The Conservative’s Right to Buy policy has changed the quality Essay

The Conservative’s Right to Buy policy has changed the quality and quantity of local authority housing beyond all recognition. Discuss - Essay Example But the scenario changes when the government of a country makes it easier and affordable for the people to buy houses. An example is the introduction of the ‘Right to Buy Policy’ (RTB) introduced by the Conservative government in the UK (later to become part of the Housing Act 1985 as sections 188 to 188). This paper is a review of the positive and negative effects of the policy and whether it has changed the quality and quantity of local authority housing beyond all recognition. The right to Buy scheme was first introduced in 1980 and the policy aims at â€Å"at secure tenants of local authorities (councils) and those assured tenants of registered social landlords/housing associations who previously held secure tenancies with local authorities. It is open to virtually any secure tenant who can afford to buy† (Communities and Local Government). Relatively high levels of discounts were also provided for the tenants if they intended to exercise their rights to buy. Several changes in legislation have taken place over the years and it is not intended in this paper to go into its details. The primary purpose as mentioned earlier is to understand its effects and repercussions. It is clear from published literature and facts that the policy did have an enormous impact on the housing sector in the country. According to the Guardian newspaper, as of 2003, nearly 1.5 million homes have been purchased by tenants and the level of ownership has risen from 55 to 7 0%. (Weaver 2003). The figure for Scotland in 2006, according to Communities Minister Malcolm Chisholm was 67%. Balchin and Rhoden quoting Hamnett state that the near dormant housing sector radically changed gears within ten years of the introduction of the policy. The housing sector was not very dynamic for nearly half a century prior to its introduction (Balchin &Rhoden 2002, p. 10). There are more words of praise and appreciation. In the book

Commentary on the questionnaire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Commentary on the questionnaire - Essay Example Due to this fact, I oftentimes predisposed to being more of an evaluator of a situation and/or a particular issue. Although I realize that the test is not capable of analyzing or measuring each and every aspect of my personality, it is quite possible that I have overestimated my skills as an evaluator and should instead focus upon improving this particular aspect of my approach as a function of affecting a more positive outcome in the future. Interestingly, and somewhat surprisingly, the test denoted that irate and 11 out of 12 as far as being an â€Å"ideas person†. Whereas I have long prided myself with respect to the fact that I come up with potential solutions to issues and seek to engage teams in a positive way, the ranking of 11 out of 12 with respect to this category was not expected. In such a manner, this encourages me to continue this particular approach and engage team members with potential solutions and ideas as a means of effecting positive outcomes in the future. Furthermore, due to the fact that I have long held an interest in creativity and focused upon approaching issues from a standpoint that is uncommon to others, the potential for maximizing efficiency and benefit of being and ideas person comes to be represented to an even more full and complete degree. Additionally, as has been noted above, I have long understood myself to be both shy and somewhat in approachable in a situation that is defined by group interaction. Because of this, my scores with respect to leadership are rather low/moderate. Although ranking 6 out of 12 does not denote the fact that I am fearful of any level of leadership, it most certainly underscores the fact that I am not at ease or within a zone of comfort engaging with a position of leadership and directing others with respect to how they might best engage the tasks at hand. What was additionally noted had to do with the fact that I ranked relatively

