Socio-Economic Profile of a Switzerland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Socio-Economic Profile of a Switzerland - Essay Example In the paper, Switzerland’s status regarding Market Economy and Productivity, Purchasing Power Parity and Human Development Index are discussed. Religion is an important social variable that often determines the associated risk factors with a certain form of business. The religious stubbornness of the people of a country might put many constraining factors on the business environment of that country. By December 2010 the population of Switzerland was 7.9 million (. According to a publicly funded study the foundation of religious belief in Switzerland is eroding at a fast pace. 32 percent of Swiss populations are Protestant and 31 percent of them are Catholics; 12 percent are of non-Christian religion and 25 percent does not have any religious beliefs. Forty years ago the scenario was lot different when only one percent of the Swiss population was bereft of any religious belief. In the year 2000, the same figure stood at 11 percent. Language is the most important form of person al communication. Since in business communicating with people is most necessary, hence having a clear knowledge of the official languages of a country before setting foot upon its soil is most important from the business point of view. The four official languages of Switzerland are German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch. The meaning of body language and etiquette along with corporate culture differs from country to country. Knowing the meaning of the same might make a difference regarding success or failure of a business decision. The Swiss value â€Å"cleanliness, honesty, hard work, and material possessions†. The Switzerland motto is â€Å"Unity, yes; Uniformity, no.† The Swiss people are â€Å"proud of their environment and have a long tradition of freedom. They value sobriety, thrift, tolerance, punctuality and a sense of responsibility.†

The Army as a Profession of Arms Essay Example for Free

The Army as a Profession of Arms Essay As the Army transitions from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, the organization is well served to take a long look in the mirror. After ten plus years of deployments, our combat tested warriors are sure to possess more than enough valuable knowledge to reinforce and improve upon our status as a profession. A Tracdoc  published paper explains â€Å"to be a professional is to understand, embrace, and competently practice the expertise of the profession. † I believe the profession of arms exists and there are many components that reinforce this argument. Among these components, initial entry training and institutional learning, shared values, and a monopoly on our mission are three of the most important tenants. All Soldiers must graduate from Basic Combat Training and all officers must graduate from a commissioning source. Similar to medical school or law school in other traditional professions, these schools set the foundation for years of practice that will lead to expert work. From the first day in these schools, Soldiers are taught the seven Army values and the Soldiers creed. Comparable to the Hippocratic Oath, these words set basic principles all Soldiers must live by. Last, no other organization has the knowledge, material, or will to ensure national defense and security. The Army’s unique and expert work ensures it is a profession in the truest sense of the word. First, the Army provides specialized training and qualifications for its members. This initial training starts with BCT and a commissioning sources and continues through Advanced Individual Training for enlisted and the branch specific Basic Officer Leader Courses. Starting at the beginning of IET Soldiers are basically apprentices. All share knowledge common to members but unique to our organization. NCO’s and Company grade officers could be looked at as Journeymen. Have proven skills and knowledge. Senior NCO’s and Field Grade and Senior Officers are Master’s. All are professions but on different training paths. Also, Soldiers continue to qualify in the form of Military Occupational Specialty training, Army Physical Fitness Tests, and weapon qualifications that demonstrate a members potential for service throughout a career. According to Tracdoc commander General Robert Cone, it takes â€Å"years of hard work to reemphasize training and doctrine and years of individuals seeking to professionally improve themselves and the profession† to reach the desired end state of masters in the profession of arms. Second, the Army is governed by two related ethos. On the first day of initial training Soldiers are taught the importance of the seven Army values and begin to memorize the Soldier’s Creed. Like doctors and lawyers, â€Å"the military is an expert group, charged by its client to conduct work governed by a professional ethic† according to Lieutenant General Robert Caslen. A recent study commissioned by the Army found that 93% of Soldiers share their personal with the one set by the Army. Again, according to Caslen â€Å"the Army Values have sustained our institution through some of our most difficult years and will continue to be the foundation of our profession. † Last, no one else can provide national level security. A monopoly on the expert work that is to be performed is true of all professions. Caslen states that the American people â€Å"expect us to stand in the gap between the evil that is out there and our Nation’s values and our citizens themselves†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . This overwhelming charge is true to the profession of arms and can only be expected of experts in our given field. In conclusion, I believe the United States Army is a profession led by masters who are constantly training and mentoring expert replacements who execute their mission with the core values that have guided us for years. According to Brigadier General Sean MacFarland, â€Å"when we examine the key attributes of our profession, we can never lose sight of this underlying truth, because it sets us apart from all others. †

