Uniform Code of Military Justice

Article 92 is perhaps the most important article in the entire Uniform Code of Military Justice. It lays down the ground law, which is the absolute line that may not be crossed. Everything else in the UCMJ is an explanation of the various forms that disobeying an order can take. Without the support given by Article 92, service members would be free to do whatever they want, whenever they want, and wouldn't be any more accountable than a civilian could in a civilian job. However, service members are held to a higher standard.We are the line that protects this country and we are the defense against the storm. Without us, this country would not exist and could not exist. And for that, I have to follow the orders and instructions given by anyone appointed over me. The fact that I didn’t get to an appointment on time showed lack of accountability on my part, a lack of discipline to follow orders I was given and a lack of respect to those who are appointed over me as a leader. I fai led to be at my place of duty, which costs the Army money for another Soldier who could’ve been at that appointment and been on time.The military can only function if orders, when given, are obeyed. We would like to trust in the honesty and integrity of the Soldiers who made that oath and put their lives on the line for their country. The truth is that there are many out there that, if not given a clear set of rules, will not follow the rules. Will not care about the punishments, will not be productive or efficient members of the military machine. That is why Article 92, and the entire UCMJ, are necessary. They reinforce the behavior of those who do the right thing, promoting it and praising it.They punish those who do not do the right thing, undercutting and stamping out such behaviors. With such a system, the bad eggs, those who are unable to fit into the machine, will be ground up by it and spit out. Broken, incomplete, forever bemoaning the lack of foresight and flexibili ty that would have saved them. Accountability in the Army is paramount to the successful completion of the mission. It is a soldier’s personal responsibility to keep all his or her items accountable at all times. This ensures that the Army mission will be completed and that the soldier will remain prepared at all times.On a daily basis, thousands of Soldiers are seen at appointments varying anywhere from surgery on better eye sight to putting a broken foot into a cast for 6 weeks to heal. Appointments can be located anywhere on or off post depending on the type of appointment or preference of the Soldier. It is every Soldier’s right to choose where they would like to receive health care services. The Army spends Billions of dollars on medical supplies, medications, the latest and newest high tech equipment, and the healthcare facilities and the healthcare providers. When a Soldier misses an appointment, the Army’s money is then wasted.Money that could have been used on something such as new trucks, weapons and equipment. With budget cuts on funds within the ranks, missing an appointment is money the Army could use elsewhere. Of all the complications for military funding due to budget cuts, missing an appointment should not factor into it at all. Budget cuts have influenced the Chain of Command and their decisions on requiring Soldiers to pay out of pocket for their missed appointment. The government was starting to discuss having Soldiers pay out of pocket for their missed appointments.Have the Soldier pay out of pocket for the injuries received in an accident because they neglected their profile restrictions. Whether this has taken effect now or it will in the future, Soldiers will be less likely to miss any kind of appointment. If the responsibility were to fall on the shoulder of each individual Soldier, the Army would more than likely not have to inflict budget cuts and â€Å"Troop Cuts† we have all been reading about in The Arm y Times. If each Soldier were accountable for paying for their appointments, there wouldn’t be another wasted appointment because the Soldier was forgetful.It is every Soldiers responsibility to be healthy and remain in a fit condition. When Soldiers fails to do so however, the consequences can be catastrophic or even fatal in some cases. Best example, a Soldier has a tooth ache but ignores it because he or she thinks it’s a sign of weakness, that tooth ache can develop into something much worse than a cavity filling, the Soldier could end up being hospitalized because they didn’t take care of the issue when it was small. They ignored their MEDPROs warning about being past due for a check in.This action seems small, but when the Soldiers fall out of the ranks because they needed more medical attention such as surgery. That unit needs to replace that Soldier to remain fit and ready to deploy. This can led to issues and financial problems within that unit. Their d own a Soldier, which means they have to file paperwork to request a Soldier to replace him. That leads to more money to have that new Soldier coming in for travel and new training. Everything costs money. From the paper we use to request a Soldier to the training that he or she must receive so they can be ready to deploy on a mission.All of that money spent on the new Soldier could have been completely avoided if the Soldier had not ignored his MEDPROs dental warning. Something so small, like a tooth ache, turned in all new training requirements for a new and unprepared Soldier to keep a unit ready for a mission. If Soldiers were required to pay out of pocket for all of their appointments they made, the Army could spend more money where it is needed most. Such things are better training for Soldiers, Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, better equipment for deployed units and faster approval on funding.This increase in money in better areas can lead to more successful missions an d fewer fatalities on the battle field because the equipment is more accurate. Soldiers have been trained to the highest level, instead of just the basics for life saver course. The Army can afford to push every Soldier through the advanced kind of training needed to save lives. All of this could happen if every Soldier was held responsible for their actions of missing an appointment. Including, if every Soldier made it to all their appointments on time.If every Soldier was paying out of pocket for their appointments, the bigger picture we see is more saved lives in the combat zone. Every Soldier has the right to be seen for health issues. The well being of every Soldier, whether it’s their mental state or their physical health, is required for the best combat ready Soldier the Army has. That is the reality in today’s forces. The citizens of our country need us at our highest peak in health. So when unexplainable and tragic accident such as 9/11 ever happens again, a f orgotten dental appointment will not hold out any Soldier.The responsibility in accountability is every single individual’s duty for themselves and their team. The rank is not a concern when compared to responsibility. No one is singled out. It is my responsibility and my responsibility alone to maintain my physical and mental health state. I have to maintain myself at the highest level for Soldier readiness. That is my responsibility, no one else’s. However, in the long run, I affect someone else’s life if I neglect that responsibility. A simple phone call to change the time of my appointment could have avoided all of this.Neglecting to call was a failure on my part completely. I do not blame nor will I blame anyone but me. On the next appointment, I will be sure to make my appointment on time with enough reminders that it would be impossible not to forget. This standard for accountability needs to be a high priority of every Soldier who does not know much abou t the Army. Such as young privates coming out of Basic and AIT, can be trained and carry on the standard for responsibility and accountability. So future funds can be focused more for the training and not for missed appointments. Uniform