Impacts Of Tourism In Cyprus

Impacts Of Tourism In Cyprus List and describe the potential positive and negative socio-cultural impacts of tourism in an area of your choice. Tourism is a product that is produced and consumed at the same time. Tourism affects the economy and lives of communities and has proven to be a lifesaver for many destinations. Impacts occur when tourism changes the value systems/ behavior, threatening native identity and that changes occur in community structure, family relationships, ceremonies, collective traditional styles and morality. Tourism can also cause positive impacts as it can serve as a helpful force for peace, help avoid urban relocation by creating local jobs and foster pride in cultural traditions. The type of tourist will have a differing effect on the host community. The mass tourist is less likely to adapt to the local cultures and will seek amenities and standards found in his home community. On the other hand the independent tourist will adapt more readily. The process of tourism development is very important because the speed and nature of development can be a major influence on the magnitude and direction of socio-cultural changes. The term socio-cultural impacts refer to changes to residents everyday experiences, as well as to their values, way of life, and intellectual and artistic products. NEGATIVE SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM Tourism can cause change / loss of local identity and values by: Commodification Standardisation Loss of authenticity / staged authenticity Adaptation to tourist demands POSITIVE SOCIO-CULTURAL IMPACTS OF TOURISM The promotion of cross-cultural understanding The incentive value of tourism in preserving local culture and heritage The promotion of social stability through positive economic outcomes The potential positive and negative socio-cultural impacts in Cyprus The positive and negative impacts of tourism on the Cyprus socio-cultural structure has been an issue for a long time. Social impacts can be considered as changes in the lives of people who live in destination communities, which are connected with tourist actions in regard to moral conduct, creative expressions. Cultural impacts can be the changes in the arts, traditional ceremonies, customs and rituals and architecture of people that result from tourism activity. Witt (1991) claims that, â€Å"the greater the difference between the host community and the tourists the greater will be the affect of tourism on society†. This presents a challenge to decision makers in regard to the type of tourism that a destination is trying to attract. Thus, for example, at the national level a specific development might be justified on the grounds that it is positive for the society as a whole even if on average it is not positive for the host community. All travelers seek tourism experience, yet very different goals and objectives are required through different roles and behaviors. This occurs because in Cyprus are many different types of tourists. Each type of tourist can be expected to behave differently while visiting a destination. Certain groups can be seen as more exploitive and less sensitive to social and cultural values. Explorers blend into the Cyprus life as local people do and stay longer but they have contact with fewer people than members of a charter tour that moves through Cyprus for shopping or sightseeing. In the case of Cyprus, the tourist policy of the Cyprus Tourism Organization aims to attract middle and high-income class tourists in order to minimize possible resentment between locals and tourists. According to statistics by ‘Eurostat, Cypriots enjoy a higher standard of living than other regions and the type of tourist that visits the island is not the typical high and middle class income tourist but mostly youngsters who tend to reach their limits once they are abroad. The effects of tourists behavior and activities on young people in the area are very noticeable. The increase in drug trafficking and crime are the two major effects of tourism on the local community. Young people tend to spend a lot of their free time away from their families and from community activities since they spend more time in the tourist areas going out clubbing or at bars. As a result, we have an increase in the number of school dropouts and in the number of people smoking at early stages of their age. Cyprus is considered to be one of the few destinations that have controlled tourism well, and it is now repaying the benefits. Cyprus is still an up market destination offering a friendly atmosphere and high quality service. Cyprus has always marketed itself as a prestige resort. Surveys show that many residents see the tourists as a breath of fresh air into the society, economy and life of the locals. The Cyprus Tourism Organization is aiming to keep its high quality and consequently its up market clientele by offering excellent facilities and different types of tourism activities such as Agro Tourism, Bird Watching and Cycling. To achieve this selective advertising and promotion are adopted in order to attract this type of customer. The development of the Tourist Industry led to an improvement in the standard of living for the local people in several areas as tourism expenditure increases the income and improve the standard of living and the quality of life for the locals. Tourism also contributes to the development of infrastructure with the building of airports, new roads, restaurants and hospitals, attraction to enable greatest number of citizens to benefit from the cultural, recreational and leisure activities of the tourism sector. Tourism has also aided in arising the interest for art festivals and crafts, for example weaving, embroidery, wood crafting, pottery etc that have been practiced in small villages for hundreds of years. The impact of tourism on the conservation of old buildings is also both positive and negative. Cyprus residents claim that tourists look for and appreciate local architecture and authentic traditional style, so a lot of buildings are being renovated or conserved as mainly tourist attractions, which would have been destroyed by eager owner. On the other hand, old buildings do not have enough capacity to provide accommodation for the growing number of tourists, so they are destroyed to give room to new and large guest houses with appropriate capacity and tourist facilities. The media have described Paralimni and Agia Napa as â€Å"a round-the clock neon-lit cosmopolitan mini-metropolis and topless sex capital of Cyprus†. The majority state that tourists have a negative effect on the Cypriot way of life and that tourism changes the traditional culture, also it decreases the lifestyle quality of Cypriots who live in tourist areas. The extreme concentration of tourists resulted in the modification of social attitudes among young people, particularly towards sexual behavior. The European way of living has altered the Cypriot society as younger generations are seeking different values than their families, and thus resulting in weaker family bonds. A number of researchers examined the link between the perception that tourism contributes to increase in crime and the support for its development. The crime is related to resident perceptions of tourism development. There is also an increase in prostitution and rise in criminal activity and possible anger b etween local and tourists. Rural population, long term residents, farmers, and younger segments perceive tourism as contributing to an increase in crime especially in the area of Agia Napa. Agia Napa is advertised as a place of great consumption of alcohol, sex, drugs and crime and a great damage caused by thousands of topless beach goers. Moreover the massive arrival of youngsters changed the image of the area from a fun relaxing atmosphere to more of a nightlife entertainment with many nightclubs and discos. As a result, there is an increase in drug trafficking and crime as well as the young generation in Cyprus has started to adopt different set of values on morality and style of dressing which is not acceptable by the older generations. Tourists have altered the Cypriot values and beliefs especially among the young generation and as mentioned before the dress code has changed and nudity is much more acceptable now. In spite of all negative and positive impacts of tourism on the socio-cultural structure of Cyprus it is not yet clear whether the benefits outweigh the costs. In general, the residents of Cyprus have a positive attitude toward tourism. Since the success of tourism depends very much on the human attitudes and behavior of the residents of a destination towards tourists, this seems to be an encouraging result for the future of tourism development. Residents recognize a range of potential positive and negative impacts of tourism however, current attitudes are generally quite positive and there is support for future modest increase in tourism. The tourism development strategy should aim to protect local culture, respect local traditions and promote local ownership and management of programs and projects so as to foster community stewardship of the natural resource base. As integrated processes take time, tourism umbrella organizations should start with voluntary self-restraint, until loc ally adapted objectives have been reached. REFERENCES Witt, S.F. (1991). Tourism in Cyprus, Balancing the benefits and costs. Travel Management. Elena Spanou (2007), The impact of Tourism in Cyprus. Internet: www.srcosmos.gr/srcosmos/showpub.aspx?aa=10216 Assessed on 25/02/10 21:00pm