Southwestern Ohio Steel Company Essay -- Business Ohio Steel Company E

Southwestern Ohio Steel Company Southwestern Ohio Steel Limited Partnership (SOSLP) was considered to be one of the industry leaders in technology and service. SOSLP sells to approximately 500 customers, twenty five of which produces about two-thirds of the company's sales. Dan Wilson, vice president of sales at SOSLP, had recently received a letter from Matworks requesting SOSLP to provide sponsorship for an upcoming Matworks annual sales meeting. Dan needed to decide if providing sponsorship was feasible keeping in mind that Matworks had been a long standing customer of SOSLP while also knowing that gifts were no longer a custom in the steel industry.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Wilson should not offer to sponsor the annual sales meeting as this would not comply with company and industry situations.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In earlier days, ?wining and dining? the customer had been a part of the steel industry and adjusted as a cost of doing business. But recently government regulations had restricted this method of doing business and now ?buying? business was just not a part of the industry. Sponsoring the annual sales meeting does not comply with the present business ethics and SOSLP could risk hurting their image and losing respect in the marketplace. Matworks at one time had been one of SOSLP?s best customers and bought almost exclusively from the company. Over the past few years they had run into financial trouble and thus were not buying as much. They had gone from being in the top ten best cus...

Hw Chapter4

5. 4. You have found three investment choices for a one-year deposit: 10% APR Compounded monthly, 10% APR compounded annually, and 9% APR compounded daily. Compute the EAR for each investment choice. (Assume that there are 365 days in the year. ) Sol: 1+EAR= (1+r/k)k So, for 10% APR compounded monthly, the EAR is 1+EAR= (1+0. 1/12)12 = 1. 10471 => EAR= 10. 47% For 10% compounded annually, the EAR is 1+EAR= (1+0. 1)=1. 1 * EAR= 10% (remains the same). For 9% compounded daily 1+EAR= (1+0. 09/365)365 = 1. 09416 * EAR= 9. 4% 5-8. You can earn $50 in interest on a $1000 deposit for eight months.If the EAR is the same regardless of the length of the investment, how much interest will you earn on a $1000 deposit for a. 6 months. b. 1 year. c. 1 1/2 years. Sol: Since we can earn $50 interest on a $1000 deposit, Rate of interest is 5% Therefore, EAR = (1. 05)12/8 -1 =7. 593% a) 1000(1. 075936/12 – 1) = 37. 27 b) 1000(1. 07593? 1) = 75. 93 c) 1000(1. 075933/2 ? 1) = 116. 03 5-12. Capita l One is advertising a 60-month, 5. 99% APR motorcycle loan. If you need to borrow $8000 to purchase your dream Harley Davidson, what will your monthly payment be? Sol: Discount rate for 12 months is, 5. 99/12 = 0. 499167%C= 8000/[1/0. 004991(1-1/(1+0. 004991)60)] = $154. 63 5-16. You have just purchased a home and taken out a $500,000 mortgage. The mortgage has a 30-year term with monthly payments and an APR of 6%. a. How much will you pay in interest, and how much will you pay in principal, during the first year? b. How much will you pay in interest, and how much will you pay in principal, during the 20th year (i. e. , between 19 and 20 years from now)? Sol: a. APR of 6%/12 = 0. 5% per month. Payment = 500,000/[(1/. 005)(1- 1/1. 005360)]= $2997. 75 Total annual payments = 2997. 75 ? 12 = $35,973. Loan Balance after 1 year is 2997. 5[1/0. 005(1- 1/1. 005348)] = $493,860. Therefore, 500,000 – 493,860 = $6140 is principal repaid in first year. Interest paid in 1st year is 35,9 73 – 6140 = $29833. b. Loan balance in 19 years (or 360 – 19? 12 = 132 remaining pmts) is 2997. 75[1/0. 005(1- 1/1. 005192)]= $289,162 Loan Balance in 20 years = 2997. 75[1/0. 005(1- 1/1. 005120)] = $270,018 Therefore, Principal repaid = 289,162 – 270,018 = $19,144, and Interest repaid =$35,973 – 19,144 = $16,829. 5-20. Oppenheimer Bank is offering a 30-year mortgage with an APR of 5. 25%. With this mortgage your monthly payments would be $2000 per month.In addition, Oppenheimer Bank offers you the following deal: Instead of making the monthly payment of $2000 every month, you can make half the payment every two weeks (so that you will make 52 ? 2 = 26 payments per year). With this plan, how long will it take to pay off the mortgage of $150,000 if the EAR of the loan is unchanged? Sol: For every 2 weeks payment = 2000/2 = 1000. 1 year = 26 weeks. Therefore, (1. 0525)1/26 = 1. 001970. So, discount rate = 0. 1970%. Here, PV of loan payments is the outstandi ng balance. 150, 000= (1000/0. 001970)[1- 1/(1. 001970)N] If we solve for N,We get N= 177. 