take over Puma, this brought the two companies that share the same vision and culture together, for example the take over made it possible for each company to provide support to the other to reach it’s strategic objectives. The take over was not objected by the share holders because the offer price of â‚ ¬330 per share was considered fair and this made both companies more money. Good balance sheet Pumas sales for the full year of 2005 consist of consolidated and license sales which increased by 18.4% to â‚ ¬ 2.4 million for which the sales of apparel accounts for 16.5%, accessories increase to 16.5% and footwear increased by 17.7%, this as compare to pre 2003 shows that puma has got a healthy balance sheet for example puma equity ratio is above 60% and of March 31, 2008 total assets increased by 0.8% to â‚ ¬ 1,811.5 millions 3.1.2 Competitive advantage Barney (1991) defines sustainable competitive advantage as A firm is said to have a sustained competitive advantage when it is implementing a value creating strategy not simultaneously being implemented by any current or potential competitors and when these other firms are unable to duplicate the benefits of this strategy (italics in original) (p. 102). Based on both Barney’s work and the definition in the dictionary, a sustainable competitive Advantage is defined as long term benefit of implementing some unique value-creating strategy not currently being implemented by any known or potential competitors along with the incapability to duplicate the benefits of this strategy. Factors that have enabled puma achieve sustainable competitive advantage are identified below Knowledge and Expertise Puma has uses expertise in design knowledge with major competencies in all parts of design and marketing for example with the acquisition of Puma by PPR group has enabled puma to use PPR large base design team to produces high quality of desirable brands, this knowledge and expertise makes puma completive set a part from it’s main competitors. Brand as completive advantage Pumas brand is so strong and dynamic according to Zeitz that by 2003 puma’s popularity was so strong that mega starts like Madonna was proud to wear Puma’s, This brand image and associations of it’s brand with international starts is of competitive advantage in selling of apparel and footwear because it brings about publicity for puma and brand awareness and open up venues for other opportunities for example by 2003 puma signs a deal to be the official supplier of apparel and footwear to the FIA world rally champion. Expansion into other market Puma has been expanding its market especially in china, for example puma has open many stores in Olympic village in china to showcase new collection and meet the demand for Puma’s footwear demand , this expansion has attacked new customers and puma has provided support to individual sports personality for example, the CEO of Puma is quoted as â€Å" If we find the right person we will consider partnering with those Chinese sports starts† ( China daily report 26,2007) Innovative products Puma has a advantage in footwear, apparel and accessories because it a lot easier for puma but fashion know who with the help of designers and the CEO of puma has the understanding of fashion â€Å"the new combination of elements of past† in which when puma spots a new trend instead of making a new brand, puma uses it old brand to design and this counted for 10% of footwear, apparel and accessories based on the old design and this also made puma a trend starter. In footwear puma also collaborated with sought after designers like Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen to produce new line of women’s and men’s footwear which was launched in the spring of 2006 Broad consumer appeal Puma offer a very diverse product line for everyone and this accounts for the broad customer appeal because there is product for everyone. In the spring collection of 2003 did carter for both male and female for example Nuala product line with cropped woven pants and Nuala Nylon coat for women as well as Kings ss soccer shirts that catered for both men and women. Puma also ventured into Action sports line for emerging sports like BMX skateboarding and downhill mountain biking creating platinum series offering causal footwear and apparel and accessories for such events Relational market asserts Puma has got greater bond with its customers this has forged a working relationship work with customers to manufactures highly unique and customized brands for example in the case study puma promoted the â€Å"top winner thrift† a collection of 510 unique and individual shoes that were created out of recycle cloths from Jeans and ties, with the purchase of such items, customers allowed to enter puma’s exclusive community on the web. Supplies to meet the various demands of consumers Puma’s major supplier was Yue Yuen, the largest supplier of footwear, so when the demand for particular footwear goes up puma is more readily meets the demand from constant supply of branded products from YueYuen. Intellectual market asserts Puma has great in depth knowledge regarding customers needs and preferences for example puma has gained knowledge and credibility in sportswear and equipment, this was a results of many years of trading on the same product line and which made it very easy to have competitive advantage over others fashion industry, this knowledge made it easy for puma to re-launch products that customers most prefer to have. 3.1.3 Better company performance Marketing campaign Puma participated in various marketing campaigns to arise customer brand awareness for example it sponsored big events, chose music television channel which was known for its young audience who tired to differentiate themselves and targeted them with puma adverts, this has resulted in o better performance because it improved brand awareness which in turns led to high sales performance. Out sourced production Puma outsourced all productions and raw material procurements in European were to expensive and raw martial were cheap in Asians countries, this allow puma to reduce it’s working capital and allow puma to shorten the production and enable full quality control of input factors, this results in a better company performance because it enables puma to meet the market needs effectively and save a lot of money from having