voltaire :: essays research papers

Voltaire said that â€Å"If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him† and I concur. Voltaire was trying to say that civilizations need a â€Å"higher power† to successfully work. Throughout history, every civilization (with the exception of those developed in the twentieth century) has had a god, or gods to explain the wonders of the natural world and provide guidance. From the ancient cultures of the Middle East and Asia to modern day western civilization, gods have played a major role in daily life. Voltaire more than likely knew that a civilization without order and a governing force would most certainly fail. As much as people turn to these gods for direction and explanation, they also turn to those same gods for discipline. What could possibly keep a person form committing wrong more than a person or thing with the capability (or fabled capability) of striking them down where they stand? Gods stand as method of â€Å"keeping people in line† so to speak. I know that as a child in a semi-devout roman catholic family, the â€Å"fear of God† idea may very well have stopped me from performing terrible atrocities (that is, atrocious in the scope of being a small child). No matter what, that â€Å"fear of God† has, and may very well always stand as the one supreme police force in the world. There have even been examples of godless societies throughout this century in literature, and even reality. Orwell’s classic 1949 novel 1984 depicts a twisted dystopia in which the government has eradicated gods and any other non-governmental aspect of life. The book, in one of the many sub-concepts of the work, shows the quality of life of the broken-spirited souls who have nothing to turn to for hope, or an end after the means. Orwell, like many other authors including Aldus Huxley in A Brave New World, shows that a society without god will imminently dissolve to failure.