98. So, it takes 178 months to pay off the mortgage. If we decide to pay for 2 weeks, then 178*2= 356 weeks. 5-24. You have credit card debt of $25,000 that has an APR (monthly compounding) of 15%. Each month you pay the minimum monthly payment only. You are required to pay only the outstanding interest. You have received an offer in the mail for an otherwise identical credit card with an APR of 12%. After considering all your alternatives, you decide to switch cards, roll over the outstanding balance on the old card into the new card, and borrow additional money as well.How much can you borrow today on the new card without changing the minimum monthly payment you will be required to pay? Sol: Here the discount rate = 15/12 = 1. 25%. Assuming that monthly payment is the interest we get, 25,000*0. 15/12= $312. 50. This is perpetuity. So the amount can be borrowed at the new interest rate is thi s cash flow discounted at the new discount rate. The new discount rate is 12/12 = 1%. So, PV = 312. 50/0. 01 = $31,250. So by switching credit cards we are able to spend an extra 31, 250 ? 25, 000 = $6, 250. We do not have to pay taxes on this amount of new borrowing, so this is our after-tax benefit of switching cards. -28. Consider a project that requires an initial investment of $100,000 and will produce a single cash flow of $150,000 in five years. a. What is the NPV of this project if the five-year interest rate is 5% (EAR)? b. What is the NPV of this project if the five-year interest rate is 10% (EAR)? c. What is the highest five-year interest rate such that this project is still profitable? Sol: a. NPV = –100,000 + 150,000 / 1. 055 = $17,529. b. NPV = –100,000 + 150,000 / 1. 105 = –$6862. Here we need to calculate the IRR. Therefore, IRR = (150,000 / 100,000)1/5 – 1 = 8. 45%. 5-32. Suppose the current one-year interest rate is 6%.One year from now, you believe the economy will start to slow and the one-year interest rate will fall to 5%. In two years, you expect the economy to be in the midst of a recession, causing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates drastically and the one-year interest rate to fall to 2%. The one-year interest rate will then rise to 3% the following year, and continue to rise by 1% per year until it returns to 6%, where it will remain from then on. a. If you were certain regarding these future interest rate changes, what two-year interest rate would be consistent with these expectations? . What current term structure of interest rates, for terms of 1 to 10 years, would be consistent with these expectations? c. Plot the yield curve in this case. How does the one-year interest rate compare to the 10-year interest rate? Sol: a. The one-year interest rate is 6%. If rates fall next year to 5%, then if you reinvest at this rate over two years you would earn (1. 06)(1. 05) = 1. 113 per dollar invested. This amount corresponds to an EAR of (1. 113)1/2 – 1 = 5. 50% per year for two years. Thus, the two-year rate that is consistent with these expectations is 5. 0%. b. Year| Future Interest Rate| FV from re-investing| EAR| 1| 6%| 1. 0600| 6. 00%| 2| 5%| 1. 1130| 5. 50%| 3| 2%| 1. 1353| 4. 32%| 4| 3%| 1. 1693| 3. 99%| 5| 4%| 1. 2161 | 3. 99%| 6| 5%| 1. 2769 | 4. 16%| 7| 6%| 1. 3535 | 4. 42%| 8| 6%| 1. 4347 | 4. 62%| 9| 6%| 1. 5208 | 4. 77%| 10| 6%| 1. 6121 | 4. 89%| c. We can get the yield curve by considering all EARs above. It is an inverted curve. 5-36. You are enrolling in an MBA program. To pay your tuition, you can either take out a standard student loan (so the interest payments are not tax deductible) with an EAR of 5 ? or you can use a tax-deductible home equity loan with an APR (monthly) of 6%. You anticipate being in a very low tax bracket, so your tax rate will be only 15%. Which loan should you use? Sol: APR is given, So we can get EAR by, (1+0. 06/12)12 = 1. 06168. So, EAR = 6. 168%. We have to convert the before tax rate to after tax rate. 6. 168? (1- 0. 15) = 5. 243% Since student loan is higher after tax rate, it is better to use home equity loan. 5-40. You firm is considering the purchase of a new office phone system. You can either pay $32,000 now, or $1000 per month for 36 months. . Suppose your firm currently borrows at a rate of 6% per year (APR with monthly compounding). Which payment plan is more attractive? b. Suppose your firm currently borrows at a rate of 18% per year (APR with monthly compounding). Which payment plan would be more attractive in this case? Sol: a. The payments are as risky as the firm’s other debt. So, opportunity cost = debt rate. PV(36 month annuity of 1000 at 6%/12 per month) = $32,871. So we need to pay cash. b. PV(annuity at 18%/12 per months) = $27,661. So we can pay over time.