Code of Military Justice Article 92 is perhaps the most important article in the entire Uniform Code of Military Justice. It lays down the ground law, which is the absolute line that may not be crossed. Everything else in the UCMJ is an explanation of the various forms that disobeying an order can take. Without the support given by Article 92, service members would be free to do whatever they want, whenever they want, and wouldn't be any more accountable than a civilian could in a civilian job. However, service members are held to a higher standard.We are the line that protects this country and we are the defense against the storm. Without us, this country would not exist and could not exist. And for that, I have to follow the orders and instructions given by anyone appointed over me. The fact that I didn’t get to an appointment on time showed lack of accountability on my part, a lack of discipline to follow orders I was given and a lack of respect to those who are appointed over me as a leader. I fai led to be at my place of duty, which costs the Army money for another Soldier who could’ve been at that appointment and been on time.The military can only function if orders, when given, are obeyed. We would like to trust in the honesty and integrity of the Soldiers who made that oath and put their lives on the line for their country. The truth is that there are many out there that, if not given a clear set of rules, will not follow the rules. Will not care about the punishments, will not be productive or efficient members of the military machine. That is why Article 92, and the entire UCMJ, are necessary. They reinforce the behavior of those who do the right thing, promoting it and praising it.They punish those who do not do the right thing, undercutting and stamping out such behaviors. With such a system, the bad eggs, those who are unable to fit into the machine, will be ground up by it and spit out. Broken, incomplete, forever bemoaning the lack of foresight and flexibili ty that would have saved them. Accountability in the Army is paramount to the successful completion of the mission. It is a soldier’s personal responsibility to keep all his or her items accountable at all times. This ensures that the Army mission will be completed and that the soldier will remain prepared at all times.On a daily basis, thousands of Soldiers are seen at appointments varying anywhere from surgery on better eye sight to putting a broken foot into a cast for 6 weeks to heal. Appointments can be located anywhere on or off post depending on the type of appointment or preference of the Soldier. It is every Soldier’s right to choose where they would like to receive health care services. The Army spends Billions of dollars on medical supplies, medications, the latest and newest high tech equipment, and the healthcare facilities and the healthcare providers. When a Soldier misses an appointment, the Army’s money is then wasted.Money that could have been used on something such as new trucks, weapons and equipment. With budget cuts on funds within the ranks, missing an appointment is money the Army could use elsewhere. Of all the complications for military funding due to budget cuts, missing an appointment should not factor into it at all. Budget cuts have influenced the Chain of Command and their decisions on requiring Soldiers to pay out of pocket for their missed appointment. The government was starting to discuss having Soldiers pay out of pocket for their missed appointments.Have the Soldier pay out of pocket for the injuries received in an accident because they neglected their profile restrictions. Whether this has taken effect now or it will in the future, Soldiers will be less likely to miss any kind of appointment. If the responsibility were to fall on the shoulder of each individual Soldier, the Army would more than likely not have to inflict budget cuts and â€Å"Troop Cuts† we have all been reading about in The Arm y Times. If each Soldier were accountable for paying for their appointments, there wouldn’t be another wasted appointment because the Soldier was forgetful.It is every Soldiers responsibility to be healthy and remain in a fit condition. When Soldiers fails to do so however, the consequences can be catastrophic or even fatal in some cases. Best example, a Soldier has a tooth ache but ignores it because he or she thinks it’s a sign of weakness, that tooth ache can develop into something much worse than a cavity filling, the Soldier could end up being hospitalized because they didn’t take care of the issue when it was small. They ignored their MEDPROs warning about being past due for a check in.This action seems small, but when the Soldiers fall out of the ranks because they needed more medical attention such as surgery. That unit needs to replace that Soldier to remain fit and ready to deploy. This can led to issues and financial problems within that unit. Their d own a Soldier, which means they have to file paperwork to request a Soldier to replace him. That leads to more money to have that new Soldier coming in for travel and new training. Everything costs money. From the paper we use to request a Soldier to the training that he or she must receive so they can be ready to deploy on a mission.All of that money spent on the new Soldier could have been completely avoided if the Soldier had not ignored his MEDPROs dental warning. Something so small, like a tooth ache, turned in all new training requirements for a new and unprepared Soldier to keep a unit ready for a mission. If Soldiers were required to pay out of pocket for all of their appointments they made, the Army could spend more money where it is needed most. Such things are better training for Soldiers, Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers, better equipment for deployed units and faster approval on funding.This increase in money in better areas can lead to more successful missions an d fewer fatalities on the battle field because the equipment is more accurate. Soldiers have been trained to the highest level, instead of just the basics for life saver course. The Army can afford to push every Soldier through the advanced kind of training needed to save lives. All of this could happen if every Soldier was held responsible for their actions of missing an appointment. Including, if every Soldier made it to all their appointments on time.If every Soldier was paying out of pocket for their appointments, the bigger picture we see is more saved lives in the combat zone. Every Soldier has the right to be seen for health issues. The well being of every Soldier, whether it’s their mental state or their physical health, is required for the best combat ready Soldier the Army has. That is the reality in today’s forces. The citizens of our country need us at our highest peak in health. So when unexplainable and tragic accident such as 9/11 ever happens again, a f orgotten dental appointment will not hold out any Soldier.The responsibility in accountability is every single individual’s duty for themselves and their team. The rank is not a concern when compared to responsibility. No one is singled out. It is my responsibility and my responsibility alone to maintain my physical and mental health state. I have to maintain myself at the highest level for Soldier readiness. That is my responsibility, no one else’s. However, in the long run, I affect someone else’s life if I neglect that responsibility. A simple phone call to change the time of my appointment could have avoided all of this.Neglecting to call was a failure on my part completely. I do not blame nor will I blame anyone but me. On the next appointment, I will be sure to make my appointment on time with enough reminders that it would be impossible not to forget. This standard for accountability needs to be a high priority of every Soldier who does not know much abou t the Army. Such as young privates coming out of Basic and AIT, can be trained and carry on the standard for responsibility and accountability. So future funds can be focused more for the training and not for missed appointments.