Summit Partners Fleetcor a

Private Equity and Investment Banking SPRING 2010 Summit Partners FleetCor A 1. Summarize the proposed transaction: Summit Partners proposes to FleetCor Technologies (later preferred as â€Å"FleetCor† or the â€Å"Company†) an investment into FleetCor for the total amount of $44. 9 million in return for a post transaction ownership of 54. 2% in the â€Å"Company† and coming down to 46% ownership in the company after newly created stock options for management equivalent to 15% ownership in the company has been completely executed and fully diluted. This investment is in the form of convertible preferred stock with an 8% accrued interest, compounding annually. As the transaction come through, Summit’s prefer stock will be treated equal-footing in liquidity with the other $37. 5 million of existing preferred stock. The proceeds from Summit’s investment will be used as followings: †¢ $9. 0 million will be used to redeem part of a $15 million subordinated debt held by current investors. The remaining $6 million of this debt will be converted by the current investors into the same strip of prefer stock which Summit proposes. †¢ About $16. 6 million will be used as an upfront cash to buy back FleetCor’s seven â€Å"Super Licensees† †¢ The remaining $19. 3 million will be used as a general working capital for FleetCor to fund its growing business and to buy back any other potential licensees. 2. Discuss five key investment strengths: FleetCor’s management team: very well-performed management team consisting of: †¢ Very high quality profile and experienced CEO, Ron Clarke, who has brought FleetCor back on track after just 18 months of working in the company. †¢ Other executives who have many experiences and a lot of knowledge in the industry including H. Steve Smith, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing; Tommy Andrews, Senior VP of Operation; and Scott Ruoff, Senior VP of Business Development. FleetCor has a highly differential busin ess strategy leading a very competitive business as followings: †¢ Middle Market Focus: big market for growing with very little potential competitors and high barriers to entry †¢ Local Market Distribution: FleetCor has created a network of local branches with a complete staff employees including a general manager †¢ â€Å"Semi-Exclusive† Merchant Acceptance Network: FleetCor limits the size of merchant network to provide greater traffic volume to participating retailers. Highly established market shares in the highly potential and continued growth market: FleetCor has 90,000 fleet customers across its entire system comprised especially of four large national accounts such as Sears, UPS, Aramark and National Line Service; and over 500,000 active cardholders. ? FleetCor provided its customers the cost-saving and customized information report to really please the customers and make them high reluctance to switch to new card network providers, leading to low custo mer churn. High gross profit margin (in case of gross revenue report): averagely 5%, double compared to other regular credit card issuing companies or its big competitors in high-end market, however, it has still gained highly growing market share because of its unique and differential business strategy. 3. Discuss five investment concerns: FleetCor is still missing a financial expert who not only has experiences and knowledge in the industry but also has ability to draw fully effective projection for a long-term growth by implementing a stable financial system ( Suggest: Hiring a highly effective and experienced CFO. ? High projected improvements after the acquisition. The company should be a little more conservative due to the fact that there are always some unexpected risks associating with the implication of a new centralized system. Suggest: the company should project in the more conservative way and should establish some preventive control procedures to eliminate these risks b efore really testing the centralized system to avoid any unexpected damages and losses. ? FleetCor has not yet settle the final agreements with the seven â€Å"Super Licensees† for acquiring them, creating some sources of unstable and going concern business ( Suggest: the company should be more specific and aggressive while dealing with the licenses to make the final agreements. Higher gas prices result in a larger A/R financing cost and also lead to a higher bad debt expense, even though the net revenue might still be the same ( Suggest: implement some forms of hedging strategies against the increases in gas prices such as going long on a call option at a specific gas price which might materially increase the A/R financing cost and bad debt expenses. ? FleetCor currently has weak managerial reporting system ( Suggest: bringing in some more IT consultants and programmers to create a more effective managerial and financial system while working along with a CFO who is a financi al expert. . Using Exhibit 4B evaluate the proposed acquisitions. Would you recommend purchasing all of the licenses? Why or why not? Explain Briefly Overall, the proposed acquisitions yield the company a combined entity with much better performance in term of profitability such as: †¢ New combined gross margin is 5% higher than the base only. †¢ EBIT margin is almost 3. 