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Ifrs vs Us Gaap

ACCY200 Financial Accounting A Accounting for Property, Plant & Equipment using IFRS and US GAAP Submitted To: Dr. Mufeed Rawashdeh Lecturer, ACCY200 UOWD Project done by: Punit Hiro Lalwani 3948493 Anish Ahuja 3959569 Hitesh Kumar Bilochi 3949345 Date: 29th November, 2011 Table of Contents Executive Summary| 3| Introduction| 4| Property, Plant & Equipment| 5| Interest incurred during construction of asset| 6 – 7|Direct & indirect costs incurred in self-constructed assets| 8 – 9| Valuation/Reporting of Property, Plant & Equipment’s in the Balance Sheet| 10 – 11| Example of Annual Reports for US GAAP and IFRS| 12 – 13| Implication of Differences – 1) Interest Incurred 2) Componentization 3) Subsequent of Valuation| 14 – 15| Conclusion and Recommendation| 16|References| 17 – 18| Executive Summary This Financial Accounting report contains information on a few key areas in accounting for Property, Plant & Equipment, using two sligh tly different standards which are the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards.The objective of this report is to state how these two standards are slightly different in terms of accounting for items of PP&E such as Interest/Borrowing Costs during the asset is being prepared for intended use, How direct and indirect costs are allocated or measured for assets constructed by the company itself, and how their fixed assets are valued at balance sheet, after initial recognition of cost. Both the standards, are pretty similar, yet have some key points which conflict with each other. These points carry a degree of importance in terms of accounting.Each point is beneficial as well as It has its drawbacks, depending upon the scenario put in place. Moreover, the above mentioned content is even widely exhibited by including Annual reports of two companies – one IFRS, and the other US GAAP reports, to show a practical example o f dealing with Property, Plant and Equipment items in the balance sheet. Introduction IFRS is a set of guidelines and rules formed by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) that companies and organizations can follow when compiling financial statements.The creation of international standards allows investors, organizations and governments to compare the IFRS-supported financial statements with greater ease. International Standards help investors to deal with comparing financial statements with more convenience. The International Financial Reporting Standards were previously called the International Accounting Standards (IAS). Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is the accounting standard used by the Organizations in the United States which is the common set of accounting principles, standards and procedures that companies use to ompile their financial statements. GAAP are a combination of authoritative standards (set by policy boards) and simply the commonly accepted ways of recording and reporting accounting information. GAAP are imposed on companies so that investors have a minimum level of consistency in the financial statements they use when analysing companies for investment purposes Property, Plant & Equipment (PP&E) Property, plant and equipment are tangible assets that: 1. are held for use in the production or supply of goods or services, for rental to others, or for administrative purposes, and 2. re expected to be used during more than one period. Property, plant and equipment does not include: 1. biological assets related to agricultural activity, or 2. mineral rights and mineral reserves, such as oil, natural gas and similar non-regenerative resources Asset Recognition The entity shall recognise the cost of an item of property, plant and equipment as an asset if, and only if: 1. it is probable that future economic benefits associated with the item will flow to the entity, and 2. the cost of the item can be measured reliably .Interest incurred during construction of asset | IFRS| US GAAP| Definition| Borrowing costs that are directly attributable to the acquisition, construction or production of a qualifying asset form part of the cost of that asset. Other borrowing costs are recognised as an expense. | Similar to IFRS but US GAAP uses ‘interest Costs’ instead of ‘Borrowing Costs’| Qualifying asset| A qualifying asset is an asset that necessarily takes a substantial period of time to get ready for its intended use or sale. | Similar to IFRS but US GAAP does not state the word substantial’| Measurement| Borrowing cost include * Exchange rate differences from foreign currency borrowings. * Borrowing cost is offset by investment income earned on those borrowings. * Actual Interest are Capitalized. | * Interest costs do not include exchange rate differences. * Interest earned on the investment of borrowed funds generally cannot offset interest