Mersey Side Case Essay Example for Free

Mersey Side Case Essay Background Problem Statement Diamond chemicals is a leading propylene producer and a major player in the chemicals industry worldwide. However the share of the company had fallen from  £60 at the end of 1999 to  £30 in 2000 on account of worldwide economic slowdown and poor financial performance. Given the prevalent scenario, it was time to obtain funds from corporate headquarters for a modernization program for Merseyside project. This project will not only renovate and rationalize a production line but also make up for deferred maintenance and increase production efficiency. Lucy Morris is the Plant Manager at Merseyside and by nature she is a high achiever and a Notre dame MBA. Frank Greystock is the Controller, President of Diamond Chemicals. To make a compelling case, Frank and Lucy try to make a financial model to calculate the NPV, IRR and Payback period for this project but are challenged on several aspects. To pursue their endeavor, they need to correct the model as per the feedback from the shareholders and management. Thus the problem statement is to suggest corrections to the existing model and thus calculate the NPV, IRR and payback period which would not be challenged further and the project could be approved. Methodology and Results In addition to the baseline model presented in Exhibit 2 of the case study, four cash flow models were built considering the following criteria: * Cannibalization: This model was directly taken from the case study and was used as a starting point for reference. This model presents the information that Greystock included on the analysis that was submitted to Morris. Cannibalization of demand: This model reflects a reduced output at Rotterdam. The cannibalization aspect is obtained by shifting the added volume from the plant in Holland (Rotterdam) to the plant England (Merseyside) regardless of the fact that both plants operate under the same company. * Excess transport needed: This model accounts for a  £2 million  for the purchase of rolling stock to support the anticipated growth of the firm. The funds would be used to purchase tank cars to be used at Merseyside. * Including EPC project: This model includes the recommendation provided by Griffin Tewitt, assistant plant manager at Merseyside. This model reflects the detrimental effects of including a project that adds no value, to the original model. By itself, the EPC project does not stand a chance of approval, thus the only effect that it has, by bundling with the polypropylene project, is to increase the paylack period, lower NPV and reduce the IRR of the overall project. * Recommended model which consists all the right variables’ values: This model contains all the adjusted variable with the recommendations that our team would follow, if placed in the position of Morris. This accounts for The Results from these were as follows: | Baseline| Cannibalized| Excess Transport| EPC| Recommended| IRR| 25.9%| 21%| 22%| 21.43%| 31.47%| NPV (MM)|  £ 8.95 |  £ 5.75 |  £ 6.16 |  £ 5.00 |  £ 13.37 | PBP (Yrs)| 3.61| 4.09| 3.95| 4.08| 3.20| Thus we can see for the recommended model as the NPV is  £ 13.4 Million and the investment required it  £ 9 Million, it is a lucrative project. The recommended model above considers a 3% inflation which varies from 1.2 – 5.1% in UK. Considering this variation the following graph shows how the NPV and IRR would change with inflation The company charges a 3.5% for overhead investments. However, as the project is expected to reduce overhead costs, increase efficiency, output and reduce the power consumption, this overhead investment fee should be waived. If this waiver is implemented, the NPV increases to  £15.0 Million. The Purchase Cost of Rolling Stock is currently considered as  £ 2 Million. This would be used for transportation needs arising due to the anticipated excessive demand. However this investment would be made regardless of the project and hence only a part of the investment should be considered for the modeling purposes. What proportion of the investment would be used  specifically for this project will determine the value of the Purchase Cost of Rolling Stock that would be definitely lesser than  £2 Million. Currently, the model is based on the assumption that the production will run on full capacity and the sales team will be able to sell all of the throughput. This assumption should be tested and, if not valid, the variation should be accounted in the model. Conclusions and Recommendations * Using the recommended model as a basis for comparison, against the original model, Merseyside is a promising project because the NPV is  £ 13.4 Million and the investment cost is  £ 9 Million with a payback period of 3.2 years and IRR of 31.47%. . * Greystock’s model did not account for inflation. The inflation rate of 3% should be considered in the final analysis. This changes the NPV from  £9.7 Million to  £13.4 Million, a  £3.7 Million difference. * The sunk costs  £0.5 Million should not be considered * In case the overhead investment cost can be waived as the project itself aims at reducing overhead investments; the NPV would be  £ 15.0 Million * The Purchase Cost of Rolling Stock is considered  £ 2 Million which can be lowered considering the actual increase in transportation * The Customer retention can vary and depending on the anticipated demand the NPV, IRR and Payback period might change References: i. Darden Business Publishing: Diamond Chemicals PLC (A): The Merseyside Project ii. http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Pages/inflationreport/infrep.aspx iii. Class 1 2 Presentations from Operations Cost and Risk Management