Starbucks Case Accounting

Starbucks Case Part I – Prior to reading Starbuck’s Form 10-K, please answer the following questions. Your answers should be based upon your general knowledge of Starbucks, gained from visiting their stores, purchasing their products and/or observing them in the marketplace. a. Up until the economic downturn (Fall of 2008) what do you believe was Starbucks’ growth strategy? Give three examples of specific actions (growth initiatives) you observed Starbucks execute upon as part of their growth strategy? 1. Saturate the U. S. arket: Based on our observations, it seemed that Starbuck’s primary strategy for growth was to saturate the U. S. market. At one point there seemed to be a Starbucks at every corner, sometimes so close that one had to wonder why in the heck they were opening stores within a couple dozen feet from each other. 2. Expand internationally: We presume that one of their growth goals was to expand abroad, specially if they began to realize they were cannibalizing their own established stores, so they likely had to go outside of the U. S. o keep up their growth targets. 3. Develop complementary products/alternative revenue sources: We also think that around 2006-2007 was when they started to promote downloadable music and also began to sell CDs & books in stores; which means they began to more aggressively add alternative revenue channels, beyond that of coffee/drinks, to their many locations. (Personally, I purchased a bottle of Starbucks coffee liqueur around that time, which I still have because it’s not as good as other coffee liqueurs such as Kahlua. b. How do you believe Starbucks measured their success in executing their growth strategy? Give four specific measures you might use to evaluate the success of Starbucks’ growth strategy. Very likely that they were measuring it against number of new stores opened, and sales growth. We would probably use the following to evaluate the success of Starbuck’s growth strategy: 1. Sales growth. 2. Operating Revenues. 3. Net income. 4. Return on assets. The remaining sections of the case should be completed after you have read Starbucks Form 10-K and any other information deemed pertinent. Part II – Results of the audit by Starbucks’ outside independent accountant, status of Starbucks’ financial reporting controls and industry specific accounting. a. Who is Starbucks’ outside independent auditor? Did Starbucks receive a qualified or unqualified (clean) audit report from their outside independent auditor for the 2010 fiscal year end? a. Deloitte & Touche, LLP. b. Unqualified. b. What was Starbucks management’s conclusion in their report on internal control for financial reporting? What was the outside independent auditor’s conclusion regarding management’s review and assessment of financial reporting controls? . That their internal control over financial reporting was effective as of October 3, 2010. d. That Starbucks maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of October 3, 2010. c. How does Starbucks account for gift cards? What impact do unredeemed gift cards have on the reported operating income in each year? How does Starbucks’ accounting for unredeemed gift cards compare to other retailers? e. Revenues for cards are recognized when tendered for payment, or upon redemption. Outstanding balances are included in deferred revenue on the balance sheet. Balances on cards that are deemed unlikely to be redeemed, get recognized as net interest income. f. Operating income is increased by balances on cards thought unlikely to be redeemed; therefore, it can be argued that operating income is being overstated by the addition of â€Å"unlikely-to-be-redeemed† card balances to net interest income. g. Gift card balances by other retailers are probably carried as a liability (unearned revenue). When gift cards are not redeemed, some retailers return the balances to the state where the card was issued assuming the unclaimed balance to be â€Å"unclaimed property† in some states. As seen above, Starbucks does carry outstanding balances as deferred revenue (a liability) as well, but once the cards are deemed unlikely to be redeemed, it treats the unclaimed balance as an asset. Part III – Trend Analysis of Sales and Earnings Growth During 2006 – 2010 Review Starbucks income statement and common size income statement for the years 2006 through 2010. Identify and comment on the major trends in the growth in Starbucks sales and earnings, including: a. Sales growth – was Starbucks’ sales growth consistent or inconsistent over the above five year period? Do you see signs of acceleration or deceleration in Starbucks’ historic growth rates? How does Starbucks’ sales growth compare to its industry averages? Are same store sales or the opening of new stores the more important factor in driving Starbucks’ sales growth during this period? Do you believe Starbucks sale trends over the past few years will continue over the next two to three years? Please provide rationale for your belief. Starbucks’ sales growth was inconsistent over the above 5 year period. Data from the last 5 years suggests that Starbucks’ growth rate is actually decelerating. Starbucks’ sales growth was below the industry sales growth. The industry has average 9. 25% over the last 5 years while Starbucks averaged 7. 5% only. The opening of new stores is vital to Starbucks’ sales strategy. During 2006, 2007, and 2008, Starbucks added 2199, 2571, and 1669 net stores. During the same years, sales grew by 22%, 21%, and 10% respectively. During 2009, Starbucks reduced 45 stores and their sales dropped by 7%. In 2010, Starbucks added 223 stores and not surprisingly their sales increased by 10%. In our opinion, Starbucks’ sales will continue to grow but at a decreasing rate over the next 2 to 3 years. This projection is based on historical sales data from the last 5 years which suggest a deceleration of sales growth. Starbucks’ average sales growth for the last 5 years is 11%. In 2006, Starbucks’ sales grew by 22%. This suggests a deceleration of sales growth. b. Gross margins – did gross margins expand, contract or hold steady over the period? What major factors account for the trend you’ve identified? The gross margin has held steady over the last 5 years ranging anywhere from 55% to 59%. Gross margin is affected by sales and cost of sales. c. Operating expense – make sure you look at operating expenses in both absolute dollar terms and as a percent of sales. Did operating expenses grow slower, faster or at the same rate as revenues? Would you expect to see more leverage on Starbucks’ cost base, given their growth history? (Note: operating leverage is demonstrated when a company’s operating expenses grow at slower rate than its sales, thereby resulting in operating earnings growing faster than sales. ) Do you believe Starbucks’ cost base is mostly fixed, mostly variable or an equal mix of each? What implication does the structure of Starbucks cost base (i. e. % fixed / variable) have on the relationship between the growth rates of revenues and earnings? Make sure you present information to support your conclusion. Operating expenses have grown at a higher rate than revenues over the last 5 years. Revenues grew at an average of 7% while operating expenses have grown at an average of 11. 34%. Based on these numbers, we expect to see less leverage on Starbucks’ cost base as operating expenses are growing at a higher rate than revenues. The fact that Starbucks’ operating expenses are growing at a higher rate than its revenues shows that Starbucks’ cost base is mostly variable. This is also proven by the income statement as most of Starbucks’ operating expenses are Cost of Sales and Store Operating expenses. Most of these are usually variable. Having more variable expenses usually means that earnings will not necessarily grow at the same rate as revenues. This is demonstrated by the income statement from the last 5 years. Starbucks’ revenues and earnings have grown at different rates over each year of the last 5 years. The average earnings growth per year over the last 5 years is 12. 62% as compared to an average sales growth per year of 7. 5%. d. Operating income – have operating earnings grown at the same rate, faster or slower than sales? What factors (e. g. gross margins, operating expense/charges) account for the trend you’ve identified? Be specific and provide support for your answer. Operating income has grown at a faster rate than sales on a per year basis over the last 5 years. Sales growth has averaged 7. 