costs incurred during the perio d. * Interest cost equal to the weighted average accumulated expenditures times the borrowing rate is capitalized. Commencing Capitalization| An entity shall begin capitalising borrowing costs as part of the cost of a qualifying asset on the commencement date. The commencement date for capitalisation is the date when the entity first meets all of the following conditions: * (a) it incurs expenditures for the asset; * (b) it incurs borrowing costs; and * (c) it undertakes activities that are necessary to prepare the asset for its intended use or sale. | Similar to IFRS. Ceasing Capitalization| An entity shall cease capitalising borrowing costs when substantially all the activities necessary to prepare the qualifying asset for its intended use or sale are complete. | Similar to IFRS| Direct & indirect costs incurred in self-constructed assets | IFRS| US GAAP| Cost| * The asset is carried at cost less accumulated depreciation and impairment. | Similar to IFRS| Depreciation| The depreci able amount (cost less residual value) should be allocated on a systematic basis over the asset's useful life.The residual value and the useful life of an asset should be reviewed at least at each financial year-end and, if expectations differ from previous estimates, any change is accounted for prospectively as a change in estimate under IAS 8. | Depreciation under US GAAP is similar to IFRS as the property plant and equipment are to be stated at cost of acquisition less accumulated depreciation based on estimated useful lives of the assets. | Revaluation| * Under IFRS, an organization has an option to use the cost method or the revaluation method to measure property, plant and equipment. The asset is carried at a revalued amount, being its fair value at the date of revaluation less subsequent depreciation and impairment, provided that fair value can be measured reliably. | US GAAP prohibits revaluations except for a discovery on a natural resource, in a business combination accoun ted for under the purchase method. Therefore uses only the cost model. | Componentization| Component depreciation is a requirement under IFRS if the components of that particular asset have differing patterns of benefit. Component depreciation is permitted but rarely used under GAAP compared to IFRS in which it is a requirement. | Valuation/reporting of property, plant ; equipment’s in the Balance Sheet | IFRS| US GAAP| Measurement| * Property, plant and equipment should initially be measured at cost. Cost is the fair value of consideration given for the asset. * The cost of an item of property, plant and equipment comprises the purchase price and any costs directly attributable to bringing the asset to the location and condition necessary for it to be capable of operating in the manner intended by management.The cost also includes estimated costs of dismantling and removing the asset and restoring the site on which it is located * The costs that incur for completion of the a sset construction can be added to the amount that has to be recognized initially, if these costs exceed the recoverable amount, the excess should be expensed in the current period. | * Property plant and equipment under GAAP are measured at historical cost. * Similar To IFRS * Self-constructed assets are recorded at the incremental or direct costs to build (material, labor, and variable overhead) assuming idle capacity. Direct Costs| Directly attributable costs include costs such as: * Costs of site preparation. * Initial delivery and handling costs. * Installation and assembly costs. * Professional feesDirectly attributable costs do not include administration and other general overheads| Similar to IFRS| Indirect Costs| Non-directly attributable items are not permitted to be capitalized under IAS 16. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred, not capitalised. | Indirect costs under GAAP are called overhead or burden.For example Power, heat, light . To handle these costs one of the following ways can be applied: * Assign No Fixed Overhead to the Cost of the Constructed Asset * Assign a Portion of All Overhead to the Construction Process * A pro rata portion of the fixed overhead should be assigned to the asset to obtain its cost. | Examples of an US GAAP and IFRS Report valuing Property, Plant and Equipment Property, Plant and Equipment (US GAAP – Google Inc) Property and equipment stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization.Depreciation is computed using straight – line Method over estimate useful life of assets, generally two to five years. Buildings are depreciated over periods of up to 25 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the remaining lease term or the estimated useful lives of the assets. Construction in progress is related to the construction or development of property (including land) and equipment that have not yet been placed in service for their intended use.Depreciation for e quipment commences once it is placed in service and depreciation for buildings and leasehold improvements commences once they are ready for their intended use. Land is not depreciated. Property and equipment value at end of 2009 and 2010 was $4,845 million and $ 7,759 million, respectively, with accumulated depreciation and amortization cost of $3,285 million for 2009 and $ 4,012 million for 2010. Property, Plant and Equipment (IFRS – Puma)Property, plant and equipment are stated at acquisition costs net of accumulated depreciation, even though they have the option of revaluation, they haven’t used it. The depreciation period depends on the expected