A Critical Exploration of Klein’s Discarded Factory in Connection With

There is an undoubtedly enormous influence on the world by consumerism. Consumerism and capitalism shape the nation that we live in today. Everyone knows this because they see advertisements all day long on television, on the radio, on billboards and through hundreds of other mediums. Unfortunately, what the world is not exposed to is what goes on behind the marketing and the ultimate final sale. There is a dark side to capitalism created not only by shady merchants, but the worldwide multi-national companies as well. What both of these excerpts portray is the idea that there is more to the products we buy than we are told, or unfortunately, that we bother to ask about. Through the use of interviewing, traveling, and criticism, these authors do a fine job in analyzing the relationships between branding and marketing, and more importantly, between our modern day consumption habits and hidden production processes. Based on what we see through advertising and what we are told by sales associates in stores, we assume that many of the products that we are exposed to are of high quality, which justifies the high prices. For example, we pay higher prices for a Nike shoe than a brand less shoe because from what we know, it is made better. While some people have the sense to realize that a name doesn’t make that much of a difference, the scale to which we are misled is much greater than we think. Stoller points out one instance on the streets of Harlem in the following passage: And so they traveled uptown to invest in bolts of wholesale ‘Ghanaian kente,’ which they brought to their sweatshops in lower Manhattan, producing hundreds of ‘kente’ caps at a price cheaper than one could get by buying cloth on 125th Street and commission... ...rs were buying the African image. These two authors proved in different ways that there are flaws in consumerism. While Stoller didn’t attack the market as Klein did, he shed light on an underground society that people did not know too much about, even though we see them every day. That idea is eerily similar to multi-national brands that we see every day, doing things that we as consumers unfortunately, do not know too much about. This grand scheme of giving up ethics for an increased profit is not only inconveniencing us consumers on the streets of Manhattan with fake cloth, thanks to Klein, we can see that it is literally destroying the world. Works Cited Stoller, Paul. 2002. Money Has No Smell: The Africanization of New York City. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Klein, Naomi. 1999. No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies. Canada: Knopf Canada.

I Am Sam Film Analysis Essay

Sam is an intellectually disabled man whose place in society is questioned regularly as many members of society look down on him as a person and a parent, judging him and alienating him and showing him that he doesn’t belong. These opinions are strengthened in a scene where Sam’s daily routine is partially altered when he takes Lucy to Big Boy instead of IHOP and is unable to get his usual order; he has a mental break down and this reaction from the slight change only reinforces to the rest of society that as a mentally disabled man, Sam doesn’t belong as a regular part of society. As a director of the film, Nelson uses different colours as a technique to convey emotion and create the feeling of belonging or not belonging. When Sam and Lucy are together the colours are bright which creates a warm, welcoming atmosphere showing that he belongs. Although in contrary scenes where he wishes to make it seem as though Sam doesn’t belong, such as in the courtroom scenes where Lucy, the one person who makes him feel as though he belongs is taken from him, he creates a sad and dark atmosphere turning the colours dark and this to be more emotional. Background music is used to control the mood and atmosphere of the film and is used as an instrument to represent the sense of belonging and not belonging Sam feels. This technique is shown in the beginning of the film when Sam’s routine has to change and he rushes to hospital in order to see the birth of his daughter, the music is turned to a frantic percussion beat representing the feeling of stress and desperate nature of the situation he is in. Throughout the movie this quick pace percussion beat continuous emphasising the stress for Sam in particular scenes when he feels stressed or as though he doesn’t belong, like at the time when he realises Lucy is holding back her education because of him in order to make him feel smarter the beat represents his quickening heart rate, which is how Nelson used sound to reinforce mood and atmosphere. Nelson also uses props to show the loving nature of the relationship between Lucy and Sam. A scene where this is depicted is when they are on the swings together at the park, Nelson uses doves, which is a symbol of love, flying across the sky above them at the beginning of the scene in a birds-eye view camera shot which symbolizes the everlasting love between them. Another camera technique used to convey love between Lucy and Sam is conveyed when the camera zooms in on Sam and Lucy who are holding hands showing that despite his intellectual incapability she accepts and loves her fath er regardless.

Men and Eating Disorders Essay - 1182 Words

Men and Eating Disorders About seven million women across the country suffer from eating disorders including anorexia nervosa and bulimia and, as a result most research involving these disorders have only been conducted on females. However, as many as a million men may also suffer from these same disorders. Women are not the only people prone to disliking what they see when they look into the mirror. Now a days more men are worried about their body shape. Clinical reports tell us that one in ten men suffer from eating disorders. More attention needs to be paid to mens eating habits. What eating disorders do men and boys get? Just like girls and women, males get anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervous. Many males describe†¦show more content†¦How many males have these disorders? Perhaps as many as one in six cases of anorexia nervosa occur in males, (ANRED http://www.anred.com). Binge eating disorder seems to occur almost equally in males and females, although males are not as likely to feel guilty or anxious after a binge as women do. It is difficult to known exactly how many males have bulimia. Some researchers believe about 15% of all cases of this disorder occurs in men. Clinics and counselors see many more females than males, but that may be because males are reluctant to confess what has become known as a teenage girls problem. My health professionals do not expect to see eating disorders in men and may therefore misdiagnose them. Are the risk factors any different for males than they are for females? Risk factors for males include the following: They were overweight as children. They have been dieting. Dieting is one of the most powerful eating disorder triggers for both males and females, (ANRED). They participate in a sport that demands thinness. Runners and jockeys are at a higher risk than football players and weight lifters. Wrestlers who try to shed pounds quickly before a match so they can compete in a lower weight category seem to be at high risk. Body builders are at risk if they deplete body fat fluid reserves to achieve high definition. They have job or profession that demands thinness like models and actors. So males are members of the gay community where men are judged onShow MoreRelatedMen and Eating Disorders1453 Words   |  6 Pagessomeone suffering from an eating disorder. What about overly health conscience, extreme muscle mass, and obsessively exercising? New disorders like Muscle Dysmorphia are being discovered in males that have not been brought to the fore front of news today. The male population is severely under calculated and usually passed over when people cover statistics and findings for eating disorders. 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