5% per year as compared to an operating income growth of 11. 75% per year during the same period. The reason that operating income has grown so fast is because Starbucks recently made changes to its cost structure that made it more efficient. As per the 10-k statement filed with the SEC, Starbucks decreased its Cost of Sales by 260 basis points by making their supply chain process more efficient. This resulted in lower food, beverage, and paper packaging costs. Because of its sales leverage, Starbucks was also able to decrease its occupancy costs. Because of the reduced costs, Starbucks was able to have a higher operating income in 2010. This caused the 5 year average to jump up to 11. 75%. Also contributing to this growth was the fact that sales increased at a higher rate than operating expenses. Therefore, operating income also went up at a higher rate than sales. e. Net Income – has net income grown at the same rate, faster or slower than sales? What factors (e. g. gross margins, operating expense, non-operating items) account for the trend you’ve identified? Be specific and provide support for your answer. Net Income has increased at a higher rate than sales also on a per year basis for the last five years. In fact, Net Income has pretty much mirrored Operating Income in growth. The factors tied to Net Income are Sales, Operating Expenses, Interest, and Taxes. Taxes remained relatively proportionate EBT each year. During each of the 5 years, Starbucks experienced a positive interest income for 3 years and a negative for 2 years. This helped Starbucks increase their Net Income. However, the factor that affected Net Income the most was Operating Expenses. Operating expenses grew at a slower rate than sales from 2006 to 2010. This resulted in Starbucks having a higher Operating Income which in turn resulted in a higher net income. Starbucks’ net income grew by 142. 2% in 2010 from the previous year. This big change resulted in the average net income growth rate to increase to 12. 62%. During the same period, Sales has grown by 7. 5% and operating expenses grew by 7%. All of this contributed to the Net Income growing at a higher rate than sales. f. Earnings per share – Does Starbucks’ earnings per share increase/decrease at a rate consistent with revenue and net income. Why is this? Do you expect this relationship to continue into the future? Starbucks’ EPS increases and decreases at a rate consistent with net income but not sales. This is because earnings per share are calculated by taking the net income and dividing that into the number of shares outstanding. As a result, there is a direct correlation with net income and not sales. We expect this relationship to continue in the future as long as the number of shares outstanding doesn’t change drastically each year. Part IV – Analysis of Operating Efficiency, Liquidity and Solvency Using data included in the Form 10-K analyze Starbucks’ operating efficiency and liquidity. That is, answer the questions below. The ratio definitions used to calculate the figures in the Ratio Analysis table are described in the text and lecture notes. a. Operating efficiency: Turnover ratios. In one paragraph, explain what the values of turnover ratios reveal about Starbucks. That is, for each ratio, discuss the trend, compare Starbucks’ ratio to the industry average (for receivables, inventory turnover and asset turnover only) and discuss whether the trend indicates improvements or deteriorations in operating efficiency. Can you think of any other measures that would be useful to assess Starbucks’ operational efficiency? Turnover ratios reveal that in 2010, Starbucks’ sales increased. Receivables turnover jumped up slightly from previous years to 37. 31. The industry’s 2009 median receivables turnover is significantly higher than Starbucks’ at about 98. 64. This trend indicates that Starbucks made less sales on credit in 2010. It could also mean that Starbucks improved collecting on its accounts receivables; however, since Starbucks’ average collection period ratio has not changed in the last three years (holding steady at about 11 days), there is no indication that collection on receivables has improved. The inventory turnover ratio of 7. 8, which slightly increased from 2009, also suggests a decrease in inventories, which is supported by the drop of inventory assets shown on the balance sheet. This trend supports the observation that sales have increased significantly for Starbucks in 2010 which is always an improvement for any business. PP&E Turnover ratio of 4. 32, whi ch increased from 2009, again, demonstrates higher sales since PP&E remained at similar levels as previous years per the balance sheet. Total asset turnover, 1. 79, remained very close to last year, and is slightly less than the industry average, 1. 3. This shows Starbucks continues to generate sales at a level of almost twice as much as they carry assets on their books. The fact that their asset turnover is slightly less than that of their competitors suggests that Starbucks may have more assets than their competitors. b. Liquidity: In one paragraph, explain what the liquidity ratios (current ratio, quick ratio and cash from operations ratio) reveal about Starbucks. Include an explanation of how the cash flow from operations ratio differs from the current and quick ratios. What is your conclusion egarding Starbucks’ liquidity position? With significant increases in 2010 in current ratio, 1. 55, and quick ratio, 0. 99, Starbucks is very liquid. Quick ratio shows they have 1. 5 times current assets on the books as they do current liabilities. Likewise, the quick ratio shows they would be able to cover current liabilities with their current assets. The cash from operations ratio is . 96, which states that Starbucks’ cash from operations would not be enough to cover its current liabilities. This ratio differs from the first two in that it compares a cash flow item to a balance sheet item. It is an indication of a firm’s ability to pay off its current liabilities; however, it is the most conservative liquidity ratio since it excludes all current assets except for the most liquid: cash and equivalents. It tells that Starbucks would not quite be able to pay off all of its current liabilities with just its cash and equivalents, although it does come close. c. Solvency: Interpret the values of the relevant ratios and provide a conclusion regarding Starbucks’ ability to service its debt and risk of future insolvency. Does your conclusion change if you include â€Å"off balance sheet debt†. How much off balance sheet debt does Starbucks have as of the end of the most recent fiscal year? Starbucks’ solvency ratios suggest that it is in a strong position and would likely be able to service its debt as it shows low risk of future solvency. It’s debt to equity ratio for 2010 of 0. 73 is at the lowest it has been in the past five years. From 2009 Starbucks had a big increase in retained earnings, this pushed all solvency ratios including interest coverage, return on assets, and return on equity up. ROA and ROE were doubled from 2009 to 0. 16 and 0. 28 respectively. Likewise, interest coverage also had a big jump due to a significant increase in earnings before interest and taxes. If we include â€Å"off balance sheet debt, Starbucks debt to equity ratio increases a bit, but the trend still shows that this ratio has decreased significantly in 2010. The increase would not be enough to state that Starbucks runs a high risk of insolvency. Starbucks has $4,084. 