75 times higher than the base only. †¢ EBITDA margin is over 1. 5 times higher than the base only. I recommend FleetCor only acquire 5 effectively operated Licensees out of the seven ones including the ones in the areas of Houston, Carolina, Mississippi, Baton Rouge, and Atlanta because the other two which are locating in Chicago and Tampa are inefficient in term of profitability. Licensee in Chicago will yield a loss of EBITDA and the one in Tampa yield only $83,000 of EBITDA which is very small compare to the cost of acquiring this licensee. 5. Look at the Transaction Multiples Analysis in Exhibit 5d and 6. Analyze the comparables (Exhibit 6): a. Would you recommend using all the comparables listed? Would you exclude any of the comparables? Explain your answers. I would not recommend using all the comparables listed. I would exclude all of the comparables from group of credit card issuers because FleetCor has been operating its business as a merchant card processor which is different from the credit card industry. Basic principle for valuation using industry comparables is that we have to use comparables for the group of companies in the same industry with the valued company. I might want to keep the comparables for the group of other transaction processors. Through my observation, I find that Ceridian which is in the same industry with FleetCor has the most similar Enterprise Value/Revenue Ratio and Enterprise Value/EBITDA with the company (leading to that Ceridian would be a good indicator for valuation of FleetCor b. Based on the comparables how would you value the proposed acquisitions of the licensees? What do you think of the multiples proposed in exhibit 5d? Basing on comparables data of Ceridian, I would value the proposed acquisitions of the licensees at 13. 1xEBITDA. I think the multiples proposed 3. 9x in 2001 and 3. 3x in 2002 in exhibit 5d are way below the multiple of Ceridian, and even much lower when compare to the industry average 16. 9x and 15x accordingly. In general, if the final transaction is completed as proposed, the company will be much better off, and even better if the company exclude the acquisition of the two licensees in Chicago and Tampa. In addition, if all of the big seven licensees do not accept the acquisitions at this proposed multiples, Summit might suggest the FleetCor’s management to raise these multiples and deal specific case to case with each of the licensee. 6. Assume the acquisitions take place on December, 31, 2001. Value Fleet or using the DCF methodology. Use Exhibit 5a, 5b and 5c to complete the valuation. Make assumptions as needed. Assume a market premium of 4. 5%. Make sure you state and explain your assumptions. I will use the equity beta of Ceridian (? =0. 9) to calculate cost of equity for FleetCor because the two companies are considered comparables. Assume the market has been operating efficiency, and according to CAPM: RE = RF + ? *MRP (whereas MRP: market risk premium= 4. 5%, and RF = 4. 27%, 5-year Treasury interest rate). So, RE = 4. 27% + 0. 79*4. 5% = 7. 825%. Another point of view, the company has projected to have very high growth 15%,18%,19%,19%,16% in consecutive five years so that Summit Partners may have to require more return on equity compensating for more risks if this projection failed. I assume that discount rate to be reasonably 18%. The below is my valuation: | |Fiscal Year Ending December 31, | | | |2001 CY |2002P |2003P |2004P |2005P | EBITDA in 2006 | |52,349 | | | | | | |Exit Multiple | |8 | | | | | | |Terminal Value (Firm Value at Exit) | |418,792 | | | | | | |Discounted Terminal Value | |183,058 | | | | | | |Total Present Value to Summit | |226,602 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Discount Rate using | |18% | | | | | | | 7. Look at Exhibit 7. What do you think of the multiples used? What do you think of the Irr’s? Explain and support your analysis. I think the multiples used are reasonable , even though, these multiples might be much below the average and the median of the industry overall, Summit should be conservative for an exit multiple of 8 in case there are some unexpected outcomes happened after the acquisitions and from them make the projection failed. The IRR’s are considered high profitable. Even in the worst case scenario, the EBITDA exit multiple is equal 6, Summit still make 23. 8 % in IRR which is over three times compares to the market at 7. 825%. 8. At this time would you support this transaction? Why or Why not explain. I would fully support this transaction because of the following reasons: 1) FleetCor’s management teams with high profile, experienced, and knowledge executives will make the company’s high projection come true. ) The proposed acquisitions of the big seven licensees has been settled in basis, and soon become a very good deal for the beginning of this investment. 3) Base on my valuation given using the data in Summit’s projections, the NPV (Net Present Value) is way off the positive number showing that this is a very good project. 4) Even though, Summit might approach a conservative way to evaluate the EBITDA exit multiple of 8, the investment still yield a 31. 8% in IRR over the period of five years.