useful life of the respective item. The straight-line method of depreciation is applied. The useful life depends on the type of assets involved. Buildings are subject to a useful life of between ten to fifty years, and a useful life of between three to ten years is assumed for moveable assets. The cost of maintenance and re pair is recorded as an expense at the time of origin.Significant improvements and renewals are capitalized to the extent that the criteria for capitalization of an asset item apply. As a general rule, lease items that qualify as a finance lease due to the terms of the underlying contract are shown under property, plant and equipment; initially they are measured at the amount of the fair value or the lower present value of the minimum lease payments and net of accumulated depreciation in subsequent accounting periods. Property, plant and equipment is valued at â‚ ¬236. 7 million in 2010 and â‚ ¬242. million in 2009. Accumulated depreciation of property, plant and equipment amounted to â‚ ¬ 233. 3 million (previous year: â‚ ¬ 201. 9 million). As we can see from the above 2 examples, both the methods of the companies are very similar, and there is very little difference in the way they report the value of their Property, Plant ; Equipment in the Balance Sheet. Implications of differences Interest incurred IFRS includes exchange rate differences and also allows the offsetting of interest revenue with interest costs, whereas US GAAP does not allow either.This method of IFRS can be very accurate because while offsetting the interest revenue with the interest costs, it will only show one entry in the financial statement, whereas in US GAAP it will show two entries, one of cost and one of revenue. Hence there is only a difference in the presentation of information BUT the end result will still be the same. IFRS can be more convenient and make things simpler because of offsetting compared to US GAAP. Exchange rate differences will most probably hold an mmaterial difference but to avoid any inaccuracies, they should be taken into consideration. Componentization Componentization is when the assets are segmented into the different parts and are depreciated separately. As stated above IFRS requires componentization, whereas US GAAP permits it but does not requi re it. A good example might be that under US GAAP, a car may be treated as a single depreciable asset, while under IFRS, every component of a car will be depreciated separately, including engine, car frame, brakes, and etc.This can be very confusing for users as not every company retains all the information about its components, but IFRS is still more accurate as it allows the companies to know the real value of its components and its estimated life, where as US GAAP will only show the real value of its asset and not know the estimated life of the components of the assets, which can be a disadvantage because the companies will not know whether it’s components need maintenance or not. The disadvantage of componentization under IFRS might be that the depreciation expenses will mostly tend to be higher than US GAAP, therefore resulting in lower profits.This implication can also have an affect on the tax the company pays. Subsequent valuation differences * IFRS permits revaluatio n of property, plant and equipment whereas in US GAAP it is forbidden. Under the revaluation model, if the carrying amount of a property, plant and equipment’s asset is increased as a result of a revaluation, the increase is recognized in equity under the heading of revaluation surplus. The revaluation surplus amount recorded is then adjusted on an asset-by-asset basis by the amount of future revaluation increase.Adjustments to the revaluation surplus account are recorded in equity. Therefore, if there is an Increase in asset revaluation IFRS would be more beneficial compared to US GAAP since it gives an appropriate measurement of the current value of the asset and would show a higher income for the company due to increase in fair value. * A decrease arising as a result of a revaluation should be recognized as an expense to the extent that it exceeds any amount previously credited to the revaluation surplus relating to the same asset.In this case US GAAP would be more prefera ble since it would state its assets value above the current market value (fair value). However from a technical point of view the value would be overstated. So overall, it is more advisable to use the IFRS standard for revaluation of assets. Conclusion and Recommendation There are many Similarities in IFRS ; US GAAP but they also have Differences that cannot be unnoticed. There are different scenarios in which one accounting method would prevail over the other.Difference between these two methods of accounting standards cause confusion which should be eliminated and there should be the need of uniform accounting standard. The best way to deal with differences in IFRS and US GAAP is to converge the both, with the most accurate method of each difference being retained. This will make it easier for the people to interpret, understand and compare financial reports because the standards will be the same for everyone.In recent years there is a huge acceptance of IFRS over US GAAP which ha s led to benefits such has increased in transparency and consistency of financial information, more efficient use and availability of global resources, streamlined internal controls, additional access to capital, and opportunities for improved cash management and income tax planning. References AICPA. 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