2 in off balance sheet debt as of end of most recent fiscal year. (We assume that the numbers provided are in millions). Part V – Analysis of Cash Flow Refer to Starbucks’ cash flow statement: a. During the past three years, what was Starbucks’ largest source of cash? What were Starbucks’ two largest uses of cash? a. For the past 3 years, the largest source of cash for Starbucks was Net earnings including non-controlling assets from its operating activities. Starbucks’ two largest uses of cash were additions to property, plant and equipment, as well as purchasing available for sale securities. It is stated in the 10-k that the major components of the PPE spending were remodeling and upgrading equipment in stores, as well as updating the IT infrastructure of the retail network. b. For the past three fiscal years, has Starbucks’ CFO been adequate to fund its growth initiatives? If no, how has Starbucks funded the CFO shortfalls to fund growth? a. As stated in the 10-K Starbucks’ believes that cash flows generated from operations and existing cash and short term investments should be enough to support their core business activities. However, it is also stated that new business opportunities, joint ventures, and acquisitions would have to utilize outside funding sources. Starbucks has augmented to their cash flows by heavily investing in available for sale securities, and purchasing US Agency and investment grade bonds. These investments, and outside financing, can be used to fund growth initiatives while CFO can be used to support Starbucks’ core retail business. The 10K also mentions that the issuance of commercial paper and its proceeds can be used for working capital needs, capital expenditures, and other corporate purposes, including acquisitions and share repurchases. c. Based on your review of Starbucks’ cash flow statement, has Starbucks’ growth been driven by organic growth or acquisitions? Provide support for your answer. a. Starbucks growth has been driven organically, with strong, steady growth in net earnings including non-controlling interests, and investing a large amount of cash in property, plant, and equipment by opening new retail locations and upgrading existing stores and information systems. By utilizing CFO and short term investment earnings to support their core business, Starbucks’ has maintained a high growth, very successful retail operation. Acquisitions play a minor role compared to the growth and earnings from operating activities. d. If Starbucks continues to grow at its historic rates, does it appear that Starbucks’ CFO can fund this growth? If CFO isn’t sufficient, how might Starbucks fund its future growth? a. Yes, it does appear that Starbucks’ CFO can fund its historic growth. This is stated in the 10k; CFO and short term investments, as well as any potential future borrowings and the commercial paper program can support the existing core business as well as related marketing support, product innovations, and new business opportunities related to the core business. If CFO is not sufficient to fund the historic growth, Starbucks can utilize channels within the investment and finance sections of the cash flow statement. Particularly, Starbucks can invest more heavily in short term investments, and utilize the commercial paper program. Additionally, Starbucks purchases available for sale securities heavily – these could be sold in the future to fund any growth where CFO is not adequate to support the core business. e. During the past three fiscal years, what dollar amount of common stock did Starbucks repurchase and what dollar amount of dividends did they pay? Why would Starbucks repurchase their own stock and/or pay a dividend? How does this impact Starbucks ability to fund future growth? How did Starbucks’ strategy with regard to share repurchases and dividends change during the past few years? Why did it change? a. In 2008, Starbucks repurchased $ 311. 4 million in common stock. In 2009, Starbucks did not repurchase any stock. In 2010, Starbucks repurchased $ 285. 6 million in common stock. Starbucks may want to repurchase their own stock so that they can increase their earnings per share ratio. This is especially true if Starbucks shares were perceived as undervalued, as Starbucks can repurchase the shares and hold them in the treasury for future reissuance at a higher price. Starbucks may be able to obtain more financing and loans with better earnings per share ratio as well. Dividends can be paid to shareholders to increase the value of their shares, and encourage other interested parties to purchase Starbucks shares. Paying dividends is a way to help impact positive future growth by making the purchase of Starbucks stock more profitable – more people will want to buy it providing more cash for Starbucks to utilize. In the 10-k, it is stated that Starbucks had 1. 7 billion in CFO for 2010 compared to 1. 4 billion in fiscal 2009, and capital expenditures were approximately 440 million in both fiscal years. This left roughly $460 million for stock repurchases and dividends. Starbucks had to repay short term borrowings in 2008 and 2009, but did not have to use cash for repayment in 2010. The cash that would have been used to payback short term borrowings could instead be used to repurchase stock and pay dividends. Thus, the strategy changed because Starbucks was able to operate without short term borrowings in 2010, and was able to pass on the excess case to shareholders. Part VI – Market Valuation a. What is Starbuck’s net book value as of the end of the most recent fiscal year? What was Starbuck’s market capitalization as of that date? Why is there a difference in these two amounts? What specific items do you think comprise the difference? Starbucks’ net book value as of the end of 2010 fiscal year was $3,611,500,000 while its market cap was $19,270,826,000. The reason that the two numbers are different is because the net book value is calculated by taking the total assets of Starbucks and subtracting its intangible assets and total liabilities, while the market cap is calculated by multiplying the outstanding shares into the stock price. Because each is calculated using 5 different numbers, there will almost always be a difference in the two numbers. b. Do you believe the difference between Starbuck’s net book value and market capitalization will increase or decrease in the future? What specific factors or trends identified in Starbucks’ financial information (or identified elsewhere) support your view? We believe that the difference between Starbucks’ net book value and market capitalization will decrease in the future. One of the biggest reasons for this is the fact that Starbucks restructured its Supply Chain process to lower costs. As a result, net income grew by 142% in 2010. This was a huge turnaround by Starbucks in one year and it can be attributed to the fact that leadership identified and implemented this cost saving mechanism. Another trend that indicates that Starbucks is on its way back is the fact that they opened more stores than they closed in the last 2 years. This strategy is key to Starbucks succeeding. Third, Starbucks’ gross margin has remained constant in the last 5 years despite the down years. This shows that management knows how to cut down on costs when times are rough, or that despite financial downturns, people are still willing to pay for expensive coffee. Conclusion Refer to your responses in Part 1: How do the results of your analysis in Parts II through VI support or contradict your original thoughts regarding Starbucks growth strategy and the success or failure of the three action areas (growth initiatives) you identified? Our assumption on their strategy to saturate the U. S. Market by building as any stores as possible is supported by our discussion on sales growth, which shows that there is a direct correlation between sales revenue growth and net new stores opened. Likewise, in analyzing the CFO, we concluded that Starbucks has grown organically through their investment in PP&E, which corroborates our original thoughts. Although they probably realized they were overdoing it with having a Starbucks on every corner, their growth strategy of increasing store numb ers has been a success for the company as sales have also increased. Going forward, the challenge will be to maintain high sales rates while being able to cover its large PP&E/overhead expenses. Although we didn’t really analyze the impact of international expansion in our analysis above, according to the company’s 10-K, operating income from international activities more than doubled from 2009 to 2010; however, this increase was mostly due to foreign currency translation among other things. Therefore, our original thoughts are not necessarily proven by the data that we analyzed. Finally, we stated that one of Starbucks’ growth strategies was to develop alternative revenue sources. As we looked deeper at the reasons for sales growth, we noticed that licensing and food service both were strong contributors to the increases in net revenues. Our discussion on sales growth indirectly supports this hypothesis, since the increase in net revenues was affected by an increase in average value per transaction (as stated in the 10-K). This means that customers are not just buying coffee at the checkout stand because Starbucks is being successful at selling other complimentary goods along with their drinks. Therefore, this is definitely being a successful growth strategy for Starbucks.