Mary Shellys Frankenstein Essay

Mary Shelly’s novel is structured in a way, which attempts to give authority to her views. Opening with an authors introduction, and supported with a preface with her famous husband. Mary Shelly’s novel starts with a series of letters claiming to know the ‘truth’ of Victor Frankenstein’s story. This family involvement, followed by professional distancing, reveals the strength of the author’s feelings on the responsibilities of family and scientists. For a century and a half, many readers of the Mary Shelly’s novel ‘Frankenstein’ have debated over which character could be associated with the expression ‘ Monster’. Mary Shelly said in the preface the reason why she produced this nineteenth century novel was a ‘ghost story’ â€Å"oh! If I could only contrive one which would frighten my reader as I myself had been frightened that night†. She wanted her readers to feel the terror that she had dreamed one night. The readers of Mary Shelly’s novel ‘ Frankenstein’ might believe that the creature is the monster, however there are two potential monsters in the novel. These two characters from the novel are the ‘Creature’ itself and the creator of the creature, Dr Victor Frankenstein. One candidate who might be believed to be the monster is Dr Victor Frankenstein. At the age of seventeen Victor’s parents’ suggested that he should become a student at the university of Ingolstadt. Unfortunately Victor’s mother passed away while giving birth to his brother. The death of his mother shocked him and caused him to search for ways to extend life. After the death of his mother, Victor took his parents’ advice and went to university. â€Å"My departure for Ingolstadt which had been deferred by these events†¦ it appeared to me sacrilege so soon to leave the repose, akin to death, of the house of mourning and to rush into the thick if life†. This suggests he wasn’t sure if it was the respectable move to make, to leave his mourning family behind and go off to university. While at university Victor became fascinated in biology: â€Å"One of the phenomena, which had peculiarly attracted my attention was the structure of the human frame, and indeed any animal endued with life†. Victor was focused to stop death. He was grieving so much because he had lost someone so important and close to him: † I thought that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter †¦ renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption†. His fascination with extending life overtook his studying; he became so committed to finding a way, he had set himself a challenge and he was so sure to achieve that challenge. A time in the novel where we are shown that Victor is related as a monster is the time when he begins to dig up the dead and raid graveyards. â€Å"Who shall conceive the horrors of my secret toil as I dabbled among the unhallowed damps of the grave or tortured†¦ I collected bones from charnel-houses†¦ secrets of the human frame†. This is a sign of immoral, abnormal attitude and is offensive towards the bodies. The definition of a monster is a misshapen animal or plant; person of wickedness; huge animal or thing. The part of the definition where it says a person of wickedness is what should be used to describe Victor Frankenstein. No normal person would dig up the dead and use body parts to make a creation. Another way, in which Victor could be considered as the monster is the way he treated the creature once he had brought it to life. Victor disowned the creature; he refused to acknowledge it and to accept that the creature was his own: † For this I had deprived myself of rest ad health. I had desired it with an ardour†¦ at length lassitude succeeded to the tumult†¦ endeavouring to seek a few moments of forgetfulness but it was in vain†. Victor had no intention of caring for the creature, it was as if he was afraid of his own creation. He discards the Creature immediately after its creation, calling it a ‘wretch’ and leaving it to fend for itself. This shows how irresponsible he is. It is also another example of him neglecting his family, since the Creature sees him as its father. The creature approaches Victor like a baby would to its father: † He held up the curtain of the bed; and his eyes, if eyes they may be called, were fixed on me†¦ while a grin wrinkled his cheeks†. How could Victor abandon the creature, he had no sympathy towards it. The way in which the creature is described when it approaches Victor is just like the way a baby would approach its parents, maybe at this part of the novel, we readers are to feel sympathy for the creature and to consider Victor as the monster for the way he treated the creature, it was his own creation he should of cared for it and been its companion. Victor should of treated the creature like his own child, possibly if he did show care for the creature and not show fear, maybe the creature wouldn’t have been so vile because he knew no different. The creature didn’t know how to treat or care for other people. So really it wasn’t the creatures fault for the deaths caused and for the way in which he treated people because overall he didn’t know any different and wasn’t taught by Victor how to treat others.