Motivation at Washburn Guitars Video

Some are motivated by the fact of music and by music alone. Some are motivated by Just being able to work on an instrument. A lot of the motivation I think actually comes from the product itself in a lot of ways. When employees see the actual finished product, I think that ends up being the motivator in a lot of ways. 2. What kinds of guitars do employees most like to produce?Employees at Washburn Guitars most like to produce signature model guitars. I think one of the biggest motivational factors for this is that when they are done with a guitar, they actually have taken it from the drawing board to the manufacturing point, giving it to the artist and watching them play it on stage. It motivates employees at Washburn Guitars to create more signature guitars for top recording artists. 3. What Is the connection between quality guitars and workforce motivation?Washburn Guitar creates Its own challenges by promising customers that each guitar presents the finest quality at the best poss ible price. They do not compromise when it comes to the quality of their guitars. Signature models are used to Increase the appeal of a guitar. It makes a statement about the guitar's quality and It strengthens Washburn relationship with artists and millions of their fans. Washburn employees need to make good on this promise. Reference Lesser, R. N. & ACH, C. F. (2010).

Free Essays on Of Miles Davis

Of Miles Davis By Willam Ford The poem is talking about the jazz great Miles Davis. In stanza one it says â€Å"The pop out eyes belonging to Baldwin but are sadder meaner , more direct In their accusations against us† In my opinion it is talking about a person who is holding in a lot of hurt and problems, and he is hiding his problems from the people who enjoys him. In stanza two it says â€Å"The French have given him a medal and assigned him Picassio’s genius. In the third world he outsells Bird (Charlie Parker).† It is basically saying that Miles Davis is the best and makes more money, or draws more of a crowd than Bird. In stanza three the poem states† Costumed tonight in a showering tent of silver, he stands under the spot Head crooked , glasses as dark†. It is saying that once again he is covering up a problem to hide it from his audience and his eyes are covered by dark glasses because if they weren’t people would know what the problem is that he is trying to hide. In stanza four it states â€Å"As eyes of! Tiresias He’s blowing a funky put-to-gether Bouquet of malvolent flowers.† It is saying that when he is blowing his instrument his eyes stand out like the great Greek god Tiresias. Then it talks about a funky put together, it means that his music is one of a kind and it then talks about a Bouquet of malvolent flowers. In my opinion it is saying that his music is beautiful but fading because of continued dug use. In stanza seven the poem states that â€Å"As from the devil hisself the whole sound shaking with a cocaine jumpiness He says he finally did kick.† I think it is saying that his music is changing because he has finally gave his problem, which kept him costumed and kept his eyes covered with dark glasses. In stanza eight and nine it says â€Å"And yet here and there, we hear it , That muted horn from kind of blue almost as slow, almost that orchidaceous.† I personally think that it is saying that ever... Free Essays on Of Miles Davis Free Essays on Of Miles Davis Of Miles Davis By Willam Ford The poem is talking about the jazz great Miles Davis. In stanza one it says â€Å"The pop out eyes belonging to Baldwin but are sadder meaner , more direct In their accusations against us† In my opinion it is talking about a person who is holding in a lot of hurt and problems, and he is hiding his problems from the people who enjoys him. In stanza two it says â€Å"The French have given him a medal and assigned him Picassio’s genius. In the third world he outsells Bird (Charlie Parker).† It is basically saying that Miles Davis is the best and makes more money, or draws more of a crowd than Bird. In stanza three the poem states† Costumed tonight in a showering tent of silver, he stands under the spot Head crooked , glasses as dark†. It is saying that once again he is covering up a problem to hide it from his audience and his eyes are covered by dark glasses because if they weren’t people would know what the problem is that he is trying to hide. In stanza four it states â€Å"As eyes of! Tiresias He’s blowing a funky put-to-gether Bouquet of malvolent flowers.† It is saying that when he is blowing his instrument his eyes stand out like the great Greek god Tiresias. Then it talks about a funky put together, it means that his music is one of a kind and it then talks about a Bouquet of malvolent flowers. In my opinion it is saying that his music is beautiful but fading because of continued dug use. In stanza seven the poem states that â€Å"As from the devil hisself the whole sound shaking with a cocaine jumpiness He says he finally did kick.† I think it is saying that his music is changing because he has finally gave his problem, which kept him costumed and kept his eyes covered with dark glasses. In stanza eight and nine it says â€Å"And yet here and there, we hear it , That muted horn from kind of blue almost as slow, almost that orchidaceous.† I personally think that it is saying that ever...