Hourly Rounding: Does It Really Make a Difference Essay

Hourly rounding is something that has been around for a while. One of the first things we learned in nursing school was that you should check on your patient every hour or every 2 hours (depending on nursing aid assistance). I started my research by looking at what hourly rounding entails. From there I found the majority of articles that think hourly rounding really does affect patient care and only a few opinion articles that think the opposite. Develop a focused question Since there were so many articles on hourly rounding, picking through them to find ones that related to the direction I was going with my research was really difficult. The main question that came into my head when thinking about hourly rounding was, does it really make a difference in patient care or just patient satisfaction? Hourly rounding is used for an assortment of reasons. Anticipating patient’s needs before they have to ring the call bell, along with patient safety are key reasons for hourly rounding. The majority of the articles I found focused on patient satisfaction. Although patient satisfaction is a huge deal, the direction I wanted to go was more with patient safety. Initial and related terms I started out my search by using phrases like â€Å"patient hourly round significance†, â€Å"why is hourly rounding important for patients†, and â€Å"how does hourly rounding affect patients†. This didn’t get me very many articles, so I tried a different approach. I broadened my search by just writing in â€Å"nursing hourly rounds† and â€Å"nursing rounds† and this got me a lot of articles on hourly rounding. Evaluation of articles I found after reading my four articles, the critiquing using the Johns Hopkins form was pretty difficult. To me the forms are confusing because I don’t have a lot of experience using them or doing much research. All four articles that I chose to use had adequate information to help me come to a conclusion for the question I formulated. All four articles supported at least one finding from the other articles. This helped me conclude that the research done was adequate information that could be used to evaluate the ore focus of my questions. The studies that were done or talked about in the articles were easy to pick out and straightforward. Identification of outcome Based on my research I learned that hourly rounding during the hours of 0600-2200 and 2-hour rounding from 2200-0600 is effective in providing patient safety, anticipating patients needs, decreasing the amount of call bell rings and increasing patient satisfaction. All of the articles had similar studies done to provide these conclusions. The article that I found most helpful was Hourly Rounding: A Replication Study by Todd Olrich, Melanie Kalman and Cindy Nigolian. This article clearly stated the three studies that were done and their results. All the articles though had similar results, which is how I came to the conclusion that hourly rounding during the day and 2-hour rounding during the night is effective. â€Å"Results indicated both hourly and every 2-hour rounding decreased call-light usage and increased patient satisfaction. Patient satisfaction increased significantly on the units from 79. 9 to 91. using a 100-point scale, patient call-light usage decreased significantly, and falls decreased only when rounding was done hourly† (Olrich, Kalman, Nigolian 2012). All but one of the articles talked about doing a base-line measurement first to see how often the call bells rang, how often patient’s fell and how satisfied they were with the care they were getting. The base-line measurement studies went on from 4-8 weeks before the actual studies began. This is a great way in my view to get an overall look at what happened before the hourly rounding was implemented and what happened after. In one of the articles I chose, nurses had a hard time following the hourly rounding format. â€Å"Registered nurses and TPs from both study units overwhelmingly viewed hourly rounding as more work instead of a proactive process that might have benefits for them and their patients. However, some staff members did feel that hourly rounding was a good idea but difficult to accomplish because of competing priorities and tasks† (Deitrich, Baker, Paxton, Flores, Swavely 2011). This is the only article I found that the nurses had a hard time following the hourly rounding protocol. All of my articles that I chose besides one were research articles. The only one that wasn’t was more of a review of other people’s work that had been done. Even though this article was only a review and only talked about the results that were found and not the actual studies that were done, the information was very relevant to my question and easy to understand. â€Å"In 5 of 6 studies (83%) that examined use of call lights, the use was reduced. Fall rates were reduced in 7 of 9 studies (77%) in which falls were evaluated. In 8 of 9 studies (88%), researchers discovered improvements in overall patient satisfaction and likelihood of recommending the hospital, as well as satisfaction with anticipation and attention to personal needs, timeliness of nurses’ response, and management of pain† (Halm 2009). All four articles stated what the nurses and nurse’s aids did during hourly rounding and they were all very similar. Two articles said they attended to the â€Å"4 P’s†: pain, positioning, potty (elimination) and proximity of personal items. The other two articles had similar actions during hourly rounding. Overall, the main actions done were: pain assessment, toileting, patient positioning and comfort, environmental check (call light, telephone, TV remote, water, tissue box within reach, bedside table close to bed, and floor free from clutter), and the last thing they all did was ask the patient if there was anything else they could do for them before they left the room and told the patient the next rounding would be in an hour. After doing all of these things, patients overall were more satisfied with the care they got, falls were recorded less because patients weren’t trying to get up on their own, and call bells were going off less. Learning that occurred While doing this research project I learned that patient rounding is significant in increasing patient safety, satisfaction and decreases call bell use. Before this project I had an idea of why nurses checked on patients hourly, but these articles helped me better understand what really needs to me done on these checks besides toileting. I also learned more about how to research a topic. I had a difficult time narrowing down my search but finally got the hang of it by going to the library for a little extra assistance. By being forced to use the Johns Hopkins forms, I learned more about filling them out. Although they are still a little confusing to me, this project helped me understand them more. Conclusion My conclusion from all of this research is that hourly rounding is necessary to help keeps patients happy, healthy and safe.  As a first year nursing student, a lot of the things we do in nursing are foreign to me and I’m constantly asking myself why nurses do things the way they do. This project helped me to pick one of those questions that I ask myself and really start to understand why. I really think this project helped to better my nursing career. Now that I fully understand hourly rounding, it will also help me to tend to my patients needs more.