The idea of disappointment in Araby and An Encounter Essay Example

The idea of disappointment in Araby and An Encounter Essay Example The idea of disappointment in Araby and An Encounter Paper The idea of disappointment in Araby and An Encounter Paper Essay Topic: Dubliners Literature Dubliners covers the lives of many different characters over four different themes in their lives. These themes are childhood, adolescence, maturity and public life. The theme in Araby and An Encounter is that of childhood. Joyce wanted to describe Dublin life so that the reader could be seen to be looking into a Nicely polished looking glass. At the time that Joyce was writing he felt that society as a whole was in a state of paralysis and was stagnant. He describes characters that try to escape from society and break free, however, it seems that freedom is never achieved and the characters are left disappointed and frustrated. This can be seen clearly in both the stories, though there are some small differences in the bid for escape and the attitudes of the characters. An Encounter is the story of two boys who make an attempt to play truant from school. They are influenced by tales of adventure of the Wild West, The adventures related in the literature of the Wild West were remote from my nature but, at least, they opened doors of escape. and so try to create their own adventure. There escape is well planned and so they have very high expectations of what their day will be like. Their planned trip is also against their parents wishes and so there is an element of risk evolved, which would make the trip much more exciting and adventurous. In Araby a boy thinks he has fallen in love with a girl from across the street and takes it upon himself to go to the bazaar to buy her something because she cannot go herself. He is driven by his infatuation of her, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: O love! O love! many times. and the thought that he will be going somewhere new and exotic, and so break the monotonous routine of his daily life. Therefore, he has very high expectations of what he will see and what he will do. Therefore, both these tales build up a high level of excitement and expectation, which can only bring disappointment when none of their wishes are achieved. The disappointments in the stories are not just limited to the failings of the adventures. In Araby there is the disappointment that his Uncle has not paid much interest in his life and has forgotten to give him the money for the bazaar and the failure of the Uncle to see that his nephew is excited. This adds to the boys bid to escape because of the claustrophobic effect his Uncle and Aunt have over him. The most obvious signs of disappointment are in the bazaar. Firstly, when the boy gets there the bazaar is closing, he sees that two men were counting money on a salver. The symbolism of the bazaar being an exotic place is lost and he realises that the bazaar is just a market, where money is traded for wares. When in the bazaar he also realises that he is not that important, people ignore him, and he finishes by saying, I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burnt with anguish and anger. In this story the boy has gone through a psychological change, which made him look at himself in a new way. This gave him a fright making him angry but at the same time very disappointed, because he realises that his life is no different than any other person in Dublin. In An Encounter most of the disappointment occurs because of the failed sense of adventure. They discover that the docks are not what they imagined, and they find that they are too tired at any rate to carry on with their adventure to their Wild West, It was too late and we were too tired to carry out our project of visiting Pigeon House. This tiredness and the lack of excitement lead on to the old man. He in a sense completely breaks the sense of adventure and escape for the narrator. He sees that they are schoolboys and treats them as such. This shatters the image of being mature and adventurous, and brings in a sense of claustrophobia because there is nothing these boys can do; they will always be treated as schoolboys. This is a huge disappointment for the narrator, especially as he tries to give the impression of being well read and highly intelligent, but the man seems to completely ignore the impression the narrator tried to give. In both Araby and An Encounter there are common themes of desire to escape, frustration of elders and the claustrophobic effect of the Dublin society. All these effects of the characters drive them to try to escape, but because they are tied down by these strong ties to the society and to Dublin itself, they always find disappointment in their futile attempts to escape. Araby and An Encounter epitomise the failure of the young to break the paralysis of their own society or to discover a way of escaping from that society, but certainly proves that escape is much harder than all the characters believe.

Free Essays on Flying J

The Flying J I visited was in Wendover Nevada. It was a huge building with two main entrances on opposite ends of the mega complex. There were about 10 or 12 gas pumps and a huge lot with several big rig parking spots. The entrance on the left was to the main flying J area. The layout was very strategically placed. The cashier was at the front of the store right next to the entrance. By the entrance was a huge hat display with trucker hats, poker hats, cowboy hats, and beanies. On one side was a huge row of fountain drinks, coffee, slushy, microwaves, and fruit juices dispensers, this toke up the whole side. On the opposite wall were the refrigerated goods. It had soft drinks, beer, milk, eggs, butter, ice cream, and even fresh fruit (I wouldn’t ever buy fruit from a gas station though). In the central area of the store were aisles and aisles of products. The first aisle had magazines, comic books, and even bestseller books. The second row had snack items. There w as even a personal hygiene section from toothpaste to condoms. There were aisles of useless junk like glass figurines and cheap sculptures. This section reminded me of shopping in Tijuana. The last aisle were automotive products with oil, air fresheners, and even ham radios. At the end of every aisle were media stands witch had cds, dvds, videos, book on tape, and even crappie computer games. I also so a bargain bin with under priced items like dice, nameplates, license plate holders, and stickers. There wasn’t any deep fried food or already prepared food to be found anywhere. In the middle of the building was a video poker and slot machine casino. There were actually quite a few people wasting their money on it. In the back of the casino area was the showers and personal sleeping areas. On the right side of the building was a normal sized Arby’s with dining seating and a drive through. The main impression I got from visiting the Flying J was ... Free Essays on Flying J Free Essays on Flying J The Flying J I visited was in Wendover Nevada. It was a huge building with two main entrances on opposite ends of the mega complex. There were about 10 or 12 gas pumps and a huge lot with several big rig parking spots. The entrance on the left was to the main flying J area. The layout was very strategically placed. The cashier was at the front of the store right next to the entrance. By the entrance was a huge hat display with trucker hats, poker hats, cowboy hats, and beanies. On one side was a huge row of fountain drinks, coffee, slushy, microwaves, and fruit juices dispensers, this toke up the whole side. On the opposite wall were the refrigerated goods. It had soft drinks, beer, milk, eggs, butter, ice cream, and even fresh fruit (I wouldn’t ever buy fruit from a gas station though). In the central area of the store were aisles and aisles of products. The first aisle had magazines, comic books, and even bestseller books. The second row had snack items. There w as even a personal hygiene section from toothpaste to condoms. There were aisles of useless junk like glass figurines and cheap sculptures. This section reminded me of shopping in Tijuana. The last aisle were automotive products with oil, air fresheners, and even ham radios. At the end of every aisle were media stands witch had cds, dvds, videos, book on tape, and even crappie computer games. I also so a bargain bin with under priced items like dice, nameplates, license plate holders, and stickers. There wasn’t any deep fried food or already prepared food to be found anywhere. In the middle of the building was a video poker and slot machine casino. There were actually quite a few people wasting their money on it. In the back of the casino area was the showers and personal sleeping areas. On the right side of the building was a normal sized Arby’s with dining seating and a drive through. The main impression I got from visiting the Flying J was ...