Managing Multiple Generations During Times of Change Research Paper

Managing Multiple Generations During Times of Change - Research Paper Example eration Y which represents the group of people currently joining the workforce is characterized with diverse and unique qualities that need to be carefully taken into consideration by firms and organizations at the onset of their employment (Asch, 2004). According to the Society of Human Resource Management in the United States, the future employees bear attributes which include being very techno-savvy, highly flexible as well as being able to do less monotonous jobs. This is contrary to the pre-boomers who are less flexible and enjoy doing the same work over and over again. They enjoy working smooth and well established systems which do not under go frequent changes. Recruitment and staffing agencies therefore require an understanding of the group of people who are presently seeking employment or are already employed. They need to understand what their needs and demands are and thus efficiently integrate them into the current workforce so as to ensure smooth transition between the generations. These processes pose great challenges to the recruiting agencies since they need to equip and familiarize themselves with the changing trends (Cowen, 2008). A lot of caution has to be undertaken since the emergence of an increasingly techno-savvy generation is characterized with a lot of bureaucracy as well as fraud. It is easy for job seekers to use fake certificates which may easily be mistaken as being the original documents. Leadership and talent has been greatly affected since organizations find it hard to maintain talents given that generation Y is characterized by movement from one firm to another in the aim of seeking a more fulfilling and dynamic fields. This has greatly affected the leadership structure of organizations given that the rate of employee turnover is very high. Some firms have been forced to retain those who should have gone on retirement in order to avoid leadership vacuum and to have people who are well versed with the operations of the

Chapter 1- What is Geomorphology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Chapter 1- What is Geomorphology - Essay Example â€Å"The word geomorphology is a composition of three Greek words; ‘geo’ means earth, ‘morph’ means form and ‘-ology’ means discourse† (Hugget, 2011). So the study of earth forms is called geomorphology. Some people only include the forms of earth’s surface while others also include surfaces of other planets such as Moon, Venus etc. â€Å"There are three components of geomorphology; constitution (the chemical composition of the surface), mass flow (the rate of flow of the material; rate of evaporation) and configuration (the shape and size; geometry of the surface)† (Hugget, 2011). Ancient Greek philosophers wondered about mountains and plains, and how they took up the shape they appear in. Greats like Aristotle and Seneca have long pondered how valleys and rivers came about, and how come sea shells end up at the beaches, and how come deltas of the earth are â€Å"as they appear to be† (Hugget, 2011). Landforms leave a history behind them. Ripples on a beach or a river that stopped flowing, all have history but many might pass by unnoticed because of leaving no footprint (stratigraphic record). This way it becomes easier to study landforms, data collection regarding this also becomes easier. In the past, geomorphologists used to map morphological forms based on the principle of â€Å"the present is the key to the past† (Hugget, 2011). This made it the perfect assumption that the present form of the landscape has evolved from the past and correctly tracing back would lead to the past form of earth morphology. William Morris Davis, the morphologist who expounded on the term ‘geographical cycle’. To describe Morris’s theory on Geomorphology in small number of words; the uplift takes place quickly, while landscapes slopes decline through time. The surface, like humans and other living beings has stages of life; youth, maturity and old age. Times have

Cyber Security and Cyber Crime Annotated Bibliography

Cyber Security and Cyber Crime - Annotated Bibliography Example This publication done for Deloitte by DeZabala and Baich, the National Managing Principal and Principal respectively acknowledge the rampant increase in cyber crimes in organizations following its CSO Cyber Security Watch Survey in 2010. It unearths some of the stealth techniques used by cyber criminals today. It points to future indicators with a disclaimer of the severity and complexity expected in future. The authors sum up this publication by giving a risk based approach and how to have an effective intelligence system to gather the necessary intelligence information. This is a law book aimed at giving the reader information on career opportunities in private security. In Part II of the book, Dempsey discusses the problem of computer crime, used interchangeably with cyber crime in the society and businesses. This book would be useful to that scholar seeking supportive surveys as the author documents surveys on cyber crime as conducted by the FBI and National Cyber Security Alliance, NCSA in the US. The book discusses most of the basic security procedure followed so as to mitigate cyber crime but is inclined more towards use of biometrics. The discussion on how to investigate cyber crimes has been used to market the various career opportunities that are a consequence of the same. This source would be important for citing examples of the effects of cyber crimes. It gives an example of how Russian crime gangs and civilians caused internet traffic in Georgia to stop by use of America’s software companies and websites. Though it lacks technical explanation as to the crime, it gives the needed information to document cyber crime as a potential national risk. This paper is an extension of the author’s earlier research paper on current challenges in cyber security and advocates for law to react proportionately to the rapid changes in internet usage and cyber crime. It advocates for an inclusion of various professions, both technical and non-technical in

Natural resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Natural resources - Essay Example The world is faces with a challenge to guarantee the lasting utilization of natural resources at the lowest possible environmental cost while still assuring economic and social development. Natural Resources & Environment (NRE) is a broad emphasis area with major impact on the quality of our world. NRE programs strengthen the nation's capacity to address critical environmental priorities and contribute to improved air, soil, and water quality; fish and wildlife management; enhanced aquatic and other ecosystems; the sustainable use and management of forests, rangelands, watersheds, and other renewable natural resources; and a better understanding of global climate change, including its impact on the diversity of plant and animal life. These programs also demonstrate the benefits and opportunities of sustainable development, and contribute to the economic viability of agriculture and rural communities and realizing the impact of environmental policies and regulations. The sustainability of natural resources immensely depends on the use and management decisions of individual private landowners, who have a collective control over more than two-thirds of the nation's land and water resources. As agriculture is no longer the largest element in the economic base of most rural communities, natural resource wealth and income opportunities are becoming more important to farmers, ranchers, other landowners, and communities. Pressures on land and natural resource use are becoming more and more competing and conflicting.. Public demand keeps growing for natural resource products, services, and improved environmental quality. On the other hand, changing demographics and social values bring new challenges. Urbanization has serious impacts on ecosystem structure and function and they are becoming increasingly fragmented for the production of food and forest products. The goal should aim at discovering new, improved ways to use and manage natural resources and educational programs that teach best management practices will enhance environmental and economic benefits, as well as human well-being. These are critical ecological strategies are investments for our future Outline a process by which you could determine primary gross and net productivity, use data to support your process. The term "Production" implies to the creation of new organic matter. When a plant grows, new organic matter is created by the process of photosynthesis, which converts light energy into energy stored in chemical bonds within plant tissue. This energy fuels the metabolic machinery of the plant. New compounds and structures are synthesized, cells divide, and the plant grows in size. When we attempt to measure the rate at which photosynthesis occurs, or the rate at which the individual plant increases in mass, we are concerned with primary production (definition: the synthesis and storage of organic molecules during the growth and reproduction of photosynthetic organisms). * Gross Primary Production, GPP, is the total amount of CO2 that is fixed by the plant in photosynthesis. * Respiration, R, is the amount of CO2 that is lost from an organism or system from metabolic activity. Respiration can be further divided into components that reflect the source of the CO2. Rp =Respiration by Plants Rh = Respiration by Heterotrophs Rd = Respiration by

Collection Planning and Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Collection Planning and Strategies - Essay Example The subsequent steps in the hierarchy include tactical objective, tactical task and measure of performance. Resources are allocated based on the tactical tasks that contribute to the overall performance of the organization (Clark & Cook, 2008). The strategy-to task management serves in other settings and conforms to vision, objective, planning and performance assessment. Firms initially appointed functional managers in their executive teams with an aim of centralizing decisions regarding their functions.However their functions have changed with time, especially in the US. Their newly acquired roles include co-ordination of activities throughout the business unit to aid collection. Secondly, they take part in strategic decision making of the organization together with the CEO with the aim of realizing synergy and efficiency in the organization. Thirdly, they take part in staff management. They organize seminars and workshops where knowledge is imparted on workers. They also assess and review performances of individual workers. Fourthly, they offer expert opinions in their various departments. The functional managers also train other employees on practical skills regarding their

Glaucoma label study Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Glaucoma label study - Article Example However, a small number of glaucoma patients with reduced visual function might benefit from large print labels on their topical eye drops. Glaucoma is an important global public health concern with the proportion of patients burdened with this sight threatening disease ever increasing due to the rapidly ageing population. In Australia, glaucoma causes 3% visual impairment and 14% blindness in patients aged 40 and over. Since the majority of glaucoma patients are managed initially with medical therapy, compliance is critical for decreasing disease progression. Despite the availability of effective pharmacologic therapies, non-compliance in patients with glaucoma has been reported to vary from 24 to 59%. Many obstacles affect treatment compliance including regimen factors (refill, cost, complexity, change, side effects), patient factors (knowledge, skill, memory, motivation, health beliefs, comorbidities), provider factors (dissatisfaction, communication) and situational or environmental factors (lack of support, major life events, travel, competing activities, change in routine). Quality of written instructions such as amount of information and readability is important in ensuring medication compliance especially in visually impaired, elderly patients where written treatment information often supplements verbal instruction. In some cases, especially when a patient has a care giver, this information becomes the main source reference for correct interpretation of their medication regime. The aim of our study was to assess whether readability and comprehension of medication label size was a contributing factor to treatment compliance in glaucoma patients. Eighty subjects with diagnosed glaucoma were recruited from the public out-patient clinic of a tertiary eye hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The duration of study was 6 weeks (27.03.07 to

First Amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

First Amendment - Essay Example She got furious, scolded him for being a failure all his life and quickly wrote him a referral to principal. Once Jacob refused to leave class, school security was called in to escort him out. Later a parent conference meeting was scheduled and he was awarded an hour detention for a week. Was Jacob’s right of freedom of expression under first amendment violated? Was the management decision justified? How can we draw a balance between rights and obligations under the garb of freedom of expression? One’s unpopular speech is other’s free speech. Is disciplining student a right reserved to college faculty? This essay tends to analyze these questions by comparing two essays from Stanley Fish and Stuart Taylor in order to seek a plausible role of first amendment in college campus. Stanley Fish, in his essay â€Å"The Free Speech Follies†, argues that there is general tendency in America to hide behind first amendment. He is clearly troubled by the double standar ds which prevail in college campuses seeking refuge under attire of first amendment. He advocates acceptance of consequences of one’s speech as there is never an obligation to say anything at any point of time. On the contrary, Stuart Taylor Jr., in his essay â€Å"How campus censors squelch freedom of speech†, argues that college campus policies violate the First Amendment rights of students and one shouldn’t be punished or penalized for what he/she say. Although, Taylor and Fish both make evenhanded arguments, Taylor’s arguments are more convincing because of his rational of a more comprehensive view of the First Amendment. Fish initial argument starts from Fredrick Schauer description of first amendment opportunism i.e., tendency to hide behind the first amendment. Both of them believe that â€Å"such claims are just moral, social, economical, ideological assertions but do not have any special philosophical and historical affinity with first amendment †. So, what was the philosophy which shaped first amendment? Wasn’t it to foster a society and land of free from tyranny? It was the dire need for protection of rights of all Americans to express their moral, religious, political, and other convictions / opinions that envisaged First Amendment. This philosophy shaped political, cultural, moral and social values promoting freedom of expression over the years. Critical thinking and approach is evident from Supreme Court’s interpretation of First amendment in series of judgments over the years. Therefore, it does not seem appropriate to assert that these claims have no philosophical and historical affinity with First Amendment. Fish is clearly troubled by the double standards practiced in campus. He illustrates it with example of editors in campuses. He believes that an editor exercise judgment when he decides what to publish or not and it is different from silencing and self censorship. Silencing means to compel or reduce to silence while censorship implies control exercised repressively (merriam-webster). Fish argues that no one is silenced because a single outlet declines to publish their work but still has choice to say what he wants to say. He believes â€Å"Silencing occurs when that outlet (or any other) is forbidden by the state to publish him on pain of legal action; censorship is the same†. He further adds â€Å"Self-censorship, in short, is not a crime or a moral failing; it is a responsibility† I agree with Fish on